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.
One change I've made is putting links in the titles instead of embedding YouTube videos as I found this was slowing down the page loading.
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:
20. Blur - Tender
Back in 1995 when were had Blur vs Oasis I wasn't on either side because it wasn't Rave. In hindsight though at the time Blur's music was quite fun and Oasis were very dull. Blur won the battle but Oasis became the bigger band in the long run. It seems like Blur's reaction to this was to make their music dull as well which is perfectly illustrated by this song.
Verdict - Rubbish
19. Cher - Strong Enough
This was the follow up to "Believe" and was once again of the Dance Music variety, but not one that would appeal to Dance Music fans like myself.
Verdict - Rubbish
18. Andy Williams - Music To Watch Girls By
Andy Williams in 1999? Yes this was originally a minor hit for Andy Williams in 1967 but was re-issued in 1999 after it was used on a Fiat advert. I remember this being on Top of the Pops at the time and I'd just reached the point of my life where I realised that just because a song is old doesn't mean it's rubbish, so I liked it.
Verdict - Good
17. Kele Le Roc - My Love
In 2001 I bought a compilation album which had this tune on it. When I was looking at the liner notes it stated this tune was from 1992 which I thought seemed a bit early. Turns out I was right, it was only 2 years old at the time and an internet search shows no evidence of any version of this song being from 1992 but I did discover one of the writers was Robbie Nevil. It was from listening to the compilation that I realised I really like this tune.
Verdict - Good
16. Aphex Twin - Windowlicker (New)
I'd been familiar with Aphex Twins music prior to this but didn't know an awful lot about the man himself. Then along came this video which was on MTV late at night all the time which ensured you'll never forget what he looks like again. The thing is I paid so much attention to the video that I didn't really notice the tune at first, but actually it's just as strange as the video and I love it.
Verdict - Good
15. Sash! - Colour The World (New)
Ever wondered what happened to Dr Alban after 1993? Well here's what he was doing in 1999, providing vocals for Sash! This was the only Sash! record not to make the top ten, it never got any higher than this. It's no "Move Mania" or "Stay" but it's not a bad tune if a bit cheesy, which is something you could say about Sash! generally to be honest.
Verdict - OK
14. System F - Out Of The Blue (New)
I remember hearing this for the first time and thinking it was a bit faster than the other Trance Music coming out at the time, any faster and it could be Happy Hardcore. Funnily enough it's composer, which is Ferry Corsten under one of his many aliases, started off as a Hardcore DJ. Needless to say this tune get's the thumbs up from me.
Verdict - Good
13. Robbie Williams - Strong
I was one of those people who suspected Robbie Williams, Mr Take That, would be rubbish as a solo artist given he was in a boy band. After beginning with a poor George Michael cover followed by an Oasis sound-alike song it seemed I was right, but by 1999 I thought actually he's not bad.
Verdict - OK
12. Whitney Houston - It's Not Right But It's Okay
I think the song title sums this one up quite well. Generally speaking Whitney Houston's music to me was either cheesy pop or dreary ballads, but then in the late 90s it was more R&B which I guess doesn't seem right but it's ok.
Verdict - OK
11. Steps - Better Best Forgotten
This song title certainly sums up this song, that it's better best forgotten. I had to stop the music after writing that sentence it's that bad. Steps know they're music is shit, but they make a lot of money out of it so keep on doing it and the public keep on paying their hard earned money to subject themselves to this torture.
Verdict - Rubbish
10. Des'ree - You Gotta Be (New)
You might be thinking surely this didn't come out as late as 1999 and you'd be right. This re-entered the charts after being on the Ford Focus advert. I hated this when it first came out and by 1999 my opinion still hadn't changed and remains the same now.
Verdict - Rubbish
9. B*Witched - Blame It On The Weatherman
The fourth hit and fourth number one from B*Witched. The only logical reason I can think of for so many people buying it is that they desperately wanted to knock Boyzone off number one.
Verdict - Rubbish
8. Vengaboys - We Like To Party! (The Vengabus)
Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, well actually I'm not sure whether this is worse than Steps but it's pretty close. The Vengaboys had previously charted with "Up & Down" which I thought was ok, though I did get pretty sick of it given how overplayed it was. Then came this, which is essentially "Up & Down" with ridiculous vocals over the top of it provided by 2 females and 2 males that you don't actually hear. The Vengaboys it seems had become the Dutch Steps (yes I know there were 3 females in Steps but there could just as easily be 2).
Verdict - Rubbish
7. TLC - No Scrubs (New)
TLC were big in the mid 90s with their "Crazy Sexy Cool" album and then for me at least they just disappeared until this came out. It was a great comeback though, and the funny thing is that had Xscape not broken up the year before it could have been an Xscape single given Kandi and Tiny of the group were two of the writers.
Verdict - Good
6. Boyzone - When The Going Gets Tough
I like the original by Billy Ocean, but this is just dreadful. It just sounds like a karaoke song where the singer seems a bit bored.
Verdict - Rubbish
5. The New Radicals - You Get What You Give (New)
One day in 1999 I was in HMV and asked to listen to a CD at the listening post. When I got to the listening post, the man who had just been listening at it told me it's the New Radicals on there, not knowing I'd gone up to the counter to ask for something else. That was the first time I'd heard that name and maybe a couple of weeks later I heard this. I thought maybe it would have been good to have listened to them at that listening post as I quite like it. I still like it today but still haven't heard any other New Radicals tunes, given that after their breakup frontman Gregg Alexander started writing rubbish for Ronan Keating and Sophie Ellis Bextor amongst others maybe it's better that way.
Verdict - Good
4. Britney Spears - Baby One More Time
When I first heard this I thought it was alright. Then I heard it so many times that made me hate it. 20 years later I see it as one of these songs that's a bit too American High School for my liking, even though it was written by a Swedish bloke.
Verdict - Rubbish
3. Billie Piper - Honey To The Bee (New)
This made me cringe at the time and 20 years later it still does, though until now I don't think I've heard it for 20 years, I certainly wasn't listening to the Chris Moyles show when he campaigned to get this back into the charts in 2007. What was more depressing though is that at the time I had hopes of being a successful musician in the future but she was now 4 singles into her career and she's younger than me, a sign I may have missed the boat already.
Verdict - Rubbish
2. The Cartoons - Witch Doctor (New)
First there was Whigfield, then there was Aqua, then came The Cartoons to continue the cheesy Europop from Denmark in the charts. I guess they're probably more blatant that it's supposed to be cheesy crap, but that still makes it crap.
Verdict - Rubbish
1. Mr Oizo - Flat Beat (New)
Some dismissed this as being a novelty record at the time thanks to Flat Eric, the puppet who appeared on the Levi's adverts containing this tune. However, if you simply listen to the tune it's not cheesy at all. Mr Oizo is also a successful French House DJ on Ed Banger Records.
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 8.5/20, or 42.5%, making it the worst week I've reviewed so far.
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