All Saints (1998)

As All Saints are quick to emphasize, there's nothing Spicy about this all-female quartet, who cowrite their own songs and can supposedly vocalize on key. But what the Spice Girls know, and All Saints (and other wannabes like She Moves) don't, is that talent isn't everything — pop is as much about personality as chops. Politely harmonizing over humdrum-machine R&B on All Saints, they're competent but unexciting, a diet-flavor En Vogue. Their upbeat ditties, like the single ''I Know Where It's At,'' are their best, but even those tracks cook over a low-to-medium flame. All Saints can sing, but their music rarely does.

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