Happy 2023 everyone!

 

So I've been meaning to do this project for a long time as a way to broaden my musical knowledge and my interest in music history.

And since this year marks the 15th anniversary of me becoming a pop music enthusiast and the 10th anniversary of my becoming an avid chartwatcher, it was basically the perfect occasion for me.

 

 

I was at first only considering doing the US ones by curiosity, but they didn't seem as diverse and interestingly all-over-the-damn-place like the UK ones. But the US ones also have the advantage to reflect the history of black music better, so in the end I've settled with combining both! For the UK, I will be using the list compiled by Official Charts and for the US of course the Billboard.

 

I also didn't want to go the traditional route of reviewing singles in chronological or random order; instead, I'll use a fact-of-the-day calendar format, tackling the number ones each day based on their chart dating. Basically this bad boy, in musical form:

 

 

Let the madness begin.

 

--

 

January 1st

1966. "The Sound of Silence" - Simon and Garfunkel {US0151/-} : 10/10

1969. "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" - Marmalade {-/UK0263} : 4/10

2005. "Let Me Love You" - Mario {US0911/-} : 6/10

 

January 2nd

1999. "Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You)" - Chef {-/UK0809} : 3/10

2010. "The Climb" - Joe McElderry {-/UK1118} : 2/10

2010. "Tik Tok" - Kesha {US0980/-} : 8/10

2020. "River" - Ellie Goulding {-/UK1361} : 6/10

 

January 3rd

1963. "The Next Time" / "Bachelor Boy" - Cliff Richard & The Shadows {-/UK0144} : 5/10

1970. "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" - B. J. Thomas {US0227/-} : 7/10

1976. "Saturday Night" - Bay City Rollers {US0384/-} : 8/10

2019. "Sweet but Psycho" - Ava Max {-/UK1349} : 6/10

 

January 4th

1957. "Singing the Blues" - Guy Mitchell {-/UK0053} : 7/10

1960. "El Paso" - Marty Robbins {US0024/-} : 9/10

1964. "There! I've Said It Again" - Bobby Vinton {US0103/-} : 2/10

1975. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" - Elton John {US0349/-} : 6/10

2014. "Happy" - Pharrell Williams {US1034/UK1248} : 6/10

 

January 5th

1980. "Please Don't Go" - KC and the Sunshine Band {US0480/-} : 5/10

1991. "Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter" - Iron Maiden {-/UK0656} : 8/10

1991. "Justify My Love" - Madonna {US0736/-} : 6/10

2008. "Low" - Flo Rida ft. T-Pain {US0954/-} : 7/10

 

January 6th

1973. "You're So Vain" - Carly Simon {US0287/-} : 9/10

1979. "Y.M.C.A." - Village People {-/UK0431} : 8/10

1979. "Too Much Heaven" - Bee Gees {US0457/-} : 4/10

 

January 7th

1955. "The Finger of Suspicion" - Dickie Valentine {-/UK0027} : 7/10

1989. "Especially for You" - Kylie Minogue & Jason Donovan {-/UK0621} : 5/10

2012. "Paradise" - Coldplay {-/UK1183} : 5/10

2012. "Sexy and I Know It" - LMFAO {US1010/-} : 4/10

2017. "Starboy" - The Weeknd ft. Daft Punk {US1059/-} : 7/10

2021. "Last Christmas" - Wham! {-/UK1381} : 6/10

 

January 8th

1954. "Oh Mein Papa" - Eddie Calvert {-/UK0016} : 6/10

1972. "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)" - The New Seekers {-/UK0308} : 3/10

1977. "You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)" - Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr. {US0410/-} : 6/10

1994. "Twist and Shout" - Chaka Demus and Pliers ft. Jack Radics & Taxi Gang {-/UK0700} : 6/10

2005. "Against All Odds" - Steve Brookstein {-/UK0998} : 4/10

2011. "Grenade" - Bruno Mars {US0997/UK1154} : 4/10

 

January 9th

1961. "Wonderland by Night" - Bert Kaempfert {US0043/-} : 4/10

1971. "Grandad" - Clive Dunn {-/UK0295} : 4/10

1988. "So Emotional" - Whitney Houston {US0647/-} : 7/10

1999. "Heartbeat" / "Tragedy" - Steps {-/UK0810} : 5/10

2020. "Own It" - Stormzy ft. Ed Sheeran & Burna Boy {-/UK1362} : 6/10

 

January 10th

1958. "Great Balls of Fire" - Jerry Lee Lewis {-/UK0066} : 10/10

1976. "Convoy" - C. W. McCall {US0385/-} : 5/10

1981. "Imagine" - John Lennon {-/UK0473} : 7/10

 

January 11th

1957. "Singing the Blues" - Tommy Steele {-/UK0054} : 4/10

1962. "The Young Ones" - Cliff Richard & The Shadows {-/UK0132} : 8/10

1986. "West End Girls" - Pet Shop Boys {US0596/UK0563} : 8/10

2014. "Timber" - Pitbull ft. Kesha {US1032/UK1249} : 4/10

 

January 12th

1961. "Poetry in Motion" - Johnny Tillotson {-/UK0111} : 6/10

1963. "Go Away Little Girl" - Steve Lawrence {US0083/-} : 1/10

1974. "The Joker" - Steve Miller Band {US0314/UK0650} : 7/10

2019. "Without Me" - Halsey {US1081/-} : 4/10

2023. "Escapism" - Raye ft. 070 Shake {-/UK1406} : 7/10

 

January 13th

2001. "Touch Me" - Rui da Silva ft. Cassandra {-/UK0887} : 7/10

 

January 14th

1955. "Mambo Italiano" - Rosemary Clooney {-/UK0028} : 6/10

1965. "Yeh Yeh" - Georgie Fame {-/UK0184} : 8/10

1978. "Baby Come Back" - Player {US0438/-} : 7/10

1984. "Pipes of Peace" - Paul McCartney {-/UK0530} : 4/10

1989. "My Prerogative" - Bobby Brown {US0679/-} : 8/10

1995. "Cotton Eye Joe" - Rednex {-/UK0715} : 3/10

2006. "Laffy Taffy" - D4L {US0919/-} : 2/10

2011. "Good Feeling" - Flo Rida {-/UK1184} : 5/10

2021. "Sweet Melody" - Little Mix {-/UK1382} : 7/10

 

January 15th

1972. "American Pie" - Don McLean {US0266/-} : 7/10

1977. "Don't Give Up on Us" - David Soul {US0420/UK0399} : 6/10

1977. "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" - Leo Sayer {US0411/-} : 4/10

1983. "You Can't Hurry Love" - Phil Collins {-/UK0513} : 5/10

1983. "Down Under" - Men at Work {US0527/UK0514} : 8/10

2000. "What a Girl Wants" - Christina Aguilera {US0851/-} : 5/10

 

January 16th

1953. "You Belong to Me" - Jo Stafford {-/UK0002} : 7/10

1964. "Glad All Over" - The Dave Clark Five {-/UK0161} : 8/10

1982. "The Land of Make Believe" - Bucks Fizz {-/UK0492} : 3/10

1988. "Got My Mind Set on You" - George Harrison {US0648/-} : 6/10

1999. "Praise You" - Fatboy Slim {-/UK0811} : 8/10

1999. "Have You Ever" - Brandy {US0837/-} : 7/10

2010. "Replay" - Iyaz {-/UK1119} : 6/10

 

January 17th

1976. "I Write the Songs" - Barry Manilow {US0386/-} : 3/10

1987. "Shake You Down" - Gregory Abbott {US0618/-} : 4/10

1998. "Never Ever" - All Saints {-/UK0780} : 5/10

1998. "Truly Madly Deeply" - Savage Garden {US0822/-} : 6/10

2004. "All This Time" - Michelle {-/UK0969} : 3/10

2009. "Just Dance" - Lady Gaga ft. Colby O'Donis {US0968/UK1087} : 8/10

 

January 18th

1960. "Running Bear" - Johnny Preston {US0025/UK0098} : 3/10

1975. "Down Down" - Status Quo {-/UK0363} : 8/10

1975. "Mandy" - Barry Manilow {US0350/-} : 5/10

1986. "That's What Friends Are For" - Dionne & Friends {US0588/-} : 2/10

1997. "Professional Widow (It's Got to Be Big)" - Tori Amos {-/UK0756} : 6/10

2020. "The Box" - Roddy Ricch {US1096/-} : 6/10

 

January 19th

1959. "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" - The Platters {US0009/UK0082} : 9/10

1974. "You Won't Find Another Fool Like Me" - New Seekers ft. Lyn Paul {-/UK0342} : 4/10

1974. "Show and Tell" - Al Wilson {US0315/-} : 6/10

1980. "Brass in Pocket" - Pretenders {-/UK0449} : 7/10

1980. "Rock with You" - Michael Jackson {US0481/-} : 7/10

1985. "I Want to Know What Love Is" - Foreigner {US0562/UK0544} : 4/10

1991. "Sadeness (Part I)" - Enigma {-/UK0657} : 7/10

1991. "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" - Janet Jackson {US0737/-} : 8/10

2002. "More Than a Woman" - Aaliyah {-/UK0917} : 8/10

2008. "Now You're Gone" - Basshunter ft. DJ Mental Theo's Bazzheadz {-/UK1067} : 5/10

2013. "Scream & Shout" - will.i.am ft. Britney Spears {-/UK1219} : 3/10

2017. "Shape of You" - Ed Sheeran {US1061/UK1319} : 4/10

2019. "Sunflower" - Post Malone & Swae Lee {US1082/-} : 7/10

2023. "Pointless" - Lewis Capaldi {-/UK1407} : 3/10

 

January 20th

1956. "Sixteen Tons" - Tennessee Ernie Ford {-/UK0041} : 9/10

1966. "Keep On Running" - The Spencer Davis Group {-/UK0208} : 7/10

1968. "Judy in Disguise (With Glasses)" - John Fred and His Playboy Band {US0196/-} : 4/10

1990. "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" - Michael Bolton {US0711/-} : 1/10

1996. "Jesus to a Child" - George Michael {-/UK0732} : 9/10

2001. "Love Don't Cost a Thing" - Jennifer Lopez {-/UK0888} : 6/10

2022. "ABCDEFU" - Gayle {-/UK1394} : 5/10

 

January 21st

1984. "Owner of a Lonely Heart" - Yes {US0543/-} : 7/10

1989. "Two Hearts" - Phil Collins {US0680/-} : 4/10

2006. "Grillz" - Nelly ft. Paul Wall, Ali & Gipp {US0920/-} : 4/10

2012. "Domino" - Jessie J {-/UK1185} : 5/10

2017. "Bad and Boujee" - Migos ft. Lil Uzi Vert {US1060/-} : 5/10

2021. "Drivers License" - Olivia Rodrigo {US1116/UK1183} : 6/10

Edited January 21, 20232 yr by Telsorrow

January 1st

 

New year, new project

 

1966. "The Sound of Silence"

Simon and Garfunkel

{US0151/-}

 

I believe it is fitting that we start off this project with one of the greatest songs of all time. The first 10 seconds alone have become one of those ubiquitous memes that never seem to go away, but many people don't seem to realize how good the rest of the song really is!

 

 

It's a haunting story about the general public being flabbergasted by the sight of whatever shiny is thrown in front of them. It may come across as snobbish and condescending, but I'd rather interpret it as a philosophical observation and warning instead. This duo is easily one of my favorite vocalists in that Greenwish Village folk revival sphere from back then, owing to their angel-like close harmony. And the way this song builds up is simply stunning, beginning with minimalist guitar riffs and progressing to a full medieval rock fair near the end. Technically, the psychedelic rock single version is what made this song popular, but I definitely prefer the sparser and intimate original folk song. But I guess the general public's maximalist tastes did help in this case, huh?

 

Great start to this project and also one of the best years in popular music.

 

Rating: 10/10

 

--

 

1969. "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"

Marmalade

{-/UK0263}

 

By 1969, the Beatles were so ubquitious that if they weren't topping the British charts, they were still topping the charts. Plenty of opportunistic bands, such as Marmalade, took advantage of the band's massive success by releasing faceless covers like these and still managed to top othe charts.

 

 

"Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da" isn't exactly my favorite song on the White album, but that album's strength lies more on how stylistically diverse it is. And this song's innocent and bright sound that appropriates the Jamaican ska rhythm certainly added to the LP as a whole. It works within the context of the album, but less so as its own single. Taken as its own entity, I can certainly still appreciate the group's quirky experimentations on the song like the use of instrumental doo-dads like McCartney's voice effect as well as its general cheesy music-hall feel. But this Marmalade version just seems so neutered in comparison, like the fun was sucked off it soemhow. It tries to sound as close as possinle to the original tostay recognizable but it also doesn't bring anything to the table as a result, which is about the most pointless a cover could be. And that resumes this track pretty well: a pointless cover from a forgettable band.

 

Rating: 4/10

 

--

 

2005. "Let Me Love You"

Mario

{US0911/-}

 

 

I mean it's a fairly sweet R&B love song for sure. But Mario isn't exactly an outstanding vocalist and doesn't have much in the way of standing out from his R&B peers from back then, like say Usher's massive charisma or Ne-Yo's melodic sense of songwriting. This is a fairly straightforward love song tenuously disguised as a slow jam. The production is sort of generic and a bit mushy, and the key change in the bridge feels a little too much. I will admit it right from the gate: I'm a big fan of 2000s cheese of all sorts, and there's gonna be plenty of occasions throughout this project where I will out myself as such but this doesn't exactly hit the spot for me. It's more sappy and slightly boring more than anything really.

 

Rating: 6/10

Edited January 5, 20232 yr by Telsorrow

Ooh good luck with this! I very recently did a marathon of every Billboard Hot 100 #1 single and it was good fun.

 

'Sound of Silence' is the easy highlight from that trio indeed :wub:

January 2nd

 

1999. "Chocolate Salty Balls (P.S. I Love You)"

Chef

{-/UK0809}

 

Ugh… I guess we have to start somewhere with this special breed of songs known as novelty songs, AKA songs made solely for comedic intent or pure curiosity rather than musical integrity. The UK has a particularly bad habit of allowing TV show-related songs to top its charts.

 

 

But in any case, this song... This is not how Isaac Hayes' great talent should be utilized! South Park was a major cultural force in the late 1990s, thanks to its tongue-in-cheek tone and edgy humor, even if it became even more outlandish and derogatory in the years that followed. This is something I can't stand. Humor in general, especially low-brow stuff, has to be quick and snappy to be effective. It very rarely works in song format, and it certainly doesn’t here.

 

And this isn't really funny to begin with, it gets very old very quickly. The production is actually quite good, but it is hampered by, you know, Chef chanting about stuffing his chocolate salty balls into your mouth and Cartman's ghastly singing presence.

 

Thankfully, Isaac Hayes will eventually make an appearance later in the project with a proper song!

 

Rating: 3/10

 

--

 

2010. "The Climb"

Joe McElderry

{-/UK1118}

 

Coronation singles from televised singing competition shows are another breed of singles of their own in this project. And they're even harder to judge in a musical way than the novelty songs. At least the latter are fun to rag on when they tend to fail musically in spectacular ways and it's therefore entertaining. What is there to really say about these coronation singles? They all sound pretty much the same and were made with a very specific intent and for a very specific moment, and were bought in droves mostly by hype and by a public that otherwise probably doesn't care that much for music otherwise. I will try my hardest best throughout this project to find redeeming factors in these and be really generous with the rating.

 

 

That being said, this still sucks ass. Miley Cyrus isn't exactly my go-to singer for towering adult contempo ballads, and I can't say I like the original "The Climb" either. But despite the lackluster vocals and generic "hang in there" lyrics, even that had an emotion urgency communicated well enough and a pretty build-up. I haven't seen any X-Factor UK I think, but good Lord is Joe a terrible singer in this. This isn't very pretty, with a nasally tone in his voice pressing all the wrong notes at the wrong times. The production is blaring and generic, emphasizing all of the original's flaws tenfold.

The obligatory final choir section completely drowns out his vocals and it's quite hilarious, which means it’s the only redeeming factor about this even if it wasn’t even intentional.

 

At the very least, he's cute (perhaps that's why he won? I wouldn’t be surprised). As I previously stated, the rating is quite generous.

 

Rating: 2/10

 

--

 

2010. "Tik Tok"

Kesha

{US0980/-}

 

 

Finally, some good effing music! With its loud party girl aesthetics and copious amounts of autotune, "Tik Tok," despite its almost prophetic title, pretty much seemed transgressive at the time. It's unabashedly in-your-face in the best way possible, and it doesn't take itself seriously in the slightest bit. I don't mind heavy vocal editing and skeletal 8-bit production if the song in question is attempting little more than being just mindless fun; in fact, the digital robotic feel is a charm point for this type of party song.

 

Now to address the elephant in the room: this song's legacy was eventually tarnished after we learned about the sexual abuse allegations surrounding its producer, Dr. Luke. I won't go too deep in that whole mess, but knowing that the song is essentially the result of an artist's mistreatment does put a damper on the enjoyment of such a song. And unfortunately many such a cases in pop history.

 

But taken completely at face value though, this song is still a total banger.

 

Rating: 8/10

 

--

 

2020. "River"

Ellie Goulding

{-/UK1361}

 

 

A decent enough cover of Joni Mitchel's "River" to ring in the new year. The original has to be one of the best Christmas songs of all time, despite being only tangentially related to Christmas and more evocative of a longingly melancholy sentiment. It paints a beautiful picture while Joni's vocals transport you into her story. Ellie Goulding does a competent job by not overdoing it. The cover maintains the original's charming simplicity. But it does lose charm points for being a little too polished, and Ellie's voice in general isn't as effective in this type of chamber pop setting as Joni's.

 

I will also take this opportunity to complain about how much it is a travesty that "Lights", one of my favorite pop songs of all time, didn't reach number one on either charts. Talk about pop charts injustice!

 

Rating: 6/10

Edited January 2, 20232 yr by Telsorrow

It's a great idea not to do this in chronological order so you don't get bogged down with lots of pre rock'n'roll ballads.

 

The Sound Of Silence is still the best song so far.

Thank you for the comments so far by the way!

 

It's a great idea not to do this is chronological order so you don't get bogged down with lots of pre rock'n'roll ballads.

I agree, I like to keep it diverse in genres and styles when listening to a lot of music so this is good for me.

Best of luck getting through these B-) The only real legacy of that Joe McElderry track is the song that it debuted at #2 behind the week before rising to #1 (by default on collapsing sales) - although it'll be a long time before you get to that the way you're doing this :lol:

 

Agreed Simon & Garfunkel still have the best song so far although I have a soft spot for Chef too :kink: and 'TiK ToK' is one of the better aged songs from the club banger era, sonically that is, of course the Dr. Luke stuff is a whole other mess.

 

'Lights' actually never even went top 40 in the UK! A rare example (at least this side of 2000) of a song by a UK artist that blew up Stateside while being ignored at home.

I'll be following this with interest, I love number 1s review blogs, it's just a shame the writers almost always never finish :lol: Hopefully the same won't happen to you! I like this structure too. It would keep it fresh and give you some diverse sounds.

 

The Sound of Silence is an easy highlight so far, though Tik Tok was quite fun for what it was, as was Chef tbh :kink:

January 3rd

 

1963. "The Next Time" / "Bachelor Boy"

Cliff Richard & The Shadows

{-/UK0144}

 

Because this is our first double-sided single to count towards the number one spot, as a rule of thumb for the rest of the project, I decided to listen to both songs and give the whole vinyl single an average rating (which isn't exactly the most fair way, but that's how it is).

 

So Cliff Richard... An absolute British chart titan, dominating the top spot before the Beatles did and continuing to do so for many decades to come. Even though he wasn't particularly big anywhere else, it's crazy to think how monstruous his legacy was in his home country.

 

This particular single got as big as it did pretty much on the behalf of the success of the movie "Summer Holiday".

 

 

"The Next Time" is a decent ballad that’s very reminiscent of the stuff American crooning pop singers like Bobby Viton were churning out at the time. The production is that infuriatingly bland mush of easy listening strings, but that’s to be expected from the pre-Beatles era. Cliff Richard does at least a good job of elevating this type of sappy material with his decently charming voice.

 

 

"Bachelor Boy" is the single's B-side, which was apparently more successful with the public and was most likely the primary reason why buyers sought out this single in the first place. Understandably so! It's more energetic of a song and less sleepy feeling for sure. It has a more catchy thump that manages to stick with you. It's still pretty cheesy and doesn't pique my interest though.

 

Rating: 5/10

 

--

 

1970. "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head"

B. J. Thomas

{US0227/-}

 

Another song that became a huge number one hit thanks to its inclusion in a film. Soundtracking movies just used to be a huge selling point for singles.

 

 

This is a nice and breezy number. It’s fairly safe and innocent in its concept, not exactly pushing the pop formula in any interesting way really. Which is ironic considering the movie it stars in is pretty weird and goofy as far as Western movies from back then go.

 

But I do have to commend the innocence though. The lyrics are so cute and fluffy that it's difficult to dislike them. It also helps that it has a memorable chorus, a competent singer and the tooting horn parts that I love.

 

Just a nice n’ easy start to ring in by far the busiest decade for the top spot on the Billboard charts.

 

Rating: 7/10

 

--

 

1976. "Saturday Night"

Bay City Rollers

{US0384/-}

 

A total power pop earworm of a song, that interestingly flopped in the UK initially but became a huge hit in the US once it was released there two years later. Good thing it did! Bay City Rollers aren’t exactly my favorite bubblegum band (they certainly don’t hold a candle to Sweet), but this song is certainly one of their definite hits.

 

 

I love the pumping chant part (S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y!), I love the buildup in the chorus to that chant and I especially love just the whole teenage anthem vibe of the song, mixing in some welcome glam rock influences along the way. It perfectly captures the mood of a wild weekend with friends. My only complaint is that the main vocals are quite weak and flimsy.

 

Also as a fun fact, this song inspired the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop," so it's interesting to learn how a pop ditty became a significant part of early punk culture.

 

Rating: 8/10

 

--

 

2019. "Sweet but Psycho"

Ava Max

{-/UK1349}

 

Some late '10s pop that seems to harken back to Lady Gaga's glory days earlier in the decade. I don't have an issue with that per se since Lady Gaga herself has occasionally taken a page from Madonna's book to great effect, but I couldn't help but feel like I was hearing a bit of a knock off here. The theme of a psychopathic lover was also very overdone in 2010s pop, with "Bad Romance" pretty much perfecting the theme right from the start.

 

 

The song's strongest point would be its pretty odd progression, with a bridge-feeling part appearing as the second verse. However, the beat is quite weak, and the pitch-shifted break feels completely unnecessary.

 

Overall, it's decent pop music, well-composed and sung, but not the most inspired thing

 

Rating: 6/10

Edited January 3, 20232 yr by Telsorrow

'Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head' is a nice song, not really one I'd go out of my way to listen to though - I'm actually not sure which version of it is the one I've heard, there were 3 versions that made the top 40 around the same time in the UK with the one you've posted only getting to #38 (the highest charting version in the UK was by Sacha Distel reaching #10).

 

'Sweet But Psycho' is definitely a Gaga pastiche but still the best song Ava has done for me.

Good luck with the ambitious reviews!

 

The best Bay City Rollers records were pre-Les McKewan and all but one of them were flops in the UK - including this one, which I rated in 1973. The USA had the good taste to chart this and not the mostly bland stuff they did in 1974 and onwards.

 

The Next Time is lovely, but you're right it wasn't the A side at the time, it was bachelor Boy, one of my fave early singles as dad bought it, and Summer Holiday is an epic "I wanna do that" iconic film to 60's kids - driving a double decker through Europe without parents! These days I'd rather hear The Next Time, but I'm still fond of BB.

 

BJ Thomas is a great moment in the movie Butch cassidy & The Sundance Kid, a great Bacharach/David tune, but a lame version by Sacha Distel sapped the success of BJ in the UK, who never really made it, due to many UK hit covers of his US hits.

 

Sound Of Silence is classic, no question. Isaac Hayes is awesome (on Shaft), not so much his salty balls though. The Beatles should have released Ob La Di as a single, but they regularly failed to cash in on their own potential hits so we got this lesser cover instead. Marmalade were pretty fine when they moved into self-written ballads and pop instead of covers, and Junior Campbell went solo with 2 fab gospel hits.

 

Ava I just reviewed, S'OK. The Climb, hmmm, pass, Tik Tok, I loathe autotuning now and I refuse to buy any record that obviously uses it. Kesha had an excuse back then, nobody does 12 years later! River, I'll take Joni Mitchell. Mario, S'OK.

 

Good luck! Will enjoy this... :)

An exciting project you've started here! I haven't heard Saturday Night before but listening now it sounds like a pretty decent track and something that could stick in my head for ages.

January 4th

 

1957. "Singing the Blues"

Guy Mitchell

{-/UK0053}

 

 

This is actually a pop cover of a Marty Robbins song. It works better as a melancholy country song like the original rather than as some strange stomping tune punctuated by whistling. But I can certainly appreciate the inventiveness at work here. It manages to be a little catchy earworm while avoiding the annoying tropes that plagued many late-'50s novelty songs. I like it.

 

It's also noteworthy that this version was a major success on both sides of the Atlantic (despite the fact that it predated the Billboard Hot 100), which was still kind of a rare feat back then, especially if you weren't Elvis.

 

Rating: 7/10

 

--

 

1960. "El Paso"

Marty Robbins

{US0024/-}

 

We just had a Marty Robbins cover, but here is a full-blown Marty Robbins song! Classic country and death ballads go hand in hand, and this is unquestionably a classic in the genre of Western sung stories about forbidden love and murder.

 

 

There’s so much to love here: the way Marty Robbins nonchalantly sings this love epic, the actual dark story with its fatal ending, the stripped back instrumentation with some amazing guitar playing and the beautiful harmonies complementing the main vocals. An all-time great for sure!

 

Rating: 9/10

 

--

 

1964. "There! I've Said It Again"

Bobby Vinton

{US0103/-}

 

The very last Billboard number one from the pre-Beatles era couldn't be a better representation of the worst aspects of that era.

 

 

"There! I've Said It Again" fails on so many levels. The singing is extremely poor all around, while the chorus feels barely on key. The harmonies serve no purpose other than to irritate. The production is the most uninteresting pap you can imagine, with watery strings and a poor use of an echoed guitar.

 

Bobby Vinton did release some solid material around this time, but this was clearly him being on autopilot. This song has been rightfully forgotten with time, and the American public moved on to much better things.

 

Rating: 2/10

 

--

 

1975. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"

Elton John

{US0349/-}

 

Despite being regarded as one of the major classics of the psychedelic era, the original "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" was actually never released as a single (in fact, no song from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band did recieve a single release). So I guess Elton John decided he was the one to try to give it a proper release, even though the psychedelic era and hippie movement were long passed their prime in 1975. This cover still has that vague glam rock sheen that was so en vogue back then, but it's otherwise not too dissimilar from the original.

 

 

It's not bad, but while this song works well enough as a showy musical theatre piece, the original's drugged out experimentation is still far more fitting of a take.

It's still bizarre to think that this strange hallucinatory song managed to dominate the pop charts at one point, but this is Elton John we're talking about. He could have done pretty much anything in the mid-'70s and still sell like crazy.

 

Rating: 6/10

 

--

 

2014. "Happy"

Pharrell Williams

{US1034/UK1248}

 

For a song featured on a movie from one of the worst kids franchises, this didn’t turn out too bad. "Happy" is a laidback tune that doesn’t try to be anything more than a musical breeze of a song. It’s simple and very straightforward. It has some catchy clap beats and vague hints at soul music, and the lyrics couldn’t be more self-explanatory happiness statements if they tried.

 

 

To be honest, I've never been a huge fan of this song. It doesn't have much of a presence, and it blends too easily into the background I guess. It also becomes very repetitive near the end.

 

Pharrell is a very talented man, but most of his best work, both as an artist and as a producer, is far from being family-friendly fare like this!

 

Rating: 6/10

January 5th

 

Today we celebrate Blondie's Chris Stein's 73rd birthday! Happy birthday!

 

1980. "Please Don't Go"

KC and the Sunshine Band

{US0480/-}

 

The first '80s song on this project is also the number one song that opened the decade on the Billboard charts. KC and the Sunshine Band is one of those disco bands mostly known for their shallow dance hits, plenty of which will be featured on here. And while I enjoy many of those shallow disco songs, the band here attempts another late-'70s megatrend: the soft rock love horn ballad. And boy, does that style not fit this band at all.

 

 

This song just tries way too hard. The main singer KC almost feels like a loony theatre kid completely phoning in his performance. The production tries painfully hard to hold itself from not turning into a dance track at any given moment, and is in general a huge mess of emotional strings and plucky synthesizers.

 

And, to be honest? It's actually quite charming in a "so bad it's good" kind of way. It clearly feels like a dance band that had never done a ballad before attempting one and failing spectacularly, but entertainingly so.

 

Rating: 5/10

 

--

 

1991. "Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter"

Iron Maiden

{-/UK0656}

 

Well, this is definitely not your typical number one song, huh. Metal, and even most of the darker hard rock, never really had much of a presence on the pop charts, unless it was in an already diluted poppy substyle. Yet in early 1991, the UK allowed one of their most iconic metal bands a shot at the number one position, which is wild to think about. It was helped as a stunt against Cliff Richard hogging the top position for Christmas that year. Naturally it had pretty much zero airplay since it was banned by the BBC, and yet it still managed to top the charts for several weeks just on sales alone. Charts stories like these are just fun to read about.

 

 

Anyway, this is some pretty classic heavy metal, very close to the genre's hard rock roots stylistically. Metal had already splintered into weirder and wilder directions by 1991, so this stuff by one of the early classic bands must have sounded refreshing to metalheads.

 

It appeals to me as well. It's a little repetitive, but Bruce Dickinson's falsetto vocals are spot on, and the guitar solo is killer. It's just plain fun, and it rocks!

 

Rating: 8/10

 

--

 

1991. "Justify My Love"

Madonna

{US0736/-}

 

1991 was a wild year for the charts, and undoubtedly one of the strangest years in pop music history. While a metal band ruled the UK charts, Madonna topped the Billboard Hot 100 with a bizarre slur of sexual pop experimentation.

 

 

"Justify My Love" is little more than a looping skeletal beat, supported only by an ambient texture, some vocal sighs, and Madonna flirting over the track in a quasi-spoken word fashion. It's completely mind-boggling for a chart-topping pop music track in 2023, let alone 1991! Of course, it, along with its equally controversial video clip that blurs gender lines, were banned from many media channels, most notably MTV. Many also unjustifiably dismissed this as a shallow attempt to gain attention, but you have to admire Madonna's willingness to experiment as a pop artist to such a wild degree.

 

But, as much as I admire the daring experimentation going on here, I'd be lying if I said I enjoyed listening to it. This isn't too far off to listening to a porn audio, which isn't exactly an experience I seek out while listening to music. Clunky lines like "Poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another" have also aged poorly.

 

Still, I have far too much respect for the hustle to give it anywhere near a failing grade.

 

Rating: 6/10

 

--

 

2008. "Low"

Flo Rida ft. T-Pain

{US0954/-}

 

"Low" is a legendarily dumb song. I'm generally not a huge fan of Flo Rida and thought most of his brief reign as a chart titan was pretty shoddy. But even I have to admit that this song is just plain fun.

 

 

Granted, most of Flo Rida's shortcomings are already on full display here, such as his stilted flow, annoying personality, and bad lyrics. However, the bouncy Southern rap-inspired production and the iconic T-Pain chorus ("Boots with the fur!") more than compensate for these flaws. It's intended to be a mindless dance track featured on an equally mindless movie, and it fully succeeds as such.

 

Rating: 7/10

Edited January 5, 20232 yr by Telsorrow

5th January, I'm afraid Im a fan of KC's early disco domination - he created one of the 2 tracks that kick-started the genre in summer 1974, Rock Your Baby (George McRae) and wrote/produced his follow-up hits to boot while also having a major chart-topping career (in the states) and hits in the UK with gems like Queen Of Clubs, Get Down Tonight, That's The Way (I Like It), Shake Shake Shake, funk-based Florida much-sampled and covered disco. Please Don't Go came out around the time of the US disco backlash (burning records is SO Middle Ages!) and brough them back to hit status briefly. It's a bit bland these days, yet not as annoying as the KWS cover! :D

 

 

Iron maiden rates in my bottom 5, I'm afraid, of early January Uk chart-toppers :o :o

 

 

Justify My Love is a decent naughty-Madonna period rhythm track, blame Lenny Kravitz for additional naughtiness....!

 

Singing The Blues never a big fan of, El Paso was a huge family fave in our house growing up, proper Cowboy song. Elton covered Lucy cos he was best mates with John Lennon at the time, godfather to Sean eventually, and he'd just got John a US chart-topper, got him to turn up on stage at Madison Square Garden to perform a Beatles song, and got him back together with Yoko to boot...

I will have seen it in passing in a list of US #1s but I don't think I ever really clocked that Elton John's version of 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' was a US #1. The original is a classic and somewhere up there with my favourite Beatles songs but I don't think I've heard Elton's version.

 

My favourite song (that I've heard) from these last couple of sections is unironically 'Low'. Most of Flo Rida's songs haven't aged well or were naff to begin with but that and 'Club Can't Handle Me' still hold up for me. And T-Pain is a legend.

Thanks for all the messages of encouragement so far btw ;)

 

I'll be following this with interest, I love number 1s review blogs, it's just a shame the writers almost always never finish :lol:

It is a hard commitment! I do listen to music pretty much constantly so this was an easy fit into my habits. But I did write down some thoughts for some of the songs in advance so I don't have to come up with too much at once and write each day :D

 

'Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head' is a nice song, not really one I'd go out of my way to listen to though - I'm actually not sure which version of it is the one I've heard, there were 3 versions that made the top 40 around the same time in the UK with the one you've posted only getting to #38 (the highest charting version in the UK was by Sacha Distel reaching #10).

It had a lot of covers by very different singers that came out in a very short amount of time for some reason. I did listen to the Sacha Distel version too! The French accent is kind of charming, but the singing is flat and the production is much worse. Thankfully I only have to listen to the definite B. J. Thomas version for this project (although the Bobbie Gentry version is also pretty good admittedly too).

 

It's a bit bland these days, yet not as annoying as the KWS cover! :D

Yeah we will also get to that KWS version on this project eventually :D.

January 6th

 

Today is Arctic Monkeys' Alex Turner's 37th birthday! Happy birthday!

This is also a '70s-only day for this project!

 

1973. "You're So Vain"

Carly Simon

{US0287/-}

 

 

"You're So Vain" is one of those all-time great roast songs. It purposefully leaves the identity of the song's subject open to interpretation, allowing it to be applied to a wide range of situations. At the same time, it's cleverly written so that the complaints about this specific person are so specific that the song's message never feels muddled. Carly appears to have spilled all her grievances with that person all over these lyrics, whether it's their self-importance or their unfaithfulness. And lines like "I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee" only add to the poetic prowess at work here.

 

It's not just the lyrics that stand out here; it also rocks. It has a great guitar solo, a tense and building intro, and great harmonies that include a appearance from Mick Jagger.

 

Should be listened to at your own risk because this song is downright vicious!

 

Rating: 9/10

 

--

 

1979. "Y.M.C.A."

Village People

{-/UK0431}

 

Safe to say that anyone who is regularly invited to parties of any kind would be sick of hearing this song. The dance coupled with the song is so ingrained in people’s psyche at this point, it might as well be used as a popular example of widespread brainwashing.

 

 

Barring that dance, this song is actually solidly composed when you get down to it. It has a memorable groove, good singing that draws you in, and a strong empowering presence. Looking closer, the theme of promoting the Young Men's Christian Association is rather strange. It's difficult to tell whether they're just nonsense throwaway lyrics like in so many other disco songs, or a slew of double-entendres for essentially a gay hooking spot.

 

In any case, it's one of the greatest party songs of all time.

 

Rating: 8/10

 

--

 

1979. "Too Much Heaven"

Bee Gees

{US0457/-}

 

The Bee Gees, one of the greatest disco groups, had written many ballads before their Saturday Night Fever era, many of which are very good. "To Love Somebody" for instance is a great example of love ballady goodness from well before the group's disco days. But one could also argue that "How Deep Is Your Love" is a ballad.

 

 

"Too Much Heaven," on the other hand, is exactly what someone who despises the Bee Gees would imagine a Bee Gees love ballad to sound like. An annoying over-reliance on falsetto vocals that leave no room for breathing, a slew of observatory love cliches, and stock soft rock production. Their iconic falsetto singing is usually a great accompaniment to their songs, but here it's so overused that it takes away all the emotions and makes listening to this a complete chore.

 

It's just a dull and irritating song.

 

Rating: 4/10

Edited January 7, 20232 yr by Telsorrow

January 7th

 

Today we celebrate the 75th birthday of Kenny Loggins and the 44th of Aloe Blacc! Happy birthdays!

 

1955. "The Finger of Suspicion"

Dickie Valentine

{-/UK0027}

 

 

Dickie Valentine delivers a warm and confident sounding jazzy love song in that classic mid-'50s crooning style. Harmonies abound, and an instrumental section appears halfway through the track, giving it some breathing room. It's very typical for the genre, but it's still a very nice part with a slick guitar.

 

I also like the central lyrical idea here ("The finger of suspicion points at you") since it's cleverly written in a way that few love songs were at the time.

 

Rating: 7/10

 

--

 

1989. "Especially for You"

Kylie Minogue & Jason Donovan

{-/UK0621}

 

Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan were two teenage heartthrobs that were dominant forces on late '80s UK charts, pushed by the SAW (Stock Aitken Waterman) hit factory machine. So a love duet between the two was only naturally in order for them.

 

 

I'd never heard of this song before and expected some putridly generic sap. It's not as bad as I expected, but it's still not great. It hurls every possible love ballad cliché at the wall. And, despite their best efforts to maintain a semblance of singing ability, Kylie and Jason have very poor chemistry together and it definitely feels like they recorded this at different studio sessions. The robotically cheesy SAW production also doesn't help the song.

 

It's possible that I don't dislike it as much because as a love ballad it doesn't try really too hard. It's fairly simplistic and straightforward, which I prefer in this case. And it also has some nice touches like the obligatory flamenco guitar before the last chorus. It also reminds me of the intro song to a teen sitcom from the same era, so bonus points for that.

 

Rating: 5/10

 

--

 

2012. "Paradise"

Coldplay

{-/UK1183}

 

 

I don't like most of Coldplay's music after their Viva la vida album. They used to have a lush stadium-ready sound, but they've cleaned up and digitized that sound so much to the point of utter blandness. "Paradise" feels like the midpoint of that downward spiral. It has some great moments that harken back to their earlier work, but it completely falls flat once the verses keep going and the chorus begins. That chorus has no substance whatsoever, and the lyrics are generic and completely insignificant. It just tries too hard to be this evocative love escapade and doesn't really succeed at it.

 

Rating: 5/10

 

--

 

2012. "Sexy and I Know It"

LMFAO

{US1010/-}

 

Oh look, it’s the tackiest duo of all the early '10s pop landscape! A duo consisting of the son of the legendary Motown label's founder and his nephew. They clearly weren't meant to last beyond their era of domination (unless they somehow managed to completely reinvent themselves), and songs like these are pretty much proof of that.

 

 

"Sexy and I Know It" is pure braindead hedonistic EDM. Although the glitchy electrohouse production has aged like milk in the sun, I admit to enjoying nodding to it. Unlike say many Black-Eyed Peas songs from the same era, this is actually well-reproduced. It has nice touches like squelch sound effects on the verse parts and the era's ubiquitous supersaw setting on the synthesizer being prominently featured on the chorus.

 

I don't even mind the ironic take on the chorus, which sort of works as a throwback to Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy". The issue with this duo was always their mediocre rapping instead. It's in full force here with terrible lines like "They like Bruce Lee rock at the club".

 

Overall, I'm finding it difficult to listen to this without feeling secondhand embarrassment. I just can't believe this song has any association with Motown at all!

 

Rating: 4/10

 

--

 

2017. "Starboy"

The Weeknd ft. Daft Punk

{US1059/-}

 

EDM and R&B complement each other far better than most people seem to believe. Many songs throughout this project would demonstrate this, and "Starboy" is one of them. Granted, Daft Punk's EDM contribution here is little more than a slight '90s electro sheen and a vocoder effect on an otherwise typical dark R&B track. But it still works well enough for what it is intended to be.

 

 

I also prefer when The Weeknd puts on his crazed out drug-abusing persona for his darker material, and this track about being fame worn works just as well. I do wish the chorus had a stronger pulse. The song as a whole feels a little too polished, lacking the genuine grit that made so many previous The Weeknd songs good.

 

Rating: 7/10

 

--

 

2021. "Last Christmas"

Wham!

{-/UK1381}

 

It's a little late for the season, but since it's more of a result of the delayed chart publishing date and residual scores, let's pretend it's Christmas all over again!

It's interesting to note how these older Christmas pop hits have gained so much more presence on the charts since the advent of the streaming era, peaking decades after their initial release. I'm curious if this one was aided by people still reeling from the tragic death of George Michael.

 

 

But, in any case, "Last Christmas" achieves its goal. With its theme of love and cozy wintery aesthetics, it feels like a throwback to older Christmas standards, while still modernizing with its at the time up-to-date production.

 

However, I have some reservations about this track. Because everything was digitized and sampled from a synthesizer, the production feels a little cheap. I adore George Michael as a vocalist, and I believe he has incredible note support. However, his almost seductive tone feels strange and out of place here.

 

Another Christmas song that peaked on the charts several decades later will eventually appear in this project, and it's definitely my favorite holiday song. You probably know which one it is.

 

Rating: 6/10

Edited January 7, 20232 yr by Telsorrow

January 8th

 

1954. "Oh Mein Papa"

Eddie Calvert

{-/UK0016}

 

"Oh Mein Papa" was a song from some '30s German musical. It's a sweet story about a woman remembering her late father, who was a famous circus clown of all things. It went through several incarnations over the years, with 1954 being a particularly significant year. Eddie Calvert, a well-known British trumpeter at the time, recorded an instrumental version in 1953, which was a big hit in the British charts early in the year. Around the same time, Eddie Fisher, an American singer, recorded his own version of "Oh! My Pa-pa," which went on to become a number one hit on the American charts. I'm curious to know if these two versions were linked in any way. If not, what a bizarre coincidence!

 

 

In any case, this version of the song is a pleasant quasi-instrumental track. The main instrument here is obviously Eddie's trumpet, but the angelic sounding harmonies and the harp add some pretty flourishes to the song. It's not meant to be exciting or engaging in any way, but it blends into the background quite nicely.

 

Rating: 6/10

 

--

 

1972. "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)"

The New Seekers

{-/UK0308}

 

Please, no. Don't! Repackaging the hippie idealism for purely shallow commercial purposes is about as insulting as a song from the early '70s could be, aside from the insensitive stuff, of course. Yes, because this is the song from that godammed "Hilltop" Coca-Cola commercial. For some reason, the New Seekers thought it would be a great idea to turn a jingle into a radio pop song.

 

 

Of course, because "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" was originally written as a TV jingle, transforming it into a pop song necessitates completely rewriting some parts. "I'd like to buy the world a Coke" was changed to "I'd like to hold it in my arms," but with barely a minute worth of song material, why not write some more original lyrics?

 

The song gets off to a good start. When the New Seekers put their minds to it, they are a perfectly capable group of singers. However, it quickly devolves into a cacophony of conflicting notes coming from all directions. Those aren't harmonies at all! What a song about idealism and living together quickly turns into what feels like a singing competition with some pretty bad performances thrown in there. Even the original ad version got the harmony part right!

 

What is essentially a two-minute track came off feeling at least five minutes long. Simply an unpleasant song that had no right to exist in the first place.

 

Rating: 3/10

 

--

 

1977. "You Don't Have to Be a Star (To Be in My Show)"

Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis, Jr.

{US0410/-}

 

Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr. were both ex-members from the 60s pop soul band 5th Dimension. Since that band was long past its prime at that point in 1977, I'm guessing the two decided to capitalize on two major '70s trends to re-establish their relevance: disco and variety shows. I'm afraid to say that it worked, and I rather like it. The two singers' voices don't really complement each other all that well, but they have some great chemistry going on thanks to the fact that they are a married couple.

 

 

The song is well-crafted, with lovely disco flourishes and a lovely flute. It also has one interesting central lyric idea, but they don't build on it in any interesting way. And the lyrics eventually end up feeling barren and repetitive.

 

Rating: 6/10

 

--

 

1994. "Twist and Shout"

Chaka Demus and Pliers ft. Jack Radics & Taxi Gang

{-/UK0700}

 

"Twist and Shout" had a rather complicated history as a track. It began as a completely forgotten R&B song by a band called the Top Notes. A year later, it was covered by the Isley Brothers and became a major R&B hit, even crossing on the major charts in the US and UK. The Beatles cover from 1963, however, is by far the most definitive version, transforming the song into a full-fledged rock standard (although funnily it was originally released only as an US-exclusive single). It has gone through several incarnations since then. One of them, a Salt-N-Pepa version, was a northworthy hit in the late '80s, and it's a lot of fun!

 

However, in early 1994, a Jamaican music duo managed to make the song top the UK charts for the very first time with their own reggae rendition of it.

 

 

Reggae covers of early rock standards was apparently a big thing on the '90s charts. We'll see a few more examples throughout this project, but this one might be my favorite. Definitely because it sounds more like a genuine product of the Jamaican sound systems than a shallow cod reggae version. It has some nice touches, such as the hypnotically bouncy reggae beat and some talented toasting. However, I find the track's barking vocal sample to be a little annoying. And because this was originally a fairly repetitive rock 'n' roll track, it doesn't work as well as a slower and longer reggae track.

 

Rating: 6/10

 

--

 

2005. "Against All Odds"

Steve Brookstein

{-/UK0998}

 

Oh yeay, another X-Factor coronation single… This was the very first winner from that competition that went on to become a TV staple for over a decade, so that’s something at least. Steve Brookstein, like many other competition show winners, did not go on to have a successful career after his 15 minutes of fame. In fact, he was dropped by his label shortly after winning the competition. He has since retaliated against the show, criticizing a particular jury member. It's a kind of a sad story.

 

 

What does all of this mean for the song? The backstory, on the other hand, is far more interesting than the song itself. I guess the early 2000s UK charts were nostalgic for some Phil Collins, because two different versions of this song topped the charts in a relatively short period of time. The original has its own set of issues, which I will go over in greater detail once it appears in this project. However, the Steve Brookstein version actually improves on it slightly by being more nuanced and less hammy in his delivery. After that other terrible X-Factor song from a few days ago, it was also refreshing to hear some actual strong singing with good note support.

 

The overblown ending with the obligatory choir part, on the other hand, ruins the refreshing simplicity. And, at the end of the day, it's still pretty boring.

 

Rating: 4/10

 

--

 

2011. "Grenade"

Bruno Mars

{US0997/UK1154}

 

So the hammy, overblown ballad had to come from somewhere other than X-Factor. So here comes Bruno Mars to deliver it instead! Look, Bruno Mars is a good artist and all, but his early days as a pop artist were still pretty much tentative. It would be a little while before he finds himself as a talented retro throwback singer.

 

 

This song, on the other hand, tries far too hard to achieve far too little. The lyrics and delivery are so ridiculously over-the-top that it's difficult to take him seriously even a little. His demands for reciprocal sacrifices in the name of love are so outlandish (you want her to take a bullet through her brain like you would?) that the entire message appears to be extremely misguided. It's as if an angsty teen took over the writers' room during the songwriting process. Bruno's vocals here are shaky at best, and there are times when he slips notes horribly (the "Take a bullet straight through my brain" section in the bridge, in particular).

 

This song simply does not work.

 

Rating: 4/10

Edited January 8, 20232 yr by Telsorrow