Some recording artists occupy a particular moment in time, indelibly fixed in the minds of the public. For Gina G, the summer of 1996 will be forever her moment, when she had a worldwide smash with ‘Ooh Aah…Just A Little Bit’. She had been the first overseas artist to represent the UK in the Eurovision Song contest and, despite coming seventh, the record became an unstoppable party anthem, defining that summer. The platinum-selling monster hit cast a long shadow but, almost ten years on, what can we expect of Gina?
When a new album release is accompanied with a plea to record reviewers to be kind, you wonder what shape the album is going to be in. Fortunately, it turns out there is no such need for concern with Gina G’s new album, Get Up and Dance. It does exactly what it says on the can and possibly (ooh aah) just a little bit more.
We expect a frothy, gay-friendly, upbeat Eurovision-esque, dancefloor-orientated collection and that’s exactly what Gina has put together.
‘Heaven’ is the confident album opener: a masterfully crafted dance anthem mixing some pounding electro beats with an ambient melody. Not unlike Erasure’s Abba covers but with a more industrial feel, this is a little harder edged than we’d expect of Gina.
‘Shock to The System’ is closer to the fluffier pop we know from the Aussie singer, with a Girls Aloud style chorus and a hint of Eastern flourishes here and there.
One criticism of Gina’s records is that previously they have occupied an incredibly narrow genre: disposable, feel good and slightly unsophisticated party fodder. The album Fresh traversed a very small territory of disco, but thankfully this new album has a more eclectic mix of dance genres.
‘Where Would You Be Now’ confounds the limitations of the past as Gina serves up a fine slice of a Latino flavoured r’n’b track that easily could have graced Jennifer Lopez’s Play album.
Bringing the tempo down a little whilst raising the temperature, from the hot and steamy introduction of ‘Tease’, Gina slivers about in a seductive little number that’s bound to inspire an orgy of bump and grind on the dancefloor.
Textbook Ms G is provided with the traditional hi-energy ‘Into The Night’, clearly drawing its lineage from ‘…Just A Bit’ without ever quite matching the infectiousness of the glorious original.
If you imagine Madonna’s old hit “Where’s The Party” and cross it with the sadly-defunct popsters Steps, you’ll get the general vibe of ‘Stuck On You’ – one of the less inspired efforts on the album, feeling contrived and manufactured, rather than naturally effervescent.
‘Walking In The Rain’ is the first of two contrasting ballads. It is effortlessly smooth with a light r’n’b feel not dissimilar to some of the tracks from the Spice Girls’ final album, Forever, but with the unexpected appearance of a short and inconsequential male rapper.
Gina’s personal favourite song is ‘Girl In Trouble’, akin to Britney’s ‘Everytime’, she delivers sweet vocals over a tender backing of piano and acoustic guitar.
Although pleasantly done, having both ballads back-to-back runs the risk of Gina being sued under the trades description act for calling the album Get Up and Dance. Thankfully the beat is rediscovered with the funkfest ‘Little Black Book’. Sounding like a recovered gem from the Five Star back catalogue, Gina gives a respectful nod to Janet Jackson with the backing vocals chanting about who is making “that nasty noise”.
One of the most convincing tracks comes with ‘Kinky’, a breathless tease of a song with a nursery rhyme chant for a chorus. It sounds as if Gina has lifted a leaf out of the La Halliwell school of pop, albeit with a wilder beat than the other Ginger singer goes for.
The fantastic retro, 70s feel wakka-wakka guitars of ‘Get Up’ and the hint of Gina’s Australian accent coming through conjure up reminiscences of Kylie’s great Stock Aitken Waterman moments. This becomes even more pronounced in the final new track ‘Flashback’ which is an affectionate reworking of Minogue’s ‘Step Back In Time’ anthem.
Originally published 10th October 2005
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