Wednesday, 18 January 2023

Top 30 in 1995 Reviewed: Week 3

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:


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


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 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


My first introduction to Van Halen came from playing "Jump" on the jukebox a couple of years prior to this. I played it in the knowledge they were a hard rock band, but it turned out to not be what I was expected. Then came this, a new Van Halen record which was more in line with what I was expecting.

Verdict - Good


When I first heard this on Top of the Pops I wasn't sure whether I'd heard it before or not. When the first verse was being sung, in my mind I'd never heard it before. Then the chorus came in and it sounded familiar. What I don't know is if I'd genuinely heard the chorus before, or its one of those things I feel I've heard before but hadn't. The verses and chorus bear no resemblance to each other and I like that about the song. 

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


I can't say I'm a huge cricket fan, but always liked the theme music to the BBCs coverage. Then came this, a dance music makeover. This was happening to a few TV themes at the time as I recall. What I didn't realise at the time was that the cricket theme was an actual tune called "Soul Limbo" by Booker T and the MGs. 

Verdict - Good


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


The 2nd Top 40 hit for TLC which came nearly 3 years after their first. It was the lead single from their "CrazySexyCool" album. Like their first hit, this was composed by Dallas Austin. Hearing the intro to this tells me its going to be a good tune, and the rest of the tune doesn't disappoint. 

Verdict - Good


Steps have often been referred to as poundland Abba for the 90s which I don't disagree with at all. I would however say a more accurate description of them would be the Deuce of the late 90s. This was the Top 40 debut for Deuce and what I remembered most about it aside from how cheesy it was is the rhyming of face and disgrace. 

Verdict - Rubbish


This was the start of Barry White's 90s revival. I don't ever recall hearing Barry White prior to this having not been born during his 70s heyday. I remember him announcing at the start of Top of the Pops that he was going to be singing his new song on that show and I was amazed by how a singer could have such a deep voice. I think the squeaky voiced male singers of the modern era need to take note, this sort of singing is miles better than the namby pamby singing they do.

Verdict - Good / Good


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



Peter Andre once said that his songwriting process begins with him waking up with a melody in his head. When he wrote "Flava" I can only assume he'd been listening to "Hoochie Booty" by Ultimate Kaos the night before. This was the 2nd Top 40 hit for Ultimate Kaos who were a Simon Cowell created boy band. It's therefore cheesy, but lacks the charm of its predecessor "Some Girls". 

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 remember this record very well for all the wrong reasons. After it appeared on Top of the Pops I remember people from the rock crowd talking about how great this record was. It seemed a far cry from the heavier music they were bigging up a year or so prior and I thought if this is the future of rock then I'm definitely better off transitioning to rave. It was the Top 40 debut for Sleeper.

Verdict - Rubbish


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


The title track from their 2nd album. The first Massive Attack album "Blue Lines" is one of my all time favourites so was always a lot to live up to. It features Tracey Thorn from Everything But The Girl on vocals and this is where I struggle somewhat with this record. I've always found her singing rather irritating. Fortunately her singing is low key enough to not ruin the record which is great in every other respect.

Verdict - Good


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


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


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


There was once a pub in Newcastle called "Tut 'N' Shive" and whenever I'd walk past it I'd sing this in my head but changing the words to "I don't see nothing wrong with a little Tut 'N' Shive". Then it changed it's name to "Dog & Parrott" and "I don't see nothing wrong with a little Dog & Parrott" doesn't really work. Anyway I love this record, it's the opening track to a "Pure Swing" compilation I own and also appears on his "12 Play" album which I also own.

Verdict - Good


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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 15.5/30, or 52%. That didn't take long to get above 50%. Will we stay there the rest of the year?
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