All Saints

I give this CD set 5 stars is merely for sentimental reasons. It was released around the time when Slava turned 80. A month later on April 27, 2007, he passed away. Commemorating this great musician, how can you not buy the 80th birthday CD release? I have most of the Slava recordings, even the early Melodiya LPs. Almost all of the works on the 2 CDs were previously released or have superior versions by Slava. Only one 3 minute long piece is the first CD release: the Paganini Moto Pepetuo.

The two bigger works:

These are Melodiya recordings of the 50's. The Schumann Concerto recorded in 1960 with Rozhdstvensky released by DG is a far superior than this version in terms of performance of Slava, the orchestra and the sound quality. The Saint Saens Concerto is the same story. I would recommend the Giulini (Coupled with Dvorak Concerto) from EMI.

I confess that I have only listened to one of the two CDs once and only the Moto Pepetuo, a technically amazing show piece. It shows Slava's great cello techniques, but it is by no means a great musical piece or one of Slava's great musical interpretations.

I often take the CD box out of the shelf and look at its cover, reminiscencing a dozen of Slava Cello concerts I attended in Washington D.C. and in Chicago in the mid 80's and early 90's. They were truly experiences of a life time.

First the most important stuff: sound quality through out is very good to excellent.

These two CD's are two Westminster vinyl albums, one from 1953 and the other from 1954, with a short Paganini with no known recording history thrown in to extend these two CD's, which are "short in time" for CD's. The first CD runs under 45 minutes, but the double CD set is priced accordingly and is a bargain.
Several of the album cuts were never released on a CD before this set, which celebrates Rostopovich's 80th birthday, Of course they are all mono recordings. While listening to the music you will never miss the stereo, as the high sound quality through out permits Rostropovich to shine.
Westminster was the best vinyl source for anything Russian classical way back when, only to be, perhaps, out done by the recent Yedang CD's.
These performances show a young developing celloist, already a master of the cello...exubriant and at the same time..warm and moving ..quite suprising and most rewarding.
Mistislav is my favorite celloist. If he touches you, I recommend these early satisfying recordings.
5 stars for the recordings, 4 stars for the compilation.

It's a pity All Saints split up after only some years of work together. I really liked them, I think they had some kind of talent. I liked their style, so casual and no fashion, I liked their sexy voices and, what is more, they were able to write their songs by theirselves!! Let's talk about Saints & Sinners. I really like this album, and the only reason why I put 4 stars instead of 5 is that I don't like some songs, but I think that's normal. I like this new bit, very "hip hoppy", I like the lyrics and the music. All the tracks are very original. My fav ones are: Pure Shores, Black Coffee, Distance, Surrender and Love Is Love. I don't like Saints & Sinners, Ha Ha and ready, Willing & Able.
If u liked the first album by All Saints and u don't have this yet then buy it immediately, it's far better than the previous one (although I like also "All Saints").

How else can I explain it? All the songs on the album I very much enjoy. The lyrics, the beats, their voices are just a great combination together. I am telling you, this is a great album, that you need to BUY TODAY!

Here are more specfic reviews for the album & songs.10 being the best, & 1 being the worst (even though there is no 1's).

Songs with a 10 (best,perfect):
All hooked up: My second favorite song on the album! I love this song, because it's diffrent & funny. It's kind of like a part 2 of 'Bootie Call' (you know, from 'All Saints')only a bit more funnier, & faster.The beat is good, but what got me was the lyrics.''Why this fool all up in my ass? Doesn't he know I want class, not trash? Why this fool all up in my ass? Doesn't he know that I got my own cash?'' I love that part! And the video was brillent!
I feel you: A sweet song. Their voices are great in this song. One time in the song, Mel's & Shanz's voices combine, & makes this much more powerful, strong voice. So, if you want to listen to song with strong vocals in it, listen to this one.
Surrender: My favorite song on the album! This reminds me of Latin America, I guess because of the Latin beat, which I enjoy very much. I love the lyrics, especially the hook ''I feel so sweet, as you kiss my feet, & you undress me, as I...'', it's very cute.And I like the concept. The concept is talking about surrendering your love to the 'correct' special someone.
I don't wanna be alone: Or as I like to call it, the ''C'mon'' song. I like this song,because of how it starts off ''C'mon, c'mon, c-c'mon''. That part got me!And I like the chours.
Haha: A 'dedication' to the people who said they wouldn't make it,& even though they DIDN'T make it (they broke up), I still like this song. What got me was Shanzey's rap. That rap was phat!
Songs with a 9 (excellent) rating:
Dreams: I like this song because of the chours.I like the chours. And I like the beat of the song.
Distance: Just like ''Dreams'' I like this song because of the chours,& I also for the beat...
Black Coffee:The song that made me buy the album.I Like this song. It's cool. I like the beat of the song, because it's diffrent. It kind of reminds me of a Techno-type-beat-meets-the- beach-type-beat.(You should also buy the singles to this song, it has the neptunes remixwhich is like...''whoa''...).
One more Tequila: I don't like the drink, but I like the song. The beat is cool, & the lyrics are,too. ''One more tequila, for the sexy senorita...)It's cool song.You'll like it, especially if you like the drink.(LOLS!)
Saints & Sinners: The name of the album, & I'm pretty sure it would have been a single if they would have stayed together.And I'll tell ya, I wouldn't be upset, I enjoy the song.
Songs with a 8 (great) rating:
Love is love: The popish song on the album,if you ask me. I don't listen to this song a lot,but the lyrics are good & simple. The beat is not bad but...okay.
Ready,willing,& able:I like how it starts out,& how it ends,or well how it ends. I like this song,not cherish it,because really this song is a 7 in a half...but it's still good.
Whoopin' over you: ''I got my boots on,I'm feelin mighty strong, as I ride all up on you,baby bring it on. How you diggin' that? You like my cowboy hat? I dance like a kitty cat, yo...this beat's fat.''That's my favorite part! I love that part!...Anywayz, I like the song, basically because of that.
Songs with a 7 (good) rating:
Pure Shores: You rememeber this song? The video? I surely do, even though,it doesn't,to me, have all the correct qualites to become a hit,it's still a goood song. The chours, like always, got me. I like the part when Shanz's saying ''I'm comeing, I'm moving'' (I think that's how it goes), I don't listen to this song very much. I'm pretty sure that you'll love the rest of the songs, if you like this song.

Go get this cd,not today,tommorow,but RIGHT NOW!It'll be the best CD you ever heard...

This is the far most greatest cd ever!!!!!!!!Even though they weren't as big as the spice girls,to me,they were better!!It's so sad they broke up!!!(Waaa!!!)But I still like them!!!!With their phat beats & tight lyrics,you really couldn't help but buy this cd!!! If you look below,I gave more specfic reveiws:

My favs. in MY order:
1.All hooked up
2.Surrender
3.I don't wanna be alone-hidden track
4.Haha
5.Saints & sinners
6.Black coffee
7.I feel you
8.Dreams
9.Distance
10.Whoopin' over you
11.Pure shores
12.Love is love
13.One more tequila
14.Ready,willing,& able

Purchase this cd today!!!!!!!!

After a short absence from the nasty world of pop, All Saints could well and truly have been over. The very nature of pop culture dictates that stay out of the spotlight too long, and it will blow out. Luckily, thanks to a delicious William Orbit-produced pop classic - namely the dreamy 'Pure Shores' - the girls were well and truly back on top, ready for stage no. 2 of the All Saints onslaught.

'Saints & Sinners' is significantly different from the girls' 1998 debut. The album is breezier, easier to listen to, and not lost in thick, overly-chunky production. Add to that the roster of names they enlisted (do I need to mention William 'I saved Madonna's career' Orbit again?) is more impressive and the songs, for the most part, are more interesting and less generic than found on 'All Saints'. The schoolgirl lyric of 'Never Ever' is replaced by the dizzying euphoria of a relationship which is both exhilirating and mundane in the band's opus, 'Black Coffee'. 'All Hooked Up' follows the direction of the first record's R'n'B booty-shakers but with a more subtle approach that, minus the lyric 'I know that you want a piece of my *** / don't you know that a guy like you wouldn't last', is pure class. Likewise, the beautiful Mel Blatt-lead 'I Feel You' and lush 'Dreams' make for a record which sounds exactly like the cocktail of nightclubs, friends and relationships the cover suggests.

The pounding 'Love Is Love' is another highlight, as is the melancholic mid-tempo 'Distance' which effortlessly fuses up-to-date R'n'B with a Latin vibe. The second half of the record gets bogged down by a few poor songs (the uninspired title track, 'Ha Ha' and 'Surrender'), but not enough to tarnish the overall effect of a surprisingly gorgeous record.

It's a shame 'Saints & Sinners' became the band's swansong considering the increasing promise it showed in comparison to their first effort - but it's a pleasing legacy for one of the staples of 1990's UK pop music.

Hey,
i got this really cheap by ordering it used from Amazon UK. But basically, i wanted to listen to Black Coffee while driving around LA. Black Coffee being Classic pop in the best sense of the word. My taste do not gravitate to vocal groups usually. Its easy to say and probably true that the Brit girls are not as soulful as their American opposite numbers, But at least they don't thank Jesus every other song once they become successful. Pure lovely sounding voices all the way through with a lot less cringes than you would think not to mention at least two or three non hits that are really great pop tunes. Sure you'll yawn when yet another girl group sings about having their own cash, big deal you got a job, but there is some good stuff on here. Very Prince like in production.
cheers

Phil Spector may be going to prison, but his spirit is not dead. All Saints "Black Coffee" is his grandchild, with a wall of sound alternating between crystal clear vocal isolation. The beautiful overproduction on the harmonies, nesting hooks, an acid jazz backbeat and a sticky sweet melody would make even a hard core punk rocker succumb. And that hard core punk rocker is me. Like "Yes"'s "Owner of a Lonely Heart" that simultaneously found a new audience and alienated their old with an infectous pop groove, the All Saints delivered something you'd never expect a corporate manufactured girl band do: an absolutely great pop song.

Make no mistake about my taste: Hell is populated with a repeating soundtrack of "The Spice Girls" and any comparison with All Saints for this single *and*this*single*alone* must end there. Ignore the glossy photos, the exotic profiles, and the tight fitting GAP tank tops. For this is simply a fabulous pop song, that like Duran Duran's comeback hits "Ordinary World" and "Come Undone" came from a source you least expected. Buy it today and put it on "repeat."

1. Black Coffee 4:49
2. I Don't Wanna Be Alone 4:24
3. Black Coffee (The Wideboys Espresso Mix) 5:18
4. Black Coffee (ATFC's Freshly Ground Vocal) 7:47

first off, u don't hafta like all saints to like dis song. it's influenced by so many different types of music dat practically n/e one will like it. the types dat i can recognize are primarily pop, dance, hip hop, techno, and even r&b. the song is full of variety in sounds and in lyrics. the chorus is perfect sounding sumden like "i wouldn't wanna be n/e where else but here, i wouldn't wanna change any thing at all . . . " it's a unviersal song for any time or occasion, and honestly the only song i can listen to that, no matter what my mood, can always 100% a the tyme make me happy. and no it's not a britney spears kinda happy. it's the accepting and enjoying life kinda happy. so, undoubtedly this is my all time favourite song. the mood changes thru out the song starting at techno and weird with hypnotizing lyrics, and it starts to sound brighter and then goes into the chorus with a beat-packed catchy (but not pop) chorus. it flips back to mellow and weird and starts getting brighter. the middle of the song throws in some crazy sounds and continues with the chorus. the end of the song takes the first chorus and ends it with a great hip hop/dance beat. u gotsta listen to it for yerself cuz it's indescribable. the neptunes never mess up on a remix and #2 definitely illustrates that point. this remix blows my mind because somehow they're able to get it to be slow, soothing, depressing, melancholy, and lonely, YET they're able to throw in some great beats along with video game type zelda sad sounds and make it still awesome. even the sad mood of the song can't stop the lyrics from shining because they're that rue. this song is great on both the saints' and the neptunes' part. the #3 wideboys remix is defintitely dance type and is pretty good. the sounds of the beat are piercing and firm. the sounds put into it (like sounds of swords) make it even crazier and the mixing of the vocals is off the hook. it's almost impossible for any one to write a review that will make u understand the song completely, so the least u can do is take a listen for yerself. but this is honeslty a universally great song no matter what the theme/mood of life, so do not hesitate to pick it up and give it a listen.

With one of the decade's biggest single hits behind them, The Saints sure had a lot to live up to with their second release from 'Saints and Sinners' (they are the only band in QUITE a while to release two singles from a yet unreleased album, and have them both debut at No. 1 on the UK Chart. Quite an achievement, by any standards). However, with this sort of chart hegemony, All Saints disappoint with the remainder of their follow-up CD, but thats another review.

'Black Coffee' made its way to radio stations and video airplay long before it was officially released (the girls did a good job of guarding the single from Napster, though) and the general reception to it was one of wonder and 'They've done it again' - referring of course to the girls' previous big hit earlier in 2000. William Orbit again dominates the musical landscape of this single, though the lyrics have been panned as being 'pretentious to the core' (I'd have to agree). However, nothing can take away that this is a FANTASTIC single, and very well sung, at that. Not since Wilson Phillips first showed up on the scene in 1990 have a girl band displayed this kind of harmony, with all their voices blending in with wonderful end-result. Unfortunately, All Saints are not performers, and most of their stage performances (even of 'Black Coffee') have been dismissed as being unimaginative and silly (which they are). Never mind! What counts is the music! And as a pop single for the 00's, this song breaks new ground, and is certainly the best thing I've heard for most of this year. Very high repeat value, which I consider the hallmark of any pop classic, and this most definitely is. Highly recommended.

This version contains remixes that do nothing to compliment the original track though. However, it is a definite collector's edition, since this is a British import, and has been going out of stock there too. Get your hands on this as quick as possible!

All right, got this at a great price, and having dug their earlier singles, and Nick & Nat's Appleton album ("Fantasy" is one of the 00's best singles bar none), I caved...

Good thing, as this record is pretty ace...it's like Lily Allen's record in girlgroup form...

The songs are well written pop tunes, but the production and arrangements are what make this stand apart unexpectedly...the dub/ska/reggae influences...VERY British...it wouldn't have caught on in America anyway unfortunately...most Americans don't even remember their 2, maybe 3, US hits!!!

The fact this record tanked and they are all mums anyway...their kids are top priority (and their friendship as well), over music...chances are this will have been All Saints' last hurrah...

Hopefully, history will be kind to 'em...cuz these ladeez are great...love the DVD and interview BTW...

All Saints started getting notice in the U.S. around 1998 when "Never Ever" was big, but they were also easily compared to Spice Girls. After that it seemed like both groups were trying to outdo each other, but soon they both broke up. Well, All Saints got back together back in 2006 and released their third studio album, Studio 1.

The reason why I'm now comparing the ladies to Destiny's Child is because this album feels like DC's The Writing's on the Wall in that there are a lot of songs about trifling men. But the problem here is that the lyrics aren't that exciting. "Not Eazy" and "Scar" are skippable, "Too Nasty" is hard to relate to, and "Hell No" took the words right out of my mouth.

The only song really worth hearing on here is "On and On". And "Fundamental" is passable. I doubt All Saints will gain any new fans with Studio 1, and given that it wasn't released in the U.S. anyway, you can probably do without it.

Anthony Rupert

How unfortunate that this gigantic flop by the All Saints turns out to be their greatest album ever. There is absolutely no justification for the dismal performance this scored on the charts, especially considering that this is by far their most musically diverse, and consistently engaging record since their two huge hit singles from 2000 ("Pure Shores" and "Black Coffee").

Chances are, that if you loved both those landmark singles, you will end up loving this album as a whole. They all have some of the same qualities these singles possessed, coupled with some excellent harmonizing from all four members. Shaznay, who is the most unusual of the four vocalists, continues to hog the limelight, though this isn't a bad thing - even though all the All Saints members are older and hopefully wiser, the songs are still as light and carefree as ever, with common themes such as love, life, dating and relationships taking center stage.

Lead single "Rock Steady" is probably what led this album to obscurity. It's a nice-enough track, but there is absolutely nothing special about it other than the sing-along chorus that you'll find yourself remembering after one listen. "Rock Steady" isn't the weakest track on the album - that award would go to "Chick Fit", a two-step number that sounds like it belongs on a totally different record. For reasons best known to the producers, this track was released as the official second single, and it disappeared the very week it was released.

Pity, because real stunners such as "On and On" (which is very reminiscent of "Pure Shores"), and "Fundamental" (which capsulates the best of their work in one three minute track), highlight what works on this album. "One Me and U" sounds very much like what their first record sounded like, while the rest of the tracks are a definite progress over much of what they used to churn out.

Whats pretty great is that every track here is a standout, and any one of these could be a radio single. Whats even more wondrous is that the girls actually sound better here than they did on their last record "Saints and Sinners" (which had about five great songs and a lot of filler).

Lets face it - this album is going to go down as a spectacular flop, and probably is the last thing the All Saints will ever release. Ironically, its also the best, most realized work they've recorded, and is a stupendous achievement any way you look at it. I mean, the quality of music is much better than what the Spice Girls did when they got together on "Forever" (their comeback CD).

If you like great girl-group harmonizing, sunny happy melodies, and choruses you won't soon forget, this is definitely the album for you. Don't read the other reviews, just get this!

All right, I have no real complaints here. At first listen, "Rock Steady" seemed to be the only worthwhile track. The following few tracks really disappointed me. I put the album on a playlist on my iPod and gave it a few random spins along with some other material. Some of the latter songs on the album began to creep into my ears ("Flashback", "Fundamental"), followed by some of the songs in the middle ("Scar", "Not Eazy", "Oh Hell No") and I was surprised how much I was digging them. "Chick Fit" was still bugging me, but the Kissy Sells Out Excellent Adventure mix took care of that, and now I am a huge fan of the entire album.

The reviewer who pointed out their inability to grow with the times has a valid point, but I would also like to say that as women, and as a pop group, they still are very much "young", and this is dealing with more mature issues than their previous albums. I feel this album has a whole lot more of a personal feel to it than their previous efforts, and while songs like "All Hooked Up" really made me love All Saints, Studio 1 has made them a staple on my future playlists.

This album will not disappoint, long term, is I guess where I am going with this. You may listen to it and go "WTF?", but keep in mind that it doesn't have to be pure pop to come from a pop group, and just because it is coming from a pop group doesn't mean it is bad. In fact, this is one of the most entertaining albums I've heard this year.

I really like the All Saints. My favorite singles are the three that they produced with William Orbit -- Black Coffee is one of the greatest recent pop productions ever.

This album is overall stronger maybe than their previous efforts, but then there are no super-strong standout singles. Chick Fit is very cute. One Me And U has a strong melody and arrangement. I like the sentiment of In It To Win It. In Fundamental, Shaznay is trying to stretch. She'll get there, she has great talent, but it was a little too obvious where this one was targeted, and she doesn't have the *richness* (yet?) for a serious soul/gospel track. But only a few do. Why listen to Joss Stone when you can listen to Aretha herself? In the opening, more quiet, parts of Fundamental, Shaznay points to where she might explore further.

But what is sad, and maybe an indication of what this generation is going through, is that there are only two poles in the range of love: adolescent adoration, or betrayal. It's one or the other in every song.

This reflects an age when "human institutions" are no longer trusted. There is no song in here about building a home, sticking with your lover through hard times, or children. The girls write all sorts of giggly liner notes about their respective discoveries of motherhood -- but none of that made it onto the album.

If the All Saints are now 30-somethings, they need to leave the bubble-gum behind and move on up like Madonna.

As a reunion album this is nice "additional material" for those of us who were disappointed when they broke up. Hope it leads to a real Grammy winner on their next effort.

They had two albums, and they have a greatest hits album? Please...they were a joke and they knew it. Horrible manufactured trash. Only 10 year olds get into this after their affair with disney tunes has become passe.

Greatest hits collection usually span around 5 or more albums - that's not the case with this one!

The All Saints collection 'All Hits' spans the best of just 2 amazing classic pop albums! This is a collection you can listen throughout the duration and not feel the need to skip any tracks. Nearly all of these songs are still played on radio and music channels which is pretty rare seeing as not many pop acts from 5 years ago can say they are a still a regular fixture on radio etc.

All Saints, at the time were so different from their other pop counterparts, they delivered pop with a dirty, slick urban feel and paved the way for future girl groups such as Sugababes, who themselves are yet to release a poor album or single.

The album is started with my personal All Saints favourite 'Pure Shores', the backing music, the harmonies, everything about this song is pure perfection.
This is followed by 'Never Ever', possibly one of the best pop ballads of all time, this was easily the Saints' biggest hit spending over 20 weeks on the UK chart alone and smashing into the US Billboard Top 10!
From there on the hits just keep coming! The best of which are the slick, sexy cover of Red Hot Chili Peppers' classic 'Under The Bridge', debut single 'I Know Where It's At' and the quite simply AMAZING 'Black Coffee'.

All Saints only released 8 singles (5 of which #1's) so the inclusion of Melanie Blatt's collaboration with Artful Dodger on the mesmerising 'Twentyfourseven' and the 'Pure Shores' remix are not too surprising but also don't tamper with the flow of the album.

Greatest Hits collections are a favourite with a lot of people and 'All Hits' is definately one of the best I've ever heard.

From a strict diet of the meaningless but glorious pap pop of the Spice Girls, their credible counterparts All Saints took me a while to properly digest. I hated them at first, gained some interest, hated them again, then gained a bit more interest.

The girls managed to create two sorts of songs. First and foremost, they could make absolutely classic pop/R'n'B songs which made the Spice Girls look like the Tellitubbies. Unfortunately, on the flipside they created right and proper dirge which most artists wouldn't even allow to be released as B-sides. Luckily, 'All Hits' captures the best of the girls' releases which fell into the former category giving them an unprecedented run of success in the British charts over four years despite having only two albums to their name.

The classy balladry of 'Never Ever', 'War Of Nerves' and the sexy rendering of Red Hot Chili Peppers heroin-ballad 'Under The Bridge' sit side by side with rump-wrigglers 'Booty Call' and 'Lady Marmalade'. Of course the band's career triumphs - namely the dreamy 'Pure Shores' and 'Black Coffee', both #1 hits from the girls' second album 'Saints & Sinners' - are included in all their glory, as is Melanie Blatt's fabulously breezy solo outing 'twentyfourseven'. A couple of unlisted bonus tracks, 'I Feel You' and 'Dreams' from the 'Saints & Sinners' record, suggests there was a lot more fire left in this band which was quelled by their personal problems which untimely lead to the band's demise.

This is a concise but fully satisfying chronicle of the girlband of the nineties with the most musical integrity. This swathe of filling R'n'B jams, booty-shakers and dreamy mid-tempos makes for is the perfect souvenir for both the casual fan and All Saints diehard.

What a pity it was that the All Saints decided to call it a day.Their last album,while it wasn't great had plenty of great tracks and I'm sure this group was only beginning to realise their full potential.They sort of got big when the Spice Girls were sort of at their hey-day.But where as the Spice Girls were very much for younger fans,All Saints were always a band that had a certain degree of adult sophistication.This was evident from their first number one hit "Never Ever",which had beautiflly soulful layered harmonies.It was clear from the off that All Saints were going to be more R/B then just a manufactured pop band.Another track included here is their brave cover of the Red Hot Chili Peppers track-"Under The Bridge".I don't know there are certain tracks I feel nobody should try to cover and this is one of them.At first I thought it was almost sacrilige,but in retrospect when I listen to it on this album,I feel it's a very worthy effort.It's full of break beats and stops-they even dare to disrupt the guitar riff.It's got an even more 'street' feel to it then the original.All their early tracks featured here are just pure R/B with a slight garage feel.By the time the second album came along they had enlisted the help of producer extrodinaire William Orbit.He has a pretty distinctive sound and there are lots of similarities in this track to madonna's "Ray Of Light".No matter what though,"Pure Shores" taken from The Beach soundtrack is an amazing song.In fact it was the biggest single of the year it was released in the U.K.Another great track on this c.d. was it's follow up,"Black Coffee".Once again Orbits does production work,but it's got a harder,meatier feel to it.Once again the harmonies are really lush but the beat is pretty phat.It's almost like the Chemical Brother's meet Ray Of Light.The ending to this track is great as it fades out to a harsh sound.

I think this c.d. is ideal for people who do not own any of their other c.d.'s.They never made a truly great album,so this takes off the bad tracks from both,so you're just left with their very best work.It's just a pity they've all gone their separate ways.

I cannot believe that i stumbled back upon this album. I used to own it but somehow misplaced it four years ago. It takes me back so much and i love every single song on this cd. Too bad All Saints never really made a good cd after this one.

As promised, I received a new CD case as the original one had a crack in it. I am very pleased with this purchase. Great prices and shipping.

I loved the spice girls in the 90's but they were for the masses. All Saints appealed more to the r&b/hip hop fans and they were successful for a minute. I Know Where It's At was a hip hop/pop song that had the janet jackson sound to it, but with a british vibe to it. Never Ever was a beautiful, beautiful ballad that was on heavy rotation and who can forget the remakes of under the bridge from the peppers and the labelle remake of voulez vous couchez avec moi ces't soir. I hope shanzay does a solo career cause she wrote most of the lyrics and music on this album and it would be nice if she made a solo comeback cause the group broke up and it doesn't look like they're getting back together

I bought this CD a 5 years ago because I loved "Never Ever". I listened to it off and on, but this year I put it back in my CD player and was surprised to see how well it has held up over the years. "Never Ever" still sounds good, but the other songs sound better than I remember them. Their covers of "Under the Bridge" and "Lady Marmalade" are surprisingly good, and most of the other songs are strong as well.

The Spice Girls comparisons are inevitable, but All Saints stand alone, even though they were never as huge as the Spice Girls in the US.

I recommend checking this album out. It is a good blend of pop and R&B, and it should have been a bigger hit in the US.

In the 1990's the Spice Girls were the No.1 female girl group. They dominated the charts all over the world for three years and became iconic superstars in the process. Naturally, you always get imitators who come along and try to repeat the success of the original and best - but never quite succeed. A British girl band called the All Saints nearly achieved this in 1998 with their self-titled debut album. The Spice Girls were compared to the Beatles in terms of worldwide appeal and a level of insane mania that hadn't been seen in decades. Then the All Saints came along to rival them, almost in a way that the Rolling Stones did for the Beatles. So these two girl groups were symbolic of two 'boy' groups that ruled the 1960's.

Bands like the Spice Girls and the All Saints are big reasons why the 1990's will always be my favourite decade for music. In England the All Saints released their debut album at the back end of 1997 and it went on to sell almost 2 million. Their debut single had just gone Top 5 and they were gearing up for the release of their second single which would go on to become one of the most popular break-up songs of the decade. They were seen as a cooler, more hip version of the Spice Girls. They were older, wiser, more mature, and their music had a certain artistry to it that the Spicies never possessed. Infact, in Britain, for a short while in early 1998 it seemed like a backlash against the Spicies was setting in whilst everyone favoured the All Saints...

The debut album from the All Saints opens with that infamous classic ballad "Never Ever." It opens the album in fine style, and clocks in at six and half minutes of pure vocal bliss. The song made it to No.1 after months on the chart and spent something like seven months in the Top 40, selling more than 1 million copies. Shaznay Lewis wrote the song and her true talent is revealed here. "Bootie Call" was the fourth single to released from the album and became the girls' third consecutive No.1 UK single. This is as raunchy as the girls ever got, and it quite indeed. Simmering beats bubble over the saucy lyrics and deep vocals to make a hot and sweaty R'n'B/pop hybrid classic. "I Know Where It's At" is where it all began. The debut single from the girls, this is a very catchy slice of pop perfection that made them a hit. "Under The Bridge" was the girls' third single and a cover of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' original. It's no way as good obviously, but I like the funky R'n'B edge that is brought to it. It was the third single to be taken from the album and went straight to No.1 - the video is bad though, gives me vertigo!

"Heaven" opens mysteriously before breaking it down with a hip bass. This is a mid-tempo number that doesn't quite get off the ground, but it's very mature and was very fresh at the time of its production. "Alone" begins off well with a stop-start beat and the chorus makes this even funkier. The beat is very catchy and the chorus is sung in a very stylish and cool way. "If You Want To Party (I Found Lovin')" is a song that follows a similar style to the girls' debut single with a great party vibe and cheesy pop synth! You hear people cheering in the back like it's in a club - very typical of the time it was made. "Trapped" and "Beg" are purely filled to keep the album afloat, but they are the real downers on an otherwise class album

"Lady Marmalade ('98 Remix)" is the second of two cover versions on this album and was released as a Double A-Side along with Under The Bridge in May 1998. Of course, the song went to No.1 as I said before. The girls make this version very poppy and funky - one to definitely get your groove on to. Having said that, the version that Christina Aguilera and co. did three years later is much better! "Take The Key" is another filler and rather disappointing, but is redeemed with the smashing and beautiful ballad "War Of Nerves." Shaznay claimed she wrote this song around the time of Princess Diana's death in August 1997. This was the fifth and final single to be taken from the album and made the Top 10 in the UK. I love the video and this is an overall great song to unwind to, and a fantastic closer to the album.

OVERALL GRADE: 7/10

The All Saints were a very photogenic girl group. Melanie Blatt was often considered the sexiest, whilst the sisters Natalie and Nicole Appleton just stood there and look pretty. Because of this, Shaznay was often the least popular member of the group when in reality she was the driving force behind them! She wrote those awesome lyrics, and had the best voice. It was obvious that with inflated egos and a battle between talent that the girls would split up, and they did in early 2001 just a few months after the release of their sophomore album "Saints And Sinners." Their success was short lived as a group, but the All Saints will definitely be one of the most remembered bands of their generation.