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As predicted Geri
Halliwell won the battle for the top spot on this
weeks chart, though few would have thought
American band Blink 182 would be the runners up.
This week promises to see an equally intriguing
battle, and if you're a Spice Girl fan it is time
once again to dig deep into your pockets!
Melanie C returns with the help of
Lisa Left-Eye on 'Never Be The Same Again'.
Despite her celtic tattoo's and punk rocker
haircut this is exactly the sort of music the
longer haired Melanie produced as part of the
Spice Girls. TLC's Lisa adds some
credibility and the end result is quite
spectacular! Could this be her first number
one without her band mates?
Hoping that won't be the case is
musical legend Carlos Santana who returns from
the wilderness with 'Smooth'. Aside from
the original release of this track which made no.
75 in October last year, it has been twenty years
to the day since their last hit which is some
time in chart terms! It will be the first
top ten hit for them for certain, and a number
one remains a possibility. This was number
one for 12 weeks in the US, and is still in the
top 10 there after an amazing six months on the
chart!
Strangest link up of the week
features Metallica backed by a complete orchestra.
The end product is the epic 'No Leaf Clover' and
devoted fans can buy all three CD formats, though
if you don't have a computer to use the CD ROM
sections of the disc, one purchase will probably
be enough.
Primal Scream (or Prml Scrm as the
sleeve suggests they are now called) bounce back
with a second single from the fantasic 'Xtrmntr'
CD entitled 'Kill All Hippies'. This is the
Scream at their trance dance best though this
will still do well to top the number 22 position
attained by the first single from the album ('Swastika
Eyes').
If the song is as good as the lady
then it would surely be in at number one, but
sadly Jennifer Lopez fails to deliver with 'Feeling
So Good'. Despite her liaisons with top
producer Sean 'Puffy' Coombes, and two highly
acceptable top ten hits, this misses the target
and ends up falling into the bland soul/pop/r'n'b
dustbin occupioed by so many top artists.
Dance music shouold be well
represented in the new chart with both Moloko (with
'Time Is Now') and N & G (with 'Right Before
My Eyes') aiming for top twenty success.
Heavy metal too does not miss out with AC/DC
returning to the fray with the title track from
their critically acclaimed 'Stiff Upper Lip'
album. No other band has had more hits
without making the top ten than AC/DC, and
despite the quality of this record it is hard to
see it competing with the more commercial artists
already listed and so their poor run of luck is
set to continue.
Others worth a brief mention
include Savage Garden who try to shake off their
balladeer image with 'Crash and Burn', former
Eurovision hopefuls Precious who release 'Rewind',
new Austrailan act M2M who aim for a debut hit on
the back of the new Pokemon film and Semisonic
who guarantee to send everyone to sleep by 'Singing
In Their Sleep'.
So this week my head says Melanie
C will edge out the competitors though if I am
honest I would love to see Santana succeed with
the wonderful 'Smooth'!
JHME Music Correspondent
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