Here's my first weekly look at the Top 30 from 30 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Sunday.
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 30 from this week in 1990 with my verdict on each record:
A cover of the song made famous by The Temptations, which itself was a cover of a song originally by The Undisputed Truth. This is actually pretty good for a cover, they've put their own mark on it and brought it into the 90s. The problem is that it's always been one of my least favourite Temptations tracks, so because of that it was always going to suffer no matter how well it's done.
Verdict - OK
This was the only hit for Massivo ft Tracy. I've no idea who Tracy is, but Massivo would return to the Top 40 in 1995 as Gems For Jem. They were Darren Pearce and Steve Mac. Yes that Steve Mac, the man who wrote most of Westlife's hits plus many more pop hits of the modern era. This is where it all began for him when he was just 18 years old. It's a cover of the Minnie Ripperton song and much like the Maureen record I reviewed recently, this has a nice 90s vibe to it. Just a shame Steve Mac ended the decade writing such drivel, but then I guess he's made much more money out of that than he did this.
Verdict - Good
Believe it or not, this record was released twice in the 80s and failed to make the Top 40 on both occasions. It was 3rd time lucky when it was released again in 1990 to promote their greatest hits. It was a bit of a slow burner for me too, it took a No Doubt cover in 2003 for me to realise what a great record it is.
Verdict - Good
Although this song has audio only videos with more views on YouTube, this official video only has 11 views in 3 years at the time of posting. I guess Magnum aren't exactly a household name. I've heard of them but can't say I know much about them. It was their 4th and final Top 40 hit. I had them down as an 80s band who quickly went out of fashion in the 90s, but then discovered they were formed in 1972. Anyway it's a bit of a nothing song.
Verdict - Rubbish
The final single from the "Wild" album. Their previous single "Blue Savannah" was always going to be tough to follow up, whilst this is nowhere near as good it's still a decent record. Instead of its proper title though I think of this as being "From Moscow To Mars". I think that would have been a better title actually.
Verdict - Good
The story of Bob Geldof's career is that he was the singer of the Boomtown Rats, then came Live Aid etc, then he attempted a solo career that never really got anywhere. My music memories begin when he had a solo career that never really got anywhere and remember him having lots of songs. However, it turns out he only had 2 Top 40 hits, of which this is the second, and the first came before my music memories. Basically he had lots of songs that I heard, but only this made the Top 40. A lot of people won't listen to Bob Geldof simply because he's Bob Geldof, and I understand that as I find myself reluctant to like anything he's done, though his family annoy me more than the man himself. Nevertheless it's pretty easy to say this song is shit, it's not much of a song really, more of a drunken open mike night.
Verdict - Rubbish
The main criticism a lot of metal fans have about the hair metal bands is their tendency to do ballads which often become their biggest hits. I quite like a lot of these ballads myself though, on that basis it's doing it's job of appealing to a wider audience. However, a lot of the non ballad songs these bands do have very little substance to them, they just sound album filler material and this is one of them.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember learning that "All The Young Dudes" was from the early 70s and being somewhat surprised, I could have sworn it was a new song when I was a kid. Maybe that was because Bruce Dickinson did a cover and that was what I was thinking of. I doesn't sound too different from the original, but it somehow suits Bruce Dickinson, could be because I heard his version first, but it doesn't really matter.
Verdict - Good
I remember seeing this on Top of the Pops and there were 2 things that confused me. First I was expecting with a name like that it would be a man singing, not realising Stevie can also be a woman's name, but more to the point not realising the singer was Melody Washington and that Stevie V was in the background. The second thing was seeing just one singer, but hearing multiple voices on the track, but of course being Top of the Pops they were miming. I don't mind this record, but it's never been one I've been particularly fond of.
Verdict - OK
How the mighty fall, just over a year after Jason Donovan went straight in at number one with "Sealed With A Kiss" beating off competition from Cliff Richard with his 100th single, he fails to reach the Top 10 with this single and can't even beat off competition from Craig McLachlan.
Verdict - Rubbish
That's right, Yazz had other records apart from "The Only Way Is Up". Her Top 40 career began as vocalist on "Doctorin the House" by Coldcut, the producers of "The Only Way Is Up". The next 3 hits that followed "The Only Way Is Up" were produced by The Beatmasters, Mark Brydon (Moloko) and Youth respectively. This next single was supposed to be the first from her 2nd album which never got released. It didn't have the big name producers her previous hits had, but despite this single leading to her being dropped from her record label it actually isn't bad.
Verdict - OK
Who charted the highest with "Venus"? Was it Shocking Blue or Bananarama? Well actually it was neither, it was Don Pablo's Animals who reached 4 whereas Shocking Blue and Bananarama both reached 8. This is the best version in my opinion, guess the lack of vocals helps. I remember this coming out around the same time I learned about the city of Venice, when telling someone else about it, they said don't you mean Venus? I wasn't sure, I didn't know planets yet.
Verdict - Good
Bobby Brown left New Edition in 1986, but his first solo album didn't produce any UK Top 40 hits. His second album looked to be doing the same in 1988 with "Don't Be Cruel" failing to reach the Top 40 and "My Prerogative" climbing to 51 and sliding down the charts in the first week of 1989. But then it started to climb again, eventually to 6 and gave Bobby Brown his first UK Top 40 hit. A further 5 Top 40 singles would follow for him that year. Towards the end of the year a remix album called "Dance!....Ya Know It!" was released and featured all 6 singles. This mega-mix was released to promote the album and featured 4 of the singles, "On Our Own", "Don't Be Cruel", "Every Little Step" and "My Prerogative". I loved Bobby Browns music back in 1989, I was too young to know about him being a bad boy or any of that, to me he was a cool dude. All 6 singles except "My Prerogative" were written by Babyface which is surely a factor in why this was the golden era of Bobby Browns solo career. I like all 4 tunes in the mega-mix, therefore I like the mega-mix.
Verdict - Good
A cover of the Sister Sledge song which is better than the original in my opinion. If you want to do a cover, this is how to do it. A nice smooth 90s vibe with a short rap thrown in, this is a seriously good record.
Verdict - Good
The 2nd Top 40 hit for Adamski and the first for Seal, though he wasn't credited and many thought he was Adamski at the time. It's the tune Adamski is best known for, but he has done much better tunes in my opinion, but I do still like this one.
Verdict - Good
When it comes to crap bands of the 90s, The Charlatans are up there. I just find their music mind numbingly boring. Looking at the list of their 22 Top 40 hits, I remember hardly any of them, that's how boring they were. They weren't always that bad though, this their debut Top 40 hit is actually alright.
Verdict - OK
A while ago there was a bonus question on Popmaster where the clip was "You've Got A Friend" by Big Fun & Sonia. What confused me about it though was that it was a clip of them singing the Carole King song of the same name. I remembered this song and remembered it wasn't a Carole King cover. Turns out they did record the Carole King song and were going to release it as a charity single for Childline, but then Stock Aitken & Waterman decided to write a song with the same name and use that instead. This would be the last we'd hear of Big Fun, but Sonia wasn't finished yet. Oh yes, and unsurprisingly the song is shit.
Verdict - Rubbish
Love it or hate it, you can't deny the impact this record has had on the world. Whenever someone shouts "stop", many people no doubt at least think "hammer time". I did like this at the time, but since then it's been played to death, plus I've gone through a period of being really into rap music of a more controversial nature and resenting more party rap music like this. On that basis it gets an ok.
Verdict - OK
We're not even half way through the year yet and here are New Kids On The Block with their 4th hit of the year, and 5th to appear in these reviews given "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" was still in the Top 40 at the start of the year. This is the first single to be taken off the album of the same name, but it's not their 2nd album, it's their 4th. Their 1st album came long before they were known over here, their 2nd was the one with all the prior hits on it, and their 3rd was a Christmas album. This song was originally recorded by The Superiors, another Maurice Starr group. I guess it's not bad.
Verdict - OK
When I went to see 808 State in concert, one thing I praised the concert for was the lack of vocalists. However, had MC Tunes appeared to do this tune I wouldn't have objected. This is the way dance and rap crossover music should be done, not the crap Pitbull and co have been doing in recent years.
Verdict - Good
The main vocal part of this record has already featured in the Top 30 in 1990, being taken from "Welcome to the Terrordrome" by Public Enemy. Lots of other samples in this record too, which was the only Top 40 hit for Chad Jackson. It sums up how sampling should be done.
Verdict - Good
My biggest memory of this record, and I'm sure many others biggest memory too, is the alternative lyrics of "Betty Boo just doing a poo". It was the debut solo effort of Betty Boo, and what else can I say apart from this is dreadful.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was an American number one and I recall hearing this was just the second reggae number one after "Red Red Wine" by UB40. The thing is though, whilst Maxi Priest is predominantly as reggae singer, this isn't really a reggae song. Still, whatever genre it's supposed to be, I like it.
Verdict - Good
There was no escaping Craig McLachlan in 1990, first you'd see him in Neighbours, then you'd see him in Home and Away, then he'd be on Top of the Pops singing this. I always thought singing about building a house next door was ridiculous, unless Mona lived out in the middle of nowhere it's most likely there would already be a house next door to her. What I didn't realise at the time was that it's a cover. It's originally by Bo Diddley and it's a song covered by the Rolling Stones on their first album. Still, it's a pretty dreadful song.
Verdict - Rubbish
This is one of the songs I remember hearing on a daily basis thanks to the person giving me a lift to school playing Now 18 every day. It was the Top 40 debut for Wilson Phillips, 2 of whom are Brian Wilsons daughters and the other is John and Michelle Phillips daughter, hence the name. It's also the 2nd Top 40 hit of 1990 called "Hold On" and entered the Top 40 whilst the first song was still in it. It quite an uplifting song with a dark subject matter, not that I paid attention to that or really knew what it was about at the time. I do remember the reference to being locked in chains though. Anyway despite getting sick of this record at the time, I do quite like it.
Verdict - Good
After Snap! had a number one with "The Power" they didn't disappear until "Rhythm Is A Dancer" in 1992, they had hits in-between. I remember this coming out at the time, but for some reason I don't remember the sound of a squeaky child's toy appearing throughout the tune. I can't help but notice it's presence now and it's bloody irritating which means no matter how good the rest of the music might be, it's unlistenable. As it happens the rest of the music isn't up to much either.
Verdict - Rubbish
The official song for the England football team at the 1990 World Cup. It is of course New Order with their name temporarily changed for the occasion and would be their only number one record. It's best known though for the John Barnes rap, which is quite frankly terrible, but then what do you expect from a footballer. Despite that though, its a great record. Best football song ever written in my opinion, but then that's not saying much.
Verdict - Good
The 2nd Top 40 hit for Roxette, which came over a year after their first, though they tried and failed to reach the Top 40 with a couple of single in between. Their first hit "The Look" was mainly sang by Per Gessle, but in this one Marie Fredriksson takes the lead with just the occasional backing vocals from Per. This was another song I used to hear on a daily basis thanks to the person giving me a lift to school playing Now 18 every day. I like a bit of Roxette though.
Verdict - Good
A record that charted 18 years after it was recorded thanks to it being used for the BBCs coverage of the World Cup. At the time I didn't know what an opera was, I just saw it as the genre of music where they sing it funny. I can't say I'm a fan of opera, but I guess thanks in part to my childhood memories of this song and watching the World Cup I thought this is a song I quite like. Listening to it now though, I'm not actually sure if I've listened to it from beginning to end before. Basically if you want to hear the good bit then just listen to the last 30 seconds. The good bit is enough to make this song good though, in the same way I like "Layla" but always stop listening when the outro comes in.
Verdict - Good
I once went to a quiz on holiday where we were asked what Elton Johns first number one was. I knew this was his first solo number one, but said "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" because he never said solo, but the official answer was "Sacrifice", whether he'd have taken "Healing Hands" as an answer, who knows. Anyway enough of crap quizmasters, what about the songs? Both were released as separate singles in 1989 and both failed to reach the Top 40, but the double a-side made number one. This was actually the record that taught me what a double a-side was. The most played of the two was "Sacrifice" and I always quite liked that record. I got a bit confused when one week on Top of the Pops when they played "Healing Hands" instead, but that's how I learned about double a-sides. Not too keen on "Healing Hands" though to be honest.
Verdict - Good / Rubbish
If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 20.5/30, or 65%. Back to the same standard as 2 weeks ago.
