Best - The Greatest Hits

The singles are included in chronological order, from the irresistible, bouncy pop of "Bring it all back", released in June 1999, to the heartfelt final single "Say goodbye". Typical S Club cheesy pop is thrust into the spotlight by the wonderfully happy "S Club party", "Reach", "You're my number one", "Love ain't gonna wait for you" and "You", all of which are guaranteed to put a smile on the listener's face. However, there is plenty of variety included in this album; the slightly more chilled "Natural" is S Club's only single with a hint of R 'n' B buried in there under Rachel's smooth vocals and the lovely oboe solos. Jo's amazing voice is the highlight of all the ballads, notably "Have you ever", "Two in a million", the afore-mentioned "Say goodbye" (although all of the members sing lead vocals on this track, Jo proves that she has by far the strongest voice) and the brilliant Children in Need 2000 single "Never had a dream come true". This track is, for me, one of the best singles the group released, as it sounds like the whole song has been sprinkled with fairy dust, and Jo sounds as if she means every word she is singing. My other favourite from "Best" is the group's biggest-selling single and arguably their anthem, "Don't stop movin'" - Record of the Year in 2001 and twice UK no. 1, this is the single that S Club are most famous for releasing, and rightly so.

The two bonus tracks featured on this album give me mixed feelings. "Everybody get pumped" is a huge let-down after thirteen fantastic pop tracks; the record company couldn't find the time to look out a song that truly reflects on the album's title, "Best", could they? As is the custom with most modern pop bands, they are presented with a few great singles and are then promptly thrown a load of time-wasting tunes to fill up album space. "Everybody get pumped" is the only track on this album that I skip when listening to it, as it is horrendously under-developed and features minimal lyrics that don't really make sense. The last track, however, is an S Club favourite from their second album, "Bring the house down", which more than makes up for the failure of the preceding track. This displays more classic, infectious S Club pop and is a great way to end the album.

Overall, S Club 7's greatest hits collection is an excellent reminder of how unstoppable these guys were during their chart reign of 1999-2003. It has become almost a cliché that "there ain't no party like an S Club party", but this album definitely proves that this statement is true.

1. 'Bring it all Back' - 9/10 - This is a great start to the album. It was their first single, and I can remember seeing it being performed for the first time on Blue Peter in 1999, and I have loved it ever since. With its catchy rhythm and cheerful lyrics, it's a great song to listen to if your feeling down.

2. 'S Club Party' - 9/10 - Another great single, you really want to sing along to this one, it's so catchy. It has a cool rhythm, which makes it a great dance tune.

3. 'Two in a Million' - 7/10 - This is one of the slowest songs on the CD, and it isn't as good as the first two, but it's never the less a great song.

4. 'You're my Number One' - 8/10 - They got a sort of mix with 'Bring it all Back' and 'Two in a Million' with this one, as it has the same catchiness as BIAB, but the same sort of style, though not so slow, as TIAM.

5. 'Reach' - 6/10 - This is probably the cheesiest song on the CD, but is still a good single. The reason I have given it a 6 is because it has unfortunately become boring from over-use, which is a shame.

6. 'Natural' - 9/10 - This is a really cool single. It is different from the others because it is Rachel who sings lead on this one, and it really shows what a great voice she has, and it really should have come higher than number 3.

7. 'Never had a Dream Come True' - 10/10 - My personal favourite. This is a beautiful single, it was made at the peak of their career, and was not suprisingly made the Children in Need single for that year, and went straight to Number 1. I really cannot describe the beauty of this pop ballad, and it brings back wonderful memories of S Club at their best.

8. 'Don't Stop Movin'' - 9/10 - This is another great single. It was given many awards, including 'Record of the Year,' and was made the disco anthem for the Summer of 2001. It's a really funky tune, and just makes you want to sing along and dance to the beat!

9. 'Have You Ever' - 7/10 - Another slow song, this is one that many people can relate to. This was when S Club were sadly coming close to the end of their singing career, and was one of the last ones that Paul did.

10. 'You' - 8/10 - This is an extremely catchy song, and it is one of their better ones that they did towards the end. Sadly, this is the last single Paul ever did with the group.

11. 'Alive' - 5/10 - This, I think, is the lowest point of the album. I think they tried to do another 'Don't Stop Movin'' typr, but didn't really pull it off. This is the only one of their singles which did not come in the top three.

12. 'Love Ain't Gonna Wait for You' - 9/10 - This was the feature song for their movie, 'Seeing Double,' and it is a brilliant song to listen to if your feeling down, it has a sort of ruthless edge which is great for keeping your spirits up.

13. 'Say Goodbye' - 10/10 - This is a tear jerking song, as it is the last single they ever did, and when you think about it, after listening to all their singles from beginning to end, it really puts tears in your eyes to think that it's the last one. It has great lyrics, and their vocals are tested to the max, where they pass spectacularly. They did their last performance ever with this on the Saturday Show, so they really were saying goodbye. Jo really shows what she's got, with stunning power in her voice, and it brings the album together for an amazing end to four years of wonderful music.

Bonus Tracks 'Everybody Get Pumped' and 'Bring the House Down' - 8/10 - These are an extra bonus, although they could have been improved by having a few more. But as it is they are funky, cool and they would have been worthy of being made into singles, as they have that true S Club quality.

So, this is a great album from start to finish. One thing I haven't mentioned is the booklet with a full discography, with the single covers for each, when they were released, where they got in the UK charts and a little bit about what was going on for the S Clubbers at the time of each recording, including a mini-interview from one the band members for all of them, and this adds something which defines the difference for this album between amazing and perfect. As the introduction in the booklet says, 'there still really ain't no party like an S Club party!'