Music Review: Now! That’s What I Call Music #24

Day 24, and we’ve arrived at 26th April 1993.

April 1993
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!

Now! That's What I Call Music #24
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.

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

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

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

These tracks were also bang on trend, I guess.

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

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

Track 2: Jon Secada – Just Another Day

Another lovely tune, really nice atmosphere.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Track 6: Go West – Faithful

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

Track 7: George Michael – Too Funky

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

Track 8: Arrested Development – People Everyday

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

Track 9: Simply Red – For Your Babies

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

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

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

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

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

Track 12: Simple Minds – Alive And Kicking

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

Wait a minute.

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

As such, I’ve already reviewed this one.

Track 13: John Lee Hooker – Boom Boom

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

Track 14: Billy Ray Cyrus – Achy Breaky Heart

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

Track 15: Little Angels – Too Much Too Young

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

Track 16: Richard Marx – Take This Heart

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

Track 17: Genesis – Jesus He Knows Me

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

From the lyrics, it seems to be the latter.

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

Track 18: INXS – Baby Don’t Cry

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

Track 19: Crowded House – It’s Only Natural

Nice tune, good head-nodder.

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

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

Solid synthpop as ever from Erasure – great tune.

Track 21: The Shamen – Ebeneezer Goode

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

Track 22: Rage – Run To You

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

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

Repetitive, irritating dance track.  Not a fan.

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

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

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

Track 25: East 17 – House Of Love

Great danceable pop classic.  Really like this one!

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

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

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

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

Track 27: Undercover – Never Let Her Slip Away

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

Track 28: Doctor Spin – Tetris

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

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

Track 29: Ambassadors Of Funk and MC Mario – Supermarioland

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

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

Track 30: Roxette – How Do You Do!

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

Track 31: Abba – Dancing Queen

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

Track 32: Björn Again – A Little Respect

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

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

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

Track 33: Vanessa Paradis – Be My Baby

Nice tune, very ’60s-retro-tinged.

Track 34: Betty Boo – Let Me Take You There

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

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

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

Track 36: Peter Gabriel – Digging In The Dirt

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

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

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

Track 37: Enya – Book Of Days

Wonderful heartlifting tune from Enya – absolutely beautiful atmosphere.

Track 38: Roy Orbison and KD Lang – Crying

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

Track 39: Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé – Barcelona

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

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