Music review: Emma Bunton – 鈥橫y Happy Place鈥�
Looking to add a little spice to your daily routine? The new release from Emma Bunton should do the trick nicely.
Bunton, better known as Baby Spice of the Spice Girls, drops her fourth studio album and first since 2006鈥檚 鈥淟ife in Mono.鈥�
鈥淢y Happy Place鈥� offers 10 sugar-sweetened pop arrangements featuring the 43-year-old singer covering eight of her personal favorite songs as well as recording two new original compositions.
Co-written by Bunton, 鈥淏aby Please Don鈥檛 Stop鈥� opens with a playful and sexy vibe as Bunton sings about unexpectedly falling in love by confessing, 鈥淚鈥檓 not the infatuation kind/But it happened from the moment I met you.鈥�
Bunton also shares the writing credits on the breakup track 鈥淭oo Many Teardrops,鈥� a smooth throwback to the glory days of Motown with Bunton sounding like a young Diana Ross.
鈥淚 Only Want to Be with You鈥� pairs Bunton with Will Young on this elegant acoustic cover that deliberately slows down the pace in contrast to the versions recorded by Dusty Springfield in 1964 and Bay City Rollers in 1976.
Bunton returns to familiar ground when she is joined by English pop star Robbie Williams for a high-spirited performance of 鈥�2 Become 1鈥� from the Spice Girls.
The classic Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell number 鈥淵ou鈥檙e All I Need to Get By鈥� gets a fresh infusion of love from Bunton and her beau Jade Jones. Originally written by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, the remake does a wonderful job of capturing the spirit of true love and commitment to another.
鈥淐ome Away with Me鈥� finds Bunton channelling the enchanting vocal style of Norah Jones and a cover of 鈥淓motion鈥� by the Bee Gees features Bunton sounding like vintage Olivia Newton-John.
For 鈥淒on鈥檛 Call Me Baby鈥� by the Australian duo Madison Avenue, Bunton strips away the electronic dance beat and turns it into a celebration of female empowerment as Bunton sternly sings, 鈥淵ou know I don鈥檛 belong to you/It鈥檚 time you knew I鈥檓 not your baby/I belong to me.鈥�
The album comes to a sentimental close with a charming version of George Harrison鈥檚 鈥淗ere Comes the Sun,鈥� the song playing when her son was born.
鈥淢y Happy Place鈥� is a guilty pleasure you will want to visit again and again.