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:
A record from 1967 which was given a new lease of life in 1992 when it featured on the Levi's advert. Erma Franklin was the sister of Aretha and had more or less retired from the music business long before this. It's the only record of hers I've ever heard so my impression of her as a singer is a positive one.
Verdict - Good
I guess you could say this was the calm before the storm as far as M People were concerned. It was their 4th Top 40 hit but so far they hadn't got any higher than 29. They would mostly have Top 10s after this. Yet this early period of M People produced better music than what followed. Don't get me wrong, it's still essentially pop music but it isn't the full on cheese we'd come to know them for.
Verdict - OK
After clocking up hits at least every other year since 1980 we wouldn't see The Cure in the Top 40 for another 4 years after this record charted. I can appreciate The Cure as musicians and do like some of their record, but I find this one boring.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the lead single from the "Automatic for the People" album which is arguably the album they're best known for. It was quite a low key introduction to the album though, I don't remember too many people acknowledging "Drive" at the time and the other singles are much better remembered. That means it hasn't been played to death so I still like it.
Verdict - Good
We were at the beginning of the school year at this point and I can tell you that we were studying electricity in science. My reason for remembering that is because in our experiments we used connectors and at the same time this record was out. It's their Top 40 debut and lead track off their 3rd album of the same name. It also played it's part in my decision to buy the album.
Verdict - Good
Yes that's right, Billy Ray Cyrus had another song. Whilst the one we all know is a bit of a joke song that nobody can really take seriously, he's trying to be more serious on this record. It doesn't work. On a more positive note, it's better than anything his daughter has ever done.
Verdict - Rubbish
The Farm are best known for "Groovy Train" and "All Together Now" and many would struggle to name a 3rd record of theirs. Chart wise this was the 3rd most successful and yes it's a cover of the Human League record. On paper this should be awful and listening to it I can confirm it is awful.
Verdict - Rubbish
Sunscreem weren't your typical dance act. Normally it would be one or two people using the latest technology to make a tune whereas Sunscreem were a group who played instruments. With technology changing the way it does, many dance tunes from 1992 were already sounded dated by the late 90s. This tune though doesn't even sound dated now. It's a great example to show those into EDM nonsense what proper dance music is.
Verdict - Good
A collaboration between John McEnroe's wife and the drummer from the Eagles. There was a place I once worked at that would have the same tape on repeat for a period of time and this was on that tape. I'm not sure I'd heard it prior to that, but I don't think I've heard it since said job and have no desire to hear it ever again.
Verdict - Rubbish
There's something quite amusing about the fact this was recorded at Radio 1 in the park given by the mid-90s Radio 1 refused to play their music. I saw them do something similar at Radio 2 in the park a couple of years ago. It works well even, though the fact their songs are known to sound the same helps.
Verdict - OK
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
Believe it or not, this record failed to reach the Top 40 when first released in 1979. The original recording had Bon Scott on vocals but this live version had been recorded at Donington the previous year and therefore had Brian Johnson on vocals. I personally think his singing sounds like a cat being strangled therefore this version is worse than the original, and I don't like the original.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
The 10th single of the year for The Wedding Present and finally they have one I actually quite like. The "get along get along get out" bits make it interesting and it's got enough of a tempo to it to keep me interested. Proof that almost everyone has at least one good tune in them.
Verdict - Good
This was the 2nd solo Top 40 hit for Dina Carroll which peaked at the same position as the first. This time the songwriting duties went to Robert Clivilles and David Cole. The result is something that doesn't sound all that different to her previous effort.
Verdict - OK
15. The Orb - Assassin (New)
In 1992 The Orb released the album "UFOrb" but this tune wasn't on it or any of their albums for that matter. Given the standard of dance music in the charts in the modern era it's hard to believe that interesting tunes like this could make the Top 40 back in the day.
Verdict - 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
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 the opening track to his "Tubular Bells II" album which is is the sequel to his "Tubular Bells" album in the 70s. I listened to that album years ago after hearing about what a masterpiece it was. I can't say I was a big fan if I'm honest, but I didn't mind it. I can say the same about this record too.
Verdict - OK
11. Madonna - Erotica (New)
This was single number 28 for Madonna which was the lead single off what was only her 5th album. It somehow manages to be both irritating and boring. It was controversial at the time and the video was banned on MTV, but it's really a nothing song.
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
I think we're reaching the point here where the rules were getting established in that if you were female you liked Take That and if you were male you didn't. I should point out I no longer subscribe to that way of thinking, I like what I like. What I will say about this song is that it showcases Gary Barlow's credentials as a songwriter. It's a proper song, nothing particularly cheesy about it unlike their previous efforts. That doesn't mean I like it though.
Verdict - Rubbish
The era of toytown techno in the Top 40 was now over and rave was giving way to eurodance. The theme for the novelty side of eurodance was versions of computer game music with this being the first. Quite surprisingly the man behind this record was Andrew Lloyd Webber. I prefer this to pretty much everything else he's done but that's because I really don't like his music.
Verdict - Rubbish
It's funny that Prince wrote a record called "My Name Is Prince" and then the following year he would change his name to a symbol. This is the closest I've heard Prince come to making a rap record. He seems pretty angry in it too. Somehow it works.
Verdict - Good
To promote their greatest hits album Simple Minds released this double a-side of older songs. "Love Song" was first released in 1981 but failed to make the Top 40 the first time round. "Alive and Kicking" made number 7 when released in 1985 but goes one place better here. Given that their 1991 efforts were nowhere near as good as their earlier efforts, this re-issue is very much welcome. "Alive and Kicking" is amongst my favourite Simple Minds record.
Verdict - Good / 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
This is a tune which reminds me of the beginning of a school year. I loved this tune at the time and still do. It was the 3rd Top 40 hit for Bizarre Inc but it was a change in direction compared to it's predecessors. The story is that the record label wanted them to make more of a pop record and this was the result.
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
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
I recall a few years ago watching a "Forgotten Gems of the 90s" show on one of the music channels. It was a welcome change to the usual anthem bashing you get on retro channels. If memory serves me correctly this was number one. My initial thought was is this really forgotten, but then I guess I've not heard it much since the 90s. That may be a reason why I still 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 17/30, or 57%. Standards are slipping but still a decent score.
No comments:
Post a Comment