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:
30. Green Day - Longview (New)
This is the point on the "Dookie" album that the music slows down but the rate of swearing goes up. I don't actually remember this being a single, but very much remember it on the album. Despite the slower pace it still has enough about it for me to like it.
Verdict - Good
29. 10cc - I'm Not In Love (New)
This was originally a chart topper in 1975 and was rerecorded 20 years later but just featured Eric Stewart and Graham Gouldman this time. It was also an acoustic version, but given it was already quite a mellow song it's not really that different to the original. That is a good thing.
Verdict - Good
Radiohead has left their grunge roots behind and started making the mellow and depressing music that they're best known for. Apparently the record label made them release this and Thom Yorke considers it a very bad record. I'm inclined to agree.
Verdict - Rubbish / Rubbish
I would say that the hits of Sophie B Hawkins have got better with age. This was the final one of those hits and I'm actually surprised it only got to number 24. This one is my favourite of all her singles, this is how to make a pop song.
Verdict - Good
This was the 2nd UK Top 40 hit for German eurodance act (MC Sar And) The Real McCoy and the follow up to their biggest hit "Another Night". Unlike many other eurodance acts, they also were successful in America. Also unlike many other eurodance acts, I liked them enough to buy the album though admittedly this was years later and bought from poundland.
Verdict - Good
It's called "Ten Storey Love Song" but it just missed out on reaching number 10. I do wonder whether this record inspired "Shining Light" by Ash, it has it's similarities. Personally I find both records to be rather boring.
Verdict - Rubbish
Following his hits from "The Lion King" and some covers, Elton John was reunited with Bernie Taupin on this his 51st Top 40 hit. Only Elvis Presley and Cliff Richard had reached that milestone by that point. It's a record that's not bad but lacking in excitement.
Verdict - OK
It had been just over a year since The Cranberries made their Top 40 debut and this was Top 40 hit number 5 for them. I would also say this one is the last of their well known singles, it seemed pretty big at the time though not one you really hear anymore. I was never a fan.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the final Top 40 hit from the "How to Make Friends and Influence People" album. They've gone a lot more mellow on this record, but it's shouty enough to not be too soft. It still has electric guitars in it too. Overall it makes for a good record.
Verdict - Good
Faith No More were back and sounded angrier than ever. I remember seeing this on Top of the Pops at the time and I loved how loud Mike Patton's vocals were. I would love to sing this at karaoke but am yet to find anywhere that has it on the list.
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
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 Human League 1995 comeback continued with this record. Unlike their other hits, this one has minimal vocals from Phil Oakey with Susan Ann Sulley taking the lead vocals instead. It still sounds out of place in 1995 though.
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
It had been 9 years since Mike and the Mechanics made their Top 40 debut but this was just their 4th Top 40 hit which came 4 years after their 3rd. I remember watching this on Top of the Pops and what stood out to me was the whistle solo. Also little did we know at the time that the school boy in the video would be joining a new TV show called Hollyoaks later that year and would still be in it 27 years later.
Verdict - Good
15. The Prodigy - Poison (New)
The final Top 40 hit from their "Music for the Jilted Generation" album. This was the first rave album I bought and remember particularly liking this tune. A bit strange in hindsight because this is moving away from the rave sound we'd been used to from The Prodigy at that point. A great record nonetheless.
Verdict - Good
I had to look at the history books to check if this record had originally been released in 1992, but it hadn't. My memory is playing tricks on me again because I think of this as being a 1992 record. That said, I've always considered this to be a bit naff so maybe it is better suited to 1994.
Verdict - Rubbish
After deciding I wanted to go down the rave route, a question I asked myself was which records count as rave music. This was one that I did question and the answer is no not really. It was probably more to do with the fact I liked what I was hearing so if it did somehow qualify as rave then I'd be completely justified in liking it.
Verdict - Good
This was a record I remember a lot of people taking the piss out of at the time, myself included. We just all thought it sounded ridiculous. It's pretty dull and boring at the same time which just makes it worse.
Verdict - Rubbish
The Top 40 debut and biggest hit for The Boo Radleys. They had previously been a part of the shoegazing scene but this record couldn't be any more different. It's an uplifting number and good fun to listen to.
Verdict - Good
After having 6 Top 40 hits from her self titled album already, Janet Jackson releases a double a-side of records both from that same album. There's something quite nostalgic about "Whoops Now", a 60s style record done 90s style if that makes sense. "What'll I Do" is a cover of a 60s soul record, but the original is far far better.
Verdict - Good / Rubbish
1995 was the year of The Outhere Brothers and this is where it all began. They were massive in 1995 and then afterwards they were nowhere to be seen really. I was a fan of their music, it was great fun to listen to.
Verdict - Good
This was the Top 40 debut and biggest hit for MN8. I've often said that British R&B in the 90s often sounded like a cheap imitation of its American counterpart. This is no exception, but at the same time what a tune.
Verdict - Good
The 3rd Top 40 hit for Stu Allan's commercial dance outfit Clock. This was the record that made them more of a household name. "Axel F" is a eurodance cover of the Harold Faltermeyer record and does exactly what it says on the tin. All I can say is at least it's better than the Crazy Frog version. I've not heard "Keep Pushin" before and it's actually not bad.
Verdict - Rubbish / OK
This was the first and biggest Top 40 hit for Bucketheads which was a project of Kenny Dope from Masters At Work. It was the first time I'd come across Kenny Dope and initially I thought he was the bloke in the video. Despite the fact I know what he looks like now, it's still the bloke in the video I picture when I come across Kenny Dope. It's a great record too.
Verdict - Good
The Comic Relief single for 1995. At the time I remember being part of a quiz team and getting the question of who did this record. My team mate correctly answered Cher, Chrissie Hynde and Neneh Cherry, then I added "and Eric Clapton on the guitar". To this very day I still cringe at that moment, maybe because I was trying to point out something positive about the song when even Eric Clapton couldn't stop this song from being dire.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember watching this video. You had lots of strange looking people enter the photo booth, but then the last one to walk in was an ordinary looking bloke with long hair. Not only did I think the bloke with long hair was a bit out of place for looking normal, but I also thought long hair equaled rock music, and this was a dance record. I was therefore amazed to see the bloke with long hair was the bloke singing it, though in hindsight it makes a lot of sense. A bit overplayed now, but I still like it.
Verdict - Good
This got no further than 29 on it's first release, but fared better when it was rereleased in 1995 after appearing on the Levi's advert. I do however remember hearing this on the radio in 1993 and liking it. The intro to it is very distinctive.
Verdict - Good
This was the big hit for Alex Party. It makes me think of the Smash Hits Poll Winners party but I can't find any evidence of this ever being on it. What it also reminds me of is that a few months prior I couldn't stand this sort of music but I was liking it by this point.
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
If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 21/30, or 70%. Another great score.
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