A girl with “butterflies” wants to clarify feelings for a boy on “You’re My Number One.” The perky choral anthem “Bring It All Back” tells listeners to ignore insults, smile when things get tough and try not to worry. With a positive attitude and an appreciation for prayer, guys harmonize about making a difference on “Gonna Change the World” (“Gonna change the world/Gonna make it right/Gonna get down on my knees tonight”). The party songs “Viva La Fiesta,” “Friday Night” and “It’s a Feel Good Thing (Buenos Tiempo)” pay tribute to friends, music and good times without enlisting drugs, alcohol or hormonal prowling.
Otherwise innocuous love songs find singers making careless statements such as, “From the very first day, I knew we’d be lovers” (“Two in a Million”) and “We could be lovers [or] we could be friends” (“Hope for the Future”). “S Club Party” tells “hootie mamas” to show their “nanas” (slang for breasts).
This ensemble of three men and four women has an Up With People buoyancy and all the musical chemistry of Jell-O; it’s sweet and it holds together, but it lacks personality. The group is a corporate creation with interchangeable parts. Still, S Club 7’s fun-loving optimism is refreshing. If only certain lines didn’t reveal a burgeoning sexuality. Families should use discretion.
