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:
You can't avoid the original of this at Christmas time, but this 1998 remix is long forgotten. It's a dance remix done by Swedish act Flush and sounds like it could be a Sash! remix. The masses would want the original and the dance crowd probably wouldn't like this, I certainly didn't.
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
The final Top 40 hit to date for Lutricia McNeal. It was written by the same Swedish songwriting team who wrote her only other original Top 40 hit "Stranded". With this being her only Top 40 hit not to make the Top 10 the wheels had fallen off and this is the least catchy of them all.
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
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 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
The penultimate Top 40 hit of the 90s for The Beautiful South. After liking their previous Top 40 hit "Perfect 10" I'm struggling with this one. It's a distinctive enough record but there's not really a lot to like about it.
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
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
In 1998 the internet was gaining in popularity, I would have used the internet myself by this point though quite reluctantly. This record was based on the internet creation of the Dancing Baby and is cheesy as fuck. Never really got it myself.
Verdict - Rubbish
20. Alda - Girls Night Out (New)
The 2nd and final Top 40 hit to date for Icelandic singer Alda. In the video though she isn't going on a girls night out in Iceland, she's going out in London. I do think she may have succeeded more with this record in more modern times which is obviously a bad thing.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
Aqua went back to the bubblegum pop formula on their previous Top 40 hit but failed to top the charts for the first time. They went back to the more serious "Turn Back Time" formula for this one and did even worse, failing to reach the Top 10. It's nowhere near as good though, it worked once but it didn't work again.
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
The nature of Ace Of Base's music was always making pop records based on more specialist genres, most notably reggae. With this record they've gone all Motown. As a Motown fan I find that dangerous territory to go into. It's very difficult for a more modern act to try and replicate the Motown sound and pull it off. Ace Of Base didn't manage to pull it off either.
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
Babyface wrote a lot of Top 40 hits in the 90s, notably quite a number in 1997. This however was the only Top 40 hit he had as a songwriter in 1998. When you team up 2 of the most bland singers of the moment you're not going to write anything that's any good. That's what has happened here.
Verdict - Rubbish
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
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
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
Jane McDonald was a cruise singer who appeared on the TV show "The Cruise". So a reality TV star before that term was really used. Here she is doing a medley of Christmas hits and it is predictably crap.
Verdict - Rubbish
Billie failed to top the charts with her 3rd Top 40 hit, or any other her other Top 40 hits for that matter. It was really more of the same from her except this time she's done a cover of a Dara Rolins record.
Verdict - 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
One memory I have of this record was playing the "Wonder No 8" album in my car on which this is the final track. I was giving a couple of mates a lift home and when this track came on they both joined me in singing along. From the outside looking in that would have probably looked a bit dodgy, but the point is it's an undeniably good tune.
Verdict - Good
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
B*Witched joined Gerry & the Pacemakers, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, George Michael, Jive Bunny & the Mastermixers, Spice Girls and Aqua in topping the charts with their first 3 Top 40 hits. Noticed how the quality of each act deteriorates as time goes on.
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
Denise and Johnny were Denise Van Outen and Johnny Vaughan who were presenters of The Big Breakfast at the time and this was their charity record for Children in Need. It's a cover of the Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan record. It's crap, but that's the point.
Verdict - Rubbish
The TV show South Park was in the peak of it's popularity at this point. To capitalise on this they released this record by the character Chef. The actual singer was Isaac Hayes. Needless to say he had done much better music in the past.
Verdict - Rubbish
1. Spice Girls - Goodbye (New)
With Geri Halliwell gone, Mel B and Mel C launching their solo careers and a record called "Goodbye" the signs were all there to say this was the end of the Spice Girls. They did come back briefly in 2000 and have had other reunions since, but this was the end of their original run. Thank god for that is all that I can say.
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 6.5/30, or 22%. Very poor end to the year.
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