Compilation: 100% Hits Volume 17
Released: 1995 – EMI
Number of tracks: 18
Number one singles: 2 – "Kiss From A Rose" by Seal, "Insensitive" by J**n A***n
Other top ten singles: 3
Best track: "Common People" by Pulp
Hidden gem: "Devil's Diary" by The Caulfields
The seventeenth installment of the indefatigable 100% Hits series contains tracks from mid-1995, and there's some stuff here chart fans might not know, given that 13 of the 18 tracks here didn't reach the top ten – most of them didn't trouble the top 40. That don't necessarily mean bad, though. For instance the track I've chosen as my 'hidden gem' is one whose artist I'd never even heard of! I had never heard of The Caulfields before and yet their picture is one of four who graces the cover, as you can see above – along with Seal, Chris Isaak and complete tone-deaf muzak nobody J**n A***n! (As you may have guessed, I can't stand that stupid song "Insensitive" or the idiot who "sings" it. Have a look at my post recapping the Top 10 of August 19, 1995 if you really wanna know why.)
Let's get the nondescript pap out of the way first – "Water Runs Dry" by Boyz II Men, "Everytime You Go Away" ("every time" should be two words there) by Kulcha and "Shoot Me With Your Love" by D:Ream are all entirely forgettable and just taking up space here, and I'd never heard any of 'em before. However, some other tracks I'd never heard before turned out to be pretty good! The band with the stupidest name in the world (despite some stiff competition), Chocolate Starfish, appear here with "Accidentally Cool" which ain't half bad, and I fully expected to hate Sheryl Crow's "Can't Cry Anymore" because, well, it's Sheryl Crow. But that was another tune I enjoyed as well.
The other song I'd never heard before – at least this band's version of it – was "Alice, Who The X Is Alice" by Gompie. The above mentioned previous post linked above mentions it; it's a more straight ahead cover of "Living Next Door To Alice", but still features the shouted response with the "eff-word". The version here bleeps it out, as in The Steppers' version.
I don't think I'd listened to "I Believe" by Blessid Union Of Souls since it was in the charts 24 years ago (where it reached number 18). It notably features the word "nigger" in the lyrics, which was rather confronting for its time, but the term is used in context as being one which the song's narrator finds applied to himself by someone else, so it got through unscathed.
Max Sharam is here too; I liked her a lot. I had her album for a while – until I sold it, that is. "Lay Down (Candles In The Rain)" was the third single, and it's pretty good, but I can't stand the horrible lyrics. In Max's defence, it's a cover.
When I checked the excellent chart resource australian-charts.com I was surprised that Paula Abdul's "My Love Is For Real" got to number 7! I wouldn't think it was a top 10 hit upon listening to it, but then again I hadn't heard it in decades. And I was surprised to see Seal's lyrics are "I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey" – for years I thought it was "on the grave". Listen more closely, 17 year old me!
Rating: 5/10
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