Northern Star [EXTRA TRACKS] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED]

Melanie C

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 10, 2000)
• Original Release Date: October 10, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording reissued
• Label: Virgin Records Us
• ASIN: B00004Y7WU
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #49,523 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The longtime Sporty Spice has apparently put in many hours listening to Garbage over the past few years; that band's techno-guitar meld and sassy female vocals cast a long shadow over Northern Star, Melanie C's first solo album. Replete with cropped hair, a nose ring, and tattoos (real? temporary?), the C-girl leaps fearlessly into alt-rock, admirably ignoring the potential for incongruity. Her vocals may be surprisingly strong, but her songs (written in collaboration with TLC's Lisa Lopes, Ray of Light coproducer William Orbit, and a raft of other pros) are less so. Indeed, "Why" does the rain fall from the sky? C takes time out from slavish Shirley Manson worship to indulge in widescreen balladry ("Closer") and Small Faces-esque Britpop ("Suddenly Monday"). What all this adds up to isn't an embarrassment, but it's hardly a convincing style change either. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best post-Spice Girl release, March 17, 2004

By	Andy Orrock (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm a US-based middle-aged male who (quite sheepishly) can name all five Spice Girls. Chalk it up to pop culture awareness rather than anything musical. I never really cared for their tunes. However, I got hooked on the soundtrack to "Bend It Like Beckham" and I was struck by Mel C's excellent contribution to that effort, "Independence Day" (especially when compared to ex-bandmate's Victoria Beckhams's "I Wish," included only probably as a quid pro quo favor for getting husband David's name up on the marquee).

You can't find "Independence Day" on any Mel C stateside album (or import for that matter), but given her reputation as "the only Spice Girl that can acutally sing," I thought it was worth the effort to track down one of the erstwhile Sporty Spice's solo efforts. This import version of 'Northern Star' is worth seeking out. It's widely acclaimed as the best post-Spice Girls outing.

Okay, that's not exactly like comparing Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison's post-breakup efforts, but still - 'Northern Star' stands on its own merits. Favorites are leadoff tune "Go!," dance club fav "I Turn to You," and Garbage-influenced (as noted elsewhere) "Ga Ga." One complaint - echoed elsewhere on these pages - is that the mix of styles is *so* diverse (Mel's desire to please, I guess), that someone's bound to be disappointed along the way. For example, fans drawn to "I Turn to You" will do their utmost to skip the ballady title track and the handful of others like it.

All in all, a very good effort.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This 'Star' Shines, September 15, 2001

By	Chris S. "cscotts" (atlanta, ga United States) - See all my reviews

While four of the past and present Spice Girls have released solo projects, none has been as ambitious as that of Melanie C's first outing NORTHERN STAR. Distancing herself from her group's penchant for cheesy yet catchy hooks, Mel covers a wide array of musical styles here--industrial-strength rock('Goin Down'), ambient disco('I Turn To You'), and hip-hop balladry('Never Be The Same Again'). A wise move was getting a clutch of strong producers(William Orbit, Rick Nowels, Rick Rubin, to name a few)
--even when the lyrics border sophomoric and insipid('Ga Ga', though incessantly catchy, suffers from this), the first-rate production and Mel's strong vocal work manage to save the situation. We all knew she was the only Spice that could carry a tune(with the possible exception of Emma Bunton), but she goes far and above on alot of the tracks, turning in first-rate work throughout. If the set loses some of its steam toward the end (as filler begins to rear it's head), it's still highly listenable. A promising solo start.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sporty outshines them all!, February 6, 2005

By	Miss Dane (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews

Ah the first 'Solo Spice who was still a Spice' CD to be release! Geri may have beat her but Melanie C really showed her up with her musical skills. 'Northern Star' is a VERY ecclectic CD. Almost every other track is a different genre and Melanie does well on all of them! This CD I do believe didn't crack the top 200 in the US *but* it spawned several #1's in the UK. I have no clue why it didn't succeed here, a lot of the stuff was good US material! I'm gonna bet its the accent...some American's like it some don't but either way its there and unchangeable.

'Northern Star' kicks off with 'Go' a bass heavy adrenaline rush that would probably give the impression that this is going to be a pretty 'rock' CD. I wouldn't call 'Go' fully 'rock' but its along those lines. Beautiful!

Next is the title track a mellow AC (adult contemprary) sounding warning tune. It takes aim at society and most likely the music industry but its very veiled so I cant say for sure.

From there comes what can officially be described as 'Rock' track: 'Goin down'. It's an ass kicking anthem rumored to be aimed at Robbie Williams. Lovely!

'I turn to you' sets out to confuse the first time listener further by going all 'dance' on them. Very sweet sounding though and it was one of her American hits. 'If that were me' goes back to 'Northern Stars' sound and thoughtful vibe. The theme of being homeless is actually really touching.

Next up is one of my favorite of all time tracks 'Never be the same again'. Left Eye did a rap on this and its one of my favorites by her! Very 'rnb' and why this wasn't a US hit (I dont believe it was even release as a single here) I have no clue...it COULD have been.

'Why' goes into a heavy 'rock' mesh. You can almost feel the sadness pushing in on you its that sincere! 'Suddenly Monday' feels like you just popped a prozac...LOL why that tracks follows 'Why' I have no clue but its intriguing! 'Suddenly Monday' is the '50's pop' sounding song. I love it to bits and the rough edit (with a 3rd verse) is even better...hard to believe but true!

By this point in the CD Melanie seems to have made up her mind genre wise: hints of rock and AC. 'Ga Ga' goes rock, 'Be the one' goes AC, 'Closer' goes a bit instrumental and AC, and 'Feel the sun' mixes rock and AC.

So to give this CD a genre I'd reaaallly say Adult Contemprary but thats just not truly fair when over half the tracks are something that doesn't belong with the other genre wise. However its all blended so well that by the time 'Ga Ga' kicks in and goes all Rock/AC your wishing she was experimenting more! 'Northern Star' is pure gold and really worth the $! One of the best Solo Spice CD's ever!