Buzz is the third studio album by British pop group Steps, released on 30 October 2000. It reached number four on the UK Albums Chart. The album saw the group starting to move away from the PWL sound to a more mature sound, working with producers from Sweden and songwriters such as Cyndi Lauper. This more mature sound was also echoed in the new material from Gold: Greatest Hits.

Each member of the group co-wrote a track on the album, consequently doing lead vocals on their respective track. The lead single from the album "Stomp", a funky upbeat song with lyrics about partying at the weekend and having a good time, features a sample from Chic's single "Everybody Dance" and topped the UK Singles Chart, becoming the group's second number-one hit, after "Heartbeat" / "Tragedy". The songs "Better the Devil You Know" and "Summer of Love", were included on the album after they were released earlier that year as part of double A-side singles with "Say You'll Be Mine" and "When I Said Goodbye" respectively.

"It's the Way You Make Me Feel" was the second single to be released from the album and reached number two in the UK after copies of the single were released a week early in shops; this led to the band setting a chart record for the highest chart jump when the track went from number 72 to number two. "Here and Now" and "You'll Be Sorry" were the final songs released from Buzz and were both included on a double A-side CD single which reached number four in the UK. In the United States, "Mars & Venus (We Fall in Love Again)" was released as the album's only single in July 2001. Buzz was certified Platinum in UK and was released in Australia and US in 2001.

The album was reissued on vinyl for the first time ever in February 2024. It debuted at number 7 on the UK Vinyl Albums Chart.

Release and reception

Buzz received favourable critical response from different music magazines and websites. Everyone noticed the group's departure from the "ABBA sound" into their own musical style. AllMusic stated "They do in fact have their own sound, and it has revealed itself here, crystal clear"."[ All music critical reaction to Buzz]" allmusic.com Retrieved 7 March 2010

This album saw the group leaning toward a more mature and original sound influenced by electro and techno but still keeping the sound prominent to Steps' earlier work. This is seen as the album plays out through tracks such as "You'll Be Sorry", "Never Get Over You" "Happy Go Lucky" and "Buzzz". The art work and overall look for the album is prominent to the sound as their earlier albums had more colour and expression to resemble the enlightenment of the sound of their music. As their sound was more mature their appearances were more sophisticated and showed the progression of Steps into a new era that was carried on into the look of their next album, Gold: Greatest Hits.

In an interview with whereitsat.tv when Steps were asked if their Pete Waterman days where behind them, Lee responded with: "We've been under Pete Waterman's wing for a good two or three years and I think with the third album Buzz, we've had an experience and sort of self-expression and things, you know. We've had our chance, we've wrote, we've helped produce and we've got th[ose] songs on the album Buzz. Now that the greatest hits album is coming out, [we're] writing and helping produce for that as well and then there's an album after that. It's almost like leaving an era behind and moving onto something else, so you could see it as a new beginning in a way."

However, the album is said to be less successful than their first releases, only peaking at number four on the UK Albums Chart and achieving double Platinum status from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) – Step One was certified 8× Platinum and Steptacular was certified 4× Platinum. It is also considered to be their only album to not sell a million copies in the United Kingdom, before the group's Boxing Day split. To date, it has sold more than 680,000 units in UK, becoming their lowest-selling album while they were still together. The album also features solos from each member apart from Lee, though he is featured on the song he co-wrote, "Turn Around".

Track listing

Note "Mars & Venus (We Fall in Love Again)" is only available on the US edition of Buzz and has been left unavailable in the UK, although a remixed form appeared on The Last Dance.

Sample credits "Stomp" contains a modified orchestral riff of the composition "Everybody Dance", written by Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, performed by Chic.

Personnel

Lisa Scott-Lee – vocals, background vocals Faye Tozer – vocals, background vocals Lee Latchford-Evans – vocals, background vocals Ian "H" Watkins – vocals, background vocals Claire Richards – vocals, background vocals Patrik Andrén – keyboards Greg Bone – guitar Jimmy Bralower – arranger, producer, engineer, drum programming Nigel Butler – arranger Andy Caine – vocals (background) Rita Campbell – vocals (background) Mary Carewe – vocals (background) Andreas Carlsson – vocals (background) Chris DeStefano – bass, keyboards, engineer, drum programming Dave Deviller – guitar, programming, producer Tim Donovan – engineer Lance Ellington – vocals (background) Cyndi Lauper – vocals (background) Jörgen Elofsson – producer Mark Emmitt – mixing Andrew Frampton – arranger, producer Daniel Frampton – engineer, mixing Andy Goldmark – bass, arranger, keyboards, producer, drum programming Chaz Harper – mastering Simon Hill – drum programming Sean Hosein – programming, producer Nick Ingman – string arrangements, string conductor Henrik Janson – string conductor Ulf Jansson – string conductor David Krueger – producer Josef Larossi – arranger, producer, mixing, instrumentation Bernard Loor – mixing Gustave Lund – percussion Ernie McCone – bass Esbjörn Öhrwall – guitar Paula Oliveira – assistant engineer, mixing assistant Jeanette Olsson – vocals (background) Steve Price – engineer, mixing Mark "Ridders" Risdale – engineer Andreas "Quiz" Romdhane – arranger, producer, mixing, instrumentation Shane Stoneback – mixing assistant Mark Topham – bass, producer Karl Twigg – keyboards, producer T-Bone Wolk – guitar Hakan Wollgard – string engineer Richard Woodcraft – assistant engineer Gavyn Wright – violin

Charts Chart (2000)PeakpositionAustralian Albums (ARIA) N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.112European Albums Chart20Irish Albums (IRMA)23Japanese Albums (Oricon)53UK Albums (OCC)4

Chart (2024) Peakposition UK Vinyl Albums 7

Certifications

Release history + Release history and formats for BuzzCountryRelease dateFormatLabelCatalogueUnited Kingdom"Buzz release dates, editions, and information on official site" gensteps.co.uk Retrieved 7 March 201030 October 2000Standard edition (CD)Jive / EBUL920117-2Standard edition (cassette)920117-4Australia16 July 2001Standard edition (CD + bonus tracks)Zomba920128-2United States24 July 2001Standard edition (CD)01241-41752-2 Worldwide 23 February 2024 Vinyl

References