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. 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
19. Tina Turner - When The Heartache Is Over
After giving Cher a new lease of life with "Believe" just over a year earlier, producers Brian Rawling and Mark Taylor turned their attentions to a nearly 60 year old Tina Turner by producing this Dance record. On the song writing team was John Reid of Nightcrawlers fame alongside Graham Stack. I guess it worked seeing as it reached the Top 10, but I can't say I'm a fan of it.
Verdict - Rubbish
18. 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
17. Phil Collins - You'll Be In My Heart (New)
This completely passed me by, I don't think I heard this until maybe 2010. I own Phil Collins "Hits" album as well, but it was released a year prior to this therefore it doesn't feature. I can live with that though, it's an alright song but not one of his better ones.
Verdict - OK
16. Steps - After The Love Has Gone
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
15. Dreem Teem Vs Neneh Cherry - Buddy X 99 (New)
UK Garage seemed to get really big commercially in the year 2000 and arguably this is where it all began. Obviously we'd had garage records in the Top 40 prior to this but these were few and far between in the year to date. The Dreem Teem were big names in the UK Garage scene playing many of the big events but at the start of 2000 they got their own Radio 1 show. This is a garage mix of the Neneh Cherry tune of the same title.
Verdict - Good
14. Destiny's Child - Bug A Boo
Written by Kandi Burruss and Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, the same people who wrote "Bills Bills Bills". My assessment of "Bills Bills Bills" was that Beyoncé and her irritating voice can make any song sound crap. She's not as irritating on this record, but that doesn't mean I like it.
Verdict - Rubbish
13. 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
12. Basement Jaxx - Jump 'N' Shout (New)
Basement Jaxx have had some great records, but the experimental nature of their music means that some of their tunes are questionable. This is one of them. I wouldn't say I dislike it, but it's not one I particularly like either.
Verdict - OK
11. ATB - Don't Stop
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
10. Backstreet Boys - Larger Than Life
On the song writing credits for this record is band member Brian Littrell. As the story goes, he took this song to Swedish producers Max Martin and Kristian Lundin who would then make alterations and additions to the song. I wonder just how similar the final song is to what Brian had originally wrote.
Verdict - Rubbish
9. Diana Ross - Not Over You Yet (New)
Yet another older artist making a Dance record. But this time the record is actually pretty good. It's easy to dismiss this as an old artist trying to cash in on the modern sound when people just want to hear the old stuff. But if you just listen to the record it sounds like a proper Dance record, it's not cheesy, there isn't too much emphasis on the vocals, it's how a Dance record should sound.
Verdict - Good
8. 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
7. 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
6. 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
5. Mariah Carey - Heartbreaker (New)
After spending the majority of the decade singing depressing ballads, here's Mariah Carey going all gangsta. Ok not quite, but it's a record for the Rap and R&B crowd and features a rap from Jay-Z. It's quite fitting that she has perhaps the shittest rapper of all time feature on this shit record.
Verdict - Rubbish
4. Westlife - Flying Without Wings
This is probably the best known Westlife song. It was written by the same people who wrote their first number one "Swear It Again". The funny thing was that it wasn't originally going to be a Westlife song, it was going to be the debut solo record for Boyzone member Stephen Gately. Given most people don't remember Stephen Gately even having a solo career, I wonder if he'd have been more successful if this song was given to him instead as originally intended. As far as Westlife songs go, this is probably one of the better ones but it's still shit.
Verdict - Rubbish
3. 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
2. R Kelly - If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time
The 7th Top 40 single from his "R" album, and still not the last. This is one of those records that charted much later than I remember it charting, but given it's on an album that I own and the first single from that album came out in early 1997 it's not that surprising. Good tune though.
Verdict - Good
1. Five - Keep On Movin' (New)
On hearing this record for the first time I was expecting it to open with a rap from J. Instead it opens with singing from someone I'd never noticed being in the group before. It was band member Sean who'd pretty much been in the background up until now. J does still get the lions share of the vocals though, with his vocals being somewhere in between singing and rapping in this tune. It was the first Five record to get to number one and I've got to say I like it.
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 5.5/20, or 27.5%. Five have brought the score over 5.
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