Album of the week: The Bee Gees - The Ultimate ****

Nov 5 2009

The Bee Gees - The Ultimate ****

The veteran high-pitched disco warblers release a double album full of their classic tunes. The opening track You Should Be Dancing sets the tone for the rest of the first disc. It's all about 1970s dance hits and will transport you to a bygone era of white flares and medallions. The second disc is a more downbeat affair. Including the songs How Deep Is Your Love, Emotion and Run To Me, there are also a few live numbers including a live medley and Immortality featuring Celine Dion. It's a good collection and will make a nice Christmas present for fans of the best-selling band.

Cold Cave - Love Comes Close **

PUT together by Wesley Eisold, a singer best known for fronting a series of US hardcore bands, this electronically-minded quartet channels that aggression by marrying it to the dance-pop nous of New Order and focused angst of Nine Inch Nails. The presence of former members of Xiu Xiu and Parts and Labor explains the band's experimental bent, but their blend of nasty synth-pop falls a little flat.

The Chemists - Theories Of Dr Lovelock ***

BRISTOL band The Chemists arrive with their debut album having clearly been influenced by Foo Fighters and Feeder. The album opens with a speech from Richard E Grant which adds a nice touch to the album. It does get slightly repetitive, and A Love Like No-One Else sounds very similar to A's Starbucks tune. It's quickly followed by Radio Booth, which is better. After an outro from the aforementioned Grant, the band completes proceedings with a cover of Britney Spears's Toxic - like the rest of the album, it's a bit predictable but enjoyable.

Cheryl Cole - 3 words **

A SOLO album was always going to be the next step for Cheryl Cole. But for all the money that's been lavished on 3 Words, it never gets close to hitting innovative heights. The solemn opening title track oozes quality, but it's pretty much downhill from there. It'll sell millions, but we've come to expect more than this.