Emma - Free Me (2005)

I got this disc and was pleasantly surprised at how much Emma has matured artistically. She has definitely distanced herself from her Baby Spice past with this disc's release. Free Me is seethed in '60s pop ethos. The tracks are rhythmic, string-laced and have a dreamy, classic sparkle. It feels like Burt Bacharach updated for 2005. "I'll Be There" is amazingly vibrant euphoro-pop and'll pick you up on even the darkest of days. I love the latin number "Crickets Sing For Anamaria" (they're killing the percussion in that track). "Maybe" is beautiful and wistful. "No Sign of Life" and "Who The Hell Are You" are also gems. Was she digging through some old Holland/Dozier/Holland material or what? This is great spring/summer music. One of the better releases of the year. Very recommended.

JANFAN4L said:

Thanks for the info!

Believe it or not, she always seemed like of the SG's with the most promise. Free Me is such a great tune; every time I hear it, it sounds retro but I can't quite place which era.

I'll pick up the entire CD and give it a listen.

Alasseon said:

She wasn't the Spice who stood out to me when the group was huge, but with this CD she's definitely distanced herself from the rest of the rack. Worth every penny.

The commercial singles for this album are great, too. Great mix of "Free Me" by Dr. Octavo.

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[Edited 5/4/05 12:40pm]

Here are all the singles from the album:




(in consequential order, top row) 1. Free Me 2. Maybe
(bottom row) 3. I'll Be There 4. Crickets Sing for Anamaria

OK, I'm really starting to love this girl. Whoever is promoting this album and is behind the artwork of the singles is doing a magnificent job. Everything is so beautiful and uniform.

BTW, you can check out the videos and hear song clips at her official website: http://www.emmabuntonofficial.com/

Free Me was release this time last year in the UK...and i'm waiting for baited breathe for the new Geri Halliwell CD due out very soon.

I haven't paid much attention to her, but i seen the video for "Maybe" and thought it was a really cool video and song....

ehuffnsd said:

American audiences just caught wiff of this album in January of this year. "Free Me" has pretty much been pushed and promoted in the rest of the world. On her site it says that she's already finishing up on her next album which should be out by the end of this year.

And for Americans, that means 2006 or 2015. ::raspberry::

I remember being intersted in this as an import (it was released either last year or possibly late 2003) but I still haven't bought it. I'll get to it sooner or later.

ehuffnsd said:

Me too. "Ride It" is amazing!

JANFAN4L said:

I didn't quite understand the fact that it was released here (the first solo Spice CD to see a release this millenuim!) but not really push it. Thus the trouble with pop music. Dannii's "Neon Nights" got the same treatment (although I think it was pushed on clubbers...it's often available only in places that have a seperate section for "dance" music and Ultra is a dance label that releases compilations and stuff like 4 Strings).

VinnyM27 said:

I remember Emma promoting the album when it was released in the U.S. earlier this year, appearing on Howard Stern and in other places. The video for "Free Me" is availble for viewing on AOL's music on demand channel so it's not as if there was no promotion at all.

spelling edit
[Edited 5/4/05 14:00pm]

sextonseven said:

Dannii was on Howard as well and while that is promotion, is it really good promotion. Howard is great and enteratining but does he really help anyone sell CDs....especially female pop artists? I guess there was some promotion but sadly but there could have been more (and I don't blame her or the label...I blame the media, which is not very receptive to female pop singers anymore).

sextonseven said:

Yeah. She did some promo in the major U.S. cities. I know she did some in-store appearances at some record shops and meet-'n'-greets at dance clubs in Los Angeles.

VinnyM27 said:

Emma's last new LP... Anastacia's... Javine's... Jamelia's... Sophie Ellis-Bextor's... Kelis' and Nikka's headlining gigs... it goes on and on.

They say we don't embrace these kinds of artists in the States, so why bother distributing it? Bless Europe with the headlining gigs, full singles and videos. We don't get sh*te. I have to come out the pocket $30-$40 bucks per import just to get (what would sell here as) a regular $12.99 CD.

Case in point —- We didn't get talks of a headlining Kelis tour until 3 or 4 years into the girl's career. Europe got blessed with full headlining shows for Kaleidoscope and Wanderland while folks in the U.S. had to settle for seeing her a** open up for friggin' Britney Spears. Matter of fact, we STILL haven't been given a headlining show... and we're post-Milkshake*!

JANFAN4L said:

The fact that there was no attempt at a follow up single to "Milkshake" speaks volumes!

VinnyM27 said:

Well, in the U.S. we did get a domestic printing of "Trick Me," but no video.

Europeans got blessed with videos and full-fledged maxisingles for the former and "Millionaire."

I don't know who's to blame for the girl haulting promotion on "Tasty." Maybe she's fully-enwrapped in the newlywed life.

Alasseon said:[quote]

JANFAN4L said:

Thanks for the info!

Believe it or not, she always seemed like of the SG's with the most promise.
I thought the same thing.....
And she soooo sexy!!!!

funkpill said:

Indeed.

She's grown into quite an attracive woman. I saw her video a couple of times on VH1 a few months ago. It was a a nice retro knockoff of the 60's British mod period. Unfortunately, it disappeared rather quickly. Apparently, since she didn't have some thugged out rapper like 50 Cent in the video or crunk thing like Lil' Jon scraming "Yeeaaahh!" in her video, it didn't do so well over here.

728huey said:

That has befallen many a great track in the past few years.

VinnyM27 said:

Dannii's new single is set for a June release. And she will be in San Fran performing over mermoial day weekend.

i think more Americans would be into this kind of music just that no one wants to take a risk and try promoting it.

Sometimes i think it's a homophobia thing.

VinnyM27 said:

on her site they have samples of hte new songs and of the new video for Desire.
http://www.geri-halliwell.com/

ehuffnsd said:

I'm almost certain the the death of dance pop (and the "murdering" of remaing female gay icons) is certaintly a homophobia thing. It's all about hip-hop, which is almost the exact oppposite of dance. But I'm sure there is no connection between that, Clear Channel and Bush....

ehuffnsd said:

Matter of fact, when Emma was promoting this record in Los Angeles she largely tried to embrace the gay male community. She did a lot of promo in West Hollywood (L.A.'s gay ghetto).

I remember "free me". very breezy, but ? Just too lite for me.

VinnyM27 said:

I really hate it, but it's true. Rap and thug-oriented music is what kids are GENUINELY and TRULY buying in America nowadays. It's what's vogue to music consumers. I love dance pop, but you'll find a hard time seeing it top the charts here unless, A) you feature a rapper, B) either that and/or have your single made by a hip hop producer or C) it's very urban with hard beats.

Bye bye, dance pop. Enter "urban pop."

Prime examples: Lindsay Lohan's "Privacy (Rumours)" was straight-up urban pop. If you threw a black vocalist on that track it would be R&B. Hard, hard beats. Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" was urban pop. You don't have too much light, airy stuff on the radio anymore. You won't hear a song like Amy Grant's "Baby Baby" hit it big in 2005. Folks are calling Gwen's "Harajuku Girls" corny and that has some serious Minneapolis funk undertones*!

JANFAN4L said:

Emma is cute, but that is not her. No way are her legs that long. This is just like those new Kelly Osbourne pics.

sextonseven said:

Hmmm... if you look closely at her legs, I do notice some intense airbrushing. Looks like Photoshoppers hard at work. Look at her thighs, too. You can see were they took away some meat from her legs and added more black background.

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[Edited 5/5/05 7:35am]

JANFAN4L said:

She still sexy....

There's a nice world ambient track she did on the "Saint Tropez: Côté Plage" compilation called "Coquillages & Crustaces."