Doctor Blind
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Posts posted by Doctor Blind
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Rabbit Heart and Cosmic Love are the only songs that do anything for me.
They are by FAR the best tracks on the album, she isn't the most consistent artist but I find Lungs a more cohesive and enjoyable album than either of the follow-ups, a very strong debut with tribal influences and wonderfully inventive sounds that finds the sweet spot between radio friendly and 'hipster'.
The National are of course amazing, first got in to them in 2007 with Mistaken For Strangers. Bloodbuzz Ohio floored me though, one of the best songs of the decade so far! The album is consistently good too, not a bad track there. :wub:
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Ultra Naté - Free
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm82/TheMagicPosition86/rsz_free_zpssm9jeork.png
Date 8th June 1997
3 Weeks
Official Chart Run 5-4-7-6-4-8-5-8-11-13-16-19-27-37-47-60-69 (17 weeks)
*Positions in red are the weeks when the track would be number 1 if just dance music was chart eligible.
Whilst her American contemporaries Robin Stone and CeCe Peniston were scoring successful UK hits with dance smashes inspired by the American club scene, Ultra Naté continued to evade mainstream success for 9 long years despite a strong push by her label Warner Bros. Her first UK hit came just before the start of the decade in December 1989, the house influenced “It's Over Now” (taken from debut Blue Notes in the Basement) but the follow-up “Is It Love?” fared no better, charting at #71 in February 1991. It could have been so very different for her, as Crystal Waters originally wrote “Gypsy Woman (La Da Dee La Da Da)” for Naté, however after the lead single from following album One Woman’s Insanity “Show Me” hit reverse soon after entering at #62, Warner Bros. decided it was time to pull the plug.
As has often been the case in this countdown, success triumphs in the face of certain defeat, and so it was to be with “Free” - an inescapably positive summer anthem that tapped into the optimistic mood of the country following the recent ascendency of the New Labour government - which went on to become an instant Top 5 hit in June, and spent an incredible 8 weeks in the Top 10. Written by Naté and transformed into a club anthem by Lem Springsteen in what became known as the Mood II Swing edit, “Free” has a simple but strong message which is emphasised in the bridge to the final chorus with the gospel-like plethora of backing singers euphorically cheering ‘Don’t be scared, your dreams right there, you want it (you want it), reach for it!’ The track has a subtle but effective guitar riff throughout and a much fuller production without the distracting but hypnotic/exciting beats than earlier 90s dance hits making it a better fit for radio than as a track which storms the dancefloor, however it did satisfy both equally well.
It dominated radio through summer ’97 and remained in the Top 40 until mid-September becoming part of the soundtrack to that holiday season, instantly granting Naté the success she had been chasing fruitlessly for almost a decade.
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Edited by Doctor Blind
Rosie Gaines - Closer Than Close
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm82/TheMagicPosition86/rsz_rosie-gaines-closer-than-close-517909_zpsxl48x0c3.png
Date 1st June 1997
1 Week
Official Chart Run 4-5-6-5-14-14-16-25-27-38-50-68 (12 weeks)
*Positions in red are the weeks when the track would be number 1 if just dance music was chart eligible.
Despite just the 3 UK hits to her name, Rosie Gaines has a long and highly acclaimed music career that started in 1985 with debut LP Caring, and peaked when she was asked by Prince to become part of his supporting band The New Power Generation on 1991 album Diamonds and Pearls, even duetting with Prince on his version of “Nothing Compares 2 U”. She went back to a solo career in 1992 but continued to work with Prince, who provided vocals for one of the tracks on her 1995 album Closer Than Close where the original title-track was first recorded.
“Closer Than Close” as it appears in its original form on that album is a smooth, mid-tempo, bluesy number - yet as so often happened in the 90s - it was a remix that propelled it into the chart. US DJs Hippie Torrales and Mark Mendoza both had long established careers, and collaborated in the mid-nineties to create MenTor Productions. Amongst the many remixes that they produced was the MenTor mix of “Closer Than Close” which sped Gaines’ towering vocals up, and transformed the original into an upbeat and incredibly catchy house track that inevitably stormed the clubs, whilst managing to successfully maintain the laid-back vibe of the original. It also had the traces of the style adopted by the nascent UK garage (2-step) scene, and was pitched-up and mixed to become a firm underground garage setlist favourite, along with one of the first hits of the genre in the UK - 187 Lockdown’s “Gunman”.
Whilst “Closer Than Close” was incredibly successful, due to the fact that it had been remixed out of the normal style of Gaines’ repertoire the options for a follow-up were limited - though one did eventually materialise - “I Surrender” which briefly charted at #39 in November, however Rosie has failed to chart since thus cementing her status as apparent ‘1-hit-wonder’ in the UK at least.
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Olive - You’re Not Alone
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm82/TheMagicPosition86/rsz_youre_not_alone_zpspxgclkuk.png
Date 11th May 1997
3 Weeks
Official Chart Run 1-1-3-6-15-18-27-37-44-54-57-64-69 (13 weeks)
*Positions in red are the weeks when the track would be number 1 if just dance music was chart eligible.
In the original of “You’re Not Alone” (taken from their debut Extra Virgin, Ruth-Ann Boyle’s eerily moody yet gorgeous vocals are stripped bare with only occasional remote bleeps and bursts of jagged interference interrupting the opening verse, before the rich and warm reversed synths roll in through the chorus. Stalling just outside the Top 40 on its initial release in 1996, a year long campaign of remixes, promo and a slightly reworked original version ensured that it eventually stormed straight to number 1 in May.
Olive were formed in 1995, and were the coming together of keyboardist/trumpeter Tim Kellett - who had previously worked with Manchester punk group The Durutti Column, and went on to write/play for Simply Red in the late eighties/early nineties - and songwriter/producer Robin Taylor-Firth who had previously worked in Nightmares On Wax. Session singer Ruth-Ann Boyle was discovered by Kellett whilst gigging in Portugal with The Durutti Column; the duo loved her voice and she was immediately brought in. She was tracked down in a student union bar and amongst the early demos the group tried out recorded the vocals to what would become “You’re Not Alone”.
“You’re Not Alone” was extended to 4:15 for the ’97 edit, which opens with the synths that provided the tracks main hook, and has the somewhat restrained breakbeat coming in earlier and accompanied by some added bass to enhance the chorus. Ruth-Ann Boyle’s echoed refrain which takes over towards the end of “You’re Not Alone” leaves the listener wondering whether there may be some slightly sinister undertones to this open love letter to a former lover, recalibrating the title as much a warning as reassurance. The chart topper developed an enduring popularity which led to Friendly Fires emulating the hook for “Skeleton Boy” in 2008 and Tinchy Stryder covering it for his 2009 single which made #14. Olive failed to make the Top 10 again, with follow-up “Outlaw” making it no further than 14 in the summer and then soon disappearing from the Top 40.
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I'd say with the continuing decline of the download (down 15% last year), coincident with the rapid growth of streaming (up 82% last year) we will see ever decreasing impact made from held back releases and #1s seem pretty unlikely. KDA likely to be the last with that strategy potentially!
Ministry of Sound will probably carry on with it though - next stop pre-ordering a stream! :D
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Orbital - The Saint
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm82/TheMagicPosition86/rsz_the_saint_zps3jrpew70.png
Date 13th April 1997
1 Week
Official Chart Run 3-12-22-43-71-73-68 (7 weeks)
*Positions in red are the weeks when the track would be number 1 if just dance music was chart eligible.
Brothers Paul and Phil Hartnoll officially formed Orbital in 1989 at the height of the UK acid house and rave scene, however it took them until 1997 to make the UK Top 10. Equalling their highest chart position of #3 was “The Saint”; an updated version of British composer Edwin Astley’s iconic theme to the popular 1960s TV series of the same name, which starred Roger Moore as Leslie Charteris’ anti-hero Simon Templar (aka, ‘The Saint’).
What started out for the brothers as a hobby became a full-time job after Paul created groundbreaking acid house anthem “Chime” in a makeshift garage studio at their family home in the commuter belt town of Sevenoaks. Knocked up in less than half an hour on a new four-track they were testing out and initially mixed onto cassette, it quickly garnered demand from tentative club plays and eventually scaled the dizzy heights of #17 on the singles chart in March 1990 - they were asked to perform on Top of the Pops where they mimed along to “Chime” in their anti-Poll Tax shirts. The group continued to mix and record new tracks, many of which also became 90s anthems such as “Belfast” and “Halcyon” from the Radiccio EP, and eventually gravitated to putting on relentlessly energetic and hugely entertaining live shows, which culminated in a legendary performance at the 1994 Glastonbury Festival. Step forward to 1997 and with a reputation that garnered the brothers huge respect, they were kindly asked by New Zealand film score composer Graeme Revell to remix the theme from the TV series of ‘The Saint’ to accompany the Hollywood adaptation.
Adopting a big-band style along with their own inimitable classical techno textures, “The Saint” is transformed into a huge big beat sound which became very much on trend during ’97 with updates to the Bond theme “On Her Majesty's Secret Service” by The Propellerheads, and the original theme by Moby: both following later in 1997. Orbital never made the Top 10 again but continued to tour successfully and have hits with 2004’s #29 hit “One Perfect Sunrise” serving as their swan-song before going on hiatus until 2012, when they returned in style with the fantastic Wonky.
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DJ Quicksilver - Bellissima
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm82/TheMagicPosition86/rsz_bellissima_zpsatktkmvf.png
Date 6th April 1997
4 Weeks (3 consecutive)
Official Chart Run 6-7-4-4-5-9-10-10-11-14-20-19-26-33-39-53-75 (17 weeks)
*Positions in red are the weeks when the track would be number 1 if just dance music was chart eligible.
Released on the distinct and increasingly ubiquitous Positiva record label, “Bellissima” was a huge chart hit for Turkish born producer Orhan Terzi, who grew up in Germany. Living in the city of Bochum situated in Nordrhein-Westfalen he opened and ran a record store that would soon become a frequent meeting place for ravers and DJs alike. It was here where he met Tommaso De Donatis in early 1995, and from this point collaborated on the DJ Quicksilver project. The ‘DJ Quicksilver’ name was one affectionately given (and subsequently taken) by Terzi in a DJ competition whereupon a barometer of mercury was used to establish and project the apparent success of the DJ set from the audience reaction.
By the middle-to-late-1990s instrumental dance was rapidly sweeping from the club dancefloor to the mainstream with the aforementioned Positiva duly delivering it to the charts. Their 1996 debut “Bingo Bongo” was a moderate hit in Europe (reaching the Top 40 in both Germany and Austria) but made a more subdued debut in the UK at #133 in February 1996. That club hit was sparse progressive house track with one vocal sample and tense string arrangements that would later be better applied on May 1997 single “Nightmare” by Brainbug (sadly not covered here), the follow-up just over a year later however was vastly more successful.
Opening with a euphoric and anthemic melody upon which “Bellissima” is constructed, the track slowly builds using a relentless pulsating bassline, a vinyl scratching effect which is used to break up the track, all of which transforms it into a powerfully charged commercial dance smash. “Bellissima” went straight into the Top 10 and began a (surprisingly strong for the unsettled Top 10 of 1997) run of 8 consecutive weeks there - likely due to people slow to catch on to the actual title of the track given it was an instrumental and this was in the era before Shazam and the internet, making it one of the most successful tracks to not go Top 3 in 1997. “Bellissima” eventually sold over 400,000 copies making it as the 24th biggest hit of the year. The project would come back with another Top 10 hit later in the year (more on that later), but are probably best known for their remix of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence”, titled “Heart of Asia” and released under the Watergate pseudonym - making the Top 3 in May 2000.
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This clearly has nothing to do with his ‘social conscience’ and as stated above is about manoeuvring himself into a more favourable position for if/when Boris becomes PM.
Also: Universal Credit is a cataclysmic disaster waiting to explode and IDS probably wanted out before that (in the words of Obama) ‘shit show’ became exposed.
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01 The National “High Violet”
02 Radiohead “In Rainbows”
03 Kanye West “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”
04 Foals “Total Life Forever”
05 LCD Soundsystem “Sound of Silver”
06 Patrick Wolf “The Magic Position”
07 Wild Beasts “Two Dancers”
08 Burial “Untrue”
09 Bombay Bicycle Club “A Different Kind of Fix”
10 Yeasayer “Odd Blood”
11 Grizzly Bear “Shields”
12 Deerhunter “Halcyon Digest”
13 Grimes “Art Angels”
14 Vampire Weekend “Modern Vampires of the City”
15 Yeah Yeah Yeahs “It’s Blitz”
16 The xx “xx”
17 Friendly Fires “Friendly Fires”
18 Arctic Monkeys “Favourite Worst Nightmare”
19 The Gaslight Anthem “The ’59 Sound”
20 Fuck Buttons “Tarot Sport”
21 Florence + The Machine “Lungs”
22 Cut Copy “In Ghost Colours”
23 Phoenix “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix”
24 WU LYF “Go Tell Fire To The Mountain”
25 M83 “Hurry Up, We're Dreaming”
26 Elbow “The Seldom Seen Kid”
27 alt-J “An Awesome Wave”
28 Grimes “Visions”
29 Jamie xx “In Colour”
30 M83 “Saturdays=Youth”
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RESULTS - Indie/Alternative Album of Buzzjack's Lifetime
in Indie, Rock and Alternative
I disagree a bit, Art Angels is definitely a lot more HIT than miss. It saddens me hugely to think that pop blockbuster gems like “Butterfly” will never be heard by huge swathes of the population. Pop perfection!