Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 28 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Wednesday.
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 1995 with my verdict on each record:
We just passed the halfway mark of Thunders Top 40 career with this being the 10th of 18 Top 40 hits to date for them. Although this only reached number 23 in the charts it's their 4th biggest hit and they wouldn't get this high in the charts again. It sounds a cross between "Crazy Horses" and "Let's Stick Together". Not a bad record but nothing special.
Verdict - OK
This was one of those records I remember existing at the time and grabbing my attention because of the formula one team Tyrrell. I thought it may have had something to do with them, not realising that they're spelt slightly different to each other. Given the lack of internet in those days I never got the opportunity to hear it. Fast forward to the early days of YouTube and this record still didn't appear for years. Instead it was one of the first tunes I listened to on Spotify. I had no idea what to expect, but was pretty satisfied with what I heard. There certainly weren't better days ahead for the Tyrrell formula one team who would remain near the back of the grid for the remainder of their existence which ended in 1998.
Verdict - Good
Every Christmas time these days you'll find this back in the Top 40. It tends to be the first Christmas record to reappear in the charts and is often the highest charting of the Christmas records too. This is its original run in the charts where it was denied the top spot by East 17. It's a surprisingly upbeat record for Mariah Carey but that doesn't mean its any good.
Verdict - Rubbish
At the time I remember thinking that whilst Mariah Carey had a surprisingly uplifting record at Christmas, Gloria Estefan was the counter to that with this record. Not sure why exactly I was making the comparison of Gloria Estefan and Mariah Carey. It is however a rarity in that it's a Gloria Estefan hit of the 90s that I actually remember, for the wrong reasons though.
Verdict - Rubbish
26. Almighty - Jonestown Mind (New)
I remember somebody telling me that The Almighty were going to be appearing on Top of the Pops to play their new single which was this. He'd never heard any of their music before and I was unhappy about them appearing on Top of the Pops as I wanted them to be more underground even thought they'd been in the charts before. After that episode, that person told me it was the crappest shit he'd ever heard. I on the other hand liked it.
Verdict - Good
Babyface was on songwriting duties for this record and I think you can tell that Babyface has something to do with it. I like Babyface, he's a writer and producer I really rate. Part of his talent though is to write both decent records and crap records for pop singers. This one very much fits the latter category.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the final Eternal hit before Louise left the group. With the exception of their final hit when they were just a duo and their popularity had dwindled, this was the lowest charting Eternal single. As a trio they never failed to reach the Top 10. It's probably the most obscure Eternal record and probably the worst one too which is really saying something.
Verdict - Rubbish
The Lightning Seeds made their Top 40 debut back in 1989, but this was just their 4th Top 40 hit. They would become chart regulars from this point for a period of time. It was the first single from the "Jollification" album to make the Top 40 and would be their highest charting single until "3 Lions". Not a record I've really given much thought to if I'm honest, but found myself enjoying it just now.
Verdict - Good
This was the 4th Top 40 hit for PJ & Duncan. Their music career began on Byker Grove but their debut single "Tonight I'm Free" which they did on the TV show failed to make the Top 40. Their music career soon picked up though. Around this time though PJ & Duncan had left Byker Grove and it was all about Frew and Barney DJing. Onto this record and I never liked it at the time, but listening to it again after all these years I'm realising how awful it was.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 3rd of 4 Top 40 hits to date for Loveland who were a dance act who included Paul Waterman, son of Pete Waterman amongst it's members. Rachel McFarlane featured on a 4 of these hits, but also had hits as a solo artists as well as being vocalist for other acts such as N-Trance. It's no doubt a commercial dance record, but also proof commercial doesn't always have to mean shit.
Verdict - Good
Power Rangers was a huge kids TV show at the time, but I was too old for it. This is the theme music to the TV show. Matt Aitken had come out of retirement and reunited with Mike Stock, but not Pete Waterman. From this description there can only really be one verdict for this record.
Verdict - Rubbish
When I first became a raver I had to educate myself about it. Most of that in the early days came from a friend who was into it and remember him telling me it was a proper rave tune. It originally came out in 1992 but didn't enjoy commercial success until 1994. I liked it at the time, but I truly appreciated how good it was when I heard it for the first time in a while on Dave Pearce's Dance Anthems around 98/99 time.
Verdict - Good
The 6th Top 40 hit for Ace Of Base who were sticking to the reggae pop formula that they were known for. It's both sad and uplifting at the same time which I'm sure was intentional. You knew what you were getting with an Ace Of Base record by this point and this gives you exactly what you expect. It's a formula that works though so that's no bad thing.
Verdict - Good
There was a brief period of time when the Riverdance was big. Never been a fan of dancing myself so I ignored it the best I could. But given it's popularity they couldn't resist releasing a single from it. The fact it's all about watching the dancing rather than listening to the music though suggests the music isn't really up to much, which it isn't.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the highest charting single for Carleen Anderson as a solo artist having previous been part of Young Disciples. It was co-written by Mark E. Nevin from Fairground Attraction. I feel like this should have been in the sound track to the Baz Luhrmann Romeo + Juliet film, but it wasn't. I'm a big fan of that film by the way so I mean it as a compliment. They really don't make records like this anymore, not that I've heard anyway.
Verdict - Good
We were almost a decade into Jimmy Nails Top 40 career but this was just his 3rd Top 40 hit. At this point all his Top 40 hits had made the Top 5 but he hasn't made the Top 5 since. It's taken from the TV series of the same name which starred Jimmy Nail. It's a pleasant enough record without being something I'd go out of my way to listen to.
Verdict - OK
This is what I said when it originally charted in 1993: It had been a year since The Sounds Of Blackness made their Top 40 debut "Optimistic" which I found to be pretty good despite it being gospel music which isn't my thing. This was their 2nd Top 40 hit. To be fair you could legitimately class it as being soul/R&B as well as gospel. Despite this I can't say I think much of this record.
Verdict - Rubbish
13. Portishead - Glory Box (New)
This was the final single to be released from the excellent "Dummy" album which came out in 1994, but was the first to make the Top 40. It's also the final track on the album, which is one of my favourite albums of all time. I don't know what else to say really, just give it a listen and let the music do the talking.
Verdict - Good
I was getting a bit confused when listening to this just now. My memory of it is that it was a dance cover of the Bonnie Tyler record, but I start listening and finding this too is a ballad. That is until around a minute and a half in when it turns into a dance record. It's a very poor transition though and a poor record all together. It's the only time Nicki French will feature, but she did have one further Top 40 hit in 2000 with the Eurovision entry which makes sense.
Verdict - Rubbish
The follow up to "Saturday Night" which sounds just like "Saturday Night". Unsurprisingly the 2 writers of "Saturday Night", Larry Pignagnoli and Davide Riva also wrote this along with Annerley Gordon though quite what the latter added to it I don't know. Anyway I never liked "Saturday Night" so therefore I don't like this.
Verdict - Rubbish
Zig and Zag were puppets on The Big Breakfast. I remember them singing the chorus to this acapella on an episode. I never though in a million years it would get turned into an actual song. We have Simon Cowell to thank for that. I'll concede it's better than all that nonsense the X Factor winners would sing, but that's not too difficult. Produced by Erick Morillo, though he'd already been known to do cheesy music too by this point.
Verdict - Rubbish
I don't remember anyone still listening to Guns N' Roses in 1995. The fact this went straight into the Top 10 though implies plenty of people still were. It was however the final Guns N' Roses hit before the wilderness years. It's a cover of the Rolling Stones record and to be honest it isn't great. You could tell that they were pretty much finished as a band by this point.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the 5th Top 40 hit for Oasis and biggest hit to date, possibly helped by the fact every man and his dog had the "Definitely Maybe" album but this never appeared on an album. Although it's clearly a different song, I can't help but think of it as a blatant rip off of "I'm Free" by the Rolling Stones and it's almost surprising Jagger and Richards didn't take legal action given it doesn't take much for them to do that. Instead it was Neil Innes who took legal action for it's resemblance to one of his songs. I never got Oasis though, doesn't appeal to me at all.
Verdict - Rubbish
We had reached the mid-point of the 90s and the 80s was very much a distant memory. Or so it seemed until The Human League made a comeback. I remember how out of place this record sounded at the time and in my mind there was no room for 80s music in the 90s. I do like 80s synth pop music these days including some Human League records, but not this one.
Verdict - Rubbish
This record changed my life. Prior to this I was part of the grunge crowd and rave was the enemy. I was becoming disillusioned with it all and felt I was listening to music I should be listening to rather than what I wanted to listen to. Then this came along which was precisely what I shouldn't have liked, but I thought it was pretty much the best record out at that moment. I concluded that rave was much more up my street and so my transition to a raver began.
Verdict - Good
The only Top 40 hit for Ini Kamoze who had been around since the early 80s and was in his late 30s by this point. It has 90s nostalgia written all over it, but even in the late 90s I remember looking back on records like this and thinking they don't make them like that anymore.
Verdict - Good
I once sang this at karaoke one summer and the DJ questioned why I was singing a Christmas song at that time of the year. The answer is simple, it's not a Christmas song. Yes it was Christmas number one and year the bells at the end may give a hint of Christmas, but the song was about Tony Mortimer's brother after he'd taken his own life. Anyway like with pretty much all the East 17 hits, I like it and it's one of my favourite ever Christmas number ones.
Verdict - Good
The Top 40 debut for Boyzone, the Irish version of Take That. After they had a few hits it became apparent that Ronan Keating has quite a deep singing voice but he's pretty high pitched here and you can kind of sense he's struggling to sing like that. Like many Boyzone hits it's a cover that just sounds like a karaoke version of the original.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember going on holiday in 1995 and going to a restaurant the first night which was almost empty. As I dined it became apparent why nobody went there. The restaurant manager seemed to love this song, playing it multiple times that evening and encouraging diners to get up and dance to it with him. Needless to say I never went back. A boring depressing record.
Verdict - Rubbish
I used to regularly go to a pub quiz where the first round was always music clips where we had to give the artist title and year. There would be a common theme between the clips and one time it was number one hits of the 90s in which this appeared. Obviously the artist and title wasn't a problem, but the year wasn't so straightforward. On one hand it entered the charts in 1994 but it topped the charts in 1995, so which year was he wanting? I can't remember which one it was now, but it was different to the one I gave. That association makes me hate the song even more than I did previously.
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 12/30, or 40%. The improvement has begun.
No comments:
Post a Comment