THE WORLD WAS A MESS BUT HIS HAIR WAS PERFECT

Rakes

You know those songs where the bass isn't just a noise in the background, but gets equal billing with the guitars? I must admit, I'm a bit of a sucker for those, so that's the Rakes off to a good start straight away. It gets better too, because this song screams quality from start to finish. The bass drives the song along, and if anything, it's the guitarist who has to sit in the background at times. The three and a half minute running time is rattled through (however, I've heard one version goes on for well over a quarter of an hour) and the singer keeps his part of the proceedings very low-key, which actually helps – I've got a feeling that if he'd yelped his way through the song it wouldn't have done it any good whatsoever. All in all, a very nice way to start the week.

GET THE PARTY STARTED

Shirley Bassey

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you're going to cover a song, you really need to stamp your personality all over it so people can tell the difference between your version and the original. It would've been nice if Shirley Bassey had done that, but instead it sounds like a rather sad-sounding copy of the song Pink took to No.2 fully five years ago. And if you believe that, you'll believe anything. Say what you like about her (no, go on, I can wait until you're done), but La Bassey can't half hold a tune, and that's no mean feat. She's qualified for a pension and free bus pass, and here she is proving she can still outsing pop stars less than half her age! She doesn't miss a note, and I refuse to believe she'd allow her singing voice to be… er… "assisted" by technology. More to the point, she's had the song razed to the ground and rebuilt to her exact specification, ie. this incarnation of the song could quite easily be a Bond theme, and heaven knows she's done enough of those to know what one should sound like. She also loves her orchestras and by heck, she's got one behind her now. And another thing, you know when it sounds as though people have covered songs because they've been told to? I could offer you any number of examples here, but let's go for the most recent example I can think of right now, namely Mel C's demolition of I Want Candy. Well, Shirley Bassey sings this song as if it was written especially for her and her alone, and she sounds like she's having a fantastic time. This was a good song when Pink did it, but this version is pretty much definitive.

PEG

Nerina Pallot

Here's an exercise in name-dropping for you. Nerina Pallot's singing a Richard X production of a thirty year old Steely Dan song which was sampled by De La Soul for their Eye Know single. Just to show that my knowledge of music isn't that extensive, once the song got going, I thought "Oh yeah, this is that De La Soul song". Oops. Child of the eighties, that's my excuse, if I'd been born a few years earlier I'd have given Steely Dan their due credit. I was only 3 when the original was in the shops anyway, so in my defence I was probably more interested in Play-Doh than pop music at the time. Right then, enough rambling, is the single any good? Well, it's alright. The song sounds a bit lightweight and poppy, but I can see the radio stations getting behind it so it'll give her a hit single at the very least. Doesn't do much for me I'm afraid, but as I've already been spoilt rotten by the two songs listed above it, I won't give it a slating. Wouldn't deserve one anyway, but if I put it in writing it makes me look generous… or something.