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 1993 with my verdict on each record:
This was the 40th Top 40 hit for Paul McCartney. Generally speaking when someone is this far into their career and they have a song where they play the acoustic guitar it's a complete bore fest. I can't say that for this record though. Despite the acoustic guitar its quite uplifting. Doesn't have enough about it for me to truly like it though.
Verdict - OK
29. Little Angels - Womankind (New)
It seems pretty common for a rock bands biggest hit to be a ballad. This is true for Little Angels with this being their highest charting Top 40 hit and first to make the Top 20. Both this and their previous ballad "I Ain't Gonna Cry" were the only Little Angels Top 40 hits written solely by Toby Jepson so it would seem he's good at doing that.
Verdict - Good
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
The first new Top 30 hit of 1993 is the solo debut for Apache Indian. It's basically Asian influence reggae music which makes it interesting. That said, it doesn't make me think wow what a tune. Despite being a bit different it does sound a bit generic.
Verdict - OK
The follow up to "End of the Road" which was still in the Top 40 when this charted. Both records left the Top 40 the same week, so clearly this didn't have as much impact.
Verdict - Rubbish
As well as listening to this record I've just listened to the Marianne Faithfull original for the first time to see how they compare. Both are pretty dark records and the vocals are similar on both versions. Sunscreem have made it their own with the rest of the music though. Some may argue that's what's ruined the record, but I like it.
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
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
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
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
Jesus Jones were one of those groups who blended rock and dance music. This record leans more towards rock but was made using the sort of technology dance music was using which is something I like the idea of.
Verdict - 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
There were more rave Top 40 hits in 1992 than any other year. The number of hits did notably dwindle towards the end of the year though and cheesy crap like this ensured it wouldn't come back. It's basically a take on "Sailing" by Sutherland Brothers with the word "we are sailing" replaced with "we are raving". It really is as bad as it sounds.
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
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
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
I have no memory of this record or this band existing. They're an Irish indie band and this was their only Top 40 hit. It sounds pretty similar to "Sit Down" by James which is a record I don't like. It's a prime example of why indie music can be perceived as being boring.
Verdict - Rubbish
One of the songs from "The Bodyguard" soundtrack which isn't by Whitney Houston. It's much better than Whitney's chart topper, but that's not saying much. It's uplifting, but there's no wow factor to it, just pretty average but pleasant enough.
Verdict - OK
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 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
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
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
I would say "Mr. Wendal" is one of those records that's got better with age. I liked it at the time, but later on in life I'm realising what a strange record it is, but in a good way. "Revolution" was one I don't ever remember hearing at the time, but I do know it now. It was looking like it wasn't on YouTube when I searched for it, so I went to Google to search and a YouTube video was the first result. Again a decent record.
Verdict - Good / Good
I did like this record at the time but haven't heard it since. I was expecting not to like it now though as I've become much less tolerant of eurodance in general, but I was pleasantly surprised to find I still like it. The fact it's breakbeat rather than the kick drum probably helps, but it sounds like a proper dance record.
Verdict - Good
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
The Shamen could do no wrong in 1992 it would seem. I would say this is the best of their 1992 hits, possibly helped by the fact it hasn't fallen victim to anthem bashing. At the time I misheard the lyrics to the chorus as being "we are the burger people".
Verdict - Good
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
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 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 16.5/30, or 55%. Some decent new entries this week.
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