A Girl Like Me (Emma Bunton album)

A Girl Like Me
Studio album by Emma Bunton
Released 16 April 2001 (2001-04-16)
Recorded July 1999 – October 2000
Studio
Genre
Length 45:40
Label Virgin
Producer
Emma Bunton chronology
A Girl Like Me
(2001)		 Free Me
(2004)
Singles from A Girl Like Me
  1. "What Took You So Long?"
    Released: 2 April 2001
  2. "Take My Breath Away"
    Released: 27 August 2001
  3. "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight"
    Released: 10 December 2001

A Girl Like Me is the debut solo album by English singer Emma Bunton. It was released on 16 April 2001 by Virgin Records. Following the release of the Spice Girls' third studio album, Forever (2000), the group announced that they were beginning an indefinite hiatus and would be concentrating on their solo careers in regards to their foreseeable future.[1] Recording sessions for Bunton's first solo album took place from July 1999 to October 2000 at several recording studios.

A Girl Like Me debuted and peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart, selling 21,500 copies in its first week. The album spawned the singles "What Took You So Long?", "Take My Breath Away" and "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight". It also includes Bunton's collaboration with Tin Tin Out, a cover of "What I Am" by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians. On 7 September 2001, A Girl Like Me was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), denoting shipments in excess of 100,000 copies.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Chart Attack2.5/5[4]
Hot PressUnfavourable[5]
NME6/10[6]

A Girl Like Me garnered a mixed reception from music critics. Stewart Mason of AllMusic felt that Bunton's singing voice lacked depth but that it worked with the well-crafted and addictive pop songs, concluding that it "isn't an album for the ages, but it's better than 'not bad.'"[3] Timothy Park of NME said that there were great tracks and Bunton performs them adequately but felt the album lacked ambition or honesty, concluding that "'A Girl Like Me', like Emma, is very sweet but, like Emma also, it has no balls."[6] Erik Missio of Chart Attack said he saw promise in the album but felt disappointed by its attempts to resemble the Spice Girls' sound.[4] Stephen Robinson of Hot Press criticised the tracks for being overly sweet and borrowing from other genres but being unoriginal with them, calling it "another album to chuck aboard the pop blandwagon."[5]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."What Took You So Long?"
  • Stannard
  • Gallagher
3:59
2."Take My Breath Away"
Mac3:34
3."A World Without You"
  • Rogers
  • Sturken
4:53
4."High on Love"
  • Bunton
  • Stannard
  • Gallagher
  • Harrigton
  • Ash Howes
  • Sharon Murphy
  • Stannard
  • Gallagher
3:49
5."A Girl Like Me"
  • Bunton
  • Rogers
  • Sturken
4:01
6."Spell It O.U.T."
Frampton3:12
7."Sunshine on a Rainy Day"
Tin Tin Out4:17
8."Been There, Done That"
  • Bunton
  • Frampton
  • Braide
Frampton3:05
9."Better Be Careful"
  • Bunton
  • Stannard
  • Gallagher
  • Harrington
  • Howes
  • Stannard
  • Gallagher
3:19
10."We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight"
Lawrence3:23
11."She Was a Friend of Mine"
  • Bunton
  • Rogers
  • Sturken
  • Rogers
  • Sturken
3:34
12."What I Am" (with Tin Tin Out)
Tin Tin Out4:34
Total length:45:40

Notes

  • ^a signifies an additional producer

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of A Girl Like Me.[7]

  • Emma Bunton – vocals
  • Tom Bender – mixing assistance (track 3)
  • Stefan Boman – string engineering (track 3)
  • Jason Bonilla – recording engineering (track 10)
  • Chris Braide – arrangement (tracks 6, 8)
  • Will Catterson – recording engineering (track 10)
  • Dylan "3D" Dresdow – mixing (track 10)
  • Matt Fields – mixing assistance (track 1)
  • Ulf Forsberg – string concertmaster (track 3)
  • Andrew Frampton – string arrangements (track 6); arrangement, production (tracks 6, 8)
  • Daniel Frampton – engineering (tracks 6, 8)
  • Julian Gallagher – production (tracks 1, 4, 9)
  • Brad Gilderman – mixing (tracks 6, 8, 11)
  • Mick Guzauski – mixing (track 3)
  • Simon Hale – string arrangements (tracks 4, 9); brass arrangements (track 9)
  • Al Hemberger – engineering (tracks 3, 5, 11)
  • Ash Howes – programming (tracks 1, 4); recording (tracks 1, 4, 9); mixing (track 4); engineering (tracks 4, 9)
  • Nick Ingman – string arrangements (track 6)
  • Henrik Janson – string arrangements, string conducting (track 3)
  • Ulf Janson – string arrangements, string conducting (track 3)
  • Lawrence Johnson – additional vocal arrangement (track 7)
  • Jan "Stan" Kybert – mix engineering, Pro Tools (track 1)
  • Rhett Lawrence – arrangement, guitar, mixing, production, programming, recording engineering (track 10)
  • Chris Laws – engineering (track 2)
  • Evan Lloyd – engineering assistance (track 10)
  • Steve Mac – arrangement, mixing, production (track 2)
  • Dave "Hard Drive" Pensado – mixing (track 10)
  • Steve Price – string recording (track 6)
  • Terry Richardson – photography
  • Evan Rogers – production (tracks 3, 5, 11)
  • Ian Ross – design
  • Ruth Rowland – lettering
  • Ramon Stagnaro – guitar (track 10)
  • Richard "Biff" Stannard – production (tracks 1, 4, 9)
  • Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing (track 1)
  • StoneBridge – additional production, keyboards, mixing (track 5)
  • Carl Sturken – production (tracks 3, 5, 11)
  • Alvin Sweeney – additional recording, Pro Tools (track 1); additional engineering (tracks 4, 9)
  • Tin Tin Out – mixing, production (tracks 7, 12)

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[2] Gold 100,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region Date Label
United Kingdom 16 April 2001 Virgin
Australia 14 May 2001 EMI

Notes

  1. ↑ Tracks 1, 4 and 9
  2. ↑ Track 7
  3. ↑ Tracks 3, 5 and 11
  4. ↑ Tracks 6 and 8
  5. ↑ Strings on track 3
  6. ↑ Track 2
  7. ↑ Track 12
  8. ↑ Track 10

References

  1. ↑ "Spice Girls dismiss comeback plan". BBC News. 18 February 2003. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
  2. 1 2 "British album certifications – Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me". British Phonographic Industry. 7 September 2001. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Enter A Girl Like Me in the search field and then press Enter.
  3. 1 2 Mason, Stewart. "A Girl Like Me – Emma Bunton". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  4. 1 2 Missio, Erik (16 April 2001). "Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me". Chart Attack. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  5. 1 2 Robinson, Stephen (26 April 2001). "A Girl Like Me". Hot Press. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  6. 1 2 Mark, Timothy (18 April 2001). "Emma Bunton : A Girl Like Me". NME. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  7. ↑ A Girl Like Me (liner notes). Emma Bunton. Virgin Records. 2001. LC03098.
  8. ↑ "ARIA Top 100 Albums – Week Commencing 21st May 2001" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association (586). 21 May 2001. Retrieved 31 August 2008 – via Pandora Archive.
  9. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  10. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  11. ↑ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 18 no. 19. 5 May 2001. p. 20. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 30 July 2018 – via American Radio History.
  12. ↑ "Emma Bunton: A Girl Like Me" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  13. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  14. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  15. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 17, 2001". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  16. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Emma Bunton – A Girl Like Me". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  17. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  18. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  19. ↑ "UK Year-End Charts 2001" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. p. 6. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
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