Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 28 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Wednesday.
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 1995 with my verdict on each record:
This was the final single to be released from the excellent "Dummy" album which came out in 1994, but was the first to make the Top 40. It's also the final track on the album, which is one of my favourite albums of all time. I don't know what else to say really, just give it a listen and let the music do the talking.
Verdict - Good
The penultimate Top 40 hit to date for Apache Indian and the only Top 40 hit for American rapper Tim Dog. In theory it's combining the bhangra/reggae of Apache Indian and the hip of of Tim Dog but in reality it just sounds like a hip hop tune that features a reggae singer. More crucially though it sounds like a decent hip hop record.
Verdict - Good
This was the 5th Top 40 hit for Oasis and biggest hit to date, possibly helped by the fact every man and his dog had the "Definitely Maybe" album but this never appeared on an album. Although it's clearly a different song, I can't help but think of it as a blatant rip off of "I'm Free" by the Rolling Stones and it's almost surprising Jagger and Richards didn't take legal action given it doesn't take much for them to do that. Instead it was Neil Innes who took legal action for it's resemblance to one of his songs. I never got Oasis though, doesn't appeal to me at all.
Verdict - Rubbish
My memory of this record is that Vanessa-Mae just seemed to come out of nowhere and we suddnely had this superstar violin player. She'd actually been around a few years but was now making a 'pop' album to appeal to a wider audience. This was her big hit and I actually quite like it.
Verdict - Good
The Top 40 debut for Boyzone, the Irish version of Take That. After they had a few hits it became apparent that Ronan Keating has quite a deep singing voice but he's pretty high pitched here and you can kind of sense he's struggling to sing like that. Like many Boyzone hits it's a cover that just sounds like a karaoke version of the original.
Verdict - Rubbish
The penultimate Top 40 hit for The Black Crowes and the last time they'll feature as their final one didn't make the Top 30. Both sides of the record are pretty solid and nothing to really fault about either of them. Has it's own distinct sound.
Verdict - Good / Good
Yes that's right, Simple Minds were still having hits in 1995. I do remember this being in the charts at the time though so not that much of a surprise. It's far better than their 1991 efforts that suggested they were past their best. I'm not going to suggest this is up to the standards of "Theme For Great Cities" because it isn't, but it's still a decent effort.
Verdict - Good
Like with most REM records, it's impossible to make out the lyrics to it. The words Tigra and Calibra fit the first line, kind of, so that's what I used to sing. I see the Vauxhall Tigra had been launched quite recently at that point and the Calibra was the other Vauxhall sports car at the time. When it builds up to the chorus you expect something big is going to come, but it doesn't. That's what makes the record though.
Verdict - Good
This is one of those records I've known all my life but this is the first time it ever made the UK Top 40. It's also the only Top 40 hit to date for Bob Seger. There have been cover versions by other artists that have made the Top 40 over the years, but it's all about the original.
Verdict - Good
21. Suede - New Generation (New)
1995 was considered the peak year for Britpop and Suede were considered one of the big four of Britpop. This minor hit though was their only Top 40 hit of 1995. It's a pretty boring record and I've never got the appeal of Suede generally speaking.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was originally by Heatwave and what I'm not sure about is which version I heard first. For a long time I thought of it as being a Luther Vandross song, but at the same time I feel like I first heard it earlier than 1995. Anyway a decent effort from Luther Vandross who could sing pretty much anything.
Verdict - Good
This was the final Top 40 hit to date for Jade. Whilst I very much associate this record with 1995, it does sound like it could have easily come out in 1993 and as a result I remember Jade more fondly than other early 90s R&B groups who outstayed their welcome.
Verdict - Good
We had reached the mid-point of the 90s and the 80s was very much a distant memory. Or so it seemed until The Human League made a comeback. I remember how out of place this record sounded at the time and in my mind there was no room for 80s music in the 90s. I do like 80s synth pop music these days including some Human League records, but not this one.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the 4th Top 40 hit for Jimmy Nail and his first not to make the Top 5. It was taken from the TV series "Crocodile Shoes" which Jimmy Nail was starring in at the time. I find this one pretty boring to be honest.
Verdict - Rubbish
Let Loose were a boy band with guitars and this was their 3rd Top 40 hit. I think I'd learned to ignore them by this point because the only bells this is ringing is it being how I remember Let Loose sounding, i.e. shit.
Verdict - Rubbish
15. Sting - This Cowboy Song (New)
I remember this record featuring Pato Banton and was waiting for him to appear but then it never happened. It turns out it was a remix that featured Pato Banton which is miles better and as I remember that was the version we always heard it's the one I'm including.
Verdict - Good
If grunge killed off hair metal then punk killed off grunge. Had I not got into rave then this would have probably been the direction I would have taken music wise. I sort of was gearing towards this at the time and in a roundabout way got there eventually by owning all the Green Day albums and forming a punk band years later. I love the drums in this record, something about the moment where they kick in.
Verdict - Good
When I first heard this on Top of the Pops I wasn't sure whether I'd heard it before or not. When the first verse was being sung, in my mind I'd never heard it before. Then the chorus came in and it sounded familiar. What I don't know is if I'd genuinely heard the chorus before, or its one of those things I feel I've heard before but hadn't. The verses and chorus bear no resemblance to each other and I like that about the song.
Verdict - Good
There was once a pub in Newcastle called "Tut 'N' Shive" and whenever I'd walk past it I'd sing this in my head but changing the words to "I don't see nothing wrong with a little Tut 'N' Shive". Then it changed it's name to "Dog & Parrott" and "I don't see nothing wrong with a little Dog & Parrott" doesn't really work. Anyway I love this record, it's the opening track to a "Pure Swing" compilation I own and also appears on his "12 Play" album which I also own.
Verdict - Good
Steps have often been referred to as poundland Abba for the 90s which I don't disagree with at all. I would however say a more accurate description of them would be the Deuce of the late 90s. This was the Top 40 debut for Deuce and what I remembered most about it aside from how cheesy it was is the rhyming of face and disgrace.
Verdict - Rubbish
There was a brief period of time when the Riverdance was big. Never been a fan of dancing myself so I ignored it the best I could. But given it's popularity they couldn't resist releasing a single from it. The fact it's all about watching the dancing rather than listening to the music though suggests the music isn't really up to much, which it isn't.
Verdict - Rubbish
M People never seemed to be out of the Top 40 around the mid-90s, the hits just kept coming. They mostly followed the same sort of formula i.e. very commercial sounding vocal house tunes. I guess they had their place in the music world, just not the sort of music I would want to listen to though.
Verdict - Rubbish
After deciding I wanted to go down the rave route, a question I asked myself was which records count as rave music. This was one that I did question and the answer is no not really. It was probably more to do with the fact I liked what I was hearing so if it did somehow qualify as rave then I'd be completely justified in liking it.
Verdict - Good
This was the 2nd UK Top 40 hit for German eurodance act (MC Sar And) The Real McCoy and the follow up to their biggest hit "Another Night". Unlike many other eurodance acts, they also were successful in America. Also unlike many other eurodance acts, I liked them enough to buy the album though admittedly this was years later and bought from poundland.
Verdict - Good
This was the Top 40 debut and biggest hit for MN8. I've often said that British R&B in the 90s often sounded like a cheap imitation of its American counterpart. This is no exception, but at the same time what a tune.
Verdict - Good
I was getting a bit confused when listening to this just now. My memory of it is that it was a dance cover of the Bonnie Tyler record, but I start listening and finding this too is a ballad. That is until around a minute and a half in when it turns into a dance record. It's a very poor transition though and a poor record all together. It's the only time Nicki French will feature, but she did have one further Top 40 hit in 2000 with the Eurovision entry which makes sense.
Verdict - Rubbish
The only Top 40 hit for Ini Kamoze who had been around since the early 80s and was in his late 30s by this point. It has 90s nostalgia written all over it, but even in the late 90s I remember looking back on records like this and thinking they don't make them like that anymore.
Verdict - Good
I used to regularly go to a pub quiz where the first round was always music clips where we had to give the artist title and year. There would be a common theme between the clips and one time it was number one hits of the 90s in which this appeared. Obviously the artist and title wasn't a problem, but the year wasn't so straightforward. On one hand it entered the charts in 1994 but it topped the charts in 1995, so which year was he wanting? I can't remember which one it was now, but it was different to the one I gave. That association makes me hate the song even more than I did previously.
Verdict - Rubbish
This record changed my life. Prior to this I was part of the grunge crowd and rave was the enemy. I was becoming disillusioned with it all and felt I was listening to music I should be listening to rather than what I wanted to listen to. Then this came along which was precisely what I shouldn't have liked, but I thought it was pretty much the best record out at that moment. I concluded that rave was much more up my street and so my transition to a raver began.
Verdict - Good
I remember going on holiday in 1995 and going to a restaurant the first night which was almost empty. As I dined it became apparent why nobody went there. The restaurant manager seemed to love this song, playing it multiple times that evening and encouraging diners to get up and dance to it with him. Needless to say I never went back. A boring depressing record.
Verdict - Rubbish
If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 18/30, or 60%. We're now improving.
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