Bands formed from families tend to fall into two categories. On one hand you have the tension-fuelled ruckin types such as Oasis, Jesus & Mary Chain and The Kinks, in the other hand you have the family friendly harmony pleasantness of The Osmonds, Hanson and The Nolans. The only exception to this rule would be Embrace, shunning the arrogance of old, whilst currently repositioning themselves as an indie-Carpenters.
The Corrs, of course, belong in the nicer hand. Having spent the last 10 years peddling their polite pop/folk hybrid, selling a whopping 25 million albums as a bonus. The fact that Andrea, Caroline and Sharon aren't exactly ugly may have been a contributory factor too. Not forgetting, um, Jim's…delightful beard.
After nailing it worldwide with their 'Talk On Corners' album, various efforts were made to finally make it in the UK, with the band eventually breaking through with their cover of Fleetwood Mac's 'Dreams'. Soon, after the success of 'Forgiven, Not Forgotten', suddenly The Corrs were a bona fide hit machine with their best tunes such as 'What Can I Do?', 'So Young' and the surprisingly ace 'Radio', eventually scoring a Number One with 2000's less good 'Breathless'.
They still keep their trad Irishness with the likes of 'Runaway', 'Lough Erin Shore' and make REM's 'Everybody Hurts' their own. New tracks 'Make You Mine' and single 'Could You Be Happier' indicate something of a direction crisis, but rest assured, they're unlikely to do a Radiohead just yet.
'The Best Of The Corrs' may not be everybody's cup of tea - it glides a bit too effortlessly at times, and can veer heavily on the bland side - but at least you now know what to get your Dad this Christmas.
