The Cardigans 'Erase/Rewind'

Chart Peak: 7

YouTube

'Erase/Rewind' is the second single from the Cardigans latest album... Its predecessor 'My Favourite Game' continues to be played on radio stations across the country following its use in a popular car commercial.

Again with the car adverts! Actually, I don't remember that ad, though it might explain the unusual chart performance of 'My Favourite Game', which hung around remarkably long for a non-Top-10 single in the late 1990s. This follow-up took them to the Top 10 positions for the second time, and the last if you ignore their collaboration with Tom Jones later that year. Whilst its initial success was doubtless assisted by their previous hit (and its "banned" video, featured as a CD-ROM extra on one format of this), there's no question that 'Erase/Rewind' was a genuine hit in its own right and a contributor to the big sales of the Gran Turismo album. It's very much part of the trajectory they were on at this point in their career, trying very hard to rid themselves of the twee candyfloss image that they'd created for themselves but which they were evidently tiring of, especially after the huge success of 'Lovefool' took it beyond people who heard the irony.

Over a whole album this rather nihilistic tone is apparently a bit wearing, which is presumably why so many copies of Gran Turismo turn up in charity shops, and why I've never yet bought one. But on its own, this is a brilliant record with a decidedly unfluffy soundscape of tinkling keyboards, rumbling bass and unusually treated acoustic guitars. The reverb on Nina Persson's vocal just adds to the artificial tone and the use of loops and short repetition, as well as the gradual but steady pace, fit the tone of the lyric, which is determined but emotionally cold. It always seemed to me like the protagonist had finally snapped, but had been so beaten down that even when she took control, she was no longer fully human. As I've said before, I have a soft spot for arty music that's also actively poppy, and I couldn't resist this track although I never bought the single either. I was glad to get it when I bought this though.

Their compatriots The Wannadies, also best-known for a song not necessarily typical of their original intention had surely heard this track when they recorded 'Yeah'. Now 12 veteran Sabrina's version is, er, different.

Also appearing on: Now 37, 41, 44 [with Tom Jones]
Available on: Gran Turismo

Tom Jones and The Cardigans 'Burning Down the House'

Chart Peak: 7

YouTube

It's relatively recently come to my attention that Talking Heads are one of the greatest rock groups of all time. Unfortunately, they seem to have eluded the compilers of Now albums, so this is the only occurrence of one of their songs here.

The original was a Top 10 single in the USA and Canada but surprisingly failed to breach even the Top 100 in the UK, even though they'd already managed a breakthrough here with 'Once In A Lifetime'. The form in which the song finally reached the UK chart is scarcely less peculiar - Tom Jones's only Top 10 single of the decade, and the first single from his album Reload (not to be confused with Metallica's disc of the same title) which proved to be his biggest seller of all time. It was an example of the turn-of-the-century trend for duets albums with Jones singing a variety of cover versions alongside younger stars - but even allowing for the premise it's an odd place to start the campaign.

I hadn't noticed until I compared them, but this version is slightly faster than the Talking Heads version, though it runs a bit longer, which is presumably why they seem to run out of song about two-thirds of the way through. The new arrangement is a little bit straighter than the original, lacking that odd buzzing guitar intro and with less of the squelchy sound that decorates the original track and 'Girlfriend Is Better'. Instead we get some brass instruments and a bit more synth, but the focus is on the vocal performances of Jones, who doesn't really do "subtle" and Nina Persson, who plays it very deadpan. Of course, the lyrics don't actually make very much sense, so Jones doesn't really have anywhere to take them, although he's clearly making an effort, and Persson's contribution is the more memorable of the two. At least, she seems more in keeping with the somewhat listless performance, whilst Jones seems a bit out of place on his own record. It would sound OK if you didn't know there was another version, though.


Tom Jones also appears on: Now 13 (with Art Of Noise), 45 (with Stereophonics), 46 (with Mousse T), 47 (with Heather Small), 64 (with Chicane), 72 (with Vanessa Jenkins, Bryn West and Robin Gibb)
The Cardigans also appear on: Now 37, 41, 42
Available on: Reload (Re-issue)