Compilation Album Review: "1991 The Gun Hits"

My collection of retro compilations keeps growing...this one, from the tail end of 1990. "I'd buy that for a dollar!" Well, I did — a'right stop, collaborate n'lissun.

Compilation: 1991 The Gun Hits
Released: 1990 – Festival Records
Number of tracks: 18
Number one singles: 3 – "Jukebox In Siberia" by Skyhooks, "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice, "Unchained Melody" by Righteous Brothers
Other top ten singles: 1
Best track: "Ice Ice Baby" by Vanilla Ice
Hidden gem: "Justifier" by Big Pig

This compilation came out towards the end of 1990, one of my favourite years in chart music. The Skyhooks 'reunion' single, their first new song in the ten years since their original break-up, leads it off. I actually quite like it, and thanks to Countdown Revolution I knew they were a band from the '70s from seeing another of their videos.

There's a sprinkling of decent singles here that may not have made the top 20 but are worth the inclusion anyway: "Falling To Pieces", the song Faith No More (or their label) chose for the tough job of following up "Epic"; "Miss Divine", Icehouse's last hurrah in the Australian charts; a bit of motivation for those who like being shouted at in Angry Anderson's "Bound For Glory"; and Go West's "King Of Wishful Thinking".

Considering the big hit it was soon to become in early '91, the mix of "Ice Ice Baby" included here is very strange. It's neither the album version nor the single version I'm so used to; it's the one with the weird and overly long 'trumpet and sax' break at the end. Where did this mix come from? But credit to the compilers for including a rarely-heard version, I suppose.

Then there's a few tracks you might skip over including a shambolic Irish jig from Bob Geldof in "The Great Song Of Indifference". Okay, so it managed to hit number 25 on three non-consecutive weeks, but who thought this sort of stuff was going to top the charts in 1990? It ain't no "I Don't Like Mondays", Bob. Anything by Concrete Blonde or Wendy Matthews gets a pass from me as well. "Miss me with that shit", as the 'youth' say.

I never knew The Proclaimers recorded a cover of "King Of The Road", but it's still an interesting listen, even though their Scots accents sound nothing like Roger Miller's American drawl. And speaking of covers, Hothouse Flowers' version of "I Can See Clearly Now" is here too, for those who prefer an alternative to the song's reggae arrangement.

Rating: 6/10