''Feels So Good'' is the second studio album by girl group
Atomic Kitten
Atomic Kitten is an English girl group formed in Liverpool in 1998, whose current members are Liz McClarnon, Jenny Frost and Natasha Hamilton. The group was founded by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) members Andy McCluskey and Stuart K ...
and the first full original album featuring
Jenny Frost
Jennifer Frost (born 22 February 1978) is an English singer, television presenter and model. She was a member of girl group Precious before replacing Kerry Katona in the group Atomic Kitten from 2001 until they disbanded in April 2004. Frost re ...
. The style of the album is both comparable and different from the first album as it has upbeat dance songs, but consists mainly of pop ballads and midtempos. As with debut album ''
Right Now'',
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Wirral Peninsula, Wirral, Merseyside, in 1978. The group consists of co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboar ...
members and Atomic Kitten founders,
Andy McCluskey
George Andrew McCluskey (born 24 June 1959) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer and bass guitarist of the electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), which he founded a ...
and
Stuart Kershaw
Stuart Kershaw is an English songwriter and musician who performs as drummer of English electronic group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). Kershaw has worked with the band in various capacities since 1991, and in 2015, became the full-tim ...
– who parted ways with the group during recording – made multiple songwriting contributions.
The album received mixed reviews, but fared well on the charts, reaching number one and selling 80,000 in its first week with the single "The Tide Is High" having been number one the week before, selling 145,000 copies. Atomic Kitten became only the second girl band to have the number-one single and album at the same time after the
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Vict ...
. Following the release of the single "The Last Goodbye"/"Be with You", the album climbed back to the top ten in for two weeks. The album was certified double platinum (862,000 sales)
and the album was certified Platinum by the
IFPI
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 19 ...
for selling more than one million copies in Europe. The album was further promoted with the simultaneous release of the book ''Atomic Kitten: So Good, So Far'' by Ian McLeish, in which the girl group gave an insight look into their early career.
Background
Following the success of their debut album ''
Right Now'', Atomic Kitten returned to the studio in the fall of 2001 to begin work on their second album. Once again, the group teamed up with
OMD members and Atomic Kitten founders, Andy McCluskey and Stuart Kershaw, who wrote the majority of tracks on ''Right Now''. The first recordings from the album were the songs "Walking on the Water", "The Moment You Leave Me", and "No One Loves You (Like I Love You)", all of which were featured on the album. The songwriting and production agreement with McCluskey and Kershaw was an increasing source of tension within the group, and the pair departed during the recording of the album. McCluskey spoke of dissension between himself and the record company, whose "formula" demanded "'Whole Again', 'Whole Again' and more fucking 'Whole Again'"; he was essentially dismissed and legally prohibited from contacting the band,
before exiting the "very dirty" business of "manufactured pop".
After releasing a cover version of "
Eternal Flame
An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires, all of which can ...
" on the previous album,
Susanna Hoffs
Susanna Lee Hoffs (born January 17, 1959) is an American singer and guitarist, best known as a co-founder of the pop-rock band The Bangles.
Hoffs founded The Bangles (originally called the Bangs) in 1981 with Debbi and Vicki Peterson. They re ...
from
The Bangles
The Bangles are an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1981. The band recorded several singles that reached the U.S. top 10 during the 1980s, including "Manic Monday" (1986), "Walk Like an Egyptian" (1986), " Hazy Shade ...
was asked to write a track for the album called "Love Doesn't Have to Hurt". The girls teamed up with
Rob Davis for the songwriting and production of several songs and as a result,
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
with whom he frequently collaborated, donated the song "Feels So Good" to the album. Out of gratitude and because they felt it was a great title, the group decided to name the album after that song. Minogue's vocals from the original demo remain on the final song.
Critical reception
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
editor Andy Kellman found that ''Feels so Good'' was "nearly as solid as ''
Right Now'', with more playful chemistry evident between the three members. Though the three biggest hits – "
It's OK!," "
The Last Goodbye," and a cover of
Blondie's cover of "
The Tide Is High
"The Tide Is High" is a 1967 rocksteady song written by John Holt, originally produced by Duke Reid and performed by the Jamaican group the Paragons, with Holt as lead singer. The song gained international attention in 1980, when a cover versi ...
" – are well-executed, easygoing pop songs, the group is at its best when it takes on the role of a modern disco act (as heard on "Feels So Good," "Love Won't Wait," and "Softer the Touch")."
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writer Alun Williams called ''Feels so Good'' "one of the better CD's within the pop genre." He found that "there are a few gems amongst the numerous tracks," but also remarked that "the albums' production is at best unadventurous and at worst repetitive and very unoriginal."
'', felt that "the album is mush of a mushness, weighted in favour of system-built uptempo tunes such as the title track, written for them by an apparently listless
. At least these are marginally better than the ballads, sour little semi-acoustic snippets that sound like
. What this album is crying out for is a kick in the tush from an avenging
'' called ''Feels So Good'' "a dated collection of by-numbers pop, rarely any more imaginative than their cover of
's cover of Blondie's cover of "The Tide Is High." It gets worse: they even forced Kylie to soil her tiny hands, writing the title track."
'' wrote that ''Feels So Good''s "peculiarly watered-down brand of R'n'B is like the worst kind of fast food: uniform, tasteless, and forgotten the moment it's been consumed."