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NEWS : STORIES
Ladies and gentlemen, the Titanic Goliath has finally met its match. And, appropriately enough, his name is David -- Dave Matthews, to be exact. SoundScan reports that it took the strength, courage and spending money of 420,000
Thanks to the Dave Matthews Band and their current hit single, "Don't Drink The Water" (RealAudio excerpt), chart-watchers will no longer look atop the Billboard 200 albums listing and see the faces of pop songstress Celine Dion and "Titanic" score composer James Horner, the two people most responsible for that soundtrack's seemingly unstoppable reign over the nation's pop charts. For many artists looking to overcome the media hysteria over the Academy Award-winning movie, it has been a rough five months under the Titanic regime, and there have been honorable attempts to topple the almighty soundtrack from its perch. The musical Goliath has withstood attacks from such formidable opponents as the LOX, Ice Cube, Master P, Pearl Jam and Madonna. Also scoring a top-10 debut this week was Puerto Rican rapper Big Punisher. His debut, Capital Punishment, which features appearances by Wyclef Jean and Fat Joe, sold 136,000 copies in the week ending May 3, according to SoundScan, and landed at #5. In other rap-debut news, Westside Connection member and former WC and the MAAD Circle leader WC sold 52,000 copies of his solo debut, The Shadiest One, and debuted at #19. Public Enemy's critically acclaimed soundtrack to the Spike Lee film "He Got Game" sold 42,000 copies, earning a debut at #26. However, given that the film debuted on Friday and was #1 at the box office this past weekend, it seems likely that the hip-hop legends might experience a sales bump next week based on the broad exposure to their work. The week's other high-profile debut, aside from TV actor Andy Griffith's #199 charting with Just As I Am, was Lilith Fair: A Celebration. SoundScan reports that the two-CD set, which features live tracks from such prominent female artists as Jewel, Joan Osborne, Indigo Girls and tour founder Sarah McLachlan, sold 48,000 copies and landed at #24. Also outselling Griffith, the star of the "Matlock" television series, was Fleetwood Mac's bewitching vocalist Stevie Nicks, who saw her collection entitled The Enchanted Work of Stevie Nicks land at #85. Another debut that beat out Griffith, who is probably most beloved by American audiences for his role on "The Andy Griffith Show," was Fugazi. The punk-rock legends landed at #138 with their latest, End Hits. With his new album skyrocketing to #1, Dave Matthews and his cohorts also saw some chart movement for their Live At Red Rocks 8.15.95 album, which jumped from #160 to #119. Among the many artists watching their albums move down the charts were former Led Zeppelin members Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Page & Plant. The pioneering heavy-metal duo sold 47,000 copies of Walking Into Clarksdale, which sent them falling from their debut slot last week at #8 to this week's #25 position. Also sliding down the charts this week were Radiohead, whose EP Airbag/How Am I Driving? sold 13,000 copies and tumbled from #56 to #94. In the world of upward chart movement, the Cherry Poppin' Daddies continued their rise, selling 30,000 copies of Zoot Suit Riot and inching up from #46 to #41. The rest of the best on the Billboard 200 chart: Various Artists, City of Angels Soundtrack (#2); George Strait, One Step At A Time (#4); Celine Dion, Let's Talk About Love (#6); Backstreet Boys, Backstreet Boys (#7); Savage Garden, Savage Garden (#8); Faith Hill, Faith (#9); and Shania Twain, Come On Over (#10).
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