06 - Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You

You already know how you feel about this.

We kind of take it for granted that this exists so it's worth reflecting on how it sounded in 1994. Answer: effortlessly joyful. 1994 had one of the best Christmas top 2s ever - maybe even the second best after 1987.

This finished as the 14th best seller of 1994 and is never ever going to go away.

Colm's Score 7.8

05 - Reel 2 Real featuring The Mad Stuntman - I Like To Move It

Ok. So we all know how much I hate reggae. It might come as a surprise than I kinda like dance hall. This is not pure dancehall but it mostly is.

The chorus is a bit of a drag but boy, those verses are wonderful. I couldn't get enough of this in 1994 but it was a case of the law of diminishing returns; they never touched gold as much as they did here.

Chart fans of a certain vintage will know that this was, for a time, the best selling single of the 1990s that didn't make the top 3, spending a 1/4 of the year in the top 12.

Finishing the year as the 15th best seller.

Colm's score 8.0

Edited April 7Apr 7 by Colm

1 hour ago, Colm said:

05 - Reel 2 Real featuring The Mad Stuntman - I Like To Move It

Chart fans of a certain vintage will know that this was, for a time, the best selling single of the 1990s that didn't make the top 3, spending a 1/4 of the year in the top 12.

I think "Angels" might have something to say about that!😁

Chart fans of a certain vintage will know that this was, for a time, the best selling single of the 1990s that didn't make the top 3, spending a 1/4 of the year in the top 12.

😁

Edited April 7Apr 7 by Colm

The Sign is a good electronic pop/reggae song.

The production style wasn't new though; In the 80s Carly Simon - Why had a similar groove/production to Ace of Base (such a ahead of its time track) as did Karel Fialka - Hey Matthew.

Outhere Brothers' radio edit version copied Reel 2 Reel's production. I Like To Move It is a good and fun dance track!

Edited April 7Apr 7 by TheSnake

12 minutes ago, Colm said:

It was only 'for a time'..... 😁

Ah I see what you mean- my apologies.

Mariah's christmas song was easily the best of the 90's and an instant classic, so fairly bizarre it didnt stage a comeback until the 2000's before morphing into something I turn off from overplay. It is better than The Sign, but I'd rather hear that one 😄I Like 2 Move It didnt get that high in my charts (top 40) but it is fun, and stays in the memory unlike some other tracks of the time.

04 - The Grid - Swamp Thing

It's been difficult separating some of these.

This is obviously all about the banjo breakdown by Roger Dinsdale, which I assumed was a sample. He was found playing in Irish pub in London. The Grid invited him to come to the studio, played him the bassline and he jammed over the top until he hit upon something worth looping. And looping they did. The part was recorded on to physical tape which was then cut and the two ends spliced together enabling an endless playback of the riff.

This was a huge line dancing hit in Ireland and we can probably thank The Grid for Cotton Eye Joe.

Finished 1994 as the 17th best seller.

Colm's Score: 8.1