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. Melanie G - Word Up
Melanie G is Mel B from the Spice Girls who had changed her surname after getting married. A Spice Girl covering an 80s song, sounds bloody awful, and it is.
Verdict - Rubbish
19. A1 - Be The First To Believe
Here we have the debut hit from boy band A1. There seemed to be a lot of boy bands establishing themselves at the time it was difficult to remember who was who. This was memorable though as the chorus seemed to rip off "Cuddly Toy" by Roachford.
Verdict - Rubbish
18. Blur - Coffee And TV
This is perhaps the last Blur single that's remembered by the masses. Amazingly though it never made the Top 10. After jointly providing lead vocals with Damon Albarn on "Tender", guitarist Graham Coxon was the lead vocalist on this track. Not my cup of tea though, or should that be cup of coffee?
Verdict - Rubbish
17. Gouryella - Gouryella
My first impression of this tune was that it sounds a lot like "Out of the Blue" by System F. Later on I discovered there's a good reason for that, Gouryella and System F are both the same person, Ferry Corsten. I would say I prefer "Out of the Blue" but I still like this one.
Verdict - Good
16. Gary Barlow - Stronger (New)
When people talked about how Gary Barlow's solo career was a flop and Robbie Williams went onto bigger and better things, I thought hang on a minute he had two number ones and I remember "Open Road" being quite big as well, he just didn't do anything after that. Well actually he came back with a second album in 1999 of which this was the lead single. I don't remember this at all, but then it's not very memorable.
Verdict - Rubbish
15. Adam Rickitt - I Breathe Again
When a soap actor starts a music career you can pretty much guarantee the music will be dreadful. When Coronation Street actor Adam Rickitt released this his debut single it was as expected.
Verdict - Rubbish
14. Beverley Knight - Greatest Day (New)
It's ok, nothing special. Can't think of anything else to say.
Verdict - OK
13. Semisonic - Secret Smile
I associate this record with a day out in Lincoln in 1999, I can't remember if I heard it on a listening post in a record shop or heard it being played out loud in a record shop. Quite why I remember this song as opposed to anything else I heard that day I don't know because I've never liked it. I do also remember buying "Illumina" by Alisha's Attic and a Happy Hardcore compilation on the same day though.
Verdict - Rubbish
12. Lolly - Viva La Radio
I could have sworn the debut hit from Lolly was her cover of "Mickey" but it wasn't, it was this. I do specifically remember "Mickey" being later on in the year, which I'll come onto when we reach that song, but I always had this down as the follow up. Anyway, cheesy Europop by a singer from Birmingham who went on to become a kids TV presenter.
Verdict - Rubbish
11. Manic Street Preachers - Tsunami (New)
With a name like that you expect it to have a lot more oomph that it does. Based on previous Manic Street Preachers records you think the mellow verse is just temporary and you'll get a heavy chorus, but it just never comes leaving you bitterly disappointed.
Verdict - Rubbish
10. Madonna - Beautiful Stranger
As mentioned previously, I went through a period of my life where I wouldn't listen to anything that wasn't Rave but by this period I'd opened myself up to all sorts of different styles of music. Despite this there were still certain artists I'd be reluctant to like songs of, and Madonna was one of those. But even at the time I had to admit this tune is brilliant. I guess the involvement of William Orbit helped a bit. The intro sounds vaguely similar to "Light My Fire" by the Doors, a band I really got into later on that year. Maybe this tune helped with that.
Verdict - Good
9. 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
8. Britney Spears - Sometimes
A teenage love ballad sung from a teenage girls perspective, written by a 36 year old bloke from Sweden.
Verdict - OK
7. Jennifer Lopez - If You Had My Love
The debut hit for Jennifer Lopez. There was a lot of talk at the time about whether she should be doing music having made her name as an actress. Given the general quality of music coming from those in the acting profession that's understandable, but this actually isn't bad. When a radio show was asking for listeners opinions on Jennifer Lopez doing music, one quoted the Whitney Houston song "It's Not Right But It's Okay". Ironically both the Whitney Houston song and this song were written by Rodney Jerkins and LaShawn Daniels.
Verdict - OK
6. S Club 7 - Bring It All Back
The debut hit for S Club 7 and the number one question I had was does there really need to be 7 people singing it? I thought that 4 or 5 "singers" in a pop group was a bit excessive, but 7? Predictably for a manufactured pop group who had their own kids TV show it was shit.
Verdict - Rubbish
5. Vengaboys - Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!
The night before this charted at number one, I was in a bar where I heard this for the first time and someone informed me it was the new Vengaboys song. Given the history of cheesy euro acts releasing the record every knows them for, followed by a record that sounds the same, followed by fading into obscurity, I assumed the Vengaboys would do the same. Instead they had their first number one, I felt the same as I did when I realised the Spice Girls weren't going to be a one hit wonder.
Verdict - Rubbish
4. Whitney Houston - My Love Is Your Love
This Wyclef Jean penned song is actually quite clever. It's impossible to listen to this without thinking about "No Woman No Cry" by Bob Marley. Yet when you try and sing "No Woman No Cry" along with this in your head you find these sudden changes that stop it from being a blatant rip off, even though it kind of is. It's hard to look past the fact it's not as good as the song that inspires it, but then if that song didn't exist I wouldn't hesitate to call it good.
Verdict - Good
3. Will Smith ft Dru Hill - Wild Wild West
I like Dru Hill, I've seen them in concert. I therefore find it a bit of a shame that their biggest UK hit was a collaboration with Will Smith. This was taken from a film of the same name that Will Smith was in. I once read an article about rappers who went on to act in films. On Will Smith, they said "he became so successful at acting in films that he stopped rapping, at least that's what we wish he did". That pretty much sums this up.
Verdict - Rubbish
2. ATB - 9PM (Till I Come)
This was so overplayed at the time I couldn't stand it. Everywhere you'd go someone would be singing that riff. However once it stopped being played all the time and I'd listen to it on occasion as the opening track on the Trance CD on "Kiss in Ibiza 99" I realised that I actually like it.
Verdict - Good
1. Ricky Martin - Livin' La Vida Loca (New)
This wasn't the debut hit for Ricky Martin, but I'd say it's the song that made a name for himself. His previous 2 singles were basically that crappy Spanish song you hear on holiday in Spain that makes it's way into the UK Top 40. This ones no different in that respect, except you know it's Ricky Martin from America.
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 5.5/20, or 27.5%. The worst week so far, but with just 4 new entries on the back of the previous worst week so far it was always doomed.
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