Funky Dory - Rachel Stevens

The debut solo album by Rachel Stevens had all the ingredients to be a giant sized selling album, but somehow, it just didn't quite happen despite being re-released on several occasions with tracks added on as singles became hits. Formally a member of the multi million selling band S Club 7, never off the television, both in their own reality TV show and also on every pop programme it was possible to appear on. However after the promising start of the being the first solo member of S Club 7 to release new product after the demise of the band, having re-signed a solo contract with manager Simon Fuller, and taking the single Sweet Dreams My LAX to no.2, the album failed to live up to expectations and soon found itself plummeting down the charts and into the bargain bins. The opening track from Funky Dory was the single Sweet Dreams My LAX, a Spanish style acoustic number written by Cathy Dennis and produced by the team of Bloodshy & Avant and the track also closed the album in an eight minute version remixed by Bimbo Jones. But between the two versions, found Rachel Stevens moving away from the pure pop and good time fun that epitomised S Club 7 between 1999 and 2002 and into a more R&B field, already crowded by acts such as TLC and The Sugababes. The pace dropped to a ballad for just one track only, Heaven Has To Wait which had all the makings of a good song, except there wasn't really a tune to speak of, but most of the rest of the tracks were mid tempo songs, attempting to appeal to more adult audience, like Silk and Blue Afternoon, than S Club 7 had ever attempted to do before. ~ Sharon Mawer, All Music Guide