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 1997 with my verdict on each record:
This was the Top 40 debut for Jay-Z. He'd been around long enough to have been dissed by 2Pac though. I'm inclined to agree with 2Pac, Jay-Z has always been the ultimate shit rapper that you're supposed to take seriously in my opinion.
Verdict - Rubbish
When I first came across this record I thought wow Will from TFI Friday has made a record. Of course it wasn't really Will from TFI Friday, just a lookalike. It was one of those tunes I quietly enjoyed. I don't remember anyone talking about it, or Eels at the time. When I got to university they seemed to be everyone's favourite band.
Verdict - Good
This was the big comeback single for Texas after being in the wilderness since 1989. They had a few hits in-between, but none that anyone remembers. Chris Evans was a big fan of this as I recall and helped put Texas back in the limelight. Judging by a lot of the music that appeared on TFI Friday though taught me that Chris Evans didn't have the best taste in music.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 2nd and final Top 40 hit to date for Maxwell. I was surprised his Top 40 career was so brief but then at the same time anything else I think he may have done has been by D'Angelo. The music is pleasant enough but I see it more as background music than music I really want to listen to.
Verdict - OK
This was the 2nd Top 40 hit for Ben Folds Five and follow up to "Underground" which I'm amazed to discover only made number 37. This was their joint highest charting single making number 26, again I'm surprised this didn't get any higher. It's easy to write this off as music for nerdy computer science students, but the music itself is actual good fun to listen to.
Verdict - Good
Musically this isn't actually a bad record and if it was just an instrumental I would probably be giving this half marks. I just cannot tolerate Tracey Thorns singing though, it's just so miserable and annoying.
Verdict - Rubbish
What had become apparent by this point was that not only were the Spice Girls here to stay, but they were almost inevitably going to top the charts with everything they release. I knew someone who bought this single because you could see Geri's legs on the cover, that's how effective their marketing seemed to be. It even made its was onto the Christmas episode of "Only Fools And Horses". Musically though it's really poor.
Verdict - Rubbish
Although there are many resources on the internet these days about White Town, at the time it was a bit of a mystery who White Town actually was. It was also an unlikely number one. It's an experimental tune made by someone who was anonymous but at the same time it was a tune that could be liked by fans of various genres.
Verdict - Good
The 4th Top 40 hit for the Backstreet Boys and 2nd penned by Max Martin and Herbie Crichlow, but no Denniz Pop with them this time. It became their highest charting hit to that point, a sign that American pop singers backed by Swedish songwriters were here to stay. Unfortunately it's mostly crap.
Verdict - Rubbish
21. Az Yet - Last Night (New)
The Top 40 debut for R&B group Az Yet. As soon as I heard the intro to this I thought I bet this is a Babyface composition/production. Turns out I was right. It's the sort of Babyface production that I like so therefore I like this record.
Verdict - Good
For the first decade or so of LL Cool J's career his Top 40 record was a solitary Top 10 hit and 3 hits that made the 30s. Then he had 3 Top 20 hits in 1996 alone and then he topped the charts at the start of 1997 with this. It was from the Beavis & Butthead soundtrack which would have helped. Does seem odd for a record like this to be on a soundtrack for 2 characters who are into metal though. Can't say I'm a fan of this myself.
Verdict - Rubbish
After starting his solo career with one of the most namby pamby songs I've ever heard with "Child", he followed up with this Britpop record. Still not convincing though, Britpop didn't exactly mean credible and it sounds more like a record for a Take That fan than a Britpop one.
Verdict - Rubbish
One reservation I had about this record at the time was seeing them on Top of the Pops with a drum kit. I was basically anti-instruments at the time and thought all good music should have programmed drums which were impossible to play on an actual drum kit. It wasn't enough to stop me from liking the tune though, was definitely one of the best commercial records of its time.
Verdict - Good
It had been 3 years since James had last been in the Top 40. At the time I remember thinking that James were a band that could capitalise on the popularity of Britpop so made sense for them to come back. I also thought they sounded like they were turning into Suede on this record, which isn't a good thing.
Verdict - Rubbish
Boyzone had pretty much established themselves as the leading boy band by this point, with Take That split up and East 17 in turmoil. Their formula consisted mostly of doing shit covers. Now we have some poundland Boyzone in the shape off OTT. This was the Top 40 debut for Irish boy band OTT which like Boyzone begin their Top 40 career with a shitty Osmonds cover.
Verdict - Rubbish
When this record came out I realised just how big U2 were at the time. There was so much hype about this comeback single and it seemed inevitable it would get to number one. At the same time, those who I know who are U2 fans consider this to be their dodgy period. I'm inclined to agree based on this record, it's a dance record but not really one for dance music fans like myself.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the first UK Top 40 hit for Daft Punk. As they were newcomers in that respect I originally thought they were called Da Funk and the tune was called "Daft Punk" and furthermore I thought that was in reference to the man with the dogs head in the video. It wasn't long before I realised it was the other way round and thought why would you call yourselves Daft Punk. I like the tune but I also like the video to the point I almost forget the tune is playing.
Verdict - Good / Good
13. Republica - Ready To Go (New)
Republica formed in 1994 and the music careers of most of its members go back even further. They were established enough to play at the Tribal Gathering in 1995. It was however this record in 1997 that gave them their Top 40 debut. It's the record they're best known for, but it wasn't their highest charting hit. It's a good blend of dance and rock music that's perhaps a little overplayed, but decent nontheless.
Verdict - Good
There appears to be a lot of dating shows on the TV these days and I have no interest whatsoever in watching any of them. This record though reminds me there was a dodgy dating show I used to watch in the 90s called "Streetmate" with Davina McCall and this was the theme music. I do remember this record initially grabbing my attention because it was by a DJ, but was disappointed when I actually heard it.
Verdict - Rubbish
Cathy Dennis was a pop singer who wrote her own music and then went onto writing songs for other pop singers. Her final Top 40 hit though was a cover of a Kinks record. It's very different to the early record she was putting out and nowhere near as good.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 4th Top 40 hit for 911 and their first Top 5. Only 2 of their remaining 10 Top 40 hits would peak outside of the Top 5. I did say their previous hit was a guilty pleasure of mine, but this one isn't. It's the usual boy band fodder, the formula needed to succeed that compromises on quality of music.
Verdict - Rubbish
My one reservation about this record was it being too slow. It wouldn't have really worked as a fast tune though. I remember this and "Your Woman" by White Town being out around the same sort of time. I guess there are similarities between the two.
Verdict - Good
I remember this record at the time. It seemed big enough, but not as big as it's predecessor "What's Love Got To Do With It". I was therefore surprised this go as high as number 2 matching it's predecessor. Another solid effort from Warren G.
Verdict - Good
7. Bush - Swallowed (New)
3 years after Nirvana disbanded following the death of Kurt Cobain, they were back in the Top 40....oh hang on this isn't Nirvana. It's the Top 40 debut from Bush, a British band who had already established themselves in America. They were just a clone of Nirvana really.
Verdict - Rubbish
It had been 3 years since En Vogue had last been in the Top 40 and they came back here with what I consider to be their best record. It was also the beginning of the end for En Vogue as we knew them with lead singer Dawn Robinson leaving the group shortly after. They still carry on today but nothing they've done since has been as good as this.
Verdict - Good
5. The Bee Gees - Alone (New)
This was the 27th Top 40 hit for The Bee Gees and took their Top 40 career to 30 years long. This record came out around the same time as the infamous Clive Anderson interview where they walked off the show. Can't say I think much of this which may upset Barry Gibb in the unlikely event of him reading this.
Verdict - Rubbish
I seem to recall the blurb about this record on The Chart Show saying that No Mercy were waiters at a Gloria Estefan owned restaurant prior to becoming singers. Can't find any mention of that on the internet so The Chart Show were probably just taking the piss. It does make a convincing story though.
Verdict - Rubbish
There have been seemingly an endless number of versions of this record over the years, but this one is the best in my opinion. It's the beats that do it for me in this version. A memory of this tune at the time was getting into a friend of a friends Ford Orion with all the modifications you can think of including big speakers. This tune was blasting out when I got in the car and I thought good taste. As the journey went on it became apparent he was playing Now 36.
Verdict - Good
2. Sash! - Encore Une Fois (New)
The Top 40 debut for Sash! and the record he's best known for. I have mixed feelings about this record. At first I wrote it off as being cheesy commercial crap, but it did start to grow on me after a while. When you consider some of the dreadful music this no doubt inspired though it's hard to truly like it.
Verdict - OK
No Doubt seemed to just come out of nowhere with this record. I remember thinking who the fuck are No Doubt and suddenly they were number one. Turns out they'd had a number 38 prior to this. I think they did their best stuff later on in their career, but this ones not bad.
Verdict - OK
If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 12.5/30, or 42%. Slight improvement from last week.
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