'Cause all of my favorite stories end in some kind of catastrophe

Continuing my trip forward in time through the album charts

07/08/26 : petal - Ariana Grande 

Our third visit with Ms Grande and every time I've tried to get over her portrayal of Cat Valentine, but never quite managed it - third times a charm, eh?

You know what - maybe it is. I obviously didn't love it, but I also didn't find it too annoying and at 36 minutes long, it can't be accused of overstaying its welcome. I actually think I'd go as far as saying I liked "Never Get Over Me" - what was I thinking? Our guest reviewer this week is my youngest and she declares it to be a great album (and she wasn't that impressed with the last one) - I'm guessing Ariana will probably be more interested in her opinion than mine, so all is good. I also don't think I've have recognised her in the photo without the slight clue of it being on the album cover.

We're obviously at #1 with a new entry in the chart this week - her sixth consecutive album to do so. The rest of the top five are Michael Jackson (people are really digging the film), the Olivias Rodrigo and Dean and Sienna Spiro (hanging around very well). And we have a very sparse collection of other new entries to consider this week.

Olivia Dean (#42)
This really isn't a proper new entry because a) it's an EP with five tracks on it and b) it was released in '21 - but it's perfectly fine (if somewhat unremarkable) apart from that.

The Durutti Column (#54)
Well, that's a bit of a surprise! It might be their 28th album but it's their first album of new material in over 15 years. Apparently work started on it in '17 - since Vini Reilly suffered a stroke in '10 everything takes a little longer than it used to. But it feels worth the wait if you like your music to be shimmery and ethereal - I really quite liked it.

Davido (#98)
Interestingly, we previously met Davido at #7, so quite why this hasn't done so well is unclear - from what I remember this is a similar low-key Africa-esque sound. Not my thing, but perfectly bearable.

And that's your lot! And somewhat astonishingly, the highest re-entry is The Beatles Red Album at #96 and even more astonishingly, the only other two are best-ofs from Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler at #99 and #100 - which is the fifth time they've occupied those two slots and the ninth time they've been in consecutive places in the last year (I couldn't be bothered checking any further back than that). Last week I said that Gracie would be at #5 and I was completely wrong because she's at #29, so let's go for #5 for Ariana - it has to be right eventually!

Wikipedia has loads for a new album (301 milliPeppers) and it tells us this is her eighth album and is "titled after and based on the metaphor "petal in the pavement"". I'd never heard this before, but unsurprisingly it refers to something delicate being trodden underfoot, which Ariana has obviously often felt like and undoubtedly contributed to her recent decision to "step back from visibility". And, funnily enough, a whole load of the Wikipedia text relates to this - feel free to read it if you need to. Critically, opinions are mixed - some people like the fact that it's more understated than some of her other albums, but others don't. Commercially, it's obviously done well, getting to #1 in a load of countries and I'm sure it will get there in the US very soon as well.

Amusingly, discogs.com tells us you can pick up a vinyl copy with a lenticular cover (who doesn't love them?) for £22 or you can pick up a cassette version for £25 - WHAT?!? There are loads of different colour vinyl options available with classic white, translucent pearly white, cloudy gray, gray skies or picture disc listed - all of which will set you back £40-60. I can't say I loved this album but it has to get album of the week because of our guest reviewer - but The Durutti Column also get a shout-out because it's much more up my street and well worth a listen imho.

31/07/26 - Well put-together

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