NEW DAY

Wyclef Jean & Bono

Hello, what’s this? It’s a cheeradee single! Oh joy. Oh rapture. What a collaboration it is too, with Wyclef "No Stranger To Charity" Jean and Bono, currently slugging it out with George Michael for the title of World’s Smuggest Man. Suffice to say, like most charity singles it’s utter pants. It’s best described as a naff Fugees song (drab hip hop beats, very poor singing, can I go now?) and to be honest it sounds like they thought "Oh it’s a charity song, they’ll buy it even though it’s tosh". Sorry, but we’re not that stupid. But what’s this on the B-Side? Gone Till November? What, that Whyclef song that did rather well last year? No, they wouldn’t dare do that, it’s such an obvious attempt to shift singles. Oh, they did. Oops.

CARNATION

Liam Gallagher and Steve Cradock

I don’t rate Oasis (what’s left of them). I certainly don’t think much of Ocean Colour Scene. Liam Gallagher seems to act like a complete fool most of the time. I don’t know much about Steve Cradock, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Not looking good, is it? You’re not going to believe this, my huge and loyal army of readers (and a big hello to the three of you), but this confounds all my opinions. It’s really quite good. Honest. It sounds like a typical Jam song (maybe because it is), but there’s a spark of originality here that’s been missing from Oasis’ output since Definitely Maybe and from Ocean Colour Scene’s since Woodstock. Perhaps this is a new start for both bands and they’ll now become good. Of course the fact that I like this means that I’ve now put my customary hex on this single – you watch it steam into the Top 5 no bother, then next week see it struggle to stay in the Top 20. Bet you it happens.

It actually went in at No.6 and then dropped to No.20 the following week. Be honest, you can’t get much closer than that!