Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 27 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Friday.
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 1996 with my verdict on each record:
The Top 40 debut for the Fugees who were just about the biggest chart act for the remainder of 1996 and into the beginning of 1997 before promptly disappearing and haven't been seen in the Top 40 since. This never got any higher than 21 which is strange given how big it was at the time. I guess they were only just establishing themselves, they never charted lower than 3 after this. A solid debut.
Verdict - Good
Bet you didn't think Lionel Richie was still having hits in 1996? No, neither did I. This song completely passed me by at the time so I've only just heard this for the first time. It's a ballad, but it's got nothing on "Hello".
Verdict - Rubbish
This was a tune I used to hear on the rave tapes, or so I thought. Generally if a tune was commercially successful the tune you'd hear in the charts would be a radio edit and a more underground sounding tune would be played at raves. Turns out the one I mostly heard on the tapes was "I Want To Be Forever" by Jimmy J & Cru-L-T, an example of British hardcore DJs using the same samples as their European counterparts.
Verdict - Good
The 3rd Top 40 hit for Garbage which was also their first Top 10 and their biggest hit to date. I honestly don't know what to make of it after all these years and hearing it many times. It's certainly nothing to get excited about but I don't exactly dislike it either. I guess that's what the half mark is for.
Verdict - OK
This originally came out in 1982 but was given the remix treatment in 1996. This was on the back of the successful remix of "I Feel Love" a year earlier. However, "I Feel Love" did seem to fit into the club culture of the time, but this didn't really. It isn't bad though.
Verdict - OK
Believe it or not, this record was written by the 5 members of Boyzone and nobody else. I struggle to believe it myself, it follows that poundland 70s soul music formula that's been done several times by seasoned songwriters and producers who seem more likely to have written it. Anyway if it's true then at least some of them have talent as songwriters as it does take skill to write crap too.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was first released in 1995 but only reached number 40, but after the success of their follow up "Not So Manic Now" they re-released this. It's also the opening track to their debut album ,"Disgraceful" which I recommend you go and buy if you don't already have it. I absolutely love the intro to this and find the track very soothing.
Verdict - Good
In 1995 I was singing this all the time, and those not into rave had no idea what I was singing with some even thinking I was making it up. In 1996 here it was in the Top 40. Technohead were a British husband/wife duo who'd recorded under several aliases over the years. In the early 90s they relocated to Holland and topped the charts with this. By the time it charted over here though one of them had sadly passed away.
Verdict - Good
Probably the least remembered single from their "Different Class" album. It may be because it was the final single from the album, or because it was quite dull. I must admit I forgot this song existed until I took a look at this top 20. As you can probably gather, I was never a fan of Brit Pop. There is however the odd Brit Pop song I like such as "Mis-Shapes" by Pulp. This one though is exactly the sort of music I hated in the 90s.
Verdict - Rubbish
The Top 40 debut for Luniz and the only record many people know them for. It's an anthem no doubt which is possibly both a blessing and a curse for them. A blessing that they have such an iconic record but a curse that people only talk about the record and not Luniz as an act.
Verdict - Good
This was the 9th Top 40 hit for PJ & Duncan and the last one they made under the PJ & Duncan name before going under their real names Ant & Dec. Not a bad run for a music career that started off with a song they did on Byker Grove that failed to reach the Top 40. It's also the only cover they did as PJ & Duncan. It's awful, but I guess that was always the point.
Verdict - Rubbish
After years of struggle, Ocean Colour Scene finally hit the big time in 1996 with a little help from Chris Evans using "The Riverboat Song" when the guests came out on TFI Friday. It was this, their follow up however which got them their first top 10 hit. This just seems a bit of a nothing song to me though.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 2nd Top 40 hit for Upside Down which has just 254 views on YouTube at the time of writing, though it's been up for less than a year. Just the one comment on there which reads "These guys never got anywhere cause they were fed crap songs". That sums it up perfectly I think.
Verdict - Rubbish
If you listened to the Essential Mix or Pete Tongs Essential Selection on Radio 1 in 1995 then you would have heard "Nakasaki" multiple times. For the chart release they added vocals to it, hence the "(I Need a Lover Tonight)". Often when vocals are added to a very good dance record it completely ruins it (Groovejet springs to mind). However, this is still an excellent track with the vocals and one I've listened to many times in the last 20 years.
Verdict - Good
16. Longpigs - On And On (New)
There were so many Britpop bands around this time that seemed to just make up the numbers. This was the 2nd and joint biggest Top 40 hit for Longpigs, a band I would lump in with the likes of Gene and Marion and no doubt other bands I've long forgotten about that I'll come across in weeks to come. I do also feel these bands set the scene for the boring indie music which came in the post-Britpop era.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the final single from their only album to date. They are best known of course for "Let Me Be Your Fantasy" which originally came out in 1992 but wasn't a hit till it was re-released in 1994. The follow up singles including this one were similar in style and given how quickly dance music was developing at the time, this did sound a bit dated by 1996. However I am a big fan of that old skool breakbeat sound and whilst not quite as good as its predecessors I still like it.
Verdict - Good
This had already been a hit in other European countries in 1995 but didn't chart in the UK until 1996. It's one of many tunes which sample James Brown. It only reached number 14 which is quite surprising given its popularity at the time. It's not a bad tune, but I did get a bit sick of hearing it at the time.
Verdict - OK
I always like the darkness of "Gangstas Paradise" and always found the more uplifting follow ups from Coolio a bit hard to take. They have grown on me over time though, I own his "Gangstas Paradise" album so that's allowed me to get to like this.
Verdict - Good
This was the fourth hit single for Cast. Their first three hits were quite uplifting ones, although not really my cup of tea. Then this song came along which followed the same formula of several other dreary hits from the Brit Pop era. To be fair to them though, they did revert back to the more uplifting style for the rest of the decade.
Verdict - Rubbish
I find interviews with Noel Gallagher nowadays very entertaining and do find myself agreeing with a lot of what he says about music that I don't like. I can't say the same about his music though. I never understood why Oasis were so popular, their music was just so dull in my opinion. Not only is this tune dull though, it's rather annoying too.
Verdict - Rubbish
I have happy memories of this record coming out as we knew (or should I say thought) this was the end of the band. To me, doing a cover as your final song is quite a pathetic way to go out. Saying that, they could have done "Twinkle Twinkle" and it would have probably still got to number one and give them that final pay cheque they were looking for.
Verdict - Rubbish
A "Dream House" version of the theme music to the TV series. In theory it should be rubbish, but once the beat kicks in you find there's more to it that simply putting a beat over the TV theme tune. the piano takes over and the samples of the theme music only really appear in the background.
Verdict - Good
Rage Against The Machine were a band I listened to in the early 90s and I would listen to their debut album all the time. This was their comeback single which came 3 years after the album. In that time I'd become a raver so when this gave them their first Top 10 single I remember it happening but was no longer interested. Listening to it retrospectively, their debut album was going to be hard to top but they stuck to the tried and tested formula. Not a criticism.
Verdict - Good
Despite being a brand new record in 1996, this sounds like it could have easily come out in 1966. That's not a bad thing though. I do remember hearing this a lot at the time so I did get a bit sick of it, but still not a bad tune.
Verdict - OK
The Top 40 debut for 2Pac and proof that he did have hits in the UK before he died. To give you an idea of how little I knew about rap at the time, following "Gangstas Paradise" by Coolio & LV where Coolio rapped the verse and LV sang the chorus I just assumed this was similar in that 2Pac rapped the verse and Dr Dre sang the chorus. That's laughable now. Anyway, a few years ago I did this at karaoke but no lyrics came up on the screen but I still managed to recite most of the lyrics which tells you how much I've listened to this record.
Verdict - Good
I remember watching "A Song for Europe" where a number of songs went to the public vote to decide which one should represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest. Of all the songs on the show, this was my favourite and the voting public agreed. Admittedly it is a bit cheesy and did get played to death at the time. As far as Eurovision songs go though, I cannot think of a single one that I think is better than this. No doubt there will be Brit Pop fans reading this thinking I've now lost what little credibility I did have. But I listen to music for enjoyment, not credibility.
Verdict - Good
A record you definitely couldn't avoid hearing in 1996, but what a tune. Like many dance records at the time, this was already over a year old by the time it was released. It's one of those tunes you can sit back and relax to but also get up and dance to, and I've done both.
Verdict - Good
I remember when this first entered the charts it was at number six for three weeks in a row. It would eventually climb to number one, the first time a record climbed to number one rather than go straight in at number one for a while. I always found Mark Morrison quite hard to take seriously with the way he sang. Still not a bad record though.
Verdict - OK
Mark Snow composed the actual them music to the X Files and here it is at number two in the charts. I can't say I'm a big fan of the theme music, or the programme itself for that matter. I can't say I particularly dislike it either though.
Verdict - OK
This was the record which ensured the Prodigy would never have to go back to the day job. At the time I loved the Prodigy and owned the first two albums. I remember listening to the Evening Session on Radio One where they said they were going to play the new Prodigy tune for the first time and I was excited about hearing it. However, when they played it I was very disappointed. I think the main reason was because when I started listening to the Prodigy, I was moving away from rock music to listen to rave, but this tune seemed to be going back towards rock music. Since then I've grown to like the rockier tunes from the Prodigy more than I used to, but I just can't bring myself to like this tune.
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 16/30, or 53%. Back above 50% again.
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