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Trumps NOW 12

Pat Kelly | Here, There & Everywhere | 04/21/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've been harping on this for several editions of the UK NOW series (which started in 1983 and provided the template for the success of the US NOW series), but the UK NOW's are clearly superior. More tracks. More hits. Bigger hits (on the UK chart, certainly). And more current hits.Here's the tracklist1. t.A.T.u. - All The Things She Said (Unquestionably the biggest hit record ever by teenage lesbian Russians. Actually a great pop track.)
2. Justin Timberlake - Like I Love You (His attempt to out-Jackson Michael, and nearly succeed.)3. Nelly feat Kelly Rowland - Dilemma (Compare to the current US NOW, which has minor hits by this duo's separate entities)
4. Richard X vs Liberty X - Being Nobody (Take the rhythm from the classic Human League track "Being Boiled", add the vocals from the Rufus track "Ain't Nobody" and you get a surprisingly good dance track from the band formed from the REJECTS of UK Popstars)5. Room 5 feat Oliver Cheatham - Make Luv (A classic dance track brought back to life in a UK commercial)6. Junior Senior - Move Your Feet (This dance track is catchier than SARS and should spread just as fast. Wonderful stuff.)7. Girls Aloud - Sound Of The Underground (The Xmas #1 for 5 weeks in the UK. Another "made-from-TV" band. OK.)8. Busted - Year 3000 (Silly boy-band nonsense)9. Melanie C - Here It Comes Again (Less than stellar performance from the last of the Spice Girls to have an active recording career.)10. Sinead Quinn - I Can't Break Down (Runner-up to David Snedden, in a UK TV series call "Star Acadamy". Sort of an American Idol for people who had to write their own songs. Pretty good.)11. Darius - Rushes
12. Appleton - Don't Worry (The twins from All Saints with a bouncy pop tune)
13. Atomic Kitten - Love Doesn't Have To Hurt (A lesser entry from England's latest cute-girl band. They have stronger material, which will be out soon in the States)14. Blue - U Make Me Wanna (NOT the Usher song. Better-than-average boy-band stuff)
15. Jay-Z feat Beyonce Knowles - '03 Bonnie & Clyde (Not my cup of latte, but a big US hit)16. Jaimeson feat Angel Blu - True
17. Zoe Birkett - Treat Me Like A Lady
18. S Club - Alive
19. One True Voice - Sacred Trust (Remake of a Bee Gees album track by another made-for-TV act that have apparently already split.)
20. Kym Marsh - Cry (Former lead singer of Hear'Say - yeah, that'll mean a lot to you - but a very good song in the style of Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn".)21. Ainslie Henderson - Keep Me A Secret

Disc: 2
1. Daniel Bedingfield - If You're Not The One (Already zapping up the US charts on it's way to the top 5)2. David Sneddon - Stop Living The Lie (Decent track - & a UK #1 - from the winner of Star Academy)3. Robbie Williams - Feel (It seems nothing will ever break Robbie in America. More's the pity. Great pop tune.)4. Oasis - Songbird (Short - 2:00 - ode to one of the Appleton sisters)
5. Turin Brakes - Pain Killer
6. Coldplay - Clocks (To my mind, the best track of the year so far. If something better comes along by December, I will consider this a banner year)7. Lulu & Ronan Keating - We¹ve Got Tonight (remake of the Bob Seger track by the girl who sang "To Sir With Love" some 35 years ago and still sounds great.)8. Sugababes - Stronger
9. Beenie Man - Street Life
10. Cam'Ron feat Juelz Santana, Freekey Zeekey & Toya - Hey Ma
11. Nelly feat Justin Timberlake - Work It (Give this about 2 months beofre it's a #1 hit in America) 12. Panjabi MC - Mundian To Bach Ke (NOTE: This is the same basic track as Jay-Z's current hit "Beware of the Boys" but without Jay-Z's contribution. Still include the "Knight Rider" theme sample.)13. Scooter - Weekend! (Less said the better)
14. DJ Sammy - The Boys Of Summer (Surprisingly good remake of the Don Henley track by the act that discofied Bryan Adams' "Heaven" late last year.)15. Divine Inspiration - The Way (Put Your Hand In My Hand)
16. Queen + Vanguard - Flash (Queen's worst track EVER! set to a trance them. Reach for the Skip button.)17. Erasure - Solsbury Hill (Another remake, this time of one of my all-time favorite song. A Peter Gabriel classic from 1978. Not as good as the original, but how could it be?)18. The Mock Turtles - Can You Dig It? (Fatboy Slim & Simon Thornton 2003 Remix)
19. Counting Crows feat Vanessa Carlton - Big Yellow Taxi (The under-the-radar hit remake of Joni Mitchell's classic.)20. Richard Ashcroft - The Science Of Silence (The Verve's - remember Bittersweet Symphony - lead singer matures as a solo act.)
21. Massive Attack - Special Cases"