Sunday 5 November 2023

Top 30 in 1993 Reviewed: Week 45

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:


Julia is the name of Chris Rea's daughter and this song was written about her. Nothing wrong with that, but I can't help but find the song a bit cringeworthy. It's quite upbeat but not particularly catchy. Let's just say I won't be in a hurry to listen to it again.

Verdict - Rubbish


Cat here is Cat from Red Dwarf. Therefore with this being a record sung by a character on a comedy show you would expect it to be cheesy and crap, but that is the point. That's exactly what this record is.

Verdict - Rubbish


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


It had been over a year since The Future Sound Of London had charted with "Papua New Guinea" and this was the following single but from a new album. It's over 36 minutes long, though there is a shorted version I've posted. I've wanted to like this record given I'm a fan of "Papua New Guinea" but I just can't get into it.

Verdict - Rubbish


This came from the soundtrack to "Judgement Night" which consisted of collaborations between rock and rap acts. Nothing new there, it had been done years prior to this plus Rage Against the Machine were doing it as standard. It works very well though if done right. 

Verdict - Good


A question I often ask myself when listening to these records is how likely am I to listen to it again? In the case of this record I would say not very likely. If I was to listen to an early 90s dance mix featuring this record though I'd enjoy it. I guess that's the reason why half marks are possible.

Verdict - OK


When Soul II Soul broke through to the mainstream in 1989 they had such an impact that every man and his dog were trying to make a Soul II Soul record in 1990. By 1993 few noticed Soul II Soul were still going, the world had moved on but Soul II Soul hadn't moved with it. I admire them for not following the crowds but unfortunately that doesn't translate into good music.

Verdict - Rubbish


Aside from a brief period in 1992, the early 90s were really the wilderness years for Wet Wet Wet prior to "Love Is All Around". I have no recollection of this record and it's ringing no bells as I listen to it. There's nothing memorable about it though, it's very non-descript.

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


Is this a guilty pleasure or just good music? We're very much into the commercial era of Aerosmith which they've been highly criticised for. Ironically this came at a time when grunge was supposed to have killed off this kind of music. They headlined "Monsters of Rock" festival the following year so they must have been doing something right.

Verdict - Good


I feel like I used to hear this song a lot retrospectively but haven't heard it in a long time. As I started listening to it was was thinking it wasn't as good as I remember it, but once the guitars come in to it in the chorus I'm thinking actually yes it is as good as I remember.

Verdict - Good


We're now into the "Music For the Jilted Generation" era of The Prodigy. This lead single isn't hugely different from the "Experience" era, but at the same time it is a mark of the fact the chart era for rave music is now in the past. We're being eased into the next era of The Prodigy.

Verdict - Good


The main track from this EP is "Coming On Strong". It was the 6th and final single from the "Boss Drum" album which had been out for over a year. Not as good as their previous efforts, it feels like they were running out of ideas by this point. It isn't bad though.

Verdict - OK


Earlier on in 1993 we had a Lulu penned Tina Turner hit. Now's the turn of Bryan Adams on songwriting duties. It's not that sort of record I'd imagine Bryan Adams doing himself, but it doesn't sound much like a Tina Turner record either, her singing and the backing track don't really go together. It's pretty forgettable too.

Verdict - Rubbish


There was no avoiding Take That when this came out. They could release any old rubbish safe in the knowledge it would probably go to number one and they achieved that with this one. 

Verdict - Rubbish


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


It had been nearly a year since Whitney Houston topped the charts with "I Will Always Love You", but she still hadn't stopped releasing music from "The Bodyguard". It sounds like a poor imitation of "Free Your Mind" by En Vogue.

Verdict - Rubbish


I never liked Bjork at the time and always questioned who exactly listens to her music. As time has gone on though some of her records have grown on me with this being one of them. I'd say the fact it has a very strong backing track helps a lot.

Verdict - Good


I have conflicting memories of this record. I remember going back to school after the summer holidays and me and a few others writing off the Levellers for being too soft. At the same time I remember this coming out and me liking it and also thinking I was being cool for liking it. Anyway that's no longer relevant, I like it and don't care whether that's cool or not.

Verdict - Good


It feels like we're back in 1992 with this record, partly because the original version of this did come out in 1992. I'd say this is a good illustration of how the rave sound of 1992 was miles better than the eurodance sound of 1993 that had replaced it in the charts.

Verdict - Good


With Phil Collins now finished with Genesis from a chart perspective, it's back to his solo career. Part of me thinks this would work better as a Genesis record and part of me thinks it would work better as a ballad. It doesn't quite slot into place for me, but it's not bad.

Verdict - OK


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


After coming back with a surprisingly uplifting record a few months prior, Mariah Carey follows up with something extra dreary even by Mariah Carey standards. I try to listen to every song the whole way through even if it's something I've heard many times and know I hate, but I had to stop this one less than a minute in as I couldn't bear to hear any more.

Verdict - Rubbish


The follow up to chart topper "Mr. Vain" which came at the same time Culture Beat member Torsten Fenslau sadly died in a car crash. It's very predictable, the typical eurodance style backing track with rapped verses and a sung chorus. Very tedious. 

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


This was the only Top 40 hit for Goodmen, but they would return to the charts as Chocolate Puma, Rhythm Killaz and Riva. It's not very tuneful, but that's all part of it's appeal. 

Verdict - Good


One of the things that's surprised me when doing these posts was how many Top 40 hits Dina Carroll had before "Don't Be A Stranger". This was her 8th of 14 Top 40 hits. It's no doubt her signature song, something she probably won't be happy about because it's one she didn't write. I wonder whether the success of this song dictated that she wouldn't write any of her remaining Top 40 hits after this. Anyway I couldn't stand this record at the time, too slow and boring. I can't say I've really changed my mind to be honest.

Verdict - Rubbish


I absolutely hated this record at the time. Along with "Mr. Vain" by Culturebeat I had it down as the ultimate shit record. I've heard worse, but it's exactly the sort of eurodance music that I consider to be a bit crap.

Verdict - Rubbish


After what seemed an endless run of hits from his "Waking Up the Neighbours" album, here's Bryan Adams back with a brand new song. I do find it more memorable than some of his previous efforts despite it being a ballad, but not my cup of tea.

Verdict - Rubbish


Meat Loaf had been in the wilderness for several years before this and his previous big hits were before my music memories so I wasn't familiar with his music at the time, I'd just heard the name. At the same time someone at school was a Meat Loaf fan and would say he was heavy metal. I was therefore excited to finally hear a Meat Loaf song, but heavy metal it's certainly not. That disappointment along with the fact it goes on forever and is just ridiculously over the top means I've never liked it. 

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 10.5/30, or 35%. Back amongst the lowest scores of the 90s so far.
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