Gezza's Review of Every No 2 Hit 2005-09

[borneoman]

love the Manics song, great single, and great they brought Nina Persson in but as with all Manics albums, the lead single is the only great track and the rest are fillers

I didn´t mind Brainstorm but it´s more like a b-side or a buzz track that a proper lead single. Fluorescent Adolescent was 1000 times better

[Gezza]

26TH MAY- MAKES ME WONDER- Maroon 5 (2 wks)



Quite why Maroon 5 chose this as a lead single for a second album will forever be lost in time but there is no mistaking that this is the sound of a band running on empty. On the surface it was far from a disaster in the charts of 2007 peaking at No 1 in the US and launched the parent album to the top spot on both sides of the Atlantic, yet by the end of the year they were a shadow of the band they had become in 2004. This is paper thin, the band apparently struggled to write the chorus of the track for years and it became a labour of love and perhaps that tells here, Levine's vocal appears to be rather unsure on it as well as the track meanders to a chorus that we all lost interest in along the way.

While ostensibly serving up more of what we got in 04 there is little allowance here for the changing pop landscape that had elapsed in the interim, it has a kind of 80s funk to feel it but is far too clunky to pull that trick off convincingly, all of which makes their resurrection in 2011 all the more surprising suggesting that may have learned the lessons of this period in their career. Levine sings "I wonder if it even makes a difference, It even makes a difference to try" and you have to agree, the supposed sub context about the war in Iraq can't even muster my interest- I told you it was bad....

[Gezza]

09 JUNE- REAL GIRL- Mutya Buena (2 wks)



Something of a forgotten gem these days, this is a rather endearing little ditty. Fresh from that Sugababes departure Buena quit to spend more time with her new baby in early 06 but had clearly had enough of watching "In the Night garden" by early 07 and returned to entertain us, stir in a very healthy dollop of Lenny Kravitz's "It Ain't Over Til It's Over" from 1991 and bingo a top 10 hit. It's always rather interesting seeing the first move made by an artist who is breaking out from their successful group and in some ways this is no more than you'd expect, a sugababe choosing a critically acclaimed serious artist to sample, but the fact that it is so reliant on that sample would seem to indicate this was a tentative step indeed and Buena chooses not to rely on her own star status to sell something entirely new, having said that the follow up "Song 4 Mutya (Out Of Control)" was brimming with the kind of confidence and if that had of been released first then perhaps that 10 wk reign of "Umbrella" might have been shorter.

A light dusting of urban pop seals the deal and Buena looks suitably earnest in delivery, all told this isn't going to go down in the annals of history as the best song ever but it is a rather pleasant distraction from the rather serious male fronted MOR/ Indie path we seem to have tread for the larger part of 2007 thus far in this thread.

[Deleted]

The usual snoozefest from Maroon 5 with Adam Levine whining unappealingly.

Such a promising start from Mutya but it all seemed to get lost somewhere. Let's hope the new project with the original Sugababes lives up to the expectation

[vastar iner]

Feb 11, 2013 19:21:56 GMT 1 Gezza said:

Quite why Maroon 5

Could have stopped there.  They are right up there with Razorsh*te and The Kooks as being amongst the absolute worst bands ever to have disgraced the charts.  Not merely bad in themselves, but toxic, in that they poisoned the entire industry against choosing actual proper decent groups in favour of a bloody corporate director's idea of "alternative".

[thehitparade]

Not every day I agree with Vas here, but he's pretty much hit the nail on the head here.
And re the original point, wasn't the rest of the album even worse? At least 'Makes Me Wonder' is vaguely catchy.

[borneoman]

that album was an epic fail for M5, uninspired songs, idiotic lyrics + the most annoying voice in the world should have given up right there as Levine hinted at... but alas...

not crazy at the uses of samples like Mutya did but that´s not bad... looking fordward to hearing the new Real Sugababes stuff

[Roo.]

As usual I go against the tide in that I think that Maroon 5 album is their only decent one but the single choices were terrible.

Didn't like Mutya's solo stuff, thought she could have done something much more interesting.

[Gezza]

23RD JUNE- ICKY THUMP- White Stripes (1 wk)



Always slightly too left field for my personal tastes I confess I've never grasped the hype or the praise for this group ("My Doorbell" aside) and this did nothing to spark my interest. Not enough melody going on here for my liking and the whole peice seems oddly disjointed and interrupted, lyrically it's a tale about US Immigration policy which, while worthy, seems too heavy a theme to tackle in 4 minutes and 13 seconds.

Listening now this seems something of a fanbase track, big for 7 days then quickly forgotten (I couldn't have told you how this went before I heard it again, and now I still couldn't tell you how it went) maybe I'm missing something big but this is just noise to me sorry!

[borneoman]

7 Nation Army is a classic.. Icky Thump... not really

[Gezza]

30TH JUNE- ANY DREAM WILL DO- Lee Mead (1 wk)



And now prepare yourself for words I never thought I'd write.........this isn't Jason Donovan is it? Meaning of course that Donovan's version has finally been made good by what can only be described as a much lamer version, of course it's here courtesy of Mead's victory in the BBC singing competition of the same name in which "The Lord" decided who to cast in his production of "Joseph and his amazing technicolour dreamcoat" as a reward.

Make no mistake this version is quite "stage" Mead enunciates every word in a rather theatrical manner and I'm not quite sure that transfers well into the world of pop, the great "benefit" of the Donovan version was of course that he (or the producers) at least attempted to make the track into a pop song, one that wouldn't appear out of place on the radio stations of 1991, here no such attempt is made, and it just sounds....strange. Mead went on to star in other west end productions, "Casualty", and of course to become Mr Denise Van Outen making this a rather eccentric epitaph to his pop career, definitely one of 2007's more unusual No 2 hits.

[Deleted]

White Stripes are possibly the most overrated group in history. Not one of their songs does anything for me at all

[vastar iner]

"Icky Thump" was boosted IIRC by a free seven-inch coming with NME, which was basically CD2 in analogue guise.

[greendemon]

hmm, i don't remember 'icky thump' (album or song) at all - i may never have got around to buying it.

i think they peaked with 'elephant'; not much after that was ever as good (though i did like quite a lot of 'get behind me, satan').

[Gezza]

07TH JULY- FOUNDATIONS- Kate Nash (5 Wks)



So close, just 16 copies in fact from No 1, but it wasn't to be and so Nash ends up in this thread. Often compared to Lily Allen at the time the comparison is an obvious one but there is a lot of difference if you listen closely and don't let the narrator's voice distract. The same jocular and bitter tone pervades much of the song much like Allen's "Smile" but in the latter track the protagonist exacts her revenge and is happy to jettison the wayward lover by the end of the track. Nash is leaving her man too, but the whole key to this song is at 2.33 "Dear God I hope I'm not stuck with this one" she sings with real lament and despair in a way that Allen would never allow herself to express, the vulnerable underbelly of this relationship being torn apart is what makes it a tangibly better record and a much realisitic exploration of the thought process behind break ups.

The outro here which lasts for some 30 seconds allows the listener to think about what has occured in those 3 and a half minutes after being dazzled by the words from the the first two verses and then allowing them to actually permeate, it actually rewards far better than "Smile". Ok it's not earth shattering stuff but as a break from the whole Destiny's Child thing of "I don't need no man" it hits the spot, the lack of front and attitude when all is said is done makes this rather plaintive and direct after the comedy-esque start, barriers have fallen and credit has to be given to Nash to allow such a personal piece into the public arena.

[Gezza]

21ST JULY- BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY (PERSONAL)- Fergie (1 wk)



Now anyone who pays attention to my posts will know that I'm not a fan of BEP (playing to the lowest common denominator music wise and Will.i.am is no different) and true to form her first solo single here "London Bridge" didn't endear me to here at all. "Big Girls" is better and a step in the right direction towards something approaching a ong instead of a shouted catchprase over electronica. It isn't great though, in part because it plays to the opposite side of the Nash record, whilst "Smile" (to coninue my comparator) was all cocky revenge, and "Foundations" concerned itself with the mixed feelings of break up, "Big Girls" is far too sentimental and perhaps American to really hit the spot in a meaningful way. Fergie also looks way too good looking in the video to be someone who is upset about a break-up.

The guitar twangs gently in the background and everything is in place but it feels empty where its heart should be, kind of like it was written to be played over the ending of "Dawson's Creek" or something (showed my age there). Not a song that I ever return to, but then I don't dislike it either, so quite a recommendation given my thoughts on her other work!

[vastar iner]

I've said it before, but I have serious doubts about the fides of Rihanna's final week at number 1. The sales figures suggested that on the Monday the gap was 300, then 200, then suddenly back up to 1,100 for no ostensible reason. (Something like that, I don't know the exact numbers but on the Wednesday there was a statistically inexplicable increase in the gap.) And that was nibbled right down to near zero again. There's a big part of me that thinks there was more press mileage in a 10 weeker at number one rather than a new chart-topper.

[Gezza]

15TH SEPTEMBER- HEY THERE DELILAH- Plain White T's (2 wks)



Like a "More Than Words" for the noughties this is indeed proof not all American sentimentality has to be either saccherine or airbrushed and all it took was a guitar and some heartfelt words (take note Fergie). This was the sole top 50 entry for the band and I have to confess that I rather like it now, NOT however at the time due to the fact it appeared to played to death for many months on end which made me rather tired of it but after a break revisiting it re-enlightens me to its charms.

The plea to his long distance lover that they'll be reunited soon and a better life will ensue is believable enough yet there's something more here, the sense that deep down this is a reminder that he exists, fears of infidelity also seem to be an undercurrent certainly in the first verse. Through the song however he seems to grow more confident that she's not gadding about in the big apple, and the promises to her become more extreme as the verses go by ("this world will never be the same" etc) this is an emotional rollercoaster ladies and gentleman and if you climb on board I'm sure we can all relate here.....

[Gezza]

29TH SEPTEMBER- AYO TECHNOLOGY- 50 Cent Featuring Justin Timberlake (1 wk)



There is NOTHING original here, let me say that first, yet despite that there is something really beautiful about "Ayo Technology"- yes I said it. 50 Cent is not an artist that I love and the theme of the voyeur finally seeing a woman in real life that matches up to his (considerable) experience of internet porn may be slightly humourous I suppose, but this is 2007 and of course a certain Mr Timbaland on production and uncredited vocals. Timbaland was of course the producer of the moment and could do little wrong, and certainly here there is a lot going on production wise, this is the producer throwing the kitchen sink into the mix and there's a lot that says this SHOULDN'T work yet incredibly it just does.

Constant companion Justin Timberlake is also present but contrary to his appearence on Snoop Dogg's 2005 No 2 "Signs" here it isn't to add a pop touch and keep the tone light, it's to indulge the filthiness of Mr Cent's tale. There's some element of the seediness here, it's an ode to basically getting down to it but it doesn't descent into crassness like some of the genre but communicates clearly, anyone having doubts as to the greatness of the song should check the Milow version on Youtube which transposes it into a much more acoustic version and went top 10 on the continent though it sadly did nothing here, nevermind, for a genre which isn't my usual bag I have a lot of time for this one.

[borneoman]

Foundations - Best #2 ever!!!!!! Loved it back in the day and still do. The parent album Made of Bricks was just fantastic and had tons of great songs, Merry Happy, Nicest Thing, Birds (and birds can fly so high and they can sh*t on your head) I know she's trying to evolve and change but album #2 was a mess, not even a half decent song, and her current sound is a move in the wrong direction...

Big Girls Don't Cry - candidate for worst lyric ever (I miss you like a child misses his blanket). Enough said

Hey There Delilah - Really liked this at first, really wanted it to be #1, then it was so so so overplayed I never wanted to hear it again. But then I've heard it a couple of times recently and really enjoyed it.

Ayo Technology - In theory I should hate it but I've always kinda liked it in a sorta guilty pleasure kinda way