Victoria Beckham - Victoria Beckham (2001)

Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Pop
Label Number: 7243 8 11197 23
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© 2001 Virgin Records
Victoria Beckham Review by Matthew Chisling
As the new millennium dawned, Victoria Beckham -- often portrayed as the sexy serious Posh Spice -- remained a member of the hottest girl group of the '90s, the Spice Girls. However, as the world moved into the 2000s, the members of the quartet, Beckham, Melanie Chisholm, Emma Bunton, and Melanie Brown, were all making solo arrangements and recording solo tracks. Therefore, it was no surprise when Beckham released a debut solo album in 2001. What's interesting to note is that Beckham was often noted as the weakest singer of the girl group; her voice was often considered too wispy for solos when compared to that of Chisholm or Bunton. Therefore, many people were quite pleasantly surprised at the final product produced by Beckham and her support staff. Beckham certainly doesn't fill her album with power ballads. Rather, she has no problem abusing the voice box and digitally enhancing her voice. The result is an electric -- yet vapid -- set, which sounds like a computer recording. Beckham isn't a true artist on this album, and most of her personality is lost in the shuffle, yet the music is 100 percent enjoyable, with posh ballads (for lack of a better term), sweet uptempo songs, and bubblegum pop tunes that will have any girl or woman singing along in her bedroom. Most of the music blends together; the songs aren't necessarily individual hits (with a few exceptions, such as "Not Such an Innocent Girl" and "I.O.U."). In addition, many of the lyrics, when given a spoonful of attention, are laughable ("I'm not made of china, I'm not made of glass," Beckham coos to her man, suggesting she needn't be handled delicately.) Yet Beckham's often sexy lower voice keeps the album coy and mature, and not in a creepy way (perhaps mindful of the young girls who idolized her from her days as a Spice Girl). In fact, the majority of the songs are of the same caliber as the lesser-known Spice Girls tracks. If one feels that Beckham isn't trying to be a genuine artist, and that she is merely attempting to do her best as a singer, then this collection of over-produced yet strong songs is a pleasantly enjoyable set. However, as a full-fledged artist Beckham has failed, since her own songwriting is lacking and her voice is secondary to the music, which drowns her out in parts. It's all about perspective.

tags: victoria beckham, victoria beckham album, 2001, flac,