Top 30 in 1991 Reviewed - Week 27

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. Heavy D And The Boyz - Now That We've Found Love (New)

This is one of a number of records Bryan Adams stopped from topping the charts. It's American rap music, but it doesn't sound out of place amongst the British dance records that were coming out at the time. 

Verdict - Good

29. Rebel MC ft Tenor Fly And Barrington Levy - Tribal Base

What I remember most about this record was it sampling "Orinoco Flow" by Enya. What this record was doing though was laying the foundations for jungle music. This was the final Top 40 hit for Rebel MC and definitely his best.

Verdict - Good

28. 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

27. Vanilla Ice - Rollin' In My 5.0 (New)

The 3rd Top 40 hit for Vanilla Ice, and he wasn't finished yet. I couldn't really remember how this one went and was fully expecting it to be crap. It's not a particularly catchy tune and I can't say I'd be in a hurry to listen to it again, but it's not too bad.

Verdict - OK

26. Natalie Cole - Unforgettable (New)

This is actually a collaboration with her father Nat 'King' Cole. Or more accurately, a Nat 'King' Cole recording that Natalie Cole added some vocals to, given Nat 'King' Cole died in 1965. It would be the last time we'd see Natalie in the Top 40. I find it rather boring.

Verdict - Rubbish

25. 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

24. Extreme - Get The Funk Out

I remember people being surprised that Extreme were a rock band when they would hear an Extreme song that wasn't "More Than Words". I wasn't though because I remembered them doing this before "More Than Words". Doesn't quite have enough to it to truly like it but its alright. 

Verdict - OK

23. Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine - Sheriff Fatman

With both Color Me Badd and Latour having hits with the word sex in the title, here's a band with the word sex in the name. What a name for a band and what a name for a song for that matter. On the music front it's pretty good too.

Verdict - Good

22. Anthrax ft Chuck D - Bring The Noise (New)

A rap/metal crossover record that's a cover of a Public Enemy record and featuring Public Enemy themselves. This was the biggest hit for Anthrax and charted higher than any Public Enemy record at the time. I like it.

Verdict - Good

21. Alice Cooper - Hey Stoopid

This record features Slash, Joe Satriani and Ozzy Osbourne. Despite that star studded line up, its a pretty average record. 

Verdict - OK

20. LaTour - People Are Still Having Sex

With the Color Me Badd record with sex in the title still in the Top 40, here's another record with it. I'm actually surprised this was as late as 1991, I've always associated this one more with the late 80s. A good record nonetheless.

Verdict - Good

19. Sonia - Only Fools (Never Fall In Love)

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

18. 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

17. Cola Boy - 7 Ways To Love (New)

This is Saint Etienne under a different name. It was before Saint Etienne had a Top 40 hit, but they decided it wasn't appropriate to release this style of record under the Saint Etienne name. It's perhaps a bit on the cheesy side, but still a decent enough record.

Verdict - Good

16. Driza Bone - Real Love

I do remember this being in the charts at the same time as the Omar record. The fact they were both British soul records perhaps had something to do with it. This is definitely the better of the two, it's a lot more uplifting.

Verdict - Good

15. Cubic 22 - Night In Motion

The only Top 40 hit for Belgians Cubic 22. I feel this record made way for several Happy Hardcore records, you have "Take Control" by DJ Pooch. It was also sampled for "U Sure Do" by Strike, which itself was sampled in "Kick Your Legs In The Air" by Illogik & DNA. Then you had "Party Time" by Dougal & Eruption which used the same sample. I like all records mentioned as well as this one.

Verdict - Good

14. Omar - There's Nothing Like This

The Top 40 debut for Omar. It would be another 6 years before we'd see him in the Top 40 again. I kept changing my mind throughout listening to it. On one hand its got a good bassline and sounds a decent soul ballad, but at the same time it was a bit boring.

Verdict - OK

13. 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

12. Rod Stewart - Motown Song

Oh dear, this is dreadful. After doing a poor cover of a Motown record with "It Takes Two" in 1990, Rod Stewart is back with a song about that very label. It's actually from the same album though. Unsurprisingly given it's Rod Stewart, this is a cover. The original was by Larry John McNally.

Verdict - Rubbish

11. Lenny Kravitz - It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over

Although not his debut, this was the breakthrough hit for Lenny Kravitz in the UK. This is one I didn't really appreciate until later, I hated it at the time. When Lenny Kravitz returned to Top 40 a couple of years later with "Are You Gonna Go My Way?" I couldn't believe it was the same person who did this. Then came the day when I realised that it's possible to like both songs despite them being completely different to each other.

Verdict - Good

10. Divinyls - I Touch Myself

Every Wednesday at the students union when I first started university was a 70s and 80s night and almost every week this record would get played. Being the music snob I am this used to annoy me because I knew this was from 1991 not the 80s. I was much more appreciative when it got played at cheese night on a Saturday.

Verdict - Good

9. Incognito ft Jocelyn Brown - Always There

The Top 40 debut for Incognito who formed in 1979. When I saw Incognito at their 35th anniversary concert their main man Bluey said that this record allowed them to make a living from the band. I've only recently discovered this is a cover, it was originally by Side Effect in 1976. 

Verdict - Good

8. Bette Midler - From A Distance

It had been less than a year since Cliff Richard was torturing us with this record. Now here's Bette Midler back to do the same.

Verdict - Rubbish

7. Paula Abdul - Rush Rush

I remember the video for this appearing on Top of the Pops and the presenter saying that Ian Rush would be in the video, but he wasn't. This was 30 years ago say I may have misremembered or misunderstood what was said. It's not a bad record.

Verdict - OK

6. Salt-N-Pepa - Do You Want Me

I'm just remembering watching a Channel 4 programme where they had a count down of the 10 best rap acts of all time and in 2nd place was Salt-N-Pepa. I thought how? but then number one was Will Smith. I think they were taking the piss.

Verdict - Rubbish

5. Kenny Thomas - Thinking About Your Love

The second Top 40 hit for Kenny Thomas and his only Top 10. This is the song he's best known for. I must have seen this on The Chart Show at some point because it's making me want to watch an episode. I'd also say the fact this reminds me of the good old days of 1991 and watching The Chart Show means I quite like it.

Verdict - Good

4. 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

3. Erasure - Chorus

Not sure I learned the title of this until later on in life. I didn't think the word chorus appeared in the song but it does once. I always remembered this one as the fishes in the sea song. Like with most Erasure records, this ones pretty good.

Verdict - Good

2. Bryan Adams - (Everything I Do) I Do It For You 

Summer holidays are on the way, this so reminds me of the summer holidays of 1991 where it was number one the whole time and beyond. Quite remarkable for a 31 year old 80s singer who'd failed to even make the Top 40 with most of his prior singles. I got pretty sick of this at the time like most people, but I actually quite like it.

Verdict - Good

1. Jason Donovan - Any Dream Will Do

The final number one for Jason Donovan. It was taken from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" which he was starring in at the time. By the time I saw it a couple of years later he'd been replaced by Phil Schofield. Anyway, like pretty much every other song from a musical it's shit.

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 18.5/30, or 62%. Some decent new entries this week.