The badness of this track is no fault whatsoever of its singer: Donny’s performance sells the song, and by the end he sounds honestly desperate for his love to be real. The problem is that Osmond sounds too young – he was 15 but his voice[…]

If I’d taken five weeks to write the last Slade entry I’d have marked it higher – I don’t like what I didn’t like in “Cuz I Love You” any better but I respect how it’s lingered as a baleful presence in my h[…]

“They did not listen, they’re not listening still.”

Always a ‘they’, of course. Never a ‘we’.

“Vincent” is Don McLean’s second 1972 hit about untimely death. His first, “American[…]

“Metal Guru” finds the T Rex sound reaching critical mass: it’s all hook and muscle, a thick platinum noise that brings the band right into line with the emergent glam mainstream: Gary Glitter’s “Rock And Roll Parts 1 an[…]

I don’t know exactly what the market for “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes was, but I’d hazard a guess there’s not much crossover between it and its surrounding hits. To state the obvious, it sounds more than a little ou[…]

A friend of mine recently slammed “Without You” as obnoxious emotional blackmail. Fair enough, but there’s enough of the old Wedding Present fan in me to enjoy the occasional wallow in passive-aggressive neediness, and wallows don&#[…]

I’ve spent the last three months on a crash course – is there any other kind? – in fatherhood, and I’d love to report that Chicory Tip have served as guides and mentors in this process. But they haven’t – mostly be[…]

“Telegram Sam” is a fuzzier, thicker, lazier take on “Get It On”, a stomp round increasingly familiar territory. The dashed-off catalogue of grotesques in the verses are time-fillers to get the song from one beefy hook to the […]

 
In his book How Brands Become Icons, marketing expert Douglas Holt lays out his theory of brands that transcend simple commercial strength and assume a role as cultural icons. Coca-Cola is one of his examples. He theorises that whereas standar[…]

Every record reviewed on Popular gets a mark out of 10. Here’s where you can vote for all the ones you personally would have given 6 or more to. Tick any that apply!

Number One Hits of 1971: Which Would You Have Given 6 or More To[…]