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. Vengaboys - We're Going To Ibiza!
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
19. Gabrielle - Sunshine
One thing I remember about the year 2000 in music was the big comeback of Gabrielle, but that comeback came in late 1999 with this. I probably associate it more with the year 2000 because her following single "Rise" made number one in 2000. This was the lead single off the same album, it's alright but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to.
Verdict - OK
18. Eurythmics - I Saved The World Today
The 90s began with the Eurythmics splitting up and ended with them getting back together. My thoughts on this record at the time was that it didn't sound at all like 80s Eurythmics, but now I know they experimented in the 80s too, they didn't always stick to the same formula. Once you get over the disappointment of the lack of synthesizers though it's quite a good record.
Verdict - Good
17. Bob Marley Vs Funkstar De Luxe - Sun Is Shining
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
16. Moby - Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad (New)
Believe it or not, this was the 4th single from the "Play" album. The first 3 singles only charted in the 30s, but I'd say this was the one where people started to pay attention to Moby, including myself. I was already familiar with Moby from when he did "Go" in 1991 and some Happy Hardcore tunes in the mid-90s, but "Play" was the first time I actually owned something by Moby. As you may have guess then, I like it.
Verdict - Good
15. Lou Bega - Mambo No 5 (A Little Bit Of...)
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
14. S Club 7 - S Club Party
The Swedes were having a successful year as songwriters in the charts in 1999, but now was the turn of the Norwegians. Specifically we are talking about Stargate who are still having hits as songwriters today. This was their first major hit and it was the 2nd single for S Club 7. As it's basically introducing the band I would have thought it would be more appropriate for them to have it as their first single, or even better for them to not have it as a single at all.
Verdict - Rubbish
13. 911 - Wonderland (New)
The final single from 911, but unlike their more recent hits at the time, this wasn't a cover. Instead they release something that sounds like they've gone back to 1996. As a result, they fail to reach the Top 10 for the first time since 1996. Even the Greatest Hits album which followed a couple of weeks later only managed to reach number 40 in the album charts. It's a quite a fall when you consider they started the year with their first number one.
Verdict - Rubbish
12. Britney Spears - (You Drive Me) Crazy
After debuting with a song written by a Swedish bloke and following up with a song written by another Swedish bloke, the 3rd single for Britney Spears was written by those 2 Swedish blokes along with another 2 Swedish blokes. The result is something that sounds very American, and crap.
Verdict - Rubbish
11. Jordan Knight - Give It To You
It had been 5 years since New Kids on the Block called it a day, but this was the only time we'd see any of it's members have a solo Top 40 hit. Further to that, it had been 8 years since we'd last seen New Kids on the Block in the Top 10. Despite this, Jordan Knight was still only 29. It was written by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis alongside a then unknown Robin Thicke. On paper it sounds like it should be stuck in the 80s given the artist, writers and freestyle chorus, but somehow it doesn't sound out of place in 1999.
Verdict - OK
10. Shania Twain - Man! I Feel Like A Woman!
Oh dear, this is just dreadful. I guess she was successful with the equally dreadful "That Don't Impress Me Much" so thought more of the same.
Verdict - Rubbish
9. Macy Gray - I Try
When I first heard this I imagined the singer to be in her 50s. She actually is now, but at the time she was only 32. I thought it was alright initially but then it quickly got irritating. On paper it shouldn't be a bad song, it's original, it's soulful and it certainly isn't boring but for some reason it just bugs me.
Verdict - Rubbish
8. B*Witched - Jesse Hold On
The first B*Witched record not to top the charts (excluding collaborations). About time if you ask me.
Verdict - Rubbish
7. The Honeyz - Never Let You Down (New)
It's the first Honeyz single to feature Mariama who replaced Heavenli in the group. One thing I'll always remember about this song was if me and my housemate were having a conversation when this was playing, we'd always shut up during the breakdown. The harmonising with the vocals in that part is second to none. Love this tune.
Verdict - Good
6. Buffalo Tom - Going Underground / Liam Gallagher And Steve Craddock - Carnation (New)
There's something I never thought about when I decided to start doing these posts, the double a-side. It's quite amazing it's taken this long for the first of those to appear. The way I'll deal with these is I'll give a verdict on both songs and if either are good or ok then they'll add 1 or half a point to the score, if both are good it will still be just 1 point and if both are ok it will still be half a point. Anyway, what we have here are 2 poor covers of Jam records.
Verdict - Rubbish / Rubbish
5. Steps - After The Love Has Gone (New)
With this being Steps you would expect it to be a cover of the Earth Wind and Fire song, but it isn't. Instead it's more of the usual poundland Abba shite they often do.
Verdict - Rubbish
4. Eiffel 65 - Blue (Da Ba Dee)
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
3. ATB - Don't Stop (New)
You hit the big time debuting at number one with arguably the biggest Dance record of the summer, how do you follow that up? Well what ATB did was make a record that more or less sounds the same. He knows it too and has since disowned the record for that very reason. It's not as good as "9pm (Till I Come)" and comparisons will be made, but had "9pm (Till I Come)" not been made and I was hearing this would I like it? I would say probably not, it just seems to lack any substance.
Verdict - Rubbish
2. Ann Lee - 2 Times
This is very cheesy. It was the debut hit for Ann Lee who had previously had some success as a songwriter. I always imagined this to be sung by a teenager but turns out Ann Lee was 31 when this was released. Obviously she had learned the formula for selling records. I don't mind this record though.
Verdict - OK
1. Christina Aguilera - Genie In A Bottle
The debut hit for Christina Aguilera. Like with many pop songs by young American artists at the time, this is very American high school sounding, but based on what we've learned about many of these songs, you'd expect it to be written by a Swedish bloke. But not this one, 2 of it's 3 writers are actually American, the other coming from New Zealand. Still, not a record I can say I like.
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%. Slight improvement on last week thanks to Moby and the Honeyz.
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