Here's my weekly look at the Top 20 from 20 years ago. On the basis we'd reach the Top 20 in the Top 40 countdown around 17:30 on a Sunday at the time 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 20 from this week in 1999 with my verdict on each record:
It had been a year since Missy Elliott scored a number one with Mel B of the Spice Girls and this was her first Top 40 hit since then. To be honest I find most Missy Elliott tunes irritating but this one isn't bad. Perhaps the fact she sings in it rather than rap helps, but I quite like the beat too.
Verdict - OK
I can't believe Supergrass were still having Top 10 hits in 1999, though this would be their last. It doesn't quite sound the same as I remember it sounding, but it's still boring.
Verdict - Rubbish
I first heard this in the most unlikely place, the Pete Tong show. Yes that's right, it wasn't just Dance Music he'd play on his show at the time. Anyway, I absolutely love this tune, hands down the best TLC tune I've ever heard. It's written by Dallas Austin, the man responsible for transforming Pink from R&B inspired Pop to Rock inspired Pop. The guitar in this suggests he is warming up for that moment. I think when done really well, incorporating Rock elements into non-Rock music can sound second to none and this is a good example of that.
Verdict - Good
This was the only Top 10 hit from Leftfield, but I guess on the basis this was the lead single from their 2nd album and they were now household names it shouldn't be that surprising. The experimental nature of Leftfield's music means it can be quite hit or miss, but in the case of this record I'd say hit.
Verdict - Good
Back in 1996 I knew of someone who bought the "2 Become 1" single by the Spice Girls for the simple fact it had Geri's legs on the cover. He surely bought this single then because it has Geri in a bikini on the cover. In fact a lot of people must have bought it for that simple fact, hence it got to number one.
Verdict - Rubbish
I can still picture where I was when I first heard this, I was sat in a car waiting for somebody whilst listening to the Pete Tong show. What a tune, I thought. A common misconception is that Alice Deejay is the female singer, but it's actually a group of Dutch producers with the singer and 2 dancers fronting it.
Verdict - Good
Who knew Tiffany from Eastenders had more than one hit single? Well actually I did, I remember her having several and questioned why. It's not as dreary as "Perfect Moment" but it's still pretty dreary.
Verdict - Rubbish
The lead single from his album with the same title which is influenced by World Music. To me though it just sounds like he's releasing any old crap because he can, because he's Sting.
Verdict - Rubbish
Thunderbugs were going to be the next big girl group, I remember the hype about them at the time. This was their debut hit and then they promptly disappeared, can't say I miss them.
Verdict - Rubbish
For the benefit of those who don't know, this was the tune which was mashed up with "I Need A Miracle" by Coco Star for the number one record "Toca's Miracle" the following year. There is no doubt that this is miles better than that tune, I remember thinking at the time they basically ruined this tune by adding vocals to it. However in reality I always thought this one was pretty average.
Verdict - OK
Here we have the beginning of the UK Chart career of Enrique Iglesias. It's another of those ones that sounds like the crappy Spanish song you hear on holiday in Spain that makes it's way into the UK charts. That's understandable given Enrique Iglesias is Spanish, but then this was written by the same British song writing team responsible for the songs Cher was putting out at the time (Believe etc). Who would have thought just over a decade later he would be singing his own composition "Tonight (I'm Fuckin You)".
Verdict - Rubbish
The opening track on "Kiss Ibiza 99", it's a house version of "Sway". I was a little sceptical of this when I first heard it but it started to grow on me after a few listens of "Kiss Ibiza 99". It actually reminds me of beginning my drive home from college, I guess that shows how much I was listening to that compilation at the time.
Verdict - Good
I first came across the song itself when Wayne and Cassandra were singing it on "Wayne's World". This would have presumably been the Toni Basil version rather than this cover. This was the 2nd hit from Lolly and I remember hearing this down the pub multiple times one night and getting really irritated with it.
Verdict - Rubbish
Tom Jones was one of those singers who I'd assumed kept on having the hits since he started out in the 60s, probably helped by the fact his 80s comeback coincided with my early music memories. However despite him seemingly always being around, in the decade prior to this release he only actually had 2 Top 40 singles which came in 93 and 94. This was the first of his hits around the turn of the century to feature a more modern artist in an attempt to stay relevant. It's a cover of the Talking Heads song and I'm not overly keen on the original and this cover is no better.
Verdict - Rubbish
I like the riff in this one, which is just as well given it's repeated over and over again. However what makes this tune is the beats, in particular the bit just before the drop. There's no big breakdown in this, just several mini ones and I think there needs to be so you can hear more of that beat before the drop.
Verdict - Good
This one was being played regularly on the Pete Tong show at the time as I recall and charted quite some time after I first heard it. I was kind of disappointed when it did chart as I thought it could be one I'd keep to myself. Well myself and anyone else who listened to the Pete Tong show.
Verdict - Good
Thanks to this record, on more than one occasion after telling someone we're going to Ibiza I've had the response "Woah!". I guess at the time there was a lot of hype about Ibiza, Spanish influenced music and the Vengaboys which was the perfect recipe to get this to number one. That doesn't take away the fact it was bloody awful though.
Verdict - Rubbish
If you want to make a Dance record which is a rip off of an older song this is the way to do it. What probably helps here is that it was quite an obscure Bob Marley record before this makeover so you would probably have to be a Bob Marley fan to have known it in the first place. Great tune.
Verdict - Good
Lou Bega is one half of Masters at Work alongside Kenny Dope...oh hang on, this is Lou Bega not Louie Vega. That's right, when I first heard this I thought how could Louie Vega release such crap until I realised it was Bega not Vega. This was so popular that it managed to peak at 31 the week before on import sales alone so it was inevitably getting to number one when it officially got released. It's bloody awful though.
Verdict - Rubbish
This had already been played to death by the time it charted. I remember listening to the Top 40 the week it topped the charts but turned the radio off once the number one record was announced. It's absolutely terrible.
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 8/20, or 40%. Bob Marley and Paul Johnson ensure this week was better than last.
