The Sugababes Discography Rate
- Thread starter beyoncésweave
- Start date
So @Mina/the last set of scores have done fucked up the leaderboard
- the rate leader for the past five weeks has suddenly plummeted down the leaderboard
- the current rate leader keeps flipping with every new set of scores
- 21 songs have received one or more 11s
- the song with the highest number of 10s is ... not winning
- the song with the highest number of 11s is ... also not winning
- three whole albums are shut out of the top 10
- Oh, and THERE ARE NO ALBUM TRACKS IN THE TOP 10. THINK ABOUT THAT.
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Poor Amelle.
Solenciennes
Staff member
The Taller In More Ways write up is great, of course, but I fundamentally disagree with It Ain't Easy and Bruised being the dip in quality; for me the dips in quality are Joy Division (meandering), Gotta Be You (not one you can really sing along to) and Obsession (uninspired).
The most iconic rate villain returns in flamboyant style. I approve.
Ace Reject not making the top 10 is a DIS-A-STUH.
londonrain
Staff member
Okay, who are these people who are not giving Ace Reject 10s and 11s?!
londonrain
Staff member
How many voters have submitted their scores so far, @beyoncésweave?
I have been letting my scores stew to see if they would change over time and to give myself time to write commentary - but to be honest it looks like they are what they are (although the whole conversation about Maya did make me sit and look at that score again).
I have been letting my scores stew to see if they would change over time and to give myself time to write commentary - but to be honest it looks like they are what they are (although the whole conversation about Maya did make me sit and look at that score again).
Y'all (rightfully) concerned about "Ace Reject", but:
- "Just Let It Go"
- "Promises"
- "Conversation's Over"
- "Maya"
- "Can We Call A Truce"
londonrain
Staff member
As strong as the album tracks are, I will gladly sacrifice all five of those if it means Ace Reject will take its rightful place in this rate (which means at a MINIMUM top three).
I'm going to take the fact that "Conversation's Over" isn't in the top 10 as evidence of how strong the singles are.
I'm assuming we're not getting anything like "Maya" being outperformed by "Wear My Kiss" or presumably you'd have had some sort of meltdown by now.
Fix it people!
he/him
There are indeed good songs here, but most Top 10s only have 2-3 album cuts at most. So if we know the #1 album cut is not represented the whole thing is already a mess.
She/Her
I haven't sent my scores in yet and "Ace Reject" is now and forever my 11, so that should help. (You'll get them by Sunday, @beyoncésweave, I promise!)
Ahem,
Change came at a critical time for the Sugababes. The first full album with a new lineup needed to prove that the band could continue to be a coherent and successful pop entity when arguably its most recognisable member had left. On the face of it, Change succeeded. The lead single “About You Now” topped the charts for four weeks and is the band’s most successful single in the UK. The album itself became their second consecutive album to début at #1, breaking all manner of airplay and downloads records.
As its lead single signalled, Change represents a doubling down of the pop direction the band had undertaken in Taller In More Ways, which was clearly a winning formula. Whilst there are smatterings of dance pop and R&B thrown in, the album maintains a steady focus on the mainstream pop sound at the time. Unlike its predecessor, however, it doesn’t hit enough peaks to . The result is that what appears as glossy, almost bubblegum-y pop quickly loses its sheen. If Taller was the band drawing even with the mainstream pop sound, then Change represents the band falling slightly behind, for the first time in its history.
Structurally, Change is a deficient, and in many ways disappointing, album. A large part of it is cast-offs from the Taller era, rerecorded by the new lineup, and this shows. Tracks like "Back When", "Surprise" and "Back Down", forming the album’s third quarter, come off as lazy and uninspired. By and large, the album commits the worst sin in pop, of being boring. This is despite the number of collaborators, who on paper suggest fruitful offerings, but end up offering limp pastiches of their previous work. Even the Xenomania offerings, “Never Gonna Dance Again” and “My Love Is Pink”, while perfectly serviceable, pale in comparison to the production outfit’s previous collaborations with the band.
The problem with the album is that it sounds like it could’ve been sung by anybody. For a band that had staked its career on an inordinate uniqueness, this was not a great position to be in. This seeming air of generic-ness was enough to raise concerns about the band’s future direction. It’s not that Amelle fits in badly with the band either; vocally she was extremely proficient and more than able to keep up with Keisha and Heidi, and she certainly suited the new image the band was pursuing. It’s more that the material was severely lacking. In the back of your head, you also wondered, however, if Mutya took something essential about the band with her, not the least the quality her vocals lent to elevating even the blandest material.
Change, however, is not a complete write-off. “About You Now” and the title track, while not quite in the same class of the band’s exemplary lead-single bangers and soulful ballads, respectively, are nonetheless both accomplished affairs. Third single “Denial” is in particular an unexpected, silky slice of pseudo-disco inspiration. A handful of album tracks, the Xenomania tracks and “Undignified” among them, also manage to prop the album up.
For me, Change is the only Sugababes album that I’d classify as truly average. It has the perverse function of making the two albums on either side of it appear better. It makes Taller’s pop veneer seem even glossier and more inventive, and it makes Catfights and Spotlights, with its drastic change in sound, seem like a positive revelation.
Change came at a critical time for the Sugababes. The first full album with a new lineup needed to prove that the band could continue to be a coherent and successful pop entity when arguably its most recognisable member had left. On the face of it, Change succeeded. The lead single “About You Now” topped the charts for four weeks and is the band’s most successful single in the UK. The album itself became their second consecutive album to début at #1, breaking all manner of airplay and downloads records.
As its lead single signalled, Change represents a doubling down of the pop direction the band had undertaken in Taller In More Ways, which was clearly a winning formula. Whilst there are smatterings of dance pop and R&B thrown in, the album maintains a steady focus on the mainstream pop sound at the time. Unlike its predecessor, however, it doesn’t hit enough peaks to . The result is that what appears as glossy, almost bubblegum-y pop quickly loses its sheen. If Taller was the band drawing even with the mainstream pop sound, then Change represents the band falling slightly behind, for the first time in its history.
Structurally, Change is a deficient, and in many ways disappointing, album. A large part of it is cast-offs from the Taller era, rerecorded by the new lineup, and this shows. Tracks like "Back When", "Surprise" and "Back Down", forming the album’s third quarter, come off as lazy and uninspired. By and large, the album commits the worst sin in pop, of being boring. This is despite the number of collaborators, who on paper suggest fruitful offerings, but end up offering limp pastiches of their previous work. Even the Xenomania offerings, “Never Gonna Dance Again” and “My Love Is Pink”, while perfectly serviceable, pale in comparison to the production outfit’s previous collaborations with the band.
The problem with the album is that it sounds like it could’ve been sung by anybody. For a band that had staked its career on an inordinate uniqueness, this was not a great position to be in. This seeming air of generic-ness was enough to raise concerns about the band’s future direction. It’s not that Amelle fits in badly with the band either; vocally she was extremely proficient and more than able to keep up with Keisha and Heidi, and she certainly suited the new image the band was pursuing. It’s more that the material was severely lacking. In the back of your head, you also wondered, however, if Mutya took something essential about the band with her, not the least the quality her vocals lent to elevating even the blandest material.
Change, however, is not a complete write-off. “About You Now” and the title track, while not quite in the same class of the band’s exemplary lead-single bangers and soulful ballads, respectively, are nonetheless both accomplished affairs. Third single “Denial” is in particular an unexpected, silky slice of pseudo-disco inspiration. A handful of album tracks, the Xenomania tracks and “Undignified” among them, also manage to prop the album up.
For me, Change is the only Sugababes album that I’d classify as truly average. It has the perverse function of making the two albums on either side of it appear better. It makes Taller’s pop veneer seem even glossier and more inventive, and it makes Catfights and Spotlights, with its drastic change in sound, seem like a positive revelation.
––
For your consideration: “Denial”, “Undignified”
For your consideration: “Denial”, “Undignified”
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I can't say I disagree, really. But let's be honest... there's quite a lot of pop acts where "their sixth-best album" would mean it was a turdpile, and Change is a long way from being that. Plus, it certainly starts off well with five pretty great songs - it was only the back half that killed its average for me.
Yeah, I mean, there's a whole lot more pop acts who don't even have a sixth album. This is purely compared to the Sugababes' own standards, which, as it turns out, are rather high.
Solenciennes
Staff member
Change would have been better if it had stuck to the pop-rock sounds it explored in About You Now, Surprise, Back Down, 3 Spoons of Suga... or it had stuck to the glossy pop sounds continued from Taller in the form of Never Gonna Dance Again, Denial, My Love Is Pink, Change, Back When, Mended By You, Open The Door, Undignified... it's a smashing together of two types of album that are incongruous and that doesn't even go into the quality of the tracks on the album which vary wildly. It doesn't really have any lows for me, just more than a fair share of average tracks compared to previous albums.
londonrain
Staff member
Open The Door and Undignified are the unexpected highlights on this one. I like Change and have fond memories of buying on release, but it doesn't displace Taller In More Ways for me as my favourite Sugababes album. I used to use Change as my regular gym album for a couple of years after it was released.