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. Placebo - Teenage Angst (New)
One thing I'm noticing in 1996 are a number of acts are making their Top 40 debut with a pretty obscure record prior to having their big hit. This is one of those examples, the Top 40 debut for Placebo. I've forgotten it already it's that memorable.
Verdict - Rubbish
29. Grace - If I Could Fly (New)
In 1996 you thought you knew what you were getting with a Grace record, but then comes this, a drum & bass record. It still does sound like a Grace record though, they have their own stamp on it.
Verdict - Good
The Top 40 debut for The Porn Kings who were an act on AATW records so therefore the more commercial side of dance music. It's basically a watered down slightly amended rip off of "Higher State Of Consciousness" by Josh Wink. Not much point when that was already a big hit.
Verdict - Rubbish
I'm assuming they thought it would be funny to sample "Tequila" in a record called "No More Alcohol" and I guess it is funny. I can't claim to be a big Madness fan but would assume the average Madness fan was hearing this and thinking what the fuck is this, please reunite with Madness and make some proper music again. Which he basically did.
Verdict - Rubbish
It's convenient to forget that in the good old days of the 90s we still had Daniel O'Donnell in the charts. Don't remember this one at all and I'm happy with that.
Verdict - Rubbish
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 4th Top 40 hit for Apollo 440 and their first to make the Top 30 though I would still say its chart position doesn't really reflect how well known it is. I can definitely appreciate Apollo 440 for the experimental nature of their music now than I did at the time.
Verdict - Good
I wasn't sure whether this record was a piss take or not. It was the only Top 40 hit for Rocket From The Crypt who were a punk band. Not all punk has to be serious though and music doesn't have to be serious to be liked. Never been able to like this record though, I remember the Top of the Pops performance and thinking this is shit.
Verdict - Rubbish
Here's yet another record that reminds me of "The Noise" with Andi Peters. That show must have had a bigger effect on me than I realised. As I recall though I believe Louise sang a line from it as part of a competition to guess what it was she was singing. This time George Michael failed to top the charts and I'd say this is actually better than his 2 chart toppers of 1996, but that's not saying much.
Verdict - Rubbish
Joining the Lighthouse Family on songwriting duties on this record is former Simply Red member Tim Kellett. Quite what he contributed I don't know as this very much is following the Lighthouse Family formula. It's soothing once again but the problem this time is it's not as good as its predecessors.
Verdict - OK
After Sheryl Crow had a big debut in "All I Wanna Do" her follow ups were much more minor hits until she charted with this record. To be fair her music was the sort you'd expect to do well in America but not so well in the UK. Or maybe I'm just unlikely to buy it.
Verdict - Rubbish
We're now in the wilderness years for Roxette from a UK Top 40 perspective, but Per Gessle was back in the charts as a songwriter with this record. It's the last Top 10 hit to date for Belinda Carlisle but not her last Top 40. I do like a bit of Roxette and I could see this working as a Roxette record too, but Belinda Carlisle does a decent enough job of it.
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
Metallica really had softened up by this point. I guess getting the purists back on side was a near impossible task by this point so they just gave the masses what they wanted instead. Not a bad record but I've heard much better.
Verdict - OK
16. Electronic - For You (New)
Once again Karl Bartos teams up with Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr to write this Electronic record. Again it's a pretty decent effort though one thing I will say is it doesn't sound very different to it's predecessor though there's just about enough to it to have it's own identity.
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
With Britpop being a lot softer than the guitar music of the early 90s generally speaking and with Skunk Anansie having a harder edge to their music than Britpop my memory of Skunk Anansie is them being heavier than they really were. This was the lead single from their 2nd album "Stoosh".
Verdict - Good
This is a cover of the Four Seasons record which is a record which has always irritated me. Quite frankly I don't think any cover of this is going to change that fact. A cheesy commercial eurodance cover certainly isn't.
Verdict - Rubbish
After 18 years away from the Top 40 The Smurfs are back with this novelty take on "I Wanna Be A Hippy". It's music that's intentionally crap, I remember the adverts for the album with clips of several tracks. One more would make the Top 40.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 9th Top 40 hit for Jamiroquai which became their highest charting to that point. I remember being quite surprised by this record because I saw Jamiroquai as being a futuristic band but here they are singing about "useless twisting our new technology". Maybe Jay Kay knew we'd have a lot more of that in the future which we do. One benefit of the modern era that didn't exist back then was the ability to go to YouTube and play music from the good old days.
Verdict - Good
What a name, well the presents Maddog bit anyway. It heavily samples "Boogie Wonderland" and has a rap over the top of it, but nothing too over the top. It did like it at the time but not sure whether I'd like it if I was hearing it for the first time now. The nostalgia means I still do like it though.
Verdict - Good
As someone who listened to the radio back in the 90s there were lots of records I'd hear that I didn't like. Generally I'd just put up with them, but there were some records that I hated so much I would have to turn off the radio. This was one of those records. I can also tell you that we'll be getting "Breakfast At Tiffany's" in the charts soon because that was another that made me turn off the radio at the time. Why break the habit of a lifetime, I'm stopping this before the end of the video.
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
I do remember this record but I don't think I've heard it since 1996. In the time that has since passed I got to know "Love Me Two Times" by The Doors and listening to this record it sounds like they're trying to remake The Doors record. As a result I just wanted this song to end and go and listen to The Doors.
Verdict - Rubbish
To be honest I wasn't 100% sure which Ocean Colour Scene song this would be as I do struggle to match the songs with the titles aside from the really obvious ones. I was the one I was expecting and I love that intro to the point I don't care what the rest of the song sounds like.
Verdict - Good
This record finally ended the Spice Girls time at the top of the charts. Peter Andre made a name for himself earlier on in the summer with "Mysterious Girl" which sounded like it was ripping off "Sweat" by Inner Circle. This time he's ripping off "Hoochie Booty" by Ultimate Kaos. The only thing I like about this record is that when you ask the question what was Peter Andre's first number one they normally get it wrong.
Verdict - Rubbish
One thing that I get quite annoyed by is hearing that this record was the start of trance music. Trance had been around a long time before this and that includes Paul Oakenfold bringing it to the masses. It's legendary status has meant I've heard it too many times now, but it was a record I liked at the time and I still can find the enjoyment in it.
Verdict - Good
3. Dina Carroll - Escaping (New)
In 1993 there was no escaping Dina Carroll. Then she disappeared for the next 3 years until she came back with this record. She picked up where she left off with a ballad which worked well for her before and this time round she scored her joint highest charting hit. Hearing this again after all these years I'm reminded of the lyrics about a heart on the shelf which I always found amusing. I was ready to write this off as another dreary ballad but now I've changed my mind. I really enjoyed listening to that.
Verdict - Good
After reviewing "I Love You Always Forever" by Donna Lewis I knew this record was just round the corner because it was another record that I hated so much I had to turn the radio off whenever it came on. Now I'm going to end the YouTube video before it finishes.
Verdict - Rubbish
In 1996 you were more likely to find me listening to the drum & bass rip off of this rather than the Fugees record. In a way though I saw it as a good compromise between listening to this and staying true to the rave scene. It's a great record though, pretty dark but has a sung chorus to keep it radio friendly. There was no stopping the Fugees in 1996.
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 14/30, or 47%. We are back up again.
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