1 Robyn ft Kleerup - With Every Heartbeat (13wks 20-1-1-1-1-1-6-7-12-19-23-27-39)

 

 

A physical single was released in the UK on 6 August 2007. It was named as both Jo Whiley's and Scott Mills' "Record of the Week" and has been A-Listed on BBC's Radio 1.

 

"With Every Heartbeat" became the biggest hit of Swedish singer Robyn's career in the UK, becoming her first number one hit, second top ten and fourth top forty hit of her career. The song charted inside the top five on downloads alone the week before the song's physical release. Athlete and Girls Aloud have both on separate occasions covered the song on Radio 1's Live Lounge.

 

It is apparently both Kylie Minogue's & Leona Lewis' favourite track of 2007 as well!

 

 

 

Amazing chart overall! Glad to see "Gimme More" by Britney doing so well (honestly, I would've never thought a Britney song made it on your personal charts!).

 

The No.1 Robyn is great as well, I love the song too!

My faves Rich:

 

123 Just Jack - Starz In Their Eyes (8wks 25*-12-12-13-18-22-32)

122 Scissor Sisters - Kiss You Off (7wks 27-19-9-7-10-17-27)

120 Twang - Either Way (7wks 38-27-10-11-15-23-32)

119 Pigeon Detectives - I'm Not Sorry (6wks 33-21-14-11-11-21)

115 Fergie - Big Girls Don't Cry (9wks 39-30-22-13-9-13-19-22-31)

114 Cyndi - I'll Leave My Heart (5wks 5-5-17-21-30)

113 Pipettes - ABC (7wks 31-10-12-18-20-31-36)

112 Bloc Party - Flux (8wks 37-29-18-8-5-8-12-16)

110 Sophie Ellis Bextor - Today The Sun's On Us (6wks 38-24-15-13-20-31)

104 Take That - I'd Wait For Life (8wks 28-18-9-3-3-10-27-38)

98 Peter, Bjorn & John ft Victoria Bergsman - Young Folks (2007 Remix) (8wks 7-4-4-4-10-17-25-33)

97 Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend (10wks 25-14-12-8-7-8-13-19-24-34)

92 Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love (12wks 5-6-8-9-11-7-6-10-12-17-23-39)

91 Kate Walsh - Your Song (7wks 13-9-9-16-27-34-40)

89 David Guetta - Love Is Gone (8wks 37-27-16-8-18-37-38-40)

85 Natasha Bedingfield - Soulmate (10wks 40-32-29-20-6-10-14-20-28-35)

84 Regina Spektor - Fidelity (9wks 40-25-14-11-10-14-16-23-35)

82 M.I.A. - Jimmy (7wks 6-5-5-9-11-30-38)

81 Groove Armada ft Mutya - Song For Mutya (6wks 7-7-7-13-19-29)

77 Fedde Le Grand ft Ida Corr - Let Me Think About It (9wks 37-12-5-6-11-18-16-19-25)

74 Calvin Harris - Acceptable In The 80's (6wks 20-6-6-9-19-40)

72 Klaxons - Golden Skans (9wks 32-26-17-15-14-12-13-21-38)

70 Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Catch You (12wks 37-33-24-20-13-7-6-8-16-24-31-38)

67 Travis - Closer (9wks 39-10-6-5-2-2-9-16-27)

66 Christina Aguilera - Candyman (10wks 38-7-4-4-6-9-12-18-24-29)

65 Kelis ft Cee-lo - Lil' Star (12wks 35-21-10-5-2-4-5-9-10-15-22-30)

64 Lily Allen - Alfie (8wks 6-5-6-8-11-20-27-35)

63 Take That - Shine (14wks 36-32-29-14-7-5-3-3-4-9-14-17-24-38)

62 Amy Winehouse - Love Is A Losing Game (5wks 23-8-2-3-7)

61 Travis - Selfish Jean (10wks 36-29-24-22-5-4-6-12-24-34)

60 Mark Ronson ft Amy Winehouse - Valerie (12wks 21-16-11-7-4-6-8-14-19-24-27-38)

59 Scouting For Girls - She's So Lovely (8wks 18-16-13-7-8-8-18-33)

57 Delta Goodrem - In This Life (9wks 31-10-4-5-6-11-17-28-35)

54 Jamelia - No More (8wks 15-9-5-3-6-11-21-39)

53 Amy Winehouse - Back To Black (9wks 21-13-11-10-9-12-13-17-34)

51 Amy Winehouse - You Know I'm No Good (11wks 20-13-11*-5-4-5-6-11-16-27)

44 Hoosiers - Worried About Ray (10wks 18-12-6-5-3-10-16-22-27-40)

43 Remi Nicole - Go Mr Sunshine (8wks 4-3-3-6-16-27-33-39)

41 Rihanna ft Jay Z - Umbrella (8wks 11-1-1-4-10-18-32-36)

38 Nerina Pallot - Learning To Breathe (8wks 18-7-4*-2-6-16-33)

37 Richard Hawley - Tonight The Streets Are Ours (9wks 23-7-6-3-7-9-16-28-33)

35 Mutya - Real Girl (11wks 8-4-4-5-5-5-5-5-11-20-34)

30 Alicia Keys - No One (16wks 37-17-7-7-7-8-7-11-14-7-3-2-4-9-17-34)

28 Travis - My Eyes (7wks 1-1-2-11-18-28-40)

27 KT Tunstall - Hold On (10wks 19-12-6-2-2-2-2-11-24-37)

26 Feist - 1234 (15wks 21-15-12-11-11-9-11-15-23-35-OUT*3-20-13-16-30-40)

22 Take That - Rule The World (12wks 3-1-2-3-3-5-6-8-12-16-24-34)

20 Mika - Grace Kelly (11wks 35*-1-1-1-1-3-3-8-13-32)

18 Girls Aloud - Call The Shots (9wks 35-21-17-5-3-3-7-9-10)

17 Sugababes - About You Now (11wks 34-17-10-5-1-2-2-3-8-19-28)

13 Manic Street Preachers ft Nina Persson - Your Love Alone Is Not Enough (10wks 15-7-6-3-3-2-3-6-12-20-29)

12 Foo Fighters - Long Road To Ruin (6wks 1-1-1-5-10-11)

10 Mark Ronson - Stop Me (9wks 1-1-1-1-3-7-11-16-24)

7 Amy Macdonald - Mr Rock & Roll (11wks 4-4-1-1-4-6-8-12-20-24-32)

3 Kate Nash - Foundations (12wks 1-1-1-2-2-2-3-4-8-16-21-34)

2 Nelly Furtado - Say It Right (26wks 21-7-4-3-2-2-2-2-5-11-13-17-24-25-31-33-34-31-28-35-39-28-27-27-26-34)

1 Robyn ft Kleerup - With Every Heartbeat (13wks 20-1-1-1-1-1-6-7-12-19-23-27-39)

 

Excellent chart with an amazing top 3! Robyn took a hefty slide from No.1 thought after its 5 weeks :o

 

Some statistics regarding my Countdown:

 

Of the 125 Tracks:

 

83 are by British acts, 19 from USA, 7 from Canada & 16 are from the rest of the world.

 

Lead vocals: Male 66 v 59 Female

 

There are 5 USA#1's in my countdown & regarding the UK Chart peak positions:

 

#1: 7

#2-5: 17

#6-10: 20

#11-20: 10

#21-40: 17

#41-75: 23

#75+: 31

 

Excellent countdown Rich, here's what I like from your Top 75

 

74 Calvin Harris - Acceptable In The 80's (6wks 20-6-6-9-19-40)

73 Cherry Ghost - People Help The People (10wks 16-8-11-14-23-30-31-32-36-39)

72 Klaxons - Golden Skans (9wks 32-26-17-15-14-12-13-21-38)

70 Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Catch You (12wks 37-33-24-20-13-7-6-8-16-24-31-38)

67 Travis - Closer (9wks 39-10-6-5-2-2-9-16-27)

64 Lily Allen - Alfie (8wks 6-5-6-8-11-20-27-35)

62 Amy Winehouse - Love Is A Losing Game (5wks 23-8-2-3-7)

61 Travis - Selfish Jean (10wks 36-29-24-22-5-4-6-12-24-34)

58 Dan Le Sac & Scroobius Pip - Thou Shalt Always Kill (6wks 4-4-5-8-11-22)

56 Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running (10wks 21-8-7-10-11-20-24-32-38)

52 Paul McCartney - Dance Tonight (10wks 24-14-5-4-7-6-9-17-34-39)

50 Enemy - We'll Live In These Towns (3wks 11-7-8)

47 Guillemots - Annie Let's Not Wait (7wks 29-16-9-12-17-20-24)

43 Remi Nicole - Go Mr Sunshine (8wks 4-3-3-6-16-27-33-39)

39 Maximo Park - Our Velocity (15wks 26-18-17-23-27-30-24-25-26-27-28-26-30-33-37)

37 Richard Hawley - Tonight The Streets Are Ours (9wks 23-7-6-3-7-9-16-28-33)

36 Arcade Fire - No Cars Go (10wks 28-19-15-6-4-7-11-18-26-37)

32 Arctic Monkeys - Brainstorm (11wks 10-7-5-4-3-2-2-8-16-27-40)

30 Alicia Keys - No One (16wks 37-17-7-7-7-8-7-11-14-7-3-2-4-9-17-34)

28 Travis - My Eyes (7wks 1-1-2-11-18-28-40)

26 Feist - 1234 (15wks 21-15-12-11-11-9-11-15-23-35-OUT*3-20-13-16-30-40)

25 Robbie Williams - She's Madonna (12wks 14-12-10-DSQ(4)-8-4-2-2-2-5-8-12-18)

24 White Stripes - Icky Thump (11wks 6-4-3-3-3-2-2-2-7-18-30)

21 Adele - Hometown Glory (12wks 20-14-10-6-5-3-3-6-9-15-23-35)

19 Arcade Fire - Intervention (10wks 4-4-11-23-X(13)-3-2-2-6-12-23)

16 Editors - Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors (10wks 9-4-1-1-1-4-11-20-32-40)

14 Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent (11wks 12-6-4-3-2-2-5-10-16-21-32)

13 Manic Street Preachers ft Nina Persson - Your Love Alone Is Not Enough (10wks 15-7-6-3-3-2-3-6-12-20-29)

12 Foo Fighters - Long Road To Ruin (6wks 1-1-1-5-10-11)

11 Duffy - Rockferry (5wks 20-9-1-1-1)

10 Mark Ronson - Stop Me (9wks 1-1-1-1-3-7-11-16-24)

7 Amy Macdonald - Mr Rock & Roll (11wks 4-4-1-1-4-6-8-12-20-24-32)

6 Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby (12wks 30-23-12-3-1-1-1-1-11-18-26-40)

3 Kate Nash - Foundations (12wks 1-1-1-2-2-2-3-4-8-16-21-34)

2 Nelly Furtado - Say It Right (26wks 21-7-4-3-2-2-2-2-5-11-13-17-24-25-31-33-34-31-28-35-39-28-27-27-26-34)

1 Robyn ft Kleerup - With Every Heartbeat (13wks 20-1-1-1-1-1-6-7-12-19-23-27-39)

 

Excelent. :D

Edited January 1, 200817 yr by Jonny

Ooh quite surprised at your top two Rich. ^_^ Good chart though. :D

Hey Rich! Here's what i like:

 

125 C.S.S. - Off the Hook (10wks 22-20-25-27-29-34-39-36-36-38)

124 Maximo Park - Karaoke Plays (7wks 16-10-7-7-12-21-37)

123 Just Jack - Starz In Their Eyes (8wks 25*-12-12-13-18-22-32)

122 Scissor Sisters - Kiss You Off (7wks 27-19-9-7-10-17-27)

120 Twang - Either Way (7wks 38-27-10-11-15-23-32)

119 Pigeon Detectives - I'm Not Sorry (6wks 33-21-14-11-11-21)

118 Enemy - Away From Here (7wks 20-14-12-13-18-32-39)

117 Sounds - Tony The Beat (Push It) (7wks 17-12-11-15-17-29-37)

115 Fergie - Big Girls Don't Cry (9wks 39-30-22-13-9-13-19-22-31)

114 Cyndi - I'll Leave My Heart (5wks 5-5-17-21-30)

113 Pipettes - ABC (7wks 31-10-12-18-20-31-36)

112 Bloc Party - Flux (8wks 37-29-18-8-5-8-12-16)

110 Sophie Ellis Bextor - Today The Sun's On Us (6wks 38-24-15-13-20-31)

109 Kate Bush - Lyra (5wks 10-6-6-6-6)

108 Bjork - Earth Intruders (7wks 6-4-6-13-23-35-36)

102 Garbage - Tell Me Where It Hurts (9wks 29-20-13-8-8-12-17-23-34)

 

100 Cat Power - The Greatest (7wks 18-11-9-7-15-20-29)

99 Stereophonics - It Means Nothing (9wks 39-31-22-12-9-9-9-14-30)

98 Peter, Bjorn & John ft Victoria Bergsman - Young Folks (2007 Remix) (8wks 7-4-4-4-10-17-25-33)

97 Avril Lavigne - Girlfriend (10wks 25-14-12-8-7-8-13-19-24-34)

96 Muse - Invincible (4wks 40-33-35-40)

95 Siobhan Donaghy - Don't Give It Up (10wks 38-23-20-19-21-26-28-34-35-39)

94 Kaiser Chiefs - Angry Mob (5wks 37-33-28-23-26)

93 LCD Soundsystem - Someone Great (7wks 4-4-6-11-14-20-30)

92 Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love (12wks 5-6-8-9-11-7-6-10-12-17-23-39)

89 David Guetta - Love Is Gone (8wks 37-27-16-8-18-37-38-40)

87 Reverend & The Makers - Heavyweight Champion Of The World (9wks 37-24-15-9-9-12-17-22-39)

86 Alanis Morissette - My Humps (7wks 21-9-10-13-14-18-33)

85 Natasha Bedingfield - Soulmate (10wks 40-32-29-20-6-10-14-20-28-35)

84 Regina Spektor - Fidelity (9wks 40-25-14-11-10-14-16-23-35)

83 Babyshambles - The Delivery (9wks 36-20-14-8-15-15-17-28-37)

82 M.I.A. - Jimmy (7wks 6-5-5-9-11-30-38)

81 Groove Armada ft Mutya - Song For Mutya (6wks 7-7-7-13-19-29)

 

79 Beverley Knight - No Man's Land (9wks 27-24-17-15-15-15-14-19-30)

77 Fedde Le Grand ft Ida Corr - Let Me Think About It (9wks 37-12-5-6-11-18-16-19-25)

76 C.S.S. - Alcohol (7wks 29-20-15-14-19-26-40)

74 Calvin Harris - Acceptable In The 80's (6wks 20-6-6-9-19-40)

73 Cherry Ghost - People Help The People (10wks 16-8-11-14-23-30-31-32-36-39)

72 Klaxons - Golden Skans (9wks 32-26-17-15-14-12-13-21-38)

71 Shins - Phantom Limb (8wks 38-5-4-9-12-16-25-31)

70 Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Catch You (12wks 37-33-24-20-13-7-6-8-16-24-31-38)

68 Linkin Park - What I've Done (10wks 14-7-6-7-7-7-9-20-28-35)

67 Travis - Closer (9wks 39-10-6-5-2-2-9-16-27)

66 Christina Aguilera - Candyman (10wks 38-7-4-4-6-9-12-18-24-29)

65 Kelis ft Cee-lo - Lil' Star (12wks 35-21-10-5-2-4-5-9-10-15-22-30)

64 Lily Allen - Alfie (8wks 6-5-6-8-11-20-27-35)

63 Take That - Shine (14wks 36-32-29-14-7-5-3-3-4-9-14-17-24-38)

62 Amy Winehouse - Love Is A Losing Game (5wks 23-8-2-3-7)

 

60 Mark Ronson ft Amy Winehouse - Valerie (12wks 21-16-11-7-4-6-8-14-19-24-27-38)

59 Scouting For Girls - She's So Lovely (8wks 18-16-13-7-8-8-18-33)

58 Dan Le Sac & Scroobius Pip - Thou Shalt Always Kill (6wks 4-4-5-8-11-22)

57 Delta Goodrem - In This Life (9wks 31-10-4-5-6-11-17-28-35)

56 Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running (10wks 21-8-7-10-11-20-24-32-38)

55 Bats For Lashes - Whats A Girl To Do (7wks 9-5-5-5-12-18-34)

54 Jamelia - No More (8wks 15-9-5-3-6-11-21-39)

53 Amy Winehouse - Back To Black (9wks 21-13-11-10-9-12-13-17-34)

52 Paul McCartney - Dance Tonight (10wks 24-14-5-4-7-6-9-17-34-39)

51 Amy Winehouse - You Know I'm No Good (11wks 20-13-11*-5-4-5-6-11-16-27)

50 Enemy - We'll Live In These Towns (3wks 11-7-8)

49 Duran Duran - Falling Down (12wks 3-3-6-8-5-4-1-2-4-5-11-31)

43 Remi Nicole - Go Mr Sunshine (8wks 4-3-3-6-16-27-33-39)

42 Emma Pollock - Paper and Glue (6wks 15-4-2-3-8-13)

41 Rihanna ft Jay Z - Umbrella (8wks 11-1-1-4-10-18-32-36)

 

39 Maximo Park - Our Velocity (15wks 26-18-17-23-27-30-24-25-26-27-28-26-30-33-37)

38 Nerina Pallot - Learning To Breathe (8wks 18-7-4*-2-6-16-33)

36 Arcade Fire - No Cars Go (10wks 28-19-15-6-4-7-11-18-26-37)

35 Mutya - Real Girl (11wks 8-4-4-5-5-5-5-5-11-20-34)

34 Candie Payne - One More Chance (10wks 28-16-9-9-13-15-20-29-34-36)

32 Arctic Monkeys - Brainstorm (11wks 10-7-5-4-3-2-2-8-16-27-40)

31 Siouxsie Sioux - Here Comes That Day (9wks 1-3-5-9-16-23-20-24-33)

30 Alicia Keys - No One (16wks 37-17-7-7-7-8-7-11-14-7-3-2-4-9-17-34)

29 Robbie Williams - The 80's (6wks 3-1-1-5-17-28)

27 KT Tunstall - Hold On (10wks 19-12-6-2-2-2-2-11-24-37)

26 Feist - 1234 (15wks 21-15-12-11-11-9-11-15-23-35-OUT*3-20-13-16-30-40)

25 Robbie Williams - She's Madonna (12wks 14-12-10-DSQ(4)-8-4-2-2-2-5-8-12-18)

24 White Stripes - Icky Thump (11wks 6-4-3-3-3-2-2-2-7-18-30)

23 Britney Spears - Gimme More (12wks 2-2-3-4-4-1-2-9-13-23-31-36)

22 Take That - Rule The World (12wks 3-1-2-3-3-5-6-8-12-16-24-34)

21 Adele - Hometown Glory (12wks 20-14-10-6-5-3-3-6-9-15-23-35)

 

20 Mika - Grace Kelly (11wks 35*-1-1-1-1-3-3-8-13-32)

19 Arcade Fire - Intervention (10wks 4-4-11-23-X(13)-3-2-2-6-12-23)

18 Girls Aloud - Call The Shots (9wks 35-21-17-5-3-3-7-9-10)

17 Sugababes - About You Now (11wks 34-17-10-5-1-2-2-3-8-19-28)

16 Editors - Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors (10wks 9-4-1-1-1-4-11-20-32-40)

14 Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent (11wks 12-6-4-3-2-2-5-10-16-21-32)

13 Manic Street Preachers ft Nina Persson - Your Love Alone Is Not Enough (10wks 15-7-6-3-3-2-3-6-12-20-29)

12 Foo Fighters - Long Road To Ruin (6wks 1-1-1-5-10-11)

11 Duffy - Rockferry (5wks 20-9-1-1-1)

10 Mark Ronson - Stop Me (9wks 1-1-1-1-3-7-11-16-24)

8 Jarvis - Don't Let Him Waste Your Time (16wks 26*-16-13-8-2-2-8-10-15-24-23-24-30-34-40)

7 Amy Macdonald - Mr Rock & Roll (11wks 4-4-1-1-4-6-8-12-20-24-32)

6 Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby (12wks 30-23-12-3-1-1-1-1-11-18-26-40)

3 Kate Nash - Foundations (12wks 1-1-1-2-2-2-3-4-8-16-21-34)

2 Nelly Furtado - Say It Right (26wks 21-7-4-3-2-2-2-2-5-11-13-17-24-25-31-33-34-31-28-35-39-28-27-27-26-34)

1 Robyn ft Kleerup - With Every Heartbeat (13wks 20-1-1-1-1-1-6-7-12-19-23-27-39)

 

Excellent! The top 3 are all superb. Especially SIR obviously :wub:

Excellent for Sugababes Jamelia & Mutya :o :cheer:

Thanks for your comments so far.....

 

 

Coming soon my 36 Studio Albums of 2007 Countdown...

 

The albums are:

 

Alicia Keys - As I Am

Alison Moyet - The Turn

Amy Macdonald - This Is The Life

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare

Bats For Lashes - Fur & Gold

Britney Spears - Blackout

Crowded House - Time On Earth

Duran Duran - Red Carpet Massacre

Eagles - Long Road Out Of Eden

Editors - An End Has A Start

Enemy - We Live & Die In These Towns

Feist - Reminder

Girls Aloud - Tangled Up

Go Team - Proof Of Youth

Hoosiers - The Trick Of Life

Kaiser Chiefs - Yours Truly, Angry Mob

Kate Nash - Made Of Bricks

Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future

KT Tunstall - Drastic Fantastic

Kylie Minogue - X

Manic Street Preachers - Send Away The Tigers

Maps - We Can Create

Maximo Park - Our Earthly Pleasures

Mika - Life In Cartoon Motion

Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank

New Young Pony Club - Fantastic Playroom

Norah Jones - Not Too Late

Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full

Prince - Planet Earth

Radiohead - In Rainbows

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raising Sand

Rufus Wainwright - Release The Stars

Siouxsie Sioux - Mantaray

The Good The Bad & The Queen - The Good The Bad & The Queen

Travis - The Boy With No Name

 

 

 

fabulous stuff.... was hoping Client would've made it higher than number 15, but apart from a baffling number one, a pretty great round-up.

Edited January 4, 200817 yr by russt68

As expected, a fantastic EndOfYear chart and what is probably the best on BuzzJack. A fantastic read. I rate all of the following singles 7/10 or higher with the ones that made my top 100 marked with position.

 

Here:

125 C.S.S. - Off the Hook (10wks 22-20-25-27-29-34-39-36-36-38) (#70)

123 Just Jack - Starz In Their Eyes (8wks 25*-12-12-13-18-22-32) (#32)

121 Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah (2007 mix) (5wks 2-2-9-19-31)

119 Pigeon Detectives - I'm Not Sorry (6wks 33-21-14-11-11-21)

117 Sounds - Tony The Beat (Push It) (7wks 17-12-11-15-17-29-37) (#23)

113 Pipettes - ABC (7wks 31-10-12-18-20-31-36)

112 Bloc Party - Flux (8wks 37-29-18-8-5-8-12-16)

107 Ghosts - Stay The Night (9wks 26-18-13-12-15-19-26-32-39)

98 Peter, Bjorn & John ft Victoria Bergsman - Young Folks (2007 Remix) (8wks 7-4-4-4-10-17-25-33) (#03 in 2006)

94 Kaiser Chiefs - Angry Mob (5wks 37-33-28-23-26)

93 LCD Soundsystem - Someone Great (7wks 4-4-6-11-14-20-30) (#06)

87 Reverend & The Makers - Heavyweight Champion Of The World (9wks 37-24-15-9-9-12-17-22-39) (#91)

84 Regina Spektor - Fidelity (9wks 40-25-14-11-10-14-16-23-35)

82 M.I.A. - Jimmy (7wks 6-5-5-9-11-30-38) (#80)

81 Groove Armada ft Mutya - Song For Mutya (6wks 7-7-7-13-19-29) (#04)

76 C.S.S. - Alcohol (7wks 29-20-15-14-19-26-40)

74 Calvin Harris - Acceptable In The 80's (6wks 20-6-6-9-19-40) (#41)

73 Cherry Ghost - People Help The People (10wks 16-8-11-14-23-30-31-32-36-39) (#59)

72 Klaxons - Golden Skans (9wks 32-26-17-15-14-12-13-21-38)

71 Shins - Phantom Limb (8wks 38-5-4-9-12-16-25-31) (#84)

70 Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Catch You (12wks 37-33-24-20-13-7-6-8-16-24-31-38)

66 Christina Aguilera - Candyman (10wks 38-7-4-4-6-9-12-18-24-29)

65 Kelis ft Cee-lo - Lil' Star (12wks 35-21-10-5-2-4-5-9-10-15-22-30) (#47)

64 Lily Allen - Alfie (8wks 6-5-6-8-11-20-27-35)

63 Take That - Shine (14wks 36-32-29-14-7-5-3-3-4-9-14-17-24-38)

62 Amy Winehouse - Love Is A Losing Game (5wks 23-8-2-3-7) (#87)

61 Travis - Selfish Jean (10wks 36-29-24-22-5-4-6-12-24-34)

 

60 Mark Ronson ft Amy Winehouse - Valerie (12wks 21-16-11-7-4-6-8-14-19-24-27-38)

58 Dan Le Sac & Scroobius Pip - Thou Shalt Always Kill (6wks 4-4-5-8-11-22) (#72)

56 Arcade Fire - Keep The Car Running (10wks 21-8-7-10-11-20-24-32-38) (#34)

55 Bats For Lashes - Whats A Girl To Do (7wks 9-5-5-5-12-18-34)

53 Amy Winehouse - Back To Black (9wks 21-13-11-10-9-12-13-17-34)

51 Amy Winehouse - You Know I'm No Good (11wks 20-13-11*-5-4-5-6-11-16-27)

48 Maps - You Don't Know Her Name (7wks 15-11-9-8-10-17-35)

47 Guillemots - Annie Let's Not Wait (7wks 29-16-9-12-17-20-24) (#25)

45 Cherry Ghost - Mathematics (11wks 22-19-21-17-20-22-25-28-29-31-38)

43 Remi Nicole - Go Mr Sunshine (8wks 4-3-3-6-16-27-33-39)

42 Emma Pollock - Paper and Glue (6wks 15-4-2-3-8-13)

 

39 Maximo Park - Our Velocity (15wks 26-18-17-23-27-30-24-25-26-27-28-26-30-33-37) (#13)

37 Richard Hawley - Tonight The Streets Are Ours (9wks 23-7-6-3-7-9-16-28-33)

36 Arcade Fire - No Cars Go (10wks 28-19-15-6-4-7-11-18-26-37) (#39)

35 Mutya - Real Girl (11wks 8-4-4-5-5-5-5-5-11-20-34)

34 Candie Payne - One More Chance (10wks 28-16-9-9-13-15-20-29-34-36)

32 Arctic Monkeys - Brainstorm (11wks 10-7-5-4-3-2-2-8-16-27-40) (#16)

26 Feist - 1234 (15wks 21-15-12-11-11-9-11-15-23-35-OUT*3-20-13-16-30-40) (#10)

22 Take That - Rule The World (12wks 3-1-2-3-3-5-6-8-12-16-24-34)

 

19 Arcade Fire - Intervention (10wks 4-4-11-23-X(13)-3-2-2-6-12-23) (#14)

17 Sugababes - About You Now (11wks 34-17-10-5-1-2-2-3-8-19-28) (#58)

15 Client - Xerox Machine (11wks 8-2-2-4-6-11-14-18-27-32-37) (#81)

14 Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent (11wks 12-6-4-3-2-2-5-10-16-21-32) (#28)

13 Manic Street Preachers ft Nina Persson - Your Love Alone Is Not Enough (10wks 15-7-6-3-3-2-3-6-12-20-29)

12 Foo Fighters - Long Road To Ruin (6wks 1-1-1-5-10-11)

11 Duffy - Rockferry (5wks 20-9-1-1-1)

10 Mark Ronson - Stop Me (9wks 1-1-1-1-3-7-11-16-24) (#51)

8 Jarvis - Don't Let Him Waste Your Time (16wks 26*-16-13-8-2-2-8-10-15-24-23-24-30-34-40) (#41)

7 Amy Macdonald - Mr Rock & Roll (11wks 4-4-1-1-4-6-8-12-20-24-32)

4 Modest Mouse - Dashboard (15wks 1-1-3-7-6-13-14-17-18-18-12-15-17-21-33) (#83)

3 Kate Nash - Foundations (12wks 1-1-1-2-2-2-3-4-8-16-21-34)

2 Nelly Furtado - Say It Right (26wks 21-7-4-3-2-2-2-2-5-11-13-17-24-25-31-33-34-31-28-35-39-28-27-27-26-34)

1 Robyn ft Kleerup - With Every Heartbeat (13wks 20-1-1-1-1-1-6-7-12-19-23-27-39) (#01) :wub: :wub: :wub:

 

STUDIO ALBUMS OF 2007

 

36 Kylie Minogue - X (4 out of 10) (Metacritic score: 61)

 

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Following her well documented breast cancer scare, Kylie Minogue and her considerable coterie let the world to know that She Is Back. There's been a V&A exhibition, a waxwork unveiling, the cinema-released documentary film White Diamond, ITV1's The Kylie Show, a children's book, a comeback tour and even a perfume launch to add to her fashion range. Topping it all off like designer frosted icing comes X, Kylie's tenth album or so it should have been. It's her first new studio recording in four years. She's been away, but somehow it doesn't seem so.

 

Recorded in London, Stockholm and Ibiza with the requisite extensive gaggle of rent-a-writers and producers seemingly essential to any pop album these days, X's 13 tracks do what Kylie songs always do - crank up a beat and get energetic around unchallenging lyrics about dancing, sexing and little else. Together they've made an expensive-sounding album pitched squarely at Kylie's existing audience base.

 

Of the producers arrayed in the sleeve's near-illegible handwriting font, Greg Kurstin gives best bang for buck. His No More Rain plays like Goldfrapp making a Bond theme in Ibiza while Wow, one of the album's biggest numbers, borrows an opening from Madonna's Holiday and goes on about dancing and sexing, etc. in amongst a breathtakingly impressive whirl of digitisation although it sounds too near to Love At First Sight for my liking.

 

There are nods to the intelligent end of electropop. The One, the most memorable track of the album, is New Orderesque with tinges of late Abba, is the only track that manages to lift off. Similarly, the chorus of Stars, one of the few moments when albeit heavily treated guitars are permitted, fires up but despite promise it never quite leaves the launchpad.

 

Pop itself in general and the songs written for Kylie in particular have traditionally never been about lyrical profundity, so it's not a surprise that X moves not a jot away from a tried and tested template with chorus lyrics so asinine that a 10-year-old might have penned them. When combined with her robotic delivery these lyrics make the album as a whole difficult to engage with on any level beyond its beats.

 

That delivery is emphasised on Speakerphone; here someone's even decided to stick her voice through a Cher-a-like vocoder program, leaving her sounding even less connected to 'her' music. It's just one of several moments on X where it's difficult to discern any trace of Kylie's own personality. These songs sound remote and impersonal as a result. Only on closer Cosmic does Kylie begin to sound like a singer interested in her lyrics (or maybe she was writing space type lyrics in the hope it would be featured in the Xmas Dr Who when she provided an excellent (in stark contrast to this album) turn as heroine Astrid) - and, aside from the second rate Goldfrapp homage lead single 2 Hearts, it's the only song sporting lyrics of any discernible meaning.

 

2 Hearts itself is hardly a floor filler, erring towards booty shaking rather than foot stomping and, as such, it's destined never to centrepiece any night on the tiles. Following that, Like A Drug is Mel & Kim's Respectable rehashed for a post-Stock Aitkein Waterman audience.

 

There are also several entirely superfluous tracks. Heart Beat Rock, produced by Calvin Harris, is absolute unmitigated4th rate Timbaland filler. All I See Is You is a soulful ballad ruined by a repetitive metronomic beat that prevents any of the song's potential expression reaching the listener. Nu Di Ty sounds like it was written for a choreographed arena dance moment featuring the sveltest of Kylie's collection of scantily clad gays.

 

Such objections would be mere frippery if anything here was as addictive as Can't Get You Out Of My Head. Unfortunately there's little that even approaches that level of songwriting, leaving much of the album to fall back on the admittedly impressive production.

 

Kylie has long been billed as the pop princess. As she approaches her 40th year like Madonna she is suddenly starting to look her age, her longevity and popularity are not in question. But what is really annoying about this album is knowing that the ballad version of White Diamond (available on the DVD version) would have been the best track by a mile on the album. Also knowing that she rejected tracks by Groove Armada & Hot Chip, Marc Almond's fantastically camp Kitsche & worst of all Bloc Party's Flux for the album leaves me feeling annoyed.

 

Kylie fans may like it, but for me this is easily her worst album since being signed to EMI. After a wait of four years, this album is nowhere near good enough.

 

The Best track:

 

The One

 

 

35 Klaxons - Myths Of The Near Future (5) (Metacritic Score: 71)

 

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On the sliding scale of terrible ideas, a U.K. "New Rave" scene rates somewhere between cat juggling and the Spice Girls comeback single which is probably why the NME have gone overboard and raved about it. :lol:. Until now, the best case you could make for old-school Madchester-era rave was that at least it didn't have any revival potential. But the Klaxons have made a bold entrance with the club hit "Atlantis to Interzone," dressing up in fluorescent wizard robes to chant, "Horses want to dance/But find their wings are damaged!" On Myths, they expand their suspiciously indie-ish rock riffs with tales of centaurs ("4 Horsemen of 2012") and Cyclopses ("Isle of Her"). If it weren't for the big three singles... and the habitually contagious Golden Skans standing well above the rest of the album, there would be nothing new or interesting about Myths.

 

Production wise there is way to much treble in the mix and much of the album sounds a mess.

 

With this album ridiculously beating Amy Winehouse's Back To Black album at the Mercury music awards, memories of M People ludicrous victory over Radiohead's OK Computer come to mind. Proof that two wrongs don't make a right.

 

The best track:

Golden Skans (live at Glastonbury)

 

 

34 Norah Jones - Not Too Late (5) (Metacritic rating: 68)

 

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The album has its share of strong tracks, like the Dylanesque Wish I Could, with its unexpected half-note elisions, or the trad-jazzy Tom Waits-like Sinkin' Soon, or the haunting, whimsical, cello-darkened Broken. The mood is mostly dreamy, lazy country-rockers, quirky waltzes, a little earthy bluesiness and bits of laid-back funk, and there's even a demurely delivered anti-Bush song. Jones's voice, always more characterful than the easy-listening tag ever implied, sometimes shifts to a strange place between Madeleine Peyroux's or Diane Krall's jazzy smokiness (they're all Billie Holiday fans) and the weird pop delicacy of a Joanna Newsom. But Jones's and partner Lee Alexander's tunes need to improve if the singer isn't to retreat to covering classics again, as she almost certainly will. It's pretty music (though the sugary Little Room gets to tooth-twinge point), beautifully performed. But Norah Jones has more to offer than this, and too often it leaves you thinking Katie Melua could come up with better.

 

Best song:

Sinkin' Soon

 

 

33 Mika - Life In Cartoon Motion (5) (Metacritic rating: 55)

 

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Mika’s debut record, Life In Cartoon Motion, can neatly be categorised alongside the Scissor Sisters; the two share very similar influences in glam rock, disco and funk, however Mika’s sound is made slightly more current by virtue of his location. Situated in the nation’s capital, the alternative hip-hop sounds of the city seem to have rubbed off on him, as demonstrated by ‘Lollipop,’ which apes the melody of Lily Allen’s ‘LDN,’ and part of the lyrical theme to boot, while the first single ‘Relax, Take It Easy’ chorus is "inspired" by the Cutting Crew's "I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight".

 

At its best, Life In Cartoon Motion is an expert amalgamation of a number of pop stylings from past and present; at worst, Life In Cartoon Motion is, well, exactly the same thing. Very little of the album could easily be characterised as original- each track sees Mika either imitate a certain vocalist or borrow a melody from a certain song. In a similar way to ‘90s rockers Jellyfish, when it hits, it hits hard and when it misses, it hits an exposed nerve and requires extensive therapy. It’s this factor that’s led to the album dividing critics so wildly.

 

‘Billy Brown’ borrows the piano melody from The Monkees’ ‘Daydream Believer’ and Paul McCartney’s vocal melody from ‘Penny Lane’ and tells the story of a man, married with children, whose life is turned upside down when he falls in love with another man, proclaiming him “another victim of the times.” The lyrics are simple and straightforward, but vague enough to tell a story without taking away the listener’s opportunity to imagine and ending. ‘Grace Kelly’ houses a similarly basic lyric, this time a riposte to a label head (Simon Cowell) who’d rejected him because he refused to re-invent himself as another James Blunt/James Morrison clone, and morphs semi-intentionally into a projection against society as a whole, exclaiming “why don’t you like me, why don’t you like yourself? Should I bend over? Should I look older just to be put on the shelf?” while basking in the implied irony of Ms. Kelly’s sampled quote: “getting angry doesn’t solve anything”

 

The massive dip in quality towards the end, including the progressive worsening through closing, bonus and hidden tracks, is disappointing, considering how well the album begins. As masterfully as tracks like ‘Grace Kelly’ and ‘Love Today’ acknowledge their influences without any pretensions of originality beyond the inherent personality of the singer, ‘Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)’ falls at every hurdle, knowingly parodying Queen’s ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ and Older-era George Michael but is melodically weak in comparison.

 

Any number of the album’s tracks come across as potential singles, but that’s without making the all-important distinction between “good singles” and “successful singles.” ‘Lollipop’ borrows much from the chorus of ‘LDN,’ but it’s from Gwen Stefani’s ‘Hollaback Girl’ that the bulk of the song takes its cue and, to put it bluntly, Gwen’s already milked that beat for all that it’s worth and more besides. ‘Any Other World’ amd ‘My Interpretation’ each contain rather unsubtle imitations of James Blunt’s vocal style and, though quite well-written, fail to overcome the not inconsiderable hurdle of sounding like James Blunt, while ‘Relax, Take It Easy’ casts its net somewhere between Music-era Madonna and Jimmy Somerville and winds up neither catchy enough to become a pop single or interesting enough to become a dancefloor classic.

 

Life In Cartoon Motion at first displays all the hallmarks of a great pop album- it takes influence from all the best artists and isn’t averse to pilfering a melody or two- however, like many pop albums, it oozes character but fails to translate it into something substantial. Still, if an album was ever worth buying for one song, Life In Cartoon Motion would be it thanks to "Grace Kelly" especially as it is now going cheap in the January sales. Personally, I'd rather stick with the far more original Rufus Wainwright.

 

Best track (that is not Grace Kelly):

Billy Brown (live)

 

 

 

 

32 Eagles - Long Road Out Of Eden (6) Metacritic Rating: 60

 

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How to make a successful comeback if you are America's most iconic band of the 1970s:

 

To be a resounding success to the people who are anticipating this album most, to get people talking about it, and to sell as well as an Eagles album should, it needs to follow some simple rules.

 

1) Don't mess with the 'classic' Eagles sound.

2) Address terrorism in a tame, vague way at some point.

3) Address global warming in a tame, vague way at some point.

4) Address America in a tame, vague way at some point.

 

And that's it. Long Road Out of Eden doesn't actually need to be a good album; just one with no obvious flaws.

 

And that's basically what it is. This album advertizes, from its first few seconds, just how vehemently it's stuck in the past. The unashamedly '60s vocal harmonies of "No More Walks In The Wood", the FM-friendly classic rock of "How Long" ("Take It Easy" Part 2), the power balladry of "What Do I Do With My Heart", the almost Scott Jopin-esque piano of "Guilty of the Crime" - well, what did you expect, post-rock? The Eagles have made precisely zero effort to modernise their sound, and you almost feel like they're gloating about it - the first minute of the title track is a red herring that flirts with world music before wondering into another trademarked and stamped Eagles song. The greatest departure is "Fast Company", a slice of cod-funk that boasts a vocal turn obviously inspired by Prince and a thumping bass borrowed directly from the '80s. Surprise surprise - it's the worst song on the album. No other song here would have been out of place on Desperado or The Long Run, and if "How Long" had made its way onto the second half of Hotel California, it'd have improved the album. Later there's even "Somebody", a song written by the same ghostwriter responsible for "Peaceful Easy Feeling".

 

As far as acknowledging the world around them goes, they've done a stellar job of being almost entirely non-committal. The attention-grabbing title "I Dreamed There Was No War" is given to a short instrumental, meaning that any listener can think exactly what they like about how The Eagles feel about the war (or, in fact, ANY war). The only straight-talking track that deals with the big issues head-on is "Frail Grasp On The Big Picture", and despite the obvious good intent, even that feels a little distanced from grim reality. The title track is also apparently anti-war, but buries its messages deep enough within its words that anyone who's not looking for the message (or, more pressingly, doesn't want to hear that viewpoint) won't find it. "No More Walks In The Wood" bemoans the fact that 'all the trees have been cut down' and 'we made our own weather', and fair play for sticking this song right at the front of the album, but global warming has become such a tired issue by now that you find yourself wishing for a little more than those two lines. The same goes for the digs at consumerism and the American media taken on the title track (the line 'the good old USA' is delivered without irony), although it does become more cutting as the song progresses.

 

So it's simple. Like The Eagles? You'll like this. Don't like The Eagles? You won't, the Eagles don't care. And yet, with the mind-boggling figures they've put up in their career, they're entitled. For a Brit like me, who appreciates their major songs (i.e. owns their 2CD Best of but wouldn't consider themselves a fan, it's hard to muster any opinion at all. The music here is as accomplished as you'd wish for from a line-up celebrating their 30th anniversary as a unit, but it's just so safe. Two discs and no risks makes it a slightly draining experience to take in full - particularly, the schmaltzy ballads ("You Are Not Alone" and "I Love To Watch A Woman Dance", for instance) are a little hard to swallow. Still, this will undoubtedly rack up huge sales, because they haven't played with a winning formula - for better or worse, it's the most predictable album of the year.

 

Best Track:

 

Waiting In The Weeds

 

 

31 Prince - Planet Earth (6) Metacritic Rating: 65

 

http://www.metacritic.com/media/music/artists/prince/planetearth/picture.jpg

 

Given away free in the Sunday Mail after the paper paid his Purpleness £250,000 for the priviledge represented good business for an artist whose creative peak left his over a decade and a half ago.

 

Since his revival in 2004 with Musicology, it couldn’t hope to match the audacious, pervy, all-singing, all-dancing, miniature sex god and musical polymath of his more youthful purple period, it was a decent enough facsimile, one which he reprised for last year’s 3121. Unsurprisingly, Planet Earth is more of the same, both echoing his own past and occasionally chiming with the more modish likes of OutKast, Kanye West and Gnarls Barkley, names that he influenced in the first place.

 

Try as others might, though, nobody else has ever really got close to replicating what Prince does himself. And across Planet Earth’s brisk and varied 10 tracks, he is once again doing it pretty well, from cocky rock strut (Guitar) to Chic-style, pumped-up funk (Chelsea Rodgers) and knicker-loosening R&B beats (Future Baby Mama).

 

Elsewhere, there’s another playful exercise in seduction on the lightly rapping Mr. Goodnight, The One U Wanna C is the jolliest of pop stomps, while Somewhere Here On Earth shows off his still sugar-sweet falsetto in a swooning, cocktail-jazz setting. Even the misfiring title track possesses a lighters-aloft sway and blustering guitar finale to fit the stadiums he is once again filling.

 

At the very least, it’s good to have him back freshly energised and making music again for the many rather than just the few. As for Planet Earth’s wider implications on the record business, .... mmm we'll havve to wait and see.

 

Best track:

 

Chelsea Rodgers

 

30 Crowded House - Time On Earth (6) Metacritic rating: 78

 

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You can’t say this about the breakups of most bands, but when Crowded House split in 1996, everyone knew it shouldn’t have happened. The band had released only four studio albums. They were commercially successful most everywhere except for in the US, and musically at the top of their game. Their most recent studio album, 1993’s Together Alone was their best to date, a masterpiece that made the most of their considerable strengths while taking their charismatic, melodic, intelligent pop/rock in some new directions. Yet, it suggested fresh approaches and new melodies were yet to be minted. The split was premature and everyone knew it.

 

Everyone, that is, except for Neil Finn. Or maybe he knew it, but that knowledge alone wasn’t enough to overcome his desire, as he put it, to not play in a band any more. As Crowded House’s singer, songwriter, and primary guitar player, he had the most to lose by keeping the band going and risking diminishing returns, and the most to gain by going solo and/or working with his brother Tim, who had fleetingly been a Crowded House member. On the Together Alone tour, Finn had also been forced to deal with one of the most difficult and taxing aspects of band life—the runaway drummer. Paul Hester quit in the middle of an American tour, and Finn had to scramble for a replacement. Hester had been with Finn throughout Crowded House’s existence, and before that in Split Enz. His participation in 1996’s Farewell to the World “goodbye” concert belied the impact of his departure two years earlier, but maybe it was enough to finally convince Finn to throw in the Crowded House towel.

 

So it’s fitting that Hester is a prime catalyst behind Crowded House’s reunion a decade later. The tragedy of it, as has been well-documented, is that it was Hester’s 2005 suicide that brought Finn and original bassist Nick Seymour back together for the first time in years. This, coupled with the tenth anniversary of Farewell to the World (and if you’re cynical, diminishing commercial and critical returns on his solo work), caused Finn to realize that he missed being in a band—and that band was Crowded House.

 

Finn already had most of his third solo album in the can, however, and Seymour had been working on it, too. So, the switch to a Crowded House album was mostly semantic. Latter-day Crowded House multi-instrumentalist Mark Hart and new drummer Matt Sherrod were brought in, but appear on only a handful of Time on Earth‘s 14 tracks. In true Fleetwood Mac fashion, then, Time on Earth is a pseudo solo album that was still undoubtedly affected by being brought under the band moniker. Sadly it’s the not the best thing Finn’s done since Together Alone by a long chalk.

 

On the downside, it also has all the markings of a late-career comeback: More than one safe, experienced producer (in this case Talking Heads, Dave Matthews, and Morrissey vet Steve Lillywhite and alt.country mainstay Ethan Johns); clean, mid-to-downtempo arrangements; and a near total absence of levity. Sure, Crowded House always had its melancholy moments, including most of 1988’s moody 2nd album effort Temple of Low Men. But even that ten-song album had pop gems like “I Feel Possessed”, “When You Come”, and “Sister Madly” to balance the tone and tempo. Time On Earth, in contrast, provides exactly one such flashpoint in “She Called Up”. A short, snappy tune driven by electric piano, goofy synth blips; and an arch, unhinged chorus; it’s the kind of timeless pop that Finn’s been excelling at since his Split Enz days, and that he doesn’t allow himself to indulge in enough lately. The strutting, tense “Walked Her Way Down” comes close with its effortless, Steely Dan-like chorus, but its minor key keeps it squarely in a more serious vein.

 

Indeed, the rest of Time on Earth is serious and somber, and fairly quiet from a musical standpoint, too; it’s closer to Adult Album Alternative territory than a Crowded House record has ever been. But, given the subject matter, this hardly seems inappropriate. Throughout, Finn explores themes of loss—of time, people, direction. Songs like the wonderfully wistful “Nobody Wants To” and the terse, trancelike “Say That Again” are about the importance of honest communication before it’s too late. “They make it go away / Pretending that it’s all OK”, Finn sings on the former, the danger of being inattentive to emotional struggles all too clear. On the soaring ballad “Silent House”, co-written with the Dixie Chicks, he promises “I will try to connect / All the pieces you’ve left.” He’s ostensibly singing about a woman; but, as with nearly all of Time on Earth, the lyric could just as easily be about Hester. And it’s that focus and desire to come to grips, however sad, that gives that album its poignancy and lends weight to the otherwise soft arrangements. On the excellent, yearning first single “Don’t Stop Now”, which features more strong melodies in five minutes than most hipster bands manage in an album, Finn states his intent: “Give me something I can cry about… sometimes you have to turn the wrong way ‘round”.

 

At times, even Finn’s emotional commitment can’t overcome a general sense of navel-gazing. “Pour Le Monde” is so gorgeous it justifies the pretension, but “A Sigh” (which basically sounds like one) and “People Are Like Suns” are among those that might better have been pruned from the album. Old pal Johnny Marr stops by for “Even a Child”, and though it’s always nice to hear Marr hasn’t lost his jangle, the song sounds more like a lesser Electronic track than anything. Finn’s one real stab at experimentation results in the album’s one true embarrassment, the mess of German voices and incongruent backing vocals that is “Transit Lounge”.

 

Take its weaknesses in stride, and Time on Earth still has enough emotional resonance and melodic moments to make it something special. Once again, the case for Finn (who’s in fine voice throughout, by the way) as one of a rare and dying breed of gifted melodicists must be made. Now that he’s got the band back together, maybe he’ll get everyone in the studio for a looser, less sober follow-up. Who knows where that might lead especially having seen them live in December at Wembley Arena where all the live versions performed of tracks from this album were superior to the staid studio cousins.

 

Best track:

 

Silent House

 

29 KT Tunstall - Drastic Fantastic (6) Metacritic rating: 68

 

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Uncomfortably straddling the Radio 2/indie divide for the last few years, Scottish singer-songwriter Tunstall has now slipped into Radio 2 mode at it's most generic. Her debut had some killer pop singles like ‘Black Horse And The Cherry Tree’, but on ‘Drastic Fantastic’ her talent and quirks have been mostly hidden under a gloss of studio production and bland Sheryl Crow inspired AOR. From the album cover & video for the lead single "Hold On" it is clear that she has gone more pop. But beneath the glitz, buttery harmonies and catchy choruses, there's the sadness of Funnyman, which details the mental anguish suffered by her friend Gordon Anderson (of the Aliens); the self-deprecation of Hopeless; and a sense that Tunstall is torn between her folk past and pop present. White Bird is a bland bookend to the Beatles' Blackbird, and two other tracks, Someday Soon and Paper Aeroplane, are a step back from the acoustic gems that graced her debut. By no means a disaster, but Tunstall can do better.

 

Best track:

 

Little Favours

28 Editors - An End Has A Start (6) Metacritic rating: 65

 

http://www.metacritic.com/media/music/artists/editors/anendhasastart/picture.jpg

 

One of the common themes of 2007 was the disappointing sophomore (second) album syndrome that affected an awful lot of Indie/Rock acts. This is the second of three consecutive albums on my countdown that fall into this category.

 

The new Editors album is more slickly-produced, it’s more sedate overall, and it has its sights firmly set on a more mainstream audience. The result, while likely disappointing to fans of the edgier songs on The Back Room like “Bullets” or “Blood”, is at least artistically consistent. On the spectrum of disappointment, Editors don’t sound like they’re making a desperate grab at radio airplay (coughs Bloc Party) or like a cheap imitation of their early, ascetic selves (coughs Interpol). Instead, An End Has a Start seems like a sanded-down version of the original; the trouble being, of course, that those rough edges were among the first album’s most enduring pleasures.

 

A number of the songs on An End Has a Start seem to be stitched together from disparate ideas that relate to each other only peripherally, if at all. As if the band arrived at the studio with a bunch of fragments, and ended up with bookshelves of ideas stacked one after the other, labeled as songs. So on more than a few tracks ("The Racing Rats” and “Escape the Nest” are examples), the band relies on Ed Lay’s pounding drumbeat and Chris Urbanowicz’s jittery guitar fuzz to carry songs to completion.

 

The best song by far is the opening track and first single, “Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors”. It’s a conventionally glorious sound, but the construction is strapped tight: truncated chorus on first iteration, expanded gloriously next time around; neatly rising melodic line; textural interest derived from the apposition of piano and chiming guitars. This one song, at least, proves the band deserving of continuing attention. And even though its forays into sparse melancholia mostly plod, the band does reach a true feeling of peace on “Well Worn Hand”. When Smith sings “I can’t face the night like I used to before” the effect is all haunting regret, simply stated and quite powerful.

 

The craft of the album’s on full show, and dedicated Editors fans will find plenty of melodies to sing along to. But for those wanting a "The Bends" or "A Rush of Blood To The Head" this album disappoints. .... and I got through the review without once mentioning the obvious Joy Division/Ian Curtis similarities...... :lol:

 

Best track:

 

Smokers Outside The Hospital Doors (live)