I'M IN LOVE

Audio Bullys

Just a couple of months ago, they’d done it. Top three single at last - even if they were helped on their way by Nancy Sinatra, the new stuff they’d added held its own. With this one, they’ve blown it. The singing’s poor, but I’ll forgive that because I myself have the singing ability of an Austin Maestro, so I can sympathise on that score. It’s what he’s singing I have a problem with – “Got to get back home ’cause I’m in love”? Oh dear. There’s more, the spoken part in the middle sounds as though it was recorded in a lift and has that “read straight off the page” feel to it. In the face of so much mediocrity, however, it is nice to report that there is something good in this track. If you wait until the last few seconds, and you’re old enough to remember this sort of thing, it sounds as though the organist from Sale Of The Century has come out of retirement. He’s even playing the same sort of tune that he used to play as Nicholas Parsons and friends were offering luxuries like Pye television sets to middle-aged contestants from Norfolk for the princely sum of £40. That alone can’t save this song, but at least this isn’t a complete write-off, eh?

IN THE CROSSFIRE

Starsailor

When Starsailor first appeared, their music did absolutely naff all for me. The first album, in fact, bored me rigid. When they got around to Four To The Floor, though, things got better – actually, that wasn’t the end of it either, there was some good stuff on the second album. If this is anything to go by, the third one might be a bit special, because this is a real sit-up-and-take-notice comeback single. There’s a sense of urgency and energy about this one and the production’s great - I don’t think they’ve ever had a song sound as full or layered as this. It’s nice to see a band that’s not content to sit back and say “It worked before, let’s do it again”.

YOU RAISE ME UP

Westlife

Coming back just before Christmas so as to maximise album sales, ballad released as a single with strings and everything thrown it bar the kitchen sink and any sign that the participants were interested, my God this is all so predictable. I know pop bands do an awful lot of work doing tours and TV appearances, but surely at the end of the day, the most important thing is the songs – they are in the music business, after all. This song has had the complacency laid on with a trowel – they know what works and that they’re going to have a big hit and it sounds as though that really is all that matters. The quality of the performance, apparently, does not. Maybe it’s because I grew up in the eighties when most artists had to write and play their own songs (not just sing them), but the continued popularity of Westlife just leaves me completely baffled.

ACE OF SPADES

Motorhead

Now, I don’t normally like heavy metal. Big hair, stupid clothes, naff “recorded live in concert” videos – most metal bands seem obliged to have at least one of those elements in their act (Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On A Prayer impressively incorporates all three). However, there are always exceptions to the rule and this is one. Ace Of Spades is an absolute classic and I love it. It’s fast, it’s furious and it’s damned good fun and, far more importantly, it makes me smile every time I hear it (and it's getting a re-issue which is why it's here). This is what happens when you write and perform a song without giving a stuff about how high in the charts it’ll get, which is exactly how a song should be approached. As a result, this song is as popular now as it was when it first came out. It’s not often I agree with everyone else when they say something’s great (James Blunt’s album, for instance – what’s all the fuss about?), but this is one of those times.