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Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #48

29 May 201829 May 2018 Dee Leave a comment

Day 48 means Now! #48, which was released on 9th April 2001.

Wikipedia has an interesting factoid about Now! #48: it is the favourite album of the character Kayleigh from Peter Kay’s Car Share (NO SPOILERS FOR THAT PLEASE, I know the final special episode aired last night but Geth and I have not seen any of the series yet and we want to catch up with it at some point!). As a result, it charted on Amazon in spring 2017 despite being out of print. Impressive!

Now! That's What I Call Music #48
Track 1: Atomic Kitten – Whole Again

Found it too cheesy at the time, still do nowadays. This was the one where Kerry Katona left and they released a new version of the video with Jenny Frost replacing her, so there’s still two versions of it kicking about on the music channels.

Track 2: Hear’Say – Pure And Simple

The first of the noughties talent show winners, which was where pop music really started to go downhill. Awful, irritating song.

Track 3: S Club 7 – Never Had A Dream Come True

It’s one of those ones that is a Christmas song nowadays. Nice tune, but it’s a bit overplayed.

Track 4: Nelly Furtado – I’m Like A Bird

I’d not thought about this one for a while. The tune’s okay, but I’ve always found the chorus a bit annoying.

Track 5: Shaggy and RikRok – It Wasn’t Me

Absolutely awful theme, but it’s a great tune!

Track 6: Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood

I remember everyone going on at the time about how ‘revolutionary’ the idea of a virtual band was, but really all it involved was the musicians using pseudonyms and getting some cartoons made for the videos. It’s a good song, other than the fact it’s a bit drone-y.

Track 7: Modjo – Chillin’

Slight ’70s tinge, which is no bad thing. The tune’s pretty dull though.

Track 8: Chocolate Puma – I Wanna Be U

Boring, tuneless, not my thing.

Track 9: Fragma and Maria Rubia – Everytime You Need Me

‘Every time’ should be two words ARGH.

Leaving aside their awful grammar, though, I quite like this tune.

Track 10: Samantha Mumba – Always Come Back To Your Love

I find the vocals on this one a bit annoying – not hugely keen.

Track 11: Britney Spears – Stronger

Great atmosphere, good tune, though I’ve always been really annoyed by that callback to …Baby One More Time in the chorus!

Track 12: Steps – It’s The Way You Make Me Feel

Nice tune. It’s pretty saccharine, but I still quite like this one.

Track 13: Emma Bunton – What Took You So Long

Good tune, but it’s a bit slow for me.

Track 14: Ronan Keating and Bryan Adams – The Way You Make Me Feel

It’s almost a repeated title from the Steps offering above, but it’s a very different song – this one is a dodgy nausea-inducing guitar ballad.

Track 15: Backstreet Boys – Shape Of My Heart

Super saccharine, but the tune’s okay.

Track 16: LeAnn Rimes – I Need You

Extremely boring ballad with overblown vocals. Not my thing at all.

Track 17: Damage – Still Be Lovin’ You

Another irritatingly cheesy track with a dull tune.

Track 18: Kaci Battaglia – Paradise

Nice atmosphere, like the Latin tinge and Spanish guitar. Good track.

Track 19: Martine McCutcheon – On The Radio

Pointless cover of the Donna Summer classic. Nothing new here at all, except the irritating ’00s hi-hat on the backing track.

Track 20: Kylie Minogue – Please Stay

Lovely atmosphere, with more Spanish guitar – loving that trend! Gorgeous tune.

Track 21: Bob The Builder – Can We Fix It?

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

I read ages ago (I can’t find a link so hopefully this daft concept has disappeared from the public imagination) that your ‘life song’ is supposed to be the song that was number one on your sixteenth birthday. Being a tail-end-of-Christmas baby, my birthday number one is usually still whatever was number one for Christmas. For my sixteenth birthday, it was this novelty charity single from the kids’ TV show Bob The Builder. I’m not sure what that’s supposed to say about my life.

Track 22: Eva Cassidy – Somewhere Over The Rainbow

Slow, acoustic cover of the Judy Garland number from The Wizard Of Oz. Beautiful vocals, but the style’s not my kind of thing.

Track 23: U2 – Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of

I’ve always quite liked this one – good tune, interesting lyrics.

Track 24: Stereophonics – Mr Writer

Good guitar riff, but the vocals are depressing and drone-y.

Track 25: Coldplay – Don’t Panic

Oh, it’s this one. The tune’s okay, but it’s pretty dull.

Track 26: Texas – Inner Smile

Great tune, great singalong chorus – really like this one.

Track 27: Robbie Williams – Let Love Be Your Energy

Nice tune, interesting vocals, though Robbie Williams is still trying to do the Britpop thing a few years after it ended.

Track 28: Feeder – Buck Rogers

Great, classic singalong rock track. Loved it at the time, still really like it now, with bonus amusement at the notion that a car having a CD player made it top of the range in 2001. Also, I could never work out whether the lyric was ‘drink cider from a lemon‘ or ‘drink cider from eleven‘.

Track 29: Papa Roach – Last Resort

This pop-punk classic was a bit of a soundtrack song in my teens – we always had it blasting at parties and in cars and so on. I still quite like the track.

Track 30: Planet Funk – Chase The Sun

Nice tune, but it’s too repetitive for me.

Track 31: Safri Duo – Played-A-Live (The Bongo Song)

Good beat (obviously), good danceable track, though the trance bit is fairly generic.

Track 32: Dario G – Dream To Me

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

Cover of the Cranberries’ Dreams. High-pitched classical/opera-style bit irritates throughout, and is joined by an uninspired trance beat. The whole thing is a bit messy.

Track 33: Jakatta – American Dream

Oh, it’s this one. Quite like the clangy instrumental, but it’s a bit dull otherwise.

Track 34: Sonique – I Put A Spell On You

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

Spiky, upbeat, atmospheric cover of the ’50s rock ‘n’ roll classic. Really like this one.

Track 35: Melanie B – Feels So Good

Irritating, repetitive tune – not keen on this track.

Track 36: Mýa – Case Of The Ex

Great atmosphere, good tune, great singalong bit on the bridge and chorus. Good stuff.

Track 37: Chanté Moore – Straight Up

Highly irritating tinkly xylophone-sounding instrumental at the start, then it launches into an uninspired tune. The vocals are okay, but it’s generally not my thing.

Track 38: Joe – Stutter

Boring tune, irritating lines, annoying theme. Not keen on this one.

Track 39: Architechs – Show Me The Money

Too repetitive for me, and the tune’s very generic.

Track 40: DJ Luck & MC Neat – Piano Loco

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

Nice Latin flavour – good danceable track. Could do without the added ‘wub’ bits and rap though, it makes it very messy.

Track 41: Fun Lovin’ Criminals – Loco

A slower type of loco here, maybe because there’s no piano this time. Still a good helping of Spanish vocals though, so I quite like it.

Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #47

28 May 201828 May 2018 Dee Leave a comment

Day 47 takes us to Now! #47, which was released on 20th November 2000.

Let’s see what the hits were going into the winter.

Now! That's What I Call Music #47
Track 1: Robbie Williams – Rock DJ

Great, danceable, singalong track – loved it at the time, love it now.

Track 2: Modjo – Lady (Hear Me Tonight)

I don’t normally like this kind of repetitive turn-of-the-millennium house music, but I quite like the tune on this one.

Track 3: Ronan Keating – Life Is A Rollercoaster

Super annoying chorus, cheesy theme. Not a fan.

Track 4: Texas – In Demand

Really like this track – great tune. Love the video with Alan Rickman too.

Track 5: Bon Jovi – It’s My Life

Loved it at the time, still really like it now. Always had a soft spot for Bon Jovi.

Track 6: U2 – Beautiful Day

The perceived wisdom is that U2 took a nosedive in quality sometime in the mid-’90s, but to be honest I’ve always really liked the stuff off the All That You Can’t Leave Behind album. This is a nice epic track – I don’t like it as much as I did at the time, but it’s still solid.

Track 7: David Gray – Babylon

Nice chillout track, quite like this one. I don’t know why I’ve always liked David Gray’s White Ladder album, ’cause it’s not the sort of thing I’d normally be keen on, but I do enjoy most of the tunes.

Track 8: All Saints – Pure Shores

The soundtrack song for the film The Beach. I really like the tune on the chorus.

Track 9: Spice Girls – Holler

The now-Geri-less Spice Girls with a fairly bland tune. The end was clearly nigh, especially as they were all launching solo careers.

Incidentally, it always annoys me when British artists sing songs written in American vernacular. ‘Holler’ is not a word over here!

Track 10: Architechs and Nana – Body Groove

Quite like the hook, but the vocals are irritating.

Track 11: Craig David – 7 Days

Always had a soft spot for this one – really like the theme! I was really annoyed when it was sampled by Kojo Funds and Raye for Check earlier this year.

Track 12: Samantha Mumba – Body II Body

Love the Ashes To Ashes sample, but the rest of the track is pretty generic.

Track 13: Britney Spears – Lucky

This is a highly cheesy, irritating song. Thankfully, at the time, some of my mates at school livened it up by coming up with alternative German history themed lyrics:

He’s so lucky
He’s Bismarck
And he tries so hard at this union lark, thinking:
If there’s nothing missing in my reich
Then why won’t the states unify?

As a result, I think of nineteenth-century Germany whenever I hear it. Good effort, friends!

Track 14: LeAnn Rimes – Can’t Fight The Moonlight

Soundtrack song for the film Coyote Ugly. It’s okay, but the chorus is a little annoying.

Track 15: S Club 7 – Natural

Quite like the interesting instrumentals on this one, but the vocals are pretty irritating.

Track 16: NSYNC – It’s Gonna Be Me

Timely, as the meme related to this this track actually went viral again about a month ago when NSYNC received their Hollywood Walk Of Fame star. The track is a great solid pop tune with an awesome atmosphere – good stuff.

Track 17: Anastacia – I’m Outta Love

Great, classic singalong song. Really like this one!

Track 18: Tom Jones and Heather Small – You Need Love Like I Do

Two great voices on this duet, but I find the song a bit so-so.

Track 19: Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue – Kids

Repeated artist alert! We’ve already had Robbie Williams. This duet with Kylie is great, though, so I won’t complain too much. Nice upbeat track, awesome tune.

Track 20: Coldplay – Trouble

I like the piano intro, but one it launches into the vocals it gets very depressing.

Track 21: Martine McCutcheon – I’m Over You

Nice tune, but the vocals are super saccharine, which puts me right off.

Track 22: Kylie Minogue – On A Night Like This

Repeated artist alert…again. We already had Kylie on the Kids duet – give some other artists a chance!

This is a great track, though – lovely tune, good atmosphere.

Track 23: Steps – Stomp

Disco-tinged track, very Abba-inspired. Good solid pop song.

Track 24: Vanessa Amorosi – Absolutely Everybody

Found it highly irritating at the time, still do now. Twee, annoying theme.

Track 25: Billie Piper – Walk Of Life

Not my favourite Billie Piper track – it’s a bit generic.

Track 26: True Steppers, Dane Bowers and Victoria Beckham – Out Of Your Mind

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

Quite like this one, mainly due to the tune on the chorus.

Track 27: Melanie C – I Turn To You

Gorgeous dance-infused track from Melanie C – beautiful tune.

Track 28: Delerium and Sarah McLachlan – Silence

Classic tune, lovely vocals.

Track 29: Sonique – Sky

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

Slightly messy lines, but the vocal is nice.

Track 30: Zombie Nation – Kernkraft 400

There’s a common misconception that ‘Zombie Nation’ is the name of the song and ‘Kernkraft 400’ is the name of the band, but it’s actually the other way round. This misconception is especially prevalent in the goth/industrial scene, largely due to Grendel calling the track ‘Zombie Nation’ when they covered it. Great tune, either way.

Track 31: Storm – Time To Burn

Highly irritating squawky/scratchy instrumentals, uninspired vocal sample, generic electro hook. Not keen.

Track 32: Darude – Feel The Beat

Generic dance track for about two minutes, then it switches gears into a more chilled out version of itself, which is a bit jarring. After that, there’s some washing machine noise and it goes back to where it was at the start. Also, I’m pretty sure that’s a sample from 9PM (Till I Come), which is highly uninspired if so.

Track 33: Aurora – Ordinary World

Fairly pointless cover of the Duran Duran song with a dance beat over the top. I love Duran Duran (as you might be aware by now) so I’m always going to side-eye a bit when somebody attempts a cover. It’s still a great song, but nothing can touch the original.

Track 34: SuReal – You Take My Breath Away

Boring, uninspired, forgettable dance track. Not a fan.

Track 35: Madison Avenue – Who The Hell Are You

Too similar to Don’t Call Me Baby – guess they only really had one song in them.

Track 36: Azzido Da Bass – Doom’s Night

Irritating ‘wub wub’ bit at the start, then the rest of the track is fairly tuneless. Not my thing.

Track 37: Baha Men – Who Let The Dogs Out?

I’ve always quite liked this song and its comedy tone – it soundtracked quite a few summer holidays in the early ’00s for me. Great chant-along chorus.

Track 38: Nelly – Country Grammar (Hot…)

Generic, messy track. Too much going on and not enough melody for me.

Track 39: Sisqó – Unleash The Dragon

Nice instrumentals, but the rap is fairly generic.

Track 40: Melanie B – Tell Me

The squeaky intro is annoying, though there’s some interesting stuff going on with the vocals.

Track 41: Louise – Beautiful Inside

Good beat, but the vocal is boring.

Track 42: Gabrielle – Should I Stay

And we return to a dull ballad as the last track of a Now! compilation. Nothing interesting about this track.

Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #46

27 May 201827 May 2018 Dee Leave a comment

Day 46 means Now! #46, which takes us to 24th July 2000.

Let’s see what the hits were that summer.

Now! That's What I Call Music #46
Track 1: Britney Spears – Oops! I Did It Again

I thought it was okay at the time, but find it insanely annoying now after hearing it intermittently for eighteen years.

Track 2: S Club 7 – Reach

Thought it was insufferably awful then, still think that now. Cheesy and twee.

Track 3: Sonique – It Feels So Good

Nice tune – quite like this one.

Track 4: Mary Mary – Shackles (Praise You)

Great atmosphere, good tune. Happily nodding along.

Track 5: Samantha Mumba – Gotta Tell You

Loved this at the time and bought the single. I still quite like the tune.

Track 6: Gabrielle – When A Woman

Upbeat, head-noddable track, but the feelgood vocals are a bit irritating for me.

Track 7: Kylie Minogue – Spinning Around

Classic tune, classic video. Always really liked this track – it’s very danceable.

Track 8: Tom Jones and Mousse T – Sex Bomb

Another great danceable track that was everywhere at the time. Good stuff.

Track 9: Bloodhound Gang – The Bad Touch

Generally known as ‘the Discovery Channel song’, this one is an absolute classic – I’ve always loved that instrumental, and the theme is hilarious.

Track 10: Shania Twain – Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)

Quite like the folky instrumentals, but the vocals on this one annoy me.

Track 11: Billie Piper – Day And Night

Billie Piper going for a more grown-up sound on her second album meant that her stuff was no longer squeaky and irritating but was instead nice solid pop. This one is a great tune with a good atmosphere.

Track 12: Louise – 2 Faced

Generic, dull tune – not keen on this one.

Track 13: Aaliyah – Try Again

Great atmosphere, interesting lines. Really like this one.

Track 14: NSYNC – Bye Bye Bye

I don’t remember NSYNC being that huge generally in the UK, but this track was a fairly big hit. It’s got a good atmosphere – solid piece of pop.

Track 15: Damage – Ghetto Romance

You know it’s the noughties when lyrics like ‘body like a racecar‘ start to show up in the charts. Generic, irritating track.

Track 16: Steps – When I Said Goodbye

This was released as a double A-side with Summer Of Love, which is a much, much better song, so I can’t help wishing the Now! compilers had chosen that one instead for this summer release. If previous patterns are anything to go by, though, it’ll probably show up on the November one.

This track is a slow, boring ballad, and I’m not keen on those.

Track 17: Stephen Gately – New Beginning

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

Nice atmosphere on this one, nice epic chorus. Quite like this track.

Track 18: Backstreet Boys – The One

Good beat, interesting instrumentals, but the vocals are pretty generic and dull.

Track 19: Moby – Porcelain

Oh, it’s this one! Nice chillout track, like the tinkly piano.

Track 20: Coldplay – Yellow

Another indicator it’s now the noughties: Coldplay show up for the first time. Yellow has quite a good intro, but it all goes downhill when Chris Martin opens his mouth, which may become a bit of a theme, as I’ve got a feeling this is not the last time they’ll feature on these Now! compilations.

Track 21: Richard Ashcroft – A Song For The Lovers

The Verve frontman goes solo. Unfortunately this track’s just as depressing as the stuff he was doing with the Verve, although I do quite like the sax on the intro.

Track 22: Black Legend – You See The Trouble With Me

Irritating house cover of the Barry White classic that gets rid of most of the melody. Not keen at all.

Track 23: Spiller and Sophie Ellis-Bextor – Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)

Great tune, great atmosphere, great danceable beat – love this track.

Track 24: Darude – Sandstorm

Oh, it’s this one! Classic dance track, great hook.

Track 25: York – On The Beach

Another dance track with a memorable hook that I’m guessing most people would recognise but couldn’t name. Quite like this one.

Track 26: Marc et Claude – I Need Your Lovin’ (Like The Sunshine)

Good atmosphere on the intro, segueing into a great dance track. Really like this.

Track 27: Frankie Goes To Hollywood – The Power Of Love [Rob Searle Club Mix]

Remix of the 1984 classic, which is very definitely considered a Christmas song nowadays and hence feels out of place both in May 2018 as I write this and in July 2000 when this compilation was released. It is nice to see some love for old ’80s tracks, although this remix only really uses one instrumental line from the track to begin with, and as such the first four minutes are fairly unrecognisable before it launches into the well-known first verse. After that, it gets a bit messy and super trance-y.

Track 28: Different Gear and The Police – When The World Is Running Down (You Can’t Go Wrong)

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

Irritating sample on the intro, before it launches into the remix of the 1980 Police track. It’s pretty dull and repetitive.

Track 29: Southside Spinners – Luvstruck

Boring, generic dance track with irritating orgasm noises over the top.

Track 30: Alice Deejay – Will I Ever

Annoying tune, not keen. I’m starting to fear that the imaginary ’00s nightclub (the setting for these Now! disc 2s full of dance tracks that started to become the pattern in the mid-’90s) will be even worse than the ’90s one.

Track 31: Angelic – It’s My Turn

Quite like the instrumentals and the atmosphere, but the vocals annoy me.

Track 32: Rank 1 – Airwave

Generic dance tune, very dull. Not a fan.

Track 33: B-15 Project, Crissy D and Lady G – Girls Like Us

Quite like the chorus, but otherwise it’s a bit messy for my liking.

Track 34: Lonyo – Summer Of Love

Quite like the Latin-tinged backing vocals, but the main tune is a bit cheesy.

Track 35: MJ Cole – Crazy Love

Really like the tune on the intro…then it launches into the world’s most annoying vocals. Urgh.

Track 36: DJ Luck & MC Neat and JJ – Masterblaster 2000

Cover of the 1980 Stevie Wonder track, with ‘bonus’ No Diggity sample. It’s upbeat and danceable, but I’m not sure about the tune.

Track 37: Tru Faith and Dub Conspiracy – Freak Like Me

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

Great atmosphere on this cover of the Adina Howard track, later made more famous by the Sugababes. Love those instrumentals.

Track 38: Jamelia – Call Me

Nice tune, but it’s a bit slow for me.

Track 39: Vengaboys – Uncle John From Jamaica

More lively Eurodance from the Vengaboys. The tune on this one’s a little irritating.

Track 40: Fe-M@il – Flee Fly Flo

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

I’d forgotten about this daft call-and-response track. It’s at least different, but it’s pretty cheesy and annoying.

Track 41: Scooch – For Sure

Twee and irritating tune – not keen on this one.

Track 42: Atomic Kitten – I Want Your Love

I quite liked this retro-tinged atmospheric track at the time, but I find it a bit headache-inducing nowadays.

Track 43: Steps – Deeper Shade Of Blue

Repeated artist alert! Now I’m even more annoyed that they didn’t include Summer Of Love.

This dance-infused track’s got a good beat and atmosphere, but the tune on the vocals irritates me a bit nowadays.

Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #45

26 May 201826 May 2018 Dee Leave a comment

Day 45 brings us to Now! #45, released on 17th April 2000.

Let’s see how chart music sounded now that we’d entered a new millennium.

Now! That's What I Call Music #45
Track 1: Gabrielle – Rise

The tune’s too boring for me – not keen on this one.

Track 2: Melanie C and Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes – Never Be The Same Again

Another gorgeous track from Melanie C – lovely tune, great atmosphere. This was a real favourite of mine at the time.

Track 3: Craig David – Fill Me In

Great upbeat danceable track, but I do find the chorus a bit annoying.

Track 4: Britney Spears – Born To Make You Happy

Urgh, super saccharine! Not a fan of this at all.

Track 5: Backstreet Boys – Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely

I shouldn’t like it, ’cause it’s a slow, saccharine ballad, but the instrumentals and atmosphere are great.

Track 6: Lene Marlin – Sitting Down Here

Too high-pitched and cheesy for me – no edge to it.

Track 7: Tom Jones and Stereophonics – Mama Told Me Not To Come

Great, energetic cover of the ’60s classic. Really like this one.

Track 8: Shania Twain – Man! I Feel Like A Woman!

Anthemic song – it did get a bit overplayed at the time, but I’ve always had a soft spot for it. Awesome singalong chorus.

Track 9: Geri Halliwell – Bag It Up

It’s a bit of a daft track, but I really like it. Another fabulous singalong song.

Track 10: S Club 7 – You’re My Number One

Nice retro-tinged tune, but the vocals are pretty annoying.

Track 11: Aqua – Cartoon Heroes

Good atmosphere to the track – this one’s sort of interesting, and I find I quite like it.

Track 12: Vengaboys – Shalala Lala

Originally a Danish glam rock track from the early ’70s, fact fans! Love that slightly chilled-out electro hook.

Track 13: Daphne & Celeste – Ooh Stick You

Hilariously awful then, hilariously awful now! Classic Pop magazine tells me these two are making a comeback as well, if you can believe that!

Track 14: Atomic Kitten – See Ya

Generic, squeaky pop – pretty boring track.

Track 15: Madison Avenue – Don’t Call Me Baby

I’ve always quite liked this one – it’s got a nice edge and is very danceable.

Track 16: Martine McCutcheon – Love Me

Quite a nice tune, but it’s pretty forgettable.

Track 17: Steps – Say You’ll Be Mine

Solid pop track from Steps – there’s a nice atmosphere to this one.

Track 18: Honeyz – Won’t Take It Lying Down

Bit more interesting and edgy than previous Honeyz songs on these compilations – quite like this track.

Track 19: Precious – Rewind

Another atmospheric track with great instrumentals. Good stuff.

Track 20: Montell Jordan – Get It On Tonite

Dull tune, but it’s got an okay beat.

Track 21: Fierce – Sweet Love 2K

Fairly pointless cover of the Anita Baker track. Too slow for me, though the tune’s quite pretty.

Track 22: Boyzone – Every Day I Love You

Slow, saccharine, generic ballad. Not keen on this one.

Track 23: Chicane and Bryan Adams – Don’t Give Up

Dance track, which sounds a bit odd with Bryan Adams’ vocals. It’s not very interesting otherwise.

Track 24: Fragma – Toca’s Miracle

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

Quite liked it at the time, find the chorus annoying now.

Track 25: Moloko – The Time Is Now

I’ve always liked this one – great atmosphere.

Track 26: Artful Dodger and Craig David – Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta)

Repeated artist alert! We’ve already had Craig David. This track’s a bit of a legendary one though, inspiring the Bo Selecta! TV series, so they couldn’t really have left it out. It’s a bit repetitive for me, but it is a classic.

Track 27: DJ Luck & MC Neat – A Little Bit Of Luck

Interesting vocals, but it’s pretty repetitive.

Track 28: Sisqó – Thong Song

Awkward then, awkward and dated now. Let’s gloss over this one.

Track 29: Jamelia and Beenie Man – Money

Nice epic operatic-style intro, good atmosphere. Great track.

Track 30: Kelis – Caught Out There

Oh, it’s this one! I always assumed it was called I Hate You So Much Right Now. The verses are pretty dull, but it is nice and danceable.

Track 31: Artful Dodger and Romina Johnson – Movin’ Too Fast

Repeated artist alert! We’ve already had Artful Dodger. Really, the Now! compilers should just have gone with Re-Rewind for Artful Dodger and Craig David and saved themselves a couple of slots (especially as the number of tracks on these compilations is starting to get a bit bloated now).

I like the nice tinkly instrumentals, but the vocals are fairly boring.

Track 32: Nu Generation – In Your Arms (Rescue Me)

I like the Rescue Me sample, but the rest of the stuff in this track is pretty poor – it’s largely a lot of strange special effects.

Track 33: Basement Jaxx – Bingo Bango

Oh, it’s this one! Great Latin-tinged instrumental hook, quite like this track – very danceable.

Track 34: ATB – Killer 2000

Cover of the Adamski and Seal classic that samples bits of the original. Utterly pointless – there’s nothing new here.

Track 35: Sash! – Adelante

Pretty tune on this dance track, but it’s fairly repetitive, and some of the instrumentals are a bit headache-inducing.

Track 36: Watergate – Heart Of Asia

Quite like the Eastern-inspired synthy bits – nice tune.

Track 37: Progress and The Boy Wunda – Everybody

Love that Papa Don’t Preach sample – the rest of the track is pretty uninspired though.

Track 38: Lock ‘N’ Load – Blow Ya Mind

No melody, irritating screechy noise-based lines. Not keen.

Track 39: Precocious Brats and Kevin & Perry – Big Girl

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

Bit of a messy mishmash of ’60s-inspired instrumentals and irritating vocal samples from Harry Enfield and Kathy Burke’s comedy characters. Not a fan of this one.

Track 40: The Tamperer and Maya – Hammer To The Heart

Quite like the electro line on this one – shame the vocals are irritating and generic.

Track 41: Cuban Boys – C vs I

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

Oh, it’s this one. I hadn’t thought about this track for a long time, but the yodeling bit is still just as annoying as it was back in the day, even if it did spawn the singing hamster toy craze and provide great hilarity via novelty Christmas gifts for a couple of years.

Track 42: Robbie Williams – It’s Only Us

Nice tune, still sort of hanging off the back of Britpop. Great singalong chorus too.

Track 43: Blink-182 – All The Small Things

Absolute classic piece of pop-punk. I remember dancing to this on Millennium Eve – great times.

Track 44: Moby – Natural Blues

Great tune, but it’s a little repetitive for me.

Track 45: John Lennon – Imagine

This track periodically re-enters the charts, and has probably done so a good dozen times since Lennon’s death in 1980. Surprisingly, this is the first time the Now! compilers have picked it up though. It’s a classic tune – there’s not much else to say about it.

Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #44

25 May 201825 May 2018 Dee Leave a comment

Day 44, and Now! #44, which was released on 22nd November 1999.

Let’s see what was in the charts as we approached the end of the millennium.

Now! That's What I Call Music #44
Track 1: Britney Spears – …Baby One More Time

Loved it at the time, bought the single. It’s pretty overplayed these days, but I still have a bit of a soft spot for it.

Track 2: Shania Twain – That Don’t Impress Me Much

I’ve always quite liked this one, and I love her daft leopard-print outfit in the video.

Track 3: Lou Bega – Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of…)

The turn-of-the-millennium Latin pop craze was in full swing by this point, and so songs like this were huge. I’ve always loved this one – the lyrics are great, and it’s really danceable. I know it’s early on, but I’m going to make this my top wedding disco track of today.

Track 4: Eiffel 65 – Blue (Da Ba Dee)

I absolutely adored this one at the time, mainly because people were constantly singing it at me (I had, and still have in storage, a bright blue chenille cardigan that I wore constantly between 1998 and 2004 – you can see it in the picture for the Now! #40 review). I still love the tune and the lyrics – great song.

Track 5: Steps – Tragedy

Daft, epic cover of the Bee Gees classic. I can’t not mention the ludicrous video, which I must have seen a hundred times back in the day.

Track 6: Geri Halliwell – Mi Chico Latino

Geri Halliwell hopping on board with the Latin craze. I quite like this tune, and I always appreciate a bit of Spanish guitar.

Track 7: Robbie Williams – She’s The One

I shouldn’t like this ballad (and apparently Robbie Williams didn’t like it himself for quite a number of years), but I do actually really like the tune. Not sure why, as it’s the kind of thing I’d normally find depressing.

Track 8: Ronan Keating – When You Say Nothing At All

Cover of the country song. I actually prefer this version, mainly ’cause it’s not country, but it’s still pretty cheesy and pedestrian.

Track 9: Melanie C – Northern Star

I had the Northern Star album and pretty much every track on it was a cracker – Melanie C’s solo stuff was far and away the best out of all the Spice Girls, and not just because she had the best voice. This track is beautiful and melancholy, with an absolutely gorgeous atmosphere.

Track 10: Sixpence None The Richer – Kiss Me

The tune’s pleasant enough, but I find the theme a bit twee and irritating.

Track 11: Texas – Summer Son

Really like this one – it’s one of my favourite Texas tracks. Love the instrumentals, love the edgy atmosphere to the song.

Track 12: Moloko – Sing It Back

Great upbeat tune – I’ve always quite liked this track. Happily nodding along.

Track 13: Bob Marley & The Wailers and Funkstar De Luxe – Sun Is Shining

Remix of the 1971 track that adds a slightly messy dance beat over the top. Still a great tune though.

Track 14: Diana Ross – Not Over You Yet

Dance track with a good atmosphere and interesting instrumentals. Quite like this one.

Track 15: Tina Turner – When The Heartache Is Over

I’ve always quite liked this tune, though it mainly reminds me of an episode of Ally McBeal in which Tina Turner featured at the time.

Track 16: Jamiroquai – Canned Heat

Really like this tune – one of my favourite Jamiroquai tracks – though before I became aware of the title, I always misheard the lyric as ‘candy in my heels‘ rather than ‘canned heat in my heels‘.

Track 17: Tom Jones and The Cardigans – Burning Down The House

I owned and loved the Reload duet album that Tom Jones did, and this was probably one of the best tracks on it. Great tune, wonderful singalong chorus, excellent stuff.

Track 18: Bran Van 3000 – Drinking In LA

Always really liked this one, to the extent that on the one single occasion in my life I have gone drinking in LA (at LAX airport in 2012 while waiting for a connection) I made sure to photograph the moment just so I could caption it appropriately on Facebook.

Track 19: Supergrass – Moving

I find this one a bit depressing – it’s just kind of slow and drone-y.

Track 20: Phil Collins – You’ll Be In My Heart

Boring tune, and I don’t like the country-tinged guitar.

Track 21: R Kelly – If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time

Slow, irritating ballad. Not my thing.

Track 22: Geri Halliwell – Lift Me Up

Repeated artist alert! This track’s a bit twee and cheesy, so really I think the Now! compilers should have just gone with Mi Chico Latino for this compilation.

Track 23: Tin Tin Out and Emma Bunton – What I Am

We’re certainly getting a lot of Spice Girls solo stuff at the moment. This one is a fairly uninspired cover of the Edie Brickell & New Bohemians track from 1988. It’s okay to nod along to.

Track 24: Martine McCutcheon – I’ve Got You

Boring ballad, depressing tune. Not keen.

Track 25: Backstreet Boys – Larger Than Life

The track’s a great danceable song (especially that epic guitar solo!), and I always liked the Y2K-themed video.

Track 26: Jordan Knight – Give It To You

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

Interesting fairground-y instrumental during the intro, and there’s a good atmosphere to this one. There’s a lot going on, but I quite like it.

Track 27: Gabrielle – Sunshine

Nice tune, but it’s a little slow for me.

Track 28: Honeyz – Never Let You Down

Slow, dull ballad, and I don’t like those.

Track 29: S Club 7 – S Club Party

Another irritating track from S Club 7, though there are some good singalong hooks if you’re in the right mood (approximately six or seven pints should do it).

Track 30: Lolly – Mickey

Pointless cover of the Toni Basil classic, with the only change being the more muddy and electro instrumentals. Unlike with most pointless ’90s covers, I was actually aware of the original when this one came out, and I remember being totally confused about why someone would release a cover that was so similar, and why anyone would buy it (I did have a friend who actually bought it, though I won’t name and shame!).

Track 31: Ann Lee – 2 Times

Pretty, feelgood, interesting track – I’ve always really liked this one.

Track 32: Vengaboys – We’re Going To Ibiza!

It’s a fairly typical daft Vengaboys track, with the added major irritation that they don’t know how to pronounce ‘Ibiza’, so the lyric sounds like ‘whoa – we’re going to eat pizza‘. Which is definitely something to get excited about, but maybe not to the point of releasing a song.

Track 33: Enrique Iglesias – Bailamos

Loved it at the time, requested an Enrique Iglesias album for Christmas off the back of loving this track (and then it turned out to be an earlier album that didn’t have this track on it. Oh well). Still a great tune.

Track 34: Shaft – (Mucho Mambo) Sway

Oh, it’s this one! Great atmosphere, great Latin beat. Good stuff.

Track 35: ATB – Don’t Stop!

ATB using a similar irritating instrumental hook to the one on their last track, 9PM (Till I Come). Bored already.

Track 36: DJ Jean – The Launch

Annoying, repetitive hook. Not keen.

Track 37: Groove Armada and Gram’ma Funk – I See You Baby [Fatboy Slim Radio Edit]

Classic dance track, great vocal hook.

Track 38: Wamdue Project – King Of My Castle

I’ve always found this one pretty interesting, mainly due to the utterly incomprehensible lyrics (she’s doing what with her trestle?). Good tune too.

Track 39: Alice Deejay – Back In My Life

Irritating, repetitive vocals, generic dance backing track. Never really liked this one.

Track 40: Alena – Turn It Around

Boring dance track, nothing good about it.

Track 41: Tina Cousins – Angel

Pretty vocals, but the track is otherwise very uninspired.

Track 42: Liquid Child – Diving Faces

The vocal sample is awful, but I quite like the electro hooks.

Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #43

24 May 201824 May 2018 Dee Leave a comment

Day 43 takes us to 19th July 1999 with the Now! compilations.

On with the summer hits!

Now! That's What I Call Music #43
Track 1: Martine McCutcheon – Perfect Moment

Found it slow, dull and irritating at the time, and guess what? I still do now. I quite like Martine McCutcheon as an actor and presenter, but I’m not keen on her music.

Track 2: Boyzone – You Needed Me

So slow and saccharine it’s depressing. Really dislike this one.

Track 3: Backstreet Boys – I Want It That Way

Loved it at the time and bought the single. It’s a bit cheesy for me nowadays, but I still quite like the tune.

Track 4: Shanks & Bigfoot – Sweet Like Chocolate

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

Annoyed by the tune then, annoyed by the tune now. Quite like the video though.

Track 5: S Club 7 – Bring It All Back

Highly irritating tune. I was never much of an S Club fan.

Track 6: Vengaboys – Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom

Another daft theme from the Vengaboys. Great tune though.

Track 7: ATB – 9PM (Till I Come)

I remember having a discussion on the way home from school with my mate Laura about this track. She found it irritating because the vocal sample was ‘till I come‘ but the word ‘9PM’ was never spoken. I suggested that maybe the instrumental hook was meant to represent ‘9PM’, and so for a brief while we had an in-joke of singing the tune to this track in lieu of saying ‘9PM’. I guess it must have amused us at the time.

Despite all that, the tune’s not much to write home about, and I find the whole thing pretty dull nowadays.

Track 8: Phats & Small – Turn Around

Oh, it’s this one! I’ve always quite liked this feelgood track – it’s very danceable.

Track 9: Basement Jaxx – Red Alert

Really like that hook, but could do without the messy stop-start intro.

Track 10: Dina Carroll – Without Love

Generic dance beat, boring tune, headache-inducing overblown vocals on the chorus. Not my cup of tea.

Track 11: Geri Halliwell – Look At Me

Geri Halliwell’s post-Spice Girls solo debut. It’s alright (the video‘s better than the song) but she did much more interesting tracks later on.

Track 12: Adam Rickitt – I Breathe Again

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

It’s another one that reminds me of my mate Laura, as she had a lot of posters of Adam Rickitt. I actually quite like the song – there’s a nice classic pop aspect to it.

Track 13: Lolly – Viva La Radio

Appalling, painfully high-pitched song with irritating lyrics, irritating verses, messy squeaky instrumentals, and infuriating spoken interjections. Surprisingly, the tune on the chorus is actually okay. If someone sampled that it might be quite good.

Track 14: Cartoons – Doodah

Daft dance version of the traditional children’s song. There’s actually something I find quite endearing about it.

Track 15: Precious – Say It Again

This is one of those late ’90s tracks that sounds more like it came from the early ’90s. It’s got a nice beat, but the tune’s pretty dull.

Track 16: Honeyz – Love Of A Lifetime

Pretty instrumentals, but the vocal line is very generic.

Track 17: 911 – Private Number

Cheesy, slow cover of the ’60s hit. Not hugely keen on this.

Track 18: Culture Club – Your Kisses Are Charity

Another reggae-tinged song from Culture Club’s late ’90s era. Nice tune, quite like it.

Track 19: Beverley Knight – Greatest Day

Not feeling this one – the tune is too messy for me.

Track 20: Melanie B – Word Up

Upbeat cover of the Cameo classic. It doesn’t live up to the original, but I like the added harmonisation on the vocals.

Track 21: Fierce – Dayz Like That

The atmosphere’s okay, but on the whole it’s pretty bland and tuneless.

Track 22: Tina Cousins – Forever

Lovely tune on the vocals (when they’re not so high in the mix that they make my hearing aids squawk with feedback), but the backing track’s very generic.

Track 23: Baz Luhrmann – Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)

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

And it’s yet another one that reminds me of my mate Laura, due to many hours in art class with her telling me how this song sounded like God speaking. I’ve never thought it sounded like God, but I do like the spoken word monologue throughout the track.

Track 24: Texas – In Our Lifetime

Pleasant tune, but nothing special.

Track 25: New Radicals – You Get What You Give

Great singalong chorus, but I find the tune a bit repetitive.

Track 26: Supergrass – Pumping On Your Stereo

I’m normally not keen on Supergrass, but I do like this one – great vocal hook, and a bit of a ’60s throwback sound, which is no bad thing.

Track 27: Madness – Lovestruck

A welcome return to the charts for the recently-reformed Madness, with a song that’s just as jaunty as their stuff the early ’80s, with a bit of added edgy atmosphere. Great track, really like this one.

Track 28: The Wiseguys – Ooh La La

Oh, it’s this one. It’s okay, but there’s a good reason I hadn’t thought about it for many years – there’s just no melody, and the interesting spoken word hook isn’t enough to make up for that.

Track 29: The Chemical Brothers – Hey Boy Hey Girl

It’s too repetitive for me, but I do like the ‘superstar DJ‘ vocal sample.

Track 30: Fatboy Slim – Right Here, Right Now

Loved it at the time, bought the single. Still really like it now – great tune, anthemic hook.

Track 31: Chicane and Maire Brennan – Saltwater

Lovely vocals from Maire Brennan (including a bit of a reprise from Theme From Harry’s Game), contributing to a great dance track.

Track 32: Bryan Adams – Cloud Number Nine

I remember this being reviewed on the Live & Kicking episode where Zoë Ball and Jamie Theakston were leaving the show, and them being disappointed that it hadn’t come out a few years earlier so they could have used it as the theme tune for their ‘Cloud Nine’ feature. Strange what you remember.

Anyway, I quite like the track – more than I did at the time, anyway.

Track 33: Blur – Coffee And TV

Great tune, awesome singalong chorus. Everybody raves about the video, but I refuse to watch it ’cause it makes me sad.

Track 34: Cast – Beat Mama

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

Better than most Cast tracks – at least it’s got a good upbeat tempo and chant-along chorus, even if the tune’s a bit uninspired.

Track 35: Stereophonics – Pick A Part That’s New

It’s another Stereophonics track where I find the vocals too droning and depressing. I’m sure they did do better ones.

Track 36: Gomez – Bring It On

Interesting harmonisation on the intro, but after that it gets a bit messy for my liking.

Track 37: Semisonic – Secret Smile

Nice tune, nice atmosphere, great lyrics. Really quite like this one.

Track 38: James – I Know What I’m Here For

Pleasant tune, great instrumentals. Nice track.

Track 39: Yomanda – Synth And Strings

I guess it does what it says on the tin, but it’s not the nice melodious track you might expect from a name like that – it sounds quite nasty, to be honest.

Track 40: DJ Jurgen and Alice Deejay – Better Off Alone

Utterly depressing repetitive vocal hook – never been keen on this.

Track 41: Masters At Work and India – To Be In Love

There’s quite a nice ’70s vibe to this one, but I’m not loving the tune.

Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #42

23 May 201823 May 2018 Dee Leave a comment

Day 42, and here we are on 29th March 1999, when Now! #42 was released.

Let’s see what the hits were as we went into the final year of the ’90s.

Now! That's What I Call Music #42
Track 1: Boyzone – When The Going Gets Tough

I mentioned this in my review of Now! #7, when discussing the Billy Ocean original. As I said there, the cover doesn’t do anything different, but it was the Comic Relief single for 1999, so it probably raised a lot of money. Including mine, ’cause I bought the single.

Obligatory ‘I hate pointless ’90s covers’ rant: And the reason I bought the single is because I thought ‘hey, that’s a great song!’ without realising there was a much better original version. Sigh.

Track 2: Steps – Better Best Forgotten

Quite liked it at the time, find it super irritating now.

Track 3: Cher – Believe

I don’t hate this as much as some people do – in fact, I quite like the tune – but it was really overplayed at the time, so I don’t think there was anybody who wasn’t sick of it.

Track 4: Steps, Tina Cousins, Cleopatra, B*Witched and Billie Piper – Thank Abba For The Music

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

Medley of Abba songs performed at the Brit Awards 1999 by contemporary pop artists in tribute to Abba. It was pretty cringeworthy at the time, and is even more so nineteen years later.

Track 5: Spice Girls – Goodbye

The Christmas number one from 1998, so it’s one of those ones that feels like it’s the wrong time of year for it. Pretty track, though.

Track 6: Honeyz – End Of The Line

Like this tune, but the vocals aren’t really to my taste.

Track 7: Billie Piper – Honey To The Bee

Found it a bit dull at the time, but I quite like the tune nowadays.

Track 8: The Corrs – What Can I Do

Lovely tune, great instrumentals. Big fan of this one.

Track 9: Emilia – Big Big World

Really liked it at the time, find it a bit saccharine now. Still a nice tune.

Track 10: Tina Cousins – Killin’ Time

Epic-sounding dance track – really like this one.

Track 11: Vengaboys – We Like To Party! (The Vengabus)

Bit of a guilty pleasure, this one, ’cause I do love that singalong chorus (and I have a soft spot for anything with a daft bus theme).

Track 12: Cartoons – Witch Doctor

Dance cover of the ’50s classic. Always quite liked this one.

Track 13: Ace Of Base – Always Have, Always Will

Jaunty track with a mid-century retro tinge. Happily nodding along.

Track 14: Blockster – You Should Be

Dull dance track based around a sample of You Should Be Dancing. It’s pretty uninspired.

Track 15: A+ – Enjoy Yourself

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

I quite like the take on Beethoven’s Fifth, but the rap is a bit generic.

Track 16: Deetah – El Paradiso Rico

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

I like the La Isla Bonita bit, but the rest of the track is pretty awful.

Track 17: Emmie – More Than This

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

Fairly dull dance track. The vocal is quite nice, but the rest of the track’s pretty uninspired.

Track 18: DJ Sakin – Protect Your Mind (For The Love Of A Princess)

Dance cover of James Horner’s For The Love Of A Princess from the Braveheart soundtrack. It’s as awful as it sounds.

Track 19: Fool Boona – Popped

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

There’s a nice sample from Iggy Pop’s The Passenger in there somewhere, but it gets lost among a ridiculous amount of other stuff going on. It’s just a big mess, unfortunately.

Track 20: Sash! – Colour The World

Nice tune, but it’s pretty repetitive.

Track 21: Justin – Over You

Slow and dull, and I find the vocal too high-pitched and annoying.

Track 22: Robbie Williams – Strong

Never been a fan of this one – I find the tune super irritating.

Track 23: Lenny Kravitz – Fly Away

Classic rock track, really like this. Love that singalong chorus.

Track 24: Fatboy Slim – Praise You

A classic! Great dance track, love this one.

Track 25: Armand Van Helden and Duane Harden – U Don’t Know Me

Highly irritating intro. Once the hook gets going, it’s sort of okay.

Track 26: Mr Oizo – Flat Beat

I had (in fact, I think I still have) the single of this one. I don’t like it as much as I used to – it’s fairly tuneless.

Track 27: The Cardigans – Erase/Rewind

Another great rock track from the Cardigans. Awesome tune.

Track 28: Stereophonics – Just Looking

Urgh, incredibly annoying and depressing chorus. Don’t like this one at all.

Track 29: The All Seeing I and Tony Christie – Walk Like A Panther

I’ve always liked this track – great tune.

Track 30: The Divine Comedy – National Express

I normally like the Divine Comedy, but this is another one with an annoying chorus. The verse is great though!

Track 31: Terrorvision – Tequila [Mint Royale Shot]

A classic, and it was a bit of an anthem for me and my friends at the time. True fact: I drank my first shot of tequila while this song was playing, on Hogmanay 1999, Millennium Eve. Good times.

Track 32: The Beautiful South – How Long’s A Tear Take To Dry?

It’s a nice tune, but as often happens with the Beautiful South, I find the theme a little awkward.

Track 33: Roxette – Wish I Could Fly

Lovely tune, solid as ever from Roxette – great atmosphere too.

Track 34: 911 – A Little Bit More

It was too cheesy for me at fourteen, so you can imagine what I think of it at thirty-three. Just no.

Track 35: Dru Hill – These Are The Times

Slow, boring ballad with a forgettable tune, and you know what I think about those.

Track 36: Kele Le Roc – My Love

Another dull ballad. Not keen on this at all.

Track 37: All Saints – War Of Nerves

Great atmosphere, but there’s a slight disharmony between the vocal and instrumental that gets on my nerves.

Track 38: Ladysmith Black Mambazo – Inkanyezi Nezazi (The Star And The Wiseman)

Nice a cappella track – lovely tune.

Track 39: Blur – Tender

Gorgeous tune, great lyrics – really like this one.

Track 40: Dusty Springfield – You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me

Classic ’60s track, re-released in tribute to Dusty Springfield, who had just passed away in March 1999. Great song.

Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #41

22 May 201822 May 2018 Dee Leave a comment

Day 41 brings us to Now! #41, which was released on 23rd November 1998.

Let’s see what might have been on the CD player at that party.

Now! That's What I Call Music #41
Track 1: Boyzone – No Matter What

It’s a bit slow and saccharine, but it is a nice tune.

Track 2: Robbie Williams – Millennium

The tune is a bit dull, but there’s something quite pleasant about his one.

Track 3: The Beautiful South – Perfect 10

I’ve always been a bit mixed on this one – great tune, but for some reason I find the theme a bit depressing.

Track 4: U2 – Sweetest Thing

I’ve always quite liked this one, and the video‘s still great.

Track 5: Culture Club – I Just Wanna Be Loved

This reminded me that I read in Classic Pop (my new favourite magazine – it’s basically like Smash Hits grew up and is now a middle-aged man) the other day that Culture Club have finally made up and got back together in order to go on tour and release that album that they made a few years back before the last bust-up. As such, I’ve just ordered tickets, and I’m going to see them in November! So excited.

This song is from the late ’90s reformation, and it’s quite a pleasant reggae track, but it’s not quite up there with the ’80s stuff for me.

Track 6: Ace Of Base – Life Is A Flower

Loved it at the time, still quite like it now. Nice tune.

Track 7: Jennifer Paige – Crush

Lovely tune, classic chorus. I’ve always liked this one.

Track 8: Steps – Heartbeat

The annual music channel Christmas playlists have ensured that this is now a bona fide Christmas song, so it feels wrong in May. Trying to put that aside, it’s a pretty daft, cheesy song, fairly standard for Steps.

Track 9: Honeyz – Finally Found

We return to the theme from yesterday, of tracks that were also featured on the Top of the Pops 1998 compilation, which I owned for some reason despite liking almost none of the songs on it. This one has an annoying chorus and a boring theme.

Track 10: East 17 – Each Time

I like the instrumentals at the start, but the vocal is pretty uninspired.

Track 11: Kele Le Roc – Little Bit Of Lovin’

Overblown vocals, slow ballad, generic tune. Not a fan of this one.

Track 12: Sweetbox – Everything’s Gonna Be Alright

The Bach sample is nice, but the vocals over the top (both sung and rap) are pretty awful.

Track 13: UB40 – Come Back Darling

Fairly standard reggae track from UB40, except it’s got a sort of messy beat that I find a bit irritating. Shame, ’cause the tune’s nice.

Track 14: Melanie B and Missy Elliott – I Want You Back

So-so effort from the Spice Girls’ Mel B for her first solo single. The dull tune on the chorus does nothing for me, really…

Track 15: All Saints – Bootie Call

…and bizarrely, the dull tune on the chorus of this one is strongly reminiscent of it. I’m also irritated by the theme.

Track 16: Aqua – Turn Back Time

Gorgeous tune, love this one. Great song.

Track 17: Spice Girls – Too Much

The Now! compilers are a little late with this one, as it was the Christmas number one for 1997. Still a nice tune, though, and possibly my favourite of the three consecutive Spice Girls Christmas number ones.

Track 18: Lutricia McNeal – Someone Loves You Honey

Super cheesy and irritating, but at least it attempts to bring back the sax solo, which was much neglected by this point of the ’90s.

Track 19: Lighthouse Family – Question Of Faith

Really nice tune, great atmosphere. Good head-nodder.

Track 20: Phil Collins – True Colours

Laid-back cover of the Cyndi Lauper classic. Interesting, slightly folky instrumentals, but it doesn’t quite have the rawness of the original.

Track 21: Janet Jackson – Every Time

Pretty song – quite like this one, even if the tune on the chorus does massively rip off Go West’s King Of Wishful Thinking.

Track 22: Billie Piper – Girlfriend

Annoyed by it at the time, annoyed by it now. I remember taking the piss out of this one with mates at school using alternative lyrics, but I can’t for the life of me remember what they were.

Track 23: 911 – More Than A Woman

Fairly pointless cover of the Bee Gees song, with the only real changes being some added tinkly instrumentals and the fact that it’s not sung in falsetto. Meh.

Track 24: T-Spoon – Sex On The Beach

Well, it’s at least upfront. Found it a bit awkward at the time – nowadays I just find it interesting as a ’90s musical artefact.

Track 25: The Tamperer and Maya – If You Buy This Record Your Life Will Be Better

It’s pretty similar to their previous hit Feel It, except this time it samples Material Girl instead of Can You Feel It? It’s okay, but there’s a reason it wasn’t as big a hit as the first one.

Track 26: Stardust – Music Sounds Better With You

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

I should be irritated by this one, but I do like that singalong hook.

Track 27: Vengaboys – Up And Down

I’ve always quite liked this one, although it’s not the most memorable of the Vengaboys’ tracks.

Track 28: Sash! and Shannon – Move Mania

The backing track is great, but I’m not keen on the vocals.

Track 29: Touch & Go – Would You…?

I like the instrumentals, and the vocal sample’s used quite well. While it’s still not exactly innuendo, it’s not as in-your-face as Sex On The Beach (see above), and I actually quite like the track.

Track 30: The Corrs – Dreams [Tee’s Radio Mix]

Pretty, folky cover of the Fleetwood Mac classic. Really like this one.

Track 31: The Cardigans – My Favourite Game

Great track! Loved it at the time, love it now. That guitar riff is gold.

Track 32: James – Sit Down ’98

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

We already had the original on Now! #20, but this version is different enough that I’m not going to moan about that. It’s not different in a good way, though – it’s just really messy.

Track 33: Fatboy Slim – Gangster Trippin’

I like the instrumental hook, but the rest of the track is pretty haphazard and irritating.

Track 34: Eagle-Eye Cherry – Falling In Love Again

It’s okay, but it sounds too similar to Save Tonight. I prefer artists to diverge a bit more.

Track 35: Sheryl Crow – My Favourite Mistake

A bit repetitive, and it’s too slow for me. Nice tune though.

Track 36: Robbie Williams – No Regrets

Repeated artist alert! I know Robbie Williams was having a lot of hits at the time, but that’s really no excuse.

The tune is lovely, and had I been the Now! compilers, I would have chosen this one over Millennium and given the extra slot to someone else. I’ll remember that when I get round to building that time machine.

Track 37: Space – We Gotta Get Out Of This Place

Interesting, atmospheric cover of the Animals classic. Quite like this one.

Track 38: Embrace – My Weakness Is None Of Your Business

It’s another depressing one from Embrace. Droning vocals, slow tune, brings my mood right down. Next one, please.

Track 39: Alisha’s Attic – The Incidentals

Oh, it’s this one! Nice tune, but it’s a bit acoustic-y for my liking.

Track 40: Deetah – Relax

Pretty intro, but the instrumentals don’t really go with the rap.

Track 41: R Kelly and Keith Murray – Home Alone

Not enough melody for me, and it’s very repetitive. Not a fan.

Track 42: Sham Rock – Tell Me Ma

Dance-infused version of the traditional Irish song that I absolutely adored at the time – I bought the single and everything. It’s still a guilty pleasure, but I do find it a bit daft nowadays!

Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #40

21 May 201821 May 2018 Dee Leave a comment

Day 40, and Now! #40, which takes us to 3rd August 1998.

Let’s see what the hits were that summer!

Now! That's What I Call Music #40
Track 1: John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John – Grease Megamix

Megamix of You’re The One That I Want, Greased Lightnin’ and Summer Nights from the 1978 film. It was apparently created in 1990 but wasn’t really a hit until the late ’90s. This was another favourite at my school youth club.

Track 2: Spice Girls – Viva Forever

Lovely tune, nice melancholy atmosphere, gorgeous Spanish guitar. The last song of the classic Spice Girls run to feature Geri Halliwell, and in many ways it’s a nicer farewell song for her than Goodbye was.

Track 3: Karen Ramirez – Looking For Love

I had this one on a Top of the Pops 1998 compilation. I’ve never been that keen, as I find the tune a bit dull.

Track 4: Billie Piper – Because We Want To

Thought of it as a clearly-awful-but-sort-of-guilty-pleasure at the time, now think it’s just awful, but as a Doctor Who fan it’s always amusing to be reminded of Billie Piper’s ’90s pop career.

Track 5: All Saints – Lady Marmalade

So-so cover of the Labelle track. It would be eclipsed a few years later by the much-more-memorable Moulin Rouge! soundtrack cover, so I’ve not listened to this one in years.

Track 6: Mousse T and Hot ‘N’ Juicy – Horny

You couldn’t escape this one in 1998, and at the time I quite liked it. It’s not aged well though.

Track 7: The Tamperer and Maya – Feel It

‘What’s she gonna look like with a chimney on her?‘ That is the lyric, right? It’s what I’ve always heard, anyway. Everyone called this ‘The Chimney Song’ at the time. Nowadays I’m more interested in the Can You Feel It? sample, which works quite well in this track.

Track 8: Aqua – Doctor Jones

Follow-up to Barbie Girl. I remember a few of my friends complaining because they thought Aqua would have been the perfect one-hit wonder. This one is a bit uninspired, but there are actually quite a few crackers off that first album, so I’m glad they stuck around for a while.

Track 9: Steps – Last Thing On My Mind

Steps lose the comedy line-dance schtick and settle into their standard full-on Abba tribute sound. I’ve always found this one a bit annoying, to be honest.

Track 10: Groove Generation and Leo Sayer – You Make Me Feel Like Dancing

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

Semi-cover of Sayer’s 1976 track. It’s basically a messy cut-up sample-y version of the original with a misplaced rap where the verses used to be. Not impressed by this one.

Track 11: Bus Stop and Carl Douglas – Kung Fu Fighting

Another semi-cover of a ’70s hit, this time with Bus Stop rapping all over Carl Douglas’ classic track. While it doesn’t quite live up to the original, I’ve always had a soft spot for this version.

Track 12: Ultra Naté – New Kind Of Medicine

Another one that was also on my TOTP 1998 compilation, and it’s another boring tune, I’m afraid.

Track 13: Lutricia McNeal – Stranded

Nice piano opening, but the main tune doesn’t do anything for me.

Track 14: Lighthouse Family – Lost In Space

While it’s not my favourite Lighthouse Family track ’cause it’s a bit slow and dull, I always liked the video because of the helicopter shots of the then-new Angel of the North. Now that I live near the Angel of the North, that makes it even better.

Track 15: Boyzone – All That I Need

It’s an okay tune, but it’s just a bit too cheesy for me.

Track 16: All Saints – Under The Bridge

Repeated artist alert! Lady Marmalade and Under The Bridge were a double A-side, and I guess the Now! compilers couldn’t pick which one to include.

It’s a cover of the Red Hot Chili Peppers song that is much less epic than the original. I quite liked it at the time, though.

Track 17: K-Ci & JoJo – All My Life

I adored this one at the time and even bought the single. I still think it’s a lovely tune, though it’s a little saccharine for me these days.

Track 18: Janet Jackson – I Get Lonely

Boring tune, irritating instrumentals! Not keen on this at all.

Track 19: Sparkle and R Kelly – Be Careful

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

Another dull, irritating track that was also on my TOTP 1998 compilation (the lyrics are good, but they can’t save the tune). Looking back, I’m not sure why I bought that compilation – I didn’t actually like most of the tracks that were on it.

Track 20: Peter Andre – Kiss The Girl

Cover of the classic Disney track from Aladdin. Hated it at the time, still think it’s pretty awful. It comes nowhere near the original.

Track 21: Don Henley – The Boys Of Summer

Classic 1984 hit, back in the charts for some reason. Not complaining!

Track 22: The Mavericks – Dance The Night Away

Found it annoying then, find it annoying (and depressing) now. Never been a fan of this one.

Track 23: Eagle-Eye Cherry – Save Tonight

This one, however, I’ve always loved! Gorgeous tune.

Track 24: Catatonia – Road Rage

Great, classic singalong track from Catatonia. Wonderful tune.

Track 25: Natalie Imbruglia – Big Mistake

I’d forgotten about this one! Great tune with a nice epic chorus.

Track 26: Embrace – Come Back To What You Know

Hated it then, hate it now. Awful, depressing dirge.

Speaking of which…

Track 27: The Verve – Sonnet

It’s another depressing tune from the Verve, although after that godawful Embrace song, it sounds almost lively.

Track 28: Massive Attack – Teardrop

Great, epic track! A classic.

Track 29: Mansun – Legacy

This one’s a bit drone-y for my liking. Not keen.

Track 30: Baddiel & Skinner and The Lightning Seeds – Three Lions ’98

Reworking of Three Lions from 1996 to tie in with the World Cup in 1998. It’s just as bad as the original.

However…

Track 31: Fat Les – Vindaloo

…if we have to be subjected to England football songs every time it’s the summer of a year that ends in an even number, this is the way to go. Hilarious song, great video that parodies the awful video for Bitter Sweet Symphony that I mentioned the other day.

Track 32: Fatboy Slim – The Rockafeller Skank

Classic track, anthemic hooks. Great stuff.

Track 33: David Morales and The Face – Needin’ U

Awful, repetitive dance track. This was also on TOTP 1998.

Track 34: Lucid – I Can’t Help Myself

Irritating, depressing dance track. This was also on TOTP 1998. Why did I buy that compilation?

Track 35: Perpetual Motion – Keep On Dancin’ (Let’s Go)

Irritating squeaky hook throughout, repetitive beat, messy lines, uninspired spoken vocal. It’s time to get out of the imaginary ’90s nightclub again.

Track 36: Barbara Tucker – Everybody Dance (The Horn Song)

Slight throwback sound to this one, which has a vocal that sounds like it should have been released earlier in the ’90s. The titular horns, meanwhile, are super annoying.

Track 37: Imaani – Where Are You?

Nice atmosphere to this track, quite like it.

Track 38: Adam Garcia – Night Fever

Pointless cover of the Bee Gees track, released as part of the Saturday Night Fever: The Musical soundtrack. Because of the nature of the release, it was never going to add anything interesting to the original, let’s face it.

Track 39: Kerri-Ann – Do You Love Me Boy?

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

The calypso instrumental is a bit different, and it’s fairly solid pop, but the tune is pretty uninspired.

Track 40: Los Umbrellos – No Tengo Dinero

Another one I’d forgotten about. I quite liked it at the time ’cause of the Spanish chorus, but I find the vocal pretty irritating now.

Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #39

20 May 201820 May 2018 Dee Leave a comment

Day 39, and Now! #39 was released on 6th April 1998.

Let’s see what was on the radio twenty years ago this spring.

Now! That's What I Call Music #39
Track 1: All Saints – Never Ever

Classic track, great theme, great lyrics, great video. All Saints never bettered this.

Track 2: Lighthouse Family – High

My favourite Lighthouse Family track – lovely tune.

Track 3: Janet Jackson – Together Again

Oh, it’s this one. The tune’s okay, but I’ve always found this track a bit so-so.

Track 4: Spice Girls – Stop

This was never my favourite Spice Girls song – I find the tune pretty irritating.

Fun fact: this was the first of their songs not to go straight in at number one – it only reached number two.

Track 5: Natalie Imbruglia – Torn

I still consider this a classic – it’s a gorgeous tune, but it is a bit overplayed nowadays.

Fun fact: this was actually the fourth version of the song, but it’s the one most people know.

Track 6: Billie Myers – Kiss The Rain

Gorgeous tune, really interesting vocals. Great stuff.

Track 7: Robbie Williams – Angels

Probably Robbie Williams’ most classic track. It’s a gorgeous ballad, but again it suffers a bit from being overplayed.

Track 8: Various Artists – Perfect Day

‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause.

This was everywhere at the time – first as the BBC Music advert and then as the official Children In Need track for 1997. Gorgeous, epic semi-cover (because Lou Reed was involved, alongside pretty much everybody else!) of the 1972 classic.

Track 9: Boyzone – Baby Can I Hold You

Pointless ’90s cover of the Tracy Chapman song.

Obligatory ‘I hate pointless ’90s covers’ rant: I’m still really annoyed that it took me nearly two decades to realise that it WAS originally a Tracy Chapman song.

Track 10: Tin Tin Out and Shelley Nelson – Here’s Where The Story Ends

Electronic cover of the Sundays song. It’s fairly uninspired.

Track 11: Space and Cerys Matthews – The Ballad Of Tom Jones

Loved it then, love it now! Hilarious theme, great track.

Track 12: Texas – Insane

Great atmosphere – really like this one.

Track 13: Hanson – Weird

Loved it at the time, but only because I was a huge Hanson fan. Because I was the only one of my mates with cable TV at this point, I remember having to sit in front of The Box channel (‘music television YOU control!’ – I’ve discussed this before) for hours, waiting for the video to come on so I could tape it off the TV and give the VHS to my friend who was an even bigger Hanson fan. Ah, 20th century technology.

But yeah, anyway, I find the song pretty irritating now.

Track 14: LeAnn Rimes – How Do I Live

Hated it then, still hate it now. Can’t stand the tune, don’t like the style, just not my cup of tea in the slightest.

Track 15: Shania Twain – You’re Still The One

Again, not my thing. I don’t like country music, especially not country music ballads.

Track 16: Sheryl Crow – Tomorrow Never Dies

I do love a James Bond theme, and this is no exception. Great, epic track.

Track 17: Radiohead – No Surprises

Another lovely, melancholy tune from Radiohead. Great stuff.

Track 18: The Verve – Lucky Man

I’ve never been hugely keen on the droning style of Britpop vocals, and it takes a good song to mitigate them. This is not quite a good enough song in that respect, although the tune’s okay.

Track 19: Pulp – This Is Hardcore

Great epic atmosphere, lovely instrumentals. Good stuff.

Track 20: Robbie Williams – Let Me Entertain You

Repeated artist alert! I’m shaking my head in disapproval, Now! compilers.

However, given that this is the best, most epic, most anthemic track that Robbie Williams ever did, I suppose I can forgive them just this once.

Track 21: Catatonia – Mulder And Scully

Great track – love the theme, love the tune.

Track 22: Cornershop – Brimful Of Asha [Norman Cook Remix]

A classic! Endlessly danceable, great singalong track. I’m going to make this one today’s top ‘wedding disco’ song.

Track 23: Run DMC and Jason Nevins – It’s Like That

House style re-working of the 1983 track. This was everywhere at the time, and the video was great.

Track 24: Wildchild – Renegade Master ’98

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

We already had the original on Now! #32, and this version’s really not that different (other than some additional messy sampling), so I am side-eyeing a bit at its inclusion.

Track 25: Bamboo – Bamboogie

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

Oh, it’s this one. Not the biggest fan of this one, as the lines are pretty messy, but I do like that KC & The Sunshine Band sample.

Track 26: Ultra Naté – Found A Cure

Quite like the guitar riff on the intro of this one, and the vocals are great too. Good track.

Track 27: Sash! – La Primavera

Great feelgood dance tune, always liked this one.

Track 28: Aqua – Barbie Girl

Great track! Brilliant theme, brilliant pop tune. I bought the single of this while on a school trip to France, just because we heard it absolutely everywhere we went.

Track 29: Steps – 5, 6, 7, 8

See, this is the kind of corny faux-line-dance track I can get behind. Steps were just at the right level of ‘not taking themselves too seriously’ that was perfect for late ’90s pop.

Track 30: Louise – Let’s Go Round Again

Cover of the Average White Band track. I should find the tune annoying, but I actually quite like it.

Track 31: Chumbawamba – Amnesia

I’ve always loved this follow-up to Tubthumping – it’s another great, danceable track.

Track 32: Camisra – Let Me Show You

Highly irritating vocals, headache-inducing intro, but the main hook is quite pleasant.

Track 33: DJ Quicksilver – Planet Love

The tune’s okay, but the vocal samples are pretty generic.

Track 34: Rest Assured – Treat Infamy

There’s a bit too much going on in this track, but there is quite a soothing atmosphere – right up until the Bitter Sweet Symphony sample kicks in. Just why?

Track 35: Warren G and Sissel – Prince Igor

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

Really like the instrumentals and the atmosphere, and the rap’s okay as well, but nothing compared to that lovely operatic chorus! Quite like this one, but it is a bit of an odd mix.

Track 36: Lutricia McNeal – Ain’t That Just The Way

The tune is a little annoying, but otherwise there’s something quite pleasant and feelgood about this track.

Track 37: Prince Buster – Whine And Grine

Reggae track with a bit of a dull tune and an annoying theme. Not hugely keen on this one.

Track 38: The All Seeing I – The Beat Goes On

Liked it at the time, find it a bit repetitive now.

Track 39: Goldie – Believe

Irritating, messy track – there’s just far too much going on.

Track 40: Backstreet Boys – All I Have To Give

It’s another painfully saccharine track from the Backstreet Boys. I know they did do ones that were actually quite good, but we’ve not had any on these Now! compilations so far.

Track 41: Vanilla – No Way No Way

Loved it at the time (especially the Muppets-esque ‘mahna mahna’ bit), find the vocals pretty annoying nowadays.