And now, we wrap up 1992.
20 - "People Everyday," Arrested Development
19 - "November Rain," Guns n' Roses
18 - "Come and Talk to Me," Jodeci
17 - "Keep on Walkin'," Ce Ce Peniston
16 - "I'd Die Without You," PM Dawn
The second half begins with Arrested Development, a hip-hop group that presented themselves as a more positive alternative to "gangsta rap." However, on this loping track that borrows the chorus from Sly and the Family Stone's "Everyday People," Speech, the group's leader, is forced to turn to violence when a thuggish group of individuals approach and begin physically harrassing his girlfriend. In spite of his pacifist appearance, however, Speech is able to beat them all down, and it takes "three or four cops" to halt his savage assault. A decent enough track, but nowhere near the classic that is "Tennessee."
Guns n' Roses are here with arguably their most ambitious song, an epic ballad that in its full version runs nearly nine minutes, features three guitar solos, a lush orchestral arrangement, and Axl Rose on piano as he sings of trying to keep a troubled relationship alive. Naturally, it was accompanied by a similarly elaborate video, which featured first a wedding between Axl and then-girlfriend Stephanie Seymour, an outdoor reception spoiled by a sudden downpour, and then a flash-forward to a funeral for Seymour. The whole enterprise was massive almost to the point of excess, but it worked. A genuinely great song.
Next is Jodeci, an R&B group formed by two sets of brothers: Cedric and Joel Hailey, and Donald and Dalvin DeGrate. They racked up nine Top Tens and four #1s on the soul chart, but their biggest pop hit, this okay midtempo number about wanting to get to know a lady better, only reached #11. They're not my thing, but the talent is pretty obvious.
Then it's Cecilia Veronica Peniston, who is probably best known for her first hit, the dance smash "Finally." Her second hit was this attitude-heavy strutter about a man who doesn't start treating her right until it's too late. I'd half-forgotten this, but it's pretty damn good.
This section is rounded out by PM Dawn, another hippieish hip-hop act, a duo consisting of New Jersey brothers Attrell and Jarrett Cordes, aka Prince Be and DJ Minutemix. Unlike their first two hits, which featured rap, this is a strictly-sung ballad. It's very pretty and heartfelt. Terrific stuff. And this is the week's second entry from the Boomerang soundtrack.
15 - "Life is a Highway," Tom Cochrane
14 - "I Wanna Love You," Jade
13 - "All I Want," Toad the Wet Sprocket
12 - "Do I Have to Say the Words," Bryan Adams
11 - "Forever Love," Color Me Badd
This group is led off by Canadian Tom Cochrane, who had spent the 80s having most of his success on album-rock radio with the band Red Rider (perhaps most famously with the song "Lunatic Fringe"). In the new decade, he went solo, and his first single was this earwormy boogie rocker about the possibilities of the open road. Nowadays it's probably better known in the version by Rascal Flatts from the movie Cars. I'm not happy about that. Partly because that version was so like the original (except its lack of backing vocals from the criminally underknown Molly Johnson) as to be pointless, and partly because I just don't like Rascal Flatts.
R&B girl group Jade had their first hit with this unremarkable song that contains the chorus "I wanna love you down." I'm not entirely sure what that means. The only thing I've been able deduce from other songs is that loving someone down seems to be a precusor for sexing someone up. Fascinating.
Next is Toad the Wet Sprocket, a Santa Barbara, California band who took their name from a fictional band mentioned in a Monty Python sketch. Their first, and biggest, pop hit was this jangly love song reminiscent of a poor man's R.E.M. Liked it at the time, but it's gotten dated.
Then it's Bryan Adams with another hit from the period where he reinvented himself as a raspy balladeer. It's a pleading power ballad, and I would say one of the best of a bad lot. But to me, pretty much anything he released after 1987 is to be avoided with extreme prejudice.
This section ends with Color Me Badd. This song just sucks. This group just sucks. To me, they're the worst boy band ever. The songs were flavorless, with the notable exception of the laughably bad "I Wanna Sex You Up." And they weren't all that great as singers. To me, "Badd" didn't do these guys justice. They should have been called something like "Color Me Horrendouss."
They say the Top Ten is a bad mutha...Shut your mouth!
10 - "She's Playing Hard to Get," Hi Five
The Texas soulsters had their last major pop hit with this jaunty tune about a girl who won't admit she's interested. Probably their best song, but I just don't have much else to say.on
9 - "The One," Elton John
Sir Elton's first Top Ten was this big ballad about finding real happiness after a lost period of "drunken nights in dark hotels." Maybe it doesn't quite rise to the level of his 70s classics, but it's still a solid piece of John/Taupin songcraft.
8 - "Move This," Technotronic featuring Ya Kid K
The third and last hit for this Belgian dance group didn't actually chart until three years after its parent album was released. It became popular after it was used in a Revlon cosmetics commercial. It sounds very similar to previous hits "Pump Up the Jam" and "Get Up!" with Congolese-born female rapper Ya Kid K telling you to "shake that body for me." Not at the moment, Ms. K.
7 - "Giving Him Something He Can Feel," En Vogue
The Funky Divas make their second appearance this week with this cover of a Curtis Mayfield song from the 1976 movie Sparkle. Aretha Franklin had the first hit version of it, and while that's a tough act to follow, these ladies do quite well with this retro-soul ballad. The movie was remade this year, and apparently Jordin Sparks does this on the soundtrack. She's an okay singer, but I doubt I'll bother checking her version out. My expectations are low.
6 - "Humpin' Around,"Bobby Brown
The biggest solo star to emerge from New Edition is here with the first single from his follow-up to the multi-platinum Don't Be Cruel. It's an energetic, keyboard-hook-powered chastising of a lover who doesn't trust him to be faithful. To be fair, though, I wouldn't either. This guy doesn't really have the greatest of reputations.
5 - "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough," Patty Smyth with Don Henley
Eight years after cracking the Top Ten with the band Scandal with "The Warrior," Smyth returned to the upper reaches of the charts with this ballad on which she and ex-Eagle Henley lament the fact that in spite of how much they care for each other, their relationship is doomed to fail. A solid, well-sung pop hit.
4 - "Please Don't Go," K.W.S.
This English dance band had their only major hit with this uptempo cover of KC and the Sunshine Band's last #1 hit. Not a great song originally, but at least you can dance to this version. A disposable hit.
3 - "Just Another Day," Jon Secada
This Cuban-born, Florida-raised singer got his first big break as a backup singer for Gloria Estefan, and eventually got his own record deal, the first major fruit of which was this midtempo ballad about how he can't make it alone. He has a nice voice, but the material is just bland.
2 - "Baby-Baby-Baby," TLC
These ladies make their second appearance with this cool little pop-soul number that tries to convince a man that even though his ladyfriend has unlimited romantic options, she is committed to loving him only. There's no Left Eye rap on this, but still, very good.
And on top in '92 was:
1 - "End of the Road," Boyz II Men
The third number from Boomerang on this week's list was this lush, retroish breakup ballad (complete with an old-school spoken-word bridge) that stayed at the top of the charts for a then-record 13 straight weeks. They would go on to have two other hits that would stay at the top even longer. This is an accomplishment that I think gets underplayed. In their day, these guys were huge.
The broadcast included a Sneak Peek of a future hit, "Someone to Hold," by Trey Lorenz, an R&B newcomer who had just duetted with Mariah Carey on a smash cover of the Jackson 5 hit "I'll Be There." There was a Long Distance Dedication (Cher and Peter Cetera's "After All") from a man to a woman he was getting a second chance at having a relationship with. And the highlights of the commercials included a promo for an upcoming TV-movie about the breakup of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, as well as two different ads for Teen Spirit (the most important deodorant in rock history), one of which promoted a contest where you could win a chance to appear on an episode of Saved by the Bell.
Don't have much to say about the three uncovered tracks from September 20, 1980. Dionne Warwick's inspirational ballad "No Night So Long" was at #26. "First Time Love," the second and last hit by James Taylor's soundalike brother Livingston, was at #38. And at 40, Elton John was present with the breakup ballad "Don't Ya Wanna Play This Game No More (Sartorial Eloquence)". All were decent enough, in their respective ways.
Next up, 1993.
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