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 1997 with my verdict on each record:
This was the follow up to their big hit "Place Your Hands" and was their only other Top 10 hit to date. I wouldn't agree that they've come back brighter. This lacks the charm of their big hit, the bad singing stops it from being boring but if you pay attention to the backing track it is boring.
Verdict - Rubbish
Back in 1989 Ten City had their big hit with "That's The Way Love Is" followed up by the lesser known "Devotion". Then 8 years later Ten City singer Byron Stingily made his solo debut with this record. It retains that soulful house sound of Ten City but done 1997 style (well 1996 really as that's when it was made).
Verdict - Good
The only Top 40 hit for Sub Merge aka Victor Imbres who had hits in other guises. It was also the first of 4 Top 40 hits for singer Jan Johnston. Its not the worst tune I've ever heard, but I can't help but think it inspired some of the god awful vocal trance music we'd get in years to come.
Verdict - Rubbish
The Top 40 debut for Ginuwine and although not his highest charting I would say this is the record he's most famous for. It's produced by Timbaland and has this odd noise in the background which more or less makes the record. You could put literally anything over the top of it and I'd probably still like it, though what is over the top of it is decent too.
Verdict - Good
26. Geneva - Into The Blue (New)
Here's another 3rd rate Britpop band with more throwaway rubbish. I was expecting this band to come along do to the similarity in name with Gene and Geneva. Also given Geneva is also a name of a place rich people move to in order to avoid paying taxes another band who should be coming soon is Monaco.
Verdict - Rubbish
Here we have yet another 3rd rate Britpop band. The Supernaturals were a band I thought of as being the new Menswear who's Top 40 career was finishing just as The Supernaturals were starting. As a result I'm not always sure whether a song is by Menswear or The Supernaturals, but it's usually shit whoever it is.
Verdict - Rubbish
The Top 40 debut for Nuyorican Soul aka Masters at Work. It's a cover of a record by the Salsoul Orchestra. I love this record, it's the last one that appears on part 2 of the 10th anniversary collection of Masters at Work. Brings it nicely into the 90s.
Verdict - Good
After having all 5 of her previous Top 40 hits written by Babyface, Toni Braxton turned to prolific songwriter Diane Warren for her 6th. It worked as this became her joint highest charting Top 40 hit, but often in order to achieve popularity you have to compromise on quality and this is what's happened here in my opinion.
Verdict - Rubbish
Here's Whitney Houston with yet another song taken from a movie. This time it's "The Preachers Wife" which Whitney Houston was also in herself. It's a cover of an Annie Lennox record. There was also a happy hardcore version of this which I thought was dreadful, much like what I think of this.
Verdict - Rubbish
Another hit from the musical film "Evita" which is the most painfully boring film I've ever seen. Part of the painfully boring watching of the film was sitting through this painfully boring song.
Verdict - Rubbish
20. 808 State - Lopez (New)
This was the last original Top 40 hit to date for 808 State and it features James Dean Bradfield from the Manic Street Preachers on vocals. I'm a fan of 808 State, they were one of the pioneers of electronic music back in the day. I'm afraid to say this record wasn't their finest moment. Don't think much to this at all.
Verdict - Rubbish
Even Skunk Anansie were going soft in 1997. This was probably the softest hit they'd had but at the same time appropriate for the dark theme of the record. Not a bad record but does lack a little something to make me truly like it.
Verdict - OK
What had become apparent by this point was that not only were the Spice Girls here to stay, but they were almost inevitably going to top the charts with everything they release. I knew someone who bought this single because you could see Geri's legs on the cover, that's how effective their marketing seemed to be. It even made its was onto the Christmas episode of "Only Fools And Horses". Musically though it's really poor.
Verdict - Rubbish
My initial thought when first hearing this was wow Tori Amos has made a pretty decent record. In reality the original of this was abysmal and Armand Van Helden has done a remix which is basically a completely new record that samples vocals from the Tori Amos record. It gave Tori Amos her only number one and would be her penultimate Top 40 record to date.
Verdict - Good
The 4th Top 40 hit for the Backstreet Boys and 2nd penned by Max Martin and Herbie Crichlow, but no Denniz Pop with them this time. It became their highest charting hit to that point, a sign that American pop singers backed by Swedish songwriters were here to stay. Unfortunately it's mostly crap.
Verdict - Rubbish
15. Amen! UK - Passion (New)
Amen! UK was one of many aliases of Paul Masterson who had previously charted as Candy Girls and Dorothy. I loved the main riff to this, it made up for the fact it wasn't as fast as a typical tune I would listen to at the time.
Verdict - Good
Here's David Bowie making a drum & bass record. My reaction at the time was what the fuck? I generally wasn't happy seeing drum & bass in the charts anyway, but David Bowie doing a drum & bass record and doing a really shit job of it was just criminal. Needless to say I've never came across this being played at a rave.
Verdict - Rubbish
My one reservation about this record was it being too slow. It wouldn't have really worked as a fast tune though. I remember this and "Your Woman" by White Town being out around the same sort of time. I guess there are similarities between the two.
Verdict - Good
Gabrielle had written all of her Top 40 hits prior to her collaboration with East 17 when she did a cover. She then followed of with another cover with this being a cover of the Dionne Warwick song. It goes without saying that it's not as good as the original, but it's actually a decent cover and probably the best hit Gabrielle has ever had.
Verdict - Good
The 20th Top 40 hit for George Michael which was also the title of the album this was taken from. I certainly considered George Michael to be old at the time, but he was only 33. Most people old enough to remember this would be over 33 now. Anyway like "Jesus To a Child" a year prior to this, it's slow and boring.
Verdict - Rubbish / Rubbish
This seems quite an odd collaboration in a way, but then when you consider that both Bryan Adams and Barbra Streisand seemed to make songs for films a lot it almost made sense for them to collaborate. As you might expect, its from a film which was "The Mirror Has Two Faces". Also as you might expect, it's shit.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 2nd Top 40 hit for Placebo and the first on that anyone noticed. It would have been hard not to notice really, a song called "Nancy Boy" sung by a bloke trying to look like a woman. It's probably their catchiest record too, but that doesn't mean it's any good.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the big comeback single for Texas after being in the wilderness since 1989. They had a few hits in-between, but none that anyone remembers. Chris Evans was a big fan of this as I recall and helped put Texas back in the limelight. Judging by a lot of the music that appeared on TFI Friday though taught me that Chris Evans didn't have the best taste in music.
Verdict - Rubbish
Blur had 2 number ones. I think most people will know that "Country House" was one of them but I'm not sure too many people would guess "Beetlebum" being the other. It had the advantage of being the lead single from the album at a time when Blur were still at their commercial peak. To me this is an example of the fun being take out of Blurs music.
Verdict - Rubbish
Just when you thought Michelle Gayle's pop career was over, here she is back in the Top 10 with the lead single from her 2nd album. A big talking point about this record at the time was Michelle Gayle appearing topless (but covered) in the video. That possibly helped boost sales, I can't imagine the music itself did.
Verdict - Rubbish
It had been 3 years since En Vogue had last been in the Top 40 and they came back here with what I consider to be their best record. It was also the beginning of the end for En Vogue as we knew them with lead singer Dawn Robinson leaving the group shortly after. They still carry on today but nothing they've done since has been as good as this.
Verdict - Good
4. The Orb - Toxygene (New)
The Orb were one of the pioneers of ambient house which as the name suggests is generally slow. They turned up the tempo on this record though. Although nowhere near as quick as the rave music I was listening to at the time it was quick for an Orb record. I also own the "Orblivion" album on which this appears.
Verdict - Good
Although there are many resources on the internet these days about White Town, at the time it was a bit of a mystery who White Town actually was. It was also an unlikely number one. It's an experimental tune made by someone who was anonymous but at the same time it was a tune that could be liked by fans of various genres.
Verdict - Good
I seem to recall the blurb about this record on The Chart Show saying that No Mercy were waiters at a Gloria Estefan owned restaurant prior to becoming singers. Can't find any mention of that on the internet so The Chart Show were probably just taking the piss. It does make a convincing story though.
Verdict - Rubbish
1. LL Cool J - Ain't Nobody (New)
For the first decade or so of LL Cool J's career his Top 40 record was a solitary Top 10 hit and 3 hits that made the 30s. Then he had 3 Top 20 hits in 1996 alone and then he topped the charts at the start of 1997 with this. It was from the Beavis & Butthead soundtrack which would have helped. Does seem odd for a record like this to be on a soundtrack for 2 characters who are into metal though. Can't say I'm a fan of this myself.
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 10.5/30, or 35%. We slip further.
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