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 1993 with my verdict on each record:
I remember someone at school at the time listing 4 Non Blondes in their Top 10 bands and we all reacted by saying what the fuck? None of us liked it, even it's composer Linda Perry doesn't like it.
Verdict - Rubbish
A cover of the Trammps record. I think I actually heard this version first and didn't think much of it. I do like the original version, but this cover is pointless and completely ruins it in my opinion.
Verdict - Rubbish
The Top 40 debut for Zhane. All their hits made the lower reaches of the charts but I'd say they were still pretty well known in the 90s. I'm not overly keen on DJ worship lyrics generally, they do make me cringe but I won't let that get in the way of the groove this record has. It definitely has some 90s nostalgia attached to it.
Verdict - Good
Yet another cover from Kenny Thomas, this time of a Mavis Staples song. It's a dance record which sounds like it could easily pass for a D Ream record. So basically bland music with a bit of a beat to it.
Verdict - Rubbish
This one gets off to a promising start sounding like it could almost be an old Motown record. As you get further into the record though it starts to illustrate that the replication of older sounds doesn't really work. It was written by Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs of St Etienne which sort of makes sense. I like St Etienne, they've written some great tunes over the years but at the same time they're no Holland-Dozier-Holland.
Verdict - OK
James are a band whose music is very much a mixed bag. They have some great records and some that are just boring and instantly forgettable. Whilst I do know and remember this record, it does lean more towards the latter. It sounds like something might happen in the chorus but it's quickly back to a whole load of nothing.
Verdict - Rubbish
24. Jade - One Woman (New)
What I find amusing about this song is that in the chorus they sing "I'm only one woman" but there are 3 of them. To add to the amusement the song was written by men. This record does give me a bit of 90s nostalgia without being anything spectacular.
Verdict - OK
I don't remember this re-entering the Top 40 in 1993, if anything because I'm not sure whether I even knew it at the time given there was a bit of Motorhead/Radiohead confusion amongst my peers at the time, but more on that when the time comes. I do like this record, it's fast and aggressive whilst still sounding like a song.
Verdict - Good
After the change in music direction that was "Regret" and the huge disappointment that was "Ruined In A Day", New Order are back to doing what they do best for the 3rd single from their "Republic" album with this synth led record. The result is something that sounds very much like New Order, which is a good thing.
Verdict - Good
Lot's of rave acts broke through into the charts in 1991/92 but by 1993 Moby along with The Prodigy were pretty much the only survivors chart wise. Both would eventually change their sound completely, but this was a bit of a transition period. I would say this record still has rave elements without being an out and out rave tune, which is no bad thing.
Verdict - Good
When this song came out and I was a big rock fan I concluded that Lenny Kravitz only had one good song in him with "Are You Gonna Go My Way". I don't think that anymore, he has a handful of decent tunes but this isn't one of them. Too much of ballad for my liking.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember this record at the time and my thoughts were why is Terence Trent D'Arby making a rock record. I remember the "She kissed me and she put it there" lyrics but didn't really remember how the song goes. A sign that this record wasn't very good.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember this record being on the list of non-rock music records I secretly liked at the time. As I'm going through the weeks I'm finding I like a lot of the reggae pop records that were coming out in 1993.
Verdict - Good
I've not heard this since 1993 and when I played the video it wasn't how I remembered it. Then I played a dance version which is how I remember it sounding. It was the only Top 40 hit for Aftershock and maybe that was for the best as it would have been difficult for them to better this.
Verdict - Good
This originally charted in 1990 and was on the soundtrack to the film "Pretty Woman". It entered the charts again in 1993 because of the TV premiere of the film. I find it somewhat baffling that a 3 year old film making it's TV debut was such a big thing, particularly as the film was shit. I like the song though.
Verdict - Good
The lead song from this EP is "Boom Shack-A-Lak" which is the tune Apache Indian is best known for. I guess I'm not overly keen on other Apache Indian records because none of them are anywhere near as good as this.
Verdict - Good
Being a UB40 record that was the follow up to a cover, one could be forgiven for expecting this to be a cover of the Stevie Wonder record. It isn't though, it's a UB40 original. Like with many UB40 records it's nothing groundbreaking but it's very easy on the ears.
Verdict - Good
If memory serves me correctly (and it does tend to mislead me) this was the last dance record I truly got into before I became strictly rock and anti-pop. It treads that fine line where it's clearly a commercial dance record but is credible at the same time.
Verdict - Good
Kate Bush started out in the 70s and was still having iconic hits during the 80s. Nobody talks about Kate Bush in the 90s though. This was the lead single from her one and only 90s studio album "The Red Shoes". Like with many artists who have been around a while, it isn't a patch on her older stuff.
Verdict - Rubbish
When this record topped the charts I remember somebody saying to me that I must be pleased, unaware I'd long moved on from being a Queen fan by this point. Even if I was still a Queen fan though I'm not sure I would have liked this. It's basically Freddie Mercury's voice put over some generic eurodance crap.
Verdict - Rubbish
It seems a bit of a rarity to hear a Mariah Carey record that isn't a dreary ballad, but here is one. I recall at the time thinking it's rather uplifting for a Mariah Carey song. That doesn't make it a good song though, it sounds pretty naff and has her annoying screeching in it.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember this very well. A new year was starting at school and everyone was talking about the new Nirvana song. Everyone was excited, myself included. Yet at the back of my mind I couldn't really take to this song at all.
Verdict - Rubbish
I'm not a fan of 2 Unlimited, it was dance music for the pop crowd. At least with "No Limit" and "Tribal Dance" they were catchy, this one is very much album filler but with all the annoying elements of eurodance still in there.
Verdict - Rubbish
7. Radiohead - Creep (New)
When I first heard this song a few times I asked someone what it was and they said "Creep" by Motorhead. All I really knew about Motorhead at the time was that they were a notoriously heavy band, so I thought this had to be one of their softer records. It wouldn't be long before I'd discover it was Radiohead not Motorhead, and some of the music Radiohead would go on to make is almost the opposite extreme of Motorhead. Anyway this is possibly the only Radiohead song I like.
Verdict - Good
One thing I remember when this record was out was that I'd learned the rules that if you were a rock and metal fan you weren't supposed to like anything that wasn't rock and metal. I remember that because I couldn't help but like this record despite those rules. I like the way the pause in the record gets longer each time.
Verdict - Good
A few years after this came out I was flicking through the music channels and saw this video playing and it brought back memories of how I liked this record, but I couldn't remember what it was. It was being played on "The Lick" so didn't say what it was at the end of the video, but I eventually found out. The chants of "SWV" should have given it away, which was being done by a then unknown Pharrell Williams.
Verdict - Good
When this record first came out, not only did I think this was a great song, I also thought Bitty McLean was a great name. This led me incorporate his name into the lyrics when I sang along just so I could acknowledge what a great name it is.
Verdict - Good
I couldn't stand this record at the time, it's always irritated me. Then when I started going out on a Saturday night I'd hear this every week which made me hate it even more. My drunken self down the students union would dance to all sorts of rubbish, but I'd always leave the dancefloor when this came on.
Verdict - Rubbish
2. Pet Shop Boys - Go West (New)
I think this was the last Pet Shop Boys record I admitted to liking at the time. I remember the rules that the rock crowd weren't supposed to like pop music but a small number of exceptions were allowed and this was one of those for me. It wouldn't be long before even a small number of exceptions wasn't acceptable.
Verdict - Good
I remember when this record came out it created a divide at school between the rock crowd and everyone else. It was singled out as an example of a crappy pop record by the rock crowd but everybody else seemingly loved it. Putting all that aside, my first thought when hearing this was have Snap changed their name to Culture Beat.
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 16/30, or 53%. We're back above 50% for the first time in a while.
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