E17 - Resurrection (Telstar) Nobody thought the pride of Walthamstow, East 17, would be able to maintain popularity when main man Tony Mortimer opted for a solo career. The group, soundly beaten by Take That in the Battle of the Boy Bands, had been on the wane, with internal rivalries and band members sacked - then reinstalled - for praising drugs.
Nearly three years on, though, Mortimer was still in limbo, while the trio supposed to be his makeweight sidekicks, renamed E17, scored a hit with Each Time.
That success, however, remains an exception, judging by Resurrection.
Once imaginatively challenging the restrictions of boy band music, now as E17 they are reduced to competing with successors like 911 or 5ive by grinding out average R&B. Even worse are the lyrics. Betcha Can't Wait, in which new leader Brian Harvey asks a 'babe' to 'think about my love rock' and adds 'a hundred ways . . . really want to make my day'.
All of which pales badly in comparison with the seductive double entendre of the band's previous works.
Resurrection could still give the other pretty-boy contenders a run for their money, and screaming young girl fans will doubtless lap it up all the same. But if this sort of mediocre fodder is the best Harvey and the lads have to offer, then both band and fans are better off living in the past.