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:
The 3rd Top 40 hit for Toni Braxton and the 3rd to be written by Babyface who is joined this time by LA Reid and Daryl Simmons. Once again I'm liking the Babyface production which sounds very Babyface like, but do feel it could be better.
Verdict - OK
The Top 40 debut for Aaliyah who took over from Abba as the first act in the British Hit Singles book. It's a nice catchy number that's easy to sing along to. I have this on a pure swing compilation and would always enjoy it when it came on.
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
90s Aerosmith divides opinion. It was their commercially most successful period but that alienated the purists or even others who said they were blatantly selling out. I think they made some good records during this era, but this isn't one of them. It's very throwaway.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
Following their successful comeback with "I'll Stand By You" we have the inevitable follow up that nobody remembers. I do happen to think this is a better record but that's more to do with how much I don't like its predecessor. It's a pretty forgettable record to be honest.
Verdict - Rubbish
The other Top 40 hit for Atlantic Ocean. I absolutely loved their big hit "Waterfall" but what they've done here is followed the path of many others by creating a poundland version of your big hit for your follow up. They've added some vocals too which makes it worse.
Verdict - Rubbish
After having a pretty successful 1992, KWS came back in 1994 following the sort of formula that made them successful in the first place i.e. 90s dance remakes of older records. This of course was originally by Chaka Khan, but they've got Gwen Dickey of Rose Royce to provide the vocals instead. It's not great if I'm honest.
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 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
This was the penultimate Top 40 hit to date for Aretha Franklin. It's written by Babyface and Daryl Simmons and you can tell. It's easy to draw comparisons between this and her earlier material which was much better. In the 90s though what do you do? you can't redo the 60s. As a result though we have a pretty average record.
Verdict - OK
In 1987 the Beastie Boys made their Top 40 debut and in the same year they became the first rap act to clock up 4 Top 40 hits. Then there was nothing in the Top 40 from them for the next 7 years until this record. I can't say I'm a fan of their earlier hits, but I would say both of these tunes give them credibility. "Get It Together" features Q-Tip and very much sounds like a proper rap record. "Sabotage" has a bit of Rage Against The Machine influence in there which is no bad thing.
Verdict - Good / Good
When Oasis made their Top 40 debut earlier on in the year with "Supersonic" they only made number 31. This was their 2nd Top 40 hit which is a blatant rip off of "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" done in the Oasis way. Never understood the appeal of Oasis myself, also thought it was a dreary noise.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the Top 40 debut for Juliet Roberts in 1993 which returned to the Top 40 in 1994 as a remix. Much like the original version it's a pleasant enough record that would be good to hear out and about without being anything special.
Verdict - OK
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
After having 3 covers in a row in the Top 40 Elton John is back with an original composition. Bernie Taupin is nowhere to be seen though with lyrics coming from Tim Rice instead with this coming from "The Lion King" movie. Again I question why Disney music has to be so depressing, but I actually don't mind this record.
Verdict - OK
The Top 40 debut for Let Loose and the record they're best known for. I remember this being universally hated at the time and rightfully so because this is an absolutely dreadful record. It's annoying and cringeworthy and hopefully I'll never hear it again.
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
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
Oh dear! It's a eurodance record but without the usual male rapper female singer formula. In fact it's largely instrumental. That doesn't mean it's any good though. It's a country inspired eurodance record. That's right country mixed with eurodance, is there a worse combination? Probably, but lets not get away from the fact this is dreadful.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
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
8. GUN - Word Up (New)
Gun were a band that caught my attention quite early on due to the similarity with their name and Guns N' Roses. I also happened to find the music I heard of theirs quite good. I therefore find it a bit of a shame that their biggest hit was this, a cover of the Cameo record. It really doesn't do the band any justice.
Verdict - Rubbish
Another follow single that doesn't sound an awful lot different to work. Let's face it though, Erick Morillo made these records to sell in large quantities rather than for musical credibility. Therefore why not make a record like this, it would have been easy enough.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
This is the B-52s under a different name with this cover of The Flintstones theme tune which was done for The Flintstones movie. They have some decent tunes to their name and it's a shame their biggest hits are the worst records I've heard them do.
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
Take That's run of number ones ended with this record. With Wet Wet Wet occupying top spot it seemed unlikely they would top the charts with this but at the same time it didn't even make number 2. It may have been more appropriate for it to make number 3 though because it's shit.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
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 9.5/30, or 32%. Slight improvement on a poor score.
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