Being born in 1979 (eek!) and therefore experiencing my teenage years during the nineties, its inevitable a lot of my most vivid memories come from that decade. Starting high school in 1991. My first PROPER crush - that same year. My "hippy" phase circa '93 (all the uncool kids were doing it). Giving my SECOND proper crush a Valentines card anonymously, only for him to work it out and telling everyone I had given him it. Circa my hippy phase. My first kiss, aged 16 (I believe that was early '96). Leaving school, starting uni - 1997. How do a lot of those memories come flooding back? Through music of course.
I LOVE 90s music - in fact, I make no secret of the fact that, if I won the lottery, I would open a a chain of 90s bars both nationwide and internationally. In Glasgow, there is a great 80s place. But the 90s seems to be largely overlooked.
Or so I thought . . .
Then one day in work we realised (while having a random conversation) that there was a whole plethora of new 90s compilation albums out there. Now - okay, we probably ALL own a couple of these from when we actually were IN the nineties . . . but these ones
are different because they span the WHOLE 90s, not just a specific few months or one year from within the decade.
After perusing the various options on play.com, I finally settled on100 Hits - 90s. Partly because with 100 songs and 5 CDs for less than a tenner is was pretty damn good value for money, and partly because there were a whole heap of songs on there that made me go "Oh my god, I had forgot ALL ABOUT THAT ONE!"
Most 90s album seem to embrace the dance genre that seemed so damn big at the time and forget that there were other types of music out there. Thankfully, this particular album does not. In fact, it seems to go out of its way to cater to ALL punters. It even goes as far as to apparently categorise the genres of songs in terms of what CD they go onto. Discs 1, 2 and 3 are fairly pop-oriented with Disc 3 in particular leaning towards an r&b angle. Disc 4 covers Brit-Pop and Disc 5 presents us with the pick of the 90s dance tunes. Basically, it provides us with a good overalll representation of the 90s, combining cheesy pop such as Backstreet Boys, N'Sync and even New Kids, with slightly cooler bands like Sleeper and The Lemonheads; one hit wonders (Mike Flowers Pops - let's all say it together - "Who?") with artists who have, unfortunately or not, stood the test of time (Westlife- blurgh - or Peter Andre, for example). I think anyone who was around in the nineties would be hard pushed to not find a FEW tracks they liked the look of.
I like many songs on the album but these are the ones that particularly make me sit up and go "woohoo!!!" . . .
*One Week" - Barenaked Ladies "Birdhouse in Your Soul" - They Might Be Giants "Right Here" - SWV "Cleopatra's Theme" - Cleopatra "Independent Love Song" - Scarlett "Damn, I Wish I Was You Lover" - Sophie B Hawkins "You're Not Alone" - Olive "Mr Vain" - Culture Beat "Return of the Mack" Mark Morrison "Stay" - Shakespears Sister
See what I mean about there being a good mix of music genres there???
******TRACKS I COULD HAVE DONE WITHOUT******
Okay, so who had the bright idea to put not one, but TWO, Simply Red tracks on the album, eh??? That isn't going to appeal to that many people, is it? Or how about one of the biggest one-hut-wonders EVER, that infernal "Mambo No 5?" I'm also really not sure of the inclusion of Tanita Tikaram's "Twist in My Sobriety". Not only is it a bit dull and repetitive, it also, on closer inspection of the CD inlay, is from the eighties . . .
*****WHAT'S MISSING?*****
Of course, there's always ways to improve, and I did notice the absence of several key players from the nineties. Namely four of my favourite artists circa 1996 - Oasis, Blur, Ocean Color Scene and Alanis. When you consider the first three personified Brit-pop, and the latter made it okay for angsty, shouty women to come out and start venting their rage at life through song, it's a pretty big sin that none of them feature on this album.
Also noticeable in their absence, in my opinion? My own personal favourite song, not just from the nineties, but EVER, "Stay (I Missed You" by Lisa Loeb & 9 Stories. That was a classic for many of my generation. Other artists I feel could have been included were No Doubt, Sheryl Crow, Aqua, Haddaway, Snap and (since pretty much every OTHER boyband featured) Take That and East 17.
But hey, you can't please everyone, right? I guess the risk of covering all bases music-wise with this sort of CD is that you end up with a CD that vaguely appeals to everyone, but not quite enough so that they want to buy it. But, despite the notable absences I mentioned, I believe this is a fairly good representation of the music of the 90s and I genuinely think it is a great album.
If you have been considering buying a 90s album, and want one that is a bit more varied than the dance-centric ones generally available, I would definitely recommend this one. AND, as it is currently only 6.99 on play.com, it is a BEAUTY of a bargain. So what are you waiting for? Go buy it and head back down memory lane. . .
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