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Rating: The Sugababes managed, during the last decade, to carve out a very respectable niche in the multifaceted English pop scene of a thousand and one synths, a significant piece of well-produced popular music that was, however, swept away by a series of changes and replacements that were far too annoying and entirely detrimental to the integral purity of one of the most creative and prolific girl groups in the English-speaking world.
The trio, originally composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan, and Siobhán Donaghy at the launch of the Sugababes project, debuted with One Touch, but it was only with the arrival of the more promising and charming Heidi Range - replacing the discreet Donaghy - that they inaugurated a series of chart hits with the subsequent Angels With Dirty Faces, Three and Taller In More Ways; in 2006, satisfied with a long list of top ten hits at home and abroad and triumphing with the first greatest hits collection Overload, the Babes couldn't preserve the second (and more lucrative) lineup, losing all the original members of the band along the way: initially, the defection seemed limited to Mutya Buena, but later involved the last of the founders - Keisha Buchanan. The reorganization, also pushed by managers and record labels, led to the inclusion of new Babes who were overly attractive and had modest charismatic potential in terms of creativity and musicality; sales numbers declined, and their last effort, Sweet 7, confirmed the failure of the new formation, completely detached from the intrinsic value of their beginnings.
Yet, despite the confusion and devastation due to continuous replacements, the Sugababes 1.0 and 1.1 should be counted among the brightest stars in Her Majesty's mainstream context. Almost on par with illustrious female quotas in music like All Saints, Mis-Teeq, and Girls Aloud, the Babes were able to effectively break the persistent link between girl groups and trashy and/or teen music, an annoying cliché tending to associate the aforementioned groups with the 90s bubblegum wave of the Spice Girls. In short, with the advent of the new millennium, all this feminine pop goodness left behind the frivolous and ever-changing multicolor nature of the Spice Girls, leaving droves of feverish teenagers behind. Gone, then, are the school dance sounds ala Britney and the Disney-influenced newcomers to make way for a blend between the black trends made in the USA and the genuine Anglo-European underground tradition.
The Sugababes, in my very debatable and refutable opinion, have better interpreted this change of direction in the female pop universe, producing a good handful of studio works with various facets. Angels With Dirty Faces, second album and first with the blonde Heidi, was the jack-of-all-trades of this sort of "neopop," an album extremely rich in sounds and full of tones, shades, and moods, from the cheeky R&B-Hip Hop winking at the overseas gangsta babes to chart-topping alternative, through classy electronics, sprightly punk-rock, and some bold garage-trip hop nods. The result manifests in a well-crafted composition, well-produced, a refined pop that flirts with major magazines, fierce chart competitions, but also the more discerning palates and the most skeptical and stubborn ears, especially in the often too glossy and flashy mainstream environment.
From the very beginning of the tracklist, entrusted to the gritty and feline synth-rock of Freak Like Me, the album roars with huge creative potential: from the electro-freaky Round Round - a classic of the Babes - transitioning to the fun and glittery punk-hip hop of Virgin Sexy, to the mischievous techno-funky of Supernatural and the avant-garde dubstep-R&B experiment of Blue. The already rich table is completed by Stronger, a touching ballad with synth undertones, the ghetto-glitch mischievous electronic of Angels With Dirty Faces, the acoustic-unplugged closing parenthesis entrusted to Breathe Easy (Acoustic Jam) and the melancholic Shape, a sort of midtempo-tribute to Shape Of My Heart, interpreted by the veteran Sting nearly a decade before.
It's sad when a great pop project falls to pieces due to the capricious "I wanted, strongly I wanted" of the majors and the necessary decline into the abyss of excessive attractiveness and sexual-erotic overexploitation to replace good "music for all tastes" done well, with passion and determination. Still, this very enjoyable album remains, a work conceived without too many superficial aesthetic planes (just look at the artwork of the covers of the first works to support this thesis), but with the convention of producing a tasty work accessible to pop lovers, maybe a bit mischievous and teasing, yet devoid of the stifling fiery red, the main common denominator of a music biz where the split between creative validity and the visual-representational proposal of projects seems impossible to achieve.
Sugababes, Angels With Dirty Faces
Freak Like Me - Blue - Round Round - Stronger - Supernatural - Angels With Dirty Faces - Virgin Sexy - Shape - Switch - More Than A Million Miles - Breathe Easy (Acoustic Jam).
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Freak Like Me (03:15)
Let me lay it on the line
I've got a little freakiness inside
And you know that a man has gotta deal with it
I don't care what they say
I'm not about to pay nobody's way
Coz it's all about the dog in me
I wanna freak in the morning
Freak in the evening
(just like me)
I need a rough-neck brother that can satisfy me
(just for me)
If you are that kinda man
Coz baby I'm that kinda girl
I've got a freaky secret
Everybody sing
Coz we don't give a damn about a thing
Chorus:
Coz I will be your freak until the day
Until the dawn
And we can (pump pump)
All through the night
To the early morn'
Come on and I will take you round the hood
On a gangsta lean
Coz we can (pump pump)
Anytime of day
Its all good for me
Boy you're moving kinda slow
You gotta keep up now
There you go
That's just one thing that a man must do,hmm
I'm packing all the flavas you need
I got you shook
Up on your knees
Coz it's all about the dog in me
I'm gonna freak in the morning
A Freak in the evening
(just like me)
I Can rough-neck brother that can satisfy me
(just for me)
If you are that kinda man
Coz I'm that kinda girl
Ive got a freaky secret
Everybody sing
Coz we don't give a damn about a thing
Coz I will be your freak until the day
Until the dawn
And we can (pump pump)
All through the night
To the early morn'
Come on and I will take you round the hood
On a gangsta lead
Coz we can (pump pump)
Anytime of day
Its all good for me
Coz I will be your freak until the day
Until the dawn
And we can (pump pump)
All through the night
To the early morn'
Come on and I will take you round the hood
On a gangsta leabn
Coz we can (pump pump)
Anytime of day
Its all good for me
its all good for me
its all good for me
all good for me-e-e-e-e
02 Blue (03:55)
I guess I saw through you
I've seen your colours blue
Trying to join me when I'm on top
Observing what I do
But then you weren't around
I was down and in the ground
Do you remember shut your mouth
Don't wanna hear your sound
Don't you try it?
I'm not so forgetful
Your colours are rather dull
It's never gonna be
that picture that you want
Of being seen
Blue
That's all you do, Play with people's mind
Two faced, I wasn't blind
Blue
You are a fool because you lost me
I thought that we were cool
Blue and that is deep, I can't be asked
Blue and that is you, and that's too long
Blue, don't you see your colour's wrong
You've been there for too long
I see it going on
You've been faking trying to be my friend
When all along you're out there trying to set a trend
I've, I've only got one word for you
And every word is true
The colour that suits you is blue
(Yeah, ohh, mmm)
You are sleazy and two faced
I can't believe I missed
What you were all about
Trying to use me but your games ran out
You can't take advantage of me
My eyes are open now
Trying to use me to get in my crowd
You're all about the hype
When you see me on TV
Two weeks later talking my name
You're the one to blame
Then you try and dress like me
Talk like me; are you crazy?
What are you trying to claim
For you I've got one name
Blue
That's all you do
Play with people's mind
Two faced
I wasn't blind
Blue
You are a fool because you lost me
I thought that we were cool
Blue and that is deep, I can't be asked
Blue and that is you, and that's too long
Blue, don't you see your colour's wrong
You've been there for too long
I see it going on
You've been faking trying to be my friend
When all along you're out there trying to set a trend
I've, I've only got one word for you
And every word is true
The colour that suits you is blue
(Rap)
You think you're too heavy
Trying mess don't fuck with me
Can't you see that your games ran out
In the beginning all you did was doubt
Didn't know that I'd catch your game
Couldn't fit in my crew anyway
Now if you don't know
I may give you a clue
You're lame
You're broke
Let the fellas take a stroke of the skit that you are
Use the fellas for the cars
Use me for my bra
And she thought you would scar
Hell no, I'm selling records
Got no time for the haters
Got them shook up with my lyrics
When I'm fluffin' with my digits
Wanna hate me
Wanna be me
Got me vexed
Got me so angry
'Coz I'm doing my dream
Don't screw so blue
(chorus - repeat to fade)
03 Round Round (03:57)
Round round baby, round round
Spinning out on me
I dont need no man
Got my kicks for free
We'll ride still fired on the beat down low
I dont need nobody but my honeys when i go
Round round baby, round round spinning out on me
I dont need no man got my kicks for free
When you stare at my face
You're messing with my brain
If you try to convince me then you better think again
If you move to the music the music's got to give
If it's too complicated thats the way i wanna live
If you hate me I will show you
How to break me into something new
If you want me run away now
If you stop me then i'll hit the ground
and we go and we go
Round round baby, round round
Spinning out on me
I dont need no man
Got my kicks for free
We'll ride still fired on the beat down low
I dont need nobody but my honeys when i go
Explanations no you dont need one
Having a good time, getting down to fun
And its your time just tonight he'll be mine then he's gone
People movin', bodies groovin', never ending
Players are changing
Dont you worry bout a thing
All you need is a fierce sting
All my girls are here with me
Whiling out they've got their needs, do you feel me, do you feel me.
Round round baby, round round
Spinning out on me
I dont need no man
Got my kicks for free
We'll ride still fired on the beat down low
I dont need nobody but my honeys when i go
Round round baby, round round
Spend the night on me
I dont need no man
Got my kicks for free
We'll ride still fired on the beat down low
I dont need nobody but my honeys when i go
Does it hurt when u see how i've done without you
You thought that i couldn't belong
Never thought that you could be so cruel
All you need is some friends
Won't be by yourself
Lets go round and round and round and round and round
Round round baby, round round
Spinning out on me
I dont need no man
Got my kicks for free
We'll ride still fired on the beat down low
I dont need nobody but my honeys when i go
04 Stronger (04:00)
I'll make it through the rainy days,
I'll be the one who stands here longer than the rest,
When my landscape changes, re-arranges,
I'll be stronger than I've ever been
no more stillness, more sunlight,
everythings gonna be alright
(bridge)
I know that there's gonna be a change
better find your way out of your fear
if you wanna come with me,
then thats the way its gotta be
(chorus)
I'm all alone and finally,
I'm getting stronger
you've come to see
just what I can be
I'm getting stronger
sometimes I feel so down and out
like emotion thats been captured in a maze
I had my ups and downs
trials and tribulations
I overcome it day by day
feeling good and almost powerful
a new me, thats what im looking for
(Bridge)
(Chorus)
I didn't know what I had to do
I just knew I was alone
people around me
but they didn't care
so I searched into my soul
I'm not the type of girl that will let them see her cry
its not my style
I get by
see I'm gonna do this for me
(repeat chorus till fade) im getting stronger, im getting stronger......
05 Supernatural (03:37)
Love comes and love goes
And who knows what life holds
Love is as love does
So don't ask for too much
Don't sit back and let your heart just break
'Coz what you give is what you take
Love is as love was before
So you ought to know
(Bridge)
All the universe is looking to fall in love
But you gotta first find yourself
to love someone else
(Chorus)
Supernatural, international
unstoppable, that's just how it goes
It's practical, It's actual
It's a fact that everybody wanna be loved
Supernatural, international
Unstoppable, that's just how it goes
It's practical, it's actual
It's a fact that everybody wanna be loved
Everybody, everybody wanna be loved
Love stays and love leaves
Love can get ugly
I trust you, you trust me
Love can be trust free
Don't sit back and let it pass you by
'Coz you don't miss the water 'till the well is dry
So love me, I'll love you
Before we do, you ought to know
Bridge
Chorus 2x
Hurts so good
It hurts so bad
Love is better when you feel passionate
Tastes so good
Just how it should be
Love is better when it's bittersweet
Do you think that you control
How love should go?
Chorus 2x
It's a fact that everybody wanna be loved, yeah
06 Angels With Dirty Faces (03:48)
Keisha,Mutya,Heidi
I'm confused, I don't know
Wich way do I really go
This guy is fly
But another one pass me by
Stuck in the middle in this spot
That he's too damn hot
shall I choose the one
With the heavy car or not
'Coz nothing ain't serious
see I'm only seventeen
And I wanna be mysterious
Naughty,sexy on the creep
Never sleep
Won't reveal the sneaky side of me
All day and night and I creep out
I think about who I'm gonna go and link up
Don't think that I'm innocent, baby
'Coz this is driving me crazy
Tell me what do you see
I'm not an innocent girl
Chorus:
You don't know where we go
And you don't know
That we're angels with dirty faces in the morning
You don't know we've been on the down low
You don't know that we're missing to the morning
I' say that I'm the kinda of girl
You'd say is shy
But I don't think that's the answer
you'd hear if you asked my guy
I'm just a girl who likes to let it go
Party with my ladies 'till dawn
Still don't just let it go
Move your heads to the beat
And shake it down like you never did before
Move a little closer come with me
I'll show you the place to e
That's what he said to me
Chorus 2x
We're the type of girls don't think
Just say everything we want
We know we'll get our own way
Sexy, classy
don't think you'll put it past me
Angels in the day
But at night could be nasty
Keisha:Wanna have the fellas locked on ice
Mutya:Wanna play around with them like dice
Heidi:He didn't know I was a freak until he met me after dark
He tought this girl was chic
Chorus 2x
You don't know where I go.....
08 Shape (04:10)
I live my life in chains
Got my hands in chains
And I can't stick with the cards
That I got with a deal
Like this I must insist
That a girl's got more to do
Then be the way you think a woman should
I'm taking it into my own hands
In this man's land I can understand
Why I'm taking command
Had enough of stuff
And now it's time to think about me, me yeah
''And you can easily gamble your life away
Second after second
And day by day
You play the game or you walk away
It's a new turn on a blue day
And a cool deal of life for me
And it's all good''
'''I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier
I know that the clubs are weapons of war
I know that diamonds mean money for this art
But that's not the shape of my heart'''
I've always played it safe nothing's ever safe
Give me the courage to back my own convictions
Every decision I make I pay it back and more
Now turn the cards and let them fall to me
Cos I don't need to play on with the hand that they have given me
I'll give it back cos it's not the way it has to be
''And you can easily gamble your life away
Second after second
And day by day
You play the game or you walk away
It's a new turn on a blue day
And a cool deal of life for me
And it's all good''
'''I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier
I know that the clubs are weapons of war
I know that diamonds mean money for this art
But that's not the shape of my heart'''
That's not the shape
The shape of my heart
My heart
That's not the shape of my heart
''And you can easily gamble your life away
Second after second
And day by day
You play the game or you walk away
It's a new turn on a blue day
And you can easily gamble your life away
Second after second
And day by day
You play the game or you walk away
It's a new turn on a blue day
And a cool deal of life for me
And I'm feeling good''
'''I know that the spades are the swords of a soldier
I know that the clubs are weapons of war
I know that diamonds mean money for this art
But that's not the shape of my heart
But that's not the shape
Thats not the shape....
The shape of my heart'''
09 Just Don't Need This (03:30)
Look across the room
I see some guy
Steaming over me
He's smirking sleazy
Probably be older than daddy
Since you smiled
My expression has changed
Come any closer
Things will be constrained
I walk pass looking good
Doesn't give you the right
To put that hand where you think that you should
Chours
Not this girl, not this world
Just step off, had enough
You're no good, I'm no fool
I just don't need this
Not this girl, not this world
Just step off, had enough
You're no good, I'm no fool
I just don't need this
I don't want any man to tell me what to do
Anyone to say to me my feelings are not true
For your information
I maintain my station
Feel so incredible
Don't need no man to tell me where to go
Cos this is all you know
chours
Not this girl, not this world
Just step off, had enough
You're no good, I'm no fool
I just don't need this
Not this girl, not this world
Just step off, had enough
You're no good, I'm no fool
I just don't need this
I'll go wherever I know that you won't go
I don't have to tango with your ego
And it's just because I said so
They way I'm feeling now is mental
The problem first starts in your dental
I can't believe they let you in 'dis place
But have they seen the look on your face
chours
Not this girl, not this world
Just step off, had enough
You're no good, I'm no fool
I just don't need this
Not this girl, not this world
Just step off, had enough
You're no good, I'm no fool
I just don't need this x2
11 Switch (03:37)
He's nothing special
Don't need his dough
Settling down what is that a joke
You're feeling his best friend
Your ex bores you
Cos he started to ignore you
He starts his speech
Tell him not to preach
Always talking out of his ass
What's the point of that
He's not on your level
Like the new man - the fly man
The man who really understands
Remember a good way
To get out of an old thing
Is to jump into a new thing and
Switch
If he don't deliver
You just ditch
Grab another lover
Scratch your itch
From dusk till dawning
Until that new guy has you yawning
Switch
If he don't please you
You just ditch
Find someone to tease you
Makes you itch
Freaks you till the morning
Until this new guy has you yawning
Saome old thing the TV
The video he's got to know
Conversations growing old
You've heard those jokes - they're cold
Could he think that the kiss on the text
Means a pizza then action attraction
He's got it all wrong
Remember a good way
To get out of an old thing
Is to jump into a new thing and
Switch
If he don't deliver
You just ditch
Grab another lover
Scratch your itch
From dusk till dawning
Until that new guy has you yawning
Switch
If he don't please you
You just ditch
Find someone to tease you
Makes you itch
Freaks you till the morning
Until this new guy has you yawning
Hanging around on borrowed time
One strike out you ain't mine
So just get your style in check
I move one ex to the next
Everything he does beats you
So I'm jumping another queue
Please just get your style in check
I move one ex to the next
Ooh yeah
Switch
If he don't deliver
You just ditch
Grab another lover
Scratch your itch
From dusk till dawning
Until that new guy has you yawning
Switch
If he don't please you
You just ditch
Find someone to tease you
Makes you itch
Freaks you till the morning
Until this new guy has you yawning
Switch
If he don't deliver
You just ditch
Grab another lover
Scratch your itch
From dusk till dawning
Until that new guy has you yawning
Switch
If he don't please you
You just ditch
Find someone to tease you
Makes you itch
Freaks you till the morning
Until this new guy has you yawning
Oh yeah
Switch
If he don't deliver
You just ditch
Grab another lover
Scratch your itch
From dusk till dawning
Until that new guy has you yawning
Switch
If he don't please you
You just ditch
Find someone to tease you
Makes you itch
Freaks you till the morning
Until this new guy has you yawning
12 More Than a Million Miles (03:23)
You and I
We belong
if we choose 2 get along
still we always bring our bullshit home
time is passing us by
holding onto you tight
I ain't letting go
I just want you to know
(bridge)
you and me together is should work
but your mind is in another universe
your ambition is a thing I like to see
let me know, let me know
if you can find some time for me
(chorus)
How can we be strong
when the road is more than a million miles long
when the song is done
will the love be gone?
or should we forget it
get it, don't sweat it
regret it
I ain't with it
let's quit it, quit it
Is it red, is it green
am I stuck in between
It ain't black or white
just aint feelin right
but it ain't what it seems
can you say what you mean
tell me why this always happens to me
(bridge)
(chorus) 2x
Missing you lately, all of the time
all you seem to do is argue
make up your mind
come to my yard
bring all the man dem
the broke ass niggaz
with all the fake gems
communication, that's what we need
all the silence makes my heart bleed
all you wanna do
sit and burn weed
no R E S P E C T
tell me what happens to our quality time
everytime we meet
you're bringing trouble to my mind
A good man is hard to find
maybe we should dead this
come back rewind
(chorus) 2x
13 Breathe Easy (acoustic jam) (03:58)
I don't know how many times we've walked the streets
Talkin' for ages about the people we're gonna be
We've been waiting for a change
But I don't mind if it don't change baby
Though it might seem crazy
But I'm happy with you this way
(Bridge)
And don't you know that you're a part of my heart
And these emotions that I got from the start
Are still with me babe
And I'm trippin above my words to say
(Chorus)
No one ever told me life could be this sweet
Breathin' easy, breathin' easy
It's time we should be givin' in
No one ever told me life could be this sweet
Breathin' easy, breathin' easy
We talk about the places that we intend to be
But if we were there would you be you
And baby would I be me
I don't wanna be somewhere
And realise this feeling's gone
I'm lost in these tenses
Confusing my senses
Tomorrow is taking too long
(Bridge)
(Chorus)
If I was a little wiser maybe
I wouldn't leave this road 'cos I've been
Out of this moment too long
I gotta find my way home
(Repeat chorus to fade)
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