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:
30. Massive Attack - Angel (New)
The final Top 40 hit of the 90s for Massive Attack who went from having their highest charting Top 40 hit to their lowest. The fact that many people would have owned the "Mezzanine" album by this point would have been a factor. I own the album but not any of their singles.
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
28. Billie Myers - Tell Me (New)
Yes that's right, Billie Myers had another Top 40 hit. Just one more though. With Billie Piper now establishing herself I guess there was only room for one Billie in the pop world. I do prefer this to anything I've heard by Billie Piper but that's not saying much.
Verdict - Rubbish
It had been nearly 4 years since the Beastie Boys had last been in the Top 40. The last time they'd been in the Top 40 they had hits to show they were to be taken seriously as a rap act. This is more of the same in that respect and this became their highest charting single to date.
Verdict - Good
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
We've had the BBC theme tune to the World Cup in the Top 40, now it was time for the ITV theme tune. It won the chart battle of the two and I'm inclined to think that this was the better of the two records. It's an interesting collaboration. It was the penultimate Top 40 hit to date for Jean Michel Jarre and was his first without "Oxygene" in the title. Apollo 440 had a few more hits to go.
Verdict - Good
We'd already seen the beginning and end of Hollyoaks actor Will Mellor's Top 40 career in 1998. Now it was the turn of Coronation Street actor Matthew Marsden. It's a ballad and it is predictably crap, but he'd be back.
Verdict - Rubbish
I think many people had forgot about Boyz II Men by 1998 but that was the year their Top 40 career lasted until with this being their final hit. Amongst the writers of this record was Puff Daddy which seems appropriate as in a way he's the equivalent of Boyz II Men in the rap world.
Verdict - Rubbish
I can't claim to have been a big fan of Garbage back in the 90s, I could take or leave their music. They are one of those bands who have got better with age though, or it just took me a while to realise how good their music was. Either way this is a good record.
Verdict - Good
The highest charting Top 40 hit for Des'ree which was her penultimate Top 40 hit to date. It had also been 4 years since she'd last been in the Top 40. This record has been widely ridiculed for it's stupid lyrics and I'm inclined to agree.
Verdict - Rubbish
I remember watching the video to this and thinking what the fuck? It's a boy band trying to be gangsta rappers and is absolutely ridiculous. I stand by that, but at the same time I couldn't help but like it. I would say this is one of my guilty pleasures.
Verdict - Good
This was originally the Top 40 debut for Don Henley back in 1985. I have no idea why it was rereleased in 1998, but when that happened it reached the same peak of number 12 that it did originally. One of those big 80s hits that's hard not to like.
Verdict - Good
This was the first R Kelly single not to appear on an R Kelly album and as a result the first R Kelly single that I don't own a recording of. I do remember acknowledging that fact in the pre-YouTube days because I would have quite liked to have it. I could have bought the Sparkle album though which was entirely written and produced by R Kelly but I didn't think of that.
Verdict - Good
17. 187 Lockdown - Gunman (New)
We were approaching the end of the speed garage era from a Top 40 perspective with one of the final Top 40 hits being a remix of one of the early ones. Still a decent record that hasn't lost any of the charm of the original. There was one more Top 40 hit from 187 Lockdown to come.
Verdict - Good
This brings back memories of the god awful TV show "Man O Man" that was hosted by Chris Tarrant. This was the theme music to that as I recall. The TV show and record suited each other though given how dreadful they both were.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was a cover of an Everything but the Girl record and knowing that fact I can tell that it is. I always thought of this record as being Billie Ray Martin mark 2. You may recall from my Billie Ray Martin reviews that I wasn't a fan and I'd say this was worse if anything.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 3rd Top 40 hit for Ultra Nate and final one of the 90s. She'd previous sang that she'd found a cure and now she's singing that she needs a new kind of medicine. The album these came from was called "Situation: Critical". You sense a theme going on here. Once again I find this pretty average, but I would recommend checking out "Divine Love" from that album.
Verdict - OK
One of the big songwriting teams in the R&B world is Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins and LaShawn Daniels. This was their first Top 40 hit as songwriters. Both Brandy and Monica had only been in the lower reaches of the Top 40 prior to this. I remember hearing how great Brandy's "Never Say Never" album was supposed to be and given I liked this song I decided to buy it. This song aside it really wasn't that great and I ended up selling it.
Verdict - Good
There have been numerous mixes of "Cafe Del Mar" over the years. The original came out in 1993 and this was the first version to make the Top 40. It's a German trance record that's named after the famous bar of the same name in Ibiza. It's a good advert for a holiday to Ibiza I have to say.
Verdict - Good
This was the 30th Top 40 hit for The Bee Gees which was their penultimate Top 40 hit to date and final one of the 90s. It was also Top 40 hit number 15 for Celine Dion. It was originally written for the Saturday Night Fever musical. Seems a bit of an odd one for it to be honest, it sounds too Celine Dion for it really.
Verdict - Rubbish
10. Echobeatz - Mas Que Nada (New)
Another record that's sort of related to the World Cup. "Mas Que Nada" appeared in the Nike advert which featured the Brazil football team. This was a dance version of the record. It's a good summer anthem.
Verdict - Good
The final Top 40 hit of the 90s for Peter Andre who would disappear for a few years after this. It's a Disney song so is slow and boring and a bit cringeworthy. I will however say it's nowhere near as bad as the cover of "A Whole New World" that he did with Katie Price when he reappeared.
Verdict - Rubbish
Billie Piper became the youngest person to debut at the top of the charts at just 15 when this record came out. It raises the question how does one manage to top the charts at such a young age. The answer is go to the Sylvia Young Theatre school like pretty much every other British pop singer seemed to do.
Verdict - Rubbish
When I was reviewing the Finley Quaye hits coming into the Top 40 I thought Eagle-Eye Cherry would be just around the corner. Here he is with his Top 40 debut and best known hit. He's the brother of Neneh Cherry and his real name is Eagle-Eye believe it or not. The only positive thing I can say about this record is that's he's better than his sister, but that's not saying much.
Verdict - Rubbish
On May 31st 1998 we had the news that Geri Halliwell had left the Spice Girls. The same day B*witched topped the charts with this their debut single. They really couldn't have timed it any better. I immediately thought come back the Spice Girls all is forgiven. Actually I didn't because the Spice Girls weren't finished yet, but this is every bit as bad as your average Spice Girls record.
Verdict - Rubbish
It had been 2.5 years since Ace Of Base had been in the Top 40. Their previous hit was the dance record "Beautiful Life". This comeback single could simply be described as a pop single. It made sense given the music scene at the time and proof that it is possible to make a good pop song.
Verdict - Good
It had been 20 years since Grease and this record was rereleased to mark the occasion. Given how it was one of those films that seemed impossible to have not seen multiple times together with how the videos and soundtrack albums had been available for some time I'm wondering who felt the need to buy this single. Clearly people did.
Verdict - Rubbish
The fist time I heard this record was on the radio one morning when I was half asleep and I remember later on that day thinking what was that good tune I heard on the radio earlier. I soon found out what it was. It was the solo Top 40 debut for Fugees member Pras so should really come as no surprise I'd like it given how good the Fugees were.
Verdict - Good
Confession time. When I first came across this record my initial thought was questioning whether it was a cover of "Freek 'N You" by Jodeci having not heard that record for years. I soon realised that it was a completely different record but took a few years for me to find out this was a cover of a Silk record that topped the charts in America in 1993. Obviously the original is better, but having been familiar with this cover for a long time before I heard the original I do like it.
Verdict - Good
Jamiroquai had several well known hits but this was their only chart topper. Perhaps not the one you would guess, but the fact it was from a film and didn't appear on an album would have no doubt helped it. It's not your typical Jamiroquai record, but the funk is still there and that's what makes the record.
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 15.5/30, or 52%. We're above 50%, can we stay there?
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