ALBUM: Russell Watson

Hey, Russell Watson can sing a bit - as good an English tenor as you'll hear at the moment.

On his album The Voice, Watson continues the tenuous link between football and opera, apparently discovered by Manchester United's Martin Edwards in the Salford pubs and clubs.

Watson has a glorious voice that shines through this over-produced album - the strings are too much at times, sounding more like elevator music than any self-respecting orchestra.

The first track, Nella Fantasia, is a prime example: Watson's mellow tones awash in a mushy sea of strings. Luckily he's strong enough vocally to rise above the mush - and he will be a talent for the next 50 years as his voice benefits from reputation and experience.

The Voice is a good album worth a tenor of anybody's money - one for the mums and an early Christmas stocking filler.

KEITH REEVES

CRIME NOVEL: Kill Me

Naomi Anstruther is an undercover cop working amongst drug gangs. The operation ends in a shoot-out when her current boyfriend and ex-lover are shot dead.

Naomi's friend Esme thinks the women should avenge the two deaths, but before she gets the chance she is also killed. This leaves Naomi in great danger and she is counselled by a psychologist who is as nutty as a fruitcake!

The story swings from meeting to meeting, first with drug dealers then with police. I never decided if the two policemen, Harper and Iles, were straight or were tipping the dealers off.

I really made little sense of this story, which is liberally sprinkled with four-letter words, in spite of its glowing reviews.

PAM SPENCER