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:
Me Me Me were a Britpop supergroup consisting of Stephen Duffy, Alex from Blur, Justin from Elastica and Charlie Bloor and this was their only hit. I remember the video to it where a bloke gets some x ray specs to see people in their underwear, they gets extra strong ones where he see's skeletons. Music wise it's pretty shit.
Verdict - Rubbish
After eventually topping the charts with their Top 40 debut "Dreamer" the previous year, this was their follow up. It was with a different singer this time. It's not hugely different to it's predecessor though and not a good, but not bad either.
Verdict - OK
This was the 5th Top 40 hit for Toni Braxton and the 5th to be written by Babyface. A general rule I am finding with Babyface compositions is that he uses his signature sound for more credible artists and writes crap for those who aren't credible. Yet this isn't really his signature sound and I would say Toni Braxton is credible enough. I guess that just showcases the songwriting talents of Babyface.
Verdict - Good
The 2nd Top 40 hit for The Divine Comedy. I'm very much familiar with it now, but think it sort of passed me by at the time. I would say it's my least favourite of the Divine Comedy hits from this era, but that's a reflection of how good the other hits were.
Verdict - Good
26. Kavana - Where Are You (New)
It wasn't until 1997 when Kavana really made a name for himself. He did however have a couple of minor hits in 1996 with this being the 2nd. It's a watered down pop take on American R&B and is as awful as that sounds.
Verdict - Rubbish
25. E'Voke - Arms Of Loren (New)
The 2nd and final Top 40 hit to date for E'Voke which came nearly a year after their first. I remember hearing this for the first time on The Big Breakfast. It's overshadowed by it's predecessor which was a top tune, but this is worth listening to as well.
Verdict - Good
Paul Weller is back with his song. OK to be fair I did like his previous single, but with this one he's back to doing the same old shit he's done many times before. Nothing more to say about it really.
Verdict - Rubbish
The final Top 40 hit to date for OMD which came at the same time OMC were in the charts. It's different to the synth pop sound they're better known for. It was a record I liked at the time and as I got older I found myself being able to relate to the lyrics in my own interpretation at least. A shame that OMD called it a day after this, especially as what Andy McCluskey did next was give the world Kerry Katona.
Verdict - Good
It had been a couple of years since Bernard Butler had left Suede, but this was their first Top 40 hit to have no involvement from him. I don't think it's any better or worse than previous Suede hits generally speaking, but I'm not a fan either way.
Verdict - Rubbish
The lead single from Aaliyah's 2nd album and he first hit to be written by Timbaland and Missy Elliott. It was also the first UK Top 40 hit for both Timbaland and Missy Elliott and songwriters. Not a bad way to start.
Verdict - Good
The main difference between the "Up All Night" album and the other East 17 albums to this point was that all members of the band wrote songs on it whereas the others were Tony Mortimer songs. It was however the Tony Mortimer songs that got released as singles with this being the last one. Interestingly though it had no Tony Mortimer rapping on it. The album version is much better than the single version but this still gets the thumbs up.
Verdict - Good
This record original charted in 1995 but then went one place better when it was remixed in 1996. It certainly felt a much bigger record this time round as I recall. I particularly liked the build up towards the end where it gets pitched up.
Verdict - Good
I've mentioned before that Gloria Estefan had quite a few hits in the 90s that I don't remember. I'm not sure whether I remember this one though. It does sound somewhat familiar but at the same time it just sounds like a stereotypical Gloria Estefan record.
Verdict - Rubbish
The record that Peter Andre was best known for. It's a reggae style pop record that sounds a bit like its ripping off "Sweat" by Inner Circle. I remember this being in the charts when Peter Andre was presenting Top of the Pops and during the chart countdown he said it was "by Bubbler Ranx and me". It's not the worst record in the world, but I'm sick to death of it now and would happily never hear it again.
Verdict - Rubbish
Nas was already a well established rapper by this point with his much celebrated debut album "Illmatic" coming out in 1994. This was his first UK Top 40 hit though and his joint highest charting single. It's based on the Kurtis Blow record of the same name. I do like Nas and have all his early albums.
Verdict - Good
The Top 40 debut for Alisha's Attic. The first thing I thought when I heard this record was that it sounded a bit like "Head Over Feet" by Alanis Morissette. But I thought both records were good in their own way. One memory I do have of this record is it appearing on the radio one morning when I was about to switch it off and go out, but instead I stayed and listened to it.
Verdict - Good
It had been over a year since Robbie Williams had left Take That. In that time Take That had broken up and Gary Barlow had started his solo career. I remember in the summer of 1995 Robbie Williams was stating his intention of starting his solo career when he was on The Big Breakfast. He also implied he was going to make more credible music. After the long wait he finally launched his solo career with a George Michael cover. Not what I was expecting, and he has since admitted it wasn't the best way to start his solo career.
Verdict - Rubbish
I mentioned when reviewing the previous Bryan Adams hit that he was doing something uplifting as opposed to the ballads we'd become used to. With this record though he's back to doing the ballads again.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember this going straight into number one on the Top 40 countdown which was the first time I heard it. Initially from the intro I thought it was going to be a depressing song, but then the beats kicked in and I though hang on a minute this is actually quite good.
Verdict - Good
What can I say about this record to do it justice? Underworld are one of my favourite acts ever and this was their biggest hit and what got me into them in the first place. At a time when commercially successful music was getting more and more mellow it was refreshing to see a banging techno record giving a big fuck you to all of that.
Verdict - Good
The first record that Ant & Dec used their real names on as opposed to PJ & Duncan. I remember there being a 5 minute show on Channel 4 back then which I believe was an exclusive play of a new video and this was the video played on one of them. I have to say though I do quite like this one, I guess because it makes me laugh.
Verdict - Good
I have to admit I did not like this record when I first heard it. I remember them being introduced as gangsta rappers but didn't like the singing element to their rapping. However after getting over that hurdle I can honestly say this is one of my all time favourites. I love how dark it is and how dark a lot of their music is for that matter.
Verdict - Good
The Pet Shop Boys have made lots of good records over the years and I'd say this one is up there amongst the best of them. It takes me back to a time when I had a more idealistic view of the world. It's also quite different to anything they'd done before.
Verdict - Good
A question I've asked many times before is why do songs from Disney movies have to be so depressing. This was from "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and is depressing. If you look at the clips from the film in the video they look so happy so why not do something fun instead.
Verdict - Rubbish
The biggest hit for Dodgy and the one they're best known for. What I can tell you from this record is that it was around the same time "The Noise", a short lived music TV show presented by Andi Peters, was on. It's a decent enough record.
Verdict - Good
Here's proof that there were charting musicians from New Zealand that had nothing to do with the Finn brothers. There had been John Rowles and Kiri Te Kanawa previously. It was the only Top 40 hit for OMC and the title more or less describes the tune. I like it though. I also know that we'll soon be getting OMD in the charts too just to confuse things.
Verdict - Good
This was the big holiday song of 1996 and I can remember hearing it all the time when I went on holiday in 1996 myself. When this made the charts I wasn't expecting the 2 men who sing it to be so old, they were almost 50 by this point which actually doesn't seem that old these days. Anyway it's cheesy and terrible and everything you expect from a big holiday song.
Verdict - Rubbish
Max Martin is one of the most prolific songwriters ever. At the time of writing only Paul McCartney has had more Top 40 hits as a songwriter. This was his first Top 40 hit as a songwriter, which failed to reach the Top 40 when first released the previous year. It's basically the signature sound of the Backstreet Boys.
Verdict - Rubbish
Just in case you weren't aware that 3T were Michael Jacksons nephews, here's Michael Jackson himself on the record just to remind you. It's a Babyface composition which shows that not everything he writes is good.
Verdict - Rubbish
There was no escaping this song in the summer of 1996. It was the Top 40 debut for the Spice Girls and I thought it had one hit wonder written all over it at the time. Unfortunately it wasn't and there was no escaping them for the next 2.5 years which felt a lot longer.
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 16.5/30, or 55%. Mostly crap new entries but we end up with a score amongst the best of 1996 so far.
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