I think we all know it's a little silly to have another Girls Aloud Greatest Hits Album that includes all of the hits from "The Sound of the Underground" forward. We already have The Sound of Girls Aloud. That album, arguably tied with Kylie's Greatest Hits from the '80s as THE GREATEST MUSICAL THING THAT EVER HAPPENED, encompasses the Girls' songs from about 2002-2006.
Now, since 2006, the ladies had a whole bunch of other hit songs from their albumsTangled Up and Out of Control. The logical move would have been to have Ten, the new Girls Aloud Greatest Hits Album, start from "Call the Shots" and include the newer hits that had never been on a previous compilation. The other tracks could be new songs and some awesome b-sides and remixes (Ten does include a bonus track of b-sides and etc., many of which fans already have easy access to. Rarer ones would be nice).
Actually, what the world obviously needs most is a Girls Aloud album of entirely new material. But this is not the time to be demanding, bitter, or petty.
So instead of what logic and our soul's deepest need call for, we have yet another rehash of the Girls' hits, from the beginning, with the newer ones tacked on, as well as four new songs. That last part is the important bit.
Let's overanalyze the new tracks, shall we.
1. "Something New" (the first single from Ten.)
It's nice to start out with an explosion of pure awesomeness, the likes of which has not been heard since "Something Kinda Ooh," though as far as Girls Aloud songs with "Something" in the title go, "Something New" might actually be the best one. This is a controversial statement, but I think I can stand by it.2. "On the Metro"
This is the extremely Nicola-centric one. There is nothing about that which is not exciting. I wish Nicola's first solo album had been more in this ilk, actually.
3. "Beautiful Because You Love Me" (The second single from Ten.)
Ballad alert! The best kind of ballad is a Girls Aloud ballad, of course.
The recent live performance of "Beautiful Because You Love Me" makes it obvious that this song deserves to be a #1. Additionally, it gives me an apt opportunity to discuss the girls in a live performance light. There are a few common misperceptions about certain members' live singing skills that tend to bother me.
First of all, it isn't that Cheryl can't sing live. It's just that almost every single time she sings live on television, she's extremely nervous for the first bit of her performance. She's very still and almost hunched, and her voice quivers with nerves. Then, if you pay attention, you will see her relax after a few lines, as happens here, and her voice straightens out.
Secondly, it isn't that Sarah can't sing live. I've actually always thought it was obvious that despite her odd kind of sidelining from the rest of the group, Sarah is a terrific singer. But in her past states of clearly being hungover, Sarah has been known to hit the occasional off note, as heard in the notorious live t.v. version of "The Loving Kind" that is truly cringe-worthy. A few mistakes do not undo Sarah's overall prowess as a great pop singer. She's quite interestingly low-key and on-point here.
Needless to say, Nicola is stunningly excellent here. Nadine and Kimberly are fantastic, too.
4. "Every Now and Then"
In the grand tradition of "The Loving Kind" and "Singapore," this is a charmingly mellow-retro ballad with some true loveliness to it. As the last new song on Ten, I like the subtle charm of this.
