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 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
This was the second hit for Fugees member Pras after "Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are)" which I liked. This follow up is a rework of "Grease" by Frankie Valli, doesn't quite have the same impact but it's ok.
Verdict - OK
This was the final Top 40 hit to date for Clock which was a cover of the Mick Jackson record. Stu Allan said in an interview that Clock had run it's natural course when they called it a day. 13 Top 40 hits isn't a bad run and it did it's job of shifting records even if the music was a bit iffy.
Verdict - Rubbish
There is no doubt Country Music is hugely popular in America but us Brits have generally written it off as a load of American rubbish. The solution to crack the British market therefore is to give us a watered down version of Country Music like this. Can't say I'm a fan.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the biggest Top 40 hit for James which originally made the Top 40 back in 1991. It was back in the Top 40 in 1998 with this remix from Apollo 440. I will concede it does liven up the record somewhat, but I've never thought much of the original and it was always going to be a difficult task to make it sound any good.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the first Top 10 hit for Stereophonics and was also the first single that I identified as being a Stereophonics record. They had truly arrived then, and I remember a number of people loving them. Really did get what the fuss was myself.
Verdict - Rubbish
This would eventually be a chart topper for Sonique in the year 2000. I very much remember it in 1998 though as it was being played on Dave Pearce's Dance Anthems a lot at the time. Sonique was quite possibly the biggest female DJ at the time too. I remember giving this a go but eventually conceded that it was crap.
Verdict - Rubbish
We all remember Brian Harvey making his comments on Ecstasy at the start of 1997. He was sacked from the band but then was let back in and Tony Mortimer quit. They changed their name to E17, maybe Brian's discrete way of standing by the comments on ecstasy he made, and became an R&B group. The result is this song which is pretty good.
Verdict - Good
This was massive at the time but I don't think I've actually heard it since 1998. I remember this being around the same time as "Up and Down" by the Vengaboys which indeed come out a couple of weeks later. Both were overplayed, but I wasn't really keen on this in the first place and hearing it all the time made it annoying. It's less annoying 20 years later but I still don't like it.
Verdict - Rubbish
I didn't realise this German novelty record actually made the Top 40. I do remember it being played on Radio 2 a lot at the time and given that I think I just assumed this was an older record. Very much a what the fuck sort of record.
Verdict - Rubbish
20. Space - The Bad Days EP (New)
This was the final Top 40 hit to date for Space. As they'd been lumped in with the by this point out of favour Britpop they did well to last until then. Putting the labels to one side though, Space had a pretty unique sound and produced some pretty good records with this particular one even being different to previous Space hits but good in it's own way.
Verdict - Good
This particular Top 40 countdown stands out to me because I remember Space appearing in it followed by Sheryl Crow with "There Goes The Neighborhood" which I found amusing given Space previously had a hit with "Neighbourhood". Never thought much of this record though and still don't.
Verdict - Rubbish
The 3rd Top 40 hit for Ruff Driverz and their only Top 10 hit. Ruff Driverz were Chris Brown and Brad Carter who were both involved in the hardcore scene a year earlier before moving onto speed garage. With this record they've moved away from speed garage to flamenco inspired house music. They did a decent job of that too.
Verdict - Good
The 3rd Top 40 hit for Shania Twain and she follows the path of many others with this being a ballad. It was originally written for Celine Dion but then Shania Twain decided to do it herself instead. Apparently it was written when she was bored at a football match and I really feel that boredom.
Verdict - Rubbish
16. Lovestation - Sensuality (New)
Lovestation were best known for their cover of "Teardrops" but they had one other single with this record. I would say this was the better of the two and personally speaking this is the record I'd think of when hearing the name Lovestation. That said I've not heard this for years but it sounds exactly as I remembered it.
Verdict - Good
When this record begins it's hard to say which way it's going to take you. Faithless were known to be experimental by this point. It turns into a dance record but one of an experimental nature that was quite refreshing after the disappointment of "God Is A DJ".
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
The Corrs had their first Top 40 hit remixed by Todd Terry, their 2nd by Tin Tin Out and then this their 3rd Top 40 hit remixed by K-Klass. The problem with writing a record about being so young is that it doesn't age very well with members of the band now being between 50 and 60. I was so young myself when this came out and continued to be for some time until I blinked and suddenly I wasn't anymore. It's not a bad record though, just not as good as it's predecessors.
Verdict - OK
Sash! score 4 number 2's and a number 3 with their first 5 Top 40 hits. This one, their 6th only made number 8 though. Yet it was the best one they did in my opinion. The Shannon on this record was the same Shannon of "Let the Music Play" fame.
Verdict - Good
The Tamperer ft Maya had scored a number one back in the summer by having the hook of an 80s song as the chorus. Follow that success they released a follow up which had the hook of an 80s song as the chorus, making number 3 this time. This wasn't as overplayed as its predecessor "Feel It" so I could tolerate it more.
Verdict - OK
The only Top 40 hit for Vonda Shepard which was also the theme music to the TV show Ally McBeal. It was a pretty big TV show at the time so this record was always likely to succeed on that basis. It's far too American for my liking though.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the 5th Top 40 hit for Five. No rapping on this record, they've gone all Backstreet Boys. That can be explained by the fact this was written by Swedish songwriters Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson with the latter making his songwriting debut in the UK Top 40. At least they waited until the 5th record for the ballad, maybe that was on purpose given their name.
Verdict - Rubbish
I never saw this coming, a Celine Dion record that I actually like. OK that's not strictly true, I always knew this would come up at some point. It's not like Celine Dion had a complete makeover, this is a ballad still. A ballad though can be good if done well, and R Kelly was someone who could do it well.
Verdict - Good
7. All Saints - War Of Nerves (New)
This was the final Top 40 hit from the All Saints self titled debut album and would be their last Top 40 hit of the 90s. It was also the final track on that album. Again it was a track that stood out to me on the album so made sense to release it as a single.
Verdict - Good
Earlier on in 1998 Madonna made a comeback with the record "Frozen". "The Power Of Good-Bye" almost sounds like it was the original attempt at writing "Frozen" but they decided to keep it anyway as people would still buy any old shit by Madonna. "Little Star" also fits the any old shit category.
Verdict - Rubbish / Rubbish
This was the first chart topper for Steps and it's the Bee Gees cover that is arguably their best known song. "Heartbeat" was apparently sitting in the drawer for years before it was given to Steps. Both are terrible as usual.
Verdict - Rubbish
The Top 40 debut for the Vengaboys and little did we know what was to come from them. This is a catchy number that caught my attention initially and I didn't mind but very quickly it started to irritate me. It's cheesy, but nowhere near as bad as the crap we'd get from them in future releases.
Verdict - Rubbish
3. Will Smith - Miami (New)
If memory serves me correctly it was around the time of this record that Will Smith appeared on a Christmas special of The Big Breakfast. It was the 5th Top 40 hit for Will Smith which heavily samples "And The Beat Goes On" by The Whispers. Very cheesy and shit.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was Top 40 hit number 13 for Boyzone, the same number Take That reached before Robbie Williams left. No sign of anyone leaving Boyzone here, but we are nearing the end of their original run. This was a cover of a country record by John Michael Montgomery and I feel it's gearing Ronan Keating up for his solo career.
Verdict - Rubbish
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 11/30, or 37%. Chances of reaching 50% again this year looking slim.
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