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:
The lead song from this EP is "Snakedriver". Like with every other Jesus and Mary chain record I've heard, it's boring. Think slow guitar music that doesn't really go anywhere and you basically have this record.
Verdict - Rubbish
29. USURA - Sweat (New)
USURA are best known for "Open Your Mind". This was their other Top 40 hit. There's a comment on the YouTube video which sums this up perfectly. "I think the guy saying sweat over and over just spoils this tune. I would love a purely instrumental of this".
Verdict - Rubbish
One may mistakenly think this is a cover of the Johnny Nash record but it isn't. It's missing the "now" from the title even though it's in the lyrics. It also reached the same peak as the Hothouse Flowers and Jimmy Cliff covers. It's the last solo Top 40 hit to date for Deborah Harry. It's not a bad record but I won't be in a hurry to listen to it again.
Verdict - OK
With eurodance music increasing in popularity in 1993 Snap! appear to be right in their element here. By the mid to late 90s I saw this as being the ultimate eurodance record that hadn't aged well at all. Now we're 30 years down the line and it still hasn't aged well.
Verdict - Rubbish
26. Kenny Thomas - Stay (New)
We're now into the era of Kenny Thomas that nobody remembers. Keeping with the tradition of all his hits to this point bar "Thinking About Your Love" it's a cover. The word that springs to mind with this record is "beige". The 1991 Kenny Thomas has a certain 90s nostalgia factor, the 1993 Kenny Thomas is just getting tedious.
Verdict - Rubbish
You can't knock this record for originality. The story of the three little pigs with a modern twist and done rock style. It's a dreadful record, but that's the point. They even acknowledge that fact at the end of the record.
Verdict - Rubbish
After going in the rock direction with his previous effort Terence Trent D'Arby has more or less gone in the opposite direction here with a ballad. I remember it at the time and always thought it was a load of crap. I've not changed my mind.
Verdict - Rubbish
23. AC/DC - Big Gun (New)
I would describe this as AC/DC playing their song again. Aside from their best known songs such as "Back In Black" I find it hard to distinguish one song from the other. The general consensus amongst my peers at the time regarding AC/DC was they were acceptable, but was music for over 40s. Now I'm over 40 I would say music that isn't for me.
Verdict - Rubbish
New Order were one of the best electronic bands of the 80s and it was the electronic element that appealed the most to me. Here they are in the 90s doing an acoustic record which is just dull. I appreciate they needed to move on, but this direction really isn't to my liking.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 2nd Top 40 hit for The Time Frequency and first to make the Top 30. They're a Scottish techno act led by Jon Campbell. The Scottish scene had it's own sound which was more bouncy. "The Power Zone" is an instrumental which is a good thing in my book.
Verdict - Good
A progressive house version of the Chic record. Again this just leads to confusion around what exactly progressive house is. To me this sounds just like a typical dance cover that isn't classed as progressive house. Not a bad record though.
Verdict - OK
This one reminds me of school discos. Everyone would sing along to this and I don't think too many of us really knew what it was about. Another thing I didn't know at the time was that Inner Circle formed in 1968 and had previous been in the Top 40 in 1979. Despite that, this tune has early 90s written all over it.
Verdict - Good
When searching for the best year for the singles chart I decided this was the worst record in the Top 40 I sampled. Taylor Dayne is a singer I've always found irritating and here she is doing a piss poor cover of the Barry White record. Hopefully this is the last time I'll ever have to hear it.
Verdict - Rubbish
I recall this cover of the Pet Shop Boys record not being very well received at the time. I seem to recall even East 17 themselves saying it was a disaster but I may be misremembering because why would they have said that at the time. Anyway I happened to like it.
Verdict - Good
My memory of Kim Wilde in the 90s is that Chris Evans was a fan and she appeared on "Don't Forget Your Toothbrush". Looking at the timings though, this would have been before that. This is however her last Top 40 hit to date. It's a pointless cover.
Verdict - Rubbish
It's a bad sign when you release a new record and it enters the charts lower than your previous record. That's what's happened here with the "Five Live EP" at number 6 when this entered the charts. That said it did come pretty soon after and it would become the 4th highest charting record for Lisa Stansfield. The record itself though is a boring ballad.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the 2nd Top 40 hit for Jade, but not as well remembered as it's predecessor. It's not a bad record but it's missing that something that makes me truly like it. Just a stereotypical early 90s R&B record.
Verdict - OK
Joey Lawrence was an actor in the American TV series "Blossom" at the time and this is him branching out into music. It sounds like he's 4 years too late though because it's basically poundland Bobby Brown from 1989.
Verdict - Rubbish
12. Levellers - Belaruse (New)
The Levellers were hugely popular amongst my peers at the time, but they also divided opinion. Some didn't think their music was heavy enough and didn't like the presence of a fiddle player. I did like this particular record at the time before going down the not heavy enough route. However I don't care about any of that now, it's a decent record.
Verdict - Good
Much like "Heal the World", I thought this record was acceptable at the time but as I've gotten older and more bitter I have little tolerance for soppy music like this anymore. It's the 8th Top 40 hit from his "Dangerous" album and wasn't his last.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember hearing this for the first time on the Big Breakfast and then hearing other singing it later on that day. It's a pretty catchy record and now I know it was produced by Denniz Pop that was clearly the point. I loved this record at the time and still like it even though I've perhaps heard it too many times.
Verdict - Good
There was a period of time in 1993 when The Spin Doctors were my 10th favourite band and it was because of this record alone. The rest of my Top 10 was always changing and they dropped out when I could easily name 10 bands who were better. I would say their placing at number 10 was more symbolic of me thinking this is a solid decent record but only a nitwit would think it's the best song ever.
Verdict - Good
I remember someone at school at the time listing 4 Non Blondes in their Top 10 bands and we all reacted by saying what the fuck? None of us liked it, even it's composer Linda Perry doesn't like it.
Verdict - Rubbish
The melody to this record was basically taken from "Highwire" by Linda Carr. Given that M People called their debut album "Northern Soul" I would say that was deliberate too. Aside from that it's that generic dance sound that's a bit rubbish.
Verdict - Rubbish
Yet another cover by Rod Stewart. This was originally by Van Morrison and is pretty well known but never made the Top 40. I like the original version, but this karaoke effort from Rod Stewart is shit.
Verdict - Rubbish
After Sister Sledge returned to the Top 40 in 1993 with remixes of their old records it was now the turn of Gloria Gaynor. The original of this is a record I've always hated and is a perfect example of why disco was seen as a bit of a joke in the end. The remix doesn't improve it at all.
Verdict - Rubbish
At the time I recall someone accusing me of only liking this record because it was at number one. If anything that would have been a reason for me to not like it. UB40 do divide opinion, some say how can you take a reggae band from Birmingham who do lots of covers seriously whereas others say doesn't it really matter it's good to listen to. I fit the latter category.
Verdict - Good
The Top 40 debut for Chaka Demus & Pliers. This was one of many more radio friendly reggae records that charted in 1993. It's almost the blueprint on how to make a record reggae style.
Verdict - Good
This is an iconic 90s record that everybody remembers. My memory of this record was having a teacher called Mrs Hathaway who we started calling Mrs Haddaway which led to people randomly singing it in her lessons. That said, I've always considered it to be a bit crap and still think the same.
Verdict - Rubbish
The Top 40 debut for Gabrielle and perhaps her best known hit. I remember being in 2 minds about this record at the time. It didn't make a good impression on me initially but it grew on me. Neither a good or bad record really.
Verdict - OK
If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 10/30, or 33%. Just one good new entry but we only drop 1 point. It is the worst week of the 90s to this point.
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