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:
I would say this is the first sign of the wheels falling off for the solo career of Gary Barlow with this record not making the Top 10. It's a cover of a country record by Joe Diffie. As he was the main songwriter in Take That it is baffling that he didn't write 2 of his first 3 solo hits. I get the feeling this was providing Ronan Keating with inspiration for his solo career.
Verdict - Rubbish
It had been 6 years since Omar made his Top 40 debut and took this long for him to score his 2nd Top 40 hit with this. He had one further Top 40 hit, also in 1997 but won't feature as it didn't make the Top 30. I vaguely remember this appearing on The Chart Show at the time but don't really remember the record itself. Not very memorable I have to say.
Verdict - Rubbish
Shena has sang on many dance records over the years, but this was her only Top 40 hit that was simply credited to Shena. Prior to this she had sang on JX hits but as uncredited vocalist. For me though it's all about the main riff. I could listen to it all day.
Verdict - Good
Despite this record making the Top 10, the wheels were also started to fall off Robbie Williams solo career at this point. It was his first of many that he wrote in collaboration with Guy Chambers. Although not as blatant as it's predecessor, it does still sound like he's trying to make an Oasis record.
Verdict - Rubbish
When I was doing my search for the best year this appeared in the Top 40 I looked at in 1997 and I picked this as the worst song. It's almost like The Vengaboys before The Vengaboys and even has a name that implies the members would be male but has female members too.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the first of 2 Top 40 hits for Changing Faces and the only time they'll feature as their other hit never made the Top 30. It was written and produced by R Kelly and I think you can tell. He sure knew how to write a good record.
Verdict - Good
This record was actually from 1995 and the man behind Da Mighty Dub Katz was Norman Cook before he became better known as Fatboy Slim. By 1997 Fatboy Slim had been established, but was yet to be a household name. In the summer of 1997 came the TV show Ibiza Uncovered and this was the theme music. I watched every episode and recorded them onto video. As a result I can't listen to this tune without thinking about the TV show.
Verdict - Good
This is a cover of a disco record from 1982 by Inner Life. It was pretty common for house covers of disco records, some work well and some don't. I have to say this one doesn't really work, almost sounds like a karaoke version of the original.
Verdict - Rubbish
I believe Hanson were the first band younger than me to top the charts. The fact the lead singers voice was yet to break gave that one away. It was the only song most people remember from them, but unfortunately they did have others.
Verdict - Rubbish
21. Reef - Yer Old (New)
I have to admit I was quite ageist when it came to music at the time. I remember being critical of house DJs being over 30 which really wasn't that old in hindsight now I'm over 40. I guess what I'm trying to say is I found this relatable at the time to sing to other people but now in a way it's being sung about me. It's not a very good record though.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 2nd Top 40 hit for a band who completely passed me by at the time. The guitar riff that takes you from the intro to the verse is actually quite good. I can't say the same for the rest of the song. It sounds like the riff is taking you into something exciting, but it isn't.
Verdict - Rubbish
19. Universal - Rock Me Good (New)
Universal were a short lived Australian boy band who were brothers and it appears they only charted in the UK. This was the first of 2 Top 40 hits for them and only one to make the Top 30. It's done reggae style, no doubt inspired by Peter Andre.
Verdict - Rubbish
Yet another late 90s Michael Jackson record that charted pretty high despite having little impact in the grand scheme of things. It would however be his last Top 40 hit of the 90s. He's teamed up with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the usual writers for his sister Janet on "History" and with Teddy Riley on "Ghosts". Both are instantly forgettable though.
Verdict - Rubbish / Rubbish
It had been nearly 4 years since Eternal had made their Top 40 debut but it took until this, their 13th Top 40 hit to top the charts. It did sound like they'd finally cheered up in this record have had a string of rather miserable hits. All was not well behind the scenes though as this would be the penultimate Top 40 hit with Kelle Bryan in the group. Still a rubbish song though.
Verdict - Rubbish
16. Morrissey - Alma Matters (New)
This was the 20th solo Top 40 hit for Morrissey and will be the last time he'll feature as it's his penultimate Top 40 hit of the 90s and his final one never made the Top 30. It's therefore my final opportunity to say it's Morrissey doing his song again.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the 3rd Top 40 hit for Todd Terry under his own name and the first one that's not a cover. It's also the highest charting Top 40 hit to date for Todd Terry. It's the same sort of soulful house music as it's predecessor but clearly a different record.
Verdict - Good
After scoring his first number one with a hit from a movie, R Kelly was back in the Top 10 again with a hit from another movie which this time is "Batman & Robin". That fact it's a song about a fictional city from Batman makes it a bit difficult to take seriously, but R Kelly pulls this off really well to the point you can easily forget that fact.
Verdict - Good
This was the final Top 40 hit of the 90s for Shaggy before his wilderness years which even brought about rumours he had died as I recall. It's a cover of the Erma Franklin record with Shaggy adding a few more bits to it. It bit cheesy but decent nonetheless.
Verdict - Good
The Verve had been around since 1990, released their first album in 1993 and first hit the Top 40 in 1995. This record though was the beginning of their commercial peak. It's got a famous video of Richard Ashcroft walking down the street barging into everybody. That's about as exciting as this record gets.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 2nd Top 40 hit for Sash! and the 2nd to make number 2. Whilst it's predecessor was in French, this one was in Spanish. I always found this one a bit annoying, the shouting of the word "Ecuador" in particular.
Verdict - Rubbish
10. U2 - Last Night On Earth (New)
The 3rd single from the "Pop" album which is considered the dodgy period for U2 by some. My interpretation of this is based on the album title and the fact lead single "Discotheque" was a dance record. However this is probably the heaviest U2 record I've ever heard.
Verdict - OK
This was the Top 40 debut for The Mamas and the Papas back in 1966 but re-entered the charts and did better in 1997 after it appeared on a Carling advert. One of those classic 60s hits that makes me nostalgic about a decade I never lived in.
Verdict - Good
There was absolutely no avoiding this record at the time. I remember it appearing on Club Nation and then an advert for the single appeared in the advert break. It didn't take me too long to get absolutely sick of it. Not a bad record by any means but I thought this record was just alright in the first place and that's my view of it now.
Verdict - OK
I was such a rave purist in 1997 that I specifically remember pretending to people at the time that I didn't like this record because it wasn't rave. In reality I loved this record and ended up buying the single. I just gets better as it goes on, I love the final verse to it.
Verdict - Good
6. Meredith Brooks - Bitch (New)
This was a record that made an impact from it's title alone. It had all been done several times before though, first by the Rolling Stones with a song of the same title back in 1971. It sounds like it could be an Alanis Morissette record.
Verdict - Rubbish
It had been over a year since Oasis had last been in the Top 40. In that time we had an Oasis tribute band plus many other acts try to make their own Oasis songs. They were so big that the record shops would open at midnight to enable people to buy this single. The actual record though is just a noise, the worst thing I'd heard Oasis do and that's really saying something.
Verdict - Rubbish
My biggest memory of this record was watching a TV show that I think was called "Holidays From Hell". It documented the holiday of 2 old ladies taking a holiday to Ibiza and their hotel was right in the middle of San Antonio amongst the Club 18-30 crowd and this was being blasted out repeatedly to the point that one of them was pointing out it was that song again. To be fair as a youngster at the time I would have hated hearing this all the time as well as I've never liked it.
Verdict - Rubbish
As the title might suggest, this was a comeback single for the Backstreet Boys even though it had been just 5 months since they'd last been in the Top 40. It was however the lead single from their 2nd album. I was written by Denniz Pop and Max Martin and the way the Backstreet Boys were marketing themselves in this record tells you what this was all about.
Verdict - Rubbish
2. Boyzone - Picture Of You (New)
This was the 9th Top 40 hit for Boyzone and just the 2nd that wasn't a ballad. It was from the Mr Bean movie so it would have been odd for them to do a ballad for a movie like that. Whilst a relief from the usual dreary rubbish they'd usually come out with, it's still crap.
Verdict - Rubbish
We've had the first posthumous hit for The Notorious BIG. Now we have the tribute record by his label boss and his widow. It interpolates "Every Breath You Take" by The Police. I would say this topped the charts because of what it was rather than how it sounds, it's a pretty poor record.
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 9/30, or 30%. Bigger drop this week.
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