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:
Yes that's right, Tasmin Archer had another hit. In fact she had 5 Top 40 hits in total with this being her 2nd. I have to say when the chorus comes in and she starts singing "son of a bitch you broke my heart" it's quite something. Unfortunately the rest of the song isn't strong enough for me to truly like it.
Verdict - OK
The lead single from their "Everything Changes" album. I'd say this ones long forgotten now, it's not one you hear anymore. Yet it was Take That's biggest hit to this point. That said they only had 1 single that didn't reach number one after this during their original run. I absolutely detested this song at the time and haven't really changed my mind.
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
27. Grid - Crystal Clear (New)
The Top 40 debut for Grid who were a duo consisting of Dave Ball from Soft Cell and Richard Norris. I don't remember this at the time, but it's one I'm familiar with thanks to Helter Skelter. The first Helter Skelter video I bought was The Anthology and there's part of it where they're going round the outdoor area and this tune is playing on the video. It's not the sort of tune you'd hear at Helter Skelter, but was a nice breather from the harder tunes when watching the video.
Verdict - Good
The 2nd Top 40 hit for Alice In Chains. What becomes apparent from this record is that Alice In Chains were heavier than the other big Seattle grunge bands. On that basis it makes sense that they were more likely to appear in peoples Top 10 bands than the others with the exception of Nirvana. It was still music I'd categorise as music I liked because I was supposed to rather than music I genuinely liked.
Verdict - OK
This was the debut Top 40 hit for Hue And Cry in 1987 and also their biggest hit. It was remixed in 1993 by Joey Negro and re-entered the Top 40. It doesn't really work though, it's just dance beats being put to a non-dance record.
Verdict - Rubbish
I mentioned in my review of "Wonderful" by Runrig that it sounded like it could almost be a Big Country song. Then it gets replaced at 29 by an actual Big Country song. You wouldn't expect Big Country to still be having hits in 1993 but they were just about with this being their penultimate Top 40 hit to date. It basically sounds like a Big Country record and could just as easily have been from the 80s. A bit out of place in 1993 then, but not a bad record.
Verdict - OK
Bryan Ferry began his solo Top 40 career doing nothing but covers. Then he started having original hits in the late 70s and the 80s. Then in the 90s he was back to doing covers which started with this. I do find it some what baffling that a songwriter like Bryan Ferry would do so many covers. I can't say I think much of this.
Verdict - Rubbish
With this record entering the charts I know that "Sweat (A La La La La Long)" by Inner Circle is just round the corner. Both take me back to school discos in an era where I loved pretty much everything which was played. It's one of the last Stock and Waterman hits, but according to West End aka Eddie Gordon they just replicated what he'd done previously, which explains why this is good.
Verdict - Good
We're into the final year of Stock and Waterman having hits which begins with this. It sounds like Stock and Waterman had little to do with it though, it's a cover and production was done by West End aka Eddie Gordon amongst others who were uncredited. That would explain why this record is actually quite good.
Verdict - Good
The 30th Top 40 hit for Madonna. Despite being a Top 10 single, just, it was the 2nd lowest charting Top 40 hit she'd had to that point. It also only made number 36 in America. I do remember it, but it's not one you really hear anymore. Hopefully this is the last time I'll hear it.
Verdict - Rubbish
I've said this before and I'll say it again. The way to measure how good an Iron Maiden record is how fast the drumming is. After a bit of a shaky start the drums finally kick in after 2 minutes. It does slow down a bit later on, but when the fast drums come back in it redeems it.
Verdict - Good
Back in the 20th century the majority of rap artists in the Top 40 were American. There was just one British rap act to score more than 3 Top 40 hits and that was Monie Love who reached 9. To me though that's a bad advert for British rap. Even having Prince as co-writer cannot save this record.
Verdict - Rubbish
It had already been established that boys weren't supposed to like Take That, but nobody had said anything about East 17 yet. Therefore I would make no secret at the time that I liked this record. It was their first Top 5 hit.
Verdict - Good
The bulk of Sister Sledge's Top 40 career seemingly came from multiple versions of the same 2 songs. Like "We Are Family" this was making it's 3rd appearance in the Top 40. Not a mix you ever hear anymore and I can understand why.
Verdict - Rubbish
This failed to make the Top 40 when first released the previous year. It was the only solo Top 40 hit for kd Lang. It's one of those record that seems more suited to the American market than the UK one. I guess it's catchy but that's the only good thing about it, if that even is a good thing.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember mishearing the band name as being Slade when I first heard this and thought wow this sounds a bit different. Then I saw it on the TV with their name on screen and it started to make sense. Suede were one of the most overrated bands of the 90s in my opinion but many bands have one good song in them and for Suede this is the one.
Verdict - Good
I'd actually heard the original Harry Chapin version which never made the UK Top 40 prior to this cover. As a youngster at the time though I was in favour of the more modern version so was never put off.
Verdict - Good
A week after Whitney Houston was finally knocked off the top spot we got this Top 5 follow up. It's also from "The Bodyguard" film and is a cover of the Chaka Khan record. At least this one isn't as depressing, but that's the only positive thing I can say about it.
Verdict - Rubbish
The penultimate Top 40 hit for PM Dawn and the last time they'll feature in these posts as the last one made number 40. It was their 2nd biggest Top 40 hit and thinking about it I would say if I had to name a PM Dawn record aside from the obvious one then this would probably be it. This one samples "Father Figure" by George Michael and has Cathy Dennis on backing vocals.
Verdict - Good
The Top 40 debut for Jamiroquai. I wasn't familiar with the name Jamiroquai until a couple of years later but this is a record I definitely remember at the time. In fact I think it even took a while for me to learn the title. After reading all the references to Stevie Wonder in the video comments, maybe I assumed it was a Stevie Wonder record at the time.
Verdict - Good
The lead song from this EP is "Screamager" which is probably their best known song. It was also their only Top 10 hit. The intro is simple but effective, it's the part of the song that everyone remembers. We all played it on our guitars too.
Verdict - Good
I don't think anyone knew the words to this when it came out, but in the chorus people would sing "I'll lick your bum bum now". I always assumed they weren't the real lyrics and with the benefit of the internet I can see it's "A licky boom boom down". It's regarded by many as a bit of a joke record but I always quite liked it and I challenge anyone to singalong word for word, I'm sure most would struggle.
Verdict - Good
This double a-side is often a question on Popmaster and that's how I learned it was a double a-side. "Little Bird" was the one I remember being played at the time and I never really thought much of it. I have no recollection of hearing "Love Song For A Vampire" at the time. I've heard it since and don't think much of it either.
Verdict - Rubbish / Rubbish
When it came to peoples Top 10 bands, solo artists were allowed though they rarely featured because rock music was mostly done by bands. One solo artist in many peoples Top 10 around this time was Lenny Kravitz based on this record alone. Then it became apparent this was the same man who did "It Ain't Over Til It's Over" a couple of years prior and he followed this up with the very mellow "Believe". We all still liked this song though, but he was no longer worthy of a place in our Top 10s.
Verdict - Good
The singles kept on coming from the "Dangerous" album with this being the 7th. Whilst most of these singles had been new jack swing ones, this one was a rock song with Slash playing the guitar on it. I never liked it at the time because in my mind it couldn't be a proper rock song if it was by Michael Jackson. It has grown on me since.
Verdict - Good
This was the comic relief single for 1993 and was therefore being played all the time at the time. I don't think I've heard it since though. It was a truly dreadful song but I think that was the point.
Verdict - Rubbish
This is the record Shabba Ranks is best known for. It only made number 23 the first time round but then returned to the charts in 1993 when it made number 3. During the time between this he made his infamous appearance on "The Word" which I thought killed his career but it seemed to have the opposite effect. It's good in a 90s nostalgia sort of way.
Verdict - Good
The tune which knocked Whitney Houston off number one which everybody sang "there's no lyrics" to. I'm terrible at making out lyrics in songs and I remember being criticised for not knowing the words to the other bit she sings and remember other people telling me what the words were. My thoughts were they would have been better of genuinely having no lyrics.
Verdict - Rubbish
I was yet to enter my phase as a rock purist because when this record came out it was my favourite song. I was such a fan that when I was getting sunglasses to go on holiday I said I wanted sunglasses like Shaggy.
Verdict - Good
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%. No bad new entries this week but only improves slightly.
No comments:
Post a Comment