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Hot Melanie B (Virgin) 4 Stars
EVEN within the protective vocal cocoon of the Spice Girls at their over-produced height, Melanie Brown's contribution was always identifiable in the silky-smooth mix. Note-perfect but with a tangible edge, she - along with the equally talented Melanie Chisholm - was always a shoe-in to go it alone at some point.
What might have been harder to divine, however, was which direction Brown would embark upon. Her two-year-old debut single I Want You Back - surprisingly left until late in this record proper - was a jaw-dropping collaboration with Missy Elliott, a spidery, discordant hip-hop itch that combined spacey innovation with pop smarts.
And while there's nothing else quite as vital on her...