2002 Atomic Kitten: The Tide Is High (Get The Feeling)

Second run at the top for this Paragons song - if Blondie diluted its reggae source with a wiry new wave sensibility, then Atomic Kitten deny it altogether by emptying out the roots and filling the bottle entirely with pop. Which is hardly a masterstroke; 'The Tide Is High' already had a natural rhythm with verve aplenty, but by filtering it down to just the melody it loses far more than it gains. Because I'm wondering if anybody involved actually listened to John Holt's original? The girls take the gender swap lyric as read and do their best Debbie Harry impersonations with an assumed aloofness that sits ill against the simplified backing, creating an incongruous miss-match of styles that salts any fizz flat. The forced, titular 'get the feeling' middle eight appears as the afterthought of an afterthought and only adds to the lazy desperation born of struggling to find three pretty girls something to do before the public finally lose interest.