Life in Mono [IMPORT] [LIMITED EDITION]

Emma Bunton

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 11, 2006)
• Original Release Date: December 26, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Limited Edition
• Label: Universal Import
• ASIN: B000KJTDF4
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #110,833 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Limited Edition UK-only pressing of the 2006 album from Emma Bunton (AKA Baby Spice) features three bonus tracks: 'Something Tells Me (Something's Gonna Happen', 'Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps' and Por Favour'. Life In Mono is Emma's most honest album to date, an intimate reflection of Emma's life and loves that reveal more than she was ever expecting. Musically it sounds like a rich pop album even at first listen, with rich orchestral backing, gorgeous harmonies and the sort of chorus' Burt Bacharach could be proud of. It moves from the stunningly tender 'All I Need To Know' to cheeky jazz of 'Undressing You' and the luscious Carpenters style of 'I'm Not Crying Over Yesterday's' . Above all it captures Emma's thoroughly modern take on elegant 60's Pop. Universal.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Next Chapter, March 27, 2007

By	L.D. Mit (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Life In Mono continues in the same vein as Free Me... sort of.

While there are a few tracks with that same sun-drenched bossa nova sound (Mischevious, He Loves Me Not), this is not Free Me II, but the next chapter of Emma's journey. The album opens with a lovely ballad, "All I Need To Know"- gutsy move! Next, the title track is a cover of a song by the group Mono. Where the original was like a dark music box tune, here it's been reworked like a James Bond theme (Anyone else think Ms. Bunton should REALLY do a Bond theme?).

The standouts are "I Wasn't Looking (When I Found Love)" and "Take Me To Another Town", both with catchy melodies and lush cinematic orchestrations. On "Undressing You", and especially the bonus track "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps", Emma shows she can convincingly go from sweetie to seductress in a heartbeat.

As wonderful as Free Me was, Life In Mono is a more mature affair. This is music for grown-ups, for lounging around on lazy Sundays or sultry late nights. Once again, Emma has proved her talent. She has found music that suites her voice perfectly, and she delivers it with sensuality and class- a rarity in today's popular music.

It remains to be seen if this album will be released stateside as Free Me was, and if it will be sucessfully pitched to the American market, which might too easily mistake it for "Easy Listening", which it most certainly is not. Let's keep our fingers crossed. We need more music like this.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A SERIOUS POST-SPICE MASTERPIECE, March 15, 2007

By	P. Ambrose (Brooklyn NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I can only echo what the other reviewers have said: this release is a masterpiece. Everything about it - I am in awe of this recording and cannot stop playing it. What a voice! What delivery! What production! THANK YOU EMMA!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Almost a Pop Masterpiece, April 25, 2007

By	Cabir Davis - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Its really ironic that the most 'untalented' of the Spice Girls bunch would consistently provide us with such good material into the 2000s. Her last album "Free Me" was a classic that still finds plays on my Ipod.

1. If you love 1960s 'girl-group' melodies, you will love this.
2. If you like film-noir, and the soundtracks to the James Bond and Austin Powers series, you will love this.
3. If you like very poppy verse-chorus-verse, you will love this
4. If you're into Bossa Nova, Brazilian beach pop, and a little bit of reggae, you will adore this.

At its best, this sounds like a lost soundtrack to some 1960s French masterpiece by Truffaut. Very "Umbrellas of Cherbourg" but with a lot more zest and pep. You really have to get it and find out what I'm talking about.

The only downside is that the opening track is the weakest here, so many people may be put off. Do get this and discover a fabulous artist you may have neglected until now just because of her "Spice Girls" tag.

To sum up, Emma is a million times more accomplished and a real artist when compared to the remaining Spice Girls. This one album is better than all the others' solo releases combined. Seriously.