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:
There are a number of candidates for having the most 90s Top 40 hits that I don't remember, but I think Daniel O'Donnell is the strongest contender so far. He had 12 Top 40 hits in the 90s and although I remember his existence I honestly couldn't name you one of his song off the top of my head. This was the first and there's a good chance I'll have forgotten it by the time you read this.
Verdict - Rubbish
29. EMF - They're Here (New)
This was the lead single from EMF's 2nd album "Stigma" which was considered to be a flop. It's darker than their previous efforts, but that's no bad thing as making another "Unbelievable" would have been pointless. I see similarities between this and Pop Will Eat Itself, again no bad thing.
Verdict - Good
Inspiral Carpets are known for have the organ in their music, but it really stands out on this record. That's possibly what makes it a good record too.
Verdict - Good
By 1992 Boy George was more of a DJ than a singer, but he recorded this record for the film of the same name. I've seen the film and I don't think I've ever been so shocked when watching a film but I'll say no more as I don't want to spoil it for you if you haven't seen it. I prefer the film to the song though.
Verdict - Rubbish
The lesser known follow up to "Hazard", though it is his joint 3rd highest charting Top 40 hit. It sounds like a very stereotypical soft rock record but is also catchy so onto a winning formula.
Verdict - Good
I don't remember this song being as funky as it is. It's one of those where I remember how the chorus is sung but that's it. On that basis I was thinking mediocre at best, but listening to it I'm pleasantly surprised by it. This is why I always listen to the song unless it's one that's been played to death.
Verdict - Good
After topping the charts with their Top 40 debut KWS followed up with another cover. In fact all their Top 40 hits were covers. This was also the opening track to a rave compilation I have from 1992.
Verdict - Good
The 2nd Top 40 hit from the "Welcome to Wherever You Are" album, the first one "Heaven Sent" only made number 31. This is amongst my favourite INXS records and was a big factor in them being my 2nf favourite band at one point.
Verdict - Good
When it comes to Boyz II Men I can't look past the comparison that's often made between them and Jodeci which is basically Jodeci were the bad boys of R&B whereas Boyz II Men were the clean cut group. Behind the scenes though Babyface was one of the writers and he has also written for K-Ci & Jojo of Jodeci. That doesn't mean this song is good though.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the only Top 40 hit in the UK for Das Boot, though they had several more hits across Europe. It was also a number one in their native Germany. It was the first German techno record to make the UK Top 40. As someone who likes a bit of German techno it gets the thumbs up from me.
Verdict - Good
Following the success of their "Pornograffitti" album and in particular the single "More Than Words" here's the lead single from follow up album "III Sides to Every Story". To this day I still meet people who aren't aware that Extreme were a rock band because they only know "More Than Words". I use this record as a suggestion to listen to for them to get an idea of what Extreme generally sound like.
Verdict - Good
Abba in 1992? after Erasure did their Abba covers there was a so called Abba revival. As they'd sailed of into the sunset years prior to this the only way to capitalise was to re-issue their biggest hit. I've heard this so many times in my life and I've never liked it so decided not to listen. What's also symbolic about this entering the charts at this point in time is that the Swedes were about to take over the music world (see Dr Alban).
Verdict - Rubbish
After topping the charts with a ballad that's a cover with "Nothing Compares 2 U" here is Sinead O'Connor 2 years later attempting to repeat that success. It didn't work this time though, this is an incredibly boring song.
Verdict - Rubbish
Another month, another Wedding Present song. I think this is an attempt at jumping on the grunge bandwagon with a light verse and noisy chorus. That's literally all I'm going to take away from this song, a non-entity verse and a chorus that sounds like a building site.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 2nd record by The Smiths to be re-issued in 1992 and charting higher than the original release. This one has a very distinctive intro, but it doesn't quite have enough about it to make me truly like it. Much better than Morrissey's solo records though.
Verdict - OK
Back in 1992 I just thought this record was a bit naff. By 1993 I thought we'd seen the last of Billy Ray Cyrus and for a while that seemed to be the case. Unfortunately we've since had to encounter a lot more from the Cyrus name than just a naff record. To be fair to Billy, it's more his daughter that irritates me than him. Still, if it wasn't for this record then nobody would have heard of his daughter which makes me hate it even more.
Verdict - Rubbish
Hardbag has arrived with this being credited as the breakthrough record for that genre. Felix was the only one flying the flag for the genre commercially in the early days as it wasn't until 1994 when we started to get the flood of hardbag Top 40 hits. You could say this was ahead of its time then.
Verdict - Good
This was the 5th Top 40 hit from the "Dangerous" album and he wasn't finished yet. It was also the last of the new jack swing numbers to be released and written by Mr New Jack Swing himself Teddy Riley. I do feel we've now reached album filler territory. The beats are decent and would sound good on the dancefloor, but to listen to it's a bit of a nothing record.
Verdict - Rubbish
There are some records where I can pin point exactly when they came out and this is one of them. I associate this with starting a new year at school. There is also no doubt that this is the best Annie Lennox solo record I've heard.
Verdict - Good
Having very much heard of Bob Marley and seeing he had quite a few hits from looking in my British Hit Singles book, I'd not knowingly heard a Bob Marley record until this song came out. There was something oddly familiar about it. Obviously it was recorded long before it came out but this was the first time it had seen light of day.
Verdict - Good
This is where it all began for East 17s Top 40 career. I could openly admit to liking this record at the time as this was before the unwritten rule amongst my peers that you're not supposed to like boy bands. I openly admit to still liking it today.
Verdict - Good
9. Manic Street Preachers - Theme From M*A*S*H / Fatima Mansions - (Everything I Do) I Do It For You (New)
This is a double a-side with a different band either side. It was taken from the "Ruby Trax" compilation that celebrated 40 years on NME magazine and featured indie bands covering previous number one hits. It gave the Manic Street Preachers their first Top 10 hit and Fatima Mansions their only Top 40 hit to date. The Manic Street Preachers cover is basically a heavier recording of the original but the Fatima Mansions cover sounds nothing like the original. Both are good in their own way.
Verdict - Good / Good
This record seems a bit out of place in 1992. It's one of those I feel I've always known but it's most likely that when I first heard it in 1992 I just assumed it was an old record. It was the 2nd single released for his greatest hits album, the first not making the Top 40 and prior to that he hadn't been in the Top 40 since 1986. Quite surprisingly he was still having Top 40 hits as late as 2004 but this is the last one I actually remember. It's your typical naff Lionel Richie record.
Verdict - Rubbish
The debut for Jon Secada and the only hit of his that many people would remember. I love the contrast between the vocals and backing track in this. You hear the intro and it sounds quite happy and upbeat, then you hear the pain in his voice.
Verdict - Good
When I saw the video to this I thought Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson looked different to how I remember them. That is of course because it's not Luther Vandross or Janet Jackson in the video, it's Damon Wayans and Stacey Dash from the film "Mo Money" which this record is from.
Verdict - Good
Like many, I first heard this at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert. I thought the song itself was a tribute to Freddie Mercury but then 3 years later came a Queen version with Freddie Mercury actually singing it. I liked this along with "Driven By You" enough to get the "Back To The Light" album on which they appear.
Verdict - Good
This was the beginning of Sweden taking over the music world. Dr Alban was a Nigerian based in Sweden and wrote this with Denniz Pop who founded Cherion Studios. There were a number of songwriters who have since been very prolific with their songwriting including Max Martin who at the time of writing only has Paul McCartney ahead of him in terms of most Top 40 hits as songwriter. Given how much dreadful music has been created as a result of this I should hate it. However it probably would have still happened with or without this record and I do like it in a 90s nostalgia sort of way.
Verdict - Good
In my college days I bought an old rave compilation from Cash Converters and put it on in the common room. Several people in the common room weren't into rave and weren't familiar with most of the tunes. I was there saying they were missing out, this was good stuff. Then this tune came on which everyone did know, but I had to concede that this one was shit. Think that was the only one we all agreed on.
Verdict - Rubbish
Being a London resident, I pass though Baker Street a lot and still to this very day I get this record going through my head more often than not when I do so. It was the Top 40 debut for Undercover and their best known. I'd not heard the Gerry Rafferty original at the time so this is my default version.
Verdict - Good
One memory I have of this record is that someone who I would regularly get lifts from would turn the radio off when this would come on. At the time I thought they simply could stand it but it's more likely they knew what the lyrics meant and didn't want kids listening to it. I still managed to hear it a lot though not knowing what the lyrics really were. I liked it because it's a good tune.
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%. Slightly better than last week with a few decent new entries.
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