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. Jamiroquai - King For A Day (New)
This doesn't sound like your typical Jamiroquai record. Whilst it's clearly Jay Kay singing on it, it doesn't have that Jamiroquai funk vibe you normally get. When you hear what this song is about though, it becomes more clear. It was written about their former bass player who had left the band during the recording of the "Synkronized" album, and after finding that out I noticed the lack of bass in there. That said, it's still a decent record.
Verdict - Good
19. Whitney Houston - I Learned From The Best (New)
After going more R&B with her hits in the late 90s, this one sounds more like Whitney Houstons earlier music. It was written by Diane Warren who has written many pop songs. To be honest I find this one a bit boring.
Verdict - Rubbish
18. The Corrs - Radio (New)
I have no recollection of this record coming out. I don't know how this passed me by though, I remember The Corrs being popular and could recall their early singles in chronological order except for this one. It's not the most memorable one though, it's not bad but nothing to write home about.
Verdict - OK
17. Will Smith - Will 2K
This was the 8th Top 40 hit for Will Smith (excluding his Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince hits) and his chart career to date was quite remarkable, 7 of his 8 hits had made the Top 3. This one heavily sampled "Rock the Casbah" and featured vocals from K-Ci of Jodeci but despite this it was still the usual crap you got from Will Smith.
Verdict - Rubbish
16. Five - Keep On Movin'
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
15. Bob Marley ft Lauryn Hill - Turn Your Lights Down Low (New)
It seems like 1999 was the year for Bob Marley remixes. Having had a hit with "Sun is Shining" with Funkstar De Luxe in the summer, now was the turn of Lauryn Hill to feature on the reworking of this record. It was from the album "Chant Down Babylon" which was an album of modern artists doing Bob Marley songs. I don't think this one really works though, but I don't mind it.
Verdict - OK
14. Robbie Williams - She's The One / It's Only Us
"She's the One" is one of the best known Robbie Williams songs, but what isn't that well known is that this is a cover. The original was by World Party the 2 versions aren't very different at all. "It's Only Us" was written by Robbie Williams himself and I don't think is anywhere near as well known. I quite like both songs.
Verdict - Good / Good
13. Lolly - Big Boys Don't Cry / Rockin' Robin
The 3rd Top 40 hit for Lolly. I'd say the best known of this double a-side is her cover of "Rockin Robin" which is very cheesy as you'd expect. The other one "Big Boys Don't Cry" goes down the ballad route, but somehow still manages to sound cheesy.
Verdict - Rubbish / Rubbish
12. Celine Dion - That's The Way It Is (New)
What's this, an uplifting Celine Dion song? Actually this wasn't the first, she had another uplifting one earlier in the year with "Treat Her Like A Lady" which didn't make the Top 20. It was written by Max Martin and co, the Swedish songwriters responsible for shit loads of hits in 1999. It seems the Celine Dion was now trying to be cool, I don't think it worked.
Verdict - Rubbish
11. 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
10. Atomic Kitten - Right Now (New)
Here's where it all began for Atomic Kitten. After calling it a day with OMD, Andy McCluskey put together Atomic Kitten and wrote several of their songs including this. Music aside though, the worst thing about this record is that it gave the world Kerry Katona.
Verdict - Rubbish
9. Melanie C - Northern Star
The second single from the album of the same name, this one was written by Rick Nowels who wrote several of Belinda Carlisle's hits. It does sound more of a proper song than any of the Spice Girls hits ever did but that doesn't mean it's any good.
Verdict - Rubbish
8. Martine McCutcheon - Talking In Your Sleep / Love Me
Nearly a year since Tiffany died on Eastenders and I'm sure many people were hoping they'd bring her back from the dead so we didn't have to suffer her dreadful music career. This double a-side is 2 poor covers of 70s hits. It wouldn't be her last Top 40 hit either, this was her 3rd of 5 Top 40 hits and they all made the Top 10. What were people thinking.
Verdict - Rubbish / Rubbish
7. 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
6. Boyzone - Every Day I Love You
Boyzone were arguably the biggest boyband at the start of 1999 but then we saw the start of Ronan's solo career and Westlife came along who were basically a younger Boyzone. You sensed it was only a matter of time before Boyzone would call it a day, and they did after this single. It's basically the same sort of ballad type crap they'd done throughout their career.
Verdict - Rubbish
5. Mario Piu - Communication (Somebody Answer The Phone) (New)
Remember when you used to get a call on your mobile and it would interfere with your stereo making that awful sound when you're trying to listen to your music. Well then Mario Piu thought it would be a good idea to put that irritating sound into a record with a bit of ringing for good measure.
Verdict - Rubbish
4. Alice Deejay - Back In My Life
I loved "Better off Alone" but I found this one to be very average. A lot of the commercial Trance music in 1999 was good but then in the early part of the 21st century it was mostly cheesy vocal rubbish and this is more similar to that, though in it's defence is nowhere near as bad as DJ Sammy and co.
Verdict - OK
3. The Wamdue Project - King Of My Castle
My first impression of this record was that it was far too slow. Then I went down the pub one night and lost count of the number of times I heard it. After that I thought I'd happily never hear this tune again in my life. It's not one that's been played a great deal since to be fair, but I still don't like it.
Verdict - Rubbish
2. Artful Dodger ft Craig David - Re-Rewind The Crowd Say Bo Selecta (New)
I've never got the appeal of the rewind personally. For those who don't know, it's when a DJ mixes in a new record and the MC asks who wants the rewind, and then the DJ stops and starts the record again. So you hear a chunk of the record you just heard again. With that in mind, I wasn't too keen on this when I first heard it. However it started to grow on me and I ended up buying the "It's All About the Stragglers" album. It was also the first Top 40 hit for both Artful Dodger and Craig David and was probably the one that taught the masses what UK Garage was. A common misconception at the time was that Craig David was the Artful Dodger and people wondered where he was when they had their next hit "Movin Too Fast". That question was answered when he had his next hit with "Fill Me In". It reminded me of when people thought Seal was Adamski nearly a decade earlier.
Verdict - Good
1. Cliff Richard - The Millennium Prayer
The Lords Prayer sung in the style of Auld Lang Syne, sounds bloody awful and it is.
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 6.5/20, or 32.5%. I can't say Five are keeping the score above 5 anymore.
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