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:
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
23. Leann Rimes - Blue (New)
This was a cover of a record by Bill Mack. It was originally covered by Leann Rimes when she as just 11, though she was only 13 when she rerecorded it and 16 when it made the Top 40. One thing I hate more than country music is country pop and this is what this is.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
13. Brandy - Have You Ever? (New)
It seems that Brandy has done the almost inevitable here and had a record penned by Diane Warren. It was from a film which makes sense, the film being "Double Platinum" where Brandy plays the daughter of the character Diana Ross plays. A boring record.
Verdict - Rubbish
This was the Top 40 debut for Savage Garden the previous year but it was remixed by Sash!. Just as a reminder it's the "Chick-a-Cherry-Cola" song. It actually works well as a dance record, least of all because of the fast singing in it.
Verdict - Good
This is a record where it's the video that makes me nostalgic more than the music. It was recorded in Euston Station, somewhere where I've spent a lot of time over the years. In particular there was the Britania pub which is no longer there. It was somewhere where I had many beers waiting for my train and I did really like that pub. Another thing is seeing that it only cost £2.50 to get passport photos in those days unlike todays rip off prices. I do quite like the music too though.
Verdict - Good
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
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
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
Blackstreet probably didn't do themselves any favours by making a record for the Rugrats movie. Clearly they made this to appeal to the kids. What I will say though is that there's a remix of this on the album based on a sample of "I Want You Back" by the Jackson Five that is miles better and has nothing to do with the Rugrats. Therefore I'm giving this half marks.
Verdict - OK
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
5. Emilia - Big Big World (New)
Another Swedish artist making their Top 40 debut, though this would be the only Top 40 hit for Emilia. I have mixed feelings on music like this these days. It's not my sort of music but it had it's place, the modern pop singers have completely missed the point and should take note.
Verdict - Rubbish
4. Robbie Williams - No Regrets / Antmusic (New)
Often when a big name provides backing vocals on a record I think so what and consider it nothing more than a publicity stunt. With "No Regrets" though it's the backing vocals that make the record. They are provided by Neil Tennant and Neil Hannon. "Antmusic" is a cover of the Adam & the Ants record and like the original isn't the best.
Verdict - Good / Rubbish
Mel C became the 2nd Spice Girl to launch her solo career after Mel B had done the same shortly before this. If Bryan Adams had any credibility before this, it had all gone from collaborating with a Spice Girl. I remember the "Got the TV on cause the radio's playing songs that remind me of you" and thinking I've got the TV on because the radio's playing shite like this.
Verdict - Rubbish
The first time I heard this record as I recall was on the Pete Tong show on Radio 1. I was thinking what the fuck is this doing on this show, it was a show I'd listen to for dance music. I was more concerned about how shit it was though, the sampling of kids from a musical makes it sound no more credible than a Will Smith record.
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 12.5/30, or 42%. We may make 50% after all.
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