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No-one could have been
surprised to see the All Saints girls enter at
the top with 'Black Coffee' though
whether they can stay there is open to debate.
'Pure Shores' made it two in a row earlier in the
year but 'Black Coffee' faces much stiffer
competition as a three way battle for the top
spot develops.
 Hoping to
build on their solo number ones already achieved
this year are Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams
who duet on the Williams penned 'Kids'. It's
a rockier song than Minogue might be used to but
her sultry vocals pitched against William's
falsetto is a perfect combination, though his
cheeky chappy rap at the end which concludes with
the line "but for now I'm down with
ornithology, grab your binoculars, come follow me..."
is a little questionable. Controversy has
already surrounded the line "press ask me do
I care for sodomy, I say "yeah...probably"
and with the video apparantly banned too this
looks set to achieve maximum publicity.
Rest assured it doesn't need it. It's the
best thing Robbie has done for a while and should
edge the All Saints out to claim the number one
position.
U2's 'Rattle and Hum', 'Achtung
Baby' and 'Pop' all saw the first single releases
go straight in at number one, though their new
single 'Beautiful Day' will face a difficult ride
if it is to maintain that run of success.
Taken from the forthcoming album 'All That You
Can't Leave Behind' this should see a welcome
return to the charts for Bono and the boys.
U2 have claim to the title 'Greatest Rock N Roll
Band On The Planet' though this song does little
to add distance between them and their rivals.
I'm still looking forward to the album, but I
think this is unlikely to feature in my top ten U2
songs in the future.
 This week
finally sees the release of Atomic Kitten's new
ballad 'Follow Me'. The band have wasted no
time in getting their faces back in the papers -
Natasha was even seen entwined with Big Brother
winner Craig Phillips at a recent awards bash.
I'm a big fan of the band as they experiment more
than the run of the mill girl bands and pack some
great tunes courtesy of Andy McCluskey, formerly
of OMD. Doing the ballad is an inevitable
turn in a teen bands career and usually signals a
move towards a more adult audience. If that
is their intention they could certainly carry it
off if this single is anything to go on.
Buy it now!
Those who heard the Manic Street
Preachers album 'Holy Bible' knew that Richey
Edwards was a tortured soul. Equally those
of you who have picked up a copy of 'Kid A' can
feel Thom Yorke's angst. This tortured
genius image is something aspired to, yet never
reached by Muse. They are, to be frank,
spotty blokes who play half decent songs and 'Muscle
Museum' proves my point. It's average
enough, but never quite goes anywhere. In a
world of Crashland, Coldplay, Everclear and
Lowgold these can't really claim to be the future
of rock n roll!
Following the massive success of
the reissue of 'Don't Call Me Baby', Madison
Avenue release 'Who The Hell Are You'. It
follows a similar pop dance path trodden by it's
predecessor though it's hard to seeing it being
quite as big a hit. Cheyne is a charismatic
singer and one hopes we will hear more from this
Australian band over the coming months.
Lionel Richie, the man whose 'Hello'
single was responsible for my first slow dance
back in school, is back this week with 'Angel.
The fact that he was reduced to singing from
Adams Park at the end of Watchdog last Friday
shows that the mighty man has fallen, and even
the inclusion of a live version of 'All Night
Long' doesn't really tempt me into purchasing the
single. It's not that bad though - if you
are a fan it is probably worth owning. If
you're not, this won't convert you.
Andy Bell may now be most famous
as the guitarist in Oasis, but the original Andy
Bell returns to us this week complete with Vince
Clarke in tow as Erasure release their new single
'Freedom'. It's quite acoustic in its feel,
compared to some of their more dancy material
which they have released. It's good to have
them back - the top 40 could do with some decent
'pop' music!
This weeks cash in single is Big
Brother skinhead Nichola Holt who releases her
debut single 'The Game'. Never has a record
been more destined for the bargain bin than this
one - at least not since Mo from Driving School
released 'Driving In My Car' a few Christmas'
back. Big Brother was compelling viewing
then, but do we care about the characters enough
to invite them into our CD players? I hope
not.
After a run of eight single from
his double CD 'R' R Kelly is back with 'I Wish'.
Expect that to put him back in the top twenty
after the relative failure of 'Only The Loot Can
Make Me Happy'. It's fairly standard r'n'b
territory, but with that added class that he
tends to bring to his songs.
The final record worth a mention
is 'Warrior' by Warrior. Anyone who
frequented any reputable club at the weekend will
know this is THE dance record of the moment, and
one due for substantial crossover success in the
charts on Sunday. Don't forget where you
heard it first!
So Kylie and Robbie should rule
the roost on Sunday. See you next week for
Blur, Moby, Fatboy Slim, Steps and Martine
McCutcheon. Later in the month we see
comebacks for UB40, Spice Girls and Rod Stewart
so interesting times are ahead. Also on the
horizon is the debut single from kids favourites
The Tweenies - prepare to be annoyed now...
See you next week!
JHME Music Correspondent
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