Gezza
Member
Posts: 7,846
|
Post by Gezza on Sept 14, 2011 19:04:33 GMT 1
20TH OCTOBER- THE ANNIVERSARY WALTZ PART ONE- Status Quo (1 week)
Ah the Quo, really you have to admire them for making them so little go so far. This was a medley (comprising "Let's Dance" (Lee), "Red River Rock" (Kind/Mack/Mendlesohn), "No Particular Place to Go" (Berry), "The Wanderer" (Maresca), "I Hear You Knocking" (Bartholomew/King), "Lucille" (Collins/Penniman), "Great Balls of Fire" (Hammer/Blackwell)) which was released to commorate 25 years of the band being together, if you're wondering what "It's Live Sonny" means, it refers to the critics who compared this kind of track to Jive Bunny medleys, the Quo play these tunes live.
It's dreadful, truly, kind of rock N roll by numbers, I've never been a fan, and this record isn't a record to convert anyone to the cause. After going a little experimental with "In The Army Now" it's a shame to see them revert to type, I know that's kind of the point of the record (a "celebration" of them being together and covering tunes from years gone by) but it's a sad reflectino of 1990 that it got this high really.......
|
|
Gezza
Member
Posts: 7,846
|
Post by Gezza on Sept 14, 2011 19:05:12 GMT 1
17TH NOVEMBER- FOG ON THE TYNE (REVISITED)- Gazza & Lindisfarne ( 1 week)
And it just went from bad to awful. Originally a Lindisfarne track from 1971, a folk track, it was transferred into a 1990 hit employing Gazza, who was never more popular than in this year as we have discussed before, but there is nothing of any worth here. Of course it's a novelty hit and he's a footballer, and those two things together seldom a good piece of good music make.
What is really shameful however is it that it needn't have been so, some 5 months earlier Englandneworder HAD PROVED that you can make a good record with footballers, this is like the Aldi version of Tesco's Finest, bad in every way, and a few that I didn't think were possible before- the shell suit he wears in the video and on the cover should also be an alarm bell (I assume what's written on the shellsuit has to be in deep irony)....
|
|
|
Post by Earl Purple on Sept 14, 2011 19:33:14 GMT 1
with regards to Deacon Blue, they had 3 number ones in my chart. Their #2 was an EP of covers but the radio station only ever played "I'll Never Fall In Love Again".
You could possibly say the reason this was their biggest hit single is that their real fans bought their albums and indeed they did have at least one #1 album with "When The World Knows Your Name". They had a #3 in my chart with "Queen Of The New Year" earlier in 1990 but this one didn't perform well in my chart.
I would have preferred Deee-Lite to be #1 to The Joker simply because it was a new song and the other was a re-issue. It's not an injustice like some of the others because The Joker itself is a good song, certainly far better than the two #1s that preceded it, and therefore it was still in some ways a relief to have a good #1 albeit not the one we might have wanted.
Londonbeat was the creation of Jimmy Helms, American-born soul singer who had a hit back in 1973 called "Gonna Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse" then worked as a session singer for a long time.
Blue Velvet was ok, I remember thinking at the time how songs called "Black Velvet" and "Blue Velvet" had both reached #2 in 1990.
As for "Anniversary Waltz", I think this was their 25th anniversary of being together as a band, which means they formed in 1965, the year I was born. This was the year of the Knebworth concert, which I was at, and they performed it there - well they performed a medley of rock n roll classics anyway, not sure if it was the same mix of songs. This is the only time I ever saw them live, and they really were a great live band, I would probably have enjoyed seeing them more often.
I think including a medley of other people's songs that have inspired you as part of a live set is quite a nice idea, and I don't think it was such a terrible thing that they released one as a single.
Gazza was a great footballer at the time - this was during the season where he got injured in the cup final. He should have stuck to playing football though.
|
|
vastar iner
Member
I am the poster on your wall
Posts: 17,431
|
Post by vastar iner on Sept 14, 2011 23:12:47 GMT 1
Londonbeat's IBTAY had a dirt-cheap video so I was somewhat pleased to see it become such a huge hit; I agree that "A Better Love" was a much better record, a neglected classic.
|
|
|
Post by evansabove on Sept 15, 2011 6:22:38 GMT 1
Good grief i still cannot believe Gazza got a #2 single. I guess his profile was at an all-time high then though i never saw the appeal of him at all either as a footballer or a person
|
|
borneoman
Member
love is tough, when enough is not enough
Posts: 34,344
|
Post by borneoman on Sept 15, 2011 12:58:07 GMT 1
didn't think much of LondonBeat... ok-ish song but that's it... went to #1 in the US too I think just realised both Blue Velvet and Black Velvet peaked at #2 in 1990
|
|
Gezza
Member
Posts: 7,846
|
Post by Gezza on Sept 15, 2011 17:51:15 GMT 1
24TH NOVEMBER- DON'T WORRY- Kim Appleby (1 week)Whoo- showing there was life after S/A/W. and that it could be good, here's Kim Appleby. After sister Mel's death in 1989 Kim struck out solo with then boyfriend Craig Logan (he of Bros fame) in tow and co-writing, with a feel good pop record that is just irresistible. Upbeat, euphoric, and unashamedly wearing its pop armour this is a song that is not to be ignored, Appleby's vocal, whilst not the strongest (indeed sometimes it sounds like it might buckle- especially in that bridge section) is good enough to sell the record, and whilst it's joi de vivre may have been matched by Dee-lite and B-52's in the course of 1990, this never oversteps that metaphorical line. There was a lot of good will towards her in light of the loss of her family bereavement, and much of her solo album was co-penned by her late sister, I have to say that there is little to dislike about this track, and Kim Appleby as a popstar is an endearing vision, it never lasted longer than her debut solo album of course but when you chuck out this little pop gem you've already done more than most artists.....
|
|
Gezza
Member
Posts: 7,846
|
Post by Gezza on Sept 15, 2011 17:54:25 GMT 1
15TH DECEMBER- JUSTIFY MY LOVE- Madonna (1 week)This is not the beginning of the end for Madonna, but it is perhaps the end of the beginning. Between 1984 and 1990 she had accrued 24 consecutive top 10 hits including 7 chart toppers and was pretty much unrivalled as the world's foremost female singer who couldn't put a foot wrong, but post "Justify My Love" the charts become much more hostile to her. That's not to say the hits dry up of course, but the top 2 is off bounds for her for a whole seven and a half years- unthinkable in the 80s. If it is an end of kinds, then it's a glorious end, "Justify My Love" is a dark haunting track, half spoken, and as dripping in sex as you can possibly get on CD. Written in the main by Lenny Kravitz, it was the lead track to the "Immaculate Collection" which would of course go on to be the biggest selling album by a female ever in the UK (Adele's still got that accolade to come), it naturally was accompanied by a black and white video that was promptly banned by MTV then allowed to be shown only after midnight, all of which was music to Madonna's ears and bank balance as the track went to No 2 pre Xmas 90 and all the way to No 1 in the US. It could be the hypnotic beat, that synth line that seems to throb, the breathy vocals, or the grunty backing vocals, it could be a combo of all but it's a song that makes its intentions clear, it's not leaving until it's had some serious sex! The monochrome videos of "Vogue" and "Justify My Love" appears not only to be Madonna recalled the some golden age of feminine sexuality but also to imply "class" or "timelessness" to her music- As a pop star who has always attempted to create her own sense of importance and history in the making, it was a natural progression, it is hard to argue that by 1990 she was unquestionable already assured of her place in what they term the "Iconography" of pop music, and "Justify My Love" would prove to be her last statement of affirmation that this is where she belonged until she rather went onto auto-pilot for the remainder of the decade. She'll be back before the decade end when she remembers that after all, she STILL has to make great records!........
|
|
Gezza
Member
Posts: 7,846
|
Post by Gezza on Sept 15, 2011 17:55:24 GMT 1
That's it for 1990, one down 9 to go!!
|
|
borneoman
Member
love is tough, when enough is not enough
Posts: 34,344
|
Post by borneoman on Sept 15, 2011 18:57:14 GMT 1
love Justify My Love, have kinda forgotten than it was penned by Lenny Kravitz!!!! It doesn't sound very lenny-esque and I really liked Kim Appleby. Why did she give up?
|
|
|
Post by evansabove on Sept 15, 2011 20:28:11 GMT 1
One of my all-time favourite Madonna tracks. I remember they released the video for sale as the full version was banned from tv and it sold massively for a single track music video
|
|
|
Post by andrew07 on Sept 15, 2011 21:59:13 GMT 1
Justify My Love sampled the beat of "Security Of The First World" by Public Enemy, but My Bloody Valentine had sampled that before her, on a limited 7" in 1988 with early copies of their debut album:
|
|
vya
Member
Posts: 8,776
|
Post by vya on Sept 15, 2011 22:11:12 GMT 1
She wouldn't get away with that fag hanging out her mouth on a record cover (or..well I suppose promotional image is the contemporary equivalent) today....
That Gazza record is by any measure, and by some way, the worst number 2 since you started your coverage in 1980.... (though it must be said that the less successful follow up was even worse, although it, and the accompanying video, are at least, almost comically bad)
@andrew - that's incredible. I'd like to think that Madonna was influenced by MBV, but, well, if she were, I think it'd have become more widely evident by now. Can't wait for her to cover, well, any of the tracks on the "You Made Me Realise" 12". "Cigarette In Your Bed" would do as well as any, and link back to the pic above.
|
|
vastar iner
Member
I am the poster on your wall
Posts: 17,431
|
Post by vastar iner on Sept 15, 2011 23:06:57 GMT 1
Funny thing is how slutty Madonna has generally been (once she stopped copying Cyndi Lauper) but has never come close to the simple gorgeousness exuded by Kim Appleby...
|
|
borneoman
Member
love is tough, when enough is not enough
Posts: 34,344
|
Post by borneoman on Sept 16, 2011 6:47:35 GMT 1
She wouldn't get away with that fag hanging out her mouth on a record cover (or..well I suppose promotional image is the contemporary equivalent) today.... @andrew - that's incredible. I'd like to think that Madonna was influenced by MBV, but, well, if she were, I think it'd have become more widely evident by now. Can't wait for her to cover, well, any of the tracks on the "You Made Me Realise" 12". "Cigarette In Your Bed" would do as well as any, and link back to the pic above. ^Lenny Kravitz wrote the song, not Madonna
|
|
Gezza
Member
Posts: 7,846
|
Post by Gezza on Sept 16, 2011 16:02:49 GMT 1
19TH JANUARY 1991- CRAZY- Seal (1 week)After being discovered working in a McDonalds by Adamski in 1989 (so the story went at the time) Adamski gave him the vocals on "Killer" and he never looked back. That debut album came out in 1991 and BRITS followed, I recall "Crazy" being termed as the first classic of the 90s- it's not a description I would care to argue with, and it pulls an unusual but very effective trick, to appear deep and dark without ever really revealing what it's about. I looked up the lyrics and whilst it all seems rather profound there is no clear meaning, ok so "We're never gonna survive unless we get a little Crazy" may point to modern life in general but somehow this is about more than that- it just HAS to be. I suppose one day someone will do a thesis on the meaning of crazy, and maybe it is just about nothing in particular, a string of visual images and phrases, this is the power of the record- what it conjures without ever giving real form too. Of course it is a cracking tune and one that probably deserved the no 1 spot, the Trevor Horn production only adds to the sense of gravitas the record possesses, it has a confidence that is not misplaced and its sense of importance, far from being irritating, is actually rather arresting. It's a glimpse of what could have been for Seal before the AOR balladry called and somehow he wasn't THAT great anymore!....
|
|
Gezza
Member
Posts: 7,846
|
Post by Gezza on Sept 16, 2011 16:03:54 GMT 1
23RD FEBRUARY- (I WANNA GIVE YOU) DEVOTION- Nomad Featuring MC Mikee Freedom (1 week)Nomad were Damon Rochefort (Nomad is Damon backwards- clever) and Steve McCutcheon who produced "Devotion" a rave track, as they used to call them back in the day and this is a slice of dance music circa 1991 that I never cared for. Far more interesting than that is that McCutcheon was a writer/ producer who scored his first top 10 production credit on Chad Jackson's 1990 hit "Hear the Drummer (Get Wicked)" before famously shortening his name to Steve Mac, and going on to either write and/ or produce some VERY big hits for acts since this introduction to the pop world, including Boyzone, Five, Westlife and musch more recently Leona Lewis, JLS and co-wrote "Glad You Came" for the Wanted and "Notorious" for the Saturdays. In reality he is virtually pop royalty by the back door. Anyway back to "Devotion"- part of my dislike of this song stems from having to do a dance routine to this song for my A Level Drama class I had enrolled in back in 1993 and which I loathed, I wish I could say I was on the dance bandwagon from the start but I wasn't, I liked my pop far too much, and as the mighty "What Do I Have To Do" was struggling in the top 10 all records above it were deemed the enemy . Again it could be that as a 15 yr old I wasn't clubbing yet so I didn't "enjoy" it in the right context (this would SO change by 94 but that's for later), not for me, but it's not horrendous either.....
|
|
|
Post by evansabove on Sept 16, 2011 17:17:23 GMT 1
What a tune Devotion was/is. It still sounds great today and really was one of a number of records back in the late 80s/early 90s which got me into dance music in a big way
|
|
vastar iner
Member
I am the poster on your wall
Posts: 17,431
|
Post by vastar iner on Sept 16, 2011 18:36:50 GMT 1
From the sublime to the ridiculous..."Crazy" was a wonderful track, that mahogany voice with that languorously explosive track. And then Nomad. Ugh.
Imagine re-doing "It's A Wonderful Life" but with Steve Mac as the lead character. Clarence would let him jump...
|
|
TheThorne
Member
*Hillside, slip and slide, feel the pain, it's no surprise!*
Posts: 27,561
|
Post by TheThorne on Sept 16, 2011 18:47:44 GMT 1
far better than Nomad was the first appearance of The Source feat Candi Staton -You Got The Love with the original and best mix in the same top 5.
|
|