I bought this CD on a sale recently for €1, together with a bunch of albums I missed out on in the 00's. All these albums were best-sellers at the time, most of them had at least a couple of songs on heavy rotation on the radio - people were listening to the radio not so long ago, I swear! No streaming services at the time, no Spotify, and no youtube! Back then, the only way to watch your favorite videoclips again was to stake them out on MTV, and press REC on your VCR the moment they begin playing. When I saw this CD on sale, I thought it was worth picking up if only for "All The Things She Said", rightfully one of the biggest pop hits of the 00's - plus I was curious to hear how they'd approach their Smiths cover "How Soon Is Now".
Ever since The Monkeys, there have been many made-up pop groups put together by shrewd music business executives, so in this respect there's nothing special about the formation of t.A.T.u.: this Russian producer conceived of a teen girl group and started by conducting auditions for singers. Lena Katina and Julia Volkova, the two girls that won the audition were 14 and 15 years old at the time. Shapovalov (the producer) had a specific marketing strategy on his mind, which centered on provocation: He named the band t.A.T.u., telling the press that it means "Ta Lyubit Tu", or "This [girl] Loves That [girl]" trying to promote them as a "teen lesbian couple" and sexualizing their image by presenting them in short skirts and fetish-like schoolgirl uniforms, having them kiss on video clips and public appearances, and pose as if they were doing a soft porn photoshoot. This would have been controversial in any case because of the homoeroticism and (especially) their age - by the time of their international debut 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane, they were still just 17. But it wasn't only the puritans who were enraged: the fact that it was all a ruse, that the girls were neither romantically involved with each other nor gay, made many critics cry sexploitation. When I read the story it reminded me of how Hollywood producer Kim Fowley formed The Runaways in the 70's. They were also just 16 when he marketed them in a way that was too sexual for their age. But Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Cherry Currie and the rest were no mere dummies. Fowley may have masterminded the group and their public image, but he also nurtured their talent, encouraging them to play their own instruments and write their own songs. One may argue that there's a degree of sexploitation with all teenage pop stars anyway, but it's targeted at their age peers while with t.A.T.u. one gets the impression the marketing was targeted at teen pop fans and dirty old men equally. Anyway, all these antics served their purpose of putting the band on the spotlight, but also managed to divert attention from the music. Was it really necessary? Judging from lead single "All The Things She Said", not at all: the infectious chorus, urgent tempo, and mix of alternative rock and synth pop scream "hit potential" from afar. Kudos must go to British producer Trevor Horn, who made the most of the mediocre songs and thin Lolita vocals by stressing the hooks and dressing the tunes in a modern techno/dance sound with just a hint of 80's new wave. The second big hit here is opener "Not Gonna Get Us", an upbeat number with electronic beats and alternating sweet and shrilly vocals. The girls are going for a "teen rebels" sound but on this album they sound more like spoiled brats. Their singing deficiency becomes painfully obvious in the Smiths cover "How Soon Is Now": where the lyrics cry for teenage melodrama, they are betrayed by the unemotional squeaky vocals. Another track featuring awful singing (with heavily accented English, to boot) is "Malchik Gay". "Show Me Love" fares better: the chorus mimics "All the Things She Said" with the title repetition etc, but featuring a more rhythmic electronic beat. "Clowns (Can You See Me Now?)" is in similar style, both OK for their genre. "30 Minutes" is slow and atmospheric trip-hop style, while "Stars" is interesting because of bringing together mismatched elements: its melodic pop is augmented by a folkish instrumental solo, and interrupted by some Russian-language rapping. Somehow it works. To boost the duration to CD length, the producers added Russian versions of "Not Gonna Get Us" ("Нас Не Догонят"/Nas Ne Dagoniat) and "All the Things She Said" ("Я Сошла С Ума"/Ya Shosla S Uma) as well as a couple of useless remixes of "Show Me Love" and "30 Minutes". I'm not sure whether the two Russian songs are new recordings or they are taken from the band's debut proper 200 Po Vstrechnoy, recorded in 2000. That album got them noticed in Eastern Europe, but with international release 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane t.A.T.u. stroke gold. Whether due to Trevor Horn's excellent production work, or Shapovalov's provocative marketing antics, it sold millions of CD's abroad, becoming Russia's biggest pop export ever while the girls graduated to sex symbols - especially in Eastern Europe, where they still have fans. The rest of the world forgot about them pretty quickly: after winning 3rd place on next year's Eurovision contest they all but disappeared from view. Maybe their producers should have invested more in singing and songwriting lessons, rather than promotional tricks. So yes, this CD rightly belongs in the bargain bin where I found it - but at least, timeless single "All The Things She Said" has earned t.A.T.u. a place in pop history.
**** for All the Things She Said
*** for Not Gonna Get Us, Show Me Love, 30 Minutes, Stars, Я Сошла С Ума, Нас Не Догонят, Show Me Love (extended)
** for How Soon Is Now?, Clowns (Can You See Me Now?), Malchik Gay, 30 Minutes (Remix)
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