September 1991. The governor of the Bank of England announced that the recession in Britain was about to end. Here are the ways record buyers were contributing to the economic recovery.
40 - "Happy Together," Jason Donovan
The tenth and final Top Ten for the Aussie soap actor was this cover of the evergreen 1967 Turtles hit. Basically a well-produced cruise ship/holiday camp version.
39 - "Make it Tonight," Wet Wet Wet
The drenched Scots had their tenth hit with this ballad about looking for a love to take solace from this crazy world in. They put more effort into this than the song is worth,
38 - "Try," Bros
The final hit for Surrey's Goss twins was this dance-pop environmental anthem. Whichever one is singing tries his best Michael Jackson imitation, but they don't have anywhere near the self-serious gravitas MJ would have lent to it. Jarvis Cocker wouldn't have been the least bit tempted to wave his ass at them.
37 - "Dominator," Human Resource
The biggest hit for this Dutch group was a swirling, almost grating techno-rap track. It has a distinctive sound, but not necessarily a pleasant one.
36 - "Be Young Be Foolish Be Happy," Sonia
The eighth hit for Ms. Evan's of Liverpool was this cover of a song by a group we encountered on our last visit to Britain, The Tams. Slick, synthesized faux-soul. She fit better with Stock/Aitken/Waterman.
35 - "Housecall," Shabba Ranks featuring Maxi Priest
Jamaican dancehall toaster Rexton Gordon teamed up with London singer Priest on this. From what I can make out, Mr. Ranks wants to be your "boiler man" and is able to make your "choo-choo like a train." If that sounds like what you're into, look him up, I guess.
34 - "I Wanna be Adored," The Stone Roses
This Manchester band became the darlings of the British music press with their 1989 debut album, whose mix of psychedelia and dance beats helped kick off the Madchester era. Unfortunately, a dispute with their record label caused a five-year wait for their second LP, so they kept on the scene with reissues of singles that had flopped the first time around, like this one. A lot of their stuff leaves me cold, and this is no exception. It's like a Nirvana song, only whinier and less energetic. I'm certainly not giving these guys what they're asking for here.
33 - "Word is Out," Kylie Minogue
Overall, Kylie was doing better than her TV hubby Donovan, and unlike Sonia, she was still with S/A/W (although it was now just S/W, because Matt Aitken had left. But she was still going through a bit of a dip, as this would break her streak of 13 straight Top Tens. It's a breezy call-out of a cheater, delivered well. The chart performance would seem to be indicative of changing public tastes rather than a dip in quality. Spoiler alert: she'd eventually recover,
32 - "Bridge Over Troubled Water," PJB featuring Hannah and Her Sisters
Hertfordshire's Peter John Bellotte is most famous for working with Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder on disco classics like "Hot Stuff" and "I Feel Love." Here, he produces singer Hannah Jones on a disco/Hi-NRG cover of Simon and Garfunkel's timeless song-hug. It's a better remake than Jason Donovan's for sure, but there's no reason for me to hear it ever again.
31 - "Nutbush City Limits (90s Version)," Tina Turner
Tina did this house cover of her and Ike's 1973 hit reminiscence of her Tennessee hometown for a greatest hits album. On one level it's kind of cheesy, but on another, it's an admirable effort to reclaim her history from her abusive ex. I prefer the original aesthetically, but I have no problem at all with this.
30 - "All 4 Love," Color Me Badd
The second home #1 for the boy band from Oklahoma City went Top Five here. No one's sexing anyone up, no one's showing off their high school Spanish; it's just a jaunty R&B/pop song. Therefore, it's the best of a bad lot. No points deducted for the non-embarrassing spoken word bridge, but a couple taken off for stealing the number gimmick from Prince.
29 - "Saltwater," Julian Lennon
The inspiration for "Hey Jude" was done having hits in America, but John and Cynthia's boy picked up his second home Top Ten with a ballad lamenting environmental destruction. A decent enough stab at the social consciousness his dad was famous for. And it's interesting how environmentalism was so prevalent in the charts at this time. Maybe we could use some of that now.
28 - "The One I Love," R.E.M.
The Georgians jangly, deceptive anti-love song was their mainstream breakthrough in all the Triple Crown countries. It's not a simple prop, but it's a great way to occupy your time.
27 - "The Big L," Roxette
The sixth hit from the Swedish duo was this jaunty pop-rock celebration of love, which is what the title refers to. Catchy, with a surprise harmonica bit that charmed me, Not sure why it wasn't a single in North America.
26 - "More Than Words," Extreme
The Boston pop-metalists' breakthrough hit came up one chart place here of the Triple Crown. Is this acoustic ballad an attempt to subtly pressure someone into sex, or is it more benign than that. You be the judge. Unless you think Gary Cherone's stint in Van Halen was a good idea, in which case your judgment cannot be trusted.
25 - "Such a Good Feeling," Brothers in Rhythm
This British production trio did many remixes for other artists in the 90s, but their only hit on their own was this mediocre house track. Very meh.
24 - "More to Life," Cliff Richard
Welcome to Watch Out for the Cliff!, my new name for any time we come across one of the numerous hits from the inexhaustible career of Mr. Richard. This time, it's a midtempo soft-rocker that served as the theme for a TV drama about a horse racing trainer. Lyrics about running free and such are delivered over a bland backing track. Cliff is committed, but it doesn't seem like anyone else is. This Cliff isn't very high, and very easily avoided, but even if you do go over, it's a drop so short that you'll be able to spring back to your feet and go back about your business.
23 - "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss," PM Dawn
New Jersey's Cordes brothers became the first African-American rap act to hit #1 in America with this single, which was held to #3 here and #9 in Canada. I think it deserved better. It's a mellow, mesmerizing groove, powered in part by a sample of Spandau Ballet's "True" and shouting out Christina Applegate years before Amchorman. This holds up.
22 - "Makin' Happy," Crystal Waters
Another New Jerseyite, this oddly-voiced dance diva followed up the social commentary of debut hit "Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless)" with this silly sex song. The sound her larynx and lungs produce can be charming or grating depending on the song and/or your mood. On this one, at this time, I liked it.
21 - "Trust," Ned's Atomic Dustbin
The second hit for the West Midlands group that could have been called Edward's Radioactive Garbagecan was this rock song about feeling out of control. Unspectacular British indie. No flavour or passion.
In Part Two: an overabundance of attractiveness, royalty of both the criminal and non-criminal variety, and a saviour from the future.
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