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:
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
Hole made their Top 40 debut after the death of singer Courtney Loves husband Kurt Cobain, had a couple of hit and then split up. They quickly reunited and then this came out which is perhaps their best known single. It sounds like the Hole of old but watered down, and I didn't like the Hole of old.
Verdict - Rubbish
I'd completely forgotten about Alda, the Icelandic singer who wasn't Bjork. This was the first of 2 Top 40 hits for her. 1998 was really the year of obscure two hit wonders, most of whom did well to score a second hit given how bad their first one was. This record fits that category.
Verdict - Rubbish
When a music act is only remembered for a solitary record around this era it's normally safe to assume they had a follow up single that nobody remembers. This was the case for this record by The Mavericks. Not really one for people to dance down the local pub to so doesn't serve much purpose really.
Verdict - Rubbish
The final Top 40 hit to date for Silver Sun. Based on this record one could be forgiven for thinking they were American when they were actually British. Given the state of a lot of British indie music around this time that's a good thing. I'm going to give this half marks because it's actually not too bad.
Verdict - OK
We're approaching the latter stages of the Top 40 career of PJ Harvey and it feels like she's barely featured so far. That's because this was single number 6 but just the 3rd to reach the Top 30. It's been described by a music critic as a song that "rocks to nowhere". I'm inclined to agree and could say the same for a lot of records to be fair.
Verdict - Rubbish
Cam'ron was pretty big in the early 00s but he made his Top 40 debut in the 90s with this record. This was before he was signed to Roc-A-Fella records. It was also the 5th of 9 Top 40 hits to date for Mase. It's not the worst record I've ever heard but there's not really a lot to like about it either.
Verdict - Rubbish
I don't remember this record coming out at the time. If I had I would have probably understood why so many people at university seemed to be into the Eels. Without a doubt the best Eels record I've ever heard, the scratching, the carrot in the video singing, everything about it is great. It also presents me with a dilemma. It's a record that I love to play whilst having a session of playing YouTube videos of music I like, but I never know what to follow it up with.
Verdict - Good
The first 3 Sash! Top 40 hits all made number 2 but then the 4th made number 3. It was back to number 2 with Top 40 hit number 5. I always felt there wasn't something quite there with this record. I seem to recall thinking it already sounded dated by the end of the year.
Verdict - OK
I once purchased a love songs compilation on CD and recorded it onto tape to listen to in my car. I therefore decided to only include songs I actually liked from that compilation. This was the first song from the compilation I put onto tape. It is without doubt my favourite single by The Corrs. At the time it was released I was opening myself up to music that wasn't rave.
Verdict - Good
Every now and then comes a record which on paper should be a record I like and everyone else I consider to have good taste in music seems to like, but for whatever reason I can't take to it myself. This is one of those records for me. It's always bugged me.
Verdict - Rubbish
I love the opening line to this record, probably one of the best lines Neil Hannon has written and that's really saying something. The rest of the song pretty much carries on in the same sort of manner, which fix something that isn't broken.
Verdict - Good
When I got into rap music one of the first questions I had about each rap act I came across was are they east coast or west coast. In the case of Sweetbox though it was neither, it was Germany. This is one of my all time favourite rap records, it would send me into my own little world when it came on. I also own the single.
Verdict - Good
When the Manic Street Preachers made their post-Richey Edwards comeback I wasn't a fan of the music they did. However, when they returned nearly 2 years later with this record I thought wow what a tune. It also became their first chart topper. They'd gone even softer with their music, but with it they found a formula that works and this record is quite profound.
Verdict - Good
16. R Kelly - Half On A Baby (New)
This record was originally written for Bobby Brown but he turned it down. It was taken from the upcoming R Kelly album "R". It wasn't the lead single though as his 2 movie hits from the previous year were both on it. Like with a lot of R Kelly records, it's good.
Verdict - Good
I already owned the All Saints album by the time this was released so was very familiar with this record. It was possibly my favourite track on the album, so given it was pop music it made a lot of sense for this to be released as a single.
Verdict - Rubbish
In this era of me opening myself up to music that wasn't rave, Alisha's Attic were back with the lead single from their 2nd album. It reminded me that Alisha's Attic were something I liked and this single carried on the good form and led to me buying their 2nd album before I bought their debut album. It's also by far the best song on their 2nd album.
Verdict - Good
Memories of the students union are coming back with this record. It was played pretty much every time I went there with the whole room drunkenly dance along to it. The intro to it is the same as "I Love Rock N Roll" meaning some people are expecting that when it starts to play and it's always amusing to see their reaction. Given how good it sounded after a few beers I'm going to give it half a mark.
Verdict - OK
Few would argue that this was the biggest dance record of 1998. It was everywhere at the time. It was a one off side project by Daft Punks Thomas Bangalter along with Alan Braxe. I wasn't impressed when I first heard it, I thought it was too repetitive. It did manage to grow on me eventually though after hearing it for maybe the 100th time.
Verdict - Good
11. Dee-Tah - Relax (New)
When I first heard this I thought that Sweetbox were back with a follow up single. It wasn't though, it was Dee-Tah who was a Chilean rapper based in Sweden. The fact I thought it was Sweetbox along with how much I liked the Sweetbox record tells you how much I thought of this record. It's one that takes me to my own little world again.
Verdict - Good
One day in 1998 I got a lift from someone with a modified Ford Fiesta with a fancy stereo system. He turned it on and a tune with an electronic sounding intro came on. I was expecting it to turn into a dance record that you were likely to hear blasting out of these cars at the time, but no it was "To The Moon And Back" by Savage Garden. When "I Want You" by Savage Garden came on next it confirmed he was playing their album and not the radio. I found it hilarious, but at the same time I realised I actually quite like this record too.
Verdict - Good
This was a cover of a country record from the 70s by Johnny Rodriguez. It was the 3rd Top 40 hit for Lutricia McNeal making it 3 out of 3 to make the Top 10, though none of her other hits made it. One of those records that's made to say rather than be any good musically.
Verdict - Rubbish
Imagine that you are a songwriter in a band with varying degrees of success over the years but still await you first US Number 1 or your first UK Top 10. Then 28 years later you finally achieve both with a song written by somebody else, not just anybody else, but Diane Warren who's written shit loads of hits for other people. That's exactly what happened to Steve Tyler. Aerosmith were described as a blues-based hard rock band when they formed in 1970 but by the 90s their style was more Rock Music for people who aren't into Rock Music. The guitars are so discrete in this song you would question whether this is even Rock Music at all even if Wikipedia describes it as being "Hard Rock". I'm not one to shy away from ballads by Rock bands but this seems a step too far. Despite this though, I can't help but like it.
Verdict - Good
The 3rd Top 40 hit for Steps. Whilst on their 2nd hit you wouldn't know any of the males were on it, on this song you wouldn't know anyone but Claire Richards was on it. Once again they've very much gone for the Abba sound and once again it's absolutely dreadful.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the Top 40 debut for The Honeyz and British R&B music at its finest. The bit of the chorus where Celena sings "It's always been you" is second to none. I was a big Honeyz fan for a period of time and considered myself pretty clued up on them, but I've only just discovered now that this was written by Henry Binns of Zero 7.
Verdict - Good
What this record now reminds me of was the time a friend of mine tortured me with it on the way home from a Nelly Furtado concert. He agreed to go to the concert without being familiar with Nelly Furtado and decided he didn't like it so I figure playing this repeatedly on the way home was his act of revenge. I do question why he had it on tape though, but then again his taste in music was very questionable.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the only Top 40 hit for Jennifer Paige and it was huge at the time. The chorus is pretty catchy but the verses sound like they were written just to fill the time between choruses. Overall though I find it pretty cringeworthy.
Verdict - Rubbish
T-Spoon had previous had a Top 40 hit with "Coco Jamboo"....oh wait that wasn't T-Spoon. It was by German group Mr. President and T-Spoon were basically a Dutch version i.e. one male and two females with a very cheesy record. The lyrical content upset a few people which helped it to sell records.
Verdict - Rubbish
In the summer of 1998 Robbie Williams appeared as a pundit for the World Cup where Martin O'Neill told him the he thought he'd struggle with a solo career because he couldn't write songs or play an instrument. His solo career had taken another step up with this record giving him his first number one. It samples "You Only Live Twice" by Nancy Sinatra and is simple but effective.
Verdict - Good
Geri Halliwell had left the Spice Girls, but it was Mel B who was the first to start their solo career. this record was made for the biopic of Frankie Lymon and I could only imagine Frankie Lymon turning in his grave at this. Nothing good about this record at all.
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 15.5/30, or 52%. Now we're above 50%.
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