It's October of 1993. Here in Canada, we had had our first female Prime Minister since May. By the end of this month, however, Kim Campbell's Progressive Conservatives would be soundly rejected by voters. Meanwhile, our southern neighbors were listening to the following:
40 - "Everybody Hurts," R.E.M.
39 - "Again," Janet Jackson
38 - "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)," Meat Loaf
37 - "That's the Way Love Goes," Janet Jackson
36 - "What's Up," 4 Non Blondes
35 - "Soul to Squeeze," The Red Hot Chili Peppers
34 - "Sunday Morning," Earth, Wind and Fire
33 - "Too Much Information," Duran Duran
32 - "Hopelessly," Rick Astley
31 - "Plush," Stone Temple Pilots
Two years after Nirvana's Nevermind changed the direction of music, so-called "alternative rock" had become a prominent force on pop radio. R.E.M had already picked up a couple pre-'91 hits, but now their stature had increased. They're here this week with a ballad about holding on in the face of the pain of life that both thematically and musically bears a strong resemblance to Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water." I still like it, even though it's derivative. And the video, in which Michael Stipe leads hundreds of motorists to abandon their cars on the freeway, is cheesy but affecting. The three-woman, one-man San Francisco band 4 Non Blondes had their only major hit with this midtempo rocker about changing the world and trying to survive and stuff. A would-be anthem that lacks substance. The band broke up soon after this, but singer Linda Perry became a go-to songwriter and producer in the new millennium, helping create hits for Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani, and Pink. Funk-rockers The Red Hot Chili Peppers had their second Top 40 hit with this languid ballad about looking for peace of mind. It came from the soundtrack of Coneheads, the failed film version of the 70s Saturday Night Live skits about aliens from "France." Good song, terrible movie. And although they were sonically similar to the "grunge" bands that emerged from Seattle, Stone Temple Pilots were actually from San Diego. Their first pop hit was this plodding-but-catchy rocker about dogs and masks and rain that takes place in bedrooms. Scott Weiland's raspy vocals combined with the power chords and tortured metaphors to create textbook 1993 alt-rock. That doesn't make it a bad song, just a formulaic one. They had better tunes than this.
Janet Jackson is here with two singles from janet., the first album she released under her blockbuster deal with Virgin Records. First is a beautiful ballad about falling back in love with someone in spite of oneself. It picked up an Oscar nomination for its use in the Jackson-starring Poetic Justice. Then it's a slinky sex jam on which Janet sultrily promises "you'll be so happy that you came." Both went to #1, and both were more than deserving of that distinction.
Then we have two solo men. The man born Marvin Lee Aday burst onto the scene in 1978 singing the operatic rock tunes of Jim Steinman on the blockbuster Bat Out of Hell LP. Since then, however, he hadn't had much success, particularly in the U.S. But fifteen years later, he and Steinman teamed up for Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell, and the Loaf's commercial fortunes were on the rise again, thanks in large part to his hit here, a sprawling epic about love and lust that clocks in at twelve minutes in its full version. It was severely edited for radio, but in spite of that, it became a worldwide #1 smash. It has everything you want from these guys: huge production, operatic emotion, multiple tempo changes, and all-around bombast. And though the "that" of the title is defined in several ways during the song, some people still wonder just what it is that the Meat-man won't do for love. Doesn't matter though, great song. And Rick Astley had his last American hit with this balladic declaration of love on which he sounds like a bona fide soul singer. He had moved well past "Never Gonna Give You Up," But no one else has, it would seem.
We finish this section with two bands. Earth, Wind and Fire picked up their last significant amount of pop airplay with this mellow bit o' soul about how love is like a bright, warm, shining light. Not among their classics, but still a nice listen. And Duran Duran had the third and last hit from their self-titled comeback record (also known as The Wedding Album because of the photos on the cover) with this synth-rocker about the over-commercialization of the music industry. Not that great, particularly compared with its two predecessors, particularly the fantastic "Ordinary World."
30 - "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)," The Proclaimers
29 - "Weak," SWV
28 - "One Last Cry," Brian McKnight
27 - "Show Me Love," Robin S.
26 - "All That She Wants," Ace of Base
25 - "Come Undone," Duran Duran
24 - "Reason to Believe," Rod Stewart
23 - "Better Than You," Lisa Keith
22 - "I Don't Wanna Fight," Tina Turner
21 - "Hey Jealousy," Gin Blossoms
We'll start our look at this batch with three bands from outside the United States. The Proclaimers, a set of bespectacled Scottish twins named Charlie and Craig Reid, originally released this boisterous acoustic rocker about extreme dedication to one's lover in 1988, but it didn't get attention in America until its use in the Johnny Depp movie Benny and Joon. Justice delayed, but eventually served. Duran Duran pop up again with their other hit from this year, a dark little dance number that gives off vibes of lust and obsession. A solid addition to their catalogue. And Sweden's Ace of Base. a pop group consisting of three siblings and a guy nicknamed "Buddah," had their first American hit with a bouncy bit of techno-reggae on which it is revealed that the tiular object of desire is "another baby." Whether that means a lover or an actual baby, I'm not sure. All I know is that the line "When she woke up late in the morning light, and the day had just begun, she opened up her eyes and thought, 'Oh, what a morning,'" is the kind of wonderful run-on sentence I expect to hear from artists for whom English is a second language. "The Sign" may have been the bigger hit, but to me, this is the group's undisputed masterpiece.
Then there are two American groups. SWV, a female trio whose name stands for Sisters With Voices, had their only pop #1 with this ballad about a lover's incapacitng effects. Not anything that stands out to these ears, but all right. And Tempe, Arizona alt-rockers Gin Blossoms had their first hit with this tune about trying to carry own with life after making mistakes. Good, catchy rock, and probably the best thing they ever put out.
Then there are two solo men. Buffalo-born soul man Brian McKnight had his first solo pop hit with this ballad about having to purge one's feelings for a lost love with a final weep. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with the song, either. And Rod Stewart is hear with a live version of the flip side of "Maggie May" which he recorded for an MTV Unplugged special. Pleasant enough song, but not one of my favorites of his.
The first half ends with three women. Dance diva Robin Stone had her biggest hit with this okay number. It served its purpose of moving butts on discotheque floors, and she's got a nice voice, but really, nothing beyond that. Lisa Keith was a Christian singer whose voice reminds me of Amy Grant a little, and this song about an ideal lover also reminds me of the hits from Grant's 1991 pop breakthrough. Unfortunately, that left her with little personality of her own. No wonder this was her only hit. And Tina Turner had her last major American hit with this song she contributed to the soundtrack of the movie of her life, What's Love Got to Do With It? The song was just okay pop, greatly uplifted by Tina's mighty performance. The movie, as I recall, was great. Angela Bassett really should have become a bigger star.
Tomorrow (perhaps): three covers, two songs that debate the existence of percipitation, and a song that would help inspire a future SNL movie.
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