Another You, Another Me

They said they wanted to do something different from what they did in Steps, yes, they might also have done a bit of that, though apparently that's just something you have to say when starting something new, because that didn't seem what they really wanted. Why couldn't they then do the Steps thing completely with this duo effort of theirs? Anyway, it's a very good album brought down only by abundance of dull ballads, bad track ordering and bad single choices. With a better order, dumping some of the ballads and including the DJ B-side Over You, this would be an easy 10. A great improvement from Steps, however, is that they've began to use modulations! From Steps I only remember Buzzz as a track having one.

#1 All Out of Love 10

A totally Stepsy track that's almost better than the real thing. Very One for Sorrowish and After the Love Has Gonish, with some great additional dance elements. Musically the ideal opening track, if not philosophically. And the video is very good. I think I must be so boring as to declare this as my favourite track.

#2 DJ 8½

Well they managed to chart #3 with this but I still think it was a bad choice as the first single, since it only demonstrated some S Club imitationality and has an overall cheap feeling, though no Cry Baby of course, even if this is where the expression "an H & Claire track" comes from. Probably this shouldn't have been released at all.

#3 Another You, Another Me 9

This slowly-graspable title track should've been buried somewhere deeper in the album. It's classy all right, after all, it's real ABBA material, but it's not one you'd appreciate right from the first listening.

#4 Beauty And the Beast 7

I'm okay with remaking this track and its release because it was for a real cause, the DVD release. But still I'm not sure I'd have even included it on the album, not to say anything about placing it in the beginning. At this point the listener considering to buy or not to buy gets bored and walks out of the record store.

#5 Half a Heart 8

And things don't get any better even by the fifth track. This is an okay album track but as a single a total miss. Sure they wanted to show they could do something different, they did, and so did their listeners.

#6 All I Want Is You 9½

Only here things really get going. This could've made a really good single, why not even the first one? Quite Anastaciaish but who cares if it's good?

#7 Centre of My Heart 9½

Another very potential single that someone compared to Lene Marlin.

#8 You're a Love Song 7

The good going comes to an end in this abhorring ballad. I wonder if I've ever even listened this completely?

#9 Two Hearts Beat as One 8½

The beginning is sooo Carpenters! But which song of theirs especially... maybe Close to You? Must check. If I got to choose which ballads to throw away, this would be somewhere on the edge, only being allowed to stay if nothing better was available.

#10 No Turning Back from Here 9½

This is just the kind of good basic material this album should have more. If I don't remember wrong, this was one of their own works. I just love the "falling for the fire" line...

#11 Nothing at All 10

One of the very highlights of the album - track #11? Unbelievably bad planning. This could also have qualified as the first single. Maybe if I'd have had to choose four singles from here, they would've been 1) All I Want Is You 2) All Out of Love 3) Centre of My Heart (w/ B&B if necessary) and 4) Nothing at All, or then with numbers 1 and 4 reversed. Now the general public never got to hear the best parts...

#12 There You Were 8½

I remember reading this would be their personal favourite. I don't understand why. It's not so bad but not so good either.

#13 Invincible 8½

Strange beginning that turns out into the best ballad of the album.

#14 Too Close to Tears 9

The last truly redeemable track, in many ways comparable to NTB, also their own composition. They should've taken some of the ballads and arranged them this way to get a much better result.

#15 Let Me Carry You 6½

A very bad ending to the album. The "ketkutteleva" background and clapping don't help the doomed track at all. The lyrics make it even worse. "Let me carry you, so you can carry on"... ugh.