Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Nov 22, 2011 18:22:16 GMT 1
21ST OCTOBER- WHEN LOVE AND HATE COLLIDE- Def Leppard (1 week)This one is slighly left field. I remember back at the time wondering where exavtly this had come from?! To launch their greatest hits album "Vault" this was a track recorded for, but not included on the 1992 album "Adrenalize" an album did give us an earlier song in this thread "Let's Get Rocked", in all fairness this is relatively harmless stuff but it's also more or less identikit to the kind of material Bryan Adams had been put out for the last 4 years. If soft rock and AOR balladeering is your bag then i'm sure you'll love it, an if you damned Simply Red for keeping Pulp from No 1 then just remember it kept this piece of anodyne dad rock from the top as well. Part of my frustration with the song is that we really are starting to get into a great time for pop and a review on this kind of record just seems rather trivial, even "Let's get Rocked" contained some humourous moments and was quite fun even its tweeness, this however has no such thing to recommend it. It's sad to lament the demise of the british rock group but they were sealing their own fate with tracks like this, and Leppard never made the top 10 again.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Nov 22, 2011 18:22:52 GMT 1
28TH OCTOBER- I'D LIE FOR YOU (AND THAT'S THE TRUTH)- Meat Loaf (1 week)Meat Loaf is a massively endearing figure in real life- Guaranteed to always be larger than life and be great TV his music is similarly filled with high drama and thanks to Jim Steinman, well ordinarily anyway, except this one is penned by Diane Warren famed for such hits as Starship's "We Built This City" etc. The loaf was returning to the fray and following up his massive 1993 album "Bat Out Of Hell II" album which had surprisingly given him his first chart topper here and the period earned him both the best selling single and album of 1993. The attempt at replicating that success is clear here, Same OTT performance, same long title (with brackets), guest female vocals provided by Patti Russo, and a similar extravagant promo video picking up from the end of the "I'd Do Anything" video. It's just that the tune isn't quite good enough, whilst "I'd Do Anything For Love" had a story and theme, and a convincing one at that, saying that you'd lie for someone isn't exactly the most ardent profession of love, it's all a pale imitation of his 1993 period without much new on offer. Now a No 2 hit is hardly a failure but he must have been expecting bigger things to come from this and sales of over 330k were nothing to be sneezed at but it's that old problem- when you're last period was so huge anything but another huge era looks like a failure, it's a problem that will soon face Adele.
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borneoman
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love is tough, when enough is not enough
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Post by borneoman on Nov 22, 2011 19:07:24 GMT 1
hate those last 2 that was a very dull one from Def Leppard, even dullest than usual... I didn't mind some of their ballads, like Love Bites, but this is just plain dull... personally I don't see why you say it sounds Bryan Adams-esque for me this is far worst, at least Everything I Do is more uplifting, this is plain dull and agree on Meatloaf, this was a sub-par carbon-copy of I'd Do Anything... poor comeback!!!
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Post by evansabove on Nov 22, 2011 20:10:22 GMT 1
This was back in the day when rock could sell singles. Both acts have done much better songs than that but its good to listen to those 2 as ive not heard them in ages
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Post by Earl Purple on Nov 22, 2011 23:16:36 GMT 1
I've never been overly keen on Meat Loaf's non-Steinman songs, other than Modern Girl which I quite liked.
I don't have Simply Red - they've had a #1 in my chart albeit not with Fairground but that song was ok. Not as good as Pulp though. Shortly after the Sorted single we had Leah Betts' death, an ordinary 18-year-old girl celebrating her birthday who took an ecstasy-pill. Although post-morten analysis showed that it was a mix of the pill with alcohol and too much water that caused her death, the press jumped on the story with a warning "this could happen to anyone".
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Nov 23, 2011 17:31:12 GMT 1
4TH NOVEMBER- HEAVEN FOR EVERYONE- Queen (1 week)Much like 2Pac and Notorious B.I.G, Freddie Mercury's death in 1991, far from being the end for Queen, spelt the beginning of a seemingly endless releases from them through the 1990s. The album "Made In Heaven" was an album filled with out takes and a selection of Mercury tracks that were recorded prior to his death but later found the light of a day as a cash cow for the die hard fans, it was an odd time in 90s Britain for Queen, they were revered in a way not really seen before yet few would argue that either "The Miracle" or "Innuendo" (the last two studio albums they made) were the best they had done. It was a long farewell to Mercury that in truth lasted a good 4 years and ended with this release (let's glaze over much of what happend post 96) and to be honest "Heaven For Everyone" is pretty much ballad by numbers, inspiration lyrics put to a nice enough tune but it's nothing special. The song was written by Roger Taylor for his spin off band The Cross, and appeared on their 1988 album "Shove It" with Mercury on backing vocals, another version existed where Mercury took lead vocals and it was this version that surfaced with new production in late 95. It did its job in promoting the album to a Christmas audience that lapped up a million copies of Mercury's last notes including the excellent "You Don't Fool Me" but, sentimentality aside, this is nothing special from one of the most influential bands in UK music history.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Nov 23, 2011 17:32:28 GMT 1
11TH NOVEMBER- WONDERWALL- Oasis (1 week)Ah what more can be written about "Wonderwall"? The best song ever written? an anthem for a generation? Certainly it seemed like all of those things at the time and it's not aged badly at all, then guitar pop tends not to, back in 1995 this song was EVERYWHERE. A standout track from Morning Glory from the start, it perhaps benefits from the fact that for all the expression of admiration in the lyrics it's the repressed nature of the song that hangs heavy over the track "There are many things that I would like to say to you/ But I don't know how" the imagery plays on the image of Oasis as northern lads who can't express their emotions, and that this is the best way they can convey that (after all what exactly is a Wonderwall?). The popular image of the band as the thugs of indie, the bully's of poor old Blur, were really, deep down, sensitive souls, was the right identity to convey the meaning of the song, this is perhaps one of the reasons why the record works so well. Liam's Vocal, normally so agressive and bold, is much more refrained and earnest, the underbelly of the beast if you like, rendering the song entirely convincing in the execution, and the orchestration contributes to the rather melancholy feel of the track, this was Britpop being a "new man" (remember that 90s phrase?). Of course the tune is great, this was the band's golden period when almost everything had the magic touch and indeed Wonderwall sold enough copies in its first week to top the charts for most of the weeks in the year, this time however it was the scourge of britpop acts Robson & Jerome who held them from the top. Incidentally it was apparently Liam who was supposed to appear on the cover but that was vetoed by Noel on the day. Similarly Noel's claim in 1996 that the song was written about Meg Matthews was changed post break up to an imaginary person so believe what you will, either way it doesn't detract from just how beautiful and well crafted "Wonderwall" is. The best No 2 of the 90s? well it should certainly be in the running.
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borneoman
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love is tough, when enough is not enough
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Post by borneoman on Nov 23, 2011 17:39:52 GMT 1
never a fan of Heaven for Everyone, too sappy, almost Celion Dion-esque agree on how amamzing You Don't Fool Me is!!! Wonderwall is nice but actually I did/do prefer Don't Look Back In Anger, better both musically and especially lyrically, the latter being Wonderwall lowest point 'What's a Wonderwall anyway' was a line later in a Travis song, right?
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Post by andrew07 on Nov 23, 2011 17:47:31 GMT 1
Queen song is not the best they've done but is ok. Personally, I think Brian and Roger should have just wrapped up the band after that, John Deacon retired from the music business 2 years later too. Simon Cowell should be bloody shot. Not only does he ensure that two of my fave songs ever be kept from No.1, but also, because of him some of my friends don't want to come to the pub with me on a saturday evening now, they'd rather stay in and watch X-Factor "Wonderwall" I feel is the greatest No.2 hit ever, and still sounds as good now as it did then. I also like the Ryan Adams version too, Noel went through a period of not wanting to perform the song until he heard Ryan's version that he begun to appreciate the song again. Ryan's version
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borneoman
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Post by borneoman on Nov 23, 2011 17:53:25 GMT 1
^I actually prefer Common People to Wonderwall as best #2 and probably Kate Nash's Foundations too
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Nov 23, 2011 19:16:44 GMT 1
"Wonderwall" is gash.
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Post by evansabove on Nov 23, 2011 23:17:28 GMT 1
Definitely not one of Queen's finest moments, the cash-in was well and truly being milked by then. Sad that the remaining members of Queen should have allowed it
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Nov 23, 2011 23:19:27 GMT 1
I'm also troubled by the idea that heaven is for everyone. What if Hitler is there? Better off in Hell, there'd only be Satan there.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Nov 23, 2011 23:44:51 GMT 1
Or is it a place on earth? questions questions.....
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Post by Earl Purple on Nov 24, 2011 3:43:26 GMT 1
I disagree with you, Innuendo was one of the best albums Queen recorded. Not their best it is true, A Night At The Opera clearly is that album, but it is a good album and they weren't past it at that point. Do you actually have this album? I do and would happily listen to it now. The Miracle wasn't as good but had its moments, in particular the title track.
Made In Heaven wasn't a particularly great album though by Queen's very high standards. However they are still the greatest rock band ever. I did buy it, of course, like all their others. I am glad this music was released - I don't know exactly when all these songs were recorded and at the time I was particularly surprised that Freddie Mercury had recorded "Too Much Love Will Kill You" as I had assumed Brian May had written that after his death and that it was somewhat related to Freddie dying of AIDS.
With reference to Meat Loaf who preceded that at #2, I have to say for his benefit that he does sing on my all time #1 has recorded one of my all-time favourite albums and had topped my chart 6 times. All of these with Steinman compositions. So effectively Coolio's rap over an old Stevie Wonder song kept two of my favourite artists of all time out of #1, albeit that neither were actually on their top form at the time. In my chart the sequence of #1s was pretty much Alanis Morissette - Pulp - Alanis Morissete - Oasis and was expected to go back to Pulp with Disco 2000 but surprisingly it didn't.
Wonderwall wasn't just a great song but Masterplan was a B-side on the CD single too, the others being Round Are Way (sic) and The Swamp Song, the full version of the instrumental bits on What's The Story Morning Glory. And of course my #1 album at the time was a huge battle between Oasis and Pulp with Alanis there in the mix too, with 3 of my favourite albums of all time having just been released. None of those would actually be my album of the year though. That honour went to "Worry Bomb" by Carter USM - a band I saw live on Saturday night.
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borneoman
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Post by borneoman on Nov 24, 2011 12:05:07 GMT 1
^I always took it as Too Much Love Will Kill You was not related to Freddie's death cos it was obviously an older song, think it was more a call about the dangers of unprotected sex...
It's a pity that Pulp never released Underwear as single. For me, that's Jarvis at his best in terms of story-telling
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Nov 24, 2011 18:25:36 GMT 1
16TH DECEMBER- FREE AS A BIRD- The Beatles (1 week)Oh boy I recall the great fuss made over this and the accompanying "Anthology 1" around Christmas 1995. Hundreds of articles on how both would be No 1 for literally weeks and weeks and sell millions, both were gross over exagerations, the album stalled at No 2 behind Robson & Jerome (them again) and even by the end of the 90s had still sold under 800k. As for the single this was billed as "The first new Beatles single in 25 years" hype it couldn't possibly live up to. Recorded by Lennon as a demo in 1977, Ono gave the tapes to McCartney in 1994 after he requested from her anything that she had by way of demos for the Beatles Anthology project which the three remaining members had decided to put together. Once they all convened they thought why not record some "new" music and not wishing to replace Lennon they decided to re-record some of his demo's inserted Lennon's original vocal into the tracks as hey presto "Free As A Bird" was made, and widely tipped to become their tie breaking 18th chart topper for the festive period. They weren't counting on two things, one was the fact that actually the track is quite pedestrian and secondly on Michael Jacksons "Earthsong", which ended up being far too strong for the Beatles to overcome on its way to being a million seller. "Free As A Bird" is sadly a snooze-fest, plodding along laconically, without aim or ambition, it intends to tug on the strings on nostalgia via its video, and by the fact that, with the advent of Britpop (and the further adulation heaped on them by that movement) the time was right for such a move. In a way such a hodge podge of recording style and digging up the past could never have really worked unless they did something outside of the box, and the memory of the Beatles (and the preservation thereof) wouldn't allow for such a radical move and thus you get this rather mornful echo of the once great band. A shame really.
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Gezza
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Post by Gezza on Nov 24, 2011 18:26:17 GMT 1
23RD DECEMBER- FATHER AND SON- Boyzone (3 weeks)Sorry. Truly I am, but I loved this song back in 1995, and with a running time of under 3 mins I thought this song was great, of course you can put that down to the song smithery (?) of writer Cat Stevens whose track it was originally back in 1970, but it's a song that always takes me back to Christmas instantly (even though those lyrics have nothing explicitly to do with the festive season). Mind you Christmas is a time for families etc, so perhaps the song's tale of the relationship between a father and his son is pertinant, yet in the original the message is stronger, or at least clearer,as Stevens sings the two parts in a different pitch, a factor not replicated in this version. I know watching the Stevens original on You Tube that there is considerably more feeling and personal imput in that version, and to be honest even back in 1995 I did wonder how someone like Keating (a year younger than me) could pull off the voice of experience and sell it convincingly. Maybe it's the start of this version, the trumpet emerging from the piano intro but it just seemed marvellous at the time. Also it proves to be the point that Boyzone really moved into the runner up spot behind Take That as the boyband of choice, when I was at Uni I did my dissertation on boybands and what's interesting about the video is the use of the classic boyband pose, the "all white" moment. Usually draped over each other and alwyas dressed in white it's enough to hint as homosexuality, but the white translates to virginal and thus non sexual, looking back to the 80s it was used by Wham! (on the cover of "make It Big") through to Take That ("Everything Changes" album) and countless other 90s boybands from Upside down (remember them?) through to 911, in either cover shots or video's. Anyway that could be a load of rubbish, but the point is that I still love this version of "Father and Son" (certainly much more than the awful Ronan version for xmas 2004) and whilst that may be unfashionable I stand by it!
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Post by andrew07 on Nov 24, 2011 18:49:02 GMT 1
I find it astonishing that The Beatles were kept off the top spot by the very person who bought the publishing rights to their back catalogue, I bet Sir Paul was well p*ssed. They still had to make do with the tied record with Elvis at the time for most UK No.1 hits.
I like Free As A Bird, such a languid song and the video is fantastic - any devoted fan will spot all the references to the Fab Four's songs. The follow up, Real Love, was good too although the original version was already heard in the opening credits of the John Lennon 1988 film Imagine.
"Father and Son" as a song is good, not that I care much for Boyzone, just that I prefer the original. And years later the tune of it would be heard again on the Flaming Lips song "Fight Test", and Cat Stevens (now as Yusuf) sued Wayne Coyne for it.
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borneoman
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Post by borneoman on Nov 24, 2011 22:02:50 GMT 1
not a fan of Free as a Bird, should have been kept unreleased imho
Father and Son is not as terrible as the rest of Boyzone covers, bit vanilla but yes, better than the 2004 Ronan & Yusuf version...
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