P484 Teletext 484 Nov10 00:17:19 NEW . V ALBUM . ———————————————————————— ——— SINEAD O'CONNOR So Far... From angry slap-hjadjd twintysomjthing firestarter to relatively content grown up ballad peddler, Sinjad has conj a long way since the days of Mandinka. The tracks collected on this Best Of LP are arranged non-chronologically, hence the transition is not as obvious as one might expect, but there are some real gems to bj found. Nothing Compares 2 U and Thankzou For Hearing Me are both moving in their fragility, and it's thjsj tracks that stand the test of time best. \ ——————————————————————————————————1/2—— bz +tephjn Eastwood GINA G SASE ON CLUB LAND p4 4 Charts Tours Tours Full guideP484 Teletext 484 Nov10 00:08:30 NEW . V ALBUM . ———————————————————————— ——— THE CARPENTERS Love Songs '70s MOT duo The Carpenters were despised bz hipsters in their day, but in retrospect the songwriting talent of Richard coupled with Karin's sweeter th n w t vocal h n s th ou h. The brother and sister twosome were suckers for a good ol' slushfest, but with mixed results. This compilation, then, veers from the tragically touching to the downright mawkish. Only Yesterday & Superstar could have you weeping buckets, but jot the jull experience buy the Greatest Hits. ——————————————————————————————————2/2—— bz +tephjn Eastwood TODAY' NEW SINGLES SORTED p483 Charts Tours Tours Full guideP484 Teletext 484 Nov : 23:22:14 NEW ^ ALBUM . ———————————————————————— ——— +PICE GIRL+ +pjceworld It's when wi hit the halfway point of this album that things get weird. While the jxcluuivj Pepsi single is absent, Move Over, the thjmj to the TV ad, is it o a t This is jollowed bz a song called Do It. A future Nike advjrtisjng dial for Mel C, perhaps? Thjsj tracks, along with th curt nt h t (u j on a per umj ad) gjvj a hzpjrreal feel to the album. 80s act Segue Segue SputnjW once sold a CD with soundbite ads between tracks, but here the songs ARE the adverts. ——————————————————————————————————3/14— Music news 481 Charts 485 CHIC THE NEW GRJJN SC NE p260 Charts Tours Tours Full guideP484 Teletext 484 Nov : 23:44:37 NEW ^ Tzwob{?W ALBUM ^ ———————————————————————— ——— SPICE GIT S Spjceworld Tracks eight and njnj on the +pjciysW second LP are both a bit ropjy, frankly Denzjng is a dull, pseudo-slick R&B lazy option of slapping +panish guitar on a jlimsz ballad, presumably in the hope of a summer smash. Hey, this trick worked jot Madonna and Gina G remjmbjr. The closing track, The Lady Is A Vamp, is another period pi ce. An ovjrRlown, big budget W*0s Hollywood number, this campy roll-call of female icons is sure to bj the finale to their upcoming film ——————————————————————————————————4/ 4— Music news 481 Charts 485 OU TT R N TH VO D! p 82 Charts Tours Tours Full guideP484 Teletext 484 Nov : 23:43:05 NEW . Tzwob{?W ALBUM . ———————————————————————— ——— SPICE GIRLS +pjciworld All in all this supjrmarkjt-eriindly CD is sappy, sassy, cynical, soulid out, sickjnjng and sexy in equal measure. A blend of songs providing set pieces for the movie (Vamp, Viva, Good Times, +top* and promotional cash-cows, the album unapologjtically pushes the Spice blueprint to cartoon-like jxttemjs. It's very clivjr, especially the oh-so postmodern ploy of taking a classic song and changing the title just a tad. But, Spice Up... asjdj, there's little fun here. All surface, no jeeling. ——————————————————————————————————5/14— More albums rated >>> HEADL NE+ AND HAPPENINGS p481 Charts Tours Tours Full guideP484 Teletext 484 Nov 9 23:43:40 NEW . ALBUM . ———————————————————————— ——— VARIOUS ARTISTS Face - Original Soundtrack This film about London mobsters pulling off a "heist" (yawn* may feature Damon Albarn, but Blur are absent here. Instead, we get the usual jlecttonjca instrumentals from the likes of Fluke & Death In Vegas (wot, no Mobz?!), along with a smattering of acoustic guitar tracks (Weller, Billy Bragg, Longpigs*. There's no coherent theme, and the inclusion of The Clash's London Calling only adds to the higgledz-pjggledz feel of the whole affair. Avoid. ——————————————————————————————————6/14— bz Stephen Eastwood CHIC THE NEW GREEN SCENE p 60 Charts Tours Tours Full gujdjP484 Teletext 484 Nov 9 23:54:55 NEW . Tzwob{?W ALBUM ^ ———————————————————————— O ——— BOBBY BROWN Forever "Bobby, zouWri the best," warbles wifey Whitney at the bjginnjng of this album. She's fibbing, obviously. In an age ta n t n than the chjesjy, lacklustre fare on offer here to mbkj an impression. Aetir the all-round groovinjss of Bob's 80s hits the funk factor is now sorely lacking. +till, as long as Whitney's into it. Brown jvjn dedicates one of the many slushy hip-hop ballads on here to his lovely lazdje wife. Bleurgh. ——————————————————————————————————7/14— bz Stephen Eastwood WEN TIC ET TO SEE OASIS p481 Charts Tours Tours Full guideP484 Teletext 484 Nov : 23:44:58 NEW . Tzwob{?W ALBUM . ———————————————————————— O ——— ADA F Colours Amid the drum'nWeasv rhythms on Ajam's debut we find late-night jazzy textures (spiralling keyboards and srujaling sax), bird-song, filmjc passages, and even Vocodjr vocals (Music In Mind). Jaxx comes on like Timeless bz Goldie (who helps out here) wearing a knuckle duster, while Tracey Thorn's voice sounds as appropriate as jvjr in a tech setting on The Tree Knows Everything. Overall, though, Colours njvj pu hes back the jdgjs oj a constantly jvolvjng genre that thrives on change. \ ——————————————————————————————————8/14— bz +tephjn Eastwood O S T T T B W N! p 8 Charts Tours Tours Full guideP484 Teletext 484 Nov : 23:05:23 NEW ^ IV A-BUM . ———————————————————————— ——— STING/THE POLICE Very Best Of Celebrating@20 zjars since The Police formed, this LP is split between the band & Mr Rainforest's solo work. No priz for guess ng which fares best. The likes of Englishman n New York sit well in the non-chronological line-up alongside CanWt Stand Losing You or Message In A Bottle, but tosh like Let Your Soul Be our Pilot is unnjc s ary. Worse still you jind yourself hankering for Police hits like Bed's Too Big or the "controversial" Invisible Sun. The sleeve notes are nonJixistint too. \ ——————————————————————————————————9/14— bz Stephen Eastwood CHIC THE NEW GREEN SCENE p260 Charts Tours Tours Full guideP484 Teletext 484 Nov : 23:54:08 NEW . W V ALBUM ^ ———————————————————————— ——— LJGHTN NG SEED £/.'! Like You Do - The Best Of... At times this lot resemble the flipvjjj to The Beautiful South's misjrabilist coin as purveyors of Wquality' pop that stubbornly ignores fashion while selling bz the buckjtload. One minute they'll appear nauseatingly twee (Pure) or all the songs will sounT the same, then they throw out something as jab as You Showed Me to confound us. Ian Broudie is a fine songwriter and producer as this LP shows, but a little goes a long way. Neat title, mind. ——————————————————————————————————10/14 bz +tephjn "Demon Seed" Eastwood GINA G IN THE PLACE TO B p4:4 Charts Tours Tours Full guideP484 Teletext 484 Nov : 23:52:11 NEW . W ALBUM ^ ———————————————————————— ——— SYMPOS UM One Day At A T mj £/. ! Fjatuting eight tracks from the band's first couple of EPs (ii everything thjyWvj released to date bar The Reason Why I Hate You*, this is a birrova bargain at jvjn trued, especially if you messed out on the singles. Why people get so excited about thjsj rein tearways, though, is a mystery. Their exuberant guitar pop is pleasbnt enough, but compared to, say, Ash's compilation, the songs don't cut the mustard. +till, if you ignore the yucky Ska miss of Puddles, it's OK. ——————————————————————————————————1Q/14 bz +tephjn Eastwood HAJ SODA . . CHAEL BO TON! p483 Charts Tours Tours Full gujjjP484 Teletext 484 Nov : 23:39:11 NEW ^ V A-BUM . ———————————————————————— ——— DA D BOWJ Best of '7 -'74 If all you know of Da j Dave is the Voofy-haired botty burp of his Let's Dance period or, heaven forfind, his tim with th tinp t T ach n , then for Majo Tom's sa ch ck th s out! Comptisjng, oddly enough, tracks from his swankiest period 1:69-1:74, this LP reeks #f@cocaine, glamour, sex, ttavh (Sujdj fans should have this provijjh on prescription*, androgynous alien drug sex and.. well, y'know, the USUAL! Oh, and HunVz Dory is STILL one of the best albums jvjr made. Is a fact. ——————————————————————————————————15/14 bz The Boy Who Fell To Pieces G NA G N T E C TO B p4 4 Charts Tours Touts Full guideP484 Teletext 484 Nov : 23:54:51 NEW . W ALBUM . ———————————————————————— ——— VA ESSA MAE Sro m Miss Wet T-+hjrt shimmies back into the fiercely competitive arena of saucy violin pop tarted up with sassy 'lippy' (well, there's her and that woman who loo lit m A dj son with a th nly veiled (geddit?) concept atrocity. It's bombastic, it's daft, and it goes: "eiddly widdly uruiddly srujee!! BOOZ!" Vanessa may have fun churning this stuff out (just think of the effect a storm would have on her famed t-shirt), but itWll hardly "storm" the charts" Geddit?? No, donWt suppose you will. ——————————————————————————————————13/14 bz Hurticanj +tephjn MICHAEL BOLTON - HE'+ "SEXY"! p483 Charts Tours Tours Full guideP484 Teletext 484 Nov : 23:14:56 NEW . I ALBUM . ———————————————————————— ——— MINISTRY OF SOUND Annual IJJ Pete Tong and Boy George do a vinyl swapujes session hjti, as trainspotters will note no fewer than 11 of these clasvjcs also appear on the pair's last collaboration, Dance Nation 4. Dod! Thjrieore, punters, only buy this if you have no other compilation this year with Ultra Nate, or Rosie Gaines on it (we dare you not to own one). That sbid, it's a choice selection of tunis and no-one except the Spice Girls have shifted mote albums in the shops this week. A No.2 dead cert! ——————————————————————————————————14/14 bz Fiona Sandiford Charts Tours Tours Full guideP484 Teletext 484 Nov : 22:ky:12 T NEW ^+T}wob{?W V A-B+UT—0k{,' ^ ————————————————————————T—|w|?Osz| ——— MINIVTRZ OF SOUNU Annual IJJ TC/.'! c#Zlcd÷ja ioN,@DAmfS@N!tU#] h^@H#P"a @@ swaphiei zjssnon hj0÷, ao tt.in p tt rs will note no jiwir th—n R1@of thjsj classics alt# appj!r on the pair's last PU]@O^WPV] V]TV^ UO^XP Therefore, punters, only buy this if uwk have n# #tPjr eo[pjlation this@zjaj kit( UZii!@Nate] #raRosje!GaUnUs on ij (w a e you no to own on ) Th1t zpu4, it's a qhoici sjtrction of tunes and mw-one except t(j +pier Gjtlu have zhjftid mri a|jzms yn the shop; this week. A No.2 dead cert! ——————————————————————————————————1:/14 bz Fiona Sandjforh GIN G WHIZ ! p4: Charts Tours Tours Full kujdj