Holy Grail

Holy Grail
Originally uploaded by Essexgirl.

As certified by the Vatican, this is the official version. Jan 2006

Just The Two of Us - Week Three

Tonight's episode (along with Tess wearing a very dodgy dress) was all about Rock or Country & Western. Matt and Jocelyn opened the show with Dead Ringer For Love, and Matt's Mike made him louder than Jocelyn and he was definitely in his element and had all the rock moves. They got 29 points. Fiona and Alexander were up next singing the Country ballad Sometimes When We Touch and Fiona's voice was clear, if not strong but 22 points was a bit harsh.

Nicky and Beverly were up next, shaken by being in the bottom two yesterday. They sang It's Only Love and I think Beverley enjoyed her chance to do a Tina Turner as they used a mike stand as a prop. Neither is particularly suited to the genre, and Nicky's vocals were weak, especially when he was on his own. They got 33 points, the highest of the series so far, and more than they deserved. Penny and Curtis came next and did a 'comedy' version of Crazy. Excruitiating embarrassing version more like, and Penny tried to do a breathy, croakey silly voice for a generous 11 points.

Chris and Jo sang Don't Wanna Miss a Thing which was not suited to Jo's voice, and the 'amateur' Chris did better for 26 points. Mark and Natasha were also struggling with the Country & Western genre and sang Islands in the Stream, they were out of their comfort zone, and it was not their best performance but the judges awarded them 27 points. Russell and Sian were up next singing Alright Now and Sian, being an actress, really got into the part whilst Russell was more restrained but did good vocals for 24 points.

Whilst the votes were counted Russell and Alexander sang To All The Girls I've Loved Before and it was announced that Penny and Fiona were the bottom two, and surprisingly it was Fiona and Alexander to go as the nation obviously preferred Penny being stupid.

Just The Two of Us - Show Three

Tonight's episode (along with Tess wearing a very dodgy dress) was all about Rock or Country & Western. Matt and Jocelyn opened the show with Dead Ringer For Love, and Matt's Mike made him louder than Jocelyn and he was definitely in his element and had all the rock moves. They got 29 points. Fiona and Alexander were up next singing the Country ballad Sometimes When We Touch and Fiona's voice was clear, if not strong but 22 points was a bit harsh.

Nicky and Beverly were up next, shaken by being in the bottom two last week. They sang It's Only Love and I think Beverley enjoyed her chance to do a Tina Turner as they used a mike stand as a prop. Neither is particularly suited to the genre, and Nicky's vocals were weak, especially when he was on his own. They got 33 points, the highest of the series so far, and more than they deserved. Penny and Curtis came next and did a 'comedy' version of Crazy. Excruitiating embarrassing version more like, and Penny tried to do a breathy, croakey silly voice for a generous 11 points.

Chris and Jo sang Don't Wanna Miss a Thing which was not suited to Jo's voice, and the 'amateur' Chris did better for 26 points. Mark and Natasha were also struggling with the Country & Western genre and sang Islands in the Stream, they were out of their comfort zone, and it was not their best performance but the judges awarded them 27 points. Russell and Sian were up next singing Alright Now and Sian, being an actress, really got into the part whilst Russell was more restrained but did good vocals for 24 points.

Whilst the votes were counted Russell and Alexander sang To All The Girls I've Loved Before and it was announced that Penny and Fiona were the bottom two, and surprisingly it was Fiona and Alexander to go as the nation obviously preferred Penny being stupid.

The Apprentice - Week One

The Apprentice, the show where Sir Alan Sugar fires a number of talented (and not so talented) business people who are endeavoring to 'win' a £100.000 job with his company has started again on the BBC. This week we met the new teams and realised that nutty blonde Jo was the new Saira but possibly without the common sense and that Syed was going to be the token annoying bloke. The girls called themselves Velocity. The boys were Invicta (Syed wanted The A team). They went head to head on a basic trading challenge buying and selling fruit and veg for a stall in Hackney market. The girls (led by no nonsense Scot Karen) realised early on there was blagging to be done and managed to get most of their produce for free, whereas the boys (led by Ben) paid for it. They made a huge profit from it but were penalised as Sir Alan thought they had not been professional about it, however their profit was still greater and they one the champagne reception, whilst Ben went into the boardroom with Syed and Sam. Sir Alan already has Syed's card marked, and was not impressed with Samuel, it was hapless Project Manager Ben who was the first to hear the words "You're Fired".

Just The Two of Us - Show 2

The scores from Thursday night will be combined with last night’s score and added to the viewer score so we find out who is leaving at the end of the show. The genres today were swing (Big Band) and soul.

Sian and Russell started off with their version of It Takes Two. It was very good and Sian seemed to be almost more comfortable than Russell on the stage and happier with the moves. Russell was certainly out of his comfort zone but did heed advice to not drown her out. The judges were critical and saw flaws that I didn’t and awarded them 9rather harshly in my opinion) only 22 points. Mark and Natasha were up next with swing classic They Can’t Take That Away From Me. It was a good performance with no bum notes, whilst mark’s voice is not especially strong is laid back air worked on this number and the judges agreed to give them 31 points.

Youngster Chris was up next with Jo to sing As. Their performance was helped by the presence of a gospel choir hiding Chris’s vocal weakness. However, the couple do have some chemistry and that helped the garner a score of 23 points. Penny and Curtis weren’t so lucky with their rendition of Nice and easy. The track was right up Curtis’s street and Penny (who looked stunning) took on board comments to shorten her notes ending up doing a whispery type thing in an attempt to keep the notes. It was not a great performance but 12 points was still a bit hard.

Alexander and Fiona were up next singing Signed, Sealed and Delivered. Fiona’s voice was OK but was drowned out slightly by the music and backing singers, the judges were split in its appeal and they got 25 points. Gaby and Martin struggled with Come Fly With Me, although Gaby has a good voice, Martin is not used to dueting and they were out of time with the music, however 13 points was a bit cruel.

Jocelyn and Matt (in first place last night) sang Let’s Stay Together and Matt was under strict instructions from judge Trevor Nelson to put his all in, which he did even though he looked in need of the toilet at times as he grimaced his way through, thoroughly over doing it but scoring 26 points. Beverly and Nicky sang Everytime I Say Goodbye, he was a bit breathy (as he had been told breathing was very important in this song) and was quite weak. It was not an inspiring performance and they were lucky to get 23 points.

As the votes were counted at the end of the show, Jo and Jocelyn performed the Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer classic duet No More Tears. Then, those through automatically were told and the bottom two pairings were and although Penny and Gaby had the lowest judges scores it was Beverly & Nicky and Gaby & Martin. Public voters had been divided into their respective British region (N Ireland, Scotland, Wales, N England and S England) and whichever couple had received the lowest score in that region received a ‘strike’ and three strikes and you were out. In a vote of four to one it was Gaby and Martin who left.

Top Ten iTunes

1. Paul Weller - You Do Something To Me
2. Snow Patrol - Crazy in Love
3. Sugababes - Killer
4. Jody Watley - Looking for a New Love
5. Wet Wet Wet - If I Never See You Again
6. In Deep - Last Night a DJ Saved my Life
7. Lisa Scott Lee - Lately
8. Fleetwood Mac - Don't Stop
9. Barenaked Ladies - One Week
10. Justin Timberlake - Rock You Body

Just The Two of Us - Show 1

A new show has started on BBC that will run for the next two Thursday to Sundays. It is called Just The Two of Us and is a singing version of Strictly Come Dancing presented by Tess Daly and husband Vernon Kay, where celebrities are paired with professional singers for duets in different themes and genres. Judges include hip DJ Trevor Nelson, evergreen pop star Lulu, Stewart Copeland, formally of The Police, and now a Hollywood composer and vocal coach Cece Sammy.

Tonight’s categories were pop and ballads and the first pairing to sing was DJ Nicky Campbell and soul singer Beverly Knight who performed the George Michael and Aretha Franklin track I Knew You Were Waiting For Me. Knight is well capable of emulating Aretha but Nicky is no George and the performance was a bit cringy, but the judges were supportive and awarded them 25 points. GMTV’s Penny Smith was up next with Jazz/soul singer Curtis Stigers performing the ballad When I Fall in Love which was painful. I felt sorry for Penny as I think she realized that she wasn’t quite cutting it. They were awarded 17 points.

Holby City’s Mark Moraghan was singing with fellow Scouser Natasha Hamilton of Atomic Kitten to Robbie and Kylie’s Kids. I thought it was quite good and they did a few moves to make it the most comfortable performance so far. The judges liked it also and gave them 26 points. Actress Sian Reeves was supposed to sing with Eighties pop star Rick Astley but after the first meeting he did not return to rehearsals and this knocked her confidence. Astley was more than ably replaced by classical singer Russell Watson to sing Can’t Help Falling in Love With You. She had a respectable voice and managed to hold her own for the most part, though Watson’s powerhouse voice could have drowned her out completely at any moment. They also scored 26 points.

Rogue Trader presenter Matt Allwright was ecstatic to be paired with Soul Diva Jocelyn Brown to sing I Got You Babe. It was obvious they really enjoyed it and managed to make a good, steady performance out of it for the highest score of the evening – 32. Hollyoaks Chris Fountain was paired with Jo O’Meara of S-Club to sing an acoustic version of More Than Words. He had a passable voice, slightly wobbly in places and I though Jo sounded quite weak and obviously nervous. They did well to get 26 points.

TV presenter Gaby Roslin was a revelation to me with a much stronger singing voice that speaking voice when she sang Don’t Go Breaking My Heart with Martin Fry of Eighties band ABC. She was not comfy moving as she sang though which made her look awkward and possible counted towards the harsh score of 32. Last act was soul legend Alexander O’Neal with newsreader Fiona Bruce singing Tonight I Celebrate My Love For You and although Fiona has a fairly weak voice she managed to hold the notes on this tough ballad for 24 points.

The public are now voting and the public scores will be combined with the judges scores (Strictly Come Dancing style) and the loser will find out tomorrow who will stay to sing the Big Band or R ‘n’ B/soul track.

Dancing on Ice - Week Six

I am not giving this show my full attention, but out of the five remaining couples, only four skated. In final rehearsal David Seaman's partner Pam hit her face on the ice and had to go to hospital. The other couples agreed that they should not be eliminated and they were allowed to go through automatically. The week's theme was props such as brooms, chairs, hats and feather boas and it was quite surprising to see Bonnie and Matt in the bottom two with Kelly. There was no surprise in the fact that Kelly left in a unanimous vote for Bonnie.

The Motorcycle Diaries

52 Films in 52 Weeks - 2 (49 weeks and 50 films to go)

The Motorcycle Diaries is essentially a road movie, the fact that one of the characters in ti became famous in his later life is pretty much irrelevant, although you can see where Ernesto 'Che' Guevara (Gael Garcia Bernal) beliefs first started. It is based on the book of the same name by Guevara and 'Travels With Che Guevara' by Alberto Granado.

Guevara and his friend Alberto Granado (Rodrigo De La Serna) decide to travel South America on an old Norton motorcycle for the experience and after a brief interlude at Guevara's girlfriend's family's house they set of travelling through Argentina, Chile and Peru where they see first hand various social injustices (and there acceptance) inflicted on some of the people they meet. They are also able to use their medical training and compassion to help out at a leper colony on the Amazon. The scenery is spectacular, and that alone may have people hiring motorcycles and heading out to South America. The dialogue is simple, we are not spoon fed Guevara or Granado's thoughts, their brilliant acting skills and the subtle direction (by Walter Salles) allows us to appreciate by the bucketload all that they are feeling.

There is some humour, as this is a long journey, both physically and emotionally for the two young men. Fortunately, although it is just over two hours long, we do not feel quite so drained at the end of it.

Fireworks

Fireworks5
Originally uploaded by Essexgirl.

Valencia makes most of Europe's fireworks, except on New Year's Eve they don't let any off but instead let of quarter of a ton of firecrackers in the middle of the following afternoon.

101/1001 #41

No. 41 - Break two million on Bejeweled.

Last night I made 2, 136, 000. *Does victory dance*

New one: No 75 - Break three million on Bejewled.

BBC Big Read

101 Things to do in 1001 days #59

Oh dear, I may have overstretched myself, I'll never finish War & Peace in the time I have left....Books in bold I have read, books in italic I think I have read. I have a lot to read here.

1. Lord of the Rings – JRR Tolkein

2. Pride & Prejudice – Jane Austen

3. His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman

4. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams

5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – JK Rowling

6. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee

7. Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne

8. Nineteen Eighty-Four – George Orwell

9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – CS Lewis

10. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte

11. Catch 22 – Joseph Heller

12. Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte

13. Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks

14. Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier

15. The Catcher in the Rye – JD Salinger

16. The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame

17. Great Expectations – Charles Dickens

18. Little Women – Louisa M Allcott

19. Capatain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis de Bernieres

20. War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy

21. Gone with the Wind – Margaret Mitchell

22. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – JK Rowling

23. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – JK Rowling

24. Harry Potter and the Prisioner of Azkaban – Jk Rowling

25. The Hobbit – JRR Tolkein

26. Tess of the D’Ubervilles – Thomas Hardy

27. Middlemarch – George Elliot

28. A Prayer for Owen Meany – John Irving

29. The Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck

30. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll

31. The Story of Tracy Beaker – Jacqueline Wilson

32. One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez

33. The Pillars of the Earth – Ken Follett

34. David Copperfield – Charles Dickens

35. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl

36. Treasure Island – Robert Louis Stevenson

37. A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute

38. Persuasion – Jane Austen

39. Dune – Frank Herbert

40. Emma – Jane Austen

41. Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery

42. Watership Down – Richard Adams

43. The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald

44. The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas

45. Brideshead Revisted – Evelyn Waugh

46. Animal Farm – George Orwell

47. A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens

48. Far From the Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy

49. Goodnight Mister Tom – Michelle Magorian

50. The Shell Seekers – Rosamunde Pilcher

51. The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett

52. Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck

53. The Stand – Stephen King

54. Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy

55. A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth

56. The BFG – Roald Dahl

57. Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome

58. Black Beauty – Anna Sewell

59. Artemis Fowl – Eoin Colfer

60. Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky

61. Nought and Crosses – Malorie Blackman

62. Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden

63. A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens

64. The Thorn Birds – Collen McCollough

65. Mort – Terry Pratchett

66. The Magic Faraway Tree – Enid Blyton

67. The Magus – John Fowles

68. Good Omens – Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

69. Guards! Guards! – Terry Pratchett

70. Lord of the Flies – William Golding

71. Perfume – Patrick Suskind

72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists – Robert Tessell

73. Night Watch – Terry Pratchett

74. Matilda – Roald Dahl

75. Bridget Jones Diary – Helen Fielding

76. The Secret History – Donna Tartt

77. The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins

78. Ulysses – James Joyce

79. Bleak House – Charles Dickens

80. Double Act – Jacqueline Wilson

81. The Twits – Roald Dahl

82. I Capture the Castle – Dodie Smith

83. Holes – Louis Sacher

84. Gormenghast – Mervyn Peake

85. The God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy

86. Vicky Angel – Jacqueline Wilson

87. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley

88. Col Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons

89. Magician – Raymond E Feirst

90. On the Road – Jack Kerouac

91. The Godfather – Mario Puzo

92. The Clan of the Cave Bear – Jean M Auel

93. The Colour of Magic – Terry Pratchett

94. The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho

95. Katherine – Anya Seton

96. Kane and Abel – Jeffrey Archer

97. Love in the Time of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez

98. Girls in Love – Jacqueline Wilson

99. The Princess Diaries – Meg Cabot

100. Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie

Dancing on Ice - Week Five

I'm bored of this. I watched the results show only and we saw in the clips that several fell and that Marika lifted Sean rather than the other way round. At the end it was Sean and Kelly in the bottom two and the judges voted to save Kelly. Although there were rumours of a voting blunder that meant Bonnie received some of Sean's votes.

Reichstag Berlin

101/1001 No. 67 - Go to fifty places I have not been to before (and take a photo of them (No 68) ) - 1/50

Although I had been to Berlin before I had not been to the Reichstag. Now, after a 30 minute queue, I have.

Try Something New Every Month - February

No 61 of 101 Things to do in 1001 Days

This month's new thing was to see Bauhaus in concert. It is my first goth/punk gig and was at Columbiahalle in Berlin. I was too pissed to know if it was any good though, but I did eat a piece of cold pizza which was also a new experience.

Paycheck

52 Films in 52 weeks - 1

The premise of this film is excellent. Michael Jennings (Ben Affleck) is a techie genius who develops cutting edge technologies for a large payout and agrees to have his mind erased afterwards for security reasons. After a particular three year contract he discovers he has signed away his right to his multi-million payout and has had the wrong personal items returned to him. Of course he has no memory of this, and also discovers people are trying to kill him thus he must piece together the mystery himself. The clues are all there and whilst some are obvious, others are more obscure and this is where the potential lies.

Where the film fails, for me, is that the solving of the clues and the bigger mystery do not turn out to be as exciting or clever as they could have been and the film does not really have you on the edge of your seat. Affleck is too wooden and uncharismatic to be an action hero (and there are quite a few action sequences) and Uma Thurman is wasted as an under used token girlfriend (I think this film would have worked better if they had swaped roles). Other main cast members such as the geeky friend and the corrupt corporate big wigs are quite stereotypical.

In summation, this is an average action flick there are some good parts in it and some weak parts (in the story, the acting, and the whole coming together) which means I have to mark it down. I think the best way to describe this is as a poor man's Minority Report. There are worse action/thriller flicks out there, but there are also plenty that are so much better.

6/10

Back Trouble - Clare Chambers

52 Books in 52 Weeks - 1

Although the cover of this book makes it look like a chick-lit type book, the manin character is a man called Phiip who is knocking on the door of 40 with a failed business, failed relationship and debts. He then has a fall and injures his back.

He uses the opportunity that he is laid up to take up a challenge from his brother to write his biography. At first he thinks he has nothing to write about and then starts writing about family holidays and other events in his life. It is a sweet story, and whilst his family may be a bit odder them most, there is a story in an ordinary childhood. He alternates the childhood reminicences with events of the previous year which I liked, as each chapter was like a different short story. The end of the book saw an interesting twist, which was unexpected in this type of book.

Overall, the book is humourous and observational. It will not likely be the best book ever read but it is excellent for making a long journey fly by.

1gb iPod Nano

It was only a metter of time that they produced a 1gb iPod nano, but I would like to see something similar with a larger capacity.

101/1001 #12

No 12 in my list of 101 Things to do in 1001 days was to join a Tai Chi class and I went last night. I am aching from holding my arms in the air for two hours and shifting the weight between each leg, but I enjoyed it and will see how it goes.

Dancing On Ice - Week Four

Our pro-celeb couples did an ensemble opening piece with Torvill & Dean to 'celebrate' the Vegas Night theme that was going on. Though no one seems to be sure why there is a Vegas themed night, but never mind. This weeks' compulsory step was the Toe Step, which is when they have to step on their toes, strangely enough. John and Olga kicked off with a routine to Suspicious Minds which was faultless if not as energetic as last week, and they scored an impressive 21.5 points.

Gaynor and Daniel went next and performed a very clever and technically difficult routine to My Heart Will Go On, it is a shame about the naff song and Gaynor's stumble but it was good enough to net them 23.5 points. Stefan & Kristina had been in the bottom two for the last two weeks so were keen to do well and did an impressive performance to Luck Be A Lady with some good footwork, but scored them 18 points. Bonnie and Matt then did a very agile routine, that showed off Bonnie's dancing ability to Big Spender scoring them a massive 27 out of 30.

Sean & Marika had decided not to do lifts last week, but tried to do small lifts, plus some good steps (with a slight slip from Sean) to Mack the Knife and were disappointed with 17.5 points. Kelly and Todd then skated to Believe by Cher and Kelly made the effort to put more dancing into her routine, but the judges were not impressed and one commented on her "Bull Terrier legs" and awarded them 17.5. David Seaman's usual partner Pam was injured so he had trained with a new girl called Natalia, whom he performed with tonight in a slightly restrained routine to It's Not Unusual and they actually had a big fall and scored a very poor 16.

At the end of it, it was Stefan (again) and surprisingly John in the bottom two, and although John is the better skater they thought Stefan pulled it out of the bag in the skate-off and elected to save him by three votes to two.

Cherry iPod case

By Luella at Target in the USA

The Tokyo Project - The Collection

Tokyo Project presents The Collection CD comes from the new venture by Mark Doyle, who was previously boss at Hed Kandi before starting up his own label. This is their first release.

Disc One

It opens promisingly with a track called The Weekend by Michael Gray which is quite a famous club classic; I was disappointed to know I already had it on Hed Kandi: Disco Heaven from last spring. It mixes well with Jamiroquai’s Seven Days in Sunny June, which is the next track, and a commercial hit, which most tracks used on such compilations aren’t. This was followed by Sean from Aya, a track that was on Hed Kandi’s Spring Sampler 2005 and their Winter Mix 2004. Martin Solveg’s Everybody was one of the better tracks by him and I also enjoyed the Mylo Vs Miami Sound Machine’s Doctor Pressure, a combo of Dr Beat from MSM and Mylo’s Drop the Pressure. So Many Times by Gadjo (featuring Alexandra Price) is a great track, and also on Hed Kandi’s Disco Heaven from last year (though a different mix I believe). Supafly Vs Fishbowl’s Let’s Get Down was only the second song on this compilation that was new to me, and has a nice summer beat to it. Another commercial track that made it onto the CD was Basement Jaxx’s jazzy Do Your Thing which I love. For a Spanish influenced guitar led track we have Bon Garcon’s Freek U which is a great track. Eric Kupper who is a Hed Kandi stalwart has a track called Love Me in association with Discrete featuring Belle Erskine, which is one of the lighter tracks on the disc with some good vocals. The intriguingly named Sex on Monday had a nice easy, dance track called Bring Back the Love (Hold Me Down). This was followed by Eric Kupper again, also with Discrete and this time featuring Bonnie Bailey on a track called Always Wanted which is a great dance track. FAC 15 featuring Cathi Ogden also bring a new track to the disc called Haven’t You Heard which is also fab and catchy. The last song on Disc one is Live Element’s Something About You with a sample if Kiss You All Over. I am really impressed with Disc One, there is not a dud track on there, the only disadvantage is that quite a few of them are old HK ones (although good ones) and if this disc is to appeal to the same market, it needs to have some different tracks.

Disc Two

Disc Two kicks off with Give It by X-press 2 featuring Kurt Wagner which is a bit different to the tracks on Disc One , I found it a bit odd at first but there is a good hook and I ended up liking it. This is followed by Nasty Girl by Inaya Day, also a funkier track and catchy from the beginning (and quite commercial as I am sure I have heard it before). Lil’ Love by Little Love which is a cover of a Lisa Stansfield track, which syncs into I like Love (I Love Love) by Solitaire. Next up was Can’t Fake It by Steve Anders Vs Andrea T Mendoza, a track that was on Hed Kandi: Winter 2004 and Disco Heaven from last January. Fortunately where they have duplicated tracks they have been favourites from previous compilations and this is a good disco track, as was Love on my Mind by Freemasons featuring Amanda Wilson which followed it which sounded like it could have come out of any Seventies disco mix but with a contemporary mix. Love’s Just Found Me by The Montana’s featuring Rita Campbell is also in the same vein. Faith Evans’ track Mesmerised is up there and is a classic dance track although possibly one of the weakest on the compilation it is still better than a lot of tracks on the HK World Series Vol One compilation. Dannii Minogue & The Soul Seekerz also appear on the Tokyo Project with the track Perfection. I Just Can’t Get Enough by Herd & Fitz featuring Abigail Bailey also sounds familiar, but as I don’t have it on any other compilations, I think it is because if has crossed over commercially as it is a very upbeat track with a good dance beat to it with strong vocals. Soul Central’s Strings of Life also makes an appearance (duplicated from HK Winter 2004, triplicated if you count the vocal version of Disco Heaven 01.05) with its fast, jazzy, piano led beat, with soaring string instruments over it. Most Precious Love by Blaze Presents Uda featuring Barbara Tucker had a big gospel choir on the chorus over a synthesized beat. Disc Two finishes with Praise Cats (featuring Andrea Love) and Shined on Me, one of the better tracks from The World Series compilation. Again another disc with no dud tracks on it….

Disc Three

I thought I recognised the vocalist on the first track of Disc Three, it was Bonnie Bailey working with Eric Kupper and Xenon on a chill-out style track called Cocoon. The chill-out style is also present in the next track called Avalon by Juliet which I am not sure about. I am familiar with the Scissor Sisters’ Filthy/Gorgeous and this is a good mix of it, thus I am relieved that it is not all chill-out tracks on this disc. This is then followed by the Commercial hit I like the Way by Bodyrockers, which is a track that would never have appeared on a Hed Kandi compilation! It is cheesy but a good gym or exercise track. Also familiar is Rockin’ Rebels' Dreamer Axe Guitar, a heavier, electric guitar mix of the well known track. Body Body by Isaac James is a classic electro track, and Jean Claude Ades’ Someday is also good. The unusual Piano Track by Andry Nalin & Gregor Wagner presenting Bush II Bush was followed by the equally unusual 49 Percent by Royksopp. Then trance dance track Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso with Together which is OK is followed by another OK track Discopolis by Lifelike & Kris Menace. The final track is a mix of The Killers’ Mr Brightside which is an unusual choice of track for a dance compilation but as added an extended dance beat to the vocals of this haunting rock track and I love it. Overall this is the most disappointing disc of the three with some odd choices on it but there are also some winners.

I loved the vast majority of tracks on this compilation with a few exceptions on CD 3 which were just OK, I will definitely be looking for their next effort.