None of Girls Aloud albums been made as Special Edition like this packaging until Out of Control cause by no doubt this is the Girls Best Album so far,
It includes massive hits! Such as "The Promise", "The Love Kind" which was produced by the Legendary "Pet shop boys"
And believe me by saying MANY MORE HITS.
It's a mix of Dance and Electronic groove hits, Some how familiar to Madonna's Confessions on a Dance floor!
The Deluxe edition comes with a DVD pack, Including HQ glittering pictures and 2 CDS, The first CD contains the tracks of the album, And the second one containing the making of Out of Control, Amazing and truly worth every penny.
Out of all 5 studio albums (plus 1 greatest hits and singles boxset), "Out Of Control", Girls Aloud's most recent studio album from late 2008, could be their best...then again, picking their best album is tough because they're all great. See, Girls Aloud is not your typical girlgroup who puts out some killer singles and the rest of their albums consist of filler, and they're deemed a guilty pleasure.
Nope, not Girls Aloud!! Honestly, they are a 21st century Shangri-La's or Ronettes, equally loved by pop fans and rock & roll/alternative music fans and critics. There's ART to their records, to their original, exciting take on pop music, and the girls are very involved with the writing, arranging and craft. The music is quite diverse, incorporating sophisticated British pop, dangerous rock & roll, exciting dance music, even dancehall reggae and other forms, plus they have excellent taste in cover tunes, AND they actually sing live, not lip-synch, unlike many US pop-oriented girlgroups. And the way they actually sing their songs is unique, intricately arranging their songs, each girl singing a line or part in the song and coming together on the choruses...they don't have 1 lead singer and they rest in the background, unlike most girlgroups. And, how many girlgroups can you name who were covered by Arctic Monkeys and inspired Franz Ferdinand to want to work with their production team?? Didn't think so. Plus they sound even better than they look, and their looks are modelesque-stunning.
Anyhoo, back to the subject at hand...Girls Aloud's "Out Of Control". On this 12-track stunner, they incorporate sounds of 60s pop to wonderful effect, along with their electronic touches and more...here goes:
1- "The Promise", a #1 single in the UK, their 4th, and it sounds like a 60s Burt Bacharach song Swing Out Sister would do...love it.
2- "The Loving Kind", their collabo with the Pet Shop Boys, and it's killer pretty & sounds like a song they would do, and it was originally going to be on their current album, "Yes", but they weren't feeling it as much, so Xenomania gave it to Girls Aloud.
3- "Rolling Back The Rivers In Time"...lovely, harmonious, well-written pop song...didn't like it as much at first, but it seriously grew on me.
4- "Love Is The Key"...shoulda been a single, period. Killer, Nancy Sinatra-influenced 60s pop strutter, and even features a harmonica solo at the end by one JOHNNY MARR, guitarist with the Smiths and Electronic, a Britpop legend on a GA song...like a seal of approval. And as for the lyrics, which are fun, it's not "tiles & curtains", it's "TOWELS & curtains"...just sayin'.
5- "Turn To Stone"...LOVE this song...has a cool electronic, 80s feel, a bit Kylie-ish on the chorus...sorry that one reviewer didn't care for it and found the chorus snoozy...to each their own, I find it sublime.
6- "Untouchable"...BIG TIME SUBLIME...I could listen to this song on repeat for hours and not get sick of it, it's so gorgeous...and the 6 minutes plus running time feels like 30 seconds, like you're on a floating pillow or something...and I LOVE the video.
7- "Fix Me Up"...at first it was a skip-over for me, but it grew on me a lot...it's like GA's take on funky R&B, but it actually works and it's a fun song...still, if I had to pick a song to skip over, it would be this one, and even more so, following right after the sublime "Untouchable", like a crash down to earth...I still like it, but it's just not a highlight of the album for me...it would sound better next to another song really.
8- "Love Is Pain"...for some reason, melodically, it sounds like "The Bad Touch" by the Bloodhound Gang...ya know, that funny, juvenile song "You & Me, we ain't nothing but mammals, so lets do it like they do it on the Discovery Channel"...which is a good thing, as that song and this one have a great melody in an electronic arrangement, along the lines of "Turn To Stone" but more aggressive...like it a lot.
9- "Miss You Bow Wow"...catchy catchy catchy fun fun fun...and silly & hilarious too...like the "999 get a doctor" lines too...and it holds up as a killer pop tune, 60s in flavor, one of their best moments...shoulda been a single.
10- "Revolution In The Head"...Girls Aloud's take on dancehall reggae, and it works...just not as well as the better songs on the record, like "Untouchable"...I still like it but don't love it.
11- "Live In The Country"...complete with fun animal noises, it's a better song than it first seems, and the chorus stays with you...although, in a way, it should have been a country song.
12- BONUS TRACK "We Wanna Party"...their second cover of a song off Lene from AQUA's lone solo album from 2003, "Play With Me"...the other one is "Here We Go"...both those songs were the only 2 produced and written by/with Xenomania, and as that album tanked, Brian/Miranda/etc probably wanted to salvage those songs by giving them to their most successful clients, Girls Aloud, instead of have them die unnoticed in obscurity...OK, here's the thing..."Here We Go" was perfect in both versions...it's just a great song, period, and no one could damage it, espesh not our Girls...as for "We Wanna Party", Lene's version was just OK and the song was a little on the weak side...the Girls tossed it around, beat it up, molded it into shape, and basically did what they could with it...they DID improve it, but the song is still just OK, it's a better version, it is likable, but should have been a B-side, not an album closer.
Overall...out of 10, I'd give the album an 8.5 to a 9...it's one of their best albums, if not their best one yet...a couple of weaker spots, but most great albums have weaker spots to give the album ebb & flow, otherwise...if it was all highlights, it would wear out it's welcome more quickly, and those spots give the album more character...so there we go.
Looking forward to the Girls' next album, end of 2010, after their little hiatus.
Part 2...just got the deluxe edition, and honestly, you need both versions for all the pics, BUT this deluxe has full lyrics, lots more OTHER pics of the girls, and the key part, a second CD featuring interviews and commentary...it's cool, 1 track, 29 minutes long plus change...and features demo versions of the songs as a work in progress...the girls comment on it all, and it's a fun listen, not a onetime listen...I like how it's Sara who says those who bought the regular album already, hardcore fans as she calls us, who wants a collector's item, this is it. They comment on their fave songs on the album, The Smiths' Johnny Marr on "Love Is The Key", the Pet Shop Boys on "The Loving Kind", and while doing this interview, they haven't seen the album yet, and as it's presented to them, they let out a collective scream of excitement. I love their accents and it's nice to hear who's who.
Overall, great record, their best one yet, but this package is a real treat and limited, so if you're a fan, get this edition, or both for all the pictures.
Album points received/max = 57/60 = A+
12 trax: 5x12 = 60.
60/5 = 12, 12 stars = 1 letter grade.
57 stars, A+, another masterpiece..
Breakdown:
The Promise *****5
The Loving Kind *****5
Rolling Back the Rivers in Time *****5
Love Is The Key *****5
Turn to Stone *****5
Untouchable *****5
Fix Me Up *****5
Love Is Pain *****5
Miss You Bow Wow *****5
Revolution In The Head ****4
Live In The Country ***3
We Wanna Party *****5
End thoughts: Interesting 3 GA albums in a row now, that have scoring a 57. While all of the last 3 album scored the same, a turn has been taken on this album towards mid tempo, is this possibly a turn towards a more adult pop sound?? As the girls fanbase matures? Fans who were 20 when they began are now 25, fans who were 25 are now 30. Whatever the reason for the change, I like it. This really could be a classic pop album for the ages. GA does it again.
