Louise

The very same day Robbie Williams announced his departure from Britain's biggest boy band, the then 20-year-old Louise Nurding announced her departure from Britain's biggest girl band. Overshadowed by her more prominent Eternal group members, and then overshadowed by her more prominent fellow departee, few would have predicted a successful solo career. And while she's never reached the multi-platinum and stadium-sized success of Williams, she has quietly managed to balance being both a regular FHM pin-up and a regular chart occupant, scoring 11 hits in six years, all of which are included on Changing Faces. The initial signs, however, weren't too positive. Launching her career with a lighters-in-the-air ballad, "Light of My Life" was a brave decision, but without the powerhouse vocals of her former bandmate Easther Bennett, it was one that didn't quite pay off. And the failure of the Diane Warren-penned "In Walked Love" to reach the Top Ten suggested she might have been a little hasty in her exit. One song changed all that. Modeling itself on Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation era, the breathless vocals, funky R&B rhythms, and risqué video of "Naked" catapulted Louise into the Top Five for the first time. It was a trick she was to repeat again on the '80s-sounding "Undivided Love," and by the time of the sultry chill-out pop of "One Kiss from Heaven," she was one of Britain's biggest pop stars. Another Jackson inspired track, 1997 comeback single "Arms Around the World," which sounded suspiciously like the U.S. number one "Runaway," and a faithful cover of Average White Band's "Let's Go Round Again" continued the run of hits. But it was with her least successful album, Elbow Beach, that she released her strongest material. The sparkling dance-pop of "2-Faced" gave Louise the chance to show a bit of attitude, while "Beautiful Inside," a tirade against vanity, sampled Wu-Tang Clan to produce the most inventive song of her career. A celebration of her roots or a desperate attempt at padding, the inclusion of three Eternal tracks are nevertheless still welcome. "Oh Baby I," "Stay," and "Just a Step from Heaven" are all examples of perfect R&B-infused pop but Louise's only lead-vocal track, "Crazy," would have undoubtedly been a more relevant choice. Of the three new tracks included, the cover of "Stuck In the Middle" is bound to offend '70s music purists, but it's nowhere near the car-crash it could have been. However, the rather dated closer "Come and Get It" and the rather tacky rendition of Five Star's "The Slightest Touch" sounds like a step backwards from the feisty pop of her last studio album. Whether her inoffensive girl-next-door routine can compete with the Britneys and Christinas of this world remains to be seen, but anyone looking for a snapshot of late-'90s pop could do far worse than Changing Faces. ~ Jon O'Brien, All Music Guide