Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 27 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Friday.
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 1996 with my verdict on each record:
This was the 3rd Top 40 hit for Ash which came just before their debut album "1977". I remember hearing the reason for the album title was it being the year they were born. Whilst older than me I still thought bloody hell that's young. I also thought if this is the future of rock then thank god for rave.
Verdict - Rubbish
"Always There" was both the first and last Top 40 hit for Incognito. I already reviewed it when it first charted in 1991 so I won't dwell on that again except for say I like it. I have to admit, despite Incognito being an act I like, own albums by and have seen in concert I don't recall ever hearing "Jump To My Love" before. Their Top 40 career stands at just 5 hits which is a small fraction of their huge back catalogue. I like what I heard though.
Verdict - Good
When The Presidents Of The United States Of America made their Top 40 debut earlier in the year with "Lump" I thought it was a bit of a strange record even though I liked it. Then they followed up with this record which took strangeness to another level. Never thought I'd hear a record about peaches and how they come in a can and were put there by a man. What a tune though, I love it.
Verdict - Good
The 17th Top 40 hit for Sting which meant by this point he'd had more Top 40 hits as a solo artist than he had with The Police. This sounds a cross between southern rock and Michael Bolton mixed in with a whole lot of nothing. Basically it's shit.
Verdict - Rubbish
The Top 40 debut and just the 4th drum & bass (not jungle) record to make the UK Top 40. It was originally released in 1995 but failed to make the Top 40 then. One thing I remember about it was that it wasn't obviously a drum & bass record until the beat kicked in, but once it did then wow what a tune.
Verdict - Good
Musically I cannot fault this record, it has the sort of formula that should equate to a record I would like. It's also very 90s which again is a good thing. Yet I find myself getting really irritated when I hear it. I want to smash up the radio. No idea why, but I can't exactly like a record when it makes me feel like that.
Verdict - Rubbish
Mark Snow composed the actual them music to the X Files and here it is at number two in the charts. I can't say I'm a big fan of the theme music, or the programme itself for that matter. I can't say I particularly dislike it either though.
Verdict - OK
Despite being a brand new record in 1996, this sounds like it could have easily come out in 1966. That's not a bad thing though. I do remember hearing this a lot at the time so I did get a bit sick of it, but still not a bad tune.
Verdict - OK
This record divides opinion amongst Pet Shop Boys fans. It's a move away from their 80s synth pop roots which alienates some. Here they are doing a house record, but I don't think it's them jumping on the house music bandwagon, more them moving with the times.
Verdict - Good
This was the record which ensured the Prodigy would never have to go back to the day job. At the time I loved the Prodigy and owned the first two albums. I remember listening to the Evening Session on Radio One where they said they were going to play the new Prodigy tune for the first time and I was excited about hearing it. However, when they played it I was very disappointed. I think the main reason was because when I started listening to the Prodigy, I was moving away from rock music to listen to rave, but this tune seemed to be going back towards rock music. Since then I've grown to like the rockier tunes from the Prodigy more than I used to, but I just can't bring myself to like this tune.
Verdict - Rubbish
20. Luniz - Playa Hata (New)
The other Top 40 hit for Luniz that's long forgotten whilst their big hit "I Got 5 On It" has become a big anthem. It's a solid follow up though and I'm actually tempted to listen to more of their music.
Verdict - Good
This was a record I never liked at the time, partly because with a name like the Tony Rich Project I was expecting a dance record but it wasn't. Then when I was going through my R&B phase I started liking it. What do I think of it now though? Well first of all I could have sworn it was written by Babyface but it wasn't, though it did come out on his label and the songwriters have seemingly done nothing else so you never know. The fact it sounds like a record Babyface could have done himself though is a good thing.
Verdict - Good
One thing I remember about this record at the time was how upbeat it was compared to the very dreary "What Do I Do Now" which came before. That doesn't mean this record is any good though, it's still pretty bland and there's nothing to like about it really.
Verdict - Rubbish
Seems a bit weird seeing Def Leppard in the Top 40 in 1996, but then they did have their biggest hit to date in 1995. I'd received a Def Leppard CD as a Christmas present in 1995, but that never converted me into a fan partly because I never listened to it. This record isn't going to convert me either.
Verdict - Rubbish
A record you definitely couldn't avoid hearing in 1996, but what a tune. Like many dance records at the time, this was already over a year old by the time it was released. It's one of those tunes you can sit back and relax to but also get up and dance to, and I've done both.
Verdict - Good
I remember being really impressed by just how different this sounds to the original. I also recall when hearing it on the radio there was a rap that went "so long as the beat goes on" which I liked. When it appeared on Top of the Pops though I realised how boring it was without the rap. The video doesn't have the rap on it either, so I guess it's still dull.
Verdict - Rubbish
The mid-90s was a learning experience for me from a dance music perspective. I was too young to really know the ins and outs of the acid house scene at the time. By this point though I was able to tie things back to the acid house days. In this case it was that S-Express was basically Mark Moore who was a big name house DJ at this point. It's their 1988 chart topper being remixed by Tony De Vit bringing it into the 90s. I'd say it works pretty well.
Verdict - Good
You may think that Lisa Marie Experience is a group fronted by Lisa Marie, but it isn't. It is in fact 2 male producers, D. Ramirez and Neil Hynde and this was their Top 40 debut. It's a cover of a Musique record done 90s style. They've also done away with most of the words of the original which in dance music terms is a good thing.
Verdict - Good
The 2nd Top 40 hit for 3T and it sounds like we've gone into album filler territory already. If you read the name it looks like a mathematical equation. That's about as exciting as this record gets.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember where I was when I first heard this record. I was in a restaurant with a group of people and a music channel was on. The general consensus around the table was how shit is this record? It just sounded a noise and an example of how Michael Jackson could make any old crap and people would buy it. My opinion hasn't really changed.
Verdict - Rubbish
I started to play the "official video" to this only to be greeted with a modern EDM shite version of it. Thankfully I found the original. There was a happy hardcore version around the same sort of time and in a way I got into this via liking the happy hardcore version.
Verdict - Good
The comeback single from the Manic Street Preachers following the disappearance of Richey Edwards which gave them their biggest Top 40 hit to that point. As was the trend around this time, their music had softened up and I wasn't a fan.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember hearing this record for the first time. It was the rap record I'd been waiting to hear all my life. That combination of gravelly rapping over a melodic background really did it for me. It was the Top 40 debut for Busta Rhymes.
Verdict - Good
The 4th Top 40 hit for The Bluetones with the floodgates now open following the success of "Slight Return". With "Cut Some Rug" they're starting to sound like Oasis and to be honest I had to play it to remind me how exactly it went. I don't think I've ever heard "Castle Rock" before but again it's sounding a bit like Oasis.
Verdict - Rubbish / Rubbish
It had been 2 years since Man Utd topped the charts with "Come On You Reds" with the help of Status Quo. Now they'd gone all 2 Unlimited on this record around 3 years out of date. I guess one thing you can say is that David Beckham had some sort of music career before Posh Spice did.
Verdict - Rubbish
5. Blur - Charmless Man (New)
I would say this is probably the catchiest Blur record. I remember hearing it on the radio for the first time and it already had a degree of familiarity to it whilst sounding something new at the same time. It's not one you hear much these days. A few years ago I recall hearing it prior to a Divine Comedy gig for the first time in years and thinking yes that was a good tune.
Verdict - Good
This Simon & Garfunkel cover was the biggest solo Top 40 hit for Suggs. It was also the biggest Top 40 hit for Louchie Lou and Michie One. To be honest I was never sure whether a record was a Suggs solo or a Madness record in the 90s, but on reflection there's a clear distinction in that Suggs solo records sound a bit of a joke.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember watching "A Song for Europe" where a number of songs went to the public vote to decide which one should represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest. Of all the songs on the show, this was my favourite and the voting public agreed. Admittedly it is a bit cheesy and did get played to death at the time. As far as Eurovision songs go though, I cannot think of a single one that I think is better than this. No doubt there will be Brit Pop fans reading this thinking I've now lost what little credibility I did have. But I listen to music for enjoyment, not credibility.
Verdict - Good
I remember when this first entered the charts it was at number six for three weeks in a row. It would eventually climb to number one, the first time a record climbed to number one rather than go straight in at number one for a while. I always found Mark Morrison quite hard to take seriously with the way he sang. Still not a bad record though.
Verdict - OK
1. George Michael - Fastlove (New)
The 7th number one for George Michael and his final one to date. What stood out to me at the time was him using the word bullshit in the lyrics. That was rare in a pop song back then. It was an improvement on the seriously dull "Jesus To A Child", but that's not saying much.
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 14.5/30, or 48%. Didn't quite make it above 50% then.
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