Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #23

Day 23’s Now! compilation takes us to 16th November 1992.

November 1992
This was how the world looked in November 1992. I was bang on trend in my pink and purple pastels, and the wee bro was apparently into the Red Arrows (or, more likely, we knew someone who was and they had gifted him the sweatshirt). Our house was not bang on trend, still rocking its ’70s brown furnishings. Also, my fringe still does that when I can’t be bothered styling it, which is 99% of the time.

These tracks were also bang on trend, I guess.

Now! That's What I Call Music #23
Track 1: Tasmin Archer – Sleeping Satellite

Oh, it’s this one!  Very pretty tune, like it.

Track 2: Jon Secada – Just Another Day

Another lovely tune, really nice atmosphere.

Track 3: Charles & Eddie – Would I Lie To You?

It’s an okay song (with yet another nice tune) but I’m not loving this one.

Track 4: Was (Not Was) – Shake Your Head

Good beat, but the song’s not got enough melody for me.  Interesting chorus though.

Track 5: Bob Marley & The Wailers – Iron Lion Zion

A ’70s track back in the charts – great reggae classic.

Track 6: Go West – Faithful

Go West did this one when I saw them in November, and it seemed to go down well with the audience.  I prefer their ’80s stuff (as you might expect), but this is still a great solid pop song.

Track 7: George Michael – Too Funky

Good head-nodder, nice instrumentals.  Quite like this one.

Track 8: Arrested Development – People Everyday

Really like the beat on this one, though it’s a bit repetitive otherwise.

Track 9: Simply Red – For Your Babies

Slow, dull ballad, and you know how I feel about those.

Track 10: Erma Franklin – (Take A Little) Piece Of My Heart

Another oldie back in the charts, from the ’60s this time!  This one’s a classic – great track.

Track 11: Brian May – Too Much Love Will Kill You

Beautiful track.  I probably marginally prefer the Queen version (Wikipedia has some interesting stuff about the differences) but it’s a stunner in both cases.  Lovely.

Track 12: Simple Minds – Alive And Kicking

Simple Minds’ 1985 classic back in the charts – this Now! compilation is certainly showing some love to the older tracks.

Wait a minute.

We already had this track on Now! #6!  I can’t tell you how annoyed I am that we’re only 23 albums in and the Now! compilers have started repeating tracks already.  Sort it out!

As such, I’ve already reviewed this one.

Track 13: John Lee Hooker – Boom Boom

Classic ’60s blues track, back in the charts for some reason.  Summer 1992 was clearly a highly nostalgic time.

Track 14: Billy Ray Cyrus – Achy Breaky Heart

Awful line dance ‘classic’.  Country music is not my thing at all, I’m afraid!

Track 15: Little Angels – Too Much Too Young

Nice rock instrumentals, but the vocals are a bit cheesy for me.

Track 16: Richard Marx – Take This Heart

Richard Marx can be a bit hit-and-miss for me, and this one’s a miss.  Too saccharine by far.

Track 17: Genesis – Jesus He Knows Me

It’s not quite clear from the title whether it’s meant to indicate startled realisation (‘Jesus!  He knows me.’) or religious sentiment (‘Jesus: he knows me.’).  Punctuation matters, people.

From the lyrics, it seems to be the latter.

It’s a great track otherwise – upbeat, epic atmosphere, awesome tune.  Really like this one.

Track 18: INXS – Baby Don’t Cry

Not hugely keen on the melody, and it’s a bit repetitive.

Track 19: Crowded House – It’s Only Natural

Nice tune, good head-nodder.

Track 20: Erasure – Who Needs Love Like That [Hamburg Mix]

Remix of the 1985 classic.  I couldn’t find the remix on Spotify, so it’s a good excuse to listen to the original!

Solid synthpop as ever from Erasure – great tune.

Track 21: The Shamen – Ebeneezer Goode

Classic early ’90s anthem complete with sledgehammer-subtle drug reference.  Great, danceable song.

Track 22: Rage – Run To You

Slightly odd dance cover of the Bryan Adams song.  I shouldn’t like it, but I kind of do.

Track 23: Bizarre Inc and Angie Brown – I’m Gonna Get You

Repetitive, irritating dance track.  Not a fan.

Track 24: Heaven 17 – Temptation [Brothers In Rhythm Remix]

We already had the original 1983 version of the song back on Now! 1, so I really don’t think this remix should have been included!

For what it’s worth though, it’s a super interesting remix with a great atmosphere.

Track 25: East 17 – House Of Love

Great danceable pop classic.  Really like this one!

Also, I never noticed until the Now! compilers’ inspired tracklisting here that both the ’80s and the ’90s had really famous pop bands with names that ended in ’17’.

Track 26: The Farm – Don’t You Want Me

Immediate side-eye at the notion of somebody covering the Human League classic, which in my view can’t be bettered.

Um…it’s fairly awful.  Messy track, bad cover.  Not a fan of this at all.

Track 27: Undercover – Never Let Her Slip Away

Nice tune, nice spiky synth line, nice sax solo.  Cheesy vocals, but you can’t have everything!

Track 28: Doctor Spin – Tetris

‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).

Novelty Eurodance reworking of the classic Tetris music (I guess it would have been ‘new’ rather than ‘classic’ at this point) with bonus sampling of 2 Unlimited’s Get Ready For This.  Amusing, but a bit messy – though you can’t help but have an epic atmosphere with this tune.

Track 29: Ambassadors Of Funk and MC Mario – Supermarioland

More comedy stylings from the Now! compilers, with two Game Boy themed tracks one after the other.  Now I feel nostalgic for my Game Boy.  Of course, being a hoarder, I obviously still have it, though I’m more likely to play those classic games on my 3DS nowadays.

Anyway, the song.  It’s a rap about playing Super Mario Land, with the Super Mario Land music interspersed throughout.  Kind of all over the place, but I love that the Game Boy apparently inspired so much chart music at the time.

Track 30: Roxette – How Do You Do!

More solid pop-rock from Roxette – this one’s a bit retro-inspired.  Interesting vocals too.

Track 31: Abba – Dancing Queen

Classic ’70s anthem, back in the charts for 1992.  Can’t complain!

Track 32: Björn Again – A Little Respect

‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).

I’m not sure who’s trolling us harder here – Björn Again, who are covering Erasure as a response to Erasure covering Abba (my head hurts), or the Now! compilers, who have placed a track by an Abba tribute band directly after a track by actual Abba.  Also, I can’t remember what phrase people used instead of ‘trolling’ before the internet became ubiquitous.  ‘Taking the piss’, maybe.

As for the track, well, you can’t beat the Erasure original, but the quality of the music is not the point of this one, I don’t think.

Track 33: Vanessa Paradis – Be My Baby

Nice tune, very ’60s-retro-tinged.

Track 34: Betty Boo – Let Me Take You There

Lovely synth instrumentals, though as ever I’m not keen on Betty Boo’s rap style.

Track 35: Sophie B Hawkins – Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover

I’ve always liked this one, largely ’cause we had it on a Top Gear compilation when I was a kid.  Nice tune, great lyrics.

Track 36: Peter Gabriel – Digging In The Dirt

‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).

I tell a lie.  This one is on Spotify, but it’s a live version, and I hate live versions, so I’m going to be un-lazy and pause the playlist.

Verse is a bit dull, but it livens up for the bridge.  The tune is horribly repetitive though.

Track 37: Enya – Book Of Days

Wonderful heartlifting tune from Enya – absolutely beautiful atmosphere.

Track 38: Roy Orbison and KD Lang – Crying

I find the original Roy Orbison solo version pretty slow and saccharine as it is, and I’m not a fan of KD Lang anyway (I don’t like singer-songwriter slow acoustic-y type stuff), so I’m not keen on this.

Track 39: Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé – Barcelona

I’m extremely cross with the Now! compilers.  We already had this track on Now! #10, where it opened my favourite childhood album perfectly.  The fact that it was back in the charts to coincide with the Olympics is not an excuse to repeat tracks!

You already know what I think of this one – just follow the link above.