On the Slimming World plan, if I want to order pizza and potato wedges from Dominos, it costs 60 syns. That’s a lot of syns to have to save for one meal (not that I don’t still do it occasionally!), given that I only have 105 syns to spend in a given week. As such, one of the first things I did when I started Slimming World was to work out how I could have a lower-syn alternative. This is the result.
Cheat’s pizza and chips. To make it properly Slimming World friendly, you should also have a side salad to make sure you’re getting your one-third of speed food, but I must confess I don’t always remember to have the salad.
For the wedges: these are standard Slimming World chips/wedges. Chop potatoes into the desired shape, spray a baking tray with Fry Light, arrange the wedges on the tray and spray some more Fry Light on top. Bake at 200°C on the top shelf of the oven for 25 minutes. Free on the Slimming World plan!
For the pizza: for each person, slice two Schar white ciabatta rolls (use one as a Healthy Extra B, 6 syns for the other) in two lengthways, and place on another baking tray. Mix together some passata, tomato puree, dried basil and dried oregano for the sauce and spread over each ciabatta half. Split 50g of grated mozzarella per person (a Healthy Extra A) between the ciabatta halves, then top with chopped tomatoes and chopped olives (1 syn for 8 olives).
Once the wedges have had their 25 minutes in the oven, move them to the bottom shelf, and put the pizzas on the top shelf to bake for another 15 minutes.
Oh yeah, and you should make a side salad to make sure you get your one-third of speed food, of course.
When using all Healthy Extras, this meal is only 7 syns, which is a lot less than 60!
Day 28, and we’ve reached 1st August 1994 with the Now! compilations.
This is how the world looked in August 1994. Beaches have not changed, and neither has my wardrobe, apparently – the leggings/t-shirt/hightops combo is still my daily go-to. These days it’s because I work from home and rarely leave the house, but back then it was because I was an active girl who did things like building sandcastles.
Let’s get on with those summer hits.
Track 1: Wet Wet Wet – Love Is All Around
I remember the long, long summer when this was number one for fifteen weeks (which feels like a long time when you’re nine). I got so sick of it at the time, but I actually think nowadays that it’s quite a nice cover of the Troggs classic.
Google Image Search is failing me on this one, but the highlight of the whole thing was when Smash Hits did a parody cover from the year 2050 with ‘Wet Wet Wet still number one’ as the headline, four skeletons as the image, and a cover price of £21.50 or something. Well, I thought it was hilarious at the time. I’ll have to go through my old Smash Hits collection and see if I can find it.
Track 2: All-4-One – I Swear
In summer 1994, I visited the US for the first time with my family. I’d never been out of Europe before, and so going to North America was super, super exciting – we’re actually flying over a noticeable bump in the Earth’s surface! We’re going to see all those places from TV shows! Then I remembered that America was the place with the guns, and so I had a week-long freakout about OMG WHAT IF I GET SHOT.
Anyway, we went to New England for four weeks, none of us got shot, my dad had a good joke with airport security about how he wouldn’t like to have to stab anyone on the plane with his penknife (they laughed and let him take it in the cabin. Oh, 20th century, you were a different world!), my mum discovered iced cappuccino, we stayed in actual motels and swam in all the swimming pools, we ate silver dollar pancakes for breakfast at the Tremont House Hotel in Boston, and everywhere we went and everything we did, this song played on the radio, the biggest hit of the summer.
For the rest of the year, whenever we heard it anywhere, the wee bro and I would be all like OMG THIS REMINDS ME OF AMERICAAAA and get slightly emotional.
Uh, anyway, the track. Lovely tune, great sax solo, precious memories. Can’t beat it.
Track 3: Ace Of Base – Don’t Turn Around
Interesting tune, great jaunty beat. Like this one.
Track 4: Aswad – Shine
Great Latin-tinged track, gorgeous tune. Loved it then, love it now, a longtime favourite.
Track 5: The B-52s – (Meet) The Flintstones
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Novelty cover of the classic TV theme tune, released to tie in with the live-action film. I thought the film was terrible even when I was nine, but I quite like this version of the song.
Track 6: Let Loose – Crazy For You
Smash Hits had a huge bee in their bonnet around this time about how ‘old’ and ‘decrepit’ Let Loose were. Hang on a second while I depress myself by googling how old the band members actually were in 1994.
Answer: 24, 26 and 27. Yeah.
The track is edgier and rockier than I remember, with a slight ’80s throwback vibe about it. I really like it, actually.
Track 7: D:Ream – U R The Best Thing
We already had this one, on Now! #25, which was only three compilations ago! Did the Now! compilers think nobody would notice this stuff?
Urgh. See the link for my review.
Track 8: The Beautiful South – Everybody’s Talkin’
Pretty cover of the ’60s classic – good stuff.
Track 9: Marcella Detroit – I Believe
Nice tune, nice instrumentals, but a bit slow.
Track 10: Pretenders – I’ll Stand By You
I’ve always found the tune on this one annoying, and it’s not hard enough to be a rock ballad favourite. Not a huge fan.
Track 11: Stiltskin – Inside
The only version on Spotify is a live version, which would normally warrant a YouTube Pause (TM) (I hate live versions of stuff – if I want to hear it live, I’ll go see the band), but I’m a bit pushed for time tonight so I’m being lazy with this one.
That guitar riff is absolutely classic, so I hope they put a real version on Spotify soon so I can add it to my playlist.
Track 12: Blur – Girls And Boys
Classic chant-along Britpop anthem. Brilliant song from a brilliant album.
Track 13: M People – Renaissance
Great beat, but the tune is pretty repetitive.
Track 14: Eternal – Just A Step From Heaven
Like the atmosphere – this is a nice track when it’s not the slightly irritating chorus.
Track 15: Toni Braxton – Another Sad Love Song
Fairly generic pop ballad. Not keen on this one.
Track 16: China Black – Searching
Nice jaunty beat, but the tune’s a bit so-so.
Track 17: Dawn Penn – You Don’t Love Me (No, No, No)
Great, classic track – loved it then, love it now. You can’t not sing along to that chorus.
Track 18: Chaka Demus & Pliers – I Wanna Be Your Man
Annoying vocals, annoying tune. Not a fan.
Track 19: Erasure – Always
Quality synthpop as ever from Erasure, but due to this song playing on the radio during a bout of carsickness en route to the caravan (I probably wasn’t actually sick, just really nauseous due to reading in the backseat, but those associations are strong), I…still feel sick when I hear it.
Track 20: Seal – Prayer For The Dying
Lovely track from Seal – beautiful atmosphere, beautiful tune.
Track 21: The Grid – Swamp Thing
Like that banjo line – fairly solid dance track.
Track 22: Two Cowboys – Everybody Gonfi Gon
Two slightly country-inspired dance tracks in a row, but it turns out I don’t mind country-inspired so much when the Eurodance is this good. Great track, wonderful electro instrumentals.
Track 23: MAXX – Get-A-Way
Another great dance track. I may have to start making a list of requests for the next time I find myself at a ’90s night!
Track 24: Reel 2 Real and The Mad Stuntman – Go On Move
Classic bassline! The rest of the track’s not really anything special, though.
Track 25: The Prodigy – No Good (Start The Dance)
Not the first track to sample the ’80s classic You’re No Good For Me, but definitely the best. Classic stuff.
Track 26: Cappella – U And Me
Great atmosphere, great beat, great dance track. I’d forgotten how good 1994 was for dance!
Track 27: Haddaway – Rock My Heart
Pretty similar to What Is Love, but as that one’s a stone-cold classic I’m not complaining. Brilliantly danceable stuff.
Track 28: 2 Unlimited – The Real Thing
Another great dance track – how many of these were there at the time? Love those slightly eerie instrumentals.
Track 29: Sonic Surfers – Don’t Give It Up
I’m starting to feel like I’m in a nightclub. Was everything a dance track in summer 1994? Maybe I was so busy hearing Wet Wet Wet and All-4-One everywhere that I just didn’t notice.
This one is…another great dance track, believe it or not!
Track 30: DJ Miko – What’s Up
Irritating dance remix of 4 Non Blondes’ What’s Up (see Now! #25 for my review of the original version). This is a song that very definitely did not need to be turned into a generic dance track. Not keen on this treatment.
Track 31: Clubhouse and Carl – Light My Fire
Danceable beat, jauntily camp vocals, atmospheric synth lines – this one’s a lot of fun.
Track 32: Tony Di Bart – The Real Thing
Two tracks with the same name on the same Now! compilation! I feel like we’re back in the title-inspiration-starved late ’80s again.
This one’s not as good as the identically-named 2 Unlimited song, but it’s still a good dance track, and I’m still on that dancefloor in the imaginary nightclub. I’m not sure whether that Bee Gees lyric (‘if I can’t have you/I don’t want nobody, baby‘) is homage or theft, though! (Wikipedia calls it ‘sampling’, but the tune is totally different.)
Track 33: CJ Lewis – Sweets For My Sweet
Annoying chorus alert! Good dance beat though.
Track 34: Bitty McLean – Dedicated To The One I Love
Feelgood reggae-tinged cover of the ’50s classic. Nice track.
Track 35: Salt-N-Pepa and En Vogue – Whatta Man
Absolutely classic collaboration, great track with a fabulous singalong chorus.
Track 36: R Kelly – Your Body’s Callin’
Found R Kelly and his penchant for underage girls creepy then, still find him creepy now. Some things don’t change!
The song’s boring, anyway.
Track 37: The Brand New Heavies – Dream On Dreamer
Oh, it’s this one! Nice upbeat track, great tune. Like this song.
Track 38: Juliet Roberts – Caught In The Middle
This one was ALSO already on Now! #25! I hope they were offering partial refunds to people who’d bought both compilations!
See link for review, yadda yadda.
Track 39: Glo-Worm – Carry Me Home
Irritating lyrics, but the tune and atmosphere are quite nice.
Track 40: Pet Shop Boys – Absolutely Fabulous
More great synthpop from Pet Shop Boys, released to tie in with the TV show. We always watched the show in our house, so I’ve appreciated this one ever since.
Every time I find myself mired in an all-encompassing work project for a few weeks, I always find myself thinking longingly of all the time I will have when I’m done with said work project. I will use that time for writing! All the writing! I will finish the three incomplete novel drafts I’m working on! I will get back to submitting all my completed ones to agents! I will write those three poetry collections, and those two stage plays, and that screenplay, and those two non-fiction pitches, and all the short stories in the world! I will write and write and write!
Except this never happens. Oh, sure, I get some writing done when I can squeeze a spare hour here and there, but it always seems like there’s something that’s more of a priority, like sorting out the house, or sleeping in, or catching up with one of my daft projects like my ongoing systematic attempt to watch the video of every single UK chart hit of the 1980s in alphabetical order, or reading online forums, or playing video games, or watching TV so I can clear space on the digibox…you get the idea.
At the moment, I’m not doing any of that stuff. I’m working twelve-hour days, seven days a week, on a client’s project, and so other than work I am sleeping, eating, running, blogging, keeping myself clean and presentable, and that’s it. And I suppose it makes me wonder: why am I willing to drop everything in my life for weeks at a time to work for someone else, but not for myself?
(It’s not because the clients pay me better. I mean, they do, but I’m still clinging onto the hope that one day someone will pay me for my own writing, not just my editing of other people’s work, and I will only achieve that if I work hard at it.)
Next week there will be no writing (other than blogging, which I sort of see as different). There will be catching up of all the essential stuff I’ve been neglecting for the last few weeks, and there will be getting ahead with stuff in preparation for a busy weekend. There may, however, be planning of writing, which is a beautiful way to feel like you’re making progress when you’re not.
The week after will be the real test – seeing if I can apply the same discipline to ‘normal’ time as I can to a busy work period. We’ll see how it goes.
Day 27, and today’s Now! compilation was released on 28th March 1994.
This is the way the world looked in March 1994. TVs were still box-shaped, walls were still wallpapered, and I was clearly getting to my awkward-looking phase (although I’m going to give myself points for the cute dress, clearly an ’80s hand-me-down from someone).
Let’s see what that TV might have been showing when I switched on Top of the Pops on a Thursday night!
Track 1: Ace Of Base – The Sign
Great tune, interesting lines. Happily chair-dancing along here.
Track 2: Chaka Demus & Pliers, Jack Radics and Taxi Gang – Twist And Shout
Fairly uninspired cover of the ’60s classic – I’d go as far as to call it pointless. Nothing much added other than some reggae vocals over the top.
Track 3: D:Ream – Things Can Only Get Better
Is there anyone who doesn’t associate this one with its use for the campaign of New Labour in 1997?
In late April 1997, a few days before the election, I went to the Usher Hall in Edinburgh with my family for a Labour Party rally. Once we’d gawked at the famous politicians hanging about outside (George Robertson! I’ve seen him on the telly!), we went inside, found our seats and waited for the show to start. I asked my dad excitedly if maybe D:Ream would come on stage and perform Things Can Only Get Better.
Dad, perhaps not wanting to get my hopes up, shook his head. ‘Nah,’ he said. ‘I think they’re a bit too famous to come and do that.’
And for the most part, the rally didn’t feature anyone as famous as D:Ream. There were a lot of comedians I’d never heard of doing semi-funny sketches, and then the main event was an hour-long speech by Tony Blair that was revered in the press the next day as showing him to be a ‘man of the people’, as he had come out from behind the lectern and put his hands in his pockets, which apparently gave him the air of someone having a chat down the pub. Ah, 1997 media. Anyway, the speech captured my twelve-year-old attention for a whole hour, so it can’t have been bad.
What was much better, though, was that as soon as Blair left the stage to rapturous applause, D:Ream bounced on and launched into Things Can Only Get Better. I grinned at my dad, and my dad grinned at me, and it was one of those awesome moments. I’ve reminisced about seeing a lot of these Now! tracks played live by the bands, but this was the one I saw first.
Back in 1994, however, there was no political bent to this song – it was just an awesome pop track that I adored watching on Top of the Pops, with Peter Cunnah in his brightly coloured plaid suits.
And skipping forward to the 2010s, it will never stop being hilarious that the keyboardist from D:Ream eventually became Professor Brian Cox. Not ever.
Right, back to my usual one-line reviews about epic atmospheres, head-nodders and annoying choruses.
Track 4: East 17 – It’s Alright
Speaking of epic atmospheres! That melancholy piano intro is just stunning. Then it bangs into a classic dance track with a great chant-along chorus. Loved it at the time, still love it now.
Track 5: M People – Moving On Up
Nice feelgood tune, great singalong chorus – good stuff.
Track 6: Eternal – Save Our Love
I quite like those bells tolling at the start, but the vocals are too overblown for what is a fairly mediocre tune – which is very typical of mid-’90s pop, I find.
Track 7: Enigma – Return To Innocence
Yup, it’s the overplayed chillout track. I’ll give it a pass for being used to good effect on Britain’s Got The Pop Factor.
Track 8: Bee Gees – For Whom The Bell Tolls
I normally like the Bee Gees in all their eras, but this one is too slow for me, although the tune is nice.
Track 9: Wendy Moten – Come In Out Of The Rain
It’s everything I dislike in a ballad – slow, saccharine, overblown vocals, zero edge, generic tune. Don’t like this one at all!
Track 10: Dina Carroll – The Perfect Year
The music channels have defined this one as a Christmas song by featuring it in all their Christmas playlists, so I am most definitely feeling the seasonal dissonance right now. It’s another slow ballad from Dina Carroll, and I’m still not a fan, even with that sax solo.
Track 11: Phil Collins – Everyday
Nice piano intro, gorgeous tune. Really like this one.
Track 12: Richard Marx – Now And Forever
Lovely tune, but it’s just far too slow and acoustic-y for me.
Track 13: The Cranberries – Linger
Lovely tune, typically gorgeous vocals from Dolores O’Riordan (RIP 🙁 ). Geth and I used to play this one a lot when we were DJing our Motherfolker night at Mr Modos circa 2010. Good times.
Track 14: Tori Amos – Cornflake Girl
Great tune with really interesting piano lines and nice jaunty vocals. Good stuff.
Track 15: The Beautiful South – Good As Gold (Stupid As Mud)
Nice bouncy tune, quite like this one.
Track 16: Meat Loaf – Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through
One of my favourites! We had it on a Top Gear compilation, and as a result it’s one of my favourite Meat Loaf songs (and I unashamedly adore Meat Loaf, so there’s stiff competition). For me, it evokes fast cars driving along cliffside roads in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. Wonderful track, especially that epic squealing sax solo.
Track 17: Primal Scream – Rocks
Absolutely classic track – great singalong chorus, great tune.
Track 18: Gin Blossoms – Hey Jealousy
Nice tune, but the chorus annoys me slightly.
Track 19: Smashing Pumpkins – Disarm
Love those bells at the start – well, I love all the instrumentals in this track! Great epic atmosphere, great song.
Track 20: Doop – Doop
Wonderfully silly novelty song. I loved watching this one on Top of the Pops because of the girls’ colourful outfits – I’m not sure how many years it was before I realised it wasn’t actually them singing on the track.
Track 21: Right Said Fred – Wonderman
Great synthy dance track, typically silly vocals. Really like this one.
Track 22: Cappella – Move On Baby
Good solid dance track, nodding along to this right now.
Track 23: Culture Beat – Anything
Nice epic slow synth bit to start, and then it kicks into the interesting vocal melody, and then we have dance track liftoff. Great track.
Track 24: 2 Unlimited – Let The Beat Control Your Body
2 Unlimited starting to get a bit samey now, although it’s still very danceable.
Track 25: Reel 2 Real and The Mad Stuntman – I Like To Move It
Another lifelong favourite! I always sing this when I’m impatient for people to hurry up (in my head, obviously, because I’m a coward). Great hooks, great danceable beat.
Track 26: K7 – Come Baby Come
This one’s a bit repetitive for me, although I do like some of the instrumentals, and the chanting bits.
Track 27: Credit To The Nation – Teenage Sensation
That whistling at the start is super annoying, and the rest of the song is not really anything to write home about.
Track 28: EYC – The Way You Work It
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
I remember pretty much every word of EYC’s Smash Hits interviews during this period, especially the one they did about different brands of cola, but I don’t really remember any of their songs. This one’s okay, though – not a bad piece of pop, if a little generic.
Track 29: Bitty McLean – Here I Stand
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM)
Nice jaunty beat, but the tune’s a bit dull.
Track 30: Deep Forest – Sweet Lullaby
Nice atmosphere, good bit of chillout. Vocals are awful though.
Track 31: Björk – Violently Happy
Great epic atmosphere as ever from Björk – really like this one.
Track 32: Shara Nelson – Uptight
The tune’s a bit dull, but the beat’s alright for nodding along to.
Track 33: Gabrielle – Because Of You
Good head-nodder, nice tune.
Track 34: Carleen Anderson – Nervous Breakdown
Interesting tune, quite like this track.
Track 35: Juliet Roberts – I Want You
Love that epic intro, great atmosphere, solid dance track.
Track 36: Urban Cookie Collective – Sail Away
Another great dance tune from Urban Cookie Collective – the chorus is a little repetitive, but the beat is great.
Track 37: Degrees Of Motion and Biti – Shine On
Nice beat, but the vocals are a bit much for me, and the tune’s a bit dull.
Track 38: Joe Roberts – Lover
‘Not on Spotify’ Type 2: YouTube Pause (TM).
Dull, slow tune, though the atmosphere’s quite nice.
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.
