US #3 Hits (1990 and 1991)

'roam' over 'all around the world', 'rub you the right way', 'poison', 'motownphilly'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL9y9CcnEJQ

xgau on desert storm ost - http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/rock/war-91.php

It's "Roam" w/out much thought, but several are among my favorite songs of the era. I almost gave to love to Tracie Spender's "This House," which is sorta forgotten, no?

The finalists:

Lisa Stansfield – "All Around the World"
Rod Stewart – "Downtown Train"
Johnny Gill – "Rub You the Right Way"
Tara Kemp – "Hold You Tight"
C+C Music Factory – "Here We Go (Let's Rock and Roll)"
Tracie Spencer – "This House"

man i know so many boho cranks that piss on stewart's 'downtown train' but that thing is fantastic, fond of most (ok maybe just many) of the singles of that last comeback period (roughly out of order thru vagabond heart) in general. that c+c music factory has been forgotten but it was nearly as big a hit as 'gonna make you sweat', lol at freedom williams biting strafe's hook. someone should put together a spotify playlist of george herbert walker bush mc's w/ freedom williams, mc skat kat, dude from new power generation, whoever rapped on 'black or white', so many faceless hypemen.

I'd argue that Stewart's version is less pleading, less whiny; and for all the million -dollar gewgaws in the production he enunciates every word. He gets it.

Essential document.

the songs on these no. 3 lists have been pretty bad.

Here's the exception.

Damn Yankees, Styx, Michael Bolton the only horrors. I'm cold on that Collins hit and much cooler on "Poison" than I once was.

Roam for sure, but Boyz II Men brings back fond memories of middle school dances.

roam is okay, but -- probably by design -- feels pretty slight. good vocal harmonies on the chorus. maybe their best pop (but not novelty) song.

yeah there was a time this would've been 'poison' and a huge gap but i've cooled on it also. i'm ok w/ that collins hit, not the best single off that album but definitely not the worst either.

To me if you don't get "Roam" you don't get the B-52's.

I'm reminded of "Poison" every time someone holds a cell phone too close to a guitar amp.

amp, i must warn youuuuuuu

voted johnny gill

^^^ the last classic-era Jam-Lewis thumper?

definitely feels like a bridge from that late 80s peak (imo) jam-lewis phase of 'if it isn't love'/rhythm nation and the 90s when they were playing a little bit of keep up w/ teddy riley et al, becoming a bit more reactive than proactive. i dunno, those dudes are straight greatness for me thru 97 or so. at the same time when mj did 'scream' i did think 'finally working w/ jam-lewis, shame you didn't do this five years ago'.

I crossed out "great" and replaced it with "classic" because yeah janet feels like another phase, with the Mo' Money soundtrack as the sayonara to the old one.

yeah i've got alot of jam-lewis on my 'starred' playlist and 'rub you the right way' sounds considerably busier and hyped up to tracks from just a couple of years before. maybe reacting to bomb squad also?

glad to see some love for Rod. still, Rub You the Right Way is the obvious pick here

FEEL.

TOUCH.

STROKE.

I love the B-52's but I've always hated "Roam".

But it has to be "Rub You the Right Way". Has aged better than the other New Jack stuff on here, though I still love "Poison" and "Motownphilly" despite their hokiness.

Definitely "Roam" by a long shot for me btw, with one of the BBD tracks and Lisa Stansfield being the distant runner-ups.

I mean, you gotta love the visuals too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNwC0sp-uA4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNwC0sp-uA4

Classic!

Yeah Roam. Love a lot of these tho. Stansfield, BBD, and one of the better Boyz II Men songs for sure. I also dig the Damn Yankees song to an extent, and I Wish It Would Rain is one of my favorite of his 90s hits (hi, Clapton).

Downtown Train is good too but Rod kinda acrewed Bob Seger over on that,

Poison, but all three of the ex-New Edition tracks are great. So is Roam, obviously -- one of the great things about these years was the ubiquity of Kate Pierson's voice, between this and the Iggy song and the REM album.

"Roam" easily, although, at the time, I had a somewhat mysterious enthusiasm for "Here We Go (Let's Rock and Roll)." I didn't just love it, I thought there was all sorts of profound meaning about pop music in there, along the lines of "Hey Hey, My My (Into the Black)" or Danny & the Juniors' "Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay." I used the lyrics for the first cover of a fanzine I started in 1991.

http://phildellio.tripod.com/radioone.jpg

haha

"Here We Go (Let's Rock and Roll)" >>>> "Gonna Make You Sweat"

Damn Yankees is my fav on here; don't know anything about the band or other songs of theirs but I sing it around the house all the time, quiet to loud chorus, yesterday's just a memory, stupid and contagious

that Styx song is garbage!

I fuck with the BBD trax, BIIM and even the Phil Collins one tho.

(xposts) Haven't heard it in ages, but my guess is that "Things That Make You Go Hmmm..." would sound the best today from that first album. They had a single later on, after Foghorn Leghorn was gone, called "Do You Wanna Get Funky" that's better still.

"Motownphilly" is a pretty incredible song imo

I was always disappointed that they didn't do more new jack swing tracks.

No Fred in "Roam."

Going "Motownphilly."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p90tYanvx3c

Bell Biv DeVoe – "Poison"
Lisa Stansfield – "All Around the World"
Johnny Gill – "Rub You the Right Way"
The B-52's – "Roam"
Boyz II Men – "Motownphilly"
Tara Kemp – "Hold You Tight"
Tracie Spencer – "This House"

This is my happy place.

"Just a Touch of Love" is clearly the best thing from the C+C album.

Will probably vote for the Lisa Stansfield since I think it'll get undervoted in this company.

"Just a Touch of Love" is clearly the best thing from the C+C album.

― Eric H.,

Great single, but obviously The Fourth Single.

Control
Alright
Because of You
Go Deep

poll?

More interested to know if there are ANY seventh singles to compare with "Love Will Never Do."

Fourth single has a special status. "Oh Father," "Another Star," "Falling in Love (Uh Oh)," "Every Little Step," and "Stuck On You" could never have been first or even second singles.

'thriller' seventh single from thriller
'my hometown' seventh single from thriller
'give in to me' seventh single from dangerous
'smooth criminal' seventh single from bad
'rocket' seventh single from hysteria
'that don't impress me much' seventh single from come on over

i'll take 'love will never do' over these

lol 'my hometown' from born in the usa obv

"Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" is a song co-written and recorded by Canadian country music artist Shania Twain. It was released in March 1999 as the seventh single from Twain's album Come On Over.

That whole album was seventh singles.

eazy's right - wiki entry i looked at included british singles. 'man! i feel like a woman' is a close second to 'love will never do' for me, the rest of the field pretty far behind

Voted "Roam," but I will admit that as much as I hate pretty much everything Rod Stewart did after "Never a Dull Moment," I do like "Downtown Train"

Michael Bivins killing the #3 spot during these years. I voted Motownphilly, because I love the way he tells Boyz II Men's origin story.

U2 had so many promo singles off Achtung Baby, not sure which one was #7... Trying to throw your arms? Zoo station? Until the end of the world? Who's gonna ride your wild horses?

Fourth single in the States was "Even Better Than the Real Thing."

Also... You Want This from janet.

yeah even if you include 'until the end of the world' being pushed to radio the achtung baby singles stop at six w/ 'who's gonna ride yr wild horses?'. same w/ monster and 'tongue' being sixth if you count 'star 69' since it got promoted to radio.

Agree with others that "Roam" is the clear choice here. My favorite B-52's single.

It's pretty insane that all the way up to 1991 a song like "Show Me the Way" could still be such a huge hit.

voted for "Roam" (this was somehow the fourth single from Cosmic Thing?)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Johnny Gill – "Rub You the Right Way"
Tara Kemp – "Hold You Tight"
Tracie Spencer – "This House"

^^^ never heard of any these artists or songs

I envy you.

wait -- you haven't heard (of) New Edition?

Rub You the Right Way is great

ok so after a quick youtube session:

Johnny Gill: A serious MC Hammer lookalike, parachute pants and all. Sounds like Bell Biv Devoe or Guy. Not bad, but pretty unremarkable
Tara Kemp: Sounds like "Come on and Get My Love". I could really do without the "IIIII want you to" yelps near the end.
Tracie Spencer: Generic 90s house-pop that was done better by Black Bx, Bizarre Inc and others of that ilk.

These songs are so incredibly bland it's no wonder they've faded into obscurity.

"Rub You the Right Way" is a perennial on urban radio.

Jeez, I guess I gotta vote for "Roam." Should have subtitled this poll "Fifteen Reasons Grunge Had to Happen"

to make way for Creed?

yeah I totally remember when grunge eradicated pop music

Phil Collins stood there in the nuclear wasteland, cowering in fear, as Kim Thayil approached

If fucking "roam" beats "poison" "Do me" "rub you the right way" and "motownphilly" I'm going to be so fucking angry at all of you wtf.

Backstage, underage

http://www.trashydiva.com/wpsite/wp-content/uploads/tumblr_lfuq02s3Jm1qz8gt5o1_500.jpg

Thanks, Mr. Snrub. It had been awhile since I FP'd someone.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Johnny Gill – "Rub You the Right Way"
Tara Kemp – "Hold You Tight"
Tracie Spencer – "This House"

^^^ never heard of any these artists or songs

― Mr. Snrub, Thursday, March 20, 2014 8:32 PM (4 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Flag Post

haha I mean Flag Post to

ok so after a quick youtube session:

Johnny Gill: A serious MC Hammer lookalike, parachute pants and all. Sounds like Bell Biv Devoe or Guy. Not bad, but pretty unremarkable
Tara Kemp: Sounds like "Come on and Get My Love". I could really do without the "IIIII want you to" yelps near the end.
Tracie Spencer: Generic 90s house-pop that was done better by Black Bx, Bizarre Inc and others of that ilk.

These songs are so incredibly bland it's no wonder they've faded into obscurity.

― Mr. Snrub, Thursday, March 20, 2014 8:44 PM (4 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

but I mean

Mr. Snrub

Sounds like Bell Biv Devoe

wonder why that could be

the return of Drunk Jaymc!

top 5 songs OTM

5 of the best songs ever, they are.

"New Jack Swing is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into BBD. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not. Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed, that is.”

Awfully fond of that Tara Kemp song, too. But then I'm awfully fond of almost every pop song from this era.

you just wanna hold it tight?

All day and all night.