Top Ten Best Hit Songs of 1992

It’s time to flip the script and talk about the songs that made 1992 somewhat tolerable to a large degree. I wasn’t lying when I said that 1992 was a rough year for the ARIA singles chart with rock having an incredible year with quality everywhere, pop also had its moments of quality as did hip hop and R’n’B but overall the year trended toward dull and sappy ballads especially in pop and the New Jack Swing sound is starting to sound really washed out however I did manage to piece together a top ten best hit songs along with five honourable mentions but before we get started, let’s go over the rules…

1.       For a song to make this list, it must have made the ARIA Year End top 100 for 1992… a song from 1991 is eligible if it peaked higher on the 1992 year end than it did in 1991.

2.       This isn’t a definitive list of the best songs of 1992; this list is my opinion only. Not that of any music historian or what any outlet would choose to canonise from a specific year (I am certain a few choices here would have me thrown out anyway).

Now that’s clear, let’s get the show on the road with a song that I’m certain will be one of the most contentious picks of this list but the more I heard this song the more it made me love it so thus…

 

10. “I Love Your Smile” by Shanice

I think I seem to spare my number ten pick on the best list for any given year for a guilty pleasure song, songs that I love but know they would never be canonised by the critical set and “I Love Your Smile” by Shanice is one of those kind of songs..hell, I’ve seen it on worst lists for 1992 however I could never bring myself to hate this song, it’s a pop/r’n’b song where she’s in love with this guy’s smile and wants to be a better person because of this guy, it’s kind of cute…even if I am not sure Shanice should be sitting in class daydreaming and staring out the window…

Also, Shanice’s inflection on the line “I love your smile” makes the song feel incredibly genuine and the production even with the whistling (doesn’t help the song at all and put a couple of slots lower than I would have placed it) gives the song an infectious spirit that makes me want to tap my toes, it’s that bright, warm sunny song that makes my day every time I hear it…makes me feel better on a bad day, it’s not perfect but yeah sometimes it’s that song I need to hear.

 

So we’re going straight from a bright sunny pop/r’n’b song where the song is just scratching the surface to a song that is dealing with a considerably darker subject matter…

 

9. “Tennessee” by Arrested Development

Yeah, this is a tough song to write about but it deserved it’s place here, it’s a song inspired by Arrested Development’s frontman Speech meeting up with his brother at their grandmother’s funeral only for his brother to die in the same week as their grandmother’s funeral due to a severe asthma attack and as a way of coping and sorting through the trauma, Speech wrote “Tennessee” and asking whoever is up there to look after him in life and guide him knowing the last place he saw the people he loves alive was in Tennessee.

It’s this slice of catchy hip hop riding a sample of Prince’s 1988 song “Alphabet Street” with the production being upbeat which makes sense given that Speech is healing and trying to find his way in the world and honestly, I think I love it for the reason that it’s a song about finding hope even when those you love pass on, it works for that reason. I’m only sad it took me until 2021 to find it, great song!

 

You might remember that I said 1992 was a great year for rock music, well here’s the first proof of that…

 

8. “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica

That haunting guitar in the beginning that introduces the song and gives the song the lonely vibe before the drums kick in precisely before James Hetfield starts singing about the constant touring the band was doing at the time and missing somebody who is at home but more importantly the song never actually defines who that person is that Hetfield is missing (he has said in interviews it was a song for his girlfriend at the time) which allows for that more personal connection for the listener and really just makes the song hit even harder and even more powerfully especially as the orchestra kicks in.

To those of you who have only heard the Miley Cyrus cover of the song, I really recommend going back and listening to the original because yeah while Miley’s cover is damn good, the gut punch in the original is even more powerful and stronger.

 

Well, this was a rough pick, two songs by the same artist fought over this spot hard but in the end I ended up going with…

 

7. “Not a Day Goes By” by Rick Price

I agonised over this slot so much because “Heaven Knows” is a beautiful piano ballad that I wish I could have found room for in the top ten on this list however I gave it to “Not a Day Goes By” because Rick Price sells the frustration with himself here damn well, he is wondering what he did to drive this girl away and wonders how he got to being this person that so badly needs somebody he can cuddle at night and feels lost without her and the hook sounds so genuinely sweet and sincere in telling her, he is constantly thinking of her. Throw in the keyboards and guitars supporting Price’s vocals and I was sold…this is a great Aussie pop/rock song.

 

Originally, I was planning to leave this song off the list altogether not even an honourable mention but when I relistened to it to be sure of my feelings about it…the more I realized the song deserved to be on the list and well…

 

6. “Djapana (Sunset Dreaming)” by Yothu Yindi

I was shocked this made the year end for 1992, sure, Yothu Yindi had a massive year in 1991 thanks to “Treaty” but “Djapana (Sunset Dreaming)” didn’t even feel like a hit and I am also surprised just how much of a forgotten gem of a song it is in Australian music especially when you consider just how well traditional Aboriginal instrumentation like the didgeridoo and clapsticks blend in with the more European style electronic elements with the lyrics taken directly from age old ceremonial repertoires  that belonged to Gumatj and Rirratjingu clans, musing on that red sun sinking in the sky taking the vocalist back in his mind to memories of home as he battles homesickness and worry, something that in the end even as a white person even with my worries being very different than those of those missing their mobs in Arnhem Land, this song resonated for me at the end of things and I am so glad it made my list.

 

Well, I don’t think I need to even introduce this song…

 

5. “Under the Bridge’ by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Let’s not mince words here, “Under the Bridge” is the sort of rock behemoth that is unmatched even by the Red Hot Chili Peppers themselves, it’s the sort of killer rock song that blows the listener away and remains a rock classic to this day. Lead vocalist Anthony Kiedis wrote the song to vent his feelings of despondency, loneliness and just how much narcotics had impacted his life to the point he was recording “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” with the rest of Red Hot Chili Peppers and right from the outside you can feel the loneliness in Kiedis vocal delivery. So glad that the Peppers producer Rick Rubin encouraged Kiedis to share the lyrics because otherwise we might not have gotten absolute rock classic.

 

I don’t know what it says about me that this next song flung itself so high up this list but yeah, this song got here by breaking my heart…

 

4. “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” by Patty Smyth and Don Henley

I am going to keep this one brief because I’m not sure how I can explain how or why this song hits me the way it does, it’s the moment where a relationship is on the verge of breaking down because not working how they want it to and they realize they’ve been blind to it because they still love each other but love isn’t enough to justify staying in a crumbling relationship. It’s a song that just gets way too real and honest and sometimes a song like this is what is needed…I’ll leave it right there…

 

Well, that got dark and too real for moment there…so let’s brighten this list up for moment, shall we?

3. “Jump” by Kriss Kross

I don’t know how anyone can listen to “Jump!” and not at least nod their head with it, it’s this 3 minute 15 second lightning in a bottle of a debut single which samples artists ranging from Jackson 5 to Naughty by Nature, it should have been a mess of a song but no, thanks to the production team, it works better than it has any right to. The lyrics written by producer Jermaine Dupri after he observed people jumping at a concert and performed by two twelve year olds from Atlanta manage to have more charisma and energy than most of the trap scene in 2021. We don’t get these sort energetic rap songs with a damn good groove and magic choice of sampling in 2021 but we got it in 1992, I guess that’s something to be grateful to 1992 for? Right?

This song was all set to be my number one pick, hell, this is a song I’ve LOVED for years, it’s an instant thing for me to sing along to it on the radio but something has to finish second thus…

 

2. “Tip of My Tongue” by Diesel

Yeah, that guitar line gets me every god damn time and Diesel expressing that frustration of knowing what he wants to say to this girl to the point the words are right there and he is about to say but he gets nervous when she gets close, he forgets and she walks away with Diesel begging her not to walk away. It’s the sort of song that is just an easy sing along every time which is something Diesel is so good at especially on his “Hepfidelity” even with the hook being more repetitive than I would like, it’s still one of the best hit songs of 1992. Great song

 

So before we get to our number one, how about five honourable mentions

 

HM 1: “Take It From Me” by Girlfriend

Of all the songs from girl groups to hit the chart in 1992, Girlfriend’s ‘Take It From Me” was the best of them especially as Girlfriend and “Take It from Me” becoming a hit were probably responsible for the start of the girl power trend that would become big in music in the mid 90s however what I like about “Take It From Me” is that it’s just a simple pop song about this girl reassuring a boy that he doesn’t need to cry or carry on anymore as he can trust her and she’ll be good to him. I enjoyed Girlfriend way more than I probably should!

 

HM 2: “That Word (L.O.V.E)” by The Rockmelons feat. Cutty Ranks, Nardo Ranks and Deni Hines

Speaking of simple pop songs…this one hit the joy receptors like nothing else. Every time I heard this song it made me smile and that hook is an absolute monster. Damn good song

 

HM 3: “Remember the Time” by Michael Jackson

This is not the best Michael Jackson single in 1992 but of anything of Michael’s to make the year end for 1992, I’d take “Remember the Time” over anything else especially with that new jack swing style that was common this year and often misused. The song inspired by Michael describing how he fell in love; the song was dedicated to Jackson’s friend Diana Ross. Pop music misses you, Michael.

 

HM 4: “Justified & Ancient” by The KLF

Yeah, time didn’t do this song any favours unfortunately, the song is still good though and still worth being among the best of 1992 as it takes country singer Tammy Wynette’s vocals and actually references her signature hit “Stand by Your Man” thanks  to the ever so subtle steel guitar, it was the oddest pairing of 1992 but sometimes an odd pairing makes a good hit together and that was the case here!

 

HM 5: “Heaven Knows” by Rick Price

This was so close to making the top ten so much so I couldn’t justify not giving it an honourable mention, it’s a beautiful piano ballad where Rick Price is missing this girl since she left but knows he can’t chase her forever and leaves it all up to the heavens above hoping that heaven knows that he will see her again someday. It’s a song that just got to me the moment I heard so I guess consider this my official number 11.

 

Well now to our number one and yeah, this is a cover but my god, this is a cover that improves on the original and rips you apart at the same time….

1. “The Day You Went Away” by Wendy Matthews

Until now, I had never come to terms with how I felt about “The Day You Went Away” since I first heard it some years ago, it was a fine song that didn’t resonate with me as per a lot of songs filled with more adult concepts did when I was a kid growing up in the 90s however having gone back to listen to it for covering 1992’s popular music, this song just became that proverbial gut punch ins the stomach over a spare piano and Wendy Matthews selling the anger and bitterness that comes sometimes with relationship break up for me and my god it did so much more effectively than that of the original by Soul Family Sensation. It’s a powerful song that just does everything well which for a ballad in 1992 is something worth recognising as most ballads in 1992 sunk into nonsense or were weepy and overwrought but “The Day You Went Away” isn’t overwrought or weepy, it got the mix right and for that, it’s the best hit song of 1992.

Top Ten Worst Hit Songs of 1992.

 We’ve reached the end of another year and it’s time to sift through the ARIA year end for 1992 looking for the absolute best and worst music the year had to offer so today we’ll be discussing the absolute worst songs of the year.

How was the music of 1992? Unfortunately, 1992 won’t go down as an all time great year for the ARIA singles chart with really only rock having an outstanding year, pop had its moments sure as did hip hop and R’n’B but there was a LOT of bland, sappy and really generic music hitting the charts this year that were really obnoxious with just how bland, boring and sappy some of them were so I really just want to get through this list so I can talk about the stuff that actually stood out as being good to great.

Before we do get to the list, I will go over the rules for any newcomers:

1.       A song qualifies if it debuted on the ARIA year end list for 1992, there are exceptions for 1991 songs IF they made the year end list for 1992 and peaked higher on the 1992 list than they did in 1991 so yes, “Cream” by Prince & the New Power Generation is eligible. Mercifully “Addams Groove” by Hammer did not make the year end list…THANK FUCKING CHRIST.

2.       This is my list, my opinion. Please do not take my opinion as fact or abuse me in the comments.

Now we’ve got that straight let’s toss some garbage music into the rubbish bin permanently.

 

So as I said, rock had a fantastic year in 1992 so this particular song leaves me asking the question: What’s the excuse for this song sucking so god damn much?

10. “To be With You” by Mr Big.

In a year where rock from Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers and even Guns ‘N’ Roses attained chart success and managed to also be excellent, I am not sure just how and why this brand of lazy gooey shlock dressed as rock music managed to get to number one and stay there for THREE weeks. What is worse is that the lyrics seem like the early prototype that Shawn Mendes built his 2016 (terrible) hit “Treat You Better:” around, this guy just seems like the archetypal ‘nice guy’ who is telling this girl that her relationship will soon be over and when that relationship is done, she can be with him because why be with a bad boy rather than the nice guy?

Maybe this girl might be happier on her than with either of these two guys and given the production on offer here with the vocal delivery so loud that you can barely hear the actual music. Ugh, fate might have twisted the guy’s relationship, but this was always destined to wind up on the worst list for being one of the worst kinds of ‘nice guy’ bullying.

 

There are two covers that are going to make this list, the first of which is from the soundtrack of a movie and gave this artist yet another hit…just a shame it sucks…

 

9. “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston

Ooh boy this is going to get me into some trouble however I get irrationally angry when I hear people say that this overwrought train wreck cover of Dolly Parton’s 1974 hit for the soundtrack of the movie ‘The Bodyguard’ is one of the great movie songs mostly because Whitney’s over the top vocals on the chorus just feel so insincere and lacking, it feels forced especially when you consider that the original version has Dolly deliver the chorus in an incredibly understated manner without the theatrics.  We know Whitney can belt but there really was not a need here for the belting so yeah, I have no time for this cover or the vocal gymnastics that make it complete overkill. Thank goodness we will always have Dolly’s original. Whitney did so much better in the 80s.

 

So while Whitney Houston was belting her lungs out in 1992, in the same year, Madonna was changing things up again…kind of wish she rethought this song though…

 

8. “This Used to be my Playground’ by Madonna

This song was used at the end credits of a COMEDY film called “A League of Their Own” which during my research for this list shocked me because this song doesn’t sound like anything close to being appropriate for a movie designated for a comedy film because this just sounds like it might do of two things to somebody who, for some insane reason, chose to listen to it, those being cry or they are suffering from insomnia and this song provides a good sleeping soundtrack  because unlike most playgrounds which are bright, colourful and full of noise, this song is shades of black, white and grey is possibly the most dreary song Madonna has ever decided to record.

Seriously, there’s no conceivable way for somebody to enjoy this song, it‘s too dull to really dance too and so slow and boring that if you try to relax to it, you’d end up falling asleep. Madonna, I say this unequivocally, you are so much better than THIS.

 

Say what you like about Madonna exploring being miserable, at least it’s marginally better than whatever the hell this was…

 

7. “Sesame’s Treet” by Smart Es.

I am going to keep this short but if you must include the theme song to a beloved children’s TV show in your noisy torturous sorry excuse of a dance song that sounds like a gurgling drain half the time than you can probably expect to land on lists like this one. Not to mention it sounds like the children singing the Sesame Street theme sound incredibly pitched up and kind of annoying to the point it’s headache inducing. Not the first song to do that but this is the remix of children’s TV show theme that felt incredibly unnecessary…NEXT!

 

Well, that was annoying but then again it could be worse, take a song about that’s clearly about sex and inflate it with going to heaven and you get this…

 

6. ‘Thought I’d Died and Gone to Heaven” by Bryan Adams

This wasn’t even the worst song Bryan Adams released in 1992 that thankfully didn’t make the year end list but my god does “Thought I’d Died and Gone to Heaven’ earn it’s spot on this list with the levels of cringe not seen since Adams inflicted his simp anthem “Everything I Do (I Do It For You)” on the world in 1991 but at least that song had a weird veneer of sincerity to it because “Thought I’d Died and Gone to Heaven” is basically about Bryan Adams having sex with this girl and this girl being so good in the sack, he has nutted or to coin him the song, he thinks he has died and gone to heaven yet the instrumentation doesn’t match with the vibe the song is going for unless it’s the loudest possible sex that wakes neighbours and triggers dogs to bark three doors down with shrill guitars, the weird production on Adams vocals that leave him down too low in the mix and those shouted “Whoa ohs” on the hook which I guess is supposed to be for “I’M NUTTING!”

This song is just all kinds of…no…if this song helps you to get off than good luck to you but this isn’t going to be any sort of go to for sexy time in my household any time soon…NEXT!

 

Well at least when the relationship falls over, I wouldn’t go asking for advice from this next song…

 

5. “Achy Breaky Heart” by Billy Ray Cyrus

This ode to crappy relationship break ups and ‘nice guy’ guilt tripping was the biggest song of 1992 yet somehow nobody has called Billy Ray out for this absolute piece of shit of song because this song is a pointer of how immature this whole thing really is, he tells her she can do whatever she wants as long as she doesn’t tell his ‘achy breaky heart’ because his pathetically weak heart might blow up and kill him which just makes him sound like a guilt tripping asshole because he is too weak to handle a woman breaking up with him and Billy Ray doesn’t even realize just how much of an asshole he is being here. Oh and that “woooo” at the end of the chorus sounds like sleazy men at a strip club ogling the first dancer on stage which is just gross.

Anyway, Billy Ray Cyrus is now known for the much better feature on a Lil Nas X song which is probably a good thing going forward…

 

You all know by now having seen my past worst hit songs lists that bad cover songs grind my gears…well in 1992, there were plenty of them and a lot of them were bad that I almost could have done a list of worst hit cover songs for 1992 but then I remembered that one Australian trio had cornered the market in shitty cover songs that deserved to be here so let’s deal with that group shall we..

 

4, “Be My Baby” by Teen Queens

Okay really I could have thrown ‘Love How You Love Me” in this slot here too because yeah, the songs are basically the same, take a hit song from the 60s, slap a generic 90s dance groove over the top and include vocals that are beyond over processed which is exactly what occurred to this disastrous cover of The Ronettes “Be My Baby”, at least that group had passion for wanting this guy to be theirs but Teen Queens make it sound like it’s a chore or something to sing while busking out the front of a supermarket or even worse cruise ship lounge singers that come on when every one is either drunk or asleep and that’s when you can even hear them singing because the production mostly comes in over the top of them. I may not like the original much, but I’ll sure take it over what Teen Queens offer up here.

 

Oh wait...we’re not done with bad covers because…

 

3.       3. "Please Don't Go" by K.W.S

Probably the most predictable pick here but when you strip out the warmth and sincerity of KC and the Sunshine Band’s original which was a hit in 1980 and replace it with synthetic and sterile production and vocallists who sound like they need having passion in their delivery explained to them because they deliver the line “please don’t go” with the same intensity as a two year who proudly shows everyone that he get his fingers up his nose which is fine if we’re talking about a two year old digging for snotty gold in his nose but it’s not fine in a song about a guy begging a woman to not leave him!

Throw in the usual 90s dance production and it just doesn’t feel at all human or sincere, it feels like it’s just this computer programmed mess which makes the song feel unpleasant and not something I want to ever return to…

 

Well say what you like about the insincerity of K.W.S’s cover of “Please Don’t Go”, sometimes it can dip way too far in the opposite direction where the song just drips with so much sincerity that the song can become unnervingly saccharine and nonsensical…

 

2. “Save The Best for Last” by Vanessa Williams.

Ordinarily a song that’s somehow both saccharine sweet but incredibly dull wouldn’t snare a spot on a list like this especially as you can tell this was an attempt to cash in on the Mariah Carey type of artist, I’d generally look upon it as bland and move on even though I actually think the production here is pretty nice but what tossed this song so god damn high on the list was the asinine lyrics that much like Whitney Houston’s belting on the hook of “I Will Always Love You” are just cringey and overwrought eg: “Sometimes the snow comes down in June, sometimes the sun goes round the moon” on the hook is enough to make anyone roll their eyes…the weather has nothing to do with this guy saving the best for last? There’s no connectivity to make the writing to work here.

Also trashing the guy’s previous girlfriend makes you look incredibly trashy here, Vanessa, and no, you and this guy standing face to face does not make the world crazy. Ugh…time to move on …

 

So before we get to the number one, let’s talk about our dishonourable mentions…

 

DHM1: “Pride in the Name of Love” by Clivilles and Cole

Yeah, wasn’t going to not put this song on a list like this. You don’t take a great U2 song and turn it into a messy Eurodance song. U2 deserve more respect than this.

DHM2: “Everything About You (“As Ugly As They Wanna Be” EP)" by Ugly Kid Joe

As I pointed out with “To Be With You” by Mr Big, in a year that was absolutely huge for rock music as a whole, there’s no excuse for this crap excuse of a thing to exist. It’s lazy and by the numbers rock, disappointing it was even a hit considering that in rock in 1992, you could do so much better.

 

DHM3: “Love You Right’ by Euphoria

This could have escaped this list but the vocals on the hook are just obnoxious, you try listening to somebody screaming ‘I WANNA I WANNA LOVE YOU RIGHT!” over and and over again, you’ll find yourself reaching for the earplugs eventually.

 

DHM4: “Something Good” by Utah Saints

Maaan, what was wrong with Eurodance and techno in 1992 that we got messes like this becoming hits, words repeated into shrill incoherence to the point of being annoying. We get it, your group name is Utah Saints, no need to repeat it ad fucking nauseum

 

DHM5: “Beauty & The Beast” by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson

While there were worse bland ballads in 1992, this one got to the point of being irritating in record time. Celine Dion is a better vocalist than this song allows her to be, it’s an absolute dirge of a song.

 

So with the riff raff taken care of, lets get to the absolute worst song 1992 had to offer and well…it wasn’t going to be anything else…

 

1.  1. “James Brown Is Dead” by L.A. Style

This song is unlistenable, I can’t even get past the first 30 seconds of this piece of junk called “music” and farted out to the masses as a form of audio torture with its painfully obnoxious noise made even worse by the desecration of one of the great names of soul and funk music in James Brown.  There’s nothing in this song that adds value to the conversation around music other than the fact it’s completely disrespectful to James Brown, there’s just nothing to be gotten from listening to it other than complete frustration, it’s what I imagine gets played on loop by prison wardens when they try to garner information from prisoners…that’s how unpleasant listening to this train wreck of a song is and it’s the worst hit song of 1992 easily.

Stayed tune to find out what I thought were the best hit songs of 1992 and find out the year I'm going to be covering in 2022!

Good 1992 Vibrations. 20th December. Gimme A Little Bad Attitude Sign.

The final chart week of 1992 before the ARIA charts go into hiatus over the Christmas/New Year period but for the final week of the chart year? It was absolute chaos even with just the two new entries, you want evidence of it? Well the proof is right in the top ten where to my shock, there's a new number one and honestly I am not impressed, the number one spot is now held by "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston because like I said last week, this song was gathering strength on sales, I'm only surprised it got to number one this quick.

It pushed "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men back to number two as yeah, there's no way it was going to match the momentum of "I Will Always Love You", the same might go for "Would I Lie to You" by Charles & Eddie stuck at number three and "Accidently Kelly Street" by Frente remaining at number four, their momentum has been stalled here.

"Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus rebounded to number five although that's probably more on the weaknesses of "The Day You Went Away" by Wendy Matthews which saw it's sales slow to the point it tumbled four places to number six 

"November Rain" by Guns 'n' Roses yet steady at number seven likewise for "The Best Things in Life are Free' by Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson at number eight. 

Then we have two songs spending their first week in the top ten those being "Whose Going to Ride Your Wild Horses" by U2 which climbed five places this week to number nine and the really rather goofy "Tequila" by ALT & The Lost Civilization up two places to round out the top ten at number ten.

Gains

Sonia Dada will likely hit the top ten on the first chart of 1993 as "You Don't Treat Me No Good" jumped nine spots to number nine, this has some growing momentum behind it, watch for it in 1993.

Also continuing it's momentum is "In Your Room" by Toni Pearen up six to number 14 while "December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)" by The Four Seasons reached into the top twenty up from 23 to 18.

"I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore" by Divinyls rebounded five places to 25 while House of Pain found some solid footing on the chart with their appropriately titled song "Jump Around" jumping around from 40 to 26!.

Also having a solid gain is Kylie Minogue's version of "Celebration" which rose from 49 to 34 this week....I'm kind of fine with that to be honest, I still don't mind it, best thing Kylie has done in 1992.

Losers

"My Name is Prince" by Prince and the New Power Generation slipped nine places to 50 as it continues to make its way out of the chart while "Taste It" by INXS can't get a foothold as it slipped from 37 to 44 this week. 

Continuing cases of lost momentum for "Love How You You Love Me" by Teen Queens which tumbled from 33 to 40 while "Erotica" by Madonna fell six places to 37. 

"Too Much Love Will Kill You" by Brian May fell from 24 to 32 while "White Men Can't Jump" by Riff slumped from 16 to 24.

After weeks of hanging on at number ten, "Something Good" by Utah Saints fell seven to 17 while "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" by Patty Smyth and Don Henley fell from number nine to 13.

New Entries

So as I said, just the two new entries to finish the chart year, let's start with...

45. “Gimme A Little Sign” by Peter Andre

Well we couldn’t escape the final week of the charting year for 1998 without another cover song this  time it’s coming from Australian singer Peter Andre covering the classic soul song “Gimme A Little Sign” that was originally performed and released by Brenton Wood in 1967 and I mean, the production on the Peter Andre version is cleaner as he begs this girl for a sign that she belongs to him however there’s something about the Andre version that doesn’t work for me as much as I would like it too even if I do like it a little more than Wood’s original. Ehh, check it out if you are curious.

 

36. “Bad Attitude” by Girlfriend

Taking us out for 1992 is the new single from Girlfriend’s album “Make It Come True”. A song that tries for a darker vibe to match the lyrics where Robyn Loau admitting that she’s drawn to the guys with bad attitude and the rest of the group reminding her that she should have known better to fall for the guy with a bad attitude but in the hook the girls decide to give up on him because he has too much of a bad attitude and is too tough. I like the flashes of rock instrumental that slide into the song which makes me think the band could work a good rock song even with that stupid breakdown in the middle of the song (so unnecessary). Look, it’s not the best thing Girlfriend have made in 1992 but it’s not that bad.

 

No worst of the week this as both songs aren’t that bad but Peter Andre’s cover of “Gimme A Little Sign” wins best of the week just nudging out ‘Bad Attitude” by Girlfriend.

That’s a wrap on the chart year, see you all for the worst and best hit songs of 1992 lists.

Good 1992 Vibrations. 13th December. Deeper Celebration of 7 Wild Horses To Love Somebody

 Aaagh. This is one of those weeks that was good in some regards but pretty ordinary in others, let's start with the top ten where of course "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men maintains the number one spot, it's got a decent margin too mostly because "The Day You Went Away" by Wendy Matthews is no longer a challenger stuck at number two. 

In fact it's starting to come under pressure from "Would I Lie to You" by Charles and Eddie which rose to number three, I am kind of surprised and shocked that this of all songs on the chart right now is doing so well but okay?

"Accidently  Kelly Street" by Frente continues its good run rising one spot to number four but there's got competition behind it because the next likely challenger for the top spot comes from...sigh... the frankly overwrought cover of "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston which rose eleven places off it's debut last week to number 5, it's gaining strength on sales. 

All of this pushed "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus back three places to number six while "November Rain" by Guns 'n' Roses held steady at number seven.

"The Best Things in Life are Free" by Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson slid a further two places this week to number eight while "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough' by Patty Smyth and Don Henley fell one place to number nine.

Finally "Something Good" by Utah Saints held on for another week at number ten.

Gains

Breaking back into the top twenty is "Jump!" by The Movement which climbed from 23 to 18 while "December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)" climbed ten places to 33 for The Four Seasons,

Norman & Effie's cover of  "Amigos Para Siempre (Friends for Life)" got a ten place boost to 27 while "People Everfday" by Arrested Development climbed eleven to  28.

Re Entries

So I am okay with our two re entries this week because they are "The Last Song" by Elton John at 44 and "What's Wrong with that Girl" by Rick Price at 45. The former being great and the latter being a decent pop song.

Losers

Alright, let's get through these because a chunk of hits lost hard this week as the chart starts bring in the hits of 1993. 

"Do For You" by Euphoria continues it slide down five to 48 while "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix A Lot tumbled seven to 47. 

The bad week for the girl groups continued with "Without You" by Girlfriend sliding from 35 to 43 and "Love How You Love Me" by Teen Queens slipping from 26 to 33. 

Prince and the New Power Generation's "My Name is Prince" just utterly collapsed this week, stumbling from 25 to 41 while "Jump Around" by House of Pain fell six places to 40 and "Don't You Want Me" by Felix fell twelve places to 39. 

"Faith" by The Dukes slipped from 29 to 35 while "Love Is in the Air" by John Paul Young hit an eleven place skid to 32 and "Erotica" by Madonna just totally folded down from 15 to 31.

"I Ain't going to eat my Heart Out" by The Divinyls slipped six places to 30 and "Just Another Day" by Jon Secada stumbled from 12 to 19.

Finally former top ten hit "Ain't No Doubt" by Jimmy Nail fell out of the top ten to hit 15 this week.

New Entries

Five new entries this week, let's start with a trend in 1992...A COVER VERSION!

50. “To Love Somebody’ by Michael Bolton

Well it had to happen, I didn’t think I escape 1992 without having to cover a song released or escaped from the studio by Michael Bolton so imagine my despair when I realized he is covering a Bee Gees classic where they have slowed the tempo slightly and turned it into something that would make you think the tape was broken and Michael Bolton is just a really unconvincing presence on the song, Again when the Bees Gees recorded the song, it was an understated emotion filled song that shouldn’t be used by people like Michael Bolton to practice their vocal gymnastics on as it seems Bolton has had a habit of doing to other people’s songs. Time to move on from this trainwreck.

 

49. “Celebration” by Kylie Minogue

Another cover version, this time from Kylie Minogue and she’s covering Kool and the Gang’s “Celebration” and you know what? I kind of like this? Kylie is having some fun with this and sure the percussion sounds a little too heavy in this dance pop song but there’s nothing that feels overtly tacked on to the song to make it sound grating but also allows Kylie to make the song her own. Yeah, this isn’t bad, check it out.

 

25. “7” by Prince and the New Power Generation

A third single from the album “Love Symbol’, it features a sample of Lowell Fulsom’s 1967 song “tramp” and weirdly enough this might be the best single from the album thus far, I like the middle eastern sound of this song, there’s an added mysterious element to the song and Prince sounds fantastic, it’s got a driving energy about it as Prince sings about religion and spirituality…I rend to think a song like this can tend to be open to interpretation for the listener but still this is worth checking out!

 

13. “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses” by U2

This is the fifth and last single from U2’s 1991 “Achtung Baby” and wow…this is the most indifferent I’ve been on a U2 song in a while! Sure the guitars are loud but I’m not feeling Bono’s vocal delivery here which especially on the bridge and chorus where Bono sounds like he’d rather be doing anything else than singing the hook of a song you can he and the band don’t like. It’s not precisely bad, it’s just not up there with U2’s best this album cycle.

 

11. “Deeper and Deeper” by Madonna

So it wasn’t that long ago that Madonna released “Erotica” as a single and now we’re getting this as a single a couple of weeks later? Hmm, anyway let’s deal with the song at hand and you know what? I think this might be the best single Madonna has released this album cycle! More because it’s closer to the sound she had on songs like “Vogue” and to a lesser degree “Express Yourself” and even if I think they could have turned Madonna up in the mix, the song has a good dancefloor groove here. Yeah, I can be kicking up my heels in a nightclub to this…

 

However best of the week is going to “7” by Prince and the New Power Generation just for bringing something different to the charts. As for the worst…yeah, Michael Bolton is getting it for that unnecessary cover of “To Love Somebody”

Good 1992 Vibrations. 6th December. I Don't Know Him Good Enough To Love Him Always but Amigos Para Siempre?

 So we've got the sort of week here that was busy without really causing much to raise a lot of interest, take a look at our top ten for instance where "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men maintains the number one slot and again...there's no real competition coming to dislodge it right now. 

Sure "The Day You Went Away" by Wendy Matthews moved up to number two but that's only likely because 'Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus weakened enough to slip to number three, those sales numbers weren't going to hold it up forever.

Not especially when you look and see "Would I Lie to You?" by Charles & Eddie which continued it's insane climbed up five to number four this week...this could be a player for number with the momentum it's got.

Following right behind it though is "Accidently Kelly Street" by Frente up two places to number five. I'll be curious to see if this one rises higher.

All of this saw "The Best Things in Lifie are Free" by Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson forced down two places to number six and "November Rain" by Guns 'n' Roses slid down two places to number seven.

The same went for "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough' by Patty Smyth and Don Henley down to number eight while "Ain't No Doubt" by Jimmy Nail slipped one spot to number nine.

Utah Saints remain steady at number ten...unfortunately...with "Something Good"

Gains

"Ebeneezer Goode" by The Shamen broke into the top twenty up from 21 to 17 while Toni Pearen's "In Your Room" chart busted it's way up from 36 to 18. 

Sonia Dada will likely have a hit well into 1993 as "You Don't Treat Me No Good" leapt from it's debut of 38 to 22 this week while "Sweet Love" by Company of Strangers climbed nine places to 28. 

"December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)" by The Four Seasons climbed seven rungs to 33 while "Jump Around" by House of Pain lived up to it's name climbing from 39 to 34. 

"Taste It" by INXS rose fourteen places to 36.

Re Entries

Three re entries this week with the first of those being "Highway to Hell' by AC/DC which returned at number 44 while "Layla" by Eric Clapton came back at number 46.

Finally "How Do You Do" by Roxette returns at 48.

Losers

Alright so Arrested Development's "Tennessee" is on the way out likely having safely made the yea end list as it tumbled six places to 50. 

Not the case for "Bettadaze" by Boom Crash Opera which crashed six places to 49 and there was a similar cash for "Drive" by R.E.M which slipped from 39 to 47. Euphoria's "Do For You" is losing it's energy as it tumbled from 31 to 43. 

"Knockin' On Heaven's Door" by Guns 'n' Roses slumped from 25 to 41 while "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix A Lot slipped from 27 to 40. "Without You" by Girlfriend collpased nine places to 35 and "Love How You Love Me" by Teen Queens  slipped from 19 to 26. 

New Entries

Four new entries this week, starting with...

42. ‘Good Enough” by Bobby Brown

This song comes from Bobby Brown’s new album “Bobby” and honestly this is just a sex song that lacks any groove or any sign of passion, it doesn’t even sound sexy in the production, it just sounds like Bobby Brown is desperate to get some action. It’s a pretty bang average R’n’B song if I am to be blunt about it, he has done better than this flaccid attempt at a sex jam and that’s really all I have to say about it so let’s just move on

 

38. “I don’t Know how to love him” by Kate Ceberano

So moving away from a song with a severe case of not knowing how to be sexy to Kate Ceberano performing a song from the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar” that was originally performed by Yvonne Elliman in May 1970 with Kate’s version during the latest Australian tour of this particular musical being the latest and well, it definitely sounds very 1992 with the piano and the song swelling with Kate’s voice. It’s not better than the more dramatic “Everything’s Alright” with John Farnham and Jon Stevens but given what else there is left in the new entries this week…I’ll take it!

 

37. “Amigos Para siempre (Friends for life)” by Norman & Effie

You have got to be kidding me? We’ve got a cover of the former number one for Jose Carreras and Sarah Brightman from comedians Norman Gunston and Effie Stephanides on the chart this week that was apparently performed on Hey Hey It’s Saturday during the Red Faces segment, there’s not much here worth analysing because it’s two comedians singing rather badly but I’ll give the cover this? It is funny, there’s comedic value here if you are looking for a laugh but otherwise it’s really just Norman Gunston and Effie singing along to a backing track.

 

16. “I will always love you’ by Whitney Houston

What is this? The week of the cover song? Turns out that Whitney Houston is covering Dolly Parton’s 1974 hit “I Will Always Love You” for the soundtrack of The Bodyguard and I’m going to say it right now, Dolly Parton’s version while very understated, is ultimately sincere and heartfelt, Dolly is believable whereas Whitney decides that the hook is a good time to go for vocal gymnastics and gives the song this overpowering and really overwrought interpretation that makes me want to vomit, Whitney, we know you can sing but there’s no need to absolutely rip the understated power of a song like this out just so you can remind everyone of how powerful your voice is because yeah, this cover ain’t it. I’ll stick to Dolly’s version.

 

It’s not the worst of the week though, that’s going to “Good Enough” by Bobby Brown. The best is going to Kate Ceberano for “I Don’t Know How to love him” but this was a rough week for new entries.

Good 1992 Vibrations. 29th November. People Everyday making Sweet Love In Your Room

 So we've got a week here with a lot of new entries mostly lower down the chart and a few interesting shifts and moves in the top ten so let's begin there, shall we? "End of The Road" by Boyz II Men has a decent hold on the number one spot now and doesn't look like relinquishing it any time soon.

In fact, I don't see anything that can knock off for number one right now, certainly not "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus stuck at number two as its sales have been falling for sometime. I don't see "The Day You Went Away" by Wendy Matthews regaining one spot to number three challenging either even as it pushed past "The Best Things in Life Are Free" slipped back to number four.

"November Rain" by Guns 'n' Roses continued it's rise this time up one place to number five, it pushed "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" by Patty Smyth and Don Henley back to number six.

Rising three places to number seven is "Accidently Kelly Street" by Frente which is nice to see however down one spot is "Ain't No Doubt" by Jimmy Nail back to number eight.

Then we have two songs spending their first week inside the top ten, the first of them is "Would I Lie to You" by Charles & Eddie which jumped from 13 to nine this week while unfortunately rising one spot to complete the top ten is "Something Good" by Utah Saints because I guess we do need audio torture somewhere in the top ten. 

Gains

Rising eleven places to 15 is "Tequila" by ALT & The Lost Civilization which is a bit of a surprise however what is not a surprise is the twelve place gain for "Ebeneezer Goode" by The Shamen (I expect this song to be big into 1993 given how huge it has been un the UK).

Unfortunately we have some garbage getting boosts like the six place jump for "Jump!" by The Movement to 24 and "Yesterdays" by Guns 'n' Roses up big off it's debut of 42 to 28.

The Sharps "Spinosity (EP)" rose from its return of 44 to 29.

Re Entries

So we got two re entries this week with the first of them being from Boom Crash Opera at 43 with "Bettadaze". Ratcat are back at 41 with "Holiday"...I don't mind either of them being back either, they aren't bad songs

Losers

So lets start off with "Rock Your Baby" by K.W.S down seven to 48 this week...I am so glad this cover is not taking off....thank goodness for small mercies.

ABBA's "Dancing Queen" collapsed nine spots from 38 to 47 while "Rhythm is a Dancer" by Snap deep sea dived down from 32 to 45 while "Do For You" by Euphoria slithered down from 23 to 31.

"Erotica" by Madonna tumbled five to hit 13 while "White Men Can't Jump" by Riff slipped three places to 12.

New Entries

This is a long week in terms of the new entries, there's eight of them so let's start with...

46. “Scars” by 1927

We’re starting this week with the lead off single from 1927’s self-titled album. Turns out it’s a gentle guitar ballad where he knows he at times frustrates and upsets his partner but knows he couldn’t survive without that partner’s love and support especially at times when the world feels like a dark place, and he’d be counting the cost of losing that love if the loved one left him. It’s fine, could have done without the ‘na na na’ at the end but this is still pretty good, check it out.

 

42. “The Last Song” by Elton John

Okay so the second single from Elton John’s album “The One”, it was written by both Elton John and his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin with this song released to benefit the AIDS Foundation with Taupin sending Elton the lyrics following the death of Freddie Mercury and yeah I can kind of see why Elton would have trouble singing this because wow, this song cuts DEEP, it tells the story of an father who is estranged from his son and coming to terms with the fact his homosexual son is dying of AIDs over a gorgeous piano arrangement.  I don’t want to say too much more but this song is great. Please check it out.

 

40. “December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)” by The Four Seasons

Much like “Dancing Queen” a few weeks ago, this is a song making its return to the Australian charts thanks to a remix by Ben Liebrand, it originally peaked at number three on the Kent Music Report charts in 1976 and hit the year end of that year at number 22 and look again the song Is an absolute classic even if I am not personally all that wild about Frankie Valli’s vocals, it’s a fun and kind of silly reminiscent rock song with disco flourishes even if the lyrical content of the song is about remembering the first time a young man had an affair with a young woman so yeah pretty cool song that really has stood the test of time.

 

38. “You Don’t Treat Me No Good” by Sonia Dada

Okay next up is an American soul group calling themselves Sonia Dada with this song being the fist to hit the Australian singles chart and what I will say that this is catchy, that guitar riff that opens the song has some bite to it with the song mourning the fact that this guy has had enough of his lover treating him like shit so he is going to pack his bags and leave especially if the love in the relationship is gone, there’s nothing in the relationship for him anymore. Yeah the production is a bit bare bones but hey, I still dig it.

 

37. “Sweet Love” by Company of Strangers

Second single from this supergroup and honestly I think I like it a bit better than “Motor City (I Get Lost)” mostly due to the fact that the production fits the vocals and doesn’t make the vocals sound as hollow plus James Reyne probably sounds as good as he ever did. It’s a pretty simple song about being in ‘sweet sweet love” and love being all his has, he doesn’t have the luxury goods like cars and jewellery others do. I hope this does well.

 

36. “In Your Room” by Toni Pearen

An actress debuts on the singles top 50 this week in the form of ‘E Street’ actress Toni Pearen with “In Your Room” being the lead single from “Intimate” and really her debut single is pretty much your standard 90s pop song with all the usual pop trimmings and lyrics about getting up close and personal with this guy in his room and Pearen doing her best to sound sexy on the verses. I don’t hate it but I’m also not going to remember it either.

 

35. “People Everyday” by Arrested Development

About time we got a new single from Arrested Development! “Tennessee” has only gotten better since I first heard it so I am curious to see what this new single is like and…I have to be honest I am not digging this one as much and it’s hard to pin down exactly why. It’s got a nice reggae sounding groove and the vocals are pretty good with the lyrics based on real life experiences Speech had while living in Milwaukee. I certainly don’t hate it but it’s something I like or love either which is disappointing, but it happens sometimes.

 

33. “Faith” by The Dukes

Finishing up the week with Australian r’n’b, soul and funk band The Dukes which feature half of Absent Friends that being Sean Kelly, Michael King and John McKay along with Geoffrey Stapleton (formerly of GANGgajang) and Michael Armiger (formerly of Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls and The Go Betweens with “Faith” being the first song to hit the chart, a pretty jaunty song urging the listener to have faith. Yeah, it’s catchy but I have the feeling that I’m going to forget about this song minutes after writing this.

 

By all standards a pretty good week, I’m giving best of the week to “The Last song” by Elton John mostly because that song hit me where it hurt. As for the worst, there’s nothing too terrible this week so I think I’m going to have to go with “Faith” by The Dukes, only because it really seemed like a generic jaunty song. 

Good 1992 Vibrations. 22nd November. Layla Taste Yesterdays and Jump Around please

Well...that change right at the very top happened in an otherwise unremarkable week here so let's start with the top ten where to the shock of nobody, ridiculous sales saw "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men take the number one spot, there was nothing 'Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus could do especially as sales fell back against the surge that was "End of the Road"

The next three remained static that being "The Best Things in Life are free" by Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson at number three, "The Day You Went Away" by Wendy Matthews at number four and "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" by Patty Smyth and Don Henley.

Rising two places to number six is "November Rain" by Guns 'n' Roses which is continuing it's really impressive resurgence as it pushed "Ain't No Doubt" by Jimmy Nail back to number seven and "Erotica" by Madonna back to number eight while "White Men Can't Jump" by Riff couldn't make up the gap to surpass anything above it so remains at number nine.

Rising four into the top ten this week and acting on my prediction last week is "Accidently Kelly Street" by Frente at number ten. This is Frente's best single to date so yeah I am happy with this being here.

Gains

Charles & Eddie's insane traction continues because "Would I Lie to You?" jumped eight to 13 this week, the way this is going, it will hit the top ten soon.

Brian May broke into the top twenty rising from 23 to 18 with "Too Much Love Will Kill You" while The Divinyls are having a really good run with "I Ain't Going to Eat Out My Heart Anymore" up ten to 22. I don't mind either gain here gaining traction, I still like both songs.

What I DO mind is "Neighbour" by Ugly Kid Joe rising from 35 to 28, the headache that is "Highway to Hell" by AC/DC jumping from 45 to 29 and the utter mess that is "Jump!" by The Movement rising eleven off it's debut to 30.

"How Do You Do" by Roxette rebounded five to 31 while "Ebeneezer Goode" by The Shamen climbed from 40 to 33. 

Re Entries

Two re entries this week with the first of them being for The Sharp with "Spinosity (EP)" back at 44, the second is for Southern Sons as "Lead Me to Water" returned at 40

Losers.

"Breaking The Girl" by Red Hot Chili Peppers slipped eight places to 48 this week as interest in this song looks to have faded while "It's Probably Me" by Sting with Eric Clapton finally looks to be on the way out after hanging around for awhile as it tumbled ten places to 43 (More on Eric Clapton later)

"Drive" by R.E.M unfortunately fell five to 39 and "Humpin' Around" by Bobby Brown skidded seven to 37. Kylie Minogue's "What Kind of Fool (Heard All That Before)" fell eight places to 36 and "No Regrets" by Tom Cochrane suffered a nine place fall to 35.

Snap's "Rhythm is a Dancer" fell from 25 to 32 as it looks to be on the way out while "Do For You" by Euphoria took a slide from 16 to 23 and "My Name is Prince" by Prince and the New Power Generation fell five to 17.

New Entries

Four new entries and unfortunately we're starting on a bad note with...

50. “Jump Around” by House of Pain

We’re starting the new entries with an American hip hop/pop group called House of Pain with this song being produced by DJ Muggs from the group Cypress Hill. The song features prominent samples from 1963’s “Harlem Shuffle” by Bob & Earl and “Popeye the Hitchhiker’ by Chubby Checker but even with the samples I can’t say this makes the song any good, that grating squeal that sounds like a vinyl record being broken on the turntable is almost enough to make me want to turn the song off. Yeah, the song has its catchy moments but so do most sexually transmitted infections…NEXT…

 

47. “Layla” by Eric Clapton

Turns out this song is actually a cover! Believe or not Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon wrote this song which was than originally recorded in September 1970 by Derek and the Dominoes as the thirteenth track of their one and only album in 1970 “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs” however it’s worth noting there’s some controversy over the crediting of the piano part of the song to Rita Coolidge who was Jim Gordon’s girlfriend at the time.

As for song itself, it was apparently inspired by a 7^th century Arabian love story which would later go on to form the basis of Nizami Ganjavi’s 12^th century poem “The Story of Layla and Majnun” so of course an acoustic version of the song by Clapton hits the ARIA singles chart and look, for a song that’s allegedly about being in love, Clapton’s throaty delivery doesn’t do much for me and given it is an acoustic guitar performance, I guess it’s fine but really I think you should probably check out Derek and the Dominoes version instead

 

46. “Taste It” by INXS

Next up the fourth single from INXS’s album “Welcome to Wherever You Are” and well, this might be the best of the singles I’ve heard from the album so far, it’s got a nice rolling bass groove and Michael sounds great here but that groove is doing a LOT of heaving lifting here before the guitar kicks in. The song apparently being about the choices we make for ourselves and the paths those choices lead us down, if we choose to or not do something and the consequences for that decision lie waiting to happen. I don’t know if I like this because I am living in times different to those of the times in 1992 but yeah, this song hit a spot for me. Nice job, INXS

 

42. “Yesterdays” by Guns ‘n’ Roses

Finishing up the week with the third track on Guns ‘n’ Rose album “Use Your Illusion”, a nice piano and guitar ballad that really didn’t need Axl Rose sounding like he’d been shot straight out of a cannon his delivery doesn’t suit the one the song is going for here. Still it’s not that bad with lyrical sentiments about moving on and saying goodbye to the past or whatever misdeeds they are trying to move on from, it would be a really solid song if the vocals didn’t feel so god dang out of place.

 

So best and worst fell out easily this week with the worst of the week going to “Jump Around” by House of Pain and the best of the week going to “Taste It” by INXS which I am surprised about because their past three singles for that album did nothing for me.

Good 1992 Vibrations. 15th November. Bettadaze for Ebeneezer Goode on a Highway to Hell

 So this week was a wild one, multiple new entries a little lower down the chart and it looks like the challenge for the number one spot is on because while "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus maintained the number one spot but as I said last week, the sales look like they are slowing for this which makes it vulnerable to the continuing momentum of "End of the Road' by Boyz II Men which rose one place to number two and looks the most likely song to take the number one spot if not next week...soon.

It pushed "The Best Things in Life are Free" by Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson back to number three as unfortunately sales just couldn't match those of "End of the Road". The same goes for "The Day You Went Away" by Wendy Matthews which remains stuck at number four..

"Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" by Patty Smyth and Don Henley up two to number five but I suspect that might be because the songs behind it are fading even with "Ain't No Doubt' by Jimmy Nail steady at number six however "Erotica" by Madonna down two to number seven.

However the rest of the top ten kept the status quo for the week with "November Rain" by Guns 'n' Roses at number eight, "White Men Can't Jump" by Riff at number nine and "Keep the Faith' by Bon Jovi on number ten. 

Gains

So "Accidently Kelly Street" by Frente climbed nine spots off it's debut last week to hit 14. I would not be surprised if this goes top ten in the next few weeks. 

Felix returned to the top twenty with "Don't You Want Me' rebounding from 21 to 17 while 2 Unlimited's "The Magic Friend" also recovered up from 33 to 19 however one of the biggest gains off a debut from last week belonged to "Would I Lie to You" by Charles and Eddie which somehow jumped from 45 all the way to the cusp of the top twenty at 21...that kind of blew my mind a bit, the song is fine but for it to gain this much traction...really?

Brian May's "Too Much Love Will Kill You" continued it's upward trajectory as it surged nine places to 23 while "I Ain't Going to Eat Out My Heart Anymore" got a decent sized boost up from 46 to 32. 

Re Entries

So a re entry that doesn't really make a lot of sense here is "Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)" by Rozalla at 49...that seems really strange for it to come back..

Losers

So we have "Please Don't Go" by K.W.S on the way out down from 34 to 47 while the moon is setting on Margaret Urlich's "Boy in the Moon" down from 37  to 44.

Unfortunately "It's Not Over" by Rockmelons feat. Deni Hine just couldn't get a foothold on the chart as it slipped from 31 to 42  while Roxette's "How Do You Do" slipped ten to 36 and "Neighbour" by Ugly Kid Joe down five to 30. 

"Tennessee" by Arrested Development down from 24 to 31  while former number one "Humpin' Around" by Bobby Brown slipped from 19 to 30. "What Kind of Fool (Heard All That Before)" by Kylie Minogue skidded ten places to 28.

Sir Mix A Lot's "Baby Got Back" lost all it's gains from last week to tumble back to 22. 

New Entries

Seven new entries this week so going to keep it kind of brief for each song, let's start with...

15^th November

50. “Bettadaze” by Boom Crash Opera

The first four new entries are from Australian acts and we’re starting with the latest single from Boom Crash Opera this week, “Bettadaze” is the lead single from their third album “Fabulous Beast” to be released in 1993 and look this is fine? The guitar riff is doing a lot of heavy lifting here especially as I don’t think the song is anything all that special lyrically even if the chorus and the way it soars reminds me of U2 while the rest of the song seems very Boom Crash Opera and to degree that might be jarring but ehh, the song is fine, check it out if you are curious.

 

48. “Impossible to Fly” by Baby Animals

So here we have the first new music from Baby Animals since “One Word” charted…it’s legit impossible to find a studio version of this song so I’ll have to make do with the live version of this song and well, it’s a more chilled laidback song than what you might expect from Baby Animals with lots of jazz elements although the song does step it up with drums in the latter half but as usual it’s frontwoman Suze DeMarchi stealing the show, her vocals are just on point. I recommend checking this song out, it’s great.

 

45. “Highway to Hell (Live)” by AC/DC

Ooh wow…this is tonal whiplash, going from a chill almost jazz Baby Animals song to a live version of one of AC/DC’s more obnoxious songs is a bit much, I’ve never liked AC/DC, I find “Long Way to the Top” to be absolutely awful (put those bloody bagpipes away), as for this song, taken from the 1979 album of the same name,  sure the guitars have some good are just headache inducing, also if you are on a fucking highway to hell, shouldn’t the instrumentation sound more dark and imposing? It’s just too bright for a song where hook intimates he is on a highway to hell. Now I need some paracetamol to deal with this headache.

 

43. “Holiday” by Ratcat

So the fourth of our Aussie new entries comes from Ratcat who have taken the opportunity to make a cheeky rock song about going on a holiday and there being so much for them to do, it’s catchy but there’s about as much depth put into the writing of this song to the point it sounds like they actually took a holiday while writing the song although to be fair they do mention surfing and suntanning while on this holiday and the instrumentation does pick up on the vibe of a holiday…I guess I can tolerate this?

 

41. “Jump!” by The Movement

Oh god, another week another techno electronic song…I swear most of these songs are starting to blend together into ear grating mindless incoherence but anyway here we have American duo called The Movement with their song called “Jump!” which features clattering noise, somebody screaming “ARE YOU READY TO JUMP? JUMP JUMP!” into incoherence, shrill noises that convinced me that the studio was on fire and needed to be evacuated during the recording only for the noises to get shriller as the song went on and includes sections of 2 Unlimited’s “You Ready For This”, a song I am ambivalent on at best. No, this song has no right to steal the title of Kriss Kross’s far better hit from this year, all The Movement did was make my headache from AC/DC even worse and rather than jump, I just want to turn this song off.

 

40. “Ebeneezer Goode” by The Shamen

More electronic music this time courtesy of Scottish group The Shamen…a song that got huge in the UK going to number one there and unlike most electronic music in 1992, I can appreciate this one because at least it’s got a solid as hell groove and a bit of a melody and even if the lyrics sneak in references to the drug ectasy, I don’t mind this especially in comparison to the rest of what we have heard in terms of electronic music this year. It’s fine.

 

29. “Tequila” by ALT & The Lost Civilization

One of the other big trends of 1992…cover songs is also covered this week thanks to American rapper ALT and the Lost Civilization with this cover being of a 1958 Mexican flavoured rock and roll instrumental written by Chuck Rio and recorded by The Champs, it wound up being a considerable hit so of course what is needed in 1992 is for Alt and The lost Civilization to throw a rap verse over what is a pretty timeless groove and melody where the verses throw in the names of all the alcohol where he is chilling on the beach with his mates Jack Daniels and Jim Beam. All the others mentioned in the song are the names of various alcoholic cocktails, look, as far as covers go if you can get past some of the cringey rap bars, it’s not too bad…it is silly though.

 

And that wraps up the week and maan, bit of a rough week here but best of the week is going to “Impossible to Fly” by Baby Animals, just edging out both “Holiday” by Ratcat and “Ebeneezer Goode” by The Shamen.

As for worst…that’s going to whatever the hell “Jump!” by The Movement was…I don’t ever want to hear that again.

Good 1992 Vibrations. 8th November. What's Wrong With Talking Sly on Kelly Street?

 So I can't help but think change is in the wings looking at this week's chart especially with what is rising in the top ten and looking like a threat to our current number one and speaking of that number one that remains "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus, it held on thanks to sales that are starting to slow down a little bit however it was enough to hold up over "The Best Things in Life Are Free" by Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson which remains stuck at number two however I don't see this song as the threat to our number one.

The threat may well come from "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men which climbed four places to number three and it's got rapidly surging sales behind it, this is is looming as major player in the weeks ahead.

It forced "The Day You Went Away' by Wendy Matthews back to number four and "Erotica" by Madonna back to number five as their sales were no match for those of "End of the Road".

It was also a similar tale for "Ain't No Doubt" by Jimmy Nail back to number six and "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" by Patty Smyth and Don Henley back one to seven.

Rebounding two places to number eight is "November Rain" by Guns 'n' Roses and "White Men Can't Jump" by Riff which returned to the top ten up two places to number nine.

Then we have "Keep The Faith' by Bon Jovi rounding out the top ten rising three places to number ten to spend a first week inside the top ten.

Gains

So "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix A Lot rebounded six places to break back into the top twenty at number sixteen while Jon Secada's "Just Another Day" also broke into the top twenty up from 23 to 17.

In better news, "Digging in the Dirt" by Peter Gabriel climbed from 39 to 23 while "Too Much Love Will Kill You" by Brian May which jumped nine places to 32.

"Lead Me to Water" by Southern Sons climbed from 42 to 36 and "Dancing Queen" by ABBA climbed from 46 to 39. 

Losers

In good news, "Sesame's Treet" by Smart E's is on the way out as it fell fourteen places to 50 while "Life is a Highway" by Tom Cochrane down from 30 to 44. 

While "Breaking The Girl" by Red Hot Chili Peppers had its somewhat weird momentum slow to a halt down ten spots to 41 while "I'll Be There' by Mariah Carey is down six to 40. 

2 Unlimited's "The Magic Friend" down eight to 33 while "Humpin' Around" by Bobby Brown down five to 19. 

New Entries

Five new entries this week so let's get the show on the road with...

49. “What’s Wrong with That Girl?” by Rick Price

The third single from Rick Price’s album “Heaven Knows” and given the successful year Price has had, I am not surprised that this single has been released. “What’s Wrong With That Girl?” is definitely a catchy enough song with a pretty incredible guitar solo…the instrumentation here is really the star here because the lyrics here don’t really do much other than Price wondering what is up with this girl who is being distant and wondering how he can ‘break into her world’ because he is intensely attracted to her. It’s a step down from both “Not a Day Goes By” and “Heaven Knows”.

 

48. “Talking Sly” by The Sharp

Ahh so here’s The Sharp, a three piece pop rockabilly group hailing from Melbourne with “Talking Sly” being the lead single from their EP “Spinosity” (which ARIA credited rather than the single “Talking Sly”) and features Piet Collins, who has been writing episodes of Neighbours and well this an interesting song, it’s definitely not bad, the guitars have plenty of energy and while I think the vocals could have afforded to be louder. The song is about a person wondering if they even know their partner anymore and wonders why said partner won’t talk to them. This is fine, check it out if you are curious.

 

47. “Shake Your Head” Was (Not Was)

We revisit the year 1983 because that’s the original release date of this song as it appears on American group Was (Not Was) album “Born to Laugh at Tornadoes” from that year before it somehow got re recorded and remixed by Steve “Silk” Hurley with the song featuring Kim Basinger and rerecorded Ozzy Osbourne vocals. All I can say is the production on this song is a nightmare who decided that squealing synth between the verses and chorus was a good idea? It sounds like a cat suffering a slow painful death and when the hook literally is just ‘shake your head’, time to move on.

 

45. “Would I Lie to You” by Charles and Eddie

Okay, so this song was penned by British born songwriters Michael Leeson and Peter Vale, the pair behind Sheena Easton’s “One Man Woman” with “Would I Lie to You” being handed to American duo Charles Pettigrew  and Eddie Chacon and it’s certainly quite the pop/soul/r’n’b song that likely would work on radio as the song reassures this girl that he’d never lie to her and that she can look into his eyes and trust him, it’s fine, Charles and Eddie have good harmonies and the backing vocals give the song more of that soul tinge so if you are curious, it’s worth hearing.

 

25. “Accidently Kelly Street” by Frente

Finishing the week with Frente and given how much I am not a fan of their previous smash single from earlier in 1992, I was wary heading into this so imagine my surprise hearing “Accidently Kelly Street” and realizing that this slice of breezy indie pop was actually pretty solid, the vocals are not as obnoxious as they were on “Ordinary Angels” and the guitars give the song this next door vibe which makes sense given the song was written after a member of the band mistakenly announced to the rest of the band that he was moving to Kelly Street to which lead vocalist, Angie Hart suggested the song be called “Accidently Kelly Street” (I realize ‘accidently’ is misspelled but the band decided to keep the misspelling)

I think it’s a pretty cute, sweet song and a improvement on whatever “Ordinary Angels” was, it’s also getting the best new entry of the week.

As for the worst…that’s going to Was (Not Was) for “Shake Your Head” a pointless and unnecessary remix.

Good 1992 Vibrations. 1st November I Wonder Why I Ain't Gonna Eat Out Dancing Queen Anymore

 Alright so we've a bit of a calmer week here however it doesn't stop the top ten from being insane with all the movement happening there so let's start there even if there's no change to the top three, "Achy Bteaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus continues it's stubborn hold on the number one spot for another week ahead of "The Best Things in Life are Free" by Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson remains at number two while "The Day You Went Away' by Wendy Matthews is stuck at number three...the margins were too big for any overtaking.

That might make "The Day You Went Away" vulnerable to Madonna's "Erotica" which climbed 12 places to number four this week....I get it but come on the song isn't that good.

Remaining at number five is 'Ain't No Doubt" by Jimmy Nail however it's got "Sometimes Love just Ain't Enough" by Patty Smyth and Don Henley right behind it as it jumped four to number six.

However the song that looks to have a stack of momentum going forward is "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men up six to and into the top ten at number seven, think this has the potential to be a challenger but we will have to see.

"Love Is In the Air" by John Paul Young was a victim of all the shifting as it slipped four to number eight then to round it out, we have "My Name is Prince" by Prince and the New Power Generation steady at number nine and "November Rain" by Guns 'n' Roses down two to number ten.

Gains.

Well we're starting on a bad note this week because "Something Good" by Utah Saints somehow rose from 30 to 16 this week which is not a good sign however the tolerable "Do You Want Me" by Felix climbed eight spots to break into the top twenty at 18. 

"The Magic Friend" by 2 Unlimited jumped from 41 to 25 while "Knockin' On Heaven's Door' by Guns 'n' Roses rose from 34 to 27.  "Breaking the Girl" by Red Hot Chili Peppers climbed five to 31.

I'm happy that "Drive" by R.E.M climbed twelve off it's debut to 38 and "Too Much Love Will Kill You" by Brian May rose eight to 41 however K.W.S's cover of  "Rock Your Baby" climbed seven to 40 because of course it did.

Re Entries

Just the one re entry with "Pressure Drop" by Izzy Stradlin back at 47.

Losers

As for the losers, well there were quite a few top ten hits that fell hard this week like "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" by Sophie B. Hawkins slipped eleven to 49 while "Amigos Para Siempre" by Jose Carreras and Sarah Brightman fell twelve places to 37, "Please Don't Go" by K.W.S skidded like the proverbial shit stain of a song it is from 22 to 35, "Life is a Highway" by Tom Cochrane fell nine to 30 and Sir Mix A Lot's "Baby Got Back" stumbled six to 21. 

Finally "White Men can't Jump" by Riff and "Die For You" by Euphoria both fell five places to 11 and 12 respectively

New Entries

Three new entries this week, starting with...

48. “I Ain’t Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore” by The Divinyls

We’re starting off the week in complicated fashion as this could take a bit to explain so this song was written by Pam Sawyer and Laurie Barton in 1965 and intended to be recorded by a British Invasion artist however New Jersey act The Young Rascals had heard the song and liked it enough to subsequently record the song and release it as their debut single in November of the same year, it would only reach 52 on the Billboard Hot 100, it helped to establish The Young Rascals on the American music scene while in Australia, it would reach a peak of 48 here.

This takes us to how it appears on the chart this week in 1992 courtesy of The Divinyls recording a cover of the song for the film “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and released as the second single from their compilation album “The Collection” and so how is the song?

Well, it’s certainly a Divinyls spin on a 1960s song which they’ve managed to make into their own courtesy of the reworking of the riff and Chrissy Amphlett killing it with the attitude that she’s not going to be made to eat her heart out anymore by anyone, I wasn’t wild about the original version but yeah, I dig this cover. Nice job, Divinyls!

 

46. “Dancing Queen’ by ABBA

I am pretty certain that this isn’t a ‘new’ entry to any such degree, it was a number one for ABBA in 1976 so I am bewildered as to why it was classified as such but anyway we do have to talk about it because “Dancing Queen” has been re released by the band to help promote the group’s greatest hits compilation and really given we are dealing with an absolute classic pop song, there isn’t that much to be said about it, it’s stood the god damn test of time which is about the biggest compliment you can give a pop song where the cycle of attention is really short so yeah, absolute classic.

 

44. “I Wonder Why” by Curtis Stigers

Okay, so here we have the debut single from American singer songwriter Curtis Stigers and it comes from his self-titled debut album and unfortunately I am not feeling this song at all, Stigers voice is really nasal which would have benefitted some rougher production but instead its really smooth and really jazz based with the saxophone etc. The lyrics also feel really really clingy…it’s not precisely terrible but given the number of ballads I’ve heard in 1992, I am not going to remember it either.

 

I am going to disqualify ABBA from best or worst mostly because it’s already a god dang classic pop song so best of the week is going to The Divinyls for “I Ain’t Going to Eat My Heart Out Anymore”. Curtis Stigers takes worst of the week for “I Wonder Why”, again it’s not precisely all that terrible but it’s forgettable.

Good 1992 Vibrations. 25th October. Too Much Erotica with Magic Friend Will Kill You so Keep The Faith

Well this was quite the wild week, shifts up and down the chart including a new entry in the top ten along with several songs turning up in the top ten that I didn't expect so let's start with the top ten where we didn't see any change at the very top because for yet another week "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus remains at number one because sales are still consistent and I'm convinced that people just love guilt tripping bullshit like this.

It held up over "The Best Things in Life Are Free" by Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson stuck at number two because it can't close the sales margin. 

Rising one spot behind it is "The Day You Went Away" by Wendy Matthews which rose one spot to number three pushing "Love is in the Air" by John Paul Young down one to number four.

Jimmy Nail has his first top ten hit with "Ain't No Doubt" rising six places to hit the top five at number five while "White Men Can't Jump" by Riff jumping seven places to number six...yes, the top ten kind went through some change this week. 

Climbing three places to number seven is "Die For You" by Euphoria as it finally gains some traction going forward which I am fine with.

"November Rain" by Guns 'n' Roses stayed steady at number eight just ahead of our highest new entry that being "My Name is Prince" by Prince and the New Power Generation, I'll have more to say later however it got here thanks to really good sales.

Also spending it's first week inside the top ten is "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" by Patty Smyth and Don Henley which rose seven places to number ten and yeah, I am delighted about that!

Gains.

So the big gains outside the top ten with the biggest gain of the week belonging to Boyz II Men's "End Of the Road" as it climbed from 40 all the way to 13 and looks headed for the top ten very soon.

"What Kind of Fool (Heard All That Before)" by Kylie Minogue broke into the top ten as it climbed from 21 to 17 while "No Regrets" by Tom Cochrane climbed from 46 to 27. 

Losers

This is going to be a long list, folks because almost everything lost hard this week but let's start with "Who Is It" by Michael Jackson down seven to 48 (this song has had no genuine momentum whatsoever unfortunately). 

Former top ten hit "Everything's Alright" by John Farnham, Kate Ceberano and Jon Stevens slumped from 38 to 44 while "As Ugly As They Wanna Be" by Ugly Kid Joe dived ten places to 43. 

"Proove" by Radio Freedom slipped from 36 to 42 while "Take This Heart" by Richard Marx tumbled eight to 39 and 'Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover" by Sophie B. Hawkins down six to 38. 

"Breaking The Girl" by Red Hot Chili Pepper broke six places down to 36 as "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" by Guns 'n' Roses collapsed from 22 to 34. 

"Sesame's Treet" by Smart Es slithered down from 16 to 33 and "It's Not Over" by The Rockmelons feat. Deni Hines stumbled from 24 to 32. "I'll Be There" by Mariah Carey is heading for a graceful exit as it slipped eight to 31. 

Then we have the top ten songs in the top ten last week that took really harsh tumbles this week like "Amigos Para Siempre (Friends For Life)" by Jose Carreras and Sarah Brightman which suffered a plunge from 9 to 25, "Life is a Highway" by Tom Cochrane fell from 7 to 21, "Rhythm is a Dancer" by Snap down nine to 14 and "Humpin' Around" by Bobby Brown down six places to 12. 

New Entries

Six new entries this week, quite eclectic too

50. "Drive" by R.E.M

We're kicking things off this week with pop/rock courtesy of R.E.M with "Drive being the lead single for the band's eighth studio album "Automatic for the People". This song definitely steers into blues territory with that guitar...the production reminds me a bit of Bon Jovi's stuff around the turn of the decade and Michael Stipe's vocals low and really powerful as he urges kids to take control of their lives and drive their own lives because hey, nobody else is going to do it for them so they'd better take control.

Yeah, you know what? This is not bad at all, I'll take it!

49. "Too Much Love Will Kill You" by Brian May

So turns out this is a song that Brian May co wrote for Queen and was recorded by Queen in 1989 before May released this solo version of this song, a power ballad reflecting on the breakdown of his first marriage and his relationship with his future wife where I think the song works thanks to the orchestral swell and Brian May delivering an incredibly passionate vocal performance that kind of left me in the grip of the song. This version is pretty good, check it out. 

41. "The Magic Friend" by 2 Unlimited

Well I guess, it was only a matter of time before we got another 2 Unlimited single on the singles chart, it's the fourth and last single from their album "Get Ready' and I guess this is an improvement? The mix feels a little less cluttered and at least there's a groove here but I can't get past that rather prominent noise of what sounds like somebody having a case of explosive hiccups and once you hear that sound, it just ruins the rest of the song, it just isn't pleasant to listen to...sorry but I am skipping this.

16. "Erotica" by Madonna

I groaned when I saw this song, mostly because Madonna's work in 1992 hasn't been at all good and with this song apparently coming from Madonna's upcoming concept album of the same name. Look, here's the problem with the song right from the outset, if the song is trying to sell a particular sexy mood where Madonna wants this dude to put his hands all over her body than they could have at least lightened some of the heaviness of that percussion, also putting this dude in a trance...that comes across as creepy more than sexy. It's better than the chore that's "This Used to Be My Playground" but this song isn't doing anything for me. 

11. "Keep the Faith" by Bon Jovi

Well let's go from sexy to Bon Jovi's newest single with this being the title track for their album and I actually dig this a fair bit, mostly because the song has the whole vibe of getting through the tough times and things will eventually get better by not letting love turn to hatred and how we all need that somebody to love and to stick by. This isn't the best song Bon Jovi have made but yeah, this resonated enough with me for me me to like it, it's not bad at all

9. "My Name is Prince' by Prince and the New Power Generation

Well here we go...the final song of what feels like a looong week here, it's the second single from the album 'Love Symbol" and wow, this sounds like Prince trying to compete with a lot of the hip hop sound at the time...the record scratching, the percussion and Prince sounding kind of desperate as he shouts 'MY NAME IS PRINCE AND I AM FUNKY!" on the hook. The biggest issue here is the lack of groove here and there being a lot of elements that sound out of place here. It's not a complete mess but I remember when Prince didn't need to sound like his voice was cracking to sell a song.

So that wraps up the week, I'm giving best of the week to "Drive" by R.E.M...a solid track that kind of worked for me. Worst is going to "The Magical Friend" by 2 Unlimited because it was the worst song here this week...there's no need for recorded explosive hiccupping in music.