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 Top 40 debut for Lo Fidelity Allstars. They were a Brighton based big beat act with quite a few members. On that basis this is leaning more towards the rock and dance crossover territory. Not a bad record but I'm not blown away by it.
Verdict - OK
This was the first Spice Girls hit not to top the charts. Geri Halliwell was so pissed off she decided to leave the group. OK not strictly true, but this was the last Spice Girls hit before she did leave. It's their attempt at making a Motown record, something Emma Bunton also did badly in her solo career.
Verdict - Rubbish
"Here's Where The Story Ends" is perhaps the best known record by The Sundays, but this cover by Tin Tin Out was the only version which made the Top 40. It was the 6th Top 40 hit for Tin Tin Out but just the 2nd to make the Top 30 and their first Top 10. They were making dance music prior to this, but this is a change in direction and the reason why I'd start getting Tin Tin Out and Sixpence None The Richer mixed up.
Verdict - Rubbish
The final Top 40 hit of the 90s for Saint Etienne. Once again I don't remember this at the time but own the "Good Humor" album. This holds very good memories for me though as many years I ago I remember listening to this in my car just after I'd handed my notice in for the job I was doing at the time.
Verdict - Good
Robbie Williams solo career had been given a boost following the release of "Angels" and this was the follow up single. One thing I never really appreciated until I saw a live band play this record was just how good the bass line is to this. He was now finding his own identity as a pop singer.
Verdict - Good
The Top 40 career of North and South had just ended which left a gap for another 3rd rate boy band to fill. Welcome to the Top 40 Ultra. This was no ordinary boy band though, they were a boy band who played instruments. All been done before though. Remember Let Loose?
Verdict - Rubbish
24. Usher - Nice And Slow (New)
The song title for this record is almost descriptive of the record. The "Slow" bit is at least, but not so much the "Nice". It was the follow up to Ushers chart topper and his final Top 40 hit of the 90s. Amongst its songwriters was Brian Casey of Jagged Edge.
Verdict - Rubbish
Ska punk had a big following but I don't think there were any ska punk Top 40 hits prior to this record. It was the only Top 40 hit for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and it is a record that I can really appreciate and quite enjoy too. It just falls short of being worthy of full marks though.
Verdict - OK
The 2nd Top 40 hit for 187 Lockdown which was also their highest charting. It was the first speed garage record to make the Top 10 that wasn't a remix of a non-garage record. Once again it brings back memories of that summer.
Verdict - Good
Long before Shakira famously sampled "Amores Como el Nuestro" on "Hips Don't Lie", Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz did the same on this record. This is a much better record in my opinion. It's a rap record and was their only Top 40 hit.
Verdict - Good
20. Drugstore - El President (New)
The only Top 40 hit for Drugstore which features Thom Yorke from Radiohead. As a result one could be forgiven for thinking this is a Radiohead record. It's certainly boring enough to be a Radiohead record.
Verdict - Rubbish
This record tells me that summer is just around the corner. My mate had just bought his first car and was driving around a lot and it seemed more often that not he'd have this record blasting out. It also brings back memories of what a terrible driver he was.
Verdict - Good
The 4th Top 40 hit for Sash! and the first not to reach number 2. It sounds like they're trying to do "Chariots of Fire" eurodance style. Very cheesy and predictable, but they were onto a winning formula so why not.
Verdict - Rubbish
It had been almost a year since Ultra Nate charted with "Free". That record was around for such a long time though that it didn't feel like it had been that long. It's not a record you really hear anymore and I have to say it hasn't aged well. Not bad though.
Verdict - OK
16. Tori Amos - Spark (New)
The last time we'd seen Tori Amos in the Top 40 was at the start of the previous year when she topped the charts with the Armand Van Helden remix of "Professional Widow". She obviously had little to do with the actual remix so it was back to the old formula for her and this was her final Top 40 hit to date.
Verdict - Rubbish
The biggest hit for K-Ci and JoJo. I was still purely listening to rave at the time but did find myself drawn towards this for some reason. I did eventually get into K-Ci And JoJo via the garage scene which then lead to me buying all their albums. The "Love Always" album is one of my all time favourites.
Verdict - Good
I remember hearing this song and that it was by someone called Billie Myers, but then seeing it and discovering it was actually a woman singing it. I recall Chris Moyles acknowledging that fact by playing it on the radio and singing along by saying "I'm a bloke, I'm a bloke, I'm a bloke, I'm a bloke, no I'm not". I can't say I ever thought much to this.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 2nd Top 40 hit for The Dandy Warhols which was also their 2nd highest charting overall. It was also the penultimate Top 40 hit of the 90s and last one of the 90s to reach the Top 30. Lyrically this record stands out because of the title if anything, but musically it's a complete non-entity.
Verdict - Rubbish
This record was a mark of a time when I was becoming much more receptive to house music. I remember hearing this one Friday morning with the weekend just hours away and it was giving me the feel good weekend vibes.
Verdict - Good
The Top 40 debut for Leann Rimes. I once took part in a quiz where a question was who charted in 1997 with "How Do I Live" to which I confidently answered Leann Rimes. The answer was Trisha Yearwood who reached number 66 with it. Leann Rimes was in 1998 and is the better known version. Although not the first person younger than me to chart, I do recall a younger Leann Rimes charting making me start to think have I missed the boat already in my music career.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 2nd and final chart topper to date for Celine Dion which was take from "The Titanic" movie. I remember how big that film was so it was almost inevitable that this would get to number one. It's also a depressing film given that people die at the end so I guess it's appropriate to have a depressing song for it. Musically though its just another Celine Dion record.
Verdict - Rubbish
There was a pub near where I grew up that had live music at the weekend. When I say live music I mean a singer, ocassionally one with a guitar and a karaoke machine. They'd sing the classics, but this song immediately slotted into the sets and I recall one particular night I swear the singer did this song around 5 or 6 times. Needless to say I got sick of it very quickly.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 7th Top 40 hit for Busta Rhymes which became his highest charting single to this point. It samples the Knight Rider theme which works really well. The verses are rapped quite calmly but then it gets more aggressive in the chorus. Absolutely love this record.
Verdict - Good
At the time I remember this being this opening song of Top of the Pops for a few weeks in a row. At least that's what it felt. There also seemed to be a lot of people on the stage so I assumed they were a band with many members, but it turned out there were only 2 of them in Savage Garden. Never before have I seen a song contradict a band name so much. I do like some of their music, but not the soppy ballads.
Verdict - Rubbish
In the early 90s Stock & Waterman tried transforming Bananarama into the new Abba with this being one of their records but it failed to reach the Top 40. Now Pete Waterman tried the same with Steps and was more successful in doing so. Each female was given a verse each whilst you wouldn't even know the males were on the record from listening to it. Unfortunately we'd get more of these over the next few years.
Verdict - Rubbish
5. Catatonia - Road Rage (New)
We're now reaching the time when I started opening myself up to music that wasn't rave. There was always non-rave music that I liked, but when my friend who taught me all I needed to know about rave in the beginning played this song on the jukebox in the pub it started to seem more acceptable. I also realised that I liked this record whilst listening to it in the pub.
Verdict - Good
When I first heard this record with it's sample of "Can You Feel It" by The Jacksons it caught my attention because I like what it is sampling. Then I listened to the record the whole way through and realised that was the only redeeming feature, the rest was cheesy nonsense.
Verdict - Rubbish
Another big mystery of the late 90s, how did this obscure Kula Shaker record make number 3? The logical explanation would be lead single from the album. It would become their final Top 10 hit. I actually quite like it, the Doors influence organs in the record make it sound quite good.
Verdict - Good
It had been 10 years since Run DMC had last been in the Top 40. This Jason Nevins remix of their 1983 record took them to the top of the charts and ended the Spice Girls run of number ones. It also made its way onto several dance compilations which validated me liking this record.
Verdict - Good
1. Boyzone - All That I Need (New)
The 11th Top 40 hit for Boyzone and their 3rd number one after scoring 3 number twos in a row. It was penned by the same songwriters who revived Donny Osmonds career in the 80s and who would pen the debut hit of Rihanna in years to come. I think that tells you all you need to know.
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 12.5/30, or 42%. On the up again.
No comments:
Post a Comment