Sunday 16 June 2024

Top 30 in 1994 Reviewed: Week 25

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 1994 with my verdict on each record:


I have mixed feelings about this record. It has the ingredients to be a decent record but I can't help but think they'd got the wrong group to do it. It was written by Brian Alexander Morgan who also wrote their first 3 singles but instead of being pure R&B it's going into hip hop crossover territory. 

Verdict - OK


I mentioned on the review for "Rocks" that it was a new music direction for Primal Scream which I wasn't too keen on. However this record is much more like it. There's a funky vibe to it and it's got a good groove.

Verdict - Good


After Aswad topped the charts with their Top 40 debut "Don't Turn Around" their following singles did chart so well until this record over 6 years later. The fact Ace of Base had their own version of "Don't Turn Around" out around this time would have reminded people of Aswad and that may have helped this single become a success. It's written by the band itself and it's a decent record that I liked at the time even it I wouldn't admit it.

Verdict - Good


I think we are now going into the era of Crowded House that many people have forgotten. Their previous hit was "Locked Out" which was their best hit in my opinion. I'm not sure if I remember this one or not as it sounds generic Crowded House. Sounding a bit tired now. 

Verdict - Rubbish


This was the 9th Top 40 hit for Salt-N-Pepa and they were the first rap act to reach this number. It was also the first Salt-N-Pepa hit that was actually written by Salt-N-Pepa, though Salt did write one of their previous hits by herself. It's a change in direction and they've definitely moved into the 90s with this one, but it's still cheesy commercial rap that isn't very good.

Verdict - Rubbish


The 2nd Top 40 hit for Nine Inch Nails which came 3 years after their first and is the record they're best known for. It didn't chart particularly high but I dare say it never got too much radio play due to it's lyrical content. It has a bit of everything and is a good tune.

Verdict - Good


The penultimate Top 40 hit to date for Chaka Demus And Pliers and we're very much into the era of Chaka Demus And Pliers that few remember. All of their singles came from the same album so I'd say we're into album filler territory as this is nowhere near the standard of their first 2 hits.

Verdict - Rubbish


I have to say I don't remember this one from The Brand New Heavies. It came between "Dream On Dreamer" and "Midnight At The Oasis" but my memory is of the latter following the former. I do like their music generally speaking but I find the vocals too over the top in this one and it doesn't have a good enough groove to compensate.

Verdict - Rubbish


Another eurodance act making their Top 40 debut, but this time its from Italy rather than Germany. It isn't another project of Gianfranco Bortolotti though. It also doesn't follow the male rapper female singer formula. That all said it does still feel like yet another one from the production line hopping on the eurodance bandwagon.

Verdict - Rubbish


Speaking of Gianfranco Bortolotti, here he is again with perhaps his most famous project Cappella. We have "U" in the title once again, the generic eurodance riff with a male rapper and female singer. This is getting pretty tedious now.

Verdict - Rubbish


Janet Jackson managed to pull off a decent ballad with "Again" several months prior to it. No such luck with this ballad though. The reality is getting a ballad to work is pretty difficult so having 2 from the same album meant inevitably at least one of them would be crap and that's what this is.

Verdict - Rubbish


Now D:Ream have had their 2 big hits were back into territory of D:Ream hits that few remember. There isn't even a Wikipedia page for this record, how the mighty fall. It's just the same sort of bland dance pop music their other records are.

Verdict - Rubbish


When I was reviewing "I Lift My Cup" which was the Top 40 debut for Gloworm I recall saying that my only complaint about it was it wasn't "Carry Me Home". Well here is the far better "Carry Me Home" which is such a good tune. All I can say really is give it a listen and you'll know what I mean.

Verdict - Good


When Big Mountain hit the charts I knew this record would be just around the corner because there was also no avoiding this record at the time and it used to annoy me in equal measure. It was originally a country song by John Michael Montgomery. It wasn't the only Top 40 hit for All-4-One though, they would return with another John Michael Montgomery cover but fortunately that never made the Top 30 so I won't have to listen to it.

Verdict - Rubbish


Given how big Blur were by now, I'm surprised this only managed to get to number 16 in the charts. That said, the "Parklife" album was now out so I guess people were buying that instead of the single. Singles wise I'd say this is the best one from the album.

Verdict - Good


Another chart topper thanks to it's inclusion on the Levi's advert. This one was specifically written for the advert though by Pete Lawlor and then Stiltskin were formed off the back of it. Inevitably comparisons were drawn between it and Nirvana, particularly as Kurt Cobain had only died quite recently. In all honesty though I think it's better than anything Nirvana ever did.

Verdict - Good


The whole appeal of The Beautiful South is the lyrics which I'm sure is intentional. Therefore I would question what was the point in doing a cover. The one thing that attracts a number of people to the band is missing. On the other hand maybe they were making the point there was more to them than the clever lyrics. Don't see the appeal myself though.

Verdict - Rubbish


This is a cover of the Donna Summer & Barbra Streisand record that has been produced by Stock & Aitken. It sounds more like they're bringing this record into the 80s rather than the 90s. I'm not keen on the original to be honest and this cover does nothing to improve that.

Verdict - Rubbish


One thing I do remember when this record came out was that I'd stopped listening to Guns N' Roses, as had many others. The fact they were no longer cool to like gave me license to slag off this record, but listening to it now as someone who does like Guns N' Roses I have to say this is pretty poor.

Verdict - Rubbish


It had only been a few months since East 17 had last been in the Top 40 but here they are with the lead single from the "Steam" album. In the lyrics they sing "there's no place like home" and having seen Tony Mortimer's home on the East 17 reunion documentary I'm inclined to agree with him. As regular readers will know, I love a bit of East 17.

Verdict - Good


Football songs are generally shit, especially ones by actual football teams. I don't think people really buy football songs for the actual music, but I'm surprised this got to number one because surely only Man Utd fans would have bought it. Maybe it shows just how many Man Utd fans there are. 

Verdict - Rubbish


Apparently this is a gospel inspired song, but don't let that description fool you. It's yet another dreary ballad from Mariah Carey. There was also a jungle rip off of this around the same time with pitched up vocals which is quite something when it's Mariah Carey singing.

Verdict - Rubbish


The 3rd Top 40 hit for Grid and their highest charting hit that many people only know them for. It's a classic biggest hit is nowhere near their best music sort of situation. It has a catchy hook and isn't a bad record but it is a little irritating at the same time.

Verdict - OK


I did like this record at the time and included it in my "25 years since...." series of posts. However there is no getting around the fact this is nowhere near as good as the Aswad version. It therefore raises the question why bother listening to it. It's not a bad record though so it gets half marks.

Verdict - OK


This was the Comic Relief record done by the Pet Shop Boys under a different name. Perhaps part of the reason for not using their usual name is to distance themselves from the record. It's shit, but that was probably the point. On a side note, "Absolutely Fabulous" is a comedy I've always hated and never understood why everyone else seemed to love it.

Verdict - Rubbish


The eurodance records are coming thick and fast now with this being the Top 40 debut from Germanys Maxx. It's the usual male rapping female singing combination that could really be by any eurodance act. Mass production is something that springs to mind with all these records.

Verdict - Rubbish


We have a record here that I would consider a life changing moment. I was a grunger and rave was the enemy. Given that rave from a Top 40 perspective was basically dead I wasn't hearing anything in the charts that would tell me otherwise about rave. Then came this record which I thought was amazing. It wouldn't be too long before I bought the "Music For The Jilted Generation" album which took me over into rave territory.

Verdict - Good


This was a remake of a record Dawn Penn had originally recorded back in 1967. This became her only UK Top 40 hit. It's quite an iconic record and is easy on the ears, but I'm not sure I like it enough to give it full marks.

Verdict - OK


The only Top 40 hit for Big Mountain which is a cover of the Peter Frampton record. There was no avoiding this record at the time, I remember some people loving this. I do like a bit of reggae pop myself but have never liked this one.

Verdict - Rubbish


Aside from a chart topper in 1992, the 90s hadn't been a great decade to this point for Wet Wet Wet from a Top 40 perspective with the rest of their singles of the decade so far failing to reach the Top 10. This was all about to change with this record after it spent 15 weeks at number one and could have beaten Bryan Adams record had they not pulled it from sale. Obviously this topped the charts due to it being from "Four Weddings and a Funeral" but it's also a decent song and definitely revitalised them after some pretty poor singles.

Verdict - Good

If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 11/30, or 37%. Going backwards again.
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