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Post by Earl Purple on Nov 10, 2015 10:45:44 GMT 1
Eminem is generally dreadful however one of his songs would appear in my top 100 too. Not the one you just posted.
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borneoman
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Post by borneoman on Nov 10, 2015 13:10:34 GMT 1
The Firm, really? and All Around the World?? that's Oasis showing the first signs of losing it, the song being a bad carbon copy of their previous songs and Real Slim Shaddy?? Stan with Dido is ok, the rest of his output is garbage
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2015 13:29:37 GMT 1
The Firm, really? and All Around the World?? that's Oasis showing the first signs of losing it, the song being a bad carbon copy of their previous songs and Real Slim Shaddy?? Stan with Dido is ok, the rest of his output is garbage The word you're looking for is "eclectic"
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vastar iner
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Post by vastar iner on Nov 10, 2015 14:35:12 GMT 1
Nothing wrong with The Firm. Wasn't meant to be anything other than fluff. And it amuses me that such a garden shed operation somehow snuck a number 1 hit. Despite - because of? - access to youtubes and so on it is unthinkable today.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2015 23:24:41 GMT 1
78. Nilsson - Without You (1972)
In the course of writing these brief synopsis', there have been a fair number already where the singer has suffered from either a family tragedy or parental split; and this is no exception. At the age of just three, Nilsson's Father (also called Harry) deserted the family, which meant that young Harry spent much of his formative years moving back and forth between California and New York, living with aunts and uncles, a succession of step-fathers, and his grand-parents, who curiously were circus performers.
Musically, Nilsson was showing signs of talent at an early age, and whilst still in his 20's was working with the likes of Little Richard and Phil Spector, and covering the entire range of singing, writing and playing instruments. Several albums were released, but it was as a song-writer that he was starting to really make a name for himself, and began moving in some very lofty circles with connections to The Beatles and The Monkees, and his songs being recorded by major stars such as Glen Campbell and The Yardbirds.
The big breakthrough was his grammy-winning cover of "Everybody's Talkin'". It was here that Harry Nilsson moved from being simply a well-respected song-writer to a major singing star. The song became a million-seller and was of course featured in "Midnight Cowboy".
"Without You" is a song seeped in tragedy. It was written by Pete Ham and Tom Evans of Badfinger, both of whom committed suicide; Ham in 1975 and Evans in 1983, and both really for similar music-related reasons - disputes and depression over royalties, legal issues and mis-management. It is a shame that none of the three top-tenners from the group actually reached number 1, they would have made a worthy inclusion into this thread.
It wouldn't be a major chart-topper without it being tarnished along the way, and sure enough Maria Carey got her hands on it, finding enough gullible people to propel it to the top in 1994. It has also been used in a Dracula movie.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2015 8:19:35 GMT 1
77. Enya - Orinoco Flow (1988)
So, another lady adopting a four-letter stage-name, although this is slightly different from Pink, Lulu et al - Enya Brennan is the anglicised version of her real name, Eithne Ni Bhraonain. She was originally from County Donegal, and it seems her entire family were associated with music in one form or another - both her parents and grandparents were members of various bands throughout Ireland, her Mother not only performed in a dance band but actually taught music at a local secondary school.
The real influence on the young Eithne however were her eight (yes eight) brothers and sisters. Several of them formed a group which would ultimately become "Clannad", famous for their 1982 TV hit "Theme from Harry's Game". Enya's involvement in the group was brief - she had left just before the recording of that TV theme - and it took a few years before she began recording under the name "Enya", being heard on movie soundtracks and also an early album by Sinead O'Connor.
Her big break came with the release of the album "Watermark", which included this chart-topping single. The song makes reference to the Orinoco River in Venezuela, and the Orinoco recording studio in London, and has nothing to do with any of the Wombles. Much of the album was recorded at that London studio, which has since merged with two others to form the Miloco, which, over the years, has featured a who's-who of acts including Oasis.
"Orinoco Flow" really came out of nowhere. It reached number one in at least four different countries, and nobody was more surprised than Enya herself, who initially wasn't that keen on releasing the song. It certainly helped with the bank balance - to date Enya has sold an estimated 80 million albums (and a few singles) making her one of the worlds best-selling artists.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2015 9:42:50 GMT 1
Shame the Wombles never had a number 1, as I'm sure it would have made most people's 100 greatest list
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Post by Earl Purple on Nov 11, 2015 11:31:02 GMT 1
Well the closest thing to a Wombles #1 was "Bright Eyes" by Art Garfunkel, as Mike Batt composed it. Let's see if that features in Phil20's top 100 (My guess is that it won't).
In my chart Mike Batt wrote/co-wrote two #1s, "A Winter's Tale" and "Nine Million Bicycles".
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2015 11:48:52 GMT 1
76 - Art Garfunkel - Bright Eyes
Only joking.
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Post by rubcale on Nov 11, 2015 12:15:55 GMT 1
I know most people here will probably want to have me certified but I much prefer Mariah Carey's version of Without You. Although maybe it's coming up later!!!!!!!!
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Post by Earl Purple on Nov 11, 2015 13:32:30 GMT 1
Orinoco Flow beat Kylie Minogue's "Je Ne Sais Pas Pourquoi" to number one. That it did so shows in my opinion that, back in 1988, the public chose what they wanted to be #1 from the available songs and preferred that song to Kylie.
In more recent times it has been too predictable what was going to get to #1.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2015 13:39:32 GMT 1
I know most people here will probably want to have me certified but I much prefer Mariah Carey's version of Without You. Although maybe it's coming up later!!!!!!!! Read the last paragraph of the Harry Nilsson review, there's your answer. Or maybe it's a double-bluff?
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Post by Earl Purple on Nov 11, 2015 13:44:08 GMT 1
We should have a poll sometime of all the songs that reached number one more than once, and see who prefers the first version over the second. I reckon the first version to reach #1 will win most times, although I'd expect a few exceptions. (I'd expect Boney M to beat Harry Belafonte, for example).
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SheriffFatman
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Post by SheriffFatman on Nov 11, 2015 13:56:30 GMT 1
Love this thread and it's definitely inspired me to write a list of my own. I was busy agreeing with just about everything until you reached Usher - dear God no. Still, if we all agreed on everything threads like this would be pretty boring. Since then there's been one or two I can't really agree with. I like your analysis of Pink though - I too like her attitude more than her songs, if I chose one of her number ones though it would be Just Like A Pill.
You have my 100% support on Eminem though - I am genuinely baffled when people just dismiss him outright, or only like Stan because it's so different to his other singles. For me the guy is [over used word alert] a genius. Listening to some of his biggest hits (Lose Yourself is a prime example) it seems like he invented a whole new form of rhyming, using repetitive vowel sounds with a vocal delivery so tight that it doesn't matter where in the verse they are. How he actually writes it down and knows it will work is beyond me but it sounds incredible. And it's not like I'm biased in favour of rap, my favourite artist ever is Bob Dylan.
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Post by o on Nov 11, 2015 14:05:46 GMT 1
Best Pink song is Family portrait, but nowhere near a #1 single
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Post by o on Nov 11, 2015 14:24:18 GMT 1
As for Mariah's version of Without you, just awful!
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Post by Earl Purple on Nov 11, 2015 15:14:47 GMT 1
Mariah Carey had "Without You" at #1 around the same time as the Beautiful South's "Everybody's Talkin'" and just after Harry Nilsson's death, but both claimed they had already recorded the songs and they weren't intended as tributes.
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Post by suedehead on Nov 11, 2015 16:14:24 GMT 1
Orinoco Flow was definitely a surprise number one. Thankfully, it was a welcome surprise.
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Post by suedehead on Nov 11, 2015 16:15:20 GMT 1
We should have a poll sometime of all the songs that reached number one more than once, and see who prefers the first version over the second. I reckon the first version to reach #1 will win most times, although I'd expect a few exceptions. (I'd expect Boney M to beat Harry Belafonte, for example). I like that idea. Of course, some originals would have the distinct advantage of being measured against Robson and Jerome.
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Post by Earl Purple on Nov 11, 2015 16:27:26 GMT 1
There would be multiple versions of most of those songs.
If it were just Robson & Jerome vs Gareth Gates for Unchained Melody it would be a difficult call as both are dreadful. Fortunately there are better versions of that song that reached #1.
Incidentally how many song titles have been used for two completely different number one songs? "Hello" has recently been added to that list but there aren't very many.
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