Music Monday #9: The Best of M People

1998 saw the release of 'The Best of M People' the greatest hits album of M People.  It's hard to describe what type of music M People sing, the front-woman and lead singer, Heather Small is without a doubt a national treasure.  Her vocal styling can be described as a mix of pop and soul, whilst the musical styling of M People in general lean towards House music, a genre of music I have explored given its links to the Electronic Dance Music [EDM] scene and the influence it has over EDM and Trance music.  The evolution of EDM in general is something that fascinates me, although no definitive source exists in my eyes that tells the complete story.  What's clear however is that House Music shaped the genre from its nascence through to its formative years and still shapes the genre as a whole today.

Heather Small has a voice that is anything but small, she is uplifting, inspiring, and energetic in a way that isn't exhausting.  I would describe M People and the style of music they produced as easy listening, although that in itself is a specific genre which I won't get into right now.   I chose the greatest hits album again so I didn't have to include every album they released.  I can't pick a single track on the album as my favourite so I'll opt for a two way tie between 'Angel Street' and 'Fantasy Island' both of which hold a narrative structure depicting idyllic worlds.  M People have always been a band that I've turned to when I need to unwind, when I want to feel good, when I feel drained and just want to let go for a while.

I was only 10 years old when this album was released and although I loved the music right from the jump it wouldn't be until several years later when I would begin to truly appreciate it.  M People produced music that was universal, inclusive, and open to all, but with undertones and subtlety that you only begin to appreciate fully when the world has had its way with you.  'Angel Street' exemplifies this to me, a track that I loved as soon as I heard it but with lyrics that didn't sink in for me fully until my late teens when I started to see the world for what it really was, when the false promises were exposed and I woke up to the lies that you're fed.  The lyric "If you think the World owes you a ride, you'll never find the reason why" puts this as directly as you can get, the world is what you make of it, they say good things come to those who wait but that's just not true in reality, if you wait they'll pass you by, you have to put in some effort into achieving the things you want. 

I must say again that I realise that my younger self had a lot more things figured out than I do now, in many ways I have regressed in my mentality, backing off from the beliefs that drove me forward giving up on them and swapping them for a set of beliefs that only managed to ground me firmly in place and stopping me from moving forward.  I've been making efforts to undo that regression however, the posts relating to cognitive behavioural therapy on this blog are just the surface of the work I am putting in to reshaping my life.  This album serves as a reminder of the mentality I abandoned and in many ways it serves as an aspiration, an objective for me to strive once more to reach.  Everything in my life right now revolves around the concepts of context and resistance, the former helping me to frame my thoughts to prevent negative mentalities taking hold and the latter helping me determine or divine where my true nature lies.  I still don't know for sure where that is but what I do know is that this album and the mentality that it reflects stands as a testament to the mentality that prevailed for me when I fought myself the least and went with my nature, I don't think that would be a bad place to start to try and rebuild from.

Not my favourite track on the album but well worth a mention is 'Search For The Hero' an exquisite song that still holds a special place in my heart, and one that holds a special place in the hearts of many British people.  This track has been used over the years many times, in  promotional material for various companies, organisations, and charities events, this track together with with 'Proud' a solo single released by Heather in 2000 which went on to become the London 2012 Olympic bid are the two tracks M People and Heather Small specifically are best known for. 

The Best of M People serves as an example of an album I like to listen to when I don't want to think about life, this is a mentality that I share with EDM and Trance music, each specific genre of EDM hold an appeal for me each associated with a different state of mind that I either want to escape or embrace.  This is also one of those albums I never want to lose because I never grow tired of it, there is a comfort in Heather's voice and a reassurance that can be hard to find in life at times.