Content area
Full Text
Spice Girls "Forever" 2 stars
Want to hear the sound of a bubble going pop?
Put on "Forever," the third album from the Spice Girls.
Now a quartet, the Spice Girls dumped their nicknames and signed up hot-shot producers, including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, to craft a new, mature record and take them away from the pure fluff that made them a teen smash in the mid-'90s.
They've got a plenty grown-up sound this time, but there's not one trace of the spark that made "Spice" and "Spice World" such guilty pleasures. Instead, they come off as just another bunch of pop R&B singers indistinguishable from about a zillion wannabes.
The distinct lack of fun and notable lack of energy make "Forever" one of those records that's kind of a drag to listen to -- not terrible, but absolutely unexciting.
Attempts at uptemo, funky sounds such as the single "Holler" fall flat almost instantly, and even more generic cuts such as "Let Love Lead the Way" never even manage to catch the ear.
There's a little sexual spice on "Forever" and plenty of we're- together-forever bonding among the...