Sugababes - One Touch: Classic or Dud

It is indeed good but THE OTHER TWO ARE MUCH BETTER. I can prove this by science if you like.

I think One Touch is bestest although technically I feel I should like sparky-chromey AWDF best but I love AWDF and I love One Touch slightly more (and why is the Siobhan album so totally not a Keeper?) (and why does Three sag so drably in the middle?) (etc)

But Three is their best record and the Siobhan album is wicked!? Or, has about four WICKED songs and about three good ones and the rest is merely OK but MY GOD the WICKED ones are so WICKED.

But but WHY is Three their best record? I want to understand, truly, but after the first four tracks it kind of wobbles into this dirgey half-asleep splurrr and doesn't pick up until Too Lost In You (and I hate that now too because it was so overplayed grrrr) and it doesn't even really pick up THAT much but at least the last third has slightly sharper edges maybe.

(I'm sorry Barima, I maybe should have resurrected the Three thread for My Business Here)

Classic. And "Run For Cover" is still their most astonishingly brilliant single. It's just perfect. Excuse me, I've got something in my eye.

Anges With Dirty Faces has the best stunner-to-filler ratio, but One Touch has the least amount of filler on it. Three has "Million Different Ways" on it so even if the other 13 tracks were dead air it would be worth getting, no?

I think the second album is better.
Love "Overload" and "Run for cover" though.

I will always love "Soul Sound" to death and "Run For Cover" and "Overload" are amazing also, but what strikes me about the first album as a whole is how weirdly young and unformed they sound on most of the other tracks ("weirdly" because the singles have a certain maturity and poise about them). Something like "Look At Me" is almost uncomfortable to listen to - like watching child actor audition tapes or something.

Three is my favourite, perhaps because on a lot of it they've really honed in on that humbling transcendent quality which characterises so much of their best work, but which was toned down on the second album - in a lot of ways songs like "Caught in a Moment", "Situation's Heavy" and "Million Different Ways" (each with a positively astral chorus) look back to "Soul Sound" and "Run for Cover" more than anything else. "Situation's Heavy" in particular makes me tear up a bit.

Although the debut's girly vocals work really well on "Just Let It Go" I admit.

I think One Touch and AWDF are as perfect and classic as each other in completely different ways - One Touch for the sullen, unformed, grumpy-but-really-wistful mood, AWDF for the fact that they're still all of those things but with added pop zing (and "More Than A Million Miles", which sounds as if it belongs in One Touch). Three... the ballads are mostly good, but the bangers are disappointing apart from "Buster".

We haven't mentioned "Lush Life" yet? We should, it's awesome.

Look, the title track of One Touch is absolutely perfect. It has the words "my dear" being sung by 3 15/6 year olds and IT DOESN'T SUCK. It has a beautifully relaxed vibe and it shimmers with transcendence. And their vocals are so harmonious, yearning and sweet I practically tear up every time. And then 'Lush Life' follows it - oh. Man.

They were far better at emoting on this than they ever have been since (I'm thinking of 'Stronger' and 'TLIY', which look back to the debut but don't have the same music/vocal glue or the sweetness or the nice lyrics and less obvious hooks - though they're both still good). They have never bettered their backing vocals (in terms of imagination, phrasing and attractiveness) or interplay since. Keisha's vocals are in fact becoming more mildly annoying with each successive album, but that's ageing for you. And "least amount of filler" is totally right - the closest they get is 'Real Thing' - 'Promises' would be close too, but it's all about that awesome minimalism and minor-key weirdness.

Also, no matter how charismatic Heidi is/perceived to be, Siobhan made the trio more of an individual vocal animal than she has ( it's that indie-girl edge in the midst of all that r'n'b singing). And Cameron McVey and Johnny Rokstar deserve the highest awards.

expect I'll always be mildly disappointed by Sugababes albums, but "Overload", "Lush Life", "Round Round" and "Caught In a Moment" are some of my fave songs of the past 5 years. in a way, "Overload" helped kick off the meta-pop scene - though can anyone think of a better, earlier example?

Babes oddity: "Make Over" on the last Christina Aguilera album nicked the chassis from "Overload".

I know, and I've never forgiven her and Perry for it.

Guys, I also want to mention that there are some awesome reimixes from this period you should check out: The Capoeira Twins and Nick Faber remixes of 'Overload' (housey/bouncy pop) and the Soulchild (as in Gorillaz - '19-2000' and E6 - 'Dance Commander') and Medway City Heights mixes of 'Soul Sound' (synthetic r'n'b Neptunes pastiche and awesomely catchy, party-rocking two-step respectively).