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:
Believe it or not, this was the first Public Enemy single to make the Billboard 100 reaching number 50. It's the lead single from "Apocalypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black". You can't go wrong with a bit of Public Enemy.
Verdict - Good
The Top 40 debut for Utah Saints, the so called "Stadium House" act. It samples "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" by Eurythmics and "Ain't Nothin' Goin' on But the Rent" by Gwen Guthrie. A common criticism of samples in dance music is they sometimes sound nothing more than the original song with a dance beat on it. This though is a prime example of how sampling should be done in dance music.
Verdict - Good
The penultimate Top 40 hit for Voice Of The Beehive which is a cover of the Partridge Family song. I think "Monsters & Angels" which came before this and "Perfect Place" which came after are great pop records, but this just doesn't do it for me.
Verdict - Rubbish
27. Enya - Caribbean Blue (New)
This is one of those records I'm not sure I remember being in the charts at the time but it's one I've probably known since. Enya's music was always a little too different for my liking and almost seemed like music the sort of music they'd want you to learn at school which was never good. However over the years I've got to appreciate her music a lot more and quite like this record now.
Verdict - Good
The debut hit for Moby. I forgot his name pretty much straight away, I remember at the time talking about a record called "Go" without knowing who it was by. A few years later I found out who it was and was also surprised to find out he was American given this fits right in with the rave music British acts were making at the time.
Verdict - Good
25. Mariah Carey - Emotions (New)
The lead single from her album of the same name, Robert Clivilles and David Cole penned this record which is surprisingly uplifting for a Mariah Carey record. That doesn't mean it's any good though. She may have a vocal range few can claim to have, but all that screeching just gets on my nerves.
Verdict - Rubbish
The only Top 40 hit for Brothers In Rhythm as artists, but they had other hits as producers and remixers. Member Dave Seaman (not the footballer) is also a big name house DJ who I've seen play before.
Verdict - Good
The Top 40 debut for Carl Cox. He was probably the biggest rave DJ at the time and this is his highest charting single to date. As someone who's enjoyed many Carl Cox set, my verdict on this record is almost inevitable.
Verdict - Good
Years ago I was watching some music channel doing some sort of countdown of big hits of 1991 and I was amazed to find this top. I don't even remember it at the time, I'm pretty sure I'd heard "Raving I'm Raving" by Shut Up and Dance and maybe even the Cher cover before I'd heard this. Still at least it wasn't a predictable countdown, and it's not a bad record.
Verdict - OK
This was the first single from the hugely successful "Stars" album. My memories of hearing this for the first time was seeing Mick Hucknall's hair had got much longer and loving the bit that follows the chorus. The best single from that album in my opinion. In fact probably the best Simply Red single ever.
Verdict - Good
At the time I thought of this as being a poor mans "Hippy Chick" but there isn't much resemblance really. Years later there was a happy hardcore version by Slipmatt & Eruption which all the DJs seemed to play but I couldn't stand it. You may have gather I don't think much of this.
Verdict - Rubbish
This record reminds me of when me and a friend quite ambitiously decided to compile a Top 200 following the realisation that the charts went up to a Top 100. We didn't know who this was by at the time so simple listed it as "Peace". It's not one you really hear anymore but this was definitely as big as the Rozalla record at the time. The Top 200 never did get compiled in the end due to many disagreements between me and my friend regarding what songs should be in it.
Verdict - Good
I liked this one at the time, unaware it was a cover. I don't think much of the original though, it's one of those records that needs a dance beat to sound any good.
Verdict - Good
For years I had no idea who this record was by and really wanted to know. What didn't help was that I misheard the lyrics as "too many roads and bridges between us". I can't actually remember how I found out. This is my favourite Cathy Dennis record.
Verdict - Good
The Top 40 debut for Bizarre Inc and not to be confused with the Brother In Rhythm record with a similar name that entered the Top 40 the same week. This is the Bizarre Inc hit I've most likely heard the least for the simple fact its not on any of their albums, the rest are either on "Energique" or "Surprise", both of which I own. It's a shame it's not on "Energique" really.
Verdict - Good
It was around this time that I heard "Baby Love" by The Supremes for the first time. This isn't a cover of that record though, it's a cover of a record by Regina. Needless to say the Supremes record with the same title is far far better.
Verdict - Rubbish
14. Lisa Stansfield - Change (New)
I've not heard this record in a long time and it's one of those records that's hard to place as being at any particular time. However listening to it did bring back memories of the period it's from. Not my cup of tea though.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember being at some kids club on holiday at the time and we had to dance along to this multiple times. I thought why, this song is fuckin shit. My opinion still hasn't changed.
Verdict - Rubbish
The lead single from the album of the same name. This record reminds me of The Chart Show, I'm therefore guessing that's where I first heard it. It's one of those records that's not as good as I remember it being.
Verdict - OK
The 3rd Top 40 hit for Kenny Thomas which was a cover of a Booker T Jones record. To be fair it sounds quite different to the original, but it's in a generic watered down sort of way.
Verdict - Rubbish
This is one of several records I associate with starting a new year at school. It was the Top 40 debut for Rozalla and by far the best known. It's been played to death over the years but I've never stopped liking it.
Verdict - Good
I remember Simon Mayo playing this pretty much every day on the breakfast show when on my way to school but I never got bored of it.
Verdict - Good
This record really irritated me at the time. My view hasn't really changed, it's a truly awful record. It was one that Bryan Adams kept off number one.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 3rd and final Top 40 hit for Julian Lennon which came 6 years after his previous effort. People give Julian Lennon stick for not being John, but with records like this does it really matter? I loved this record at the time and it still sounds great 30 years later.
Verdict - Good
The Top 40 debut for 2 Unlimited, though they had a Top 40 hit the previous year as Bizz Nizz. I did like this at the time, but my memory has been somewhat tainted by the crap they released after this. I also remember hearing it a few years later for the first time in a while and it sounded much slower than I remembered.
Verdict - OK
There was a happy hardcore version of this in the mid-90s by DNA, Breeze & Munchie which I listened to quite a bit. When I heard this for the first time in years it seemed so slow given I'd got used to the happy hardcore version. That was a long time ago though, nowadays I can take the relative slowness.
Verdict - Good
At the time I thought how the fuck did a record like this get into the Top 40. An opera song sung by someone I'd never heard of who wasn't exactly young. Many years later I discovered it was the song for the Rugby World Cup, I never knew there was such a thing until England won it.
Verdict - Rubbish
This failed to chart when first released 12 years earlier, but thanks to Simon Mayo and his revival of old novelty records this was re-released. I did quite like it at the time admittedly, but its one of those songs that's supposed to be shit. Therefore a verdict of OK seems appropriate.
Verdict - OK
The biggest hit to date for The Scorpions who had last been in the Top 40 in 1979 with their debut. My memories of this record at the time was that whenever it got played it never seemed to get played till the end and I was always intrigued as to how it ended.
Verdict - Good
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 19/30, or 63%. Slight decrease on last week.
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