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:
Crowded House revert to the weather theme in their song titles with this lead single from their "Together Alone" album. It worked well for them previously, so why not I guess. I'm finding myself still singing it once I've finished listening to it, a sign that I like it.
Verdict - Good
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
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
This was the follow up to "This Is It". Given the similarities of the song titles together with Julian McMahon featuring in the video again I don't know whether there's some sort of story here. Either way, what we have is a generic dance pop record that nobody remembers.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 2nd Top 40 hit for Bad Boys Inc, the Virgin Cola of the early 90s boy band world. It sounds a bit like they're going for the sound of "I Found Heaven" by Take That which implies it was written by Ian Levine, it wasn't though it was actually written by the same songwriting team who wrote "Push The Feeling On" by The Nightcrawlers. Needless to say I much prefer the latter.
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
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'm pretty sure this has been used in an advert. If it hasn't then it would probably work well on an advert. That's perhaps where this record falls down, it's pleasant enough but I can't help but think of it as an advertising jingle rather than a full song.
Verdict - OK
I have Depeche Modes greatest hits album, but the version of "Condemnation" on there is different to this single mix. They were never afraid to try something different and this certainly is different. However I can't help but think the version of their greatest hits album is much better.
Verdict - OK
As far as I'm aware this song isn't a cover. It was Paul Youngs 13th Top 40 hit but just his 3rd that wasn't a cover. It sounds like the sort of thing Kenny Thomas would sing which is never a good thing.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 2nd Top 40 hit from Worlds Apart, a boy band few people remember. Like their debut singles, this is a cover. It's also the 4th version of this song to make the Top 40 and it wasn't the last. It's predictably crap.
Verdict - Rubbish
At the time I argued quite extensively about what this record was called. I said it was "When The Shit Goes Down" and they said it was "When The Ship Goes Down". Turns out we were both right with the latter being the name of the radio edit. Anyway it's classic Cypress Hill from the excellent "Black Sunday" album, what's not to like.
Verdict - Good
I find it strange that The Wonder Stuff had a Top 10 hit as late as 1993. They certainly weren't a band my peers were still talking about by then. It's the lead single from "Construction for the Modern Idiot" which was their last studio album from before they split. You can hear influences from the alternative rock sound that had been getting more popular since we'd last heard from them. No bad thing, but it does lack the wow factor to making it truly good.
Verdict - OK
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
16. Eternal - Stay (New)
The Top 40 debut for Eternal. I remember when this came out my assessment of it was poundland SWV. I don't think I knew at the time that SWV were American and Eternal were British, but on reflection this is a prime example of how British acts don't do R&B as well as their American counterparts.
Verdict - Rubbish
Manic Street Preachers really are a mixed bag with their songs. They have several really good tunes in their back catalogue, but plenty of generic non-entity music too. This one falls into the latter category, a complete bore fest.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
I remember this one very well. The first thing that springs to mind is poundland Stereo MC's. Then I read up about Stakka Bo and this song and the comparisons with Stereo MC's are being made. Stakka Bo is Swedish so I assumed this was one from the Denniz Pop production line, but it isn't. Might as well be though.
Verdict - Rubbish
I keep mentioning those unwritten rules at the time where if you were a rock music fan then bar a small number of exceptions you shouldn't like pop music. This was the one pop song the person who told me of said rules liked, though I would say it's more soft rock than pop. Either way I could enjoy this record knowing it was acceptable to like.
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
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
9. Gabrielle - Going Nowhere (New)
This is one of those records which was pretty big at the time but never gets played anymore. I don't think I've heard this since 1993. It bears a vague similarity to "Baby Baby" by Amy Grant which means I can't help but think this isn't as good. Not a bad record though.
Verdict - OK
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
I just assumed most people only remember Haddaway for "What Is Love" but 16 million views of this follow up hit on YouTube suggests otherwise. I'm not completely anti-Eurodance, there are a handful of records I like but most of it is dreadful and this is one of those.
Verdict - Rubbish
After this topped the charts in 1984 and spent nearly the entire year in the charts you would have thought anyone who wanted this record would have already bought it. Seemingly not as this re-issue made the Top 10. I've heard it far too much in my life to truly like it, but I don't dislike it at the same time.
Verdict - OK
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
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 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
The biggest hit for M People which also made the charts in America. I would also say this is the most pop record they'd made to this point as well. They knew what they were doing making records like this, but it's not for me.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 13/30, or 43%. The inevitable happened and we're back below 50%.
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