Guys, could you wait for me? I have 1996 to do and then I can finally catch up! -_-

I'm very impressed by the quickness that you're making time up and your comments are more than welcome and indeed very good. I'm only posting 2 a day (it's a habit I got into in order to do this thread in some semblance of reasonable time, and whilst I have time between doing essay's). I assume you're doing 1996 today or tomorrow then you'll be up to speed with us?! :D

3RD FEBRUARY- SLIGHT RETURN- The Bluetones (1 week)

Like I previously said, there were some things I liked about Britpop, namely a fair number of singles. You guessed it: this was one of them. In what constituted a proof that even the most uselessly derivative of acts have the right to brilliance, Bluetones defied all expectations to deliver this jaunty and undeniably catchy-as-all-hell number, a love-gone-wrong song dressed as a happy-go-lucky summery song.

 

10TH FEBRUARY- ANYTHING- 3T (3 Weeks)

No need to dress it up. 3T were only temporarily successful for one reason, and one reason only: nepotism. That said, "Anything" wasn't half-bad; it was a passable piece of love-longing in form of a standard-issue mid-90's pop&B slow-jam. It doesn't really hold up in terms of long-term appeal, but it doesn't really shame any of the involved. The next singles, though...

 

2ND MARCH- CHILDREN- Robert Miles (3 weeks)

This one seemed kind of like a big deal then. And with the benefit of hindsight, we can surely agree that it DID become an even bigger deal afterwards. No matter where you stand in terms of preference, it's undeniable that "Children" had a very active part (for both good and bad) in opening the doors for the late-90's Eurotrance trend. As for me, not only do I not mind, I definitely enjoy it quite much. I certainly loathed it much more at the time, when the combination of overplaying and a temporary surge of half-baked knockoffs (including from the man himself) made me turn off of it a lot.

 

30TH MARCH- THE X FILES- Mark Snow (3 weeks)

As Gezza said, it was nice as a 30-second snippet, not so much as a full-length single, as it just droned on and on and on.

 

27TH APRIL- A DESIGN FOR LIFE- Manic Street Preachers (1 week)

As they say, some bad things turn out good. Richey Edwards had disappeared almost exactly one year previously and all bets were on to see if the Manics would survive such a challenge, as he was not only one of the band's main songwriters but also (and that's pretty much undeniable) their main attention drawer/selling point. In the name of justice, it must be said that almost half of the lyrics on Everything Must Go came from Edwards, so that part wasn't really much of an issue. What was at stake though was the fact that they had lost what was pretty much their most charismatic member. Turned out that Richey's disappearance almost seemed to add not only an even bigger gravitas to the band, it ended up (unintentionally, I'd pretty much wager) serving as an attention-grabbing gimmick in itself, securing the Manics their biggest album to date and, in this single, also their biggest hit. It's not much use to debate if this song really did deserve that accolade; I think it's rather more useful to point out how utterly brilliant and majestic the song is. In a year where Britpop had inevitably turned into a big karaoke party, the Manics pretty much constituted a lesson in how to make classicist rock without having to resort to miming your parents' record collection.

 

13TH JULY- BORN SLIPPY- Underworld (1 week)

Of course this is better than 98% of Britpop, but that's far from its point. They key, of course, is in the infamous "lager, lager, lager" shout. Besides being a reference to the film it soundtracked (Trainspotting, in case you have forgotten) and to Begbie's drinking problem in particular, it was a reminder of an even more important message: that alcohol might probably do even more harm than E could ever do, and yet it's legal. Or in other words: maybe criminalising drugs isn't really the correct policy, you know.

 

10TH AUGUST- FREEDOM- Robbie Williams (1 week)

As far as cries of freedom go, this one feels quite trapped, thank you very much! You mean you don't see the obvious contradiction in crying freedom from an act where you weren't allowed any songwriting input and start your solo career with a cover? To each its own, I guess...

 

17TH AUGUST- MACARENA- Los Del Rio (1 week)

This was already kind of old news in continental Europe by the time it reached its peak in the UK, so I guess the Mediterranean holiday ritual played a part here. I guess there really is no point discussing the artistic validity of this, as I'd wager it was never meant as such in the first place. But you could dance and have a laugh to it, so I guess it did the trick and then some.

24TH AUGUST- WHY?- 3T Featuring Michael Jackson (1 week)

What did I say about nepotism previously?...

 

31ST AUGUST- SPINNING THE WHEEL- George Michael (1 week)

Like I previously said, looking at the History of Pop through the lens of the charts can sometimes give you some surprises. Almost any recount of the era will tell you it was almost all about Britpop and occasionally the rise of the superclub era in dance music. For some reason, they tend to shove aside facts like the most successful George Michael solo album in the UK being from this same era. As people say: whatever. What needs to be said though is that "Spinning The Wheel" isn't one of the strongest cases for Older's success. Not a bad song by any means, just a tad bit too cocktail lounge-sounding to truly hit any buttons, despite its suggestive lyrics.

 

7TH SEPTEMBER- HEY DUDE- Kula Shaker (1 week)

FINALLY! One of the main reasons for my strong scepticism towards Britpop is here. I mean, was there an act as devoid of real personality and as much up its own arse and derivative as all hell as Kula Shaker? Probably there was, but none as readily mockable as them. Nothing against showing your love for Indian culture, it's just that the way they did it sounded far more like appropriation and a gimmick rather than genuine affection. Besides, didn't "Hey Dude" sound more like a pre-metal Deep Purple rip-off than anything else?

 

2ND NOVEMBER- IF YOU EVER- East 17 Featuring Gabrielle (1 week)

In many ways, East 17's writing was already on the wall. This standard-issue cover of the great Shai original just furthered that point even more, with the whole "I took X amount of E's in one night" bollocks just serving as a nice excuse to just hasten the downfall. As for poor Gabrielle, what was she doing here exactly?

 

23RD NOVEMBER- WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?- Warren G Featuring Edina Howard (1 week)

For a song which took the Tina Turner original and adapted it to serve as a critique of music industry politics, the execution actually sounded as cynical as Warren G's recounts. Furthermore, this one might be one the active responsibles for the deluge of half-arsed karaoke rap records that followed and of which the then Puff Daddy was the biggest repeat offender.

 

30TH NOVEMBER- NO WOMAN NO CRY- The Fugees Featuring Steve Marley (1 week)

Speaking of which...

 

21ST DECEMBER- UN-BREAK MY HEART- Toni Braxton (3 weeks)

If Toni Braxton actually had a hand in songwriting, maybe she wouldn't be declaring bankruptcy as often as she does, for this song is now serving as one of the multiple of Babyface's pension funds. Anyway, "Un-Break My Heart" might have been a big hit, but it just doesn't do a lot for me, I'm afraid. It's one of those typical AC-friendly ballads that once in a while seems to click with the public, however full of clichés and/or half-hearted turns of phrase they are.

18TH JANUARY 1997- QUIT PLAYING GAMES (WITH MY HEART)- The Backstreet Boys (1 week)

"Na-na-na-na-na-na-na

Na-na-na-na-na, baby

Na-na-na-na-na-na-na"

 

8TH FEBRUARY- WHERE DO YOU GO?- No Mercy (2 weeks)

"Brazen with ideas" indeed. It's just that that brazenness was from the very beginning.

 

1ST MARCH- ENCORE UNE FOIS- Sash! (1 week)

"Pardon, Monsieur, le disc-jockey Sash! est de retour". Question was, return from what? From a complete flop of a first single called "It's My Life", that's what. And hereby I say that this is one of only two Sash! songs I have time for - we'll have time for the other. In this, Sash! still isn't ready to completely fall into the LCD conundrum into which he more than happily joined once the money started pouring and he probably sought to maintain a certain lifestyle. Yes, it's Eurodance, but with some "proper" clubbing music pretensions still retained in the form of a punishing beat and a furious synth groove, laid along by Sabine Ohmes part ominous, part ravaged vocals. As the "Raindrops" revamp showed, it's still Sash!'s most fondly remembered tune to this day, and for a very good reason.

 

22ND FEBRUARY- I SHOT THE SHERIFF- Warren G (1 week)

For a song which took the Tina Tur... oh, wait! This is more like it: for a song which took the Bob Marley, etc.

 

 

8TH MARCH- HUSH- Kula Shaker (1 week)

Besides, didn't "Hey Dude" sound more like a pre-metal Deep Purple rip-off than anything else?

 

 

22ND MARCH- ISN'T IT A WONDER- Boyzone (1 week)

...that this is another shot of dullness?!

 

And with this, I'm FINALLY in tandem with the thread! :lol:

And with this, I'm FINALLY in tandem with the thread! :lol:

Welcome to 1997! :D

12TH APRIL- RICHARD III- Supergrass (1 week)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/17/Supergrass_Richard_III.jpg

 

With a title derived from the band's method of sriting songs and giving them provisional names, this was the third song they had called "Richard" the band kept it as they thought it matched the dark spirit of Richard III of Shakespear's literature. In the ever increasing turnover of No 2 hits towards the millennium we'll see that not every song that debuted at No 2 only to hurtle down the charts in the following weeks was poor.

 

In comparison to "Alright" I actually prefer this song, it seems more adult and less self absorbed than the former track, and all the better for it. Quinn's guitar work drives the track which simultaneously manages to somehow sound all over the place but comes together at regular enough intervals to be a little britpop gem. In its dying year as a movement it still manages to produce some absolutly priceless pieces of pop and this is one of them, that it failed to overall R Kelly by less than 400 copies should surely count as a travesty in any man's language, pulsating, vibrant, and competant, "Richard III" never makes pretensions to be anything other than it is which ultimately makes it rather endearing as a song.

 

Edited December 7, 201113 yr by Gezza76

19TH APRIL- SONG 2- Blur (1 week)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/72/Blur_song_2_CD1.jpg

 

Speaking of songs with titles that started out with temporary titles that ended up stricking here's "Song 2". Famously a song which was the second song on the album, released as a second single, 2 mins and 2 secs long, and peaking at No 2, "Song 2" is, you suspect, the song they had been dreaming of doing since 1993, before they got sidelined into producing pop friendly chart music and having press spats with the brothers Gallagher. At the time it was viewed and indeed announced by the band that this was a rejection of the "Britpop" label, the band moving on and leaving the remaining groups to battle over what would soon become a worthless crown. In a way it had to be, the war in terms of commerciality had been well and truely lost, to continue would be fruitless, dignity could only be salvaged by change, and indeed Blur had already proved what a short attention span they had for movements before becoming restless.

 

To be honest this is only a song that I've grown to love over the years, it was far too agressive in sound and delivery back in 1997 for my delicate pop ears but I now appreciate it more. Albarn's vocals seem breathless, they're racing to keep up with the ferocious pace set by James and Rowntree, it's a song full of urgency in a way that is very unlike the yearning version of the same emotion by Oasis, there's no melancholy here it hasn't time, it just delivers then it's over. If Cicero were right that "Brevity is a great charm of eloquence" then this is just about as eloquent as pop came in 1997.

 

Edited December 7, 201113 yr by Gezza76

Encore Une Fois is probably my least favourite Sash! tune. All his other top10 singles are more enjoyable for me :D

1997 had some CRACKING #2 singles!

12TH APRIL- RICHARD III- Supergrass (1 week)

The lyrics here are really an afterthought; it's all about those furious guitars and those pounding, relentless drums. It has a chorus, yes; but it actually doesn't feel like your typical verse-chorus-verse tune. In some ways, Supergrass seemed to know that the false dawn of Britpop was already becoming an all too inevitable sunset and went supernova weird - by their unpretentious standards, anyway. It most probably reached this high because of fanbase dedication and expectations borne of I Should Coco's big success, but have no doubt: this move was needed. And so it went that the little band that couldn't actually had more longevity than most of those who were seen as the forerunners, only terminating their activities last year.

 

19TH APRIL- SONG 2- Blur (1 week)

And here's another band that did the sensible thing and reached out of the comfort zone, in case they wanted to have a career outside of a short-lived "movement". Much was made of how "Song 2" sounded like either a homage, a pastiche, an ironic twist or just a straight-up jacking of Nirvana. No matter: "Song 2" brimmed with an energy, a vitality and a joy that seemed so absent from The Great Escape. It was also a testimony of what would become Damon Albarn himself's modus operandi from then on: take whatever fancy he was having at some given point and insert it in your own work. At the time, it was the American indie lo-fi scene, with Pavement at the forefront of his obsessions, even going so far as to strike up a friendship with frontman Stephen Malkmus. The pay-off was quite the one: Albarn caught Malkmus shagging his then-girlfriend Justine Frischmann of Elastica!

26TH APRIL- OLD BEFORE I DIE- Robbie Williams (1 week)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e1/Oldbefore.jpg

 

So this is what all that struggle was for, he was making the music he always wanted to, and was writing the pop that he, presumably, wanted to- was it all worth it? Well "Old Before I Die" isn't a bad record but neither is it magnificent, with traces of britpop clearly on it this is William's tentative attempts into the market as a solo artist and that album was still some 10 months away, I recall at the time that it DID seem to literally take forever to appear. There are some clever lyrics "Am I straight or gay?" recalling a time when Robbie openly admitted that he was bisexual before spending the remainder of the 90s proving just what a virile heterosexual buck he was, but initially he wanted that gay audience, but it's all a bit too desperate and unsure.

 

Clearly he's unsure of his audience in the song, not positive if it will work or not and moreover overly eager to please and appear to as many "markets" as possible. In many ways it's as if that spell in Take That never happened and that makes it an interest record, given what we found out since about Robbie the man, racked with insecurities and doubt, this is perhaps one of his most vulnerable and honest records with the public, before he found a voice with Guy Chambers and got lyrics which made that vulnerability more articulate, but here it's quite clumsy and heavy handed.

 

The track is not therefore "classic" Robbie, simply because the star hasn't discovered "classic" Robbie yet, that would come post "Angels" when his confidence and ambition became clear for all to see.

 

Edited December 8, 201113 yr by Gezza76

10TH MAY- STAR PEOPLE 97- George Michael (1 week)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/67/Star_People.JPG

 

After the "failure" of the title track (which only made No 3 in Feb 97) "Older" yielded a fifth top 3 single with this track, again heavily remixed from the album version. Utilising a Gap Band sample from 1980 it was transformed into this disco stomp about the pretensions of stardom and had it been released one week later it would have soared straight to No 1, it seems to have taken all by surprise, Michael never bothered to make a video for the remix and I don't recall much promotion of the track, indeed given it was a fifth release I doubt the record company thought much more than maybe a top 10 hit on the back of Michael's name but here it is.

 

I loved this at the time, Michael's vocals trip with vitriol as he rants at the excesses of various "superstars" "Do you really think you've got it so hard?/ Do you think it might do you some good to look around you And decide how you might feel/ If the pain you felt was real" whilst saying that he doesn't cout himself among them. OK it isn't without pretension itself I grant you but all in all it's a little bundle of pop fun that I still enjoy to this day.

 

Edited December 8, 201113 yr by Gezza76

I rate the Star People remix amoung George Michael's greatests!

17TH MAY- LOVEFOOL- The Cardigans (1 week)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/55/LovefoolCover.jpg

 

Originally a No 21 hit in 1996 it ook a re-release and a film tie in to finally make this thread. The Cardigans were, during the late 90s purveyors of quirky Scandinavian pop and briefly flirted with greatness, naturally they had a blonde frontwoman Nina Persson (we know how we like our Swedish popstars) and did some pretty decent tunes pre millennia. "Lovefool" is a typical slice of their cannon, cute endearing, perhaps a shade lacking in depth and warmth, but its use in "Romeo + Juliet" guaranteed it big sales when re-issued some 8 months after its initial release. Actually on the subject of sales it was extrememly fortunate to make No 2 selling roughly half as many copies when it moved 4-2 than it did in its debut week at No 4, but thanks to a general collapse of most other records around it it actually moved up.

 

Whilst I can't rapture endlessly about the track it is passable enough in the litany of No 2 hits of the year, though the far greater "Carnival" "My Favourite Game" or "Erase/ Rewind" would have made much more majestic tracks for this thread. Good but nothing special.

 

Edited December 9, 201113 yr by Gezza76

24TH MAY- TIME TO SAY GOODBYE (CON TI PARTIRO)- Andrea Bocelli & Sarah Brightman (2 weeks)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/89/Time_To_Say_Goodbye.jpg

 

What a curiously ecclectic year 1997 is turning into! We've had Swedish pop, britpop, eurobeat and now opera. "Con Ti Partiro" was first recorded by Bocelli in 1995 and did little in his native Italy but became a hit in France and a few other European countries, it was the re-writing of the song into English that turned it into a massive hit across the continent though. Re-recorded as a duet with Sarah Brightman it was used to promote the final fight of Henry Maske (Light heavyweight champion) in 1996 and sung before and after the fight that November becoming a massive hit in Germany before the end of 96, it obviously touched a nerve over here as the song exploded into our charts at No 2 come that May after pretty much blanketing every chart in Europe including sales of 2.5 million in Germany where it was the biggest selling single ever!

 

Brightman had long had the knack of crossing genre's from opera to the pop charts "Pie Jesu" and "Amigos para siempre" had been top 20 hits for her in the UK, so whilst this wasn't exactly unheard of it was certainly slightly left field in the pop charts of 1997. Not a song I've ever liked (if I recall correctly there was some equally horrendous dance version of this doing the clubs at the same time) and I can safely say I've never sought out this song since. I applaud the fact that a song like this could be such a hit as it demonstrated the variety of music in the year, but beyond that the love is lost on me.

 

Edited December 9, 201113 yr by Gezza76

28TH JUNE- BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY- The verve (1 week)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/04/The_Verve_-_Bitter_Sweet_Symphony_CD1.jpg

 

Let me take you back to the summer of 1997. A summer of "Cool Britannia" where, whatever your political leanings are, the appointment of a new Party and Prime Minister felt like a national rejuvination, and ANYTHING was once again possible. Into the feeling of an "emergence" from the old guard came the Verve which seemed like an anthem set for the purpose, the epic production, those stirring violins, the overwhelming sense of foreboding at its start coupled with that drum beat, almost military, lends a great deal of gravitas to the track before there is so much as a vocal to it.

 

The Verve had produced two albums in the early 90s with only middling success on both the singles and albums chart before Ashcroft pulled the plug on the band (for the first time) in 1995 with the release of the single "History" (one of their greatest in my opinion) before calling them back together in 1997. There are several "borrowed" elements to the success of the song, the video for example is a clear emulation of the promo for 1991's "Unfinished Sympathy" by Massive Attack. Though the lyrics to this song were by Ashcroft, the band had cleared a small sample of Andrew Loog Oldham's version of the Rolling Stones "The Last Time" and had originally agreed on a 50/50 split of the royalties, but, so the story goes, when the song proved to be a massive hit The Rolling Stones basically demanded 100% of the royalties OR pull the record from the shops as it was deemed they had used "too much" of the sample, or more than was agreed. So it is that this track gains nothing for the band when played on the radio, however it did launch them into the stratosphere charts wise and assist parent album "Urban Hymns" to sales in excess of 2 million so perhaps a price worth paying. Clearly other artists are still willing to play the game with the Rolling Stones, Jason Derulo originally sampled this song in his track "Ridin Solo" but had to alter it when the sample was refused.

 

As stated the timing of the track with Cool Britannia was just fortune, but there are few records that capture the spirit of 1997 like "Bittersweet Symphony", of course it's monumental, it was designed that way, to make the grand statement, announce its arrival to the world, there is nothing subtle, modest, or underplayed here, its bold, brash, and belligerent, and I for one love it.

 

Edited December 10, 201113 yr by Dasher76

5TH JULY- ECUADOR- Sash! Featuring Rodriquez (2 weeks)

 

http://991.com/newGallery/Sash-Ecuador-91281.jpg

 

Sash! is back at the position he knew so well with another piece of prime 1997 eurobeat. I actually prefer this, slightly, to "Encore Une Fois" possibly as it came out over the summer when I would have been back at my parents and not out clubbing as often as when at uni and therefore not hearing EVERYWHERE at the time.

 

There's not a lot to add, if you liked "Encore" then I dare say you'll like more of the same, looking back at the charts for these weeks it was all about Ultra Nate, Hanson, Verve & Echo & The Bunnymen for me at this time- that Sash! love is gonna have to wait a little while longer for me....

 

Edited December 10, 201113 yr by Dasher76

12TH APRIL- RICHARD III- Supergrass (1 week)

 

So it's still early 1997 and here we find another of those "loyal fanbase" buys that hardly anyone else bought from week two onwards. Personally, I much prefer the more radio friendly sounds of 'Alright' and 'Pumping On Your Stereo'. I didn't really care for this song in 1997 and would never be able to even start guessing how this goes without the aid of YouTube.

 

19TH APRIL- SONG 2- Blur (1 week)

 

Anthem right here!!! Like Jester rightly pointed, so many brilliant tracks made #2 in the UK throughout 1997. 'Song 2' is easily one of them - a song that has stood the test of time much better, imo, than 'Beetlebum' which despite getting to no. 1 is a track that is hardly ever played these days. Whereas with 'Song 2' it's got that riff which will live on for years to come. Excellent music for soundtracking football coverage. :D

 

26TH APRIL- OLD BEFORE I DIE- Robbie Williams (1 week)

 

Here we find Robbie still adjusting to live as a solo artist. He hadn't quite conqured at this point although he still had 'Lazy Days' and 'South Of The Border' still to come before everything changed for the Robster. I was never a fan of 'Old Before I Die' so I guess there's little for me to say.

 

Next!!!

 

10TH MAY- STAR PEOPLE 97- George Michael (1 week)

 

A bit like 'Spinning The Wheel', 'Star People' seems to have become another of those 90s forgotton gems. Like Jester says, it was all about the remix for me. George Michael really was a force to be reckoned with in 1996/7 with a strong of top 3 singles. Easily one of his biggest era, if not THE biggest.

 

17TH MAY- LOVEFOOL- The Cardigans (1 week)

 

I actually liked 'Lovefool' first time round in 1996 so by the time it became a big UK hit I was already well aware of the singles existence. I do agree though that 'My Favourite Game' and 'Erase/Rewind' are both indeed absolute gems.

 

24TH MAY- TIME TO SAY GOODBYE (CON TI PARTIRO)- Andrea Bocelli & Sarah Brightman (2 weeks)

 

...and here is the other big European hit from late 1996 I was referring to earlier in this thread. :D

 

I didn't realise the story/history behind this track being used to promote the final fight of Henry Maske (Light heavyweight champion) so it makes sense why this became such a massive hit in Germany at the end of 1996. Also interesting that it managed to translate into big UK sales - it never seemed like the type of song that would likely do well in the UK.

 

That said, I'm glad this peaked at #2 because it meant Eternal to #1 with 'I Wanna Be The Only One' - one of my fave #1 singles of the 90s.

 

28TH JUNE- BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY- The verve (1 week)

 

Aahh yes, June 1997. The month I sat my GCSE's. :lol: My focus had been drawn so much towards revision that I'd completely lost track of the UK charts. I was aware that Hanson had been hogging the top spot with one of my least fave singles of all time. Then I remember watching The Chart Show the week this entered at #2 behind Puff Daddy 'I'll Be Missing You'. I was so out of the loop that The Chart Show Top 10 that Saturday was the first time I heard both this and Diddy's singles. :lol:

 

I was shocked at Puff Daddy getting to no 1 - at the time, I didn't expect it. A bit like when The Fugees 'Killing Me Softly' went striaght in at #1 in the summer of 1996. Just didn't expect it yet both tracks went on to sell over a million so they were clearly very popular tracks.

 

As for The Verve, 'Bittersweat Symphony' is a song I didn't love straight away. It took a few weeks for me to get into the song but I still think this was just down to my GCSE's and not really checking out new music like I usually do.

 

5TH JULY- ECUADOR- Sash! Featuring Rodriquez (2 weeks)

 

Yay!!! My GCSE's were over. I had officially finished high school. I was about to go on my second of three holidays in July. Life was pretty good at this point in 1997. So much so I bought 'Ecuador' on CD single - £1.99 for 7 tracks (all remixes) but what a bargain. To think five years down the line CD singles would cost £3.99 for a lot less content. :drama: Death of the CD single can be pinpointed to those changes to the CD single rules and regulations in 1998.

2ND AUGUST- PICTURE OF YOU- Boyzone (1 week)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/01/Boyzone_Picture_of_You.jpeg

 

BOYZONE IN UPTEMPO SHOCKER! Yes for only the second time in their career the Boyz had attempted a bit of an uptempo number, scarred no doubt by the mesmerisingly bad dancing witnessed in the video for their first attempt "So Good" in 1995. It's a lot better than that track it has to be said, but "Picture Of You" seems a little.....flat to be honest, like it hasn't quite the bottle to be the great song IT IS capable of, but Boyzone don't quite have the confidence to do it, odd for a group that were almost 3 years into their career in which every single had made the top 4 and they had by now cemented themselves as the biggest selling Boyband around. Indeed in this week in 1997 they ahd actually pipped "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" by arch rivals Backstreet Boys to this No 2 position as the pair went head to head, perhaps they were a band, that after all, understood thier audience and more importantly their limitations.

 

Its inclusion in the Mr Bean movie of the time doubtless assisted in this fact, but if there is such a thing as a "classic" Boyzone period then we were just about to enter it. "Picture Of You" is therefore a track which suffers from under conviction, it's still an enjoyable romp but you have to wonder just how good it could have been in someone else's hands.

 

Edited December 11, 201113 yr by Dasher76

A really strong set of #2's in 1997 - adore Ecuador, Lovefool, Song 2 and yes - even Time To Say Goodbye - joined in the top three one week by Olive and Katrina and the Waves one week iirc - how wonderfully diverse :wub:

 

And then Picture Of You, fantastic uptempo which I actually still hear regularly on the radio now - probably Boyzone at their 90s best - well personally I very slightly prefer 1998's All That I Need but I'm sure I'm completely alone in caring for that song at all :lol: But I disagree with you Gezza, I don't think it lacks anything - it's great as it is (off topic but why did you change your name to Dasher?)