No Rock And Roll Fun

IT'S NEW RELEASE MONDAY: And, following on from the best of, the b-sides, and the Christmas swing album, the Charlatans pad out the recording process with the inevitable live album. Still, at least Live It Like You Love It has the decency to include a version of Sproston Green on it. Having tried to sneak out his first solo album under the Biscuitboy alias, Paul Heaton seems to have decided that his profile might be more of a help than a hindrance to sales of Fat Chance, so now it returns with his name and picture appended to the release. Also coming back for seconds are Let It Blast and Grand Fury, hoping to turn the new interest in the Bellrays into space in the stockroom. Blimey, the Sex Gang Children are still going, with a new one Bastard Art fillig the racks today, but the third Origins of the Species compilation from Psychic TV also out, there'll be some struggles for the goth's record tokens today. If you prefer your compilations a little more delicate, and you'd rather the small girl in the floral dress isn't blood stained and sobbing uncontrollably, From A Distance gathers together the wonderful Nanci Griffith's nublugrass into a handy single serving, making at a stroke Shania Twain's dusty resurrection of For The Love Him as obsolete as it is unwelcome.

Over in the bite-size boutique, it's the battle of the advertising whores with Dirty Vegas' ghosts going head to head with beauty on fire from Natalie Imbruglia. (Beauty on fire? Don't they test that face cream on bunnies first?). Better fare from The Streets weak become heroes, Nerd's Rock Star and zero star from Sugarcoma. Government approved sources of musical nutrition Pete Yorn (Strange Condition) and Michelle Branch (All That You wanted) will be of interest if you like your indie lite and unthreatening; but the real battle this week pitches Doves' Pounding and Primal Scream's mighty return Miss Lucifer into a two-way battle.