This is another review of mine from the archive. I hope you enjoy reading it.

First of all, thank you for your interest in reading my review.

Artist Name: Girls Aloud

Album Title: Sound Of The Underground

Genre: Pop

Release Date: 2003

Track Listings:

1. Sound Of The Underground 2. No Good Advice [Clean Version] 3. Some Kind Of Miracle 4. All I Need (All I Don’t) 5. Life Got Cold 6. Mars Attack 7. Stop 8. Girls Allowed 9. Forever & A Night 10. Love/Hate 11. Boogie Down Love 12. Don’t Want You Back 13. White Lies 14. Love Bomb (UK Bonus Tracks)

15. Everything You Ever Wanted (UK Bonus Tracks)

Total Running Time: 53:50 Minutes

Official Website: http://www.girlsaloud.com

Mention Girls Aloud to me, I say the new Spice Girls. Well, come to think about it, I would call any new 5 member girl group Spice Girl wannabes.

The band Girls Aloud consists of 5 similar looking girls. I do not know the history of the girls but believe that they were formed from one of the reality TV talent shows or something like that. The members of Girls Aloud do not stand out with personal identity like what the Spice Girls were with Ginger, Posh, Sporty, Scary and Baby. However, they do manage to sell records.

I am reviewing the UK limited edition release version of the album. So, certain tracks might not apply to the original release.

The CD cover features five of the girl in matching modern silver outfits with microphones on stands in front of them. The back cover has a picture of the five earlier mentioned microphones without the girls as the background and has text of the track listings. The booklet has individual pictures of the girls but unfortunately, no lyrics. I hate it when there are no lyrics. It feels like that I have been ripped off somehow but with the internet these days, it is easy to find the lyrics. I have listed the websites below. There are also two separate inserts in the CD, one is for the Girls Aloud Fan club membership form and the other one is instructions on how to purchase Girls Aloud Ringtones. The ring tones are quite pricey with the monophonic tones being ₤1.50 each and polyphonic being ₤3.00 plus the cost of a text message. If you really fancy them and would like to have them on your mobile, visit their website.

Another amazing feature of the CD is the enhanced feature. I am always impress by new things. Pop the CD in your CD-Rom drive and the program called Revoice Studio will automatically launched. This will allow you to sing along Karaoke Style with the Girls. The program also records you singing and plays it back with the video covering their voices. So, you and your mates can make your own Girls Aloud Video. Amazing, ain’t it! (Attention: I do not use the program, I am just impress with it, I wished that Linkin Park would have done something similar with their CD)

Here is my review of each track of the album.

1. Sound Of The Underground (Running Time: 3:41)
My mate first introduced me to this song and to be honest, I quite like it very much due to its catchy tune and electronic drum and guitar sounds. The song title was also something different. If I am not wrong, the song was release for Christmas 2002 and was a hit. The album is named after this track. If you have the chance, surf to their website to watch the video. They won a Disney Award with this song. This track rates 10/10 for bringing them into the Music World.

2. No Good Advice [Clean Version] (Running Time: 3:48)
This is the song that you can sing along with the Revoice Studio program. The track is about the parents giving No Good Advice expressing that they are old enough to make their own decision. Here is the lyrics snippet “Daddy Told Me Look Into The Future, Sit in Your Computer and Be A Good Girl?. There is also a cool video accompanying this song. The video features the girls in the same outfit as what they were wearing for this album cover. Although there are similarity beats to the first single, Sound of the Underground, this track rates 10/10.

3. Some Kind of Miracle (Running Time: 3:09)
A little bit more showcase of vocal talent than the previous electronic sounds. It is an easy sing a long song. It is less noise than other songs and it still has the Girls Aloud trademark in it. This track rates a 8/10.

4. All I Need (All I Don’t) (Running Time: 3:39)
This is just an average track from the girls. The tune is ok and the background music tends to compete with the girls singing. You will need to struggle a little bit to clearly hear what the girls are mumbling about. It rates a 6/10.

5. Life Got Cold (Running Time: 3:55)
This is one of their hits and happens to be another single from the girls. I like the beginning where a guitar is being use giving a little bit of acoustic feel to it. It is a more sentimental side of the girls. It should be an easy listening track but the trademark of Girls Aloud’s electronic song makes it a little bit loud for a soft track. However, it is a good song and rates a 9/10.

6. Mars Attack (Running Time: 3:24)
No, this is not the soundtrack to the Movie with the same title. This song is another electrically generated track which is a little bit more upbeat than the previous tracks. The loud electronic sound is balanced well with the vocals and you can easily dance to this track. It rates a 10/10.

7. Stop (Running Time: 3:37)
This is not a cover version of the Spice Girl’s single that did not make it to # 1. Instead it happens to be an announcement track by the girls to the society where Girls Aloud will always be on top. This song is very catchy and should be added to your play list if you have one. It should have been released as a single. This song rates a 9/10.

8. Girls Allowed (Running Time: 3:24)
A very interesting title but no so interesting track. It has the background music like many DJ use to remix their track. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a nice song to listen to and blends well with other track arrangements on the album. It rates a well deserve 8/10.

9. Forever & A Night (Running Time: 3:14)
Another soft song from girls aloud and a much softer one than Life Got Cold. This song is expressing the love of a girl to a guy of her dreams. A love song that all girls should dedicate to their loved ones. I would fall in love with a girl if she was singing this song to me. This song rates 10/10.

10. Love/Hate (Running Time: 4:38)
This song is not as good as other tracks. I am starting to get sick of the generic electric sound of Girls Aloud. I do think that this is a good song but shouldn’t have used that much electronic sound as the background music. It rates a 5/5.

11. Boogie Down Love (Running Time: 4:05)
This is possibly one of the worst tracks in the CD. I am really getting sick of the generic sound that Girls Aloud has been repeating in almost every track. It might work well for certain tracks but the girls should have decided to add more variety to the album. It rates a 4/5.

12. Don’t Want You Back (Running Time: 3:20)
This song is another softer track that features less of the electric sound. It features more vocal talents and should be placed a little bit earlier in the track arrangements. It arrived in the perfect time as I was about to get really sick and go see the music doctor about the Generic Electric sound from the girls. It rates 8/10 for saving me from overdose of electronic sounds.

13. White Lies (Running Time: 4:02)
The final track if you own the non UK limited edition version. It is also a soft track from the girls. Remember when I mention soft in this review, it is soft in the Girls Aloud definition where it is not like 2 Become 1 from Spice Girls. It has more beats. It rates 7/10.

14. Love Bomb (UK Bonus Tracks) (Running Time: 2:55)
Bonus Track number 1 that is a fun track from the girls with virtually no singing. It is all only rhyming. However, it is a good tune and fun to listen to. You will have fun and is good song to play to kids. It rates 8/10.

15. Everything You Ever Wanted (UK Bonus Tracks) (Running Time: 2:55)
The final track which happens to be the 2nd Bonus Track is a good song but it doesn’t standout like Sound Of The Underground or Life Got Cold does. The good thing about this song, is that it warms you down from the excessive Girls Aloud song that is a great finale to a good debut album from a Girl band. It rates 7/10.

I bought the CD from HMV at Trocadero for an amazing low price of £2.99 during one of the sales. Well, it was worth every penny. Do make sure that you get your hands on the Limited Edition version as it costs the same as the regular one but has more value to it with two extra tracks and software. If you already have the earlier release, don’t waste on buying this one. It is just two more tracks extra and the software.

If you do not listen to Pop music and have never liked the Spice Girls, avoid this CD. It will spoil your CD collection. But if you are in denial that you were not a previous Spice Girls fan, give this CD a try.

Purchase This CD: Well, the CD is available in all good music stores like HMV, Virgin Megastores and Tower Records and can also be purchase online from the following websites. – http://www.amazon.co.uk – http://www.virginmegastores.co.uk

– http://www.hmv.co.uk

Get it 2nd hand from -http://www.amazon.co.uk (marketplace)

-http://www.ebay.co.uk

Try to get the CDs during sale period like Summer Sale or Christmas Sales. You will definitely grab a bargain. If you are a student, use your NUS card to get 10% off non sale items at HMV or use your virginstudent.com card to get 10% off at Virgin Megastores. NUS cards can be obtained at your University’s Student Union and the Virginstudent.com Card can be obtained at Virgin Megastores for free.

Other useful music related websites:

Lyrics Search
-http://www.lyricsearch.com – Lyrics Directory

Watch Music Videos -http://www.launch.co.uk – Yahoo’s UK Music Directory (dotmusic.com) -http://www.findvideos.com – Video Link Directory

-http://www.mtv.co.uk – MTV UK Official Website

I hope this helps. Well, feel free to leave me a message on my guestbook or comment on my review. I look forward to receive constructive feedback on all my reviews. If you post a question, I will try my best to reply it.

Have A Nice Day!

Thanks.

Benny Ong