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:
Chris De Burgh is of course famous for his chart topper "The Lady In Red" which is hated by many. As a result many people won't give any of his other records a chance. I must admit I was one of those people, but in recent years I have heard Chris De Burgh records and thought they were alright. This wasn't one of them though.
Verdict - Rubbish
Inner City first hit the Top 40 in 1988 and when it came to rave music in the charts few if any were as big as Inner City at the time. The rave scene changed so fast though that by 1992 the music was completely different. Fortunately Inner City moved with the times and have a record that very much sounds like a 90s record rather than an 80s one. The downside to this tune is that it's not as good as the excellent "Pennies From Heaven" which will be appearing in the not too distant future.
Verdict - Good
I loved "I'm Doing Fine Now" when it came out, but have no recollection of The Pasadenas having any other hits after that. This was the next one which is a cover of the Bread song. It's definitely not as good as it's predecessor but I did quite enjoy listening to it just now.
Verdict - Good
27. Pearl Jam - Even Flow (New)
The 2nd Top 40 hit for Pearl Jam who become the 2nd grunge band to have 2 Top 40 hits after Nirvana. Despite it not getting higher than 27 it's one of their better known records, probably because it was from the actual grunge era. It's one of those records that I like the familiarity of but doesn't quite have enough about it to truly like it.
Verdict - OK
26. L7 - Pretend We're Dead (New)
Although L7 don't come from Seattle, I would definitely consider this to be a grunge record. It was the Top 40 debut for L7 and record they're most famous for. In the UK though they are best known for their infamous appearance on The Word as opposed to any music. The fact the music is a bit rubbish may have something to do with it.
Verdict - Rubbish
With the Seattle grunge scene now making it's mark in the UK we have the inevitable British band adopting that style with this record probably being the first example of this. That's not a criticism, in-fact I would say this is actually better than the American grunge records that had charted to this point.
Verdict - Good
When Phil Collins started his solo career it was quite easy to distinguish between what was a Genesis record and what was a Phil Collins record. By the 90s though it was a lot more difficult to tell with this record being a prime example. It could have just as easily been a Phil Collins solo record. But I do generally like Phil Collins solo material.
Verdict - Good
I remember hearing this for the first time on the Top of the Pops breakers. I wasn't impressed, it sounded a bit slow and boring. However it did grow on me as I heard it more. I remember getting told off by someone when this was on the radio and I didn't listen to a word they said because I was listening to the song.
Verdict - Good
The lead track from this EP is "Never Stop". Like with their debut Top 40 hit, this was an older record and had been remixed by David Morales for the EP. You may expect it to be a house version, but it's still an acid jazz record that doesn't sound too different from the original. It's not as good as their debut, but that's because of how good their debut was.
Verdict - Good
It's Swing Out Sister in the 90s. That's basically what I thought when this record came out, Swing Out Sister to me were 80s through and through and there seemed something quite odd about them having a hit in the 90s. Instead of moving with the times though, it was more back to the 60s with this being a cover of a 60s record by Barbara Acklin. That said I do quite like it. They would have one more Top 40 hit in 1994 with another 60s cover, "La La (Means I Love You)" but only made 37 so won't be featuring in these posts.
Verdict - Good
This record was written by Robert Clivilles and David Cole and therefore is more upbeat than the usual dreary ballads that Mariah Carey does. That doesn't mean it's a good record though, in-fact it's a very dull record for something that's quite upbeat.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember this song and could clearly hear it in my head before playing it. But actually hearing it for the first time in 30 years it sounds a lot better than I remember it. It really couldn't sound any more early 90s which is probably why I find myself liking it.
Verdict - Good
This was the final Top 40 hit from their "Chorus" album and their last before they did the Abba covers. At the time I would have probably put Erasure in my Top 5 music acts which would have been thanks in part to this record.
Verdict - Good
The Top 40 debut for Praga Khan and his best known hit. It's certainly one of the anthems but it's not quite been played to death like other tunes so it's still good to listen to now. Like with a lot of the Belgian rave tunes that hit the Top 40 it has a harder edge to it than your average rave hit.
Verdict - Good
This was a comic relief single that was around the time of the 1992 election. It's basically Bruce Dickinson doing a cover of "Elected" by Alice Cooper with Mr Bean doing a bit of comedy over the top of it. A dreadful record, but then that's the point.
Verdict - Rubbish
I've never been much of a Def Leppard fan. Even as a rocker in the early 90s they always seemed a bit wet. I did however think this record was a bit more interesting with the verses being a bit different. In fact I do remember randomly singing the verse but never the chorus. Despite the chorus being a bit crap though, the nostalgia factor makes me still quite like it.
Verdict - Good
The fourth Top 40 hit in as many months for The Wedding Present. This one sounds like it has potential, the problem is it sounds like they played it once and thought that will do. Instrumentally I do quite like it, but I find the high pitched sarcastic sounding singing in the verses difficult to listen to.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was her follow up to her big hit "Too Blind To See It". Like with many second hits in the 90s this sounds very similar to the first. They were also both written by Steve "Silk" Hurley. Normally the second hit sounds like an inferior version of the first, but I don't think that's the case here. I like both records and it's hard to say which one I prefer.
Verdict - Good
I'm a big fan of Dutch music of the 90s in general. The trouble I have with this record though is that it doesn't sound very Dutch or very 90s for that matter. By my reckoning this is the only Top 40 hit of the 90s by a Dutch act that is neither dance music or a novelty record. That doesn't make it a bad record though
Verdict - Good
In 1992 I was liking pretty much everything that got into the charts which explains why we've had decent scores week after week. I do however remember not liking this song. 30 years later I still haven't changed my mind.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember this video appearing on Top of the Pops and I was excited to hear a song from the band who appear last in the British Hit Singles book. The song sounded familiar though so I must have heard the Elvis version before this.
Verdict - Good
For some reason I associate Curtis Stigers with late 1992 instead of early 1992 which he had his two big hits, this being the second. It's not that it took me a while to discover him as I remember him appearing on Top of the Pops. The nostalgia factor means that I do quite like this record.
Verdict - Good
When Club@Vision had their Ibiza special in 1999, they played an anthem from each year from 1989 onwards. Out of all the great tunes they could have picked for 1991, they picked this. I've always found this tune annoying, it's probably the over the top vocals that does it. This was the Top 40 debut for Ce Ce Peniston and she had more hits that you'd think.
Verdict - Rubbish
7. SL2 - On A Ragga Tip (New)
I loved this record at the time and still do now. The odd thing is that this was before the scene split into happy hardcore and jungle and this sounds like it's gearing towards what would become jungle yet Slipmatt of SL2 would become one of the pioneers of happy hardcore. The only downside is that after "On A Ragga Tip 97" came out which was faster, it makes this record sound a bit slow.
Verdict - Good
The penultimate Top 40 hit to date from Altern 8 who were probably the biggest rave act around at this point in time. Still sounds a tune made for the dance floor rather than the charts which is a good thing.
Verdict - Good
Although they still had several more Top 40 hits, this is the last Top 10 hit to date for Soul ii Soul. When they'd last been in the Top 40 in 1990 there seemed to be a lot of acts who adopted their sound. Things had since moved on and so had Soul ii Soul with this comeback record, though at the same time it still sounds like a Soul ii Soul record.
Verdict - Good
This reminds me of a time when I really cared about how the records I liked were doing in the charts. I loved this record at the time and it was probably my favourite song at that point in time. After it had spent 3 weeks at number 3 and hearing that Shakespear's Sister were no longer at number one I thought surely this was the record that had replaced it. I was therefore rather annoyed that it was Right Said Fred who topped the charts instead whilst this had fallen to number 4.
Verdict - Good
I always imagined this record to be sung by someone who was old, but it was recorded in 1990 when Vanessa Williams would have been 26 or 27. Maybe I just thought it was music for old people, and it's inclusion on the Bisto adverts more or less confirmed that for me.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
I remember getting really annoyed that this record made number one and Mr Big hadn't. I absolutely hated this record as a result of that. However I've not really cared how the records I like do in the charts for the bulk of the last 30 years and I still think this record is crap and would have still thought that if Mr Big got to number one instead.
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 19.5/30, or 65%. Not as good as last week but still decent.
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