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. Bomb The Bass - Winter In July (New)
This was my record of the year for 1991. It's such a great record all I can say is give it a listen if you haven't already.
Verdict - Good
29. Morrissey - Pregnant For The Last Time (New)
This is surprisingly upbeat for a Morrissey record. I'm afraid it doesn't stop it from being boring though, I honestly thought from the intro I may be able to get into it but it gets boring very quickly.
Verdict - Rubbish
28. Altern 8 - Infiltrate 202 (New)
The Top 40 debut from Altern 8. The vocal sample is "I Know" by Candi Staton, the same one Tiga used on "You Gonna Want Me" and I'd more or less forgot about this record until I heard the Tiga one. Both records are great in their own way.
Verdict - Good
27. Voice Of The Beehive - Monsters And Angels (New)
The 3rd of 5 Top 40 hits for Voice Of The Beehive and the 2nd best in my opinion. It was the lead single from their "Honey Lingers" album. My personal favourite was their final hit "Perfect Place" but that never made the Top 30.
Verdict - Good
26. Frankie Knuckles - The Whistle Song (New)
Believe it or not, this was the debut Top 40 hit for Frankie Knuckles. He was one of the earlier pioneers of house music, but none of those early house records made the Top 40. This is the sort of tune that could have sounded awful if not done right, but this is Frankie Knuckles so of course it was done right, a good amount of whistle without it taking over the record.
Verdict - Good
25. 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
24. Natalie Cole - Unforgettable
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
23. Londonbeat - A Better Love (New)
Years ago I bought the greatest hits album from Londonbeat on the strength of "I've Been Thinking About You" and "You Bring On The Sun". They had 2 other Top 40 hits though, this being one of them. I don't remember it at the time, it's not as good as the 2 mentioned hits but still decent enough.
Verdict - Good
22. 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
21. MC Hammer - (Hammer Hammer) They Put Me In The Mix
The 6th Top 40 hit for MC Hammer and last one before he dropped the MC from his name. This is a remix of a track from his 2nd album "Let's Get It Started" which was released in 1988 and therefore before he became a big name. He sounds notably more angry than he does in his more mainstream records and it's an LL Cool J diss record. It's not bad.
Verdict - OK
20. Bros - Are You Mine?
I remember this first time I encountered this record. I was at a family barbeque and the Top 40 countdown was on the radio. A few seconds into the song, my uncle turned the radio off because it was Bros. I think he did us a favour there.
Verdict - Rubbish
19. Kim Appleby - Mama
The final Top 40 hit to date from Kim Appleby which once again is co-written by former Bros bassist Craig Logan. Whilst her first 2 hits were dance orientated, this ones a slower number. I vaguely remember it and actually sounds better than I remember it, but still lacking a little something.
Verdict - OK
18. Cola Boy - 7 Ways To Love
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
17. Lisa Lisa And Cult Jam - Let The Beat Hit 'Em (New)
Robert Clivilles was the composer of this record, the same man behind C&C Music Factory alongside David Coles. Whilst the C&C Music Factory hits have been a bit crap, this record is excellent. It was the second and final Top 40 hit for Lisa Lisa And Cult Jam, their first came back in 1985. They were big in the freestyle scene in America and scored two number ones, but never had much impact over here although their 2 UK Top 40 hits did chart higher here than they did in America.
Verdict - Good
16. DJH ft Stefy - I Like It
The second and final UK Top 40 hit for DJH ft Stefy. It doesn't sound that different to their first, the main riff is basically the same but on a different instrument. The samples are different too, "Cloud 9" by The Temptations is one that stands out. I liked the first hit and given its similarities without sounding like an exact clone, I like this one too.
Verdict - Good
15. 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
14. Dannii Minogue - Jump To The Beat (New)
A cover of the Stacy Lattisaw song, this is probably the best known Dannii Minogue hit from this particular era. That doesn't mean it's any good though.
Verdict - Rubbish
13. Cathy Dennis - Just Another Dream
This was originally the follow up to her debut hit "C'mon and Get My Love" but failed to make the Top 40 when released in 1989. It once again failed to make the Top 40 again in 1990, but 3rd time lucky it got into the Top 40 finally in 1991. Her debut was credited to D Mob with Cathy Dennis, but although D Mob co-wrote and provided backing vocals to this it's credited to just Cathy Dennis. It's simple no nonsense pop music.
Verdict - Good
12. 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
11. 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
10. Cher - Love And Understanding
Diane Warren is back to songwriting duties for Cher after the god awful "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)". It's an improvement, but that's not saying much really.
Verdict - Rubbish
9. The Shamen - Move Any Mountain (New)
I've always know this record to be by The Shamen but don't remember hearing of them until "Ebeneezer Goode" which was just over a year later. Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me. It was after the shooting of this video that member Will Sinnott died.
Verdict - Good
8. Extreme - More Than Words (New)
The song everyone knows Extreme for, so much so that people don't realise they're a rock band. This didn't go down well with the purists, ballads were very much frowned upon but an acoustic ballad was viewed as criminal. I'm not a purist though, I do think Extreme have better songs but I've always quite liked this one even if I haven't always admitted it.
Verdict - Good
7. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Pandora's Box
Another Top 10 hit for OMD with just Andy McCluskey in the group. The lyrics are described as dealing with the less glamourous side of celebrity which is quite ironic from the man who introduced the world to Kerry Katona. I won't let that fact cloud my judgement of this record though.
Verdict - Good
6. 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
5. Guns N' Roses - You Could Be Mine
The first Top 40 hit from the "Use Your Illusion" albums, this one coming from the second one. If you love screaming your head off at karaoke like I do then this is a great one to sing. The bit at 4 minutes 15 seconds into the song is particularly good to sing.
Verdict - Good
4. C&C Music Factory ft Freedom Williams - Things That Make You Go Hmmm...
There are some records that I really cannot stand, ones that just irritate me and make me angry. This is one of those records. I don't know what it is, maybe the stupid lyrics has something to do with it.
Verdict - Rubbish
3. 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
2. Heavy D And The Boyz - Now That We've Found Love
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
1. 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
If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 19.5/30, or 65%. Improving again.
No comments:
Post a Comment