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:
After Brandy scored a number 2 with her duet with Monica, she teamed up with Mase and achieved the same again. It was also written by Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins and LaShawn Daniels. I would however say it's probably the most obscure number 2 of the year as I don't remember it first time round. If I had then I may have thought twice about buying Brandy's "Never Say Never" album.
Verdict - Rubbish
After Brandy was able to score another number 2 with her follow up to "The Boy Is Mine" Monica was unable to do the same getting to number 6 with this. She had Jermaine Dupri behind this record. To be fair she'd not even been in the Top 20 prior to her big hit. This would be her final Top 40 hit to date. Like with the Brandy follow up though, not my cup of tea.
Verdict - Rubbish
The Top 40 debut for Luniz and the only record many people know them for. It's an anthem no doubt which is possibly both a blessing and a curse for them. A blessing that they have such an iconic record but a curse that people only talk about the record and not Luniz as an act.
Verdict - Good
After having a blip with her previous hit "Wishing I Was There", Natalie Imbruglia was back in the Top 10 with this record. It would be her final Top 40 hit of the 90s, but unfortunately she'd be back in the 21st century. It's a record that never really gets started.
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
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
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
This was the first Top 40 hit for REM without Billy Berry in the band. It was written about a nightshift worker. I remember taking a nightshift job in my student days thinking it would be up my street given my inclination to stay up till 3am, but it was awful. I was envious of those arriving for work after a full nights sleep once my shift had finished. If you are a nightshift worker and are having trouble sleeping during the day, listen to this record.
Verdict - Rubbish
The only Top 40 hit for Germany based American R&B group 4 The Cause who were all teenagers at the time. Best known for their association with R Kelly these days but I'll say no more on that. It's a cover of the Ben E King record and is fuckin terrible.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
It had been 2 years and 7 months since Cliff Richard had last had a Top 40 hit. That had been the longest gap he'd had between Top 40 hits since he made his Top 40 debut back in 1958. During that time away he hadn't changed a bit. Why not I supposed, it's not like if he made anything that was any good the younger generation would have bought it.
Verdict - Rubbish
I do wonder how much awareness there was of how big a part Sweden played in the pop world in the late 90s. In the case of this record, how many people were aware that Meja is Swedish. I wasn't aware myself, I never gave it much thought really. It's an honest way of saying what the Swedish songwriting model is all about.
Verdict - Rubbish
I've lost count of the number of house remakes we've had of old disco records during this time period. The thing is they work so well, disco lends itself very well to house music. It was credited to Rose Royce ft Gwen Dickey because Gwen Dickey was no longer in Rose Royce.
Verdict - Good
The 2nd top 40 hit for Lynden David Hall which was also his highest charting. He was the British equivalent of D'Angelo and Maxwell. I would actually say this has a bit more excitement to it to the point I think it deserves full marks.
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
In 1998 I was a big fan of formula one to the extent that I'd get up at stupid hours to watch the grand prix live. The final grand prix of that season was the Japanese Grand Prix and at the end of the coverage they had a montage of the seasons highlights with this song playing over the top. It worked really well and probably helped me to like this record. Also as a result this record reminds me of Martin Brundle.
Verdict - Good
Dru Hill were back with a 2nd album and this was the lead single. It was also from the movie "Rush Hour" and gave them their first Top 10 hit, something they'd achieve with the remainder of their Top 40 hits to date. Nothing to do with the Bee Gees song of the same name, it's original and a good record in it's own right.
Verdict - Good
Whilst "Praise You" is credited with making Fatboy Slim a household name, he was definitely someone people were talking about by the time this record came out. I was loving this record at the time and it's quite possibly my favourite of the Fatboy Slim hits. It also appears on "Kiss Anthems 98" prior to the Norman Cook remix of "Brimful Of Asha" so I find myself drawn to that once it ends.
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
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 for Billie Piper and her 2nd chart topper, though this would be her last. I do remember making a point at the time that her music was always going to have limitations given she was only 15 but then someone pointed out that she'd just turned 16. It's very much music for kids though.
Verdict - Rubbish
Five appeared to be winning the battle of the boy bands against 911 so 911 had to come up with a plan. They did something that worked well for their Irish counterparts Boyzone, the cover version. This was original a hit for the Tavares in the 70s. It worked as it gave them their first number 2. An inferior cover in every way.
Verdict - Rubbish
The first of two hits from Kele Le Roc, both of which reached number 8. Admittedly I don't think I've listened to this song since 1998 but I did like it at the time but did prefer her follow up "My Love" which I have listened to since. Seems strange that all she's seemed to do since then is be a featured artist on other peoples tracks given her chart performance was pretty good, but I guess back then your chart career would most likely be brief if you were an R&B act not from America.
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
Dance music is often used for workouts so it sort of made sense to make a dance record with an instructor talking on it. I remember the confusion of having both Spacedust and Stardust in the charts at the same time. To add further confusion, this was based on a Bob Sinclar record that was co-produced by Thomas Bangalter who was part of Stardust. It's cheesy as fuck but I like it.
Verdict - Good
It had now been over two years since the excellent "Head Over Feet" by Alanis Morissette which is by far her best hit. This didn't have the same impact though, it's not a bad record but not one I'd go out and buy like I did her previous hit.
Verdict - OK
I don't remember Culture Club the first time round but I do remember the solo career of Boy George and had assumed the likes of "Karma Chameleon" were by him rather than Culture Club. In the 90s he became a House DJ which brought him a new set of fans, myself included, so I questioned why after becoming an established House DJ would he want to bring back Culture Club. That said this song isn't bad.
Verdict - OK
3. U2 - Sweetest Thing (New)
I didn't realise this at the time, but this song was originally the b-side to "Where the Streets Have No Name" in 1987, so was already 11 years old. Still, what a tune, I particularly like the bit where he sings "Baby's got blue skies up ahead". To be honest I don't like too many U2 songs I've heard but the ones I do like I really like and this is one of them.
Verdict - Good
2. George Michael - Outside (New)
I can't say I was particularly keen on this song at the time. Listening to it now though it actually sounds better than I remembered it being. It's no "Careless Whisper" though.
Verdict - OK
1. Cher - Believe (New)
This was number one for an eternity and I knew quite a few people who liked this. I however thought it was rubbish and still do. It set the scene for the music we'd come to expect from Cher for the forseeable future following the success of this.
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%. Back above 50%.
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