Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 30 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Sunday.
Here is the Top 40 in full.Obviously some of the records will be the same as last week so therefore the review will be the same for these. I've indicated which ones are new so you can skip the others if you read last weeks post.
Once again my opinions are inevitably going to differ from other people, but I'm not trying to convince anyone something is good or rubbish, I'm simply giving my opinion.
So this is the top 30 from this week in 1991 with my verdict on each record:
Here we have a thrash metal band doing a ballad, something that didn't go down well with a lot of thrash metal fans. However, I'm not a thrash metal fan and happen to think this is one of the best Metallica songs.
Verdict - Good
When I think 1991 Belinda Carlisle I think "Live Your Life Be Free" and "Summer Rain". The latter was actually December 1990. I forget about this record even though I do actually remember it. It was the 2nd single from the "Live Your Life Be Free" and written by the same people who wrote the title track. It's an ok record.
Verdict - OK
This was the first Top 40 hit on All Around the World records. The label has given us some of the most dreadful dance music over the years. This record does sound more commercial than a lot of other dance records at the time, but I do quite like it.
Verdict - Good
Despite the fact this topped the charts a knocked the longest running number one off the top, this may struggle to even get into the Top 10 when it comes to best known U2 songs. The fact it was a limited edition probably helped it to top the charts but also made it a blink and you miss it sort of song. The fact you don't hear it much these days though means it still sounds good.
Verdict - Good
The Top 40 debut for SL2 aka Slipmatt and Lime. At a time before the rave scene split into happy hardcore and jungle, you'd think based on these tunes they would end up going down the jungle route. However, Slipmatt has often been crediting for starting happy hardcore with his SMD series. These are both great tunes and show there's more to SL2 than just "On A Ragga Tip".
Verdict - Good
25. Poison - So Tell Me Why (New)
It's quite amusing seeing a Poison record in the Top 40 knowing that the debut of Nirvana is just round the corner. They were one of the bands who fell victim to the rise of grunge. As far as Poison singles go I'd say this ones the best. I remember it coming out around the same time as "Wasted Time" by Skid Row.
Verdict - Good
24. Anticappella - 2~231 (New)
This was the debut hit for Anticappella. The man behind Anticappella was Gianfranco Bortolotti who was the same man behind Cappella who made their Top 40 debut a couple of years earlier. Don't let that put you off though. Both Anticappella and Cappella were responsible for some pretty awful eurodance records in the 90s but this was before that and this records actually pretty good.
Verdict - Good
A Roxette ballad you don't hear anymore. That would normally make me more inclined to prefer it to their more obvious ones because it doesn't get played to death. However, it doesn't but that's more to do with how good the more obvious ones are.
Verdict - Good
My take on Genesis at the time were they were basically Phil Collins with a band. I had no idea about their history. It does seem quite odd in a way that a band who didn't really do singles in the beginning are having Top 10 hits 20 years after their 70s heyday. I do still think their later stuff could just as easily be Phil Collins solo material though and I happen to like Phil Collins as a solo artist.
Verdict - Good
21. Love Decade - So Real (New)
This was the 2nd Top 40 hit from All Around the World records. Unlike Control, who had the first Top 40 hit from the label, Love Decade were not one hit wonders. This was their biggest hit. Once again it's more commercial sounding than a lot of other dance records at the time but still decent.
Verdict - Good
20. Skid Row - Wasted Time (New)
I'll never forget the time I went to a Korean restaurant in South London and discovered this record was on the karaoke playlist. I'd wanted to sing this at karaoke for a long time but had never seen it on a playlist before. Apparently I sang this so loud that my friends who opted not to go into the karaoke room could hear me downstairs in the restaurant. Needless to say I like this record. I remember it coming out around the same time as "So Tell Me Why" by Poison.
Verdict - Good
At the time I thought how the fuck did a record like this get into the Top 40. An opera song sung by someone I'd never heard of who wasn't exactly young. Many years later I discovered it was the song for the Rugby World Cup, I never knew there was such a thing until England won it.
Verdict - Rubbish
The only Top 40 hit credited to Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, but they were also having hits in 1991 as KLF. The lyrics are basically a long list of northern towns which does seem like a very KLF thing to do. Like pretty much anything by KLF it's great.
Verdict - Good
After Paul Youngs awful cover of their debut hit "Don't Dream It's Over", Crowded House are back in the Top 40 for the first time in 4 years with their 2nd Top 40 hit. It's the lead single from the "Woodface" album. Crowded House are one of those groups I've got to appreciate more later on in life. Their music was different to anything else at the time and although rave music was more my thing than anything else, this is a breath of fresh air when the beats of rave music get a bit too much.
Verdict - Good
A record I didn't realise was an old record charting for the second time at the time. It's Don McLean's best known song but not one of his two UK number ones. I tried to find out why this was given a new lease of life in 1991 but couldn't find anything. I liked this at the time and remember me and a mate singing it at school. My view hasn't really changed.
Verdict - Good
15. Extreme - Hole Hearted (New)
Let's set the scene here. Extreme were a hard rock group who released an acoustic ballad which was hugely successful but alienated a lot of rock fans. They now had the challenge of getting the rock fans back on side so what do they do? They release this, another acoustic record. Fortunately I wasn't one of the purists they alienated and I quite like it.
Verdict - Good
This is a bit of a strange one for me. It's a bit of a generic nothing song on one hand. At the same time it reminds me of late 1991 and all the good music that was around then which makes me think it's alright.
Verdict - OK
Terrible cover of The Real Thing song, I do wonder what the point of Sonia leaving Stock Aitken & Waterman was given the music she did after may just as well have been from them.
Verdict - Rubbish
Summer holidays are on the way, this so reminds me of the summer holidays of 1991 where it was number one the whole time and beyond. Quite remarkable for a 31 year old 80s singer who'd failed to even make the Top 40 with most of his prior singles. I got pretty sick of this at the time like most people, but I actually quite like it.
Verdict - Good
This originally came out before "Everybody's Free" but failed to reach the Top 40 earlier in the year. I think I prefer this record, it probably helps that few remember it so it hasn't been played to death.
Verdict - Good
I think this may have been the first version of "When A Man Loves A Woman" I heard. A few years later I found myself liking "When A Man Loves A Woman" but being a bit embarrassed about liking a Michael Bolton song at the same time. Then someone pointed out it was a 60s song covered by Michael Bolton. Listening to the 2 versions, it was definitely the Percy Sledge version that I liked. This ones just a karaoke version.
Verdict - Rubbish
This failed to make the Top 40 when released earlier on in the year but following the success of "Such A Feeling" it ended up making the Top 10. This is the big Bizarre Inc hit that was made for the dancefloor rather than the charts. I love it.
Verdict - Good
Around 18 months after topping the charts as uncredited vocalist on Adamski's "Killer", here is Seal back in the charts with his own version. Understandably, it doesn't sound that different to the original version.
Verdict - Good
Despite the fact that Kylie Minogue was still with Stock Aitken & Waterman (who were just Stock & Waterman by this point) it does sound different to her earlier hits. What we have instead is a song that sounds like it should be from a Disney movie
Verdict - Rubbish
The debut Top 40 hit for K-Klass. It failed to make the Top 40 when released earlier on in the year, but here it is going straight into the Top 10. It perhaps suffers from it's "anthem" status, but it's a great record that really did sound quite something in the 90s.
Verdict - Good
Lots of samples in this one which got them into trouble, quite common for dance records which got bigger than anticipated. One of the samples is the Pink Floyd record of the same name but the most notable is "Just Get Up and Dance" by Afrika Bambaataa.
Verdict - Good
One of the biggest rave tunes ever and deservedly so. Altern 8 were arguably bigger than The Prodigy at the time.
Verdict - Good
The Top 40 debut for 2 Unlimited, though they had a Top 40 hit the previous year as Bizz Nizz. I did like this at the time, but my memory has been somewhat tainted by the crap they released after this. I also remember hearing it a few years later for the first time in a while and it sounded much slower than I remembered.
Verdict - OK
It amazes me how many people I've met who don't remember The Wonder Stuff, particularly given they had a number one with this. They did alienate some of their fans by collaborating with Vic Reeves, but I do wonder if they'd think the same had Vic Reeves not been a famous comedian. To me there is absolutely nothing wrong with this song, I've always liked it.
Verdict - Good
I honestly can't remember what I made of this record at the time. It was one that divided opinion but I think I was sat on the fence. Now I've had 30 years to reflect and even though this is the first time I've ever listened to it of my own accord I do quite like it.
Verdict - Good
If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 24.5/30, or 82%. Could this be the best Top 30 ever?
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