THE FEELING: Join With Us Quickly gets going with a pumped-up dancefloor glide and ride on the opening cut and current single I Thought It Was Over – and then things are toned down to wistful melody for the grainy yet full-bodied ballad Without You. By this time you start to think you're listening to something really rather remarkable as it draws in the band's love of bands such as ELO, Supertramp, Queen and 10cc. But as it goes on you can't help getting the sinking feeling that it grows weaker and weaker. This is the follow-up to their million-selling debut, Twelve Stops And Home. Some are singalongs. Some aren't. It was a strong start. Perhaps too strong. Ends with something of a flourish with the slow-burning build-up ballad This Time and the piano-banging Don't Make Me Sad that's got that 70s quirkiness stamped all over it
MELODY GARDOT: Worrisome Heart The American songstress has fused a sublime mix of jazz with eclectic folk and mellow, muted blues to draw in echoes of Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. It's time to get the scented candles out. And, even better, they're all originals. It shows Amy Winehouse isn't the only one going retro.
DONNY OSMOND: From Donny With LoveThe musical equivalent to tea with five sugars – yes, it’s that sugary. The gleamingly-dentured one is out to give someone a warm feeling with renditions of his old stuff and classics that he’s tweaked here and there. They include Puppy Love, Breeze On By, Could It Be I’m Falling In Love, Let’s Stay Together, The Twelfth Of Never, You Are So Beautiful and How Long.
CRAIG DAVID: 6 Of 1 Thing Recorded in Cuba which apparently inspired this fleet-footed salsa take on cheeky brassy soul funk.
AMY MACDONALD: Run One of the biggest success stories from 2007 with her debut album, This Is The Life, notching up sales fast approaching half a million. Does what it says in the title – another gutsy performance catching the sensation and chest-paralysing pain of running. The chorus is nothing short of a sprint.
SIMPLE PLAN: When I'm Gone The verse is a build-up stomp that turns out to be the foundation for a chainsaw guitar buzz and shouty chorus. Big, bold and brash.
MARK BROWN featuring SARAH CRACKNELL: The Journey Continues The classical piece of music from the Lloyds TSB advert is turned into soft, hazy electronic dance.
