SINGLES - The Bandits - Once Upon A Time/On My Way (Out Monday, B-Unique)

MUCH like their Scouse colleagues The Coral, The Bandits bring an American country feel to rock 'n' roll. Their second single is a double A-side offering -- Once Upon A Time is up beat and catchy as you reminisce about how things used to be, and how much everything has changed, and is very good.

On My Way is more of a rocker, and looks at moving on to something better. "I feel the grass is greener, I'm sorry to say I'm on my way." Also very good.

****

Angie Martinez - If I Could Go (Out Monday, Eastwest)

WE have a further New Year's resolution here with another call to move on to something new. Featuring Lil' Mo and Scario, If I Could Go has a hip-hop Latin feel, sort of J-Lo meets Santana, as we are urged to leave everything behind and make a fresh start with the person you love. Catchy and decent.

ALBUMS

Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds - Nocturama (Out Monday, Mute)

AS their February 24 single suggests, Nick Cave and the boys really do Bring It On with their latest album. Wonderful Life kicks things off with an Eric Clapton/Joe Cocker ballad as we hear it's a "wonderful life if you can find it". He Wants You is uninspiring but the excellent Right Out Of Your Hand more than makes up for it. The woman in his life has nowhere to go but has him right where she wants him. The album's first single, Bring It On, is the pick of the bunch and is an anthem of encouragement with a '70s funk feel and a Paul Weller sound, as we are urged to bring on our fears and dreams. A mix of ballads and rock tracks make up the numbers but nothing stands out.

**

PHISH - Round Room (Out now, Elektra)

IN typical Phish fashion, this is the result of two weeks of rehearsals and a four-day studio jam. Following on from where The Grateful Dead left off, they are at the top of the jam band movement, though the opener, Pebbles And Marbles, does little to promote their cause, and I was wondering whether I had my first new drinks mat of the year.

**

At 11.38 minutes, it is two minutes of jazz instrumental before we hear a spoken-word tale of collecting things on the beach. They redeem themselves with Anything But Me, a Roger Taylor sort of offering about being the person in the middle. Like a satellite relaying information, you are the one who is blamed for delivering bad news. Very good.

Round room has a Caribbean flavour and Mexican cousin is an ode to tequila and how that "relative" takes over and cuts off everyone else.

Friday reminds me of Meatloaf's Two out of three ain't bad, while Seven below is another epic (just the eight minutes this time) about freezing temperatures.

The boys certainly redeemed themselves after a poor start and offer a good mix of themes to offer something for everyone.

VARIOUS

THE BEST ONE-HIT WONDERS IN THE WORLD . . . EVER!

Out now, EMI/Virgin

IT doesn't take a rocket scientist to analyse this one, so I'll jump straight in.

We have the world-famous Friends theme tune I'll be there for you, by The Rembrandts; Deep Blue Something's Breakfast at Tiffany's; Cutting Crew's excellent I just died in your arms tonight; and Norman Greenbaum (he was never going to make it with a name like that) with Spirit in the sky.

The Mock Turtles have undergone an unexpected revival since Vodafone nabbed Can you dig it for its latest ad with David Beckham; the Weather Girls always fill the dance floor with It's raining men, and there are the timeless Macarena, by Los del Rio, and Mambo No 5 by Lou Bega.

Plenty of good stuff that should bring back a few memories.

VARIOUS

SAMPLED VOL 4

Out now, EMI/Virgin

THE Sampled series is one of the best ideas for a compilation I have ever found -- it gathers the unadulterated originals that other artists borrow to and turn into their own hits. It's also a good place to start for a pop quiz.

Your starter for ten: Did you know that Happy Mondays turned John Kongos's He's gonna step on you again into their hit Step on? Or that Joe Cocker's Woman to woman formed the basis for Tupac's California love, though, to be fair, the music to the original is much better than the song. And that Fatboy Slim's award-winning Weapon of choice borrowed from Sly and the Family Stone's Into my own thing. And the soon-to-be-ex Mrs Zoe Ball also dipped into Ann Robinson's (not that one) You did it, for Gangster trippin'.

As well as hearing great music as it was intended, it is also very entertaining trying to work out who pinched what from which song. If you get stuck at all though, the answers are on the back!

VARIOUS

I LOVE YOU

Out now, EMI/Virgin

ROBBIE Williams's Feel would be one of my first choices on a stadium anthems compilation and not to kick off a love album.

The Blue/Elton John remake of the original Sorry seems to be the hardest word isn't much better, and Atomic Kitten's Whole again also belongs in the pop category rather than romance.

Sinead O'Connor's moving Nothing compares 2 U is a must, as is the Righteous Brothers' Unchained melody, arguably one of the greatest love songs ever written.

Mr Williams's Angels is another that belongs in the stadium category, and Mel C and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes's Never be the same again hardly sets the scene for love.

Not a bad pop compilation overall, but I wouldn't rely on it for a Valentine's bunk up.