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:
Moby wasn't the only American making rave music at the time, there was also these guys Toxic Two. It's basically the same record as "Pure Pleasure" by Digital Excitation who are Belgian. No idea which came first because they were both out around the same time. A good tune regardless.
Verdict - Good
The penultimate Top 40 hit to date for Gary Moore who's Top 40 career began back in 1979. Although I'd known the name for a long time I was quite late in discovering his music. Once I did though I was pleasantly surprised find I quite like it.
Verdict - Good
This was the record that ensured Barbra Streisand had Top 40 hits in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. The thing with a Barbra Streisand record is that it could easily have come out in any of those decades. I'd say the best word to describe this record is boring.
Verdict - Rubbish
This ones nearly 30 minutes long as it's a mix. The title would suggest this was from a gig in Manchester but I've read that this was recorded in a studio and given a live effect. Whilst I would question why this was a single, it's a decent mix.
Verdict - Good
In the mid-90s I became a raver which introduced me to a bunch of DJs I'd never heard before. One of these was DJ Seduction. Then when I bought the latest British Hit Singles book I discovered that DJ Seduction had a couple of Top 40 hits in 1992 so wasn't as underground as I thought he was. When I heard "Hardcore Heaven" I recognised it too, just had no idea what it was up to that point. "Hardcore Heaven" was also the name of a rave DJ Seduction started putting on in the 90s and it's still going today, though Seduction sold it to Slammin Vinyl at the end of the 90s.
Verdict - Good / Good
This was the first Tears For Fears Top 40 hit after Curt Smith had left the group so it was now effectively a Roland Orzabal solo record. I do like Tears For Fears but I can't really get into this one. It might be the lack of Curt Smith or the fact it wasn't the 80s anymore. Incidentally I don't remember this record coming out but I do remember "Woman In Chains" being re-issued but have just discovered that didn't make the Top 40.
Verdict - OK
Now that Nirvana have made their Top 40 debut it was only a matter of time before fellow Seattle grunge band would make their debut, and here it is. I don't remember it being this soon after though obviously it never occurred to me when I first heard Nirvana that there would be another grunge band from Seattle called Pearl Jam coming soon. I did like this record at the time or later in 1992 if that was in fact when I first heard it. Doesn't have the same appeal now though.
Verdict - OK
When it comes to 90s U2 records this one is probably the best known. I have a music quiz question where I ask what song title is shared by U2, Metallica and Bee Gees of which the answer of course is "One". It is however also designed to throw people because Metallica and Bee Gees also have songs called "For Whom The Bell Tolls" and people have put that as the answer. Onto the song itself, I'm not a huge fan but it's alright.
Verdict - OK
22. Curve - Fait Accompli (New)
The 3rd of 5 Top 40 hits for Curve, but the only one to make the Top 30. The only thing I remember about this record was the word "fait" being sung. Listened to it now I realise that their really isn't much else to this song.
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
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
19. The Charlatans - Weirdo (New)
I get the feeling I've now said this about a few acts, but I'll say this about The Charlatans. They are probably the act who have had the most 90s hits I don't remember. They had 16 Top 40 hits in the 90s and I can only sing 4 of them in my head and this isn't one of them. That said I could see this one growing on me if I can be bothered to listen to it again.
Verdict - OK
Another Top 40 hit from Rozalla and she wasn't finished yet. In a funny way this sounds both more pop and more rave than it's predecessors. As a result I prefer this record to it's predecessors.
Verdict - Good
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
The follow up to "Where Love Lives" which had charted almost a year prior to this. It was the only Top 40 hit for Alison Limerick that she wrote herself and it was co-written by Steve Anderson from Brothers In Rhythm. I remember this being more dancey but I may have only heard a remix before. It's decent though and doesn't suffer from being overplayed.
Verdict - Good
I had the feeling New Atlantic were from the North West somewhere and I was right, they hail from Southport. I therefore wondered if this came out on All Around the World records. Turns out it didn't, but the version we all know is the Love Decade remix and Love Decade were on All Around the World. It's therefore a bit cheesy and commercial sounding, but I still like it.
Verdict - Good
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
Everything But The Girl have had a strange Top 40 career. They came about in 1984 as part of the Sophisti-Pop movement and then did very little until they established themselves as part of the dance music scene in the mid to late 90s before abruptly disappearing. One thing they did do in between was this EP of covers with the lead track being "Love Is Strange". Just a pointless cover if you ask me.
Verdict - Rubbish
When it comes to Madchester, Inspiral Carpets have tended to play second fiddle to Happy Mondays and Stone Roses. Whilst in 1992 Happy Mondays were bankrupting their record label and Stone Roses were fighting against theirs, Inspiral Carpets pressed on and released this which is their highest charting hit to date. It's also probably my favourite hit of theirs.
Verdict - Good
Crowded House had several Top 40 hits but this was the only one to make the Top 10. It's quite a simple record, not trying to be anything out of the ordinary but catchy at the same time. It makes for a good record to have a singalong to round the camp fire to.
Verdict - Good
Some will say Michael Jackson was a genius because of the way he could seamlessly transition from the rock sound of "Black Or White" to the new jack swing sound of this record. I would say the fact he had Mr New Jack Swing himself Teddy Riley co-write and produce this track had something to do with it. Maybe that was his genius, that he knew how to pick the right people.
Verdict - Good
The famous KLF Brit Awards performance had just happened where they announced their retirement from the music industry, but they had one final Top 40 hit to come which was a remix of their first. It meant that as the KLF they had 5 Top 40 hits which all made the Top 5. Only S Club 7 and Busted have had more hits and made the Top 5 every time.
Verdict - Good
You wonder whether he's singing about his experience of spending 16 weeks at number one here. It was the fourth Top 40 hit from his "Waking Up the Neighbours" album and I feel we're now going into album filler territory. It just seems a very nothing song.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
The first of 3 Madness songs to be re-issued in 1992. This introduced Madness to a new generation i.e. my generation. I was aware that this was an old record being re-issued at the time but I didn't let that fact put me off and I liked it. Still do.
Verdict - Good
The vocalist on this record is Kirsty Hawkshaw. She stated in an interview that she left the group because she thought they were too commercial. Then she went and sang for Tiesto, go figure. Anyway this is miles better than your average Tiesto record.
Verdict - Good
This record is 9 minutes long but you really need to listen to it in full to really appreciate it. That's where I struggled somewhat the first few times I heard it because I'd only hear a snippet. When I did hear in it full though I thought what a tune. It did annoy me when the music channels would end the song just before the final guitar solo, that's the best bit in my opinion.
Verdict - Good
When it comes to 90s nostalgia you can't go wrong with this record. The wordless chorus gets you hooked but then you realise there's much more to it than that. Normally once I've listened to a tune I want to wait a while until I listen to it again, but with this one I'd happily give it another listen. In fact I might just do that.
Verdict - Good
When this was first released in 1965 it failed to reach the Top 40. It finally made it in 1992 thanks to its inclusion in the film of the same name. I had no idea this was an old record at the time, I just assumed it was made for the film. I love a bit of 60s soul music and this was probably the record that got my into it in the first place.
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
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%. Joint best week of the year.
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