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 1992 with my verdict on each record:
30. Blessing - Highway 5 (New)
I have no recollection of this record whatsoever. Yet in the YouTube comments people talk about it being played on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show and Steve Wright in the Afternoon at the time. I used to listen to both shows on my way to and from school at the time. Anyway, turns out to be a pretty decent record.
Verdict - Good
With Curtis Stigers now in the charts Michael Bolton had to remind the world he still existed so here he is with his 6th Top 40 hit. It does sound like a typical Michael Bolton record, but what's surprising is that his co-writer on this record is none other than Bob Dylan.
Verdict - Rubbish
I don't remember Paula Abdul still being around in 1992 but I do remember this record. This was written by the members of The Family Stand of "Ghetto Heaven" fame. Before listening to it I thought it was OK but the piano in it has upgraded it to good. That's why I always listen to the record before giving my verdict.
Verdict - Good
The only Top 40 hit for Daisy Chainsaw. One of many records I vaguely remember at the time but haven't heard for 30 years. It's a lot heavier than I remembered which in a way makes it sound much better than I remembered.
Verdict - Good
I remember watching this on Top of the Pops at the time. I absolutely loved it. Little did we know at the time that this would be their final completely original Top 40 hit. I mishear lyrics all the time and was convinced I misheard the lyrics "They're justified and they're ancient and they drive an ice cream van" but I didn't.
Verdict - Good
Steve 'Silk' Hurley gave us the first house number one in 1987 and as an artist he never had another Top 40 hit. As a composer though he was back in the Top 40 in 1991 with this record. It was the debut Top 40 hit for Kym Sims and her best known. I would also say it was her best hit.
Verdict - Good
"Playing With Knives" by Bizarre Inc had only left the Top 40 a couple of weeks earlier, but here it is being sampled by Blue Pearl. Ironically this actually has "playing with knives" in the lyrics but the Bizarre Inc record doesn't.
Verdict - Good
Another underground rave act to cross over into the charts, this was the Top 40 debut for Dream Frequency. Another thing coming out of the rave scene was putting towns and cities outside of the big ones like London and Manchester on the music map. Dream Frequency hailed from Preston.
Verdict - Good
In 1991 the Pet Shop Boys started a record label called "Spaghetti Records". The only Top 40 hit to come from that label was this. The dodgy Scottish rapping in the verses reminds me a bit of Bill Drummond rapping on "Kylie Said To Jason" by KLF which may explain why I'm finding myself liking the tune.
Verdict - Good
This was the first Mariah Carey single not to make number one in America. Over here she'd only managed to reach the Top 10 once so far which was with her debut "Vision Of Love". This one only just scraped into the Top 20. It was her first Top 40 hit written by her long time collaborator Walter Afanasieff who wrote her Christmas song amongst others. This is the typical dreary crap that she sings.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the Top 40 debut for Des'ree. At the time I had no idea who Des'ree was and imagined this to be sung by someone quite old, but Des'ree would have been just 22 at the time of recording. Maybe I thought it sounded like music for old people, I never thought much to it at the time. Now I'm older my opinion hasn't really changed.
Verdict - Rubbish
The second and final Top 40 hit for Julia Fordham which came 4 years after her first. This sounds like it should be a theme to a TV show. I'm not too far off with that, it's from the film "The Butchers Wife" and was written by Dean Pitchford and Tom Snow, the same people who composed "Let's Hear It For The Boy" by Deniece Williams which also came from a film, "Footloose". I guess the main reason it sounds like it should be a TV theme is because it's a bit bland.
Verdict - Rubbish
When Simply Red returned with the "Stars" album, Mick Hucknall's hair had got noticeably longer. It was around the time of this record that I found out Mick Hucknall's dad was a hairdresser. To the song, and it's not to the same level as "Something Got Me Started" or "Stars" but still pretty decent.
Verdict - Good
They started their Top 40 career by reviving "Toms Diner" by Suzanne Vega and they ended it by reviving another 80s tune, this time being "Can You Handle It?" by Sharon Redd. It's quite different from their other hits, this being more of an upbeat house record. I can date this song by the class I was in at school at the time so it must have had an impact. Sadly the comeback of Sharon Redd didn't last long as she died just 3 months later.
Verdict - Good
I remember seeing this on Top of the Pops at the time. I could only remember the song title immediately afterwards and didn't hear this again for a long time. I remember thinking that singer James Dean Bradfield seemed pretty angry on this, which was great.
Verdict - Good
Ce Ce Peniston is thought of as a one hit wonder with "Finally", but amazingly she had 7 Top 40 hits spanning 7 years. This was her second. I'm not a fan of "Finally" but at least it's catchy. I can't say the same for this, it's crap and instantly forgettable.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the follow up to the chart topping "Dizzy". Miles Hunt resumes lead vocals and this time he's joined by Kirsty MacColl on backing vocals. I have memories of this song coming on the radio on a car journey going somewhere I don't think I'd been before, no idea where it was though. More recently this was one of the songs I played on YouTube quite a bit in the early days.
Verdict - Good
James will probably always be remembered for "Sit Down" which is a bit of a shame really. Particularly when just under a year later they released this record which is the best record I've heard from them.
Verdict - Good
The lead track off this EP is "Movin' on Up". It was the final single from the "Screamadalica" album and the only one to be released after the album. Despite this it was the highest charting. It's perhaps a bit overplayed now, I'm pretty sure it was on an advert in recent times. I've always liked it though.
Verdict - Good
There had been quite a few rave records that had hit the Top 40 by this point so the rave sound was nothing new anymore. However, I do remember thinking this record was quite groundbreaking at the time. It was the 2nd Top 40 hit for The Prodigy and the follow up to "Charly" and it no doubt went a long way in showing people that they weren't a novelty "toytown techno" act.
Verdict - Good
Following the death of Freddie Mercury "Bohemian Rhapsody" returned to top the charts and became the first record to be Christmas number one twice. I've mentioned before on this blog that I don't consider it the masterpiece it's made out to be and I've heard it far too many times in my life, but it's not a bad record. The other side of this double a-side "These Are The Days Of Our Lives" was a new song and would have probably topped the charts without being aided by "Bohemian Rhapsody" given the circumstances. It's definitely the better of the two in my opinion.
Verdict - OK / Good
As a kid I loved "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey", the film in which this record appears. However, I watched it again a couple of years ago and found it was nowhere near as good as I remember it. Fortunately this record hasn't suffered the same fate, still sounds decent now.
Verdict - Good
I remember this record being out around the same time as "Fun Day" by Stevie Wonder. The history books tell my I'm not far off, the Stevie Wonder record came out in October 1991 but never made the Top 40. I liked it at the time and I guess I still do now even though it's a bit cheesy.
Verdict - Good
One thing I do miss about listening to rave music in the 90s is knowing absolutely nothing about the people who made the records. Kicks Like A Mule was one of these, but I now know they were a duo of one of the founders of XL Records and the person who now runs the label. This means that the latter person is responsible for introducing the world to Adele. I can't let that fact get in the way of this being a good tune though.
Verdict - Good
When Siobhan left Bananarama and formed Shakespear's Sister they had a Top 10 hit with "You're History" in 1989. By the end of 1991 it looked like they were history have failed to reach the Top 40 with any of their other singles. Then came this, which topped the charts and stayed there for what seemed like an eternity. I do think that the contrast between the vocals of Marcella and Siobhan is a good concept, but I've never been able to bring myself to like this record.
Verdict - Rubbish
The Top 40 debut from Curtis Stigers who was a sort of Michael Bolton and Kenny G all in one i.e. a singer and saxophonist with long hair. I've since read that Curtis Stigers hair had only just grown when he broke through and then he cut it short straight after he toured his first album, but that's what he'll forever be remembered for. I have to admit though, I do quite like this song.
Verdict - Good
Ordinarily a British R&B group doing a pointless cover isn't a good thing. But I never knew that fact at the time, as far as I was concerned this was a Pasadenas tune and I loved it. Even when I started listening to this in the early days of YouTube I still didn't know it was a cover. A lot has to be said for hearing the cover before the original, it really does.
Verdict - Good
This was the last Top 10 Kylie Minogue hit from the Stock, Aitken & Waterman era. It's a cover and quite predictably it sounds like a karaoke version.
Verdict - Rubbish
My dance music knowledge was virtually non-existent at the time. I do remember this being out around the same time as "Everybody In The Place" by The Prodigy and thinking of this record as being a poor mans Prodigy.
Verdict - Rubbish
Wet Wet Wet hadn't really been away, but this was their first Top 10 hit since 1989. Marti Pellow's hair had grown quite considerably in that time. Despite this being a chart topper I remember everyone hating this record at the time. I on the other hand liked it. This wasn't their big comeback though as they never made the Top 10 again until "Love Is All Around" in 1994.
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 22/30, or 73%. The best week of the year so far.
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