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:
20. The New Radicals - You Get What You Give
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
19. Garbage - You Look So Fine (New)
I was surprised to read that Garbage were still on just their second album by this point, though given they've only managed a further 4 albums in the 20 years since it's fair to say they're not exactly prolific in that respect. This was the final single from that album, it's not bad.
Verdict - OK
18. Sugar Ray - Every Morning
I specifically remember this record and "You Get What You Give" by the New Radicals being out at the same sort of time and like to listen to them back to back. I also own the "14:59" album which features this song as well as another Sugar Ray album. Needless to say I like it.
Verdict - Good
17. Phats And Small - Turn Around
By the time this tune charted I'd heard it a lot and I remember it appearing on Dave Pearce's Dance Anthems on Radio 1 pretty much every week. I also remember Phats & Small presenting the show themselves one week when Dave Pearce was on holiday. Despite it being overplayed though I have good memories of this tune, despite the lyrical content of someone being down it's a feel good Dance record. Funnily enough "Feel Good" was the name of their next hit.
Verdict - Good
16. 1999 Manchester United Squad - Lift It High (All About Belief)
Football songs are rarely any good so I didn't really expect much after just listening to it for the first time ever (I think). Let's just say I didn't make it to the end of the song.
Verdict - Rubbish
15. Hepburn - I Quit
One memory I have of this song is a work colleague at the time singing this on his last day. I just find the song irritating though.
Verdict - Rubbish
14. DJ Sakin And Friends - Nomansland (David's Song) (New)
It's funny how Happy Hardcore was having a hard time in 1999 and Trance was thriving, yet Happy Hardcore had become more Trancey and some of the Trance records were pretty much slower Happy Hardcore records. This is a great example, speed it up a little and it's Happy Hardcore.
Verdict - Good
13. Shed Seven - Disco Down (New)
Several music acts were putting elements of Dance Music into their records in 1999, presumably because of the popularity of Dance Music at the time. This was Shed Seven's attempt, to be fair it's probably better than their other records but it's still crap.
Verdict - Rubbish
12. TLC - No Scrubs
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
11. Supergrass - Pumping On Your Stereo (New)
When I first heard this I was surprised to see Supergrass were still going. The world had moved on but Supergrass were living like it was still 1995, not that I thought Supergrass were any good in 1995.
Verdict - Rubbish
10. Geri Halliwell - Look At Me
A year after leaving the Spice Girls, Geri Halliwell released her first solo record. I can't decide if this is better or worse than your average Spice Girls record but what I do know is it's bloody awful.
Verdict - Rubbish
9. Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way
The only UK number one for American boy band Backstreet Boys, written by a couple of blokes from Sweden, one of whom was the writer of "Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears. I guess it's not too bad.
Verdict - OK
8. Precious - Say It Again
The Eurovision entry for the UK in 1999 by a group that contained future Atomic Kitten member Jenny Frost. I think it's better than any Atomic Kitten song I've ever heard, but that doesn't make it any good.
Verdict - Rubbish
7. Boyzone - You Needed Me
The penultimate Top 40 hit for Boyzone before going on hiatus and their final number one. In true Boyzone style it's a poor cover of an old song. I don't particularly like the original and this version is even worse.
Verdict - Rubbish
6. Chicane ft Maire Brennan - Saltwater (New)
This was about halfway through the Trance CD on "Kiss in Ibiza 99". It also brings back memories of watching a Club@Vision" Ibiza special where Chicane was doing a live p.a. at Privilege and me wishing I was there. Probably my favourite Chicane single.
Verdict - Good
5. Sixpence None The Richer - Kiss Me
The other week I was in the pub and this song came on. Someone asked me what year it was from and I said 1999, but they weren't convinced. Well here's confirmation, although it does appear on their self titled 1997 album. It's alright, nothing special.
Verdict - OK
4. Jamiroquai - Canned Heat (New)
I was always sat on the fence with Jamiroquai in the 90s. I didn't know whether I should like them or not, but when this came out I couldn't help but like it. This is probably my favourite Jamiroquai single and since then I've bought every Jamiroquai album of the 90s.
Verdict - Good
3. Shania Twain - That Don't Impress Me Much
The song title pretty much sums up how I feel about this song. This was the fourth Top 40 hit from her Country/Pop crossover album "Come On Over". The first three singles didn't really sound Country at all to me, but this sums up everything bad about Country Pop.
Verdict - Rubbish
2. Wiseguys - Ooh La La (New)
This first came out in 1998 and sounds like it very much belongs in 1998, the year of Big Beat. However it failed to reach the Top 40, but charted in 1999 after featuring on the Budweiser advert. I hated it at the time but I'm more tolerant towards it these days.
Verdict - OK
1. Shanks And Bigfoot - Sweet Like Chocolate (New)
During the mid to late 90s it was all about House and Garage, but then in 1999 it was all about House and Trance. The "Kiss in Ibiza 99" compilation had a House CD and a Trance CD, the House CD contained the Garage tune "Straight From the Heart" by Doolally. That's despite the fact Doolally, who were now known as Shanks & Bigfoot, had a number one Garage record with "Sweet Like Chocolate". I like UK Garage and a like a lot of the commercial stuff, but this ones a bit too cheesy for my liking, but I guess it's 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 9.5/20, or 47.5%. A slight improvement on last week.
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