Review
The Spice Girls sold a lot of records. Geri Halliwell didn't.
On her solo debut, Northern Star, Melanie C, the Spice most likely to sing, aims to avoid the curse of solo Spice with a diverse collection of well-crafted songs. Although the Spice Girls show no signs of slowing down, and are in the midst of recording their third album, Mel C has lost the track pants and is sporting a cropped 'do and a somewhat superficial, yet cheeky, punk attitude.

Melanie may be the Northern Star "Liverpudlian" that she is, but she brought a host of talented producers and co-songwriters to insure her title remains intact. The Rick Rubin-produced "Ga Ga," which fans will recognize from the Big Daddy Soundtrack, is an excellent communion of pop and punk, while the William Orbit-produced "Go" has a retro space-age feel, underpinned by tremulous guitars.

Brashly honest at its heart, Northern Star is a fine pop album, and although collaborating is the recording fashion of the moment, in this instance it's helped an artist find her voice.