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:
The Jam had been long split up but they had another greatest hits album out so this single was released in order to promote it. It probably made sense as the wheels were starting to come of Paul Wellers 90s revival from a Top 40 perspective so he wanted to remind people he was once in The Jam. It's an odd choice of single as it wasn't one of their big hits. Never got the fuss myself.
Verdict - Rubbish
A cover of the Chic record which was the only Top 40 hit for East 57th Street who's members included 187 Lockdown member Julian Jonah. It was also the final Top 40 hit to date for Donna Allen. I can't really fault this record.
Verdict - Good
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
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 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
This was the lead single off the "Nimrod" album. Whilst their previous album "Insomniac" was more of the same but nowhere near as good as "Dookie", "Nimrod" was a bit more experimental. As a result too many records lacked the fast drum beat I like about them such as this record. Not a bad record though.
Verdict - OK
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
23. Catch - Bingo (New)
Catch were a short lived indie band who's lead singer was the son of Stephanie De Sykes and Mojos lead singer Stuart Slater who passed away in 2021. It reminds me of the music someone from the music society at university used to do. I would tell him it was good, but it wasn't really.
Verdict - Rubbish
22. DJ Shadow - High Noon (New)
One of the best albums ever is "Entroducing" by DJ Shadow. There were no Top 40 hits from the album though, this was his first Top 40 hit which came afterwards. He's delivering the goods once again with this record. If you've not seen DJ Shadow in concert I recommend you do it.
Verdict - Good
Paul Weller entering the Top 40 the same week as The Jam and charting higher, I wasn't expecting that. I find myself waiting for the song to start and then 2 minutes later it's finished. At least it's only 2 minutes long I suppose.
Verdict - Rubbish
The biggest Top 40 hit for Roachford was of course "Cuddly Toy" back in 1989. Then 8 years later came this their 2nd highest charting hit reaching number 20 which was their 7th Top 40 hit. Nothing really to write home about.
Verdict - Rubbish
I was surprised to discover that there was a female singing on this, I always thought they were pitched up vocals. It's therefore hard to take the singing seriously, not that you're really supposed to. It's a very cheesy record from All Around the World records.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
The 3rd Top 40 hit for The Seahorses, the band John Squire formed after the Stone Roses split which completely passed me by. I've read that John Squire has since said the band was something he rushed into and I think you can tell with the music.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
14. Coolio - Ooh La La (New)
It had been 2 years since Coolio had topped the charts with his debut Top 40 hit "Gangstas Paradise". This was hit 7th and final Top 40 hit to date. It samples "Pull Up To The Bumper" by Grace Jones. Works pretty well I guess.
Verdict - Good
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
Another Foxy Brown hit written by Jay-Z which is predictably crap. Dru Hill don't really add anything to it, they sing the chorus which is an interpolation of "She's a Bad Mama Jama" by Carl Carlton.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
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
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
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
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 remember someone telling me that they liked this record because it was soothing. I could relate when it came to other Lighthouse Family records but not with this one. I've always found this one rather irritating for some reason.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
4. Eternal - Angel Of Mine (New)
It wasn't unusual for a British R&B act to do an inferior version of an American R&B record. This song was a chart topper in America for Monica that didn't chart here. The difference though was it was Eternal who did it first. It would be the last Eternal Top 40 with with Kelle Bryan in the group.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the 3rd number 3 for the Backstreet Boys. They'd also had a number 2 prior to this and all 4 of these record were the ones that had been written by Max Martin. An early sign that by the time I'm writing this post only Paul McCartney would have more Top 40 hits to his name as songwriter.
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
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 joint worst week of the 90s.
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