Aslan: "Crazy World" (BMG)

A year ago, nobody with even the barest grip on their sanity could have predicted that the five-year feud between Christy Dignam and his erstwhile cohorts in Aslan would be patched up and the band would find themselves lining up for another shot at the big prize. With all parties heading for cabaret hell in the handcarts respectively labelled Dignam & Goff and The Precious Stones, a persistent organiser of The South Band Show in Finglas - Robbie Foy take a bow! - persuaded the quintet to reform for a one-off gig and bingo, the romance was back on again. The first fruit of this reunion is the marvellous 'Crazy World', a song which is the logical successor to 'This Is', albeit with its scarf-waving tendencies tempered by bitter experience and not a little touch of compassion. The chorus will hook from Listen One and when Christy sings the opening line 'I have fallen down so many times' you know that he didn't stick those words together just because they happened to look nice on paper. A sleek, luxuriant, anthemic nugget.