I bought this just yesterday and listened to it. Wow.. is there any other fan of the girls here who thinks this just may have been their best album ever?

It's consistent, it's well constructed (both the use of electronics and guitars are marvelous), the lyrics are the most confessional they've ever sung, they were involved more in writing and production, and their vocals sounded better than ever.

Yes, the version of "No Scrubs" here is the inferior one w/o Left Eye's rap, and "Unpretty" still sounds like something from the Lifetime channel, but "Scrubs"'s chorus is such ear candy I don't care that it repeats endlessly in the last 1/3 of the song, and at least "Unpretty"'s message is important and the video is both aesthetically and emotionally beautiful.

"CrazySexyCool" has all the timeless classics, but "Fan Mail", as a whole, might be the most accomplished work of their career.

squiddyren said:

im probably the one person here who agrees.
lovelovelove this album. it was the soundtrack to my senior year in high school.
the only thing is that left eye didn't like the album...
it WAS their only record to be nominated for Album of the Year (and DID win best R&B album) at the grammys.
i love every single song from top to bottom...except i miss you so much. the one filler IMO.
my faves:

silly ho
im good at being bad (the JAM. so should have been a single)
my life
shout
come on down
lovesick
automatic
don't pull out on me yet

CLASSIC!

was anyone else here lucky enough to go to the fanmail tour? awesome show...cant say i've ever screamed like a little girl when i saw someone come out on stage the way i did when i saw all three at once.

I agree with you all also. When they did Fan Mail, they moved forward and created more of a modern classic. The production truly sounds futuristic and soulful at the same time. It is their most accomplished full-length to date. Don't Pull Out On Me Yet is my personal jam on there! They lost me on their 2002 release, 3D, though, which is generally a sequel to Fan Mail.

Aww.. I love "I Miss You So Much".


Never seen the girls live, and now that Lisa's passed, there's a chance I may never get to. Ah well.

It's good but it has nothin' on CrazySexyCool. That was their best album of course.

I've always loved this album. I remember when it first came out people were saying it was so crap and they sold out but like Madonna's Erotica it seems to be becoming more liked as the years past. That's because it was ahead of it's time. I loved how they weren't affraid to experiment and set outside of their box. The Fanmail Tour was amazing and I wish more people would've saw it. It would've been great to see where the three of them would've went from there. I think they would've continued to experiment and had a long career. They were understandably nervous after the death of Left Eye and played it safe which led to a crap album. They had three classic albums though.

I don't think 3D was crap. In fact, it would have been their best LP had Left Eye lived to make a substantial contribution. It was eclectic and the songwriting, vocals, and production were all on point. Had Lisa's old raps not been haphazardly snipped and edited into songs where they didn't fit it would be on par with Fanmail. Why all the hate? Especially for the tracks:

Quickie
Girl Talk
Hands Up
Damaged
So Dumb
Give It To Me While It's Hot

Also, I can't understand why "Whoop De Woo" didn't make the final tracklist. Great song that was later only on the greatest hits.

I loved it too. I think it was a great come back, very electric/pop and soul.
I remember when Silly Ho came out, I think I was the only one feeeling the futurist Asian thing.

I have a video in my mind and everything. But of course, No Scrubs became the official first single.

i love love love this record! it was the first one i got by them (the only other i have is 3d) and i got it when it came out, still amazing! i used to play this nonstop when i first got it

badujunkie said:

Agree..

This is their best album, from begininng to end....

'Hands Up' was the jam...