More of the same, but some nice surprises

This review is for people who already know of Whigfield and are familiar with her earlier albums.



Was a Time is a decent return for 'Whiggy'. If you agree that all of Whigfield's albums do not vary too much from album to album, then you know what you are in for. Whigfield tends to keep writing the same tunes she did ten years ago. Is that bad? Your choice. Yet each of her albums also have a few surprises that stand out, and Was a Time is no exception.



I will highlight my favorite cuts from this album:



The "Was a Time" single (track one) is a refreshing guitar-strumming little gem. Reminds me of some of the later Ace of Base releases, or even Madonna. Her occasional chant in this tune is also a treat to the ears. An excellent choice to be the single release off of this album, yet also somewhat misleading as much of the album goes back the old-school Whigfield sound.



"Beep Beep." This is a "great great" track! This incredibly strong club track has some fat, harsh analog synth chords that add a heavier edge compared to Whigfield's typical fluff-pop kick-snare fanfare. Again we are blessed to hear her speaking voice in this minimal-vocal tune, and that irresistible Euro-accent of hers.



"Fantasy." This is TRULY the best and most outstanding cut of the entire album in my opinion. Completely breaking away from the usual poppy club tune, "Fantasy" almost makes your head turn as you think, "who is this singing??" It sounds like Gwen Stefani (No Doubt) took the mic. Truly a testament that Whigfield has an incredible voice, that in some ways seems wasted on her regurgitated tunes of the mid-90s (thankfully this CD DOES NOT contain yet another mega-mix of her old tunes on it!). "Fantasy" makes this album worth buying... truly a work of art.



"Get Get Get." As "Bigtime" was Whiggy's take on Ace of Base's "The Sign" back in the day, now she decides to try out an early Britney Spears approach. The bass line, percussion, and emphatic orchestral hits are all the ingredients for hitting this baby one more time. Not a bad thing at all, and not as blatant of a rip-off as so many artists have done in the past.



Just to give you an idea what kind of Whigfield tunes I've liked in the past, I loved the 60s tune-singles from the last album ("Doo Whop", "Be My Baby"), and from Whigfield II "Baby Boy," "Gimme, Gimme" etc... but most importantly I thought "Through the Night" was a brilliant cut... and I hated the cheesy "Whiggy Whiggle." Was a Time has some of that cheese also, with the lollipop-laden cut "Candy," and "Boys Boys Boys" with lyrics like "Boys boys boys in my bed, bedroom... how many, many, many".



If I don't sound pleased with this album, understand that it is only because I would like to hear MORE of the unique tracks that I mentioned, since I see a lot of potential for Whigfield to break out of her typical sound. I give this album 4 stars because the cuts I mentioned are incredible, a MUST... perhaps the rest will grow on me but for now it seems like fluff.



A quick review of the DVD:

If you've seen Whigfield's videos from the bonus VCD of the last album, don't expect too much of a quality difference. I was expecting higher resolution, etc... well... they don't look that much better. I've never liked her videos actually, as most of them remind me of studio-made 80s videos gone bad. Whigfield's image tends to conflict between sex symbol and a goofy child. To me in most of her videos she comes off as an older woman who desperately tries to look like a teenager. You be the judge. I should lighten up however, after all, this is pop.