The Now Millennium series continues advancing from the original 1999 volume issued in 2000 and in most respects this series continues on from that and on March 1st the next volume was issued following on from 2002/3.
As with all of this series each volume covers two years with one year per two discs and in the book form version I bought you get some background notes on each song and act included not that in the passing years I've forgotten Crazy Frog!
CD1 is the first of two taht cover 2004 and begins with George Michael's top-5 smash ‘Amazing’, before Pop queens Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue feature with the sensational ‘Toxic’ and ‘I Believe In You’. As well as co-writing the Kylie smash, Jake Shears along with his band The Scissor Sisters had a fantastic year in 2004 with their self-titled album, showcased on this release with their massive hit ‘Laura’. Robbie Williams continued to enjoy massive success, Duran Duran returned and further cemented their legacy with ‘(Reach Up For The) Sunrise’, plus Anastacia and Natasha Beddingfield both enjoyed huge hits with ‘Left Outside Alone’ and ‘These Words’. Will Young’s phenomenal achievements in 2003 spilled over into 2004 with the release of ‘Your Game’ and Maroon 5’s ‘This Love’ ended up at number 3 after their 2002 sleeper-hit album ‘Songs About Jane’ was re-released. Dancefloor favourites come in the form of legendary Hip-Hop / Pop from Outkast and Kelis, plus the Pop-Dance of The Shapeshifters, ‘Call On Me’ from Eric Prydz, and the fusion of LMC and U2. The disc cools down with the #1 from Eamon and the soulful vocals of Lemar.
CD2 kicks off with the undisputed classic ‘Mr. Brightside’ from The Killers before featuring other fantastic bands; Keane, Snow Patrol, R.E.M. and The Streets - all here. 2004 was a stellar year for Pop singles, and included here - Sugababes, Girls Aloud, band rivals Busted and McFly, plus Ashlee Simpson and Avril Lavigne all experienced Chart success.
CD3 begins by highlighting amazing song writing, including ‘Speed Of Sound’ from Coldplay, James Blunt’s ‘You're Beautiful’, ‘Bad Day’ from Daniel Powter and the electrifying ‘Dakota’ from Stereophonics. New singles from New Order and Eurythmics come before Duran Duran, Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams all make their second appearance. KT Tunstall’s massive ‘Suddenly I See’ leads to Chart favourites from Natalie Imbruglia and Simon Webbe. The huge ‘Caught Up’ from Usher and ‘1 Thing’ from Amerie come before the heavy beat of The Black Eyed Peas’ ‘Don't Phunk With My Heart’, and the disc closes with Akon’s flagship number one smash ‘Lonely’.
CD4 leads with the irresistible ‘I Predict A Riot’ from the Kaiser Chiefs, followed by more great bands – The Bravery, Doves, Oasis and Bon Jovi all released unforgettable tracks in 2005. It was also the year that Kelly Clarkson’s ‘Since U Been Gone’ dominated the Charts, as did the R&B / Hip-Hop / Pop hits of ‘Don't Cha’ from The Pussycat Dolls and ‘Candy Shop’ from 50 Cent and Olivia. Mario and John Legend proved that romance wasn’t dead, and Elton John and Westlife released uplifting songs ‘Electricity’ and ‘You Raise Me Up’. ‘(Is This The Way To) Amarillo’ from Tony Christie charted in 2005 as the years Comic Relief track and the album ends with an early viral sensation – the undeniably catchy ‘Axel F’ from Crazy Frog.
This era was one i bought albums by artists I liked so a general resume of this period is really helpful in putting titles to songs heard on the radio or being played in HMV when buying Oasis albums.
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