Search - Girls Aloud :: Sound of the Underground

EVEN SLICKER THAN THE ORIGINAL RELEASE - STILL AWESOME!!!

Hernan Igot | Maryland, USA | 12/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I know I've already made a review for the original release of "Sound Of The Underground," but would it hurt to make another one? I'll just make individual comments on the newer/more improved tracks and contents which make this new re-release edition a superior version of the original. If you wanna see the complete track-by-track guide of all the other original tracks, see my review for the original album. Well, okee, I'll do a small runthrough of all the older tracks. "Sound Of The Underground" still sounds extremely fresh and funky with its drum 'N' bass rhythm. "No Good Advice" is still feisty and caustic with its rocky "My Sharona" beat. "Life Got Cold" is still more subdued, but is a nice acoustically-driven touch to the album. "All I Need (All I Don't)" is still really funky with its new wave/disco/electro-ed up beat. "Mars Attack" is still hilariously delirious and upbeat with its chaotic spacey uptempo. "Girls Allowed" remains the same diva club stomper that it has always been. "Love/Hate" may still be "Sound Of The Underground"'s sonic twin, but it's still hyper and feisty. "Boogie Down Love" is still claustrophobic and super hyper with its crazy boogie-down electro beat. "Stop," with its mix of jukebox-ish influences and electro, is still a lot of fun as well. "White Lies" is still a moody, more electro version of a Britney Spears/Max Martin track. The original parts of the album remain immaculately intact in all their electro-pop glory. Here's the new stuff:



4. "Jump" - A roaring electrofied party dance/pop track, it's actually a really good cover. I mean a lot of people have slagged this particular cover to be weak and characterless; I think it still showcases the bite in Girls Aloud's group persona. It's fun, carefree, and has enough electro production in it to make it edgy-sounding while still fun! I like the stop/start electro beat portion in the end.



5. "Some Kind Of Miracle" - The newer, much more improved (single) version of this song betters the original by making it tighter and more accessible. While the original version is more unpolished, this one is polished to the max, taking its potential to the great, shimmery, almost Go Go-ish electro-pop/rock gem it's supposed to be. Also, the vocal arrangements have changed, with Nadine singing first. It's always good for her to start off songs because she has the strongest, most distinctive voice of the group. It's got more beeps and bleeps and with tighter, more focused electro-pop/rock production.



8. "You Freak Me Out" - One of the nicest touches of this new-and-improved album is a safe, giddy pop/rock track that's reminiscent of '80s happy pop/rock lite. It's not as immediately agressive as the other Girls Aloud tracks, but it's still good fun (the lyrics can be a bit dumb, but it can be forgiven with its infectiousness)!



10. "Forever And A Night" - The supposed newer version of the track isn't as different from the original as "Some Kind Of Miracle" was to its original. You can tell that the producers probably added a few more electronic beeps to make the production more cohesive with the album's glossy electro-pop package (although subtly added). The ballad is still striving to be epic, but it's not bad at all. It's a welcome addition, but unnecessary: it's disposable.



15. "Girls On Film" - Even though this track was a B-side to one of their singles, it's always a welcome addition to the album because it fits right beside the other electro tracks. It's no surprise that this track is another electro-pop showcase, but is still a good cover nonetheless. It's more light and electro-pop than the original, but it's still all in good fun. Like the "new-and-improved version" of "Forever And A Night," it's an unnecessary track to make the album more complete, but it's always a nice touch.



16. "Sound Of The Underground" (Video) - The cool thing about this release is that it's enhanced with three music videos from the first three singles. Their very first video, one of "Sound Of The Underground," shows them already in full bloom as 5 saucy chicas. It's odd that right after Sugababes released their tornado club concept video for "Round Round," Girls Aloud did a similar "trapped in a club while performing" video for "Sound Of The Underground." It's a well-executed video, thankfully not monickering them as another cheesy pop girl group sonically and visually.



17. "No Good Advice" (Video) - Probably the feistiest music video from the feistiest single of "Sound Of The Underground," this video fits the song perfectly because it all emphasizes the idea of having a cheap thrill. While "No Good Advice" almost sinfully (yet with such ingenuity) takes the beat to "My Sharona" and makes it its own, the video's basically a super retro '80s rip-off with the whole fading effects to make it seem cool. Not the most expensive production in both parts, but one of the most effectively potent concauctions GA have released musically and through video.



18. "Life Got Cold" (Video) - A stark contrast from the video before it, "Life Got Cold"'s video stems from probably the blandest release from their debut album. While the song is no way bad at all, the video seems like it could have dangerously been close to being too damn cheesy for its own girl group promotional purposes. Thankfully the attempt to make the girls seem all pouty and worried with the icy blue lighting saves the video from total cheesiness. It's basically a video that shows how pretty, yet ginger the girls can be as well.



All in all, the new album gets rid of three really awesome bonus tracks from the original, but we get some awesome extras to compensate!"