Pop Top 40: Hot 100 week ending 2/8/92

Just the top 20 this time, but it’s… surprisingly good?

[this week, last week, title, artist, weeks on chart, peak to date]
1 6 I’M TOO SEXY –•– Right Said Fred – 8 (1 week at #1) (1) — First of all, check out that leap to the top. Secondly, listen to what a perfect/stupid pop record this is. Those Fairbrass brothers, for a quick moment, knew just what they were doing. I’d love to know what they’ve made off of this in publishing royalties, since RSF themselves wrote it. p.s.: #3 UK, #76 US follow-up single “Don’t Talk Just Kiss” is even better. (And yes, I know the brothers are toxic now, but that doesn’t change this record.)
2 2 I LOVE YOUR SMILE –•– Shanice – 12 (2) — This song is exuberance, joy, pure happy. Credit the songwriters, sure, but credit Shanice’s vocal even more, because she sells the sentiment without making it sappy or silly.
3 1 DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME –•– George Michael & Elton John – 10 (1) — George does a fine job singing it, but really doesn’t add anything to it. The issue isn’t him, it’s that this isn’t one of Elton & Bernie’s finer selections.
4 4 DIAMONDS AND PEARLS –•– Prince & The N.P.G. – 10 (4) — I’ve forever thought this was underrated: one of Prince’s prettiest ballads. Sure, it’s a bit light, but it’s so fucking pretty, and the light touch is precisely what makes this work, along with Rosie Gaines’s vocals, which are absolutely necessary.
5 3 ALL 4 LOVE –•– Color Me Badd – 14 (1) — “Sex U Up,” yes. “I Adore Mi Amor,” yes. Warmed-over early ’90s doo-wop? Absolutely not.
6 8 SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT –•– Nirvana – 10 (6) — “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” “Rapper’s Delight.” “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” I mean, you know the drill.
7 5 CAN’T LET GO –•– Mariah Carey – 13 (2) — Upper-tier MC balladry with a soft touch.
8 14 TO BE WITH YOU –•– Mr. Big – 8 (8) — Not nearly as bad as I’d remembered; my memory said this was akin to “More than Words,” which I wholeheartedly detest, but it’s not. This isn’t great, but it’s okay. One of hair metal’s last top 10 gasps, on its way to #1.
9 7 FINALLY –•– Ce Ce Peniston – 20 (5) — Not many artists get an era-defining song, let alone to start off their careers, but there’s nothing else you could call “Finally.” It’s one of the apexes of early ’90s pop-house, and thanks to things like The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, it’s never fully gone away. I’ve never not liked this song, and in fact, I’ve always liked this song. It’s buoyant, great house and perfect pop.
10 10 TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT ME TO DO –•– Tevin Campbell – 14 (10) — I’d forgotten that this was a top 10 pop record (#6!). It’s not bad, but it’s pretty slushy.

11 11 MYSTERIOUS WAYS –•– U2 – 12 (9) — Achtung Baby is a great album, period, and this is a perfect crystallization of it in single form. They really stood out from the pack at the time, didn’t they?
12 12 THE WAY I FEEL ABOUT YOU –•– Karyn White – 11 (12) — The follow-up to her #1 smash “Romantic,” this one wasn’t produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, and thus feels softer and lighter. Which isn’t a bad thing necessarily, but it does mean this doesn’t have the punch and kick of its predecessor. At its pop peak this week (made it to #5 R&B); she never troubled the pop top 40 again.
13 20 REMEMBER THE TIME –•– Michael Jackson – 3 (13) — One of his finest, silkiest singles. Teddy Riley took over where Quincy Jones left off and did so so ably: the half of Dangerous he produced is one of the best New Jack Swing albums ever. But at the same time, because it can’t be anything but, it’s also some of MJ’s finest work.
14 13 2 LEGIT 2 QUIT –•– Hammer – 14 (5) — Delightfully ridiculous.
15 9 BLACK OR WHITE –•– Michael Jackson – 12 (1) — Middling MJ; Teddy Riley had no hand in this one.
16 25 VIBEOLOGY –•– Paula Abdul – 4 (16) — Ridiculously delightful. Paula, I, too, am in a funky way. Of note: Steve “Silk” Hurley’s gorgeous 12” remix.
17 22 GOOD FOR ME –•– Amy Grant – 4 (17) — I don’t love Heart in Motion, but this is solid as uptempo pop goes. Not as good as “Baby Baby” or “Every Heartbeat,” however.
18 19 KEEP IT COMIN’ –•– Keith Sweat – 11 (18) — GODDAMN this is a killer. Coming off the smash-ness of his debut, Keith had to come back hard, and he did. This hit like a cherry bomb, with its sample from “Jungle Boogie,” with its tough New Jack Swing-ness, with Keith coming all all fucking sexy and sly and knowing exactly what he was doing. This is a lost classic and you should listen to it right this second.
19 21 I CAN’T MAKE YOU LOVE ME –•– Bonnie Raitt – 12 (19) — Sometimes there’s a marriage of singer and song so perfect that you can’t imagine anything else, anything better, and this is a perfect example of said perfection. Just that opening couplet — “Turn down the lights/Turn down the bed” — is so iconic, so tenderly sung, and so expertly produced by Raitt and Don Was, it could in fact not be more perfect.
20 16 ADDAMS GROOVE –•– Hammer – 10 (7) — Un-delightfully ridiculous.

[Originally written in 2017.]