Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 26 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Wednesday.
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 1998 with my verdict on each record:
The 3rd Top 40 hit for Finley Quaye. I struggled with his first 2 hits, they were too much of an acquired taste for me. This ones easier on the ears though and I like the way it speeds up as the record goes on. Simple but effective.
Verdict - Good
The penultimate Top 40 hit to date for Therapy? and the last time they'll feature as their final Top 40 hit never made the Top 30. I'm a big fan of the "Troublegum" album and as a result reluctant to listen to anything else by Therapy? This one isn't bad but nowhere near "Troublegum" standard.
Verdict - OK
The 4th Top 40 hit for Roni Size. It would be over a decade until another act would have 4 drum & bass Top 40s to their name. It was also the final Top 40 hit of the 90s for Roni Size. I hated Roni Size being in the Top 40 as I wanted it to remain underground, but that was because I liked it.
Verdict - Good
This was the Top 40 debut for Tall Paul under his Camisra alias and the hit he is best known for. I'm pretty sure I heard this record long before 1998, this does certainly feel too late for it to be charting. Anyway it's one of the classics.
Verdict - Good
The Top 40 debut for British R&B singer Lynden David Hall. You could describe him as being the British D'Angelo or Maxwell. His music is also up to the same sort of standard i.e. pleasant enough and good background music but lacking in excitement.
Verdict - OK
The Verve had a big hit in 1997 with "Bitter Sweet Symphony" which was a record I didn't like. However if you take the main hook and put it into a dance record it works a treat. This is exactly what this record does.
Verdict - Good
When this record came out I was shocked. It was a Janet Jackson song that I actually liked. Remember I was listening to nothing but rave at the time so I really didn't want to like this record even though it is a dance record. Then a friend of mine who was into rap and drum & bass bought this single which made me feel a bit better about liking it.
Verdict - Good
Yet another girl group jumping on the bandwagon following the success of the Spice Girls. They literarily were a girl group with their ages ranging from 13-17. They were also described as the female Hanson but I think I prefer Hanson if I'm honest, that's how bad this is.
Verdict - Rubbish
The Top 40 debut for Beenie Man which came at a time when Jamaican reggae music in the Top 40 was a little thin on the ground. In fact this was the only Jamaican reggae Top 40 hit of 1998. It was a record I got into a few years later and I had no idea it had charted.
Verdict - Good
Levert Sweat Gill were an R&B supergroup consisting of Gerald Levert, Keith Sweat and Johnny Gill. This was their Top 40 debut which was written by the same people who wrote "Crazy" by K-Ci & JoJo. Probably sounds better on paper than it really is, but a decent record nonetheless.
Verdict - Good
20. Lionrock - Rude Boy Rock (New)
The 4th and final Top 40 hit to date for Lionrock which was the only one to make the Top 30. I seem to recall this being in an advert that featured the footballer Ronaldo at the time which would have no doubt helped boost sales. That aside though, it's a decent record and more catchy then their other hits.
Verdict - Good
When the All Saints first came about I was amazed to find that I liked their debut Top 40 hit. I was even more amazed to find I also liked this, their follow up. It's one of those records I'd felt I'd heard before but hadn't. As a result of me liking these first 2 singles I went on to do something I'd not done in a long time, bought an album that wasn't rave which was their debut album.
Verdict - Good
Simple Minds in 1997? This was their final Top 40 hit to date which came 3 years after their previous Top 40 hit. They continued to release music long after this, but I'd say there's a reason why they're best known for their 80s material. This sounds like they're just going through the motions.
Verdict - Rubbish
Rumor has it that this record was ghost written by Nas. It's something he denies and I can understand why. At the same time though I don't blame him for writing it at all. If I was asked to write a crappy record for Will Smith in the knowledge I could make a shit load of money from it then I would.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 2nd Top 40 hit for Robyn which like her debut was written by Max Martin. I can't help but think he purposely wrote a song called "Show Me Love" given that there's a different song with the same title from Robin S that was continuingly being remixed and rereleased. The idea therefore being people would be expecting the Robin S song. It's not a bad record though.
Verdict - OK
This was the turn around point of Robbie Williams solo career which went from strength to strength after this. I was dismissive of him as a solo artist least of all because I didn't like Oasis who he was trying to imitate. This record though is completely different and I had to concede it's actually quite good.
Verdict - Good
This was the Top 40 debut for Shania Twain which she wrote with her than husband Robert John "Mutt" Lange, the man who cowrote a number of Bryan Adams records. I hated this at the time, too much of a soppy ballad for my liking. However it appears on a compilation album I bought a couple of years later and I grew to like it.
Verdict - Good
13. Ginuwine - Holler (New)
The 4th Top 40 hit for Ginuwine and the last one from his debut album. Once again it's written and produced by Timbaland but lacks the quirkiness of the previous hits. Not a bad thing, you can't do that every time. The result is a record that's alright but nothing special.
Verdict - OK
Damage had a pretty successful 1996 and first half of 1997, but the wheels fell off in the second half of 1997 with a number 33 single. The start of 1998 was therefore a good time for Another Level to make their move with this their debut Top 40 hit. It's writers included Andrea Martin and Ivan Matias who wrote "Don't Let Go (Love)" by En Vogue so they really meant business. It's actually not bad.
Verdict - OK
The comeback single for Shed Seven. On listening to the intro to this you could be forgiven for thinking Elastica were back. Once it gets going though it's undoubtedly a Shed Seven record. An Elastica style intro that turns into a Shed Seven song is never a good thing.
Verdict - Rubbish
Aqua topped the charts with their debut hit "Barbie Girl" and did the same again with this follow up record. Once again it's a novelty record and I'm pretty sure everyone with the surname Jones who held a PhD got some stick for this record.
Verdict - Rubbish
The Top 40 debut for Leann Rimes. I once took part in a quiz where a question was who charted in 1997 with "How Do I Live" to which I confidently answered Leann Rimes. The answer was Trisha Yearwood who reached number 66 with it. Leann Rimes was in 1998 and is the better known version. Although not the first person younger than me to chart, I do recall a younger Leann Rimes charting making me start to think have I missed the boat already in my music career.
Verdict - Rubbish
At the time I remember this being this opening song of Top of the Pops for a few weeks in a row. At least that's what it felt. There also seemed to be a lot of people on the stage so I assumed they were a band with many members, but it turned out there were only 2 of them in Savage Garden. Never before have I seen a song contradict a band name so much. I do like some of their music, but not the soppy ballads.
Verdict - Rubbish
One of the great things about Space was the humour in their records. All their hits to prior to this had their funny moments but this one is absolutely hilarious. In the song, Tommy Scott from Space and Cerys Matthews are a couple who want to kill each other, but then they hear Tom Jones sing and all is good. Fantastic tune.
Verdict - Good
When I first heard this I was amazed that a rock band could make such a record. Then I recall them playing the original version of TFI Friday which was miserable. It then became clear when I discovered than the version we all know and love was the Norman Cook remix.
Verdict - Good
We've had pretty much every other soap have cast members in the Top 40 so this was the time for Casualty. I don't think I've ever sat down to watch an episode of Casualty before so I have no idea who the cast are. When I was younger I refused to watch it on the basis it was for people too sad to go out on a Saturday night. Now I'm happy to stay in on a Saturday night but can find much better things to do than watch Casualty. Anyway, this was the 6th different version of "Everlasting Love" to make the Top 40 and is predictably crap.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 2nd Top 40 hit for Five and they reached the Top 5 for the first time. No Swedish songwriters this time, instead it's Eliot Kennedy along with Tim Lever and Mike Percy from Dead or Alive. I recall this being heavily promoted on The Big Breakfast at the time with the band appearing all week.
Verdict - Rubbish
It had been a year since Madonna had been in the Top 40. The last time she'd been in the Top 40 was with those god awful Evita songs. In a way this record was quite refreshing in comparison. She was being more experimental again, but I have to say this records not for me.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 2nd Top 40 hit for Natalie Imbruglia and her 2nd number two. I get the impression she was trying to be portrayed as a more serious musician than the other soap singers. The reality was this was the same direction Kylie Minogue was taking at the time, the difference was Natalie Imbruglia had no back catalogue to get in the way like Kylie Minogue had. It also sounds a bit poundland Alanis Morrissette.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 2nd and final chart topper to date for Celine Dion which was take from "The Titanic" movie. I remember how big that film was so it was almost inevitable that this would get to number one. It's also a depressing film given that people die at the end so I guess it's appropriate to have a depressing song for it. Musically though its just another Celine Dion record.
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 15.5/30, or 52%. We've slipped but remain above 50%.
No comments:
Post a Comment