Wednesday, 7 February 2024

Top 30 in 1998 Reviewed: Week 6

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:


In late 1997 the United Dance rave which was run by Eruption decided it was time for change and had the likes of Brandon Block and Alex P on the line up. In 1998 Eruption sold United Dance to Slammin Vinyl and teamed up with Bradley Carter to form Ruff Driverz and this garage record was their first Top 40 hit. 

Verdict - Good


When I went to Helter Skelter for the millennium, I was looking forward to the Vibes and Live Lee set which was the last of the night. It was a bit of an anti climax though when the first record he played was a happy hardcore version of "Baby Can I Hold You". "Shooting Star" is one I never knew until I started listening to Popmaster where they like asking questions about it.

Verdict - Rubbish


The penultimate Top 40 hit to date for Dubstar and their last one of the 90s. It was probably this record that made me decide against buying their 2nd album. This record can't really decide what it wants to be and sounds a mess as a result.

Verdict - Rubbish


After the Stone Roses split we had the brief Top 40 career of John Squires band The Seahorses in 1997. Now in 1998 we have the beginning of the solo career of Ian Brown whose Top 40 career would last over a decade. I think its the name making it chart this high rather than the music.

Verdict - Rubbish


The 39th Top 40 hit for The Rolling Stones and their final one of the 90s. It has additional production from Don Was and the Dust Brothers. Not quite sure what this brings to the table exactly. It honestly sounds like they're just going through the motions.

Verdict - Rubbish


MC Live Lee used to say "20 years ago they called it disco, 20 years later now it's hardcore techno" but it would have been more accurate to use on records like this and replacing "hardcore techno" with "house". This was a cover of the Sylvester record and the biggest solo hit for Ten City singer Byron Stingily. I do like a lot of these house makeovers of old disco records.

Verdict - Good


It had been 3 years since we'd last seen Carleen Anderson in the Top 40 and here she is with her final Top 40 hit to date. It's a cover of a Paul McCartney record. She has made it her own instead of doing a karaoke version, but I can't really get into it.

Verdict - Rubbish


After having a run of hits as a member of Strike in the mid-90s, Matt Cantor was back with his new group the Freestylers. Tenor Fly had previous been in the Top 40 on "Tribal Base" by Rebel MC. It's almost a continuation of the direction Strike took at the end of their run except it's very much part of the big beat movement. Only good enough for half marks though.

Verdict - OK


Lutricia McNeal is from America but she relocated to Sweden and launched her music career. Then the Swedish songwriters started taking over the pop world and this, her debut Top 40 hit became a worldwide success. It's always irritated me for some reason. 

Verdict - Rubbish


I was watching Live & Kicking in 1994 and Natalie Imbruglia was a guest on the show having just left Neighbours. She was asked if she was planning to launch a music career to which she said no which shocked Andi Peters. 3 years later here she is launching a music career and I was shocked. I wasn't shocked to find it was shit though.

Verdict - Rubbish


I remember Billie Joe Armstrong playing this on Top of the Pops and thinking Green Day, there's a blast from the past, didn't think they were still going. It gave them their biggest hit since "Basket Case". It's an acoustic record so different to what we were used to by Green Day and is loved by many. I've never liked it though, don't get me wrong it's better than a lot of acoustic guitar and vocals songs but I think it needs the electric guitar and drums to come in like "FOD".

Verdict - Rubbish


This was the final Top 40 hit to date for poundland Boyzone. I seem to recall there being a boy band from Bedford around this time whose name escapes me and they never got anywhere, but I always thought they were the ones that did it. Boy Meets Girl aka George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam wrote it.

Verdict - Rubbish


It was more of a rarity to have everyone and everyone else on a record in the 90s so this is a trendsetter in a way. There were 9 people in "The Family" and 6 credited writers on the record. Yet when I start listening to the record it sounds like something I could have written in my sleep.

Verdict - Rubbish


I remember this record being played for what I think was the first time on Children in Need. It's a novelty line dancing mixed with eurodance record. Of course this turned out to be many hits for Steps. It goes without saying this song is shit. As a side note I have no problem with the cheesy holiday rep type image they're portraying here, it serves a purpose I suppose. The issue is them now being stuck up celebrities complaining about it but are happy to still milk it with their nostalgia tours.

Verdict - Rubbish


If you were watching the BBC in late 1997 then you would have heard this record many times. It seemed to be on between every TV show. It's a long list of singers who would sing a line each and I got absolutely sick of it.

Verdict - Rubbish


You probably forgot that Chumbawamba had another hit. This hit the Top 40 shortly before the incident with John Prescott at the Brit Awards. The title is an appropriate one because it is a pretty forgettable record.

Verdict - Rubbish


The final Top 40 hit of the 90s for Oasis which was actually written before Oasis had their first Top 40 hit. As such it doesn't fit the throwaway rubbish category that their other two comeback hits fit, but at the same time the so called classic Oasis isn't to my liking either.

Verdict - Rubbish


For many people, Ce Ce Peniston had a solitary hit in 1991 and that was it. She actually had 7 Top 40 hit and this was her 7th which came nearly 4 years after her 6th. It's a cover of the Jocelyn Brown record and all I can say is listen to the Jocelyn Brown record instead.

Verdict - Rubbish


When I bought Saint Etienne's greatest hits album in the year 2000, I assumed that from the 90-95 date range on it that this was the period they were active for. I therefore have no recollection of this record charting. I am very familiar with it now though having owned the "Good Humor" album for years.

Verdict - Good


This was originally a Top 40 hit in 1995 twice, first under it's original title "Legends Of The Dark Black Part 2" and then as "Renegade Master". Wildchild sadly passed away the same year. In 1998 Fatboy Slim did a remix and made it bigger than ever. It's a great remix, possibly even better than the original.

Verdict - Good


Clock weren't the only ones doing covers of KC and the Sunshine Band records. Andrew Livingstone aka Bamboo was also charting with this take on "Get Down Tonight" by KC and the Sunshine Band. This time though it was a decent record.

Verdict - Good


When this record came out I was shocked. It was a Janet Jackson song that I actually liked. Remember I was listening to nothing but rave at the time so I really didn't want to like this record even though it is a dance record. Then a friend of mine who was into rap and drum & bass bought this single which made me feel a bit better about liking it.

Verdict - Good


Catatonia made their Top 40 debut in 1996, but it was this their 3rd Top 40 hit that made them a household name. The X Files references may have helped boost sales of this record, but that factor put me off if anything. It's a good record overall but I like the quick guitar intro going straight into the song.

Verdict - Good


The 2nd Top 40 hit for the younger brother of Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys. I remember the adverts for his album, it would begin with his debut "Crush on You" and seamless went into this record to the point they could have easily been the same record.

Verdict - Rubbish


This was the turn around point of Robbie Williams solo career which went from strength to strength after this. I was dismissive of him as a solo artist least of all because I didn't like Oasis who he was trying to imitate. This record though is completely different and I had to concede it's actually quite good.

Verdict - Good


When it comes to Lighthouse Family singles they don't get any better than this. I always found it a really soothing record. I once worked somewhere that had music playing that didn't have the original singers on the tracks. This was one of those tracks on there and the different singer made it not as good. Then I bought a compilation that had this on it and was such a relief to hear it with the proper singer again.

Verdict - Good


When the All Saints first came about I was amazed to find that I liked their debut Top 40 hit. I was even more amazed to find I also liked this, their follow up. It's one of those records I'd felt I'd heard before but hadn't. As a result of me liking these first 2 singles I went on to do something I'd not done in a long time, bought an album that wasn't rave which was their debut album.

Verdict - Good


Rumor has it that this record was ghost written by Nas. It's something he denies and I can understand why. At the same time though I don't blame him for writing it at all. If I was asked to write a crappy record for Will Smith in the knowledge I could make a shit load of money from it then I would.

Verdict - Rubbish


With teenage female R&B singers like Aaliyah, Brandy and Monica all established, Jermaine Dupri decided to give the world a teenage male R&B singer in Usher. Jermanie Dupri was the man who brought the world Kris Kross when he was still a teenager himself. It worked, but that doesn't mean that I like it.

Verdict - Rubbish


Aqua topped the charts with their debut hit "Barbie Girl" and did the same again with this follow up record. Once again it's a novelty record and I'm pretty sure everyone with the surname Jones who held a PhD got some stick for this record.

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 10.5/30, or 35%. The inevitable drop has happened.
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Tuesday, 6 February 2024

UK Number 40s: David Sylvian - I Surrender (1999)

 


David Sylvian is best known for being the lead singer of Japan who had several Top 40 hits in the early 80s. He then formed Sylvian Sakamoto with Ryuichi Sakamoto and then made his solo Top 40 debut in 1984 with "Red Guitar" which made number 17.

He had a 2nd Top 40 solo hit in 1984 with "The Ink Well" which made number 36. A 15 year gap then followed with this being his final Top 40 hit to date. It came from the album "Dead Bees on a Cake" which had been his first album in 12 years.

The experimental nature of his music means it's not particularly radio friendly and the fact this record is nearly 10 minutes long won't help either. At the same time though the fact an 80s singer was in the Top 40 in 1999 with a record that's not very radio friendly is actually quite remarkable.

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Sunday, 4 February 2024

Top 30 in 1994 Reviewed: Week 6

Here's my weekly look at the Top 30 from 30 years ago. The plan is for these posts to go out at 17:30 on a Sunday.

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 1994 with my verdict on each record:


The 4th and final Top 40 hit to date for Captain Hollywood Project. Ironically the best music he's done in my opinion came after this. I can't say I'm overly keen on this record, just your typical eurodance singing/rapping record that's quite cheesy and generic.

Verdict - Rubbish


Altern-8 were arguably as big as The Prodigy in their prime, maybe even bigger. By 1994 though after their popularity had been in decline they called it a day. This is what Mark Archer from Altern-8 did next. the most distinguishing thing about this record is the breakdown that just takes it in a completely direction. It was also different to Altern-8.

Verdict - Good


This was the final Depeche Mode hit to feature Alan Wilder, the man who replaced Vince Clarke in the group. The single mix of this was done by Butch Vig of Garbage with additional guitars from Duke Erikson of Garbage. This was before Garbage had a Top 40 hit of their own. It's a dark record that gets darker and that's what makes it.

Verdict - Good


This was the final original Top 40 hit to date for ZZ Top. They had been going for 25 years by this point though their most commercially successful period came in the 80s. I did like their cover of "Viva Las Vegas" in 1992, but is just a non-entity of a record that has nothing appealing about it.

Verdict - Rubbish


The Bee Gees are best known for their disco era, which I think is a shame because they made some really good music outside of this such as this record. In fact I would say this is the best record The Bee Gees have ever made. The moment where Robin starts singing the chorus is second to none.

Verdict - Good


More eurodance music from Germany. This was the only Top 40 hit for Bass Bumpers, though they would return under other aliases. I would say this has a more mature sound than your average eurodance record and as a result of that it's not bad.

Verdict - OK


In my mind The Charlatans did "The Only One I Know" in 1990 and then returned to the charts in 1996 with "One To Another". In reality they never went away and had a number of forgettable hits in between of which this was one.

Verdict - Rubbish


This was the Top 40 debut for Joe Roberts who I see as being another Kenny Thomas. Not because they both have blokes names as surnames, but because they are both decent enough singers but are singing over very bland music. 

Verdict - Rubbish


The Top 40 debut for Wendy Moten and the only one to reach the Top 30. It was taken from her self titled debut album which had come out 2 years earlier. I feel like this record should be from a movie but it appears not to be. It's a slow R&B ballad, records like this do have their place and probably worked best in the 90s but it's just not my cup of tea.

Verdict - Rubbish


This came out just before the "Troublegum" album was released. I love that album, it was one of the last rock albums I stopped listening to when I got into rave and one of the first albums I started to listen to again when I decided to open up my music tastes. It's hard to pick a favourite track on the album but this one is definitely a candidate.

Verdict - Good


Throughout 1993 I found myself enjoying the reggae pop music in the charts and this is now continuing into 1994 with this record. One of those records you can just love straight away, very catchy and I could listen to it all day.

Verdict - Good


After the re-issue of "Little Fluffy Clouds" a couple of months prior, The Orb re-issue "Perpetual Dawn" which failed to reach the Top 40 when first released in 1991. It's an ambient house record with a bit of reggae influence in there. It's all about the funny noises though. Great tune.

Verdict - Good


Rozalla in 1994? she was back with a 2nd album and this O'Jays cover was the lead single. It was also taken from the movie "Carlito's Way" which is a movie I like. I can't say the same for this record though, just sounds a karaoke version of the original.

Verdict - Rubbish


They were just about the most famous music couple at the time so it made perfect sense for them to do this collaboration. It was the only Whitney Houston hit in the mid-90s that wasn't taken from a film. It's songwriters include Teddy Riley and Mark Middleton of Blackstreet. Despite all this, the song itself really isn't that good.

Verdict - Rubbish


When the Essential Mix first began in late 1993, the first mix was done by Pete Tong and the first tune he played was a dance version of this. It was the 2nd Top 40 hit for Eternal. Amongst it's songwriters is Eddie from Charles & Eddie. Despite being written by Americans though it still sounds inferior to American R&B.

Verdict - Rubbish


This was the 6th and final single from East 17's debut album "Walthamstow". It could be argued that being the final single from an album that was nearly a year old was what stopped it from getting the Christmas number one, but we all know they achieved that the following year. Like with most East 17 record, this one gets the thumbs up from me.

Verdict - Good


It's been said that Robbie Williams never really cracked America because his name was too similar to actor Robin Williams. You could also say that Garth Brooks never really cracked the UK because his name is too similar to footballer turned pundit Garth Crooks. This was the first of 3 Top 40 hits for him and his highest charting. I would say the reason his popularity in America was never replicated over here was because his music's too American.

Verdict - Rubbish / Rubbish


The 6th of 8 Top 40 hits to date for Richard Marx and the last time he'll feature as his final 2 hits never made the Top 30. Richard Marx has the talent for making soft records very listenable which is evident in his 2 big hits. He couldn't sustain it with this record though, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

Verdict - Rubbish


The Top 40 debut for Deep Forest and their highest charting hit. I always liked this tune but had no idea what it was for years. Once I did find out what it was it didn't take long for me to go out and buy the album, though the strength of other records of theirs also contributed to that decision. 

Verdict - Good


I liked a lot of the reggae pop music of 1993 and particularly liked the first two Chaka Demus and Pliers hits. I draw the line at this record though. I hated it at the time, I remember someone asking a question about this record to a group of people and my response was I don't care about shitty pop music with my answer being seconded by someone else. My opinion on this record hasn't really changed.

Verdict - Rubbish


I'm not a fan of the first two Haddaway hits but will concede they were fun records so could understand the appeal to others. I therefore found it baffling that his next hit would be this depressing number. It still managed to reach the Top 10 though. 

Verdict - Rubbish


The "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" came out in 1991 but it wasn't until 1994 when this single was released that gave the Red Hot Chili Peppers their first Top 10 hit in the UK. I loved the album and went through a period where I wasn't really listening to anything else. 

Verdict - Good


The 3rd Top 40 hit for Culture Beat and their final Top 10 to date. The success of this record is clearly off the back of the success of "Mr Vain" and is long forgotten now. It just sounds like hundreds of other throwaway eurodance records.

Verdict - Rubbish


This was the 2nd Top 40 hit for Celine Dion and is a cover of the Jennifer Rush record. I almost feel like this record was made for Celine Dion to cover. It doesn't really sound any different to the original at all. I don't like the original, or any version I've heard for that matter.

Verdict - Rubbish


Sometimes songs can remind us of the most unlikely things, and in the case of this record it reminds me of Timmy Mallett. I should elaborate, back in the 90s I would go on Britannia flights where you could plug your headphones into the armrest and listen to the radio. The presenter was Timmy Mallett. I can't remember how long the show lasted, but it would keep on being repeated. One of the records played on there was this. I can't actually remember any other records played on the show though. I've not heard this for a while but I have to say it hasn't aged well. I did used to like it, but am finding it pretty average now.

Verdict - OK


I remember this being on my list of non-rock records I liked at the time. Its one of those records that has a great sing along chorus which pretty much makes the record. It's very much of its time too which is also a good thing given it was the 90s.

Verdict - Good


It had been 3 years since Enigma topped the charts with "Sadeness (Part 2)" and this was their next Top 40 hit. I would say this is a more radio friendly record than it's predecessor, it has a pretty catchy hook and really easy on the ears.

Verdict - Good


I found it quite odd to see these 3 artists collaborate on this record but at the same time it seemed a logical collaboration in part because all 3 artists have had their fair share of bland records. It should therefore be no surprise to find this is a bland record.

Verdict - Rubbish


The Top 40 debut for Toni Braxton and her joint highest charting single to date. It was written by Babyface who wrote the majority of her hits. It's not a bad record, just a bit slow and too much of a ballad for my liking. It has the proper 90s music factor to it though.

Verdict - OK


If I was to pick the most bland and generic dance record of the 90s then this would be a strong candidate. It was the Top 40 debut for D:Ream and their biggest hit and possibly the only hit many people remembered. They had a few more equally bland hits though.

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're staying in the same ball park.
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Friday, 2 February 2024

Top 30 in 1997 Reviewed: Week 5

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:


After having 2 big hits that were both instrumentals, Robert Miles did the unthinkable and released a record with a vocalist. I remember at the time thinking what are you doing having a vocalist on your record. The vocals have always annoyed me so on that basis this gets half a mark.

Verdict - OK


This was one of those records that I didn't really want to like but I couldn't help but like it. Mark Morrison may only be remembered for one song now, but this was pretty big at the time. Another thing I remember around this time was Mark Morrison being the Wanker of the Week on The Girlie Show, the only feature worth watching on that show truth be told.

Verdict - Good


It was shortly after East 17 performed this on Top of the Pops that the Brian Harvey interview with his ecstasy comments and that was the end of East 17 as we knew them. This record however gave an insight as to what East 17 without Brian Harvey could be like as Tony Mortimer takes the lead and he's singing rather than rapping. If this was the future sound of East 17 though maybe it's just as well they finished as this is pretty poor if I'm honest.

Verdict - Rubbish


I once hosted a music quiz where one of the questions was what was the last Top 40 hit for Cyndi Lauper? Nobody got the answer right, so gave me great pleasure when reading the answers to say "You Don't Know". I remember this appearing on The Chart Show at the time and was somewhat surprised to see Cyndi Lauper having a hit in 1997. I also remember thinking how dreadful I thought it was.

Verdict - Rubbish


The 2nd Top 40 hit for Nas which peaked at the same position as his first making it his joint highest charting single to date. It interpolates "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" by Eurythmics. Taken from the "It Was Written" album which I own and therefore like.

Verdict - Good


When The Prodigy did "Firestarter" earlier on in the year after much excitement of a new Prodigy tune it was a big disappointment. However, despite follow up "Breathe" taking a similar direction I actually like this one and bought the single. It's the beats that really do it for me.

Verdict - Good


With a name like "Saturday Night" you would expect a record you can get up and dance to at a club. Then again this is Suede, so maybe not. It's more Saturday night on the tube than Saturday night at the club. Very boring record.

Verdict - Rubbish


Back in 1989 Ten City had their big hit with "That's The Way Love Is" followed up by the lesser known "Devotion". Then 8 years later Ten City singer Byron Stingily made his solo debut with this record. It retains that soulful house sound of Ten City but done 1997 style (well 1996 really as that's when it was made). 

Verdict - Good


"People Hold On" was the Top 40 debut for Lisa Stansfield back in 1989 and this remix took Lisa Stansfield back into the Top 40 for the first time in 3 years. The remix is done in the same style as the "Professional Widow" remix that was topping the charts. I have to say I consider this to be an improvement on the original.

Verdict - Good



The other Top 40 hit for Bally Sagoo that few people remember. Unlike the big hit though, this record is actually quite good. It's an ambient record that's good to chill out to and has more of a rich sound to it.

Verdict - Good


The Top 40 debut for Ginuwine and although not his highest charting I would say this is the record he's most famous for. It's produced by Timbaland and has this odd noise in the background which more or less makes the record. You could put literally anything over the top of it and I'd probably still like it, though what is over the top of it is decent too.

Verdict - Good


This was the follow up to their big hit "Place Your Hands" and was their only other Top 10 hit to date. I wouldn't agree that they've come back brighter. This lacks the charm of their big hit, the bad singing stops it from being boring but if you pay attention to the backing track it is boring.

Verdict - Rubbish


What had become apparent by this point was that not only were the Spice Girls here to stay, but they were almost inevitably going to top the charts with everything they release. I knew someone who bought this single because you could see Geri's legs on the cover, that's how effective their marketing seemed to be. It even made its was onto the Christmas episode of "Only Fools And Horses". Musically though it's really poor. 

Verdict - Rubbish


The 6th Top 40 hit for Gene who I would say were the biggest of the 3rd rate Britpop bands based on them having more hits that you'd think. I would say this ones actually more catchy than their other records, but other than that it's still throwaway rubbish.

Verdict - Rubbish


Here's Whitney Houston with yet another song taken from a movie. This time it's "The Preachers Wife" which Whitney Houston was also in herself. It's a cover of an Annie Lennox record. There was also a happy hardcore version of this which I thought was dreadful, much like what I think of this.

Verdict - Rubbish


After having all 5 of her previous Top 40 hits written by Babyface, Toni Braxton turned to prolific songwriter Diane Warren for her 6th. It worked as this became her joint highest charting Top 40 hit, but often in order to achieve popularity you have to compromise on quality and this is what's happened here in my opinion. 

Verdict - Rubbish


Although Babybird had 8 Top 40 hits and had written hundreds more, I would call this Babybirds other song because it's the only one aside from his big hit that a significant number of people are likely to remember. Just like his big hit, this is shit.

Verdict - Rubbish


Even Skunk Anansie were going soft in 1997. This was probably the softest hit they'd had but at the same time appropriate for the dark theme of the record. Not a bad record but does lack a little something to make me truly like it.

Verdict - OK


Another hit from the musical film "Evita" which is the most painfully boring film I've ever seen. Part of the painfully boring watching of the film was sitting through this painfully boring song. 

Verdict - Rubbish


The 4th Top 40 hit for the Backstreet Boys and 2nd penned by Max Martin and Herbie Crichlow, but no Denniz Pop with them this time. It became their highest charting hit to that point, a sign that American pop singers backed by Swedish songwriters were here to stay. Unfortunately it's mostly crap.

Verdict - Rubbish


It had been 3 years since En Vogue had last been in the Top 40 and they came back here with what I consider to be their best record. It was also the beginning of the end for En Vogue as we knew them with lead singer Dawn Robinson leaving the group shortly after. They still carry on today but nothing they've done since has been as good as this.

Verdict - Good


My one reservation about this record was it being too slow. It wouldn't have really worked as a fast tune though. I remember this and "Your Woman" by White Town being out around the same sort of time. I guess there are similarities between the two.

Verdict - Good


My initial thought when first hearing this was wow Tori Amos has made a pretty decent record. In reality the original of this was abysmal and Armand Van Helden has done a remix which is basically a completely new record that samples vocals from the Tori Amos record. It gave Tori Amos her only number one and would be her penultimate Top 40 record to date.

Verdict - Good


Gabrielle had written all of her Top 40 hits prior to her collaboration with East 17 when she did a cover. She then followed of with another cover with this being a cover of the Dionne Warwick song. It goes without saying that it's not as good as the original, but it's actually a decent cover and probably the best hit Gabrielle has ever had.

Verdict - Good


This was the big comeback single for Texas after being in the wilderness since 1989. They had a few hits in-between, but none that anyone remembers. Chris Evans was a big fan of this as I recall and helped put Texas back in the limelight. Judging by a lot of the music that appeared on TFI Friday though taught me that Chris Evans didn't have the best taste in music.

Verdict - Rubbish


I seem to recall the blurb about this record on The Chart Show saying that No Mercy were waiters at a Gloria Estefan owned restaurant prior to becoming singers. Can't find any mention of that on the internet so The Chart Show were probably just taking the piss. It does make a convincing story though.

Verdict - Rubbish


The 2nd Top 40 hit for Placebo and the first on that anyone noticed. It would have been hard not to notice really, a song called "Nancy Boy" sung by a bloke trying to look like a woman. It's probably their catchiest record too, but that doesn't mean it's any good. 

Verdict - Rubbish


The 20th Top 40 hit for George Michael which was also the title of the album this was taken from. I certainly considered George Michael to be old at the time, but he was only 33. Most people old enough to remember this would be over 33 now. Anyway like "Jesus To a Child" a year prior to this, it's slow and boring.

Verdict - Rubbish / Rubbish


Although there are many resources on the internet these days about White Town, at the time it was a bit of a mystery who White Town actually was. It was also an unlikely number one. It's an experimental tune made by someone who was anonymous but at the same time it was a tune that could be liked by fans of various genres.

Verdict - Good


Blur had 2 number ones. I think most people will know that "Country House" was one of them but I'm not sure too many people would guess "Beetlebum" being the other. It had the advantage of being the lead single from the album at a time when Blur were still at their commercial peak. To me this is an example of the fun being take out of Blurs music. 

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 13/30, or 43%. Seemed almost inevitable we'd slip after getting close to 50%.
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Thursday, 1 February 2024

2005: The End? - May

A bigger proportion of Top 40 hits in May appeared on Top of the Pops compared to previous months with nearly half of them appearing. Once again we had more indie/garage rock records than any other genre but the bulk of them didn't get an appearance on Top of the Pops.

One such record that didn't appear was this months worst record which is "You're Speaking My Language" by Juliette & The Licks. This was actress Juliette Lewis making a garage rock record which translates as the genre has now become so commercial they're all jumping on the bandwagon, even non-musicians.

A number of these indie bands such as Athlete, Bloc Party and Maximo Park would get slated on the MTV comedy "Strutter" and rightfully, I too thought they were terrible. I have however given a half mark to one record that got slated which was "In the Morning" by The Coral which I don't find too bad.

We had more rap and R&B on Top of the Pops than indie music which on paper sounded a good thing. It was a mixed bag though. Rap wise the ones I liked were all from 2004 albums I own which was "Signs" by Snoop Dogg, "Mockingbird" by Eminem and the double a-side "Get Low / Lovers And Friends" by Lil Jon. 

R&B wise the only one I liked was "Lonely" by Akon. The rest was really pop music under the R&B tag plus Stevie Wonder being far past his best.

One has to look to the dance music to find the best record which is "In My Arms" by Mylo. I liked it so much I made it the ringtone on my phone.

Elsewhere we have "So Many Times" by Gadjo featuring Alexandra Prince which I enjoyed listening to at the time, "Blue Water" by Black Rock featuring Debra Andrew which is decent and "Believe" by The Chemical Brothers which was different but good.

The last of the Elvis re-issues also came this month with "A Little Less Conversation" which I like. Cliff Richard was also in the charts with "What Car" and I've forgotten how that goes already.

Here's a list of the records with the best on top, worst at the bottom and the good ones in green, OK ones in amber and rubbish ones in red (and in no particular order):








































































Score: 19%

Here's a look at the chart:


Slight improvement over April but only a half mark in it.

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Erol Alkan - Fabriclive 77 (2014)


 

The Erol Alkan album I picked in my favourite albums was his "Bugged Out Mix/Bugged In Selection" from 2005. The "Bugged In Selection" included some pretty weird records and the point was these were all records that had nothing to do with clubbing and actually turned out to be the CD I'd listen most by far out of the 2.

This Fabriclive mix he did though very much of the "Bugged Out" variety though. It came at a time when I was still going out to see Erol Alkan play and on that basis it does sound quite familiar to me.

Erol Alkan is one of those DJs who has always made a point about staying underground and was therefore unlikely to go down the more lucrative EDM route.

One thing of note that's different to the "Bugged Out Mix" is that he has tunes of his own in the mix this time. I do recall around this time listening to his actual tunes on YouTube and liking them.

Also amongst the artists that feature on the compilation are Andy Meecham of Bizarre Inc fame and Tom Rowlands of Chemical Brothers fame. You start to get the impression this isn't so much showcasing young new talent, more the old guard making new tunes. That's no bad thing, if the kids are making awful EDM music then it has no place on this album.

It's not groundbreaking by any stretch of the imagination but it follows the formula of several compilations I was buying 15 years ago which is simple no nonsense house music. Sometimes that's exactly what I want to be listening to.

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