Friday 4 October 2024

Top 30 in 1997 Reviewed: Week 40

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:


This was the single that followed "Around the World", a record that made a huge impact. This one is perhaps less radio friendly and it's probably only the Daft Punk fans that remember it now. I am one of those Daft Punk fans though and own the "Homework" album.

Verdict - Good


When Chris De Burgh topped the charts with his debut "Lady In Red" in 1986 which came 12 years after his debut album I'm sure few would have predicted he'd still be having Top 40 hits in 1997. I will concede that Chris De Burgh is better than his big hit would suggest, but this record is pretty wooden.

Verdict - Rubbish


It had been a year since Sleeper had last been in the Top 40 and we're now into the era of Sleeper few people remember. It's their penultimate Top 40 hit to date which got no higher than 28 and their final Top 40 hit only made number 39. I didn't even like the bigger hits from Sleeper.

Verdict - Rubbish


The Super Furry Animals were a funny band. It sounded like they were trying to inject some humour into their records which sometimes worked and sometimes didn't. They also tried to make some of their records more than just a guitar song which is what they've done with this. It makes it more interesting but just lacks that something to make it truly great.

Verdict - OK


There was never any doubt that the All Saints were a girl group when they made their Top 40 debut with this single. As a result I really didn't want to like this song. I couldn't help but like it though and eventually bought their album which was the first album I'd bought in a long time that wasn't rave.

Verdict - Good


It had been 7 years since Mariah Carey made her Top 40 debut. She had built a reputation for doing dreary ballads so now it seemed was time for a transformation. With Puff Daddy, Q-Tip and Stevie J on board this was a world away from the sort of music one might expect from her. If I was forced to listen to one of Mariah Careys 18 Top 40 hits to this point then this one would probably be it. More to do with how shit her other records were though.

Verdict - Rubbish


The only UK Top 40 hit for Italian eurodance act House Traffic. It sounds a bit like a 1994 record being made for 1997. Then I look on Discogs to find this actually was from 1994. It's very commercial sounding but isn't bad. 

Verdict - OK


The Pixies had split up in 1993 and this record was originally from 1989 but was released to promote their greatest hits album. I was their 3rd and final Top 40 hit to date and their highest charting. Not really my cup of tea though.

Verdict - Rubbish


If you were to write a song that bared the slightest resemblance to a Jagger/Richards you could pretty much guarantee they'll sue you if they heard it. Yet they did exactly the same thing here to kd lang with the chorus of this sounding just like "Constant Craving". To be fair they did give her a songwriting credit once they realised, but it shows just how easy it is to unintentional write something that sounds like something else. Anyway I don't like "Constant Craving" so I don't like this.

Verdict - Rubbish


Boyz II Men had 4 Top 10 hits in total. The other 3 were the obvious ones and this is the obscure one. Being the lead single off a new album in 1997 almost guaranteed them a Top 10 though even if most of us were fed up with their dreary nonsense. 

Verdict - Rubbish


The 2nd Top 40 hit for Hanson and follow up to their big hit. I don't think this one is well remembered but my memory of it was the discovery that Hanson had a band member whose voice had broke. The contradiction between that and the squeaky voice of the lead singer made me laugh.

Verdict - Rubbish


Not only was George Michael getting older but his album was too and the singles kept coming. This was the 6th single off the album, 5 of which made the Top 2 with the other making number 3. I would have this down as one of the most obscure number 2 records of the 90s and it's strange to think this would have almost certainly topped the charts had Princess Diana not died.

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


The Top 40 debut for Ricky Martin. It strikes me as one of those records everybody dances to on their holiday in Spain in the summer and then makes it's way into the UK Top 40 in time for Autumn. Except it's only any good when you've had a few beers and are getting in the holiday spirit.

Verdict - Rubbish


Their first 2 Top 40 hits were very well known, but this 3rd hit I don't think is that well known although plenty of people bought the "Tragic Kingdom" album. I would say this is better than the 2 big ones, but again I don't like it that much.

Verdict - OK


I own the "Another Level" album on which this appears but have no recollection of this being a single. Amazingly it charted higher than their best known hit "No Diggity". The single version was a remix that featured Fishbone, ODB and Slash. A sort of mish mash of genres then, but it just sounds a mess really.

Verdict - Rubbish


After collaborating with The Fugees on their last single, Simply Red were collaborating with Sly & Robbie on this cover of a Gregory Isaacs song. Not sure what to make of this if I'm honest, not a bad record but does seem to lack a little something.

Verdict - OK


Eivissa is what Ibiza is known as to the locals, though to me it looks more like the Spanish for Elvis. 2 Eivissa are actually from Germany though and there were 3 of them. I did like this at the time, but I have to say it hasn't aged very well.

Verdict - OK


I was surprised to read on Wikipedia that Bellini are a German girl group. Not so surprised that they're not Brazilian, I kind of assumed they weren't but definitely surprised to learn they're a girl group. A lot is said about girl groups miming to the music, but with this record there isn't even any singing to mime to. Instead they just dance to the music, though I've no idea who the actual members are from watching the video because there's loads of people dancing. I do like the record though.

Verdict - Good


This started off as and R&B record in 1995, but it was a Tuff Jam garage remix that got it into the UK Top 40. Now considered to be one of the garage classics and rightfully so. It may have inspired some other big garage remixes of R&B records.

Verdict - Good


If you were to ask the question what was the only number one single for The Verve? I would guess most people would say "Bitter Sweet Symphony" but it was actually this record. There always seemed to be someone playing this at open mike night at university which is one of the reasons I wouldn't have gone to it myself if I wasn't playing songs there myself.

Verdict - Rubbish


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


After 2 years away from the Top 40, M People were back with the lead single from their final album to date. They've gone for the "Search For The Hero" formula one this one rather than the usual dance pop. Just as bland as well.

Verdict - Rubbish


The review of this record that's quoted on Wikipedia refers to the dance beat. My question is what dance beat? am I missing something here? It's not really the sort of record you can dance to and it's pretty boring.

Verdict - Rubbish


Janet Jackson was back with her 24th single which was the lead single of just her 4th album. It's the one that samples "Big Yellow Taxi" by Joni Mitchell. A lot of the rave music I was listening to at the time was based on samples of old record so given that someone asked me whether this was my sort of music because of the sampling. I said no.

Verdict - Rubbish


Chumbawamba first formed back in 1982 but this was the first time they hit the Top 40. It sounds like the sort of record that would make the charts because of a major football tournament happening, but there wasn't. Maybe it was just compensating for the lack of major football tournament. 

Verdict - Rubbish


I was once playing one of those music quizzes where you have a CD full of clips and have to name the artist and title, but it's not the original record. There was one clip I confidently said was "Runaway" by Janet Jackson, but no it was this record. I hated this record anyway but hated it even more after that.

Verdict - Rubbish


This was the Top 40 debut for Dario G. I liked this record at the time and remember enjoying it when it appeared on Top of the Pops. Then several years later this came on the music channels and it made me think what a classic it was.

Verdict - Good


Oasis were so big in 1997 that they could release any old rubbish safe in the knowledge that plenty of people would buy it. I'm not even a fan of their earlier stuff, but to it's credit it is distinctive. Even Noel Gallagher himself has since dismissed this era of Oasis.

Verdict - Rubbish


The biggest selling single of all time thanks to it being a charity record and a tribute to Princess Diana. I can picture the video clip of loads of people piling into the record shops as soon as it opened with one woman going and picking up a massive pile of CDs to buy. This blog is all about the music though and not the sentiment and musically it's not to my liking.

Verdict - Rubbish / Rubbish

If we give the records which were good 1 point each and those which were OK half a point, the final score is 7.5/30, or 25%. This could be the worst week of the 90s.
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Thursday 3 October 2024

2004: The Good Old Days? - July

When I was doing my best year for the charts search I found 2004 to be the best year of the 21st century by some distance. It was better than several 20th century years and on a par with 1985, 1987 and 1989. This score was based on the Top 40 in the first week of July.

However this score would have included records already in the Top 40 and won't include those which entered the Top 40 in the remaining weeks of July.

There was an equal number of indie/garage rock records as rap and R&B records entering the Top 40. The presence of indie in the charts this month no doubt helped inspire the launch of Ibiza Rocks the following year. Just the one point from the genre though which comes from The Hives with "Walk Idiot Walk".

Rap wise we have what is possibly the only post "Where is the Love" Black Eyed Peas record I like in "Let's Get Retarded". I'm not going to pretend it's proper rap but it's fun to listen to. Likewise we have "Roses" by Outkast which I'd put in the same category. In fact you could even say "Push" by Ghostface Killah is the same category. The final full marks go to Twista with "Overnight Celebrity" which is a bit more proper whilst The Streets get half marks for "Dry Your Eyes".

The best record sites in the R&B genre which is "Eyes On You" by Jay Sean. A British record with Asian influences, it was a rare example of a British R&B record being just as good as what America has to offer. Just a shame Jay Sean went all American after this. Also getting full marks is Roger from Sister Sister aka Marques Houston with "Pop That Booty" whilst I thought "Burn" by Usher was good enough for half marks.

Ibiza Rocks wasn't just inspired by the rise of indie music, it was also the fall of dance music. Judging by the standards of most of the dance music this month I'm not surprised by its fall. The best we have is "One Perfect Sunrise" by Orbital. I also like "Satellite Of Love 04" by Lou Reed and "Happy" by Max Sedgley but both are a bit on the cheesy side.

The rest is just cheesy vocal rubbish. We have a watered down "Discoland" by Flip & Fill and a watered down "You're Shining" by Styles & Breeze. I don't even like the original happy hardcore version of the latter.

The worst record though is a dancehall one which goes to Nina Sky with "Move Ya Body". It basically a poundland "Jook Gal" by Elephant Man and just sounds wrong.

Here's a list of the records with the best on top, worst at the bottom and the good ones in green, OK ones in amber and rubbish ones in red (and in no particular order):


Score: 23%

Here's a look at the chart:


At this half way point in 2004 we can conclude it's better than what came after but not that much better.

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Wednesday 2 October 2024

Top 30 in 1998 Reviewed: Week 40

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:


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


I would say this was the Top 40 hit that brought the speed garage era to a close. We had UK garage around the corner which evolved from it. It was the 3rd and final Top 40 hit for 187 Lockdown who were one of the first names you think of when it comes to speed garage hits. Once again I don't think there was a single speed garage hit that I didn't like. 

Verdict - Good


No this is not the theme music to Ally McBeal, that one is still to come. This was the 4th Top 40 hit for Conner Reeves who more and more I'm starting to think of as being the Ed Sheeran of the 90s but not as successful. We had better taste back then. 

Verdict - Rubbish


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


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


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


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


When a record comes out that has somebodies name as a title and you know someone with the same name I find it automatically creates that association. That's why I feel this record should have been released earlier than it did because there was a Josephine at my school but I'd left school by this point. That said I don't recall meeting another Josephine since and this does sound like the sort of music Josephine would like. Not the sort of music I'd like though.

Verdict - Rubbish


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


I would put this record in the category of bigger in America than in the UK. It reminds me a bit of "Delilah" by Tom Jones in terms of how the tune goes. It was the only Top 40 hit for Fastball. Another category I would put this record in is one that doesn't really go anywhere. 

Verdict - Rubbish


Republica had 2 big hits that both were dance and rock crossover records which worked a treat. This was their lesser known 3rd and final Top 40 hit. It sounds like they've run out of steam with this one, it's the lead single off the difficult second album that can't live up to the first.

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


This was the Top 40 debut for Sarah McLachlan and yes this was the same Sarah McLachlan who provided vocals on trance anthem "Silence" by Delerium. This ones not a dance record at all though, it's one of those boring acoustic guitar and vocals type records.

Verdict - Rubbish


This is one of those records that's hugely popular amongst dance music fans but largely ignored outside of that. I don't think I've ever met a dance music fan who doesn't like this record and I certainly count myself amongst those who like it. A highlight of the "Kiss Anthems 98" compilation.

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


When Ash made their big comeback in 2001 when they predicted it would be the year of rock, I recall thinking I'd not heard anything from them since the mid-90s. It turns out they had a couple of Top 40 hits in 1998 that completely passed me by. Listening to this now though I can understand why. It was also the first single to feature Charlotte Hatherley as a band member.

Verdict - Rubbish


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


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


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 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


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


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 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


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


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


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


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


We'd had the solo Top 40 debuts as lead artists of fellow Fugees members Wyclef Jean and Pras. Now it was time the the debut of Lauryn Hill whose solo career was just as brief as the Fugees. Once again though it's something different and I remember I'd reached the point of openly admit to liking music that wasn't rave because I openly admitted to liking this.

Verdict - Good


When the Beautiful South revival happened in 1996 they had 2 hits where Jacqui Abbot did the entire lead vocals and 1 where Paul Heaton did. Around 18 months after that last hit they were back with a record where both singers shared lead vocals. On a personal note I remember walking one wet Sunday afternoon with this record going round my head. It was in a good way though.

Verdict - Good


The 2nd Top 40 hit and 2nd chart topper for B*Witched. On thing they had over their girl group rivals the Spice Girls was they went straight into number one with their first 2 hits whereas the Spice Girls climbed to number one with their first. To rub it in further, they knocked Spice Girl Mel B off the top. Musically though they were still just as bad as each other. 

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 14.5/30, or 48%. Just slipped below 50%.
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