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:
It had been a year since Paul Weller had last been in the Top 40, but here he is back with another record that sounds just like his other records.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
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
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
When the Swedish songwriters from Cherion Studios first hit the UK Top 40 it was with Swedish based acts. Then they started writing for international acts like the Backstreet Boys. Now here they are unleashing another Swedish act on the world. It's written by Denniz Pop, Max Martin and Herbie Crichlow as well as Robyn herself. It serves a purpose and isn't bad.
Verdict - OK
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
TV boy band North & South were back with a second single, but the fact it was 1997 when literally anything seemed to be able to make the Top 10 and this didn't implied that people were already losing interest in them. I didn't have any interest in them to begin with.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
It had been nearly a year since they charted with "I'm Alive" which was massive at the time. This was the follow up and final Top 40 single to date for them but didn't have the same sort of impact on the charts. This time they're sampling "Jump Around" by House of Pain, but using the samples well in my opinion.
Verdict - Good
21. The Wildhearts - Anthem (New)
The penultimate Top 40 hit for the 90s for The Wildhearts. At a time when guitar music was generally getting softer I admire The Wildhearts for going in the opposite direction and making their music heavier. Unfortunately the result is something that's just a noise.
Verdict - Rubbish
The final Top 40 hit to date for Kym Mazelle which is a cover of the Candi Staton record and appears in the "Romeo + Juliet" film. I'm a big fan of the film and it's one of the few films I actually own. As a result pictures of the scene where this appears come to mind when I hear this. That makes me like it I suppose.
Verdict - Good
I would say this was the last Levellers hit that was widely remembered. It was the last time they made the Top 20 anyway and they never made the Top 10. I guess it's a catchy enough record and pleasant enough to listen to.
Verdict - Good
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
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
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
The successful comeback for Texas continues in 1997 with this record. This is their attempt at making a Motown record. This is what I sense they are trying to do anyway, but the result is something that would no doubt get rejected on Motown.
Verdict - Rubbish
14. Olive - Outlaw (New)
The follow up to their chart topper "You're Not Alone" which was their only other Top 40 hit. I'm not sure I actually remember this being a single, but I own the album so I'm very familiar with it. Not as good as the big hit but a solid effort nonetheless.
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
When Peter Andre came out of the wilderness in the 21st century a lot of people thought his only hit was "Mysterious Girl". I remembered him having other hits though and I'd point out he'd had 2 number ones and "Mysterious Girl" wasn't one of them. However even I don't remember this record and it reached number 3. 1997 continues to give us high charting hits nobody remembers.
Verdict - Rubbish
11. Lil' Kim - Not Tonight (New)
Although Lil Kim is the only credited artist on this record, it actually features a few more female rappers and then there's even more female rappers and singers who appear in the video. It's based on "Ladies Night" by Kool & the Gang hence all the ladies in the video. All this showboating though disguises the fact it's a piss poor record.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
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
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
This was the 2nd posthumous Top 40 hit for The Notorious BIG and became his biggest hit to this point. It samples "I'm Coming Out" by Diana Ross and I love the way it has been sampled. You could have literally any rapper rapping on this and it would still be a decent record.
Verdict - Good
6. Mary J Blige - Everything (New)
This was the 13th Top 40 hit for Mary J Blige but just her 2nd to make the Top 10 and was her highest charting hit to this point. It's another Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis composition which sampled "You Are Everything" and interpolates "Sukiyaki". That's a good thing in a way as I don't think a straight cover of either would have worked.
Verdict - Good
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
4. Wet Wet Wet - Yesterday (New)
This was the final Top 40 hit for the 90s for Wet Wet Wet before they split up and is a cover of The Beatles record. It meant they now had 3 Top 40 hits to their name that were Beatles covers. It just sounds lazy really, like they just did any old thing as they were on their way out anyway.
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
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
1. Will Smith - Men In Black (New)
With Will Smith an established actor by this point and Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince now split up you would think Will Smith would have given up on the rapping. Unfortunately he was only just getting started as a solo artist with this being his Top 40 debut.
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 11/30, or 37%. We're slipping again.
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