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Not the real Crush!

penthouse-boy | 11/04/2002

(2 out of 5 stars)

"When 'Crush' first started out in 1996 they were the freshest UK pop act to appear in years, and had a cheeky charm about them that was difficult to find in the then pre-Spice Girl era.Donna Air & Jayni Hoy both teamed up together after working as young actors on a british soap, and were only 16 when they were signed to Telstar records. Their first single 'Jellyhead' was a catchy, indie-pop number that got you hooked after one listen, and received ceritical acclaim as well as numerous weeks in charts all over the world. Not only were they working with the trendy St.Etienne, but also being managed by the lead singers mum! For a while things were looking good for Crush....the second single, Luv'd up, was totally different and yet still perfect bad-girl pop. With it's summer feel and happy-go-lucky lyrics it was all set to go well for the girls, but then an American label wanted to sign them up and it all went horribly wrong.The original 'Crush' album - Teenage Kicks - was in the true style of the two singles. It was a huge success in Japan selling tens of thousands of copies, and went down a storm in charts all over the world. Sadly, Robins record company wanted to sign the girls up after spotting the obvious potential, but on the condition that the girls got tarted up and the album was remixed (cheaply) to give it a dance edge. In response to this, original memeber Jayni left the band (or was she pushed?) so in came replacement Luciana & suddenly it was like the original 'Crush' never existed. The clothes, style and attitude were completely different - and so were some of the songs. Tracks like 'Love's Hold' 'We can Make It Happen''Tease Me' and 'We'll Find the Sunshine' were NEVER on the original album, and are merely on there to showcase the voice of Luciana. The result? a mixed up CD that has squandered the true style of the band in favour of potential sales and marketability. The remixes of some great pop tunes have come out sounding trashy and nasty, and there isn't one particular theme running through the songs. The album jumps between...'dance' and good indie-pop, but both are diluted by each other and this is ultimately a weak album. Shame - the original was fab."

Pleasantly Not What I Expected

d-moonshadow | 11/27/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The problem with this CD was evident as soon as the dance remix of "Jellyhead" made it bigger than the original rock version. So, you have to punk-rock chica wanna-bes and a label that wants to dance everything up. Well, when I bought this CD I wasn't sure quite WHAT to expect, except that there would be a mesh of at least two different styles. Well, it's not really a combination of dance and rock, for the most part. Sure, there are some good tracks (mostly dance-y ones), like "We Can Make It Happen", "Tease Me", "Jellyhead" (here in it's Motiv8 Remix), and "Luv'd Up" (in its original rock incarnation). But there are also some serious clunkers, like "Mexican Moon". My advice, for people looking for a straight club CD or a pop-punk CD, go elsewhere. This CD is more of a visual showcase for the two frontwomen of the group, who I must say cannot really sing that well. But, teaming up with SOME talented writers, they do create a few shining moments on this otherwise dull CD."