Bryan Adams: The Best Of Me (A&M/Mercury)
Do the world's biggest pop stars know something we don't know? Everyone from Cher to Genesis seems to be getting a Greatest Hits album into the shops before Y2K strikes - perhaps they've found out the world is going to end, and they need the few extra bob for space shuttle fare to Mars. The Canadian rocker has had 21 hit singles, of which 15 are featured here, including Summer Of '69, Run To You and - steel yourselves - (Everything I Do) I Do It For You. In recent times, Adams has acquired a David Beckham haircut and aligned himself strategically with Sporty Spice on the massive hit, When You're Gone, so if Armageddon is averted on January 1st, there's no reason why ol' crater-face can't keep on rockin' to the next Greatest Hits collection.
- Kevin Courtney
Dot Allison: Afterglow (Heavenly Recordings)
The ethereal Edinburgh chanteuse has recently guested on the new album by her boyfriend Richard Fearless, aka Death In Vegas, but before that she was lead singer with acclaimed 1980s band One Dove. On her own Allison manages to show her full musical and emotional range, from the strident trip-hop of Colour Me to the snapshot pop of Close Your Eyes and the crisp Parisian flavour of Mo' Pop. Fearless and his DIV partner, Tim Holmes, add a sharp shimmer to Morning Sun, while Burt Bacharach's erstwhile partner, Hal David, lends a steady old songwriting hand to the dreamy Did I Imagine You? This is the perfect post-chillout record, and though Allison often drifts into aimless shoegazing, her voice is buoyant enough to keep you floating along nicely.
- Kevin Courtney
