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SINGLE OF THE WEEK
1,000 CLOWNS: (Not The) Greatest Rapper (Elektra E3759CD). One of the most popular videos in the MW office in recent weeks, this track is reminiscent of Skee-Lo's I Wish or anything by Deee-Lite. A quite different style from the white rap of Eminem, it's just as amusing in a very different way and produced by Mickey P, who has worked with Beck, The Offspring and the Dandy Warhols. A very summery number, it already sits on Radio One's C-list.
SINGLE REVIEWS
911: Private Number (Virgin VSCDJ1730). This reworked version of the third single taken from 911's Top 10 album There It Is is a cover of the old Stax favourite, and without major competition could follow their number one single A Little Bit More to the top of the UK charts. The song features unsigned 20-year-old vocalist Natalie Jordan.
STONEPROOF: Everything's Not You (VC Recordings VCRD47). John Graham of trance act Tilt heads downtempo for this trip hop track featuring strings, Portishead-style guitar and moody vocals. Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne's Perfecto mix adds scratches and creates a lusher feel.
RECOMMENDED: CAST: Beat Mama (Polydor 5635932). Driven along by a pretty surf guitar line, Cast's first new material in two years sees the band at their most rocked-out and poppy. A rousing shouty chorus punctuates the up-for-it verses and overall makes for a potential Top Five hit.
MOBY: Run On (Mute CDMUTE221). Taken from Moby's new album Play, Run On features the US techno star on vocals doing a fine Fred Astaire impersonation. The track has an uplifting Southern spiritual sound and a gloriously thumping piano riff.
METHOD MAN: Break Ups 2 Make Ups (Def Jam 8709272). Method Man teams up with D'Angelo to produce this laidback guitar-led hip hop groove. As usual, his rapping does not disappoint and D'Angelo's vocals introduce the R&B element necessary to create a successful crossover.
RECOMMENDED: VICTORIA: Fall (London LONCD425). Fifteen-year-old Victoria's endearing debut has a warm sensibility and a sound close to Crowded House's Fall At Your Feet. Her album, due to be released in the summer, is produced by Kevin Bacon and Jonathan Quamby (Finley Quaye) and Ian Stanley (Tori Amos, Sinead O'Connor).
KELLY PRICE: Secret Love (Island CID739). Fast emerging as...