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:
Musically I cannot fault this record, it has the sort of formula that should equate to a record I would like. It's also very 90s which again is a good thing. Yet I find myself getting really irritated when I hear it. I want to smash up the radio. No idea why, but I can't exactly like a record when it makes me feel like that.
Verdict - Rubbish
I started to play the "official video" to this only to be greeted with a modern EDM shite version of it. Thankfully I found the original. There was a happy hardcore version around the same sort of time and in a way I got into this via liking the happy hardcore version.
Verdict - Good
Man Utd may have won the FA Cup that season but it was Liverpool who won the battle in the charts. John Barnes was still playing for them at the time and once again he does a rap. Like pretty much every football record though, this is terrible.
Verdict - Rubbish
The comeback single from the Manic Street Preachers following the disappearance of Richey Edwards which gave them their biggest Top 40 hit to that point. As was the trend around this time, their music had softened up and I wasn't a fan.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember being really impressed by just how different this sounds to the original. I also recall when hearing it on the radio there was a rap that went "so long as the beat goes on" which I liked. When it appeared on Top of the Pops though I realised how boring it was without the rap. The video doesn't have the rap on it either, so I guess it's still dull.
Verdict - Rubbish
John Digweed is a big name DJ who always maintained his credibility despite his popularity. From a Top 40 perspective his only hits came alongside Nick Muir under the name Bedrock and this was the first of 2 Top 40 hits for them. It was on the soundtrack to Trainspotting.
Verdict - Good
It had been nearly 2 years since singing actor Sean Maguire made his Top 40 debut and 6 hits later he was still going. This was his biggest Top 40 hit and the only one he has a songwriting credit on so I bet he's happy about that. A terrible record though.
Verdict - Rubbish
23. Ice-T - I Must Stand (New)
The 3rd and penultimate Top 40 hit to date for Ice-T. The good thing about Ice-T was he just did his own thing regardless of what other rappers were doing. It sounds quite a personal record and the way he delivers it is spot on.
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
This was the 5th Top 40 hit for The Smashing Pumpkins and their first Top 10 and biggest hit to date. I wouldn't say it's a surprise this was their biggest hit, it's probably the most radio friendly. The orchestra gives it another edge and there's a sense of relief then the chorus kicks in.
Verdict - Good
20. Grace - Down To Earth (New)
You knew the sort of thing you were getting on a Grace record by this point, but it was a decent formula and was of it's time. Like their debut hit, joining Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne on songwriting duties is Rob Davis of Mud
Verdict - Good
When it was the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 I was watching pretty much every day. I barely watched any of the following Olympics in Atlanta in 1996 to the point I don't even remember this, the official record of the Olympics. Not sure why it was released this far in advance of the Olympics though. It's predictably dull.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the Top 40 debut for Pizzaman in 1994 when it made number 33. It fared better when re-issued in 1996 and became his biggest Top 40 hit to date. This was the end of Pizzaman in the Top 40, but Norman Cook would return in a bigger way.
Verdict - Good
It had been 2 years since Man Utd topped the charts with "Come On You Reds" with the help of Status Quo. Now they'd gone all 2 Unlimited on this record around 3 years out of date. I guess one thing you can say is that David Beckham had some sort of music career before Posh Spice did.
Verdict - Rubbish
The concept of a "Londons Burning" actor doing a cover of "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" is quite amusing. He should have left it at the though. Instead he does a further 2 reggae style covers as a double a-side which gave him his biggest hit to date. He wasn't finished yet either.
Verdict - Rubbish / Rubbish
15. LL Cool J - Doin' It (New)
LL Cool J records have generally been on the more commercial side of rap. That's not always a bad thing, he's made some decent records that very much fit the commercial category. It does however mean inevitably some record will me too much in that respect and this is one of them.
Verdict - Rubbish
The Backstreet Boys were part of the Childliners collective who charted with "The Gift Of Christmas". The name Backstreet Boys had been banded about prior to this as I recall, but this was their Top 40 debut. It's the formula we came to know to expect from the Backstreet Boys but this wasn't written by the usual Swedish songwriting team.
Verdict - Rubbish
This Simon & Garfunkel cover was the biggest solo Top 40 hit for Suggs. It was also the biggest Top 40 hit for Louchie Lou and Michie One. To be honest I was never sure whether a record was a Suggs solo or a Madness record in the 90s, but on reflection there's a clear distinction in that Suggs solo records sound a bit of a joke.
Verdict - Rubbish
At the time I was thinking what the fuck, Jamiroquai have done a drum & bass record. Not only that but it's a decent drum & bass record instead. Then it made sense when I discovered it was a collaboration with M-Beat who brought jungle to the Top 40 in 1994. It was just the 5th drum & bass record to make the Top 40.
Verdict - Good
This was the Top 40 debut for the Lighthouse Family in 1995 which made number 34. Following the chart success of "Lifted" this fared better when re-issued. I do like the soothing nature of the Lighthouse Family's music I have to say.
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
Celine Dion was pretty well established as a chart act by this point and was mainly known for doing ballads. It therefore seemed almost inevitable really that she'd end up with a single written by Diane Warren and here it is.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 7th number one for George Michael and his final one to date. What stood out to me at the time was him using the word bullshit in the lyrics. That was rare in a pop song back then. It was an improvement on the seriously dull "Jesus To A Child", but that's not saying much.
Verdict - Rubbish
I'll be the first to admit this record hasn't aged very well. At the time though it was a great record and the nostalgia element means I still like it now. For me it's all about the build up when the beat first comes in. Then there's the short breakdown later on before the tune kicks in again. It was irresistible at the time.
Verdict - Good
It had been nearly 5 years since he released his "Waking Up The Neighbours" album which contained a certain 16 week chart topper. He was seemingly ever present on the singles chart since then, but album wise it wasn't until now he was releasing this the lead single from his follow up album "18 Till I Die". It's a bit more uplifting than we'd previously been used to, but it's not great.
Verdict - Rubbish
Metallica released 4 albums in the 80s and established themselves as one of the big thrash metal bands. Then in 1991 they released their self titled album that gave them mass appeal but alienated some of the original fans. It would be another 5 years until the next album came of which this was the lead single. They'd softened their sound even further and all of them now had short hair. I guess they were just moving with the times, but even as a non-metal fan I have to say this is pretty poor.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was a record I never liked at the time, partly because with a name like the Tony Rich Project I was expecting a dance record but it wasn't. Then when I was going through my R&B phase I started liking it. What do I think of it now though? Well first of all I could have sworn it was written by Babyface but it wasn't, though it did come out on his label and the songwriters have seemingly done nothing else so you never know. The fact it sounds like a record Babyface could have done himself though is a good thing.
Verdict - Good
The record that Peter Andre was best known for. It's a reggae style pop record that sounds a bit like its ripping off "Sweat" by Inner Circle. I remember this being in the charts when Peter Andre was presenting Top of the Pops and during the chart countdown he said it was "by Bubbler Ranx and me". It's not the worst record in the world, but I'm sick to death of it now and would happily never hear it again.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
As a general rule music and football do not mix. New Order however showed it is possible to make a decent football record. In theory there was no reason why the Lightning Seeds couldn't have done the same and it is liked by many, but not by me.
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 13.5/30, or 42%. We're slipping again.
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