Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 26 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 1998 with my verdict on each record:
The 6th Top 40 hit for the Spice Girls and their 6th number one. Even at the start of 1997 you would have put money on the Spice Girls getting the Christmas number one that year no matter what the record was.
Verdict - Rubbish
The whole rap/rock crossover concept had perhaps been done to death by this point so here was a new concept, rap and classical crossover. It's an odd concept I have to say because they're chalk and cheese really, but it does work pretty well once you get used to it. The penultimate Top 40 hit of the 90s for Warren G with his final one just around the corner.
Verdict - Good
You could be forgiven for thinking that ETA is one of the many aliases of Norman Cook. It does sound like it could be a Fatboy Slim record, but he had nothing to do with it. In fact whilst he was playing as Fatboy Slim by this point he was yet to breakthrough commercially. ETA were a Danish duo and this was their one and only Top 40 hit.
Verdict - Good
The previous record by Clock was a cover of "You Sexy Thing" by Hot Chocolate and the original version returned to the charts shortly afterwards. No such return for KC and the Sunshine Band after this record though. As usual it's cheesy commercial rubbish.
Verdict - Rubbish
When I went to Helter Skelter for the millennium, I was looking forward to the Vibes and Live Lee set which was the last of the night. It was a bit of an anti climax though when the first record he played was a happy hardcore version of "Baby Can I Hold You". "Shooting Star" is one I never knew until I started listening to Popmaster where they like asking questions about it.
Verdict - Rubbish
Lutricia McNeal is from America but she relocated to Sweden and launched her music career. Then the Swedish songwriters started taking over the pop world and this, her debut Top 40 hit became a worldwide success. It's always irritated me for some reason.
Verdict - Rubbish
Space were back with a second album and this was the lead single from it which gave them their highest charting hit to this point. It's got that same quirkiness we'd become used to with Space records which makes for a decent tune.
Verdict - Good
Yes that's right, Peter Andre and Warren G collaborated with each other. An even odder collaboration than the one Warren G did with Sissel. It was also the final Top 40 hit to date for Warren G, maybe the record buying public couldn't take him seriously after this. That said I actually quite like this record, I do remember at the time thinking how wrong it seemed for me to be enjoying a Peter Andre record.
Verdict - Good
This was the final Top 40 hit of the 90s for Radiohead and final hit from their "OK Computer" album. I remember at the time someone asking me how I could not like "No Surprises". Quite easily really, I will concede the glockenspiel does make it more interesting, but it's still boring.
Verdict - Rubbish
21. Foo Fighters - My Hero (New)
This record making the Top 40 meant the Foo Fighters now had an equal number of Top 40 hits as Nirvana. I like the sentiment of the song. The word hero is easily used to describe musicians, sports stars etc. but at the end of the day they're just entertainers.
Verdict - Good
This was the final Top 40 hit to date for poundland Boyzone. I seem to recall there being a boy band from Bedford around this time whose name escapes me and they never got anywhere, but I always thought they were the ones that did it. Boy Meets Girl aka George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam wrote it.
Verdict - Rubbish
I was watching Live & Kicking in 1994 and Natalie Imbruglia was a guest on the show having just left Neighbours. She was asked if she was planning to launch a music career to which she said no which shocked Andi Peters. 3 years later here she is launching a music career and I was shocked. I wasn't shocked to find it was shit though.
Verdict - Rubbish
First there was N-Tyce, then All Saints and then Vanilla all trying to follow the success of the Spice Girls in the girl group world. Now it was the turn of Solid Harmonie with this being their debut Top 40 hit. They had Swedish songwriters Max Martin and Kristian Lundin behind this and were portrayed as a female Backstreet Boys.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember this record being played for what I think was the first time on Children in Need. It's a novelty line dancing mixed with eurodance record. Of course this turned out to be many hits for Steps. It goes without saying this song is shit. As a side note I have no problem with the cheesy holiday rep type image they're portraying here, it serves a purpose I suppose. The issue is them now being stuck up celebrities complaining about it but are happy to still milk it with their nostalgia tours.
Verdict - Rubbish
After the Stone Roses split we had the brief Top 40 career of John Squires band The Seahorses in 1997. Now in 1998 we have the beginning of the solo career of Ian Brown whose Top 40 career would last over a decade. I think its the name making it chart this high rather than the music.
Verdict - Rubbish
15. Juliet Roberts - So Good / Free Love 98 (New)
It had been nearly 4 years since Juliet Roberts had her last original hit in the Top 40. "So Good" was written by Danny Poku aka D Mob and "Free Love 98" was a remix of her 1993 hit. The former is what you would expect Juliet Roberts to sound like in 1998. The latter made a lot of sense as she was a US garage artist in the early 90s and this was a speed garage remix.
Verdict - Good / Good
If you were watching the BBC in late 1997 then you would have heard this record many times. It seemed to be on between every TV show. It's a long list of singers who would sing a line each and I got absolutely sick of it.
Verdict - Rubbish
MC Live Lee used to say "20 years ago they called it disco, 20 years later now it's hardcore techno" but it would have been more accurate to use on records like this and replacing "hardcore techno" with "house". This was a cover of the Sylvester record and the biggest solo hit for Ten City singer Byron Stingily. I do like a lot of these house makeovers of old disco records.
Verdict - Good
12. Pearl Jam - Given To Fly (New)
The big four of Seattle grunge bands Top 40 careers had started and finished by this point except for Pearl Jam who still had a long way to go. It sounds quite promising from the intro but never quite gets to the heights you'd expect, but it's not bad.
Verdict - OK
I remember Billie Joe Armstrong playing this on Top of the Pops and thinking Green Day, there's a blast from the past, didn't think they were still going. It gave them their biggest hit since "Basket Case". It's an acoustic record so different to what we were used to by Green Day and is loved by many. I've never liked it though, don't get me wrong it's better than a lot of acoustic guitar and vocals songs but I think it needs the electric guitar and drums to come in like "FOD".
Verdict - Rubbish
10. Chumbawamba - Amnesia (New)
You probably forgot that Chumbawamba had another hit. This hit the Top 40 shortly before the incident with John Prescott at the Brit Awards. The title is an appropriate one because it is a pretty forgettable record.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was originally a Top 40 hit in 1995 twice, first under it's original title "Legends Of The Dark Black Part 2" and then as "Renegade Master". Wildchild sadly passed away the same year. In 1998 Fatboy Slim did a remix and made it bigger than ever. It's a great remix, possibly even better than the original.
Verdict - Good
When this record came out I was shocked. It was a Janet Jackson song that I actually liked. Remember I was listening to nothing but rave at the time so I really didn't want to like this record even though it is a dance record. Then a friend of mine who was into rap and drum & bass bought this single which made me feel a bit better about liking it.
Verdict - Good
This was the turn around point of Robbie Williams solo career which went from strength to strength after this. I was dismissive of him as a solo artist least of all because I didn't like Oasis who he was trying to imitate. This record though is completely different and I had to concede it's actually quite good.
Verdict - Good
Clock weren't the only ones doing covers of KC and the Sunshine Band records. Andrew Livingstone aka Bamboo was also charting with this take on "Get Down Tonight" by KC and the Sunshine Band. This time though it was a decent record.
Verdict - Good
The final Top 40 hit of the 90s for Oasis which was actually written before Oasis had their first Top 40 hit. As such it doesn't fit the throwaway rubbish category that their other two comeback hits fit, but at the same time the so called classic Oasis isn't to my liking either.
Verdict - Rubbish
When it comes to Lighthouse Family singles they don't get any better than this. I always found it a really soothing record. I once worked somewhere that had music playing that didn't have the original singers on the tracks. This was one of those tracks on there and the different singer made it not as good. Then I bought a compilation that had this on it and was such a relief to hear it with the proper singer again.
Verdict - Good
Catatonia made their Top 40 debut in 1996, but it was this their 3rd Top 40 hit that made them a household name. The X Files references may have helped boost sales of this record, but that factor put me off if anything. It's a good record overall but I like the quick guitar intro going straight into the song.
Verdict - Good
When the All Saints first came about I was amazed to find that I liked their debut Top 40 hit. I was even more amazed to find I also liked this, their follow up. It's one of those records I'd felt I'd heard before but hadn't. As a result of me liking these first 2 singles I went on to do something I'd not done in a long time, bought an album that wasn't rave which was their debut album.
Verdict - Good
1. Usher - You Make Me Wanna (New)
With teenage female R&B singers like Aaliyah, Brandy and Monica all established, Jermaine Dupri decided to give the world a teenage male R&B singer in Usher. Jermanie Dupri was the man who brought the world Kris Kross when he was still a teenager himself. It worked, but that doesn't mean that I like it.
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 14.5/30, or 48%. Getting closer to 50%.
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