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:
30. Scooter - Rebel Yell (New)
In the 90s there were a total of 8 happy hardcore records to reach the Top 40 and this was the 8th and final one. It's a cover of the Billy Idol song, sung terribly by H.P. Baxxter. Exactly the sort of thing you'd expect from Scooter. I'd have been disappointed if he'd sung it nicely.
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
28. Sarah Washington - Heaven (New)
The 2nd Top 40 hit for Sarah Washington which came 3 years after her first which was a cover of "I Will Always Love You". She's moved away from the eurodance sound to the more serious house sound. It does however suffer from the vocals being the focal point of the tune given it's the singer who gets the sole artist credit. It's not bad though.
Verdict - OK
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
This is a useful record to know for the Motown bonus round on Popmaster. Generally you wouldn't expect anything from the 90s from that category, but the label was still going and this record was on the label. General reaction on Twitter when this comes up is who the fuck is Horace Brown. I do remember it at the time, what stood out was the lyrical similarity to "Blue Suede Shoes" in the chorus. Not a bad record, but not great either.
Verdict - OK
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
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
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
Pulse are a trio of producers and Antoinette Robertson is a singer. This was however written by David Morales and Carla Bianco which raises the question what exactly did Pulse do on this record as David Morales is not part of the trio. It was one of the big house records of the time and like most things David Morales has an input in it's good.
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
20. Jodeci - Get On Up (New)
The 5th and final Top 40 hit to date for Jodeci who I believe were on hiatus by this point. It's taken from "The Show, the Afterparty, the Hotel" album, an album that I wanted so badly that I paid £17 for it when I was a poor student. I listened to it enough to get my moneys worth though.
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 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
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
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
15. Gloria Estefan - Reach (New)
When it was the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 I was watching pretty much every day. I barely watched any of the following Olympics in Atlanta in 1996 to the point I don't even remember this, the official record of the Olympics. Not sure why it was released this far in advance of the Olympics though. It's predictably dull.
Verdict - Rubbish
Man Utd had an official record in the charts at the time, but here's an unofficial novelty record about Man Utd player Eric Cantona. It's rumoured that the KLF were behind this record, but there's not evidence to suggest they were. It's crap, but that's the point.
Verdict - Rubbish
13. SWV - You're The One (New)
This was the lead single from their 2nd album "New Beginning" On songwriting duties on this one is Ivan Matias and Andrea Martin, the composers of "Don't Let Go (Love)" by En Vogue. The combination of good songwriters and good singers gives it a good chance of being a good record, which it is.
Verdict - Good
12. Sean Maguire - Good Day (New)
It had been nearly 2 years since singing actor Sean Maguire made his Top 40 debut and 6 hits later he was still going. This was his biggest Top 40 hit and the only one he has a songwriting credit on so I bet he's happy about that. A terrible record though.
Verdict - Rubbish
Man Utd may have won the FA Cup that season but it was Liverpool who won the battle in the charts. John Barnes was still playing for them at the time and once again he does a rap. Like pretty much every football record though, this is terrible.
Verdict - Rubbish
10. Black Grape - Fat Neck (New)
My initial thought about this record is what an odd title. Then I heard it and thought this is terrible. I do like some Black Grape records, but this one just sounds a noise. It doesn't seem to go anywhere.
Verdict - Rubbish
9. John Alford - Blue Moon / Only You (New)
The concept of a "Londons Burning" actor doing a cover of "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" is quite amusing. He should have left it at the though. Instead he does a further 2 reggae style covers as a double a-side which gave him his biggest hit to date. He wasn't finished yet either.
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
This was the 5th Top 40 hit for The Smashing Pumpkins and their first Top 10 and biggest hit to date. I wouldn't say it's a surprise this was their biggest hit, it's probably the most radio friendly. The orchestra gives it another edge and there's a sense of relief then the chorus kicks in.
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
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
I'll be the first to admit this record hasn't aged very well. At the time though it was a great record and the nostalgia element means I still like it now. For me it's all about the build up when the beat first comes in. Then there's the short breakdown later on before the tune kicks in again. It was irresistible at the time.
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
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
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
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%. Up again, but not over the 50% mark.
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