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:
I'm surprised this record only got to number 16. It's hard to pin point one record as being the one En Vogue are best know for but "Free Your Mind" is definitely a candidate. Both tunes are from the "Funky Divas" album and influenced my decision to buy that album.
Verdict - Good / Good
I remember this one having a bigger chorus than it does. On that basis it's a bit of a let down. Overall though I think I need to be in the right mood for this one. As I've got older and more bitter I've become less receptive to a soft rock ballad.
Verdict - OK
At this point in my life I'd moved on from Queen because it was old peoples music and was now very pro modern music. This cover of "Mrs Robinson" to me was a big fuck you to the older generation and here is the new generation doing the song much better. "Being Around" is basically Evan Dando on his own with a very short acoustic number which is pleasant enough.
Verdict - Good / Good
Just when we'd got over Jason Donovan doing all that Joseph crap here's Phil Schofield doing the same thing. Fortunately his music career never went any further than this. Or maybe its unfortunate because he's been on the TV every day since.
Verdict - Rubbish
When this record was first released in 1986 it reached number 15. This live version 6 years later reached number 7. It was the penultimate Top 40 hit to date of the Phil Collins era of Genesis with their final one only making number 40. If you asked me to name one Genesis record then this one would probably be it. Quite appropriately for a record with Phil Collins on it, the best thing about this record is the drumming.
Verdict - Good
When I first heard people talking about Rage Against the Machine in 1993 I thought surely they can't be talking about the group who had a hit with "Run to You" not so long ago. They weren't as this group were simply called Rage. It's a eurodance cover of the Bryan Adams record which on paper should be dreadful. It's actually not bad though.
Verdict - OK
This is one of those records which showcases to me why the 90s was a better time. I was mostly listening to this in the early 00s though when I acquired a Pure Swing compilation this was on. The fact I was listening to an early 90s compilation in the early 00s though kind of proves my point.
Verdict - Good
23. Boney M - Boney M Megamix (New)
It had been over a decade since Boney M had last been in the Top 40. To be fair they had a pretty remarkable Top 40 run in their heyday so this was perhaps educating people like me what music was like in the 70s. I on the other hand only cared about modern music.
Verdict - Rubbish
22. Dina Carroll - So Close (New)
One thing I've always found somewhat baffling is that Christmas is supposed to be a happy occasion, yet many people feel the need to release depressing music to mark the occasion. This is what Dina Carroll did having had quite uplifting hits prior to this. Yet I find the chorus surprisingly listenable.
Verdict - OK
I remember Shabba Ranks being around and having more hits than "Mr. Loverman" without remembering specifically what they were. This must have been one of those records but it's not ringing any bells. It could grow on me, but hasn't had an instant impact.
Verdict - OK
We've now reached the end of the Stock Aitken & Waterman era of Kylie Minogue's career, though this particular record wasn't produced by them and it was a cover but was on PWL records. It's just as poor as your typical Stock Aitken & Waterman output though.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was already 4 years old by the time it came out having featured in the film "The Land Before Time". I do find that fact a little off putting as songs from animated films tend to be a bit crap. Oddly I think I took a liking to this before I realised it was from an animated film. The fact it's not a male/female duet probably helps too.
Verdict - Good
18. REM - Man On The Moon (New)
This one takes me back to the end of term at school when it was a day of just pissing about listening to music. Unfortunately for me I was made to do my homework that I'd failed to do, but as I was doing it I could hear my classmates singing along to this and I was thinking lucky them.
Verdict - Good
I'd pretty much forgot about this record until I watched a Classic Chart Show episode which this appeared on. I don't know if I ever know who did it at the time, but when I saw it was Vanessa Paradis I was quite surprised. I was also surprised to learn this was written by Lenny Kravitz. It certain has that 90s nostalgia to it.
Verdict - Good
16. Stereo MC's - Step It Up (New)
This was one of my favourites at the time. I quite liked that strange combination of music that sounded quite soulful with a singing who's only really half singing.
Verdict - Good
Although Deacon Blue are known as an 80s band they actually had more Top 40 hits in the 90s. This particular record has a 90s sound to it as well and has more of a rock sounds that their previous efforts. It's good though.
Verdict - Good
I don't think I've heard this record since 1992. I guess U2 have had that many hits that some will inevitably be long forgotten now. I very much remember this record and I remember liking it too. Listening to it now though I'm finding it pretty average.
Verdict - OK
I mentioned in the "Ebeneezer Goode" review the the person who gave me a lift to school would always turn off the radio when that tune came on. When this one appeared on the radio that person said they actually liked this record. So did I.
Verdict - Good
This was the 6th single to be released from the "Use Your Illusion" albums which had been out for over a year by this point. I'm pretty sure Guns N' Roses were my favourite band by this point so I liked pretty much everything they did.
Verdict - Good
The lead song on this EP is "Lady Godiva's Room". Given their "Stars" album was the biggest selling album of both 1991 and 1992 I guess it didn't make sense to release any more singles from it given how many people would have owned the album. I find this record quite soothing.
Verdict - Good
In 1992 there were just 2 rap records which made the Top 10, "Jump" by Kris Kross and this record. It was the Top 40 debut for Arrested Development. It was the weird noises that I always liked about this record at the time.
Verdict - Good
Yet another attempt by Cliff Richard at getting the Christmas number one. I have no recollection of this song but I haven't missed out on anything.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember singing "Waltzing Matilda" at primary school. As a rule, any song I sang at school that translates into a pop song is never going to go down well. I found this Rod Stewart version terrible and remember thinking why is this old duffer still having hits.
Verdict - Rubbish
When this came out I was yet to hear the original so this was the first version I heard. I loved this record at the time and I was was very pro modern music I probably would have still loved it had I heard the original. Because of these fond memories I still like it today.
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 would say "Out Of Space" is the record The Prodigy are best remembered for from this particular era. The beats in this tune are really something, which is easy to forget when you hear it so much. "Ruff In The Jungle Bizness" is one of those tunes that just goes to another level once the piano kicks in.
Verdict - Good / Good
This was the first time I'd heard Heaven 17 and I had no idea this was a remix of an 80s record. One stand out memory about this record is it being the first one they played at a school disco and everyone was singing along so loudly that I couldn't hear myself singing along. When I finally heard the original I found it a bit of a disappointed because I like this remix so much.
Verdict - Good
I did like this record at the time. So much so that when we voted for what charity to support at school I picked "Heal The World" on the basis of this song. These days though I can't tolerate songs like this.
Verdict - Rubbish
Literally everyone I knew at the time loved this record. Some even went as far as saying Charles & Eddie were their favourite band based on this record alone. I was no exception, I loved this record too.
Verdict - Good
You couldn't escape this record at the time, it was everywhere. I recall "The Bodyguard" film which this was taken from being massive as well. Let's just say the film was much better than the song.
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%. Some rubbish entering the charts as we head towards Christmas but the score is still decent.
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