15TH AUGUST- BARCELONA- Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballe (2 weeks)

 

http://www.chartstats.com/images/artwork/12692.jpg

 

By 1992, and post Mercury's death, the Queen back catalogue and Mercury's solo material had taken on new significance, pretty much everything the "group" released from his death until 1996 was an instant success such was public respect or the deceased singer. "Barcelona" was conceived in 1987 when Mercury mentioned on Spanish TV his love of Opera and in particular his desire to work with Caballe, and when the city was chosen to host the 1992 games Caballe contacted mercury to record something for the occasion, it ended up being an entire album but this was the lead single. It saw the light of day in late 87 when it peaked at No 8 in the charts, but upon re-release to coincide with the actual event itself and with his death fresh in the memory, the single instantly topped that position, debuting at No 5 before rising to the running up position.

 

It's a song that doesn't do anything by halfs in typical Mercury fashion. It rises and falls with aplomb, full of drama and wistfulness that really does do it credit, their voices are simultaneously contrasting (opera vs pop) but come together beautifully, it's not a great song that caputered the imaginatin back in 1992 (I think it's over-use in the Olympics coverage saw to that) but hearing it now for the first time in years you are reminded how great it is. In a year of hughly contrasting genres and styles of music this is just an extension of that diversity, and something which is greatly missing in today's charts, even if not MUCH of 1992 is to my taste I must at least conceed that.....

 

Edited October 9, 201113 yr by gezza76

29TH AUGUST- THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE- Luther Vandross & Janet Jackson (2 weeks)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/25/Thebestthingsinlifearefreesinglecover.jpg

 

Poor old Janet, you have to feel sorry for her really, she never managed to get that UK chart topper that came periously close. Her chart career had been going strong since the mid 80s without ever really taking over here, 3 top 10 singles aside, and even 1989's "Rhythm Nation 1814" which had made her a global star did comparatively little over here, but this kick-started her most successful period UK side. Originally recorded for the "Mo Money" film soundtrack this became her and co-duetter Vandross's biggest UK hit in Aug 1992.

 

Re-released in a dancier version in 1995 (which I personally think is a better mix personally) back in 1992 I thought this song was OK but no great shakes, daytime radio friendly that is easy to forget, and by and large it has been just that unfortunately, it's neither acts best work but it didn't need to be at this point in the decade, thankfully we'll meet Janet again in under a year when she'll have something more substantive to offer.....

 

Edited October 9, 201113 yr by gezza76

19TH SEPTEMBER- BAKER STREET- Undercover (1 week)

 

http://www.chartstats.com/images/artwork/12709.jpg

 

You can always tell the "quality" or otherwise of a year by the amount of Cover versinos that strike it big and in 92 the industry was scratching its collective head and wondering what could salvage it from pitiful sales and creative inertia. For example 12 of the 22 UK No 2 hits of the year were covers/ re-releases/ or substantive samples of previous hits, including this version of Gerry Rafferty's 1978 Top 3 hit "Baker Street".

 

Lead singer John Matthews sold artificial hips until this song hit it big fact fans, and Undercover were signed to Pete Waterman's PWL International who were by this time movig away from pop into commercial dance (other hits for them this year were by Sybil, WWF Superstars and Opus III) with mainly successful tracks. The cover naturally keeps the saxophone solo that it is perhaps the most aspect of the song, but it does beg the question does a dance version actually add or take anything away from the original? It's a song written by Rafferty about his legal wranglings with former bandmates in Stealers Wheel back in the 70s (he split his time between london and Glasgow, and when in London stayed in a friend's flat in- you guessed it- Baker Street ) and therefore was intensly personal, not so for Undercover who in effect turn this into a tale of general dissatisfaction. At the time it was considered a massacre of a classic, I think that is probably a bit strong, it could have been so much worse, I suppose that's damning it with faint praise.

 

I quite liked this record back in 92 and the backing arrangement with its odd bleeps, is very much a product of the time, but it hasn't aged that badly, which you can either put down to the deft arrangement or the song writing of Rafferty.....

 

 

Edited October 10, 201113 yr by gezza76

26TH SEPTEMBER- IT'S MY LIFE- Dr Alban (3 weeks)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b1/It's_my_life.jpg

 

Or Nigerian born Alban Nwapa. If you were around in 1992 this song was the track used on Tampax adverts, but proving that all publicity is good publicity that didn't seem to hamper its chart progress, finally making it big in the UK after being a star on the continent for some time already. "It's My Life" is euro-pop, an update on all those summer euro hits of the 80s that made it big for about 2 months of each year, Spagna, Sabrina, Brother Louie, Ottawan etc, never a song that I loved at the time, but it picked up on the staple of euro-pop tracks and it's that female vocal, often backing the lead up but far more powerful, KLF had already proved on "Justified and Ancient" and "3 AM Eternal" that this trick often created a far more powerful message and so it does here.

 

Indeed on the verses Alban's vocal is not good (watch the live TOTP link below- it's god-awful) and the track comes alive with female intervention, but let's not get too critical, it's a song aimed at the dancefloor, and the euphoric chorus lifts the song from awful rapping to something far more entertaining, and it did manage to make 3 weeks at the runners up spot, and I do recall putting it onto a "tape" when it was in the charts- ah the days of taping songs off the radio (they were coming to an end) and as I started my A-Levels I was probably lovin this- actually looking at the charts for this period it was all about Rage's "Run To You" for me so I'm in no position to criticise this! :( .......

 

Edited October 10, 201113 yr by gezza76

Doing a massive catch-up here:

 

On A Ragga Tip - Pretty much agree with Gezza on this one. I imagine this is a record that young teenagers thought they were very cool buying back then with its flashy production and unusual beats, and isn't the title a reference to drugs as well or is my slang dictionary way off (probably, I'm hardly cool enough to know all these terms)? Interestingly also while this IS very much a 1992 sound as you said the reggae sample also makes it somewhat ahead of its time in a way given what is to come in 1993 and 1994 - funny how that works, isn't it? Anyway, not my cup of tea but I can see the appeal and it's better than most songs of its ilk.

 

Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Not got much opinion on this but I don't think this is a good cover, although I'm not that keen on the original either, which technically might be a good song but is ruined by Bob and his usual awful vocals; I generally can't stand Guns N' Roses either so Axl Rose doesn't make it much better.

 

Raving I'm Raving - Very poor. The rave beats/bassline might have been nice at the time but in 2011 they sound dated, tinny and weak. I can't imagine anyone raving to this one either in a current context. And the sample incorporation is just cheesy - put on my raving shoes? LOL. Did kind of raise a smile when I first heard it though, but not exactly in a good way.

 

Jump - A catchy song that does what it says on the tin quite literally. I put this down as a song that isn't trying to be anything but a bit of a fun so it seems silly to hate it. Perhaps more interesting to look at this as a part of marketing of rap music as you touched on - using kids to make rap easily more relatable and sellable to young kids? Of course, that was nothing new musically (Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer, etc.) but this was perhaps the first blatant example of it that I can think of in respect to rap - others like Lil' Bow Wow followed later.

 

Heartbeat - Having perused her record collection many times, I can confirm with certainty that my mum actually owns a copy of the ALBUM(!!!) this is taken from. I did watch Heartbeat when I was a kid but that was more because my parents were watching it; I had usually just come down from having a bath and had to be in bed by 9 at the latest and I think it was on at 8 after Coronation Street - plus Nick Berry had long since left the main role by that point IIRC. Anyway don't have much opinion on this song. It's pretty inoffensive and as much as the whole song seems like it should get your foot-tapping it's just a bit bland - both on this and Buddy Holly's version, so I'm not sure it's anything to do with Nick either.

 

I'll Be There - No mention of the fact this is an actual "duet", although uncredited, with Trey Lorenz (an old school friend of Mariah's who she later hired as one of her backing singers)? Seems a bit odd to leave that detail out. And that's why she doesn't try to take over the song! Anyway in terms of Mariah duets this is one of her better ones with a nice voice complimentation between Mariah and Trey. Certainly better than the schmaltz-fests like One Sweet Day and Against All Odds anyway.

 

Sesame's Treet - This isn't that bad! In fact, it's very cheerful. At least it's not boring like SU&D. Wouldn't rush to listen to this one but certainly wouldn't skip it if it came up on my iTunes (although I'm not sure I actually have it on there!). And I'm not sure you can say it killed rave if the scene just naturally evolved - into jungle and then maybe into the big beat style that was very popular in the late 90s (The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, etc.)? It happens to every type of music eventually, and a genre like dance music was always naturally evolving at this time I guess as it was still relatively fresh in comparison to other genres which stagnate eventually. Anyway I'm waffling and making no sense now so I'll shut up.

 

Barcelona - Well I guess technically it's a decent song. Good vocal performances from both obviously. Dramatic build-up to a powerful chorus. But not even remotely close to being my kind of music and frankly putting up with dear Montserrat (god bless her) and her pipes + vocal stylings for that long would drive me crazy eventually. Would never listen to this.

 

The Best Things In Life Are Free - Flimsy! Sorry, I'm bored of writing by this point :D But this feels very weak production-wise. Probably another case of that D word. Average anyway.

 

Will do the other 2 on my next catch-up as I can't be arsed right now. Although neither are that special and the Undercover one is awful!

Edited October 9, 201113 yr by superbossanova

7TH NOVEMBER- PEOPLE EVERYDAY- Arrested Development (1 week)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d3/Everyday_people.jpg

 

With more than a little help from Sly & Family Stone here are Arrested Development, briefly the future of hip hop back in 92. In the merry go round of genre's of that year it seems only appropriate to have some rap, it's quite non offensive stuff really, but it does tend to wash over you and leave you no worse for the wear. Precisely because it inspires neither plaudits nor derision it's a hard record to say anything about- Never a song i've listended to since it left the charts and not one I anticipate listening to voluntarily again- summing up 1992 quite nicely in all honestly.

 

Then again much better than what follows.....

 

Edited October 11, 201113 yr by gezza76

12TH DECEMBER- HEAL THE WORLD- Michael Jackson (5 weeks)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/ce/Heal_The_World.jpg

 

First up the kudos- it spent 5 weeks at the runner up spot over Xmas/ New year, and it was the Sixth release from the "Dangerous" album, you have to doff your cap for that.

 

But by god "Heal The World" is shocking, over self-indulgent, syrupy to the extent that a little bit of sick comes into your mouth by the end of the 6 minutes! Jackson always had an evangelical side (let's never forget the 1996 BRITS performance) and the praising of children and childhood was about to back fire terribly, but really the main reason I dislike this track is the virulance of the message, there is no cleverness of lyrics, no subtlety about the whole affair, just a full on schmultz-fest of the highest order, and really it's unforgiveable from him.

 

There's also cliches a plenty for you to chose from- the key change, the gospal intervention, the children speaking about he perils of war, all far too cringeworthy and overly earnest- it gets under the skin and refuses to budge, and that's not a good thing, just get on with being a pop star man and stop doing this kind of thing- seriously you can do better and in 1993 he actually proved it but all that is to come........

 

Edited October 11, 201113 yr by gezza76

That's it- I'm done with 92- thankfully 93 is bringing, on the whole, a better selection for us........

15TH AUGUST- BARCELONA- Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballe (2 weeks)

 

By this point of 1992 I has become addicted to 'Rhythm Is A Dancer' by Snap! It had become my anthem of 1992 yet I did like 'Barcelone' a lot. I was too young to remember this first time round so in 1992 is was almost like a new single to me rather than a re-release. Ultimately, my mum actually bought this on cassette single and it is exactly the type of song someone over the age of 40 back then would've considered buying. :D

 

29TH AUGUST- THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE- Luther Vandross & Janet Jackson (2 weeks)

 

Whilst Gezza liked the 1995 remix, for me it was all about the original more poppy version. A track I also thought was brilliant back in 1992 - in fact I still enjoy listening to this today. :D Can't remember if it was Snap! or The Shamen who kept this off the #1 spot but those two tracks defined this time of 1992. I started secondary school in September 1992 and it really was all about Snap! and The Shamen at that time. :lol:

 

19TH SEPTEMBER- BAKER STREET- Undercover (1 week)

 

Yes, I remember this very well from the time. I even liked this as it fitted in with the general dance sound that had been dominating the UK charts. Sure it's not revolutionary in the slightest and the lead singer in Undercover couldn't look less like a popstar if he tried. :lol: I think it's a kind cover that stays true to the original which may explain why it's not aged that badly - like Gezza says. Thanks to the rise of dance themed music channels on Sky (Dance Nation, Clubland TV) it's quite astonishing the number of times I've seen this video on them channels over the last 6 months.

 

26TH SEPTEMBER- IT'S MY LIFE- Dr Alban (3 weeks)

 

This was another of those "every 11 year old loves this" tracks I remember very well from school. A case of it you didn't like this song, there was something wrong with you. Oh, to be 11 years old in 1992 all over again!!! :wub: This kept up the theme of popular Eurodance brilliantly and yes, it's clearly all about the female vocals. Even today some nineteen years on, I still often listen to this and misunderstand some of the lyrics in the verses. :D

 

7TH NOVEMBER- PEOPLE EVERYDAY- Arrested Development (1 week)

 

Were Arrested Development classed as the next big thing in 1992? I remeember their debut single 'Tennesse' which I hated at the time - it was rap with a capital C. However, this song was far more radio freindly which would explain why this became their biggest hit. I also remember 'Mr Wendal' from late 1992 which I also liked. After that, I think these guys just disappeared without trace.

 

12TH DECEMBER- HEAL THE WORLD- Michael Jackson (5 weeks)

 

I remember in early 1993 my form class at school were chosen to do the school assembly and we had to put ideas together and create a concept. With this song still riding high in the charts, the type of musical nonsense that appealed to an 11 year old Hits ( :D ) our class used 'Heal The World' as our subject. I vaguely remember the assembly and having one line to read - but I was also put in charge of music. :lol: So there I was at the side of the stage with a tape recorder and two cassettes - one was the 'Heal The World' cassette single. The other was a blank tape the teacher had recorded the then BBC News theme tune on. Yes, our assembly was based on a breaking news story or something along those lines. Of course, I was a good boy and played the tapes as normal. I wouldn't have been surprised had someone else been in charge of the music and "accidentally" hit the high speed dubbing button for maximum LOL effect. :lol:

16TH JANUARY 1993- EXTERMINATE!- Snap! Featuring Niki Harris (3 weeks)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c5/Exterminate!.jpg

 

How do you follow up a No 1 single that spent 6 weeks at the top and was the 2nd biggest single of the previous year? Well Snap!'s answer was this. Roping in former Madonna backing singer Harris, this is a curiously dis-jointed track, almost liek the verses are welded onto the chorus, it's also a flat song, never really going anywhere, and whilst "Rhythm Is A Dancer"was a fine dance track, this has identity issues and can't really make up its mind what it wants to be. I can't help but think that reaching No 2 is slightly flattering for this record and the fact that it couldn't depose a weakening Whitney Houston record should speak volumes.

 

There is a also what could be a pan pipe (?) harmony running through it, and a vague ominous air about it, but it never amounts to much and what you are left with at the end is a slight "well what was all that about?"- put this down to January, and the fact that their previous record was so big, and I think you pinpoint the reason for this record in this thread......c+, see me Snap!...

 

Edited October 12, 201113 yr by gezza76

20TH FEBRUARY- WHY CAN'T I WAKE UP WITH YOU- Take That (2 weeks)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/05/Take-That-Why-Cant-I-Wake-You.jpg

 

My one and only chance to review a Take That record in this thread! Yes the boys were on their way to eight No 1 records and an odd No 3 hit before that split in 1996 so never again will they darken this thread. I recall at the time the enormous amount of good will to Take That in the british music press, the disproportionate amount of press they got from magazines like Number one and Smash Hits throughout 1991/92 when their sales/ chart positions didn't exactly warrant it, but such was the feeling at least, that there wasn't much else to champion, that Take That were clutched readily to our bosom, that's not to say that they didn't end up deserving that place.

 

"Why Can't I Wake Up With You" is a half way house, it's a track that appears on their debut album is a much different form and was remixed into a jacked up version that was released to a hungry UK audience baying for new material. As it was "new" enough it resulted in their biggest hit to date, curiously whilst the "remix" was designed to make it more fresh and current , it has now made it sound far more dated, and quite frankly it screams 1993 now, for all of that however, its a plaintive enough record and personal enough to be effective (that's the bonus of writing your own stuff I guess) and thusly it's a song that certainly appears to be born of sincerity and loss, the fact that it is a boyband record shouldn't let us be put off, the writing's on the wall- this group could be BIG!.

 

This is a snapshot therefore of a band on the precipice of becoming the biggest act in the country, the hoardes of teenage girls were just starting to queue up and that first stadium tour had just been booked!....

 

Edited October 12, 201113 yr by gezza76

It's My Life - While the female vocal hook is probably indeed what lifted this up in the charts for me what puts it a cut above the other eurodance tunes from this time is actually the piano during the intro and the chorus which seems to be what gives it its 'uplifting' quality to me. It also has a really great groove to it IMO. Can definitely see why this was so big, once you get past the dodgy 'rapping' which is indeed even worse than usual on these type of songs - and seems to be in badly strung together English too having just looked up the lyrics on a website! Funny though, it actually "feels" like the lyrics are rather profound... :lol:

 

People Everyday - This is my last favourite left in 1992! Maybe it's nothing special to you but for me it's all about the rhythm of this track which is great, and the whole track really does flow absolutely effortlessly. Then again I'm actually a big fan of this kind of music when it's done well (although it has an awful lot of crap to wade through) so perhaps it takes me less to be easily won over. I guess Arrested Development stood out at the time with their hard-hitting song topics and the fact they had the sung choruses/harmonies rather than just a rapper over a beat also made them more easily appealable to the pop crowd (something that would be later used to even greater success by the Fugees/Lauryn Hill - who are probably a very good if not lazy parallel to this group actually, even down to the biggest hit with a cover angle).

 

Heal The World - I don't have much to add to your comments here! I don't think it's an awful song as such but the whole predictable nature of the track does indeed ruin it somewhat. I also think Michael's vocal is actually sincere but then he does have a naturally emotionally rich voice so if anyone can make anything sound like such it's him. Regardless at least this isn't completely pompous and overwrought so I do prefer this to Earth Song which was the absolute nadir in his "Jesus complex" for me.

 

Right, 1992 finally over! Thought it was never going to end (once we get to the late 1990s every year is going to be long like this though, but at least the songs will be better :heehee:) - will comment on the first of 1993 later as I can't be arsed right now again. I don't plan to be two songs behind the whole time from now on but you know...

Edited October 11, 201113 yr by superbossanova

It's My Life - While the female vocal hook is probably indeed what lifted this up in the charts for me what puts it a cut above the other eurodance tunes from this time is actually the piano during the intro and the chorus which seems to be what gives it its 'uplifting' quality to me. It also has a really great groove to it IMO. Can definitely see why this was so big, once you get past the dodgy 'rapping' which is indeed even worse than usual on these type of songs - and seems to be in badly strung together English too having just looked up the lyrics on a website! Funny though, it actually "feels" like the lyrics are rather profound... :lol:

 

People Everyday - This is my last favourite left in 1992! Maybe it's nothing special to you but for me it's all about the rhythm of this track which is great, and the whole track really does flow absolutely effortlessly. Then again I'm actually a big fan of this kind of music when it's done well (although it has an awful lot of crap to wade through) so perhaps it takes me less to be easily won over. I guess Arrested Development stood out at the time with their hard-hitting song topics and the fact they had the sung choruses/harmonies rather than just a rapper over a beat also made them more easily appealable to the pop crowd (something that would be later used to even greater success by the Fugees/Lauryn Hill - who are probably a very good if not lazy parallel to this group actually, even down to the biggest hit with a cover angle).

 

Heal The World - I don't have much to add to your comments here! I don't think it's an awful song as such but the whole predictable nature of the track does indeed ruin it somewhat. I also think Michael's vocal is actually sincere but then he does have a naturally emotionally rich voice so if anyone can make anything sound like such it's him. Regardless at least this isn't completely pompous and overwrought so I do prefer this to Earth Song which was the absolute nadir in his "Jesus complex" for me.

 

Right, 1992 finally over! Thought it was never going to end (once we get to the late 1990s every year is going to be long like this though, but at least the songs will be better :heehee:) - will comment on the first of 1993 later as I can't be arsed right now again. I don't plan to be two songs behind the whole time from now on but you know...

All comments are welcome- you and hits are the ones keeping me company through the 90s so far :D

I read the thread gezza! I will probably comment more when you get to the golden mid/late 90s :D

I read the thread gezza! I will probably comment more when you get to the golden mid/late 90s :D

:lol: and you too Jester!! :lol:

1992 really was a poor year (and it was the year I was born :lol: :( ) I will admit to looking at the list at first and only knowing about 3 or 4 songs BUT I don't think I've ever seen a more diverse set of songs :o I think 95-97 were the best times for number 2s in the 90s (possibly ever?! it was very strong)

Edited October 11, 201113 yr by C.W

6TH MARCH- GIVE IN TO ME- Michael Jackson (1 week)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/66/Giveintomesinglecover.jpg

 

"Give In To Me" is a far better song than "Heal The World" Jackson is always better in my opinion when he deals with the personal, rather than the universal and it is to "Dangerous" what "Dirty Diana" was to Bad, a guitar driven rock ballad, and in my view one of the best things on the album. A fragile vocal is impassioned by Jackson "Don't Try To Understand Me/ Just Simply Do The Things I Say" is an odd choice of line, it's the portrayal of a disturbing relationship, part hatred and part sexual desire, it smells of frustration and heavy with sexual anticipation, all themes he had explored before. Naturally a great guitar backing from Slash puts the icing on the cake but Jackson is still the star here, and communicating the theme that this relationship bodes nothing but disaster is a job well done by him.

 

 

As to why this single is generally "lost" in the Jackson cannon is a slight mystery to me, perhaps it was the fact that it was a seventh release, perhaps the Oprah interview that he did in Feb 93 gained this track an artificially high position in the charts, but when Smultz like "Heal The World" are remembered you're reminded it's a funny old game pop music.....

 

Edited October 13, 201113 yr by gezza76

27TH MARCH- INFORMER- Snow (3 weeks)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2f/Snow_Informer_(Single_Cover).jpg

 

White rappers pre Eminem got a bad deal, they seem almost like a cultural eccentricity, essentially they lacked credibility. The career of Vanilla Ice shows this perfectly, the public never really bought it beyond 1 song, and so too it proved for Canadian Rapper Snow who, additionally, is also described as a reggae star. What's interesting is that the charts of 93 were filled with reggae, much like 2003 (perhaps we're due another reggae invasion in 2013?), and the charts of April 93 contained a reggae tastic top 3 of Snow, Shaggy, and Shabba Ranks, an occasion without precedent in the UK Charts.

 

His tale of being imprisoned on murder charges and incidents surrounding it (including having a torch shone up his jacksy), seem to have gone unnoticed by the radio stations of the time presumably as they couldn't really understand the lyrics, but unrestricted by the censor the song spent 3 weeks patiently waiting for a top spot that never came. Never a song that I Liked (the genre of reggae or rap scores instant minus points with me) I recall particularly loathing the charts of the time and was much happier when the likes of Janet Jackson, R.E.M and Ace Of Base came along the next month, not a song I would ever choose to listen to, and indeed never will I again- my promise to you! :D

 

 

Edited October 13, 201113 yr by gezza76

27TH MARCH- INFORMER- Snow (3 weeks)

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2f/Snow_Informer_(Single_Cover).jpg

I was in the Lower 6th form when this was out. Someone convinced me it was called 'Farmer' :( :lol:

Time to start my thoughts on 1993, the year that I turned 2 (to make everyone else feel VERY old!!) and was probably now happily running around the house getting up to mischief :dance:

 

Exterminate - And we kick off, like with 1992, on a bit of a wimper. Personally speaking I don't think much of Snap! but perhaps if I was old enough at the time and got sucked into the eurodance craze it would be different (although even that seems unlikely, as I never got sucked into the eurotrance craze that was happening when I got into music). While the appeal of Rhythm Is A Dancer with its excellent synth riff can't be denied, too many of their songs fall into that dated early 90s style that I just don't get. It's fair to say that Exterminate is more for eurodance-heads only as I just find this a little boring and frankly trying to get anything out of it it's beginning to give me a bit of a headache. On to the next one...

 

Why Can't I Wake Up With You - Was there ever a more homoerotic boyband than early Take That? Their music videos up until 1993 were just embarrassing with gratituous shots of their chests constantly. Anyway, this is the kind of song that could not be any more in the background if it tried so I'm surprised it got as high as #2 though I guess by this point they were building up a bit of a fanbase. If this is actually the remix version, I dread to think how boring the original actually was. I also think that despite its chart position at the time, this is hugely ignored in comparison to the rest of their back catalogue. In fact, I recall watching a Take That: Through the Years program on one of the music channels a while ago and IIRC this song was skipped; the only other ones they skipped were Do What U Like and Promises as I recall, neither of which made the top 30 so it's not surprising they were. Not a good start to the year at all it's fair to say.

 

Give In To Me - Ah, now this is better! After commenting on the last two songs this feels like a breath of fresh air with its brooding guitars and the heavily passionate vocal from Michael couldn't be more of a change than the last two borefests. Yes, this is just in another world than Snap! and Take That and indeed Heal The World quality-wise. Not my favourite single from the Dangerous album though; that would be the excellent Remember The Time - but impressive he was still getting such big hits while milking this album dry! And with no re-releases too, unlike most of these modern stars :D

 

Informer - I guess these days this song is looked on as more of a novelty track but it's not really that bad. The main problem that makes it seem like so is that, as you said, nobody has a frickin' clue what he's rapping about in the verses, so it just sounds ridiculous and like it was written in gobble-de-gook. Personally speaking I would happily listen to this though and think it's a pretty harmless catchy rap track (I'd happily take it over the shite rap tracks in the chart these days, at least) - and come on, you have to admire his impressive flow! :D