Top 30 in 1991 Reviewed - Week 22

Here's my 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 1991 with my verdict on each record:

30. Frances Nero - Footsteps Following Me

This is the only Top 40 hit from Ian Levine's Motorcity records. The label had a number of former Motown artists signed to it. Frances Nero was one of these, but she never had a hit when she was on Motown. It's a fantastic record, one of my favourites of the year.

Verdict - Good

29. The Doors - Light My Fire (New)

This failed to make the Top 40 when it was first released back in 1967. Thanks to a film about The Doors being around at the same time, it finally made the Top 40 in 1991. I actually had no idea this was an old record at the time, I guess the Inspiral Carpets using the organ around the same time may have had something to do with it. By the end of the decade I'd gained a lot more knowledge of The Doors and owned all their albums.

Verdict - Good

28. Sonia - Only Fools (Never Fall In Love) (New)

The fist Top 40 hit for Sonia after leaving Stock Aitken & Waterman. Unfortunately this never improved the quality of her music. It sounds like it should be a karaoke version of an older record but it isn't.

Verdict - Rubbish

27. Kraftwerk - The Robots (New)

This was the only Top 40 hit for Kraftwerk in the 90s and was their first since 1983. It was actually originally released in 1978 but was taken of their remix album from 1991. Perhaps doesn't quite fit in with the other dance music that was happening at the time, but then it's thanks in part to records like this that 90s dance music existed in the first place.

Verdict - Good

26. Blur - There's No Other Way

The Top 40 debut for Blur. I think this was one of those songs I knew without knowing who it was, I certainly never made the connection when I first came across them as a band a couple of years later. It very much sounds like a Madchester song by someone that doesn't come from Manchester, just doesn't quite live up to it in my opinion.

Verdict - OK

25. Pop Will Eat Itself - 92 Degrees (New)

I don't specifically remember this record, but years later I wrote a song where the melody of the verse was quite similar to this. No idea whether we'd had the same idea or I'd heard this in 1991 and only remembered that particular melody. Shows its a good tune anyway. For the record I never made a penny out of that song and probably never will.

Verdict - Good

24. T-99 - Anasthasia

I don't know whether it's intentional or not but the intro to this reminds me of "3 Blind Mice". Then it just goes crazy. It perhaps doesn't sound that hardcore now but in 1991 it definitely did. It was the first of 2 Top 40 hits for Belgian T-99 but will be the only one to feature as the follow up "Nocturne" only made 33. Both great records.

Verdict - Good

23. Deacon Blue - Your Swaying Arms

The first person I really noticed having the curtains haircut in the 80s was Ricky Ross from Deacon Blue. Now here we are in the 90s, the decade of the curtains and his curtains have gone. Fortunately he never lost his power when losing his curtains.

Verdict - Good

22. Jason Donovan - RSVP

I think we've reached the point here where Jason Donovan had released basically the same song multiple times. I would be his penultimate Stock Aitken & Waterman hit and his final one to be written by them.

Verdict - Rubbish

21. MC Hammer - Yo!! Sweetness (New)

The 5th and final Top 40 hit from his "Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em" album. Sounds very much like an album filler to me. 

Verdict - Rubbish

20. Simple Minds - See The Lights

You may recall me being pleasantly surprised by the first Simple Minds hit of 1991 that I remember existing without remembering how it goes. No such luck with this one, though it does get more interesting towards the end so I'm giving this one an ok.

Verdict - OK

19. Roxette - Fading Like A Flower

I'd forgot about this one until the Dancing DJs did a version back in 2005. I liked that version but it also made me grow fond of the original. In fact if I had to pick my favourite Roxette hit then this would certainly be a contender.

Verdict - Good

18. The Wonder Stuff - Caught In My Shadow

This is definitely their least known Top 40 hit from 1991, but then their other 2 hits of the year are arguably their 2 best known altogether. A solid effort nonetheless. 

Verdict - Good

17. New Kids On The Block - Call It What You Want

Here's New Kids On The Block going down the dance music route with this C&C Music Factory produced effort. Once again it fails to make the Top 10 over here and fails to chart at all in America.

Verdict - Rubbish

16. T'Pau - Whenever You Need Me

Much like Transvision Vamp a few weeks ago, I have no recollection of T'Pau still existing in the 90s but here they are with their last Top 40 hit. Unlike Transvision Vamp though, I actually quite liked T'Pau in the 80s. It definitely sounds more 80s than 90s, not necessarily a bad thing. Not really got enough to it to like it though. 

Verdict - OK

15. Zucchero ft Paul Young - Senza Una Donna (Without A Woman)

I originally thought they were singing "sense of Madonna". It was the Top 40 debut for Zucchero and the final Top 10 hit for Paul Young. This was originally by Zucchero on his own and all in Italian. I regarded this as music for old people at the time, but now I'm probably as old as these old people were back then so I have no shame in liking it.

Verdict - Good

14. Queen - Headlong

The penultimate Queen hit before the death of Freddie Mercury later on in the year. It just seems a bit of a nothing song to me.

Verdict - Rubbish

13. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Sailing On The Seven Seas

This was the first OMD record to hit the Top 40 for 5 years. By now it was just Andy McCluskey on his own. On paper this should be 80s band trying to squeeze the last bit of life out of them in the 90s, but this was actually their joint highest charting hit. At the same time, because their last hit prior this came before my music memories began, I had no idea they were even around in the 80s at the time. 

Verdict - Good

12. Technotronic - Move That Body (New)

The penultimate original Top 40 hit for Technotronic. It was also the first hit from their 2nd album "Body to Body". Ya Kid K was gone and in came Reggie. It could just as easily have been the same person though. Can't say I'm too keen on this one.

Verdict - Rubbish

11. Dannii Minogue - Success

It seems a bit premature to called your 2nd single "Success". But then I suppose she had already had success as an actress on Home & Away and was confident of following in the footsteps of other Australian soap stars. It didn't successfully make it into the Top 10 though.

Verdict - Rubbish

10. Kylie Minogue - Shocked (New)

This was the last original Stock Aitken & Waterman penned Top 40 hit before Matt Aitken sailed off into the sunset. It also denied Kylies sister Dannii a Top 10 hit with "Success". I do prefer this to the Dannii Minogue record, but that doesn't mean I like it.

Verdict - Rubbish

9. REM - Shiny Happy People

The band themselves hate this record and pretty much disowned it, but I actually like it. Yes it is a bit cheesy and completely not what you'd expect from REM, but the guitar riff, the breakdown going into the guitar riff and to an extent the backing vocals from Kate Pierson really make this record for me.

Verdict - Good

8. Cathy Dennis - Touch Me (All Night Long)

The first solo Top 40 hit for Cathy Dennis. Maybe its my age, but to me there's something a lot more acceptable about pop music from this era than there was at the end of the decade. Cathy Dennis is a prime example of this even though by the end of the decade she was writing songs for the likes of S Club 7. The ironic thing of Cathy Dennis going on to become a successful songwriter for others is that her solo debut was a cover.

Verdict - Good

7. KLF ft The Children Of The Revolution - Last Train To Trancentral

One thing I've realised whilst doing these reviews is that I lot of the music I listened to on YouTube when I first discovered it was from 1991. This was one of those tunes I'd regularly listen to. I've always liked it, but when I was listening on YouTube all those years later I realised just how good this tune really is. If I had to pick my favourite KLF single then this would probably be it.

Verdict - Good

6. Soft Cell ft Marc Almond - Tainted Love

Nearly a decade after topping the charts, "Tainted Love" was remixed and re-entered the charts in 1991. It's also now credited to Soft Cell ft Marc Almond, presumably to illustrate that Marc Almond was no longer part of Soft Cell. It doesn't sound very different from the version that was originally released, but its not a bad record I guess.

Verdict - OK

5. Amy Grant - Baby Baby

This was another song I played a lot when I started using YouTube. I loved this record at the time and I loved Amy Grant too. I had no idea she was a Christian singer who was controversially crossing over to pop music. It seemed such an innocent song.

Verdict - Good

4. Beverley Craven - Promise Me

This was the Top 40 debut for Beverley Craven. One thing I am thankful to this song for was providing the sample to the rave classic "4am" by Orca. Unfortunately that's the only positive thing I can say about this record.

Verdict - Rubbish

3. Crystal Waters - Gypsy Woman (La Da Dee)

I think I know why I've always though Alison Limerick is American now. It's because I heavily associate "Where Love Lives" with this record, and Crystal Waters is American. Much like the Alison Limerick record, this has fallen victim to being overplayed but still a decent record.

Verdict - Good

2. Color Me Badd - I Wanna Sex You Up

Like many kids my age, I found it hilarious at the time that there was a song with the word sex in the title. It wasn't the first Top 40 hit to have this, but I guess the way it was used played a part too. I did like it at the time but when I heard it on the music channels for the first time in years I realised it's actually a pretty poor record.

Verdict - Rubbish

1. Cher - The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)

The most recent Top 40 hit for Cher prior to this was "Just Like Jesse James", a song I liked. Therefore my impression of Cher at the time was quite positive. Then this came out and I thought what the fuck is this. It's a cover and I'm not overly keen on the original but it's tolerable. This version just makes me angry though, absolutely awful.

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 17/30, or 57%. A couple of old records keeping the score above 50%.