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 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
The other Top 40 hit from Joey Lawrence that doesn't sound that different to his first. It has different songwriters on it though, maybe both sets of songwriters were challenged to write a song of a certain sound and these were the results. Anyway I didn't like his bigger hit so therefore I don't like this either.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the only Top 40 hit for British R&B singer Sinclair. The Levert record "Casanova" clearly inspired this record but it just about gets away from being different enough to avoid any copyright issues. I still can't help but think of this as being an inferior version of the Levert record though, but it's not bad.
Verdict - OK
After the change in music direction that was "Regret" and the huge disappointment that was "Ruined In A Day", New Order are back to doing what they do best for the 3rd single from their "Republic" album with this synth led record. The result is something that sounds very much like New Order, which is a good thing.
Verdict - Good
26. Mary J Blige - Real Love (New)
I would class Mary J Blige as an artist who's had more hits than you think with 30 Top 40 hits to her name. This was her 2nd Top 40 hit, her debut "Reminisce" only making number 31. It failed to reach the Top 40 when first released in 1992 and got no higher than 26 the 2nd time which is quite surprising given it's probably her best known record.
Verdict - Good
The only Top 40 hits of the 90s for The Pogues and their final Top 40 hit to date. Shane MacGowan had left the group by this point with with Spider Stacy doing the lead vocals. He's certainly a better singer, but that's why this just seems wrong. Part of The Pogues charm in my opinion is Shane MacGowans inability to sing.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember hearing this for the first time and getting excited about finally hearing a Stone Temple Pilots record having heard the name banded about for some time. With this record they became the last of the big grunge bands to score a Top 40 hit and also became the first to stop having Top 40 hits as this was their only one.
Verdict - Good
The Bee Gees Top 40 career spanned from the 60s to the 21st century, an impressive run. That said, this was just their 3rd Top 40 hit since the start of the 80s. Many people are only interested in their 70s disco era, but I'd say their best music came outside that era.
Verdict - Good
Take That were undoubtedly the most popular group amongst females at school in early 1993, but one thing I could smile and say was they were yet to have a number one. Then the inevitable happened with this going straight in at number one. It's a terrible record.
Verdict - Rubbish
When this song came out and I was a big rock fan I concluded that Lenny Kravitz only had one good song in him with "Are You Gonna Go My Way". I don't think that anymore, he has a handful of decent tunes but this isn't one of them. Too much of ballad for my liking.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember every Ace Of Base record from the early 90s at the time apart from this one. That includes "Happy Nation" which only got to number 40, so I'm not sure why I don't remember this. It's an odd one, it's their usual reggae pop sound but a bit darker and less radio friendly than their other hits. It does the trick though.
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
I remember this record at the time and my thoughts were why is Terence Trent D'Arby making a rock record. I remember the "She kissed me and she put it there" lyrics but didn't really remember how the song goes. A sign that this record wasn't very good.
Verdict - Rubbish
Yet another cover from Kenny Thomas, this time of a Mavis Staples song. It's a dance record which sounds like it could easily pass for a D Ream record. So basically bland music with a bit of a beat to it.
Verdict - Rubbish
It had been almost a year since the career of Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine started to take a downward turn with "The Impossible Dream". This was their first Top 40 hit since then and the first of several that nobody remembers. It's a bit of a nothing record really.
Verdict - Rubbish
It had been just 6 months since Whitney Houston had been knocked off the top of the charts with "I Will Always Love You" after an eternity. The last thing we needed was another version of the song in the charts, but here we have a dance version. At least it's not as depressing as the Whitney Houston version but that's the only good thing about it.
Verdict - Rubbish
14. Paul Weller - Wild Wood (New)
Paul Weller is said to have been influential on a number of musicians, mainly from his time with The Jam. As a solo artist with this record though I can't help but think he's influenced the many yawn fests you get these days from one man and his acoustic guitar.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
A cover of the Trammps record. I think I actually heard this version first and didn't think much of it. I do like the original version, but this cover is pointless and completely ruins it in my opinion.
Verdict - Rubbish
I've not heard this since 1993 and when I played the video it wasn't how I remembered it. Then I played a dance version which is how I remember it sounding. It was the only Top 40 hit for Aftershock and maybe that was for the best as it would have been difficult for them to better this.
Verdict - Good
10. 2 Unlimited - Faces (New)
I'm not a fan of 2 Unlimited, it was dance music for the pop crowd. At least with "No Limit" and "Tribal Dance" they were catchy, this one is very much album filler but with all the annoying elements of eurodance still in there.
Verdict - Rubbish
It seems a bit of a rarity to hear a Mariah Carey record that isn't a dreary ballad, but here is one. I recall at the time thinking it's rather uplifting for a Mariah Carey song. That doesn't make it a good song though, it sounds pretty naff and has her annoying screeching in it.
Verdict - Rubbish
Being a UB40 record that was the follow up to a cover, one could be forgiven for expecting this to be a cover of the Stevie Wonder record. It isn't though, it's a UB40 original. Like with many UB40 records it's nothing groundbreaking but it's very easy on the ears.
Verdict - Good
The lead song from this EP is "Boom Shack-A-Lak" which is the tune Apache Indian is best known for. I guess I'm not overly keen on other Apache Indian records because none of them are anywhere near as good as this.
Verdict - Good
If memory serves me correctly (and it does tend to mislead me) this was the last dance record I truly got into before I became strictly rock and anti-pop. It treads that fine line where it's clearly a commercial dance record but is credible at the same time.
Verdict - Good
A few years after this came out I was flicking through the music channels and saw this video playing and it brought back memories of how I liked this record, but I couldn't remember what it was. It was being played on "The Lick" so didn't say what it was at the end of the video, but I eventually found out. The chants of "SWV" should have given it away, which was being done by a then unknown Pharrell Williams.
Verdict - Good
When this record topped the charts I remember somebody saying to me that I must be pleased, unaware I'd long moved on from being a Queen fan by this point. Even if I was still a Queen fan though I'm not sure I would have liked this. It's basically Freddie Mercury's voice put over some generic eurodance crap.
Verdict - Rubbish
One thing I remember when this record was out was that I'd learned the rules that if you were a rock and metal fan you weren't supposed to like anything that wasn't rock and metal. I remember that because I couldn't help but like this record despite those rules. I like the way the pause in the record gets longer each time.
Verdict - Good
When this record first came out, not only did I think this was a great song, I also thought Bitty McLean was a great name. This led me incorporate his name into the lyrics when I sang along just so I could acknowledge what a great name it is.
Verdict - Good
I remember when this record came out it created a divide at school between the rock crowd and everyone else. It was singled out as an example of a crappy pop record by the rock crowd but everybody else seemingly loved it. Putting all that aside, my first thought when hearing this was have Snap changed their name to Culture Beat.
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 14/30, or 47%. The good new entries lower down boosting the score.
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