I can’t be sure, because the days are sort of melting into each other at the moment (only three more twelve-hour shifts! I can do this!), but it seems that we’ve had about two weeks in a row where the weather’s actually been quite nice – warm, sunny, blue skies. There are also lots of flowers in our new garden, mostly weeds like dandelions, but still flowers. The ice-cream van shows up every day around one o’clock in the afternoon with a creepy jingle straight out of a horror film. And Geth’s actually been mowing the lawn. It’s beginning to look a bit like it might not be winter anymore. In fact, leaving aside the only-just-beginning-to-bud leaves on the trees, it’s beginning to look like summer.
I’m pretty happy about that. The winter was so long and awful (still snowing in early April) that it was starting to feel like it would never end. But because of that, it sort of feels like we’ve skipped spring and gone straight to summer, which I’m thrilled about (I don’t like typical British springs – wet, windy and not yet warm enough!). This has meant that I’m actually starting to get excited about all the stuff I’m doing in the summer – I’m just a bit worried about having enough time to prepare for it!
Of course, sod’s law means that as soon as I’m done with work at the end of this week and can actually go outside, the nice weather will disappear. At least that should mean that it won’t be too warm for running at the weekend!
Day 26, and we’ve reached 15th November 1993, which marks a full decade of Now! compilations!
This was how the world looked in November 1993 (actually December, obviously. We don’t have any photos of autumn 1993 at all, which is a bit alarming!). My outfit here is cute, although my bob is still unfortunate, and the wee bro is still wearing that rugby shirt that he’s apparently not taken off all year.
Now! 26 is a bit of a classic one – loads of the kids at school had it, so it always got played at parties. Let’s have a listen.
Track 1: UB40 – (I Can’t Help) Falling In Love With You
Cover of the Elvis classic in standard UB40 style. I quite like this one – it’s got a nice epic atmosphere.
Track 2: Pet Shop Boys – Go West
Fabulous synthpop cover of the Village People song! I’ve always loved this one, even if it does bring back embarrassing memories of doing a dodgy dance performance (choreographed by two friends who did tap, jazz and modern classes and thus thought they could choreograph) to it for the rest of my primary school class.
Track 3: Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Relax
We’ve had this one already, on Now! #2! The prevalence of this nonsense at the moment just shows how many great ’80s tracks were returning to the chart in the early ’90s.
You know the drill, click the link for my review.
Track 4: M People – One Night In Heaven
I usually quite like M People, but this one is a bit dull.
Track 5: Eternal – Stay
Dull tune, annoying vocals. I’m sure Eternal did better tracks.
Track 6: SWV – Right Here [Human Nature Radio Mix]
Oh, it’s this one…and I’m back in the backseat of our Volvo 340 with the radio on, endless Scottish country roadsides zooming past. It’s not that great a track, but it certainly brings back some memories.
Track 7: DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince – Boom! Shake The Room
An absolute classic, played at every birthday party I went to in the early ’90s. I’m aware I’ve said that about a few songs, which makes me think I should compile some sort of ‘kids’ birthday nostalgia’ playlist. Anyway, you can’t not sing along to this one.
Track 8: The Shamen – Comin’ On
A bit repetitive, not enough melody for me.
Track 9: Stakka Bo – Here We Go
Another repetitive, dull track – not keen on this at all.
Track 10: Chaka Demus & Pliers – She Don’t Let Nobody
The tune annoys me, and I find the vocals a bit saccharine.
Track 11: Tina Turner – Disco Inferno
Nice rock-tinged cover of the Trammps classic. Like this one.
Track 12: Belinda Carlisle – Big Scary Animal
Belinda Carlisle’s gone all ’90s and guitar-edged. Not hugely keen.
Track 13: Spin Doctors – Two Princes
Adore this one! Absolutely stunning tune, great singalong track.
Track 14: REM – The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite
Lovely tune from REM – and I always appreciate that little The Lion Sleeps Tonight reference in the opening vocals. Great song.
Track 15: Levellers – This Garden
Lovely song from the Levellers – beautiful tune, never gets old (and because Geth and I used to go to Beautiful Days all the time I’ve seen this one played live many times).
Speaking of seeing stuff live at Beautiful Days…
Track 16: James – Laid
This was probably my highlight of James’ set at Beautiful Days 2009, and is probably my favourite track of theirs. Great tune.
Track 17: Crowded House – Distant Sun
Nice tune, but it’s a bit slow for me.
Track 18: Radiohead – Creep
Classic track, although it’s a bit overplayed these days.
Track 19: Meat Loaf – I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)
I’ve always loved this one (and it’s gotta be the full twelve-minute version!) – it’s an absolutely beautiful track.
Track 20: Cappella – U Got 2 Let The Music
Great uptempo dance tune – happily chair-dancing away here.
Track 21: Haddaway – What Is Love
Absolute stunner, one of my favourite songs of this era. Beautiful dance tune.
Track 22: 2 Unlimited – Maximum Overdrive
This one’s a bit of a dull tune, but the beat’s good and danceable.
Track 23: Culture Beat – Mr Vain
Another absolute dance classic with a great tune and wonderful singalong vocals – love this one.
Track 24: The Goodmen – Give It Up
Lots of upbeat drumming, nothing much else until it breaks into the slightly messy melody. Not one for the playlist, I’m afraid.
Track 25: Leftfield and John Lydon – Open Up
Nice upbeat head-nodder – quite like this one.
Track 26: Apache Indian – Boom Shack-A-Lak
Good jaunty retro-tinged reggae – great stuff.
Track 27: Urban Cookie Collective – Feels Like Heaven
Nice dance-pop tune – big fan of this.
Track 28: Captain Hollywood Project – More And More
Great electro instrumentals, but the vocals let it down.
Track 29: Juliet Roberts – Free Love
Interesting instrumentals, good uptempo beat.
Track 30: Jamiroquai – Too Young To Die
Nice funky track, a little slow, but it is absolutely standard Jamiroquai even this early on, so I do like it.
Track 31: Dina Carroll – Don’t Be A Stranger
The most overblown of all the overblown Dina Carroll ballads. Nice tune, but the style is just too much for me.
Track 32: Take That – Pray
I’ve mentioned that I was a big Take That fan during this era, and this is another solid pop song. Great stuff.
Track 33: Gabrielle – Going Nowhere
Nice upbeat tune, but I find the vocals a bit dull.
Track 34: Lena Fiagbe – Gotta Get It Right
Annoying tune, annoying cheesy lyrics. Vocals are interesting, but generally not a fan.
Track 35: Soul II Soul – Wish
Too slow and dull for me.
Track 36: Lisa Stansfield – So Natural
Urgh, saccharine ballad! Not a fan of this at all.
Track 37: Björk and David Arnold – Play Dead
Great, interesting duet with a wonderfully epic atmosphere. A classic.
Track 38: Lenny Kravitz – Heaven Help
Another dull ballad. Not keen.
Track 39: Go West – The Tracks Of My Tears
Slow guitar cover of the Smokey Robinson classic. I shouldn’t like it, but it’s such a great song however it’s done that I can’t help it.
Track 40: Janet Jackson – That’s The Way Love Goes
Dull, repetitive track – not enough melody for me.
…Do my eyes deceive me? Have we really reached the end of a Now! compilation without a single ‘Not on Spotify’ moment? We really must be approaching the modern age!
It’s also the first Now! compilation to stretch to 40 tracks. No wonder it’s taking longer and longer to listen to these every day!
I’m still taken up with my intense work project, so I’m never really sure what day of the week it is at the moment – but the good news is that this is the last week of it. I’ve still got a lot to do, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel now.
I’m really looking forward to next weekend, as having time to myself on Saturday afternoon will be amazing (volunteering at parkrun on Saturday morning and then racing in Sunderland on Sunday), but I think it’s Monday 14th that will be the nicest, as I’ll be able to have a lie-in for the first time in about five weeks!
Day 25, and today’s Now! compilation was released on 2nd August 1993.
This is the way the world looked in August 1993 (actually July – we did have a couple of pictures from August but they’re uniformly awful!) – a cornucopia of Laura Ashley dresses and flowers. Or at least it was if you were going to a wedding.
Can you believe we’re quarter of the way through this Now! journey already? I certainly can.
Track 1: George Michael and Queen – Somebody To Love
It’s not really a cover when it’s your own song, right? George Michael’s vocals are great, but nothing beats the Queen original for me.
Track 2: 4 Non Blondes – What’s Up?
Great chant-along track – I’ve always liked this one.
Track 3: Tina Turner – I Don’t Wanna Fight
Nice tune, nice beat. Quite like this track.
Track 4: Ace Of Base – All That She Wants
Hands down the best track Ace Of Base ever did. Absolutely love this one!
Everybody hurts, and everybody except me absolutely loves this song. It’s alright, it’s just really overplayed.
Track 8: New Order – Regret
One of my favourite New Order tracks – absolutely beautiful tune. That guitar riff is just gorgeous.
Track 9: Freddie Mercury – Living On My Own
Love the synth line, if not the daft yodeling at the start. Great atmosphere.
Track 10: Gloria Gaynor – I Will Survive
’70s classic back in the charts. I remember them always playing the video on Top of the Pops at the time, I guess because Gloria Gaynor wasn’t available to come back and perform it.
Track 11: Inner Circle – Sweat (A La La La La Long)
I’ve always liked this daft track, though I probably shouldn’t. Great singalong chorus.
Track 12: Chaka Demus & Pliers – Tease Me
Not hugely keen on the tune – it’s a bit dull for me.
Track 13: Louchie Lou & Michie One – Shout
Laidback cover of the Isley Brothers classic. Because I knew this one first, I actually always find the original (and the Lulu version, which gets played more often) a bit frenetic.
Track 14: Shabba Ranks and Maxi Priest – Housecall
Nice head-nodder once it gets going.
Track 15: Duran Duran – Come Undone
Yup, I still love Duran Duran, even though they’ve gone all grown-up on me with their ’90s stuff. This track has a wonderful, brooding atmosphere all the way through, with lovely guitar lines and a gorgeous tune on the chorus.
Track 16: Paul Weller – Sunflower
Paul Weller’s gone solo and therefore dull. I had to listen to a lot of his ’90s stuff on family car journeys and I’m not a fan.
Track 17: Kingmaker – Ten Years Asleep
Good danceable beat, but the tune’s a bit boring.
Track 18: 2 Unlimited – Tribal Dance
Another solid dance track from 2 Unlimited – good stuff.
Track 19: Robin S – Luv 4 Luv
A bit too similar to Show Me Love for me, but it’s okay.
Track 20: Sybil – When I’m Good And Ready
Bit generic – not a fan of this one.
Track 21: Dannii Minogue – This Is It
I’ve always loved this cover of the Melba Moore classic – pure solid feelgood pop, can’t fault it.
Track 22: The Time Frequency – The Ultimate High
Good upbeat dance track – like this one.
Track 23: Jon Secada – Do You Really Want Me
Good head-nodder, nice tune.
Track 24: Kim Wilde – If I Can’t Have You
Happily flashing back here to three weeks ago, when I saw Kim Wilde perform this live with the whole audience bellowing along. Was it really three weeks ago? My all-encompassing work project has made my sense of time a bit squiffy.
Great singalong track, love it.
Track 25: East 17 – West End Girls
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Questionable cover of the Pet Shop Boys classic. The original is one of my favourite songs of all time, so I was never going to be impressed by this.
Track 26: Joey Lawrence – Nothin’ My Love Can’t Fix
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
I had a poster of Joey Lawrence (who was mostly an actor) at the time. I never watched any of his shows, I think I just liked the poster.
Anyway, the track. It’s pretty generic, but it’s an okay pop song once it gets to the chorus. He should probably have stuck to acting, though.
Track 27: Efua – Somewhere
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Interesting spoken word verses, okay backing track. Quite like this one.
Track 28: Sade – No Ordinary Love
Lovely vocals, but a bit slow for me.
Track 29: Richard Darbyshire – This I Swear
Dull tune, saccharine vocals. Not keen on this one, though the sax solo does improve it a bit.
Track 30: Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark – Dream Of Me
Typically lovely synth from OMD – good stuff.
Track 31: D:Ream – U R The Best Thing
Great upbeat dance-pop, really like this one.
Track 32: Juliet Roberts – Caught In The Middle
Another nice upbeat track – happily nodding along here.
Track 33: Oui 3 – Break From The Old Routine
Not enough melody for me, but the rap’s okay.
Track 34: Utah Saints – I Want You
Nice beat, but there’s a bit too much going on with the track for me.
Track 35: Jesus Jones – Zeroes And Ones
Geth: ‘We’ve definitely hit critical greebo.’
Good upbeat head-nodder for me, good end to the compilation.
Another good parkrun this morning (not as good as Geth’s, whose broken running watch was apparently the lucky charm that finally got him a sub-25, but still good).
I was 52 seconds slower than last week, but as it was very warm and there were vast amounts of people out on the Moor today, I can’t complain. Still on track for a good result at Sunderland next week!
This is the way the world looked in April 1993. Trees looked like trees, and I looked like a vision in pastels with an unfortunate bob. I did finally chuck out that headband when I had my clearout a couple of months ago.
While I didn’t have this particular Now! compilation, I did have rival compilation The Greatest Hits of 1993 (the first album I ever bought, on cassette, with my Christmas money), which had most of the same songs. As such, I’m very familiar with a lot of these. Let’s crack on!
Track 1: The Bluebells – Young at Heart
We’ve had this one already, on Now! #3! I know it was back in the charts in 1993, but I’m still cross about the Now! compilers repeating songs.
Urgh. I guess this is going to become an ongoing thing. See the link above for my review.
Track 2: Take That – Could It Be Magic
Great upbeat pop cover of the Barry Manilow song. Take That seem to have been doing a lot of covers at this point – I’m guessing it was before the mangement let Gary Barlow take over songwriting duties. I do like this one, though, especially for Robbie Williams on lead vocals.
Track 3: Sub Sub and Melanie Williams – Ain’t No Love (Ain’t No Use)
A bit repetitive, but a good uptempo dance track.
Track 4: Snap – Exterminate!
Another great, atmospheric track from Snap. I’ve always liked this one, even leaving aside the obvious Dalek connotations.
Track 5: Sister Sledge – We Are Family [Sure Is Pure Remix]
This was huge in my primary school playground at the time – you couldn’t escape it. Great remix of the ’70s classic.
Track 6: Snow – Informer
I’ve always loved this one, especially the gibberish chorus. Great, interesting song.
Track 7: Shabba Ranks and Chevelle Franklin – Mr Loverman
Annoying chorus alert! It’s a good tune, but I don’t like those vocals.
Track 8: Shaggy – Oh Carolina
Nice cover of the Folkes Brothers classic – great tune – but it’s another one where the chorus annoys me.
Track 9: East 17 – Deep [Breath Mix]
Great instrumentals, especially that bassline – wonderful atmosphere. I’ve always liked this one.
Track 10: Stereo MCs – Step It Up
Great head-nodder, fun theme. Good stuff.
Track 11: Arrested Development – Tennessee
Repetitive, not much melody. Not hugely keen on this one.
Track 12: Robin S – Show Me Love [Stonebridge Club Mix]
Classic track, great beat.
Fun fact: Jason Derulo sampled this on Don’t Wanna Go Home, and when I first heard it I literally went ‘who the ****’s sampled this?’ only to be immediately answered with that ‘JASON DERULO’ lyric he always used to do at the start of his songs. A handy, if annoying feature.
Track 13: Lulu – Independence [Brothers In Rhythm Mix]
Fairly generic tune, but it’s a nice solid bit of pop. Good sax solo too!
Track 14: West End and Sybil – The Love I Lost
Another annoying chorus, but I quite like the track otherwise.
Track 15: 2 Unlimited – No Limit
This was the classic singalong track on every school trip during 1993. Imagine, if you will, a bus full of sixty-six eight-year-olds, all squeaking ‘NO NO, NO NO NO NO, NO NO NO NO, NO NO THERE’S NO LIMIT’ over and over and over and over for a good couple of hours. Sometimes I’m amazed we never had a bus driver start screaming madly and drive us all off a high cliff.
Track 16: Cappella – U Got 2 Know
I absolutely love this classic dance track – brilliant tune.
Track 17: Sunscreem – Pressure Us
Another good upbeat dance number – like this one.
Track 18: Monie Love – Born 2 BREED
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Not at all keen on the theme of this song, but it’s quite a good upbeat tune.
Track 19: Hue & Cry – Labour Of Love
We already had this one on Now! #10, which I’m extra-especially cross about ’cause it’s my favourite Now! compilation!
Sigh. See the link for my thoughts.
Track 20: Duran Duran – Ordinary World
They’re back for the ’90s, and I still love Duran Duran! This is a gorgeous introspective one – beautiful track.
Track 21: Annie Lennox – Love Song For A Vampire
Lovely tune, great atmosphere.
Track 22: World Party – Is It Like Today?
Nice tune, like the instrumentals. Good stuff.
Track 23: KD Lang – Constant Craving
I’m not a fan of KD Lang’s vocals, but I do like the tune.
Track 24: Tasmin Archer – In Your Care
Good atmosphere on this one, though it’s a little slow for me.
Track 25: PM Dawn – Looking Through Patient Eyes
Not keen on the tune, the sung vocals or the rap. Not a fan.
Track 26: The Beloved – Sweet Harmony
Nice electro head-nodder – really like this one. Lovely sax solo too.
Track 27: Dina Carroll – This Time
Fairly typical Dina Carroll ballad – too slow and generic for my liking.
Track 28: Simply Red – Lady Godiva’s Room
An improvement on the last couple of Simply Red tracks we’ve had – great tune – but still a bit slow for me.
Track 29: Genesis – Invisible Touch [Live]
We already had the original studio version on Now! #7. Not sure why the live version was suddenly a thing.
See above for my review – the live version doesn’t add anything!
Track 30: Lenny Kravitz – Are You Gonna Go My Way
Great classic rock track that I’m going to make today’s top ‘wedding disco’ track! Brilliant stuff.
Track 31: Depeche Mode – I Feel You
Love this atmospheric track from Depeche Mode – great vocals, awesome tune.
Track 32: Peter Gabriel – Steam
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Good upbeat tune, happily nodding along here.
Track 33: Ugly Kid Joe – Cats In The Cradle
I always liked this cover of the Harry Chapin song and its whimsical lyrics, but I absolutely hate the fact that Ugly Kid Joe got rid of the apostrophe (the original title is Cat’s In the Cradle), as it makes the punctuation incorrect in the context of the song.
Track 34: Faith No More – Easy
Pointless ’90s cover of the Commodores classic. Always a great song, but the cover doesn’t do anything new.
Track 35: Bryan Ferry – I Put A Spell On You
Nice chillout-ish cover of the Screamin’ Jay Hawkins classic. Really like this one.
Track 36: Ultravox – Vienna
Not sure what this 1981 classic was doing back in the charts, but I’m not complaining! Wonderful, epic track.
Track 37: Paul McCartney – Hope Of Deliverance
Bit of a retro-tinged track, but it’s got a nice beat and a lovely tune. Good one to end on.
After a few up and down weeks, I had a great loss at Slimming World yesterday – 3lbs off and Slimmer of the Week. I’m now only 2.5lbs away from my target weight.
I don’t expect to achieve it next week, because apart from during the early days when I was losing very fast, I’ve never really had big losses two weeks in a row. I think the following week is a good one to aim for, though, so I’m going to try my very hardest. I desperately want to be at target before all the summer ‘holiday weekends’ start happening, as stuff like that always gets in the way of weight loss, so I’d much rather be in maintenance mode by then. There’s also the fact that once I’m at target, I won’t have to pay my weekly Slimming World fee anymore!
Day 23’s Now! compilation takes us to 16th 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.
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.
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!
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]
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.
Yes, we’re still on the Royal Mile, but I promise this is the last week! Like most tourist hotspots in the UK, it has a lot of classic red phone boxes.
Red phone boxes, Royal Mile, Edinburgh, 25th January 2016.
This was the way the world (Germany, to be precise) looked in July 1992. We went touring all around Europe that month so we’ve got oodles of pictures showing how the world looked, but I’ve chosen our car in front of a building, ’cause I like pictures of cars.
Let’s see what might have been on the car stereo while we were exploring!
Track 1: Erasure – Take A Chance On Me
Erasure get to their ‘Abba covers’ phase. I’m generally a fan of synth covers of classic songs, and I do like this one, apart from the random rap towards the end.
Track 2: CeCe Peniston – Finally
I’ve always found the chorus on this one annoying. Sorry!
Track 3: KWS – Please Don’t Go
Nice tune, but it’s a bit repetitive for me.
Track 4: Take That – It Only Takes A Minute
Take That make their first Now! appearance! I adored them so much as a little girl. Robbie was my favourite, and I was so gutted when he left the group. To this day, I don’t consider them proper Take That (‘Fake That’, I used to say derisively when they first reappeared in the ’00s) unless Robbie’s involved.
Ahem. Anyway.
This is a nice solid pop cover of the Tavares classic – good, danceable stuff.
Track 5: Nick Berry – Heartbeat
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Urgh, Nick Berry‘s back. I thought after Every Loser Wins, we had all suffered enough. This one is a pointless ’90s cover of the Buddy Holly classic, presumably to tie in with the TV show Heartbeat.
Track 6: Snap – Rhythm Is A Dancer
Absolute classic, epic dance track – I love this one! One of my favourites.
Track 7: Utah Saints – Something Good
Brilliant track with epic-level sampling of Kate Bush’s Cloudbusting. Now, THIS is how you sample appropriately. Wonderful stuff.
Track 8: The Cure – Friday I’m In Love
One of my favourite tracks from my favourite band – lovely feelgood song with beautiful instrumentals.
Track 9: Marc Almond – The Days Of Pearly Spencer
I’m going to see Marc Almond later this year! I’m very excited.
Sadly, it won’t be at the one-off Soft Cell reunion gig, which is one of my big gig disappointments this year – I really wanted to go, but due to a miscommunication I missed the ten-minute ticket window. However, I will be seeing him solo at the Electric Dreams festival, so that sort-of makes up for it.
This track has a lovely epic atmosphere and beautiful instrumentals – really like this one.
Track 10: The Beautiful South – Bell Bottomed Tear
Pretty tune and nice vocals, but it’s a bit slow for me.
Track 11: Prince – Thunder
I like the epic intro and chorus, and the instrumentals are interesting. Good track.
Track 12: U2 – Even Better Than The Real Thing
Repetitive instrumentals, dull tune. Not keen on this one.
Track 13: The Shamen – LSI (Love Sex Intelligence)
Good upbeat dance track – happily nodding along here.
Track 14: Electronic – Disappointed
Nice bit of synth electro from Electronic. Solid stuff.
Track 15: Shakespear’s Sister – I Don’t Care
Nice upbeat track with a rockier edge. Vocals not as impressive as usual for Shakespear’s Sister, but still solid.
Track 16: Carter USM – Do Re Me, So Far So Good
So, after me going on for weeks about various great Carter USM covers of various tracks, they finally show up on a Now! compilation with one of their original songs!
Great upbeat rock song, typically brilliant Carter lyrics and singalong chorus.
Track 17: Ugly Kid Joe – Everything About You
Could do without the spoken word on the intro, but it’s a classic track and a good head-nodder.
Track 18: SL2 – On A Ragga Tip
The reggae bit’s good, but the track in general is a bit haphazard.
Track 19: The Orb – Blue Room
Nice bit of chillout, though I could do without the siren noises.
Track 20: Richard Marx – Hazard
Epic atmosphere, great solid track.
Track 21: Elton John – The One
Nice tune, but it’s fairly generic for Elton John. Not a favourite.
Track 22: Roy Orbison – I Drove All Night
This one was apparently written for Orbison, but I prefer the Cyndi Lauper version, which came out first (I’m not sure which one counts as the ‘cover’ in this case). Still a great song, though, whoever’s singing it.
Track 23: Jimmy Nail – Ain’t No Doubt
More upbeat than usual for Jimmy Nail – I quite like this one.
Track 24: Joe Cocker – Unchain My Heart
A bit overblown in the vocals at the start, but once the beat gets going it’s quite good – great funk bassline.
Track 25: Curtis Stigers – You’re All That Matters To Me
Another too-slow too-saccharine one from Curtis Stigers, and this time there’s no sax to save it. Not keen.
Track 26: Wilson Phillips – You Won’t See Me Cry
Nice feelgood tune, nice atmosphere, great sax solo. Still a little slow for me though.
Track 27: Crowded House – Four Seasons In One Day
Lovely tune, great lyrics – really like this one.
Track 28: Annie Lennox – Why
Nice introspective track from Annie Lennox – I really like her stuff from this period.
Track 29: George Michael and Elton John – Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me
Classic duet, epic track – lovely song.
Track 30: Diana Ross – One Shining Moment
Lovely tune, but again it’s a bit of a slow ballad for me.
Track 31: Vanessa Williams – Save The Best For Last
This is another one of those feelgood ballads that I always heard on the radio on ferries during family holidays around this time. It was also used in an advert for Bisto or Oxo (I think? I’m sure it was stock cubes or soup or something ‘comforting’), so I kind of associate it with that vibe.
Track 32: En Vogue – My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)
Great upbeat head-nodder from En Vogue – really like this one, especially the a cappella bit towards the end.
Track 33: Soul II Soul – Joy
This one’s a bit dull in my view – nothing special going on here.
Track 34: Incognito – Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing
Great upbeat track to finish on today – love those instrumentals!
