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 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
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 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
This was the final UK Top 40 hit credited to Prince And The New Power Generation, though there would be hits for both separately to come. After a promising start I find myself switching off somewhat as the song goes on. Maybe it peaked too soon with the intro being the best bit.
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
Gloria Estefan had 19 Top 40 hits in the 90s, many of which are long forgotten. The only one that managed to make the Top 10 though was a megamix of her 80s hits. Whilst I do prefer her 80s hits generally speaking I don't like them enough to like this megamix.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
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
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
I like both 808 State and UB40. I also like the original of "One In Ten". I don't know what exactly 808 State were trying to do here, but whatever it was it didn't work in my opinion. It just sounds a bit of a mess and doesn't do the original any justice.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
My memory of this record coming out is people pointing it out to me and me saying I don't care, I'm a Guns N Roses fan now. That said I did find myself enjoying this record. It's definitely one of the better Freddie Mercury solo records.
Verdict - Good
This was the 29th Top 40 hit for Madonna but just the 3rd that failed to reach the Top 5. That doesn't mean this is any worse that most of her previous records, and it isn't. Then again there is a very small number of Madonna records I actually like and this isn't one of them.
Verdict - Rubbish
It was around the time this record came out that it was established that if you were a boy you weren't supposed to like Take That. At the same time, this was the first Take That record I actually liked. I wouldn't admit it at the time but I admit it now.
Verdict - Good
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
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
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
4. WWF Superstars - Slam Jam (New)
With most of the 80s Stock Aitken & Waterman acts now moved on, this was the new era for Stock and Waterman. This time it was getting wrestlers to make records. It's as dreadful as it should be.
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
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
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 17.5/30, or 58%. Very good score considering the rubbish that entered the charts this week.
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