Wednesday, 6 December 2023

Top 30 in 1995 Reviewed: Week 49

Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 28 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 1995 with my verdict on each record:


This song was taken to number one in the 60s by father/daughter duo Frank & Nancy Sinatra. It's one of the all time worst songs in my opinion. In December 1995 we were treated to 2 different versions, this one by Ali Campbell and his then 8 year old daughter. The other came from Mike and Alma from Coronation St which fortunately didn't make the Top 30. 

Verdict - Rubbish


The other Top 40 hit for Berri. The title implies this is likely to be a "Sunshine After the Rain" part 2 but it isn't. It follows the same cheesy eurodance formula but more crucially it's a fun record to listen to.

Verdict - Good


This record originally made number 40 in 1994 but was rereleased after Celine Dion had a hugely successful 1995. It still however remained her lowest charting Top 40 hit to this point. What's different about this record is that it's not a ballad. Still crap though.

Verdict - Rubbish


I've now heard this record more times in my life than I care to remember. It's one of those records that's universally loved, even by people who generally don't like dance music. I liked this so much I bought the single and I've never bought that many singles really.

Verdict - Good


Yet another Whitney Houston song from a movie. The film in question is "Waiting To Exhale". It's a movie I've seen but remember nothing about so I guess you could say it was just as boring as this song.

Verdict - Rubbish


You're not supposed to take the music of PJ & Duncan seriously. These were Byker Grove actors about to turn TV presenters, not musicians. The big problem with this record though is it isn't even funny. 

Verdict - Rubbish


This record was from the James Bond film of the same name and was written by Bono and The Edge from U2. Not my cup of tea.

Verdict - Rubbish


This record is just as well known for its video. Jodeci member Mr Dalvin and T Boz from TLC were a couple at the time and this was a fictional wedding between the 2 being orchestrated by Reverend Run. I like it before I saw the video and I guess you could say I should love this record for life.

Verdict - Good


It's December so we have the inevitable Cliff Richard record in an attempt to get the Christmas number one. In reality this one didn't have a hope in hell but I do remember it being an outside candidate at the time.

Verdict - Rubbish


It's speculated that Bon Jovi don't really do much songwriting even though Jon Bon Jovi is a credited songwriter on all their original hits. The first 2 hits from the "These Days" album were also written by Desmond Child and it's said that in reality Desmond Child is the only writer of these songs. This record however was simply Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. If Bon Jovi aren't really songwriters then I believe this to genuinely be written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora as it's not very good.

Verdict - Rubbish


In a way it seems quite odd releasing a record with "summer" in the title in December but on the other hand it also has "cold" in the title so does seem appropriate. This was the joint lowest charting Top 40 hit for Erasure to this point and didn't make their greatest hits album. a solid record though.

Verdict - Good


This was a cover of The Small Faces record done in typical M People style. The original version is a great record and the last thing it really needed was a lame generic dance version of it.

Verdict - Rubbish


When Blur won the chart battle against Oasis with "Country House" I thought it was pretty much the worst song I'd heard Blur do. The other singles from their "The Great Escape" album were pretty solid though starting with this one.

Verdict - Good


Wet Wet Wet failed to reach the Top 10 with this record for the first time since "Love Is All Around" revived their Top 40 career. Maybe they'd lost their power now Marti Pellow no longer had his pony tail. Again it's a record I feel I shouldn't like but do.

Verdict - Good


The lead single from "Up All Night" which was the final studio album from East 17 as we knew them. I would also say that is the East 17 album I've listened to the most. This is one of my favourite East 17 singles too. I can't pin point one thing about it, the piano intro, the chorus, the verse, everything about this song is great.

Verdict - Good


I would have had this record down as being more 1993, not just it sounding more 1993 but seems to fit more in with my life around 1993. It's different to your typical 90s rap record and a lot more radio friendly, but it's good.

Verdict - Good


In the post Louise era of Eternal they came back with perhaps the most uplifting record they'd released to date in "Power of a Woman". They followed it up with this, which is perhaps their most dreary. It was composed by the writer of "Nothin At All" by Heart and the write of "In the Ones You Love" by Diana Ross. 

Verdict - Rubbish


I remember when this came out something that sprang to mind was that Madonna had previously made fun records like "Cherish" and "Dear Jessie" but was now making boring crap like this. Given she'd been around for over a decade and was a well established name, she could put any old crap out and people would buy it. This is what happened here.

Verdict - Rubbish


Passengers were a side project of U2 and Brian Eno. This was their only Top 40 hit under that name and it features vocals from Luciano Pavarotti. An unlikely collaboration but it was one that worked in the case of this record.

Verdict - Good


I do recall at the time thinking who the fuck is buying Enya records? To me it was music for school teachers. What I really meant though was it sounded so out of place compared to the rest of the music us youngsters at the time were listening to, some of whom are now school teachers themselves. I now appreciate Enya's music for what it is and consider this to be good record.

Verdict - Good


This is the final Top 10 hit to date for Prince. It's nearly 6 minutes long but I can't help but think it's too short, when it finishes I just want to listen to it for longer. If you can get a record for that long to have that sort of impact on me then you must be doing something right.

Verdict - Good


I don't think this was ever considered a true contender for Christmas number one but I guess it shouldn't have ever been ruled out considering how high it did chart. Bjork presented the Christmas Top of the Pops that year which obviously was recorded in advance of Christmas day when they wouldn't have known what was number one. Bjork announced Michael Jackson was Christmas number one, so presumably they recorded all possibilities of who could be Christmas number one and I do wonder whether they recorded Bjork saying she was Christmas number one herself. Anyway I didn't really like it at the time, but it's grown on me over the years. 

Verdict - Good


There's a lot to say about this record, but what springs to mind personally was seeing people who once listened to rave now listening to Oasis. It was reflected on the TV on Byker Grove too. The music aspect had gone from Frew and Barney DJing to characters who's names I don't remember singing "Wonderwall". I was firmly in the rave camp by this point though and couldn't comprehend why people would listen to Oasis instead.

Verdict - Rubbish


It's funny how there were a number of us who spent the 90s looking forward to the year 2000, but then as the 21st century got under way we longed for the 90s again. I always liked the story of the song, but I've only just discovered that it was a true story and Deborah, the subject of the song is sadly no longer with us. 

Verdict - Good


Prior to this record Mariah Carey had 2 uplifting hits in a row with "All I Want For Christmas Is You" and "Fantasy". She was never going to do 3 in a row, but teamed up with Boyz II Men to allow her to do a dreary ballad that could fall under the R&B banner. 

Verdict - Rubbish


To me this record illustrates all that was wrong with Boyzone's formula of doing lots of covers. The song is supposed to be a father singing to his son, but Ronan Keating was only 18 here and therefore more likely to be the age of the son being sang to. OK it's composer Cat Stevens was only a few years older when he wrote it, but I remember seeing Ronan Keating sing "look at me I am old" and thinking no you're not.

Verdict - Rubbish


At the time I was a big fan of "Gangsta's Paradise" and was convinced it had been in the Top 40 longer than anything else once it had been there a while. Turns out this record entered the Top 40 the same week. As both records fell to the lower reaches, I bought the "Gangsta's Paradise" single to help give it at least another week in the Top 40. Unfortunately "Gangsta's Paradise" dropped out, but this stayed another week and I wasn't happy about that. It failed to reach the Top 40 when first released but a Todd Terry remix gave it a new lease of life. Never seen the appeal myself though.

Verdict - Rubbish


I can't remember if it was the first time I'd heard it, but I can picture myself listening to this on the radio at the time and thinking this is the record I've been waiting to hear all my life. I could even tell you the name of the street I was going down when I was thinking that. There hadn't really been much of the dark side of rap music in the charts prior to this, but that's what I really wanted to hear. I even bought the single for this too which was the only thing I bought around this time that wasn't rave.

Verdict - Good


When the Christmas Top of the Pops came on, the announcer summed up 1995 as the year Take That lost Robbie and Eternal lost Louise but we gained Robson & Jerome. I once got slated for describing Robson & Jerome as a novelty act, but they were actors who sang on Soldier Soldier once which made Simon Cowell think they could be the next Zig & Zag. If that isn't a novelty act I don't know what is.

Verdict - Rubbish / Rubbish


I remember the race for Christmas number one and not liking the fact this record won the race instead of Mike Flowers Pops. It seems to me that the only reason this topped the charts was because it was Michael Jackson. It's hard to take the lyrical content seriously when it's being sung by a man who had a funfair in his own back garden.

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 14/30, or 47%. The end of year slump has begun.
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Tuesday, 5 December 2023

UK Number 40s: Lodger - I'm Leaving (1998)

 


By 1998 the Britpop era was more or less over. Many of the Britpop musicians though were still around though and four of them formed the supergroup Lodger.

The term "supergroup" may have to be taken with a pinch of salt though as the only member to have previously had Top 40 hits prior to this was Danny Goffey, the drummer with Supergrass. The other band members was his then girlfriend (now wife) Pearl Lowe from the band Powder and Neil Carlill and Will Foster from the band Delicatessen. 

The fact that those bands never had a Top 40 hit made it seem unlikely this supergroup would succeed. They released one album and called it a day the same year.

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Sunday, 3 December 2023

Top 30 in 1993 Reviewed: Week 49

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:


The 2nd Top 40 hit for Naughty By Nature, who's debut "OPP" is their best known record but only made number 35. Like it's predecessor it has a catchy sing along chorus. Take that out of the equation though and you still have a decent hip hop record.

Verdict - Good


The 3rd and final Top 40 hit to date for Messiah. It samples "Automatic Lover" by Dee D Jackson which was a record made to sound futuristic in 1978. 15 years into the future it sounds like Messiah were trying to do the same thing. It's a shame that the future turned out to be nothing like this.

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


This was the follow up to the excellent "Big Scary Animal". Both records have 2 songwriters in common in Charlotte Caffey and Ralph Schuckett, but this ones actually a cover of a song by The Graces which was the band Belinda's ex Go-Go's band mate Charlotte Caffey formed after the Go-Go's broke up. It sounds too country for my liking, not my cup of tea at all.

Verdict - Rubbish


This is the 2nd Top 40 hit of the 90s for Heart and their final Top 40 hit to date. Their first "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You" is a record written by Robert John "Mutt" Lange that Heart hate themselves. It seems they never learned though as this too was written by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. He was also writing for Bryan Adams and Michael Bolton around this time and I see the similarities with this.

Verdict - Rubbish


This is one of those records where the lyrics make me want to listen to it rather than the music. I particularly like the line "Question, why is it that every time I turn on the radio I hear the same 5 songs, 15 times a day for 3 months, man funk dat......get a new DJ". The only difference these days you hear the same songs on the radio indefinitely rather than for 3 month. Unfortunately it's not very good musically so I can't give it full marks.

Verdict - OK


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


Another record that was released at a different time to what I remember. I associate this record with being in the year below the year I would have been in at school at the time. The lyrics to this contradict the tune in a way, not much overdrive at all and they sing "speed up the music" but this seems slower than their previous efforts.

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


Terence Trent D'Arby went down the rock music route in the 90s and my memory of this is it being rock sounding too. It isn't though, it's a piano ballad. The singing is exactly how I remember it though. Amazing how much I can misremember things. I kind of wish it was more rock sounding though as this is pretty dull.

Verdict - Rubbish


The Top 40 debut for Snoop Doggy Dogg. It's the only single from his debut album "Doggystyle" that made the Top 30 therefore my only opportunity to say how great that album is, one of my all time favourites. 

Verdict - Good


This was the 6th and final single from East 17's debut album "Walthamstow". It could be argued that being the final single from an album that was nearly a year old was what stopped it from getting the Christmas number one, but we all know they achieved that the following year. Like with most East 17 record, this one gets the thumbs up from me.

Verdict - Good


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


The 4th Top 40 hit for Bjork and 3rd to reach the Top 30. So far we've had one I liked and one I didn't like, so what about this one? Well I actually like this one, helped by the dance beat it has. That's 2 out of 3 for Bjork so far which is something I never expected. I can pretty much guarantee that by the end of the decade there will be more Bjork records I don't like than like.

Verdict - Good


Lesley Garrett is a pretty well known soprano singer though this is her only Top 40 hit to date. Amanda Thompson was a child with a serious illness and this record was a charity single to raise money. I suspect most people bought it for the cause rather than the music though.

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


If you asked someone to name a K-Klass record that isn't "Rhythm Is A Mystery" than this would be the most likely record they'd name. It's also their 2nd biggest hit. Even though it had been 2 years since their debut, all their Top 40 hits appeared on the same album which was yet to be released at this point. This does feel more 1991 than 1993, but these reviews show how much better the charts were in 1991.

Verdict - Good


The Bee Gees are best known for their disco era, which I think is a shame because they made some really good music outside of this such as this record. In fact I would say this is the best record The Bee Gees have ever made. The moment where Robin starts singing the chorus is second to none.

Verdict - Good


There were lots of old records re-entering the charts in 1993 and here's another one. I don't know why it was re-released, I do recall seeing this on The Chart Show and question why it was there. One of those records I've never liked and have heard too many times in my life.

Verdict - Rubbish


The follow up to "The Key The Secret". Like it's predecessor, it treads that fine line between proper dance music and cheesy commercial nonsense and they managed to pull it off again. I've not heard this in a long time, whilst I very much remember it I wasn't sure how good it would sound after all these years. Once the main hook kicked in I thought yes still sounds good.

Verdict - Good


It was 2nd time lucky for this record after charting in the lower reaches of the Top 40 a few months prior. It was the debut hit and biggest hit for Soul Asylum, a band who weren't grunge as such but benefited from the rise of grunge. I prefer their lesser hits, but this is still decent.

Verdict - Good


M People turn down the tempo on this record which is a cover of the Dennis Edwards and Siedah Garret record. It features male singer Mark Bell, but the male/female parts have been switched around compared to the original. I remember hating this record at the time and then later on in life heard the original after looking up records that 2Pac sampled. I like the original and in a way that has made this record more tolerable listening to it again after many years, but still not a patch on the original,

Verdict - Rubbish


I really don't want to like this song and on paper I shouldn't. I'm not really a fan of Janet Jackson and this is a slow ballad. I can't help but like it though and the most logical reason for that is it's inclusion in the film "Poetic Justice" which has Janet Jackson in it alongside 2Pac.

Verdict - Good


This was a remix of a 20 year old record that never charted in the UK originally. I like the original of this but the question is does the remix do it justice? Well actually yes it does, it works well as a dance record and doesn't ruin the original.

Verdict - Good


One thing I remember in 1993 was U2 appearing in peoples Top 10 bands early on in the year but tended not to appear in peoples Top 10s by the time this record came out. I don't ever recall U2 being in my Top 10 though, I thought they were decent but not that good. Ironically I considered "Stay (Faraway, So Close)" to be one of their best records at the time. The other side was Frank Sinatra's only hit of the 90s and the first time he actually charted with this song. Not my thing though.

Verdict - Good / Rubbish


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


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


Mr Blobby started out as a pretend kids TV show on the Gotcha segment of Noels House Party. I remember hearing the theme music for that segment was being released as a single. That didn't sound like the worst thing in the world, but when I heard this record and the kids started singing it did sound like the worst thing it the world. I also recall a school disco at the time where they had a dancing competition and the winner won this single. Needless to say I didn't miss out on much by not taking part.

Verdict - Rubbish


After their collaboration in 1976 gave both artists their first number one, Elton John and Kiki Dee reunite 17 years later but fall short of topping the charts this time round. The world had moved on and I remember this sounding very dated at the time. Little did I know he'd still be charting with duets 3 decades later that would actually sound modern in a bad way.

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 14.5/30, or 48%. Getting close to 50%, which seems strange as we head towards the end of the year.
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Friday, 1 December 2023

Top 30 in 1996 Reviewed: Week 48

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:


This was the only Top 40 hit for The Aloof who were an experimental electronic group from the 90s. As such this record doesn't neatly fit into any genre. I can definitely see it's credentials and do appreciate it. I'm not exactly getting blown away by it though so it gets half a mark.

Verdict - OK


This is basically Celine Dion does Meat Loaf. It was written by Jim Steinman who wrote the bulk of Meat Loafs hits including a Meat Loaf version of this 10 years later. Therefore it's long and over the top and not to my liking, but I will concede it's better than her usual dreary ballads. Still crap though.

Verdict - Rubbish


A remix of a record that originally made the Top 40 back in 1988. The remixers in question here were the Klubbheads. Therefore its a dance record and I have to say this sounds nothing like the original at all. It's very repetitive, not always a bad thing but in this case it is and it's not fast enough to remedy that.

Verdict - Rubbish


On some of the Now albums in the mid-90s they tended to have dance records on tape 2 side 2. Now 35 was one of these, except it ended with this record which seemed really out of place. Now I'm hearing it again after all these years and it oddly sounds even more dreary than I remember it sounding.

Verdict - Rubbish


What I remember about this record was that you could feel the pain in it. As is the way though, Skunk Anansie sounded harder at the time compared now which I put down to guitar music generally being much softer. Still has enough edge to it to like it though.

Verdict - Good


Gina G was someone who I thought would be a one hit wonder and she's thought of by many as being a one hit wonder, but she wasn't. I recall hearing this on Noels House Party and thinking that it would have been better if she'd remained a one hit wonder. 

Verdict - Rubbish


It had been nearly 2 years since Boyzone made their Top 40 debut and I remember when Take That were still around some said they were losing their grip on the boy band world to Boyzone. Yet it took Boyzone until this record to score their first number one. Still, it was one hit sooner than Take That scored their first number one. A cover of the Bee Gees record which could be best described as the alternative lyrics of: shits only turds and turds are all I have to take your fart away.

Verdict - Rubbish


The 3rd Top 40 hit for the Backstreet Boys which is a ballad, something that seemed almost inevitable. One of the writers of this was Eugene Wilde who had a couple of Top 40 hits in the 80s that he didn't write himself. I get the whole point of this song, but it's not something I'd want to listen to.

Verdict - Rubbish


Garbage are one of those bands who have a few decent records and a few questionable ones. Tricky is an artist I rate but due to his experimental nature some of his music can be questionable too. This collaboration is I feel is supposed to be good, but I just don't see the appeal of. 

Verdict - Rubbish


This originally made the Top 40 in 1994 and I absolutely loved it, especially the time Carl Cox dropped it in one of his set. It returned to the Top 40 in 1996 as a remix. How does this remix compare? Well not as good as the original for starters, but they've kept the important bits in there so sounds good in the breakdown. Not so sure about the rest of it though so I'll give it half a mark.

Verdict - OK


The penultimate Top 40 hit to date for Belinda Carlisle and the last time she'll feature as her final one didn't make the Top 30. Ironically I remember that final hit, but not this one. Now I'm listening to it though I'm finding it's not a very memorable record. A bit of a non-entity really.

Verdict - Rubbish


A year after Michael Jackson topped the charts with "Earth Song" he's attempting it again with another ballad but he falls short this time round. Like "Earth Song" he's trying to get a message across but musically it's not to my liking. I also got irritate about the way he pronounce Moscow.

Verdict - Rubbish


After Matt Rowe and Richard Stannard topped the charts as songwriters for the first time with "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls, this was their next Top 40 hit. The music career of Ant & Dec aka PJ & Duncan was always intentionally a bit of a joke. Yet this sounds a more credible record than "Wannabe". Still a joke though.

Verdict - Rubbish


The posthumous hits keep coming for Queen with this being the 7th since Freddie Mercury died. It's said to be reminiscent of their "Hot Space" era which is widely considered to be a low period for them. I'd also say there's similarities between this and some of Freddie Mercury's solo hits. I have to say this is pretty crap.

Verdict - Rubbish


I've now heard this record more times in my life than I care to remember. It's one of those records that's universally loved, even by people who generally don't like dance music. I liked this so much I bought the single and I've never bought that many singles really.

Verdict - Good


At the time I remember hearing that Babybird was a really prolific songwriter who'd written hundreds of songs. For many though, this is the only song of his they remember. It's a record I remember being out around the same time as "Breakfast At Tiffany's". It's not as crap, but is still crap.

Verdict - Rubbish


One thing I remember this record being known for at the time was the incomprehensible lyrics. I do recall someone pointing out that one of their previous hits "Tattva" had incomprehensible lyrics. With this record their basically trying to be the 90s George Harrison. It's a no from me.

Verdict - Rubbish


This was the first posthumous Top 40 hit for 2Pac who died in the September. He actually dies in the video to this, though that's probably why this was picked to be his first posthumous release. 2Pac made loads of great records and this ones amongst my favourites.

Verdict - Good


With Crowded House now split up, this is what Neil Finn did next. He provided backing vocals to this and apparently the inspiration for this song was fellow Crowded House member Paul Hester. I think this is even worse than the later stuff Crowded House did. It did used to irritate me at the time.

Verdict - Rubbish


Once again I'm going to talk about "The Noise" with Andi Peters. This was when it became apparent that The Spice Girls weren't going to be one hit wonders. They exclusively showed the video to the new Spice Girls single. It's not as bad as their debut, that's the only positive thing I can say about it.

Verdict - Rubbish


This record was released to promote East 17s greatest hits album. To show they weren't planning on splitting up any time soon they put in the reference "The Journey So Far", but we all know what happened next. As with pretty much all the East 17 singles, I like it.

Verdict - Good


This was written by the same songwriting team as her previous hit "Undivided Love" which included Simon Climie from Climie Fisher. No resemblance to any Climie Fisher record this time, more of a resemblance to the group she left, Eternal. Also clear to hear she couldn't sing as well as her former bandmates. 

Verdict - Rubbish


Robson & Jerome had a total of 3 Top 40 hits and they all reached number one. This was the final one of those hits. Like it's predecessors, it's a cover and it's rubbish. To be fair they knew there time was probably up after this so called it a day.

Verdict - Rubbish


The Woolpackers were 3 actors from Emmerdale who were named after the pub that features in the soap. As you can probably predict then, this is cheesy and shit. It's a line dancing record, something myself and many others used to take the piss out of.

Verdict - Rubbish


After having 2 big hits that were both instrumentals, Robert Miles did the unthinkable and released a record with a vocalist. I remember at the time thinking what are you doing having a vocalist on your record. The vocals have always annoyed me so on that basis this gets half a mark.

Verdict - OK


After having all 5 of her previous Top 40 hits written by Babyface, Toni Braxton turned to prolific songwriter Diane Warren for her 6th. It worked as this became her joint highest charting Top 40 hit, but often in order to achieve popularity you have to compromise on quality and this is what's happened here in my opinion. 

Verdict - Rubbish


The Warren G I was most familiar with in 1996 was the drum & bass MC who would regularly MC for DJ SS. There was of course an American rapper of the same name and this was his joint biggest hit. With the interpolation and the fact it was on a movie soundtrack means it was supposed to be commercial, but it's done really well. I can appreciate this a lot more now than I did at the time.

Verdict - Good


Gary Barlow was the first member of Take That to have a solo hit which went to number 1. Then Robbie Williams was the second and went to number 2. Then Mark Owen was the third which went to number 3. It's possibly the most namby pamby record I've ever heard. No wonder his solo career was an overall failure. 

Verdict - Rubbish


The Fugees narrowly missed out on making it 3 number ones in a row. They're showing that they can do multiple genres of music with this Bob Marley cover. It's definitely up there amongst the best covers ever and even as someone exclusively listening to rave at the time I couldn't deny how much I liked this record.

Verdict - Good


When The Prodigy did "Firestarter" earlier on in the year after much excitement of a new Prodigy tune it was a big disappointment. However, despite follow up "Breathe" taking a similar direction I actually like this one and bought the single. It's the beats that really do it for me.

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 8.5/30, or 28%. The lowest score of the year and possibly even decade so far.
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