1993 EUROVISION SONG CONTEST MILLSTREET
Welcome to the only place in the world where you can access
the highly sought after opinions of Daniel Viles on the songs performed in the
1993 Eurovision Song Contest. The 1993 Eurovision was held in Green Glens Arena
in Millstreet, Ireland on May 15 and won by Niamh Kavanagh for the host
country. Due to apathy towards the ESC in Australia, I missed seeing this
contest on television. From memory, I was busy that week trying to get Sarah Young
to go out with me. I eventually succeeded; poor girl!
1. Italy Enrico
Ruggeri Sole d'Europa ***
You
know how sometimes in children's pantomimes, the bad guy sings a song about how
he wouldn't be bad if somebody loved him? This sounds like that song. In real
terms, you could probably call this song a power waltz. Enrico's voice would be
well used in show music. There is a lovely sad quality to his voice that brings
the listener in. The rock guitar solo is extremely misplaced but if you can
ignore that, this is lovely.
2. Turkey Burak Aydos Esmer Yarim ****
Ladies and
gentlemen, rock and roll has reached Turkey! This song has everything good from
1950s America a doo-wop intro, a wailing harmonica and a vocal performance
that's not bad for a Turk trying to be a black American. There's also a 1980s
alto sax solo thrown in for good measure. This song owes a lot to Chuck Berry
and Bo Diddley, but who ever said that was a bad thing?
3. Germany Mόnchener
Freiheit Viel Zu Veit ***
As far as cheesy rock ballads
go, this song is not bad. I could imagine Whiteheart or Bad English making an
absolute meal of this song by playing the chorus at full throttle, but, to
their credit, Mόnchener Freiheit are a lot more sensitive than that. Of course
there's a little crescendo to launch the chorus, but they obviously know how
not to destroy a sensitive song. The orchestral accompaniment adds to the
fairly simple texture of this song, which is well worth listening to, despite
the clichιs evident within.
4. Switzerland Annie
Cotton Moi, Tout Simplement **
It
had to come sooner or later the first power ballad of the contest! This is a
very boring composition, however, if you have some spare time, listen to this
for Annie's genuinely strong voice which valiantly, but vainly, strives to save
this wretched waste of manuscript.
5. Denmark Tommy
Seebach Under Stjernerne pε Himlen ***
Lots
of people will like this song. I find it a bit simple, but then I'm not writing
this review for me, am I! The song is basically a simple folk melody set to a
light reggae beat. The seventies backing vocal style grates my ears a little,
but the whistling solo in the middle of the song is faultless. Think of it as The
Fureys meets Bob Marley meets Roger Whittaker.
6. Greece Keti Garbi Ellada, Chora Tou Fotos *****
Greek
Eurovision entries invariably sound very... well... Greek! Nothing wrong with
that; I love Greek music. This song is fairly easily categorised as Greek rock.
To explain this genre, think of a regular rock band; now add bongos, bouzoukis
and balalaikas. Got it? Good! Keti's voice is more than able to carry this sort
of song, but the beauty of this song is the atmosphere it creates. If, like me,
you adore songs with a genuinely dark, brooding feel to them, you should love
this.
7. Belgium Barbara
Iemand Als Jij ***
This song sounds like it's going
to be a power ballad but it turns out a lot better than I thought it would.
Part of the reason for this is that the composition holds itself back and just
allows itself to be a beautifully simple song. But the real star here is
Barbara. Her voice is just so cosy and warm with that adorable Piaf-style
vibrato which, unlike a Callas-style vibrato, enhances the sound of not just
the voice, but everything around it as well. A standout vocal performance.
8. Malta William
Mangion This Time ***
Before
there were power ballads, there was power soul! In this song, William does his best
Joe Cocker impersonation, the backing girls do the ooh's in the right places,
the horns pump it out in the choruses, the only other things it needs is a
Hammond Organ. If you like The Temptations' later work, this is cut from the
same cloth. A genuine soul number.
9. Iceland Inga
ήα Veistu Svariπ **
You
can tell that you are watching a good Eurovision when even the ballads don't
sound too bad. If you listen to the performance of this song from Millstreet,
the audio has some problems at the start. By the end of the song, there are no
doubts that Inga can sing. There is nothing particularly spectacular about this
song, but that's half the beauty. This song never reaches any great heights,
but it's only making a half-hearted attempt to do so. Worth a listen just to
make your mind up.
10. Austria Tony
Wegas Maria Magdalena **
The
best way to describe this song is this: imagine Tom Jones singing a Pointer
Sisters song. Yes, I nearly threw up when I thought of that description too,
but I'd imagine that there's a fair few middle aged women out there who
probably think that Tom Jones singing a Pointer Sisters song is a good night
out, so, this song is for them. Oh, and I'm going to take a really wild guess
that Tony Wegas is not his real name!
11. Portugal Anabela
A Cidade Atι Ser Dia **
This song which is probably two
parts show tune and one part power ballad which would normally incur my eternal
wrath, but, once again, they have actually managed to find a talented vocalist
to perform it. Anabela's voice is delightful, although this may again be me
showing my preference for that Piaf-style vibrato I was talking about. Not a
very good composition but it doesn't make too many ghastly sounds either. Check
it out for Anabela.
12. France Patrick
Fiori Mama Corsica **
Variety
is not a word often associated with Eurovision, but this certainly is
different. To describe it in layman's terms, this is a drinking song. That's
right a drinking song! Sure, there are a few high passages in the chorus, but
one can easily imagine a group of inebriated Frenchmen with their arms around
each other's shoulders in good old-fashioned bonhomie, swaying left and right
singing all about "Mama Corsica". Have a listen; lots of fun.
13. Sweden Arvingarna
Eloise
This may be the most blatant
case of plagiarism in the history of the Eurovision. If you remember
"Eleanor, gee I think you're swell", then you've heard this song.
Calling the song "Eloise" probably didn't help disguise it too much,
but Arvingarna should go to court over this one. Le Suede: no pwa!
14. Ireland Niamh
Kavanagh In Your Eyes *
Excluding
Sweden's stolen song, this was the first genuine dud of the evening, so, of
course, it won the fucking thing, didn't it! This is an out-and-out power
ballad, no two ways about it. Niamh's voice is strong and tuneful but I'll
never know whether or not there is any sensitivity there because of the
terrible song. No wonder the '94 contest was so terrible. This contest had
several creative entries, but when countries see themselves get beaten by trash
like this, why bother?
15. Luxembourg Modern
Times Donne-moi Une Chance de te Dire *
The
second genuine dud of the night. The jury is out as to whether this power ballad
is worse than Ireland's effort. There is one little rhythmic variation in the
bridges to the choruses but otherwise, this is quite bland. Oh who cares which
one is worse? Don't listen to either!
16. Slovenia 1
X Band Tih Dezeven Dan ***
Phew! I was beginning to think that the 4KQ set were
being left out of this contest, but they got their token easy listening song.
This contest already has a drinking song; this is more of a driving song,
meaning that it's the sort of song that easy listening stations put on the
radio when people are driving to and from work. Of course, if you listen to a
drinking song, then a driving song, you're a bloody idiot!
17. Finland Katri-Helena
Tule Luo *
This woman has been watching
Shirley Bassey way too closely. The song and the performance positively
reek of the Welsh Witch, so if you happen to like bland songs sung far too
loudly and not particularly tunefully, then this is for you. The fact that
there are mandolins in this song is an insult to mandolins everywhere.
18. Bosnia-HerzEGOVINA Fazla Sva Bol Svijeta
***
Sva Bol Svijeta has a lot going
for it. This is a darkly coloured mid-tempo rock song with verses featuring
Fazla's brooding vocals, most reminiscent of Bryan Ferry, and a chorus with a
distinctly Mediterranean feel in the vocal harmonies if not the
instrumentation. The stage performance was a little amateurish, but that really
is secondary. Good music can survive rotten theatrics.
19. UNITED KINGDOM Sonia
Better the Devil You Know **
"Nothing
you can do could make me be untrue to My Guy, doo de doo..." Don't worry,
there's no Swedish style plagiarism here, but this song definitely nods in that
direction, that is, this is a Motown shuffle. Sonia's shouts her way through
the song as white people singing black styles often do. Not a horrible song but
there's too many clichιs for my liking.
20. Netherlands Ruth
Jacott Vrede ***
This may be the closest I will
ever come to getting excited about a Dutch Eurovision entry. If you can imagine
a Dusty Springfield song put to a light funk beat, you'll get pretty close to
where this song is coming from. Nothing wrong with Ruth's voice, either. There
are some lovely chord movements around the chorus that give this song a lift at
some vital moments. About halfway through listening to this song, you may fear
a rap solo coming on. Fear not, my friend.
21. Croatia Put
Don't Ever Cry **
Not
so much a pop song as a national anthem. This tune would actually be an
improvement on many of the songs currently parading as national anthems. So,
why is it in the Eurovision? Well, it was Croatia's first time! Put is a vocal
quintet (three women, two men) whose vocal style is wonderful. This song bores
me a little but I'd love to hear them sing Christmas carols or hymns.
22. Spain Eva
Santamaria Hombres ***
And
this may be the closest I will ever come to getting excited about a Spanish
Eurovision entry. This is a funk song, which, under normal circumstances, would
be performed with electronic instruments and a club vocalist. Instead, this is
performed with a full orchestra and a show vocalist. It's not supposed to work
but somehow it becomes some sort of funk/cabaret hybrid that is very punchy
indeed. Give this a real listen.
23. Cyprus Zoumboulakis
& Van Beke Mi Stamatas *
The
third dud of the evening and this may be the ultimate dud. This is a power
ballad with a hint of Motown suggested by the 6/8 rhythm, but the vocal
performance is quite poor. When there is nothing exciting about the
composition, it's all up to the singer to make it happen. It didn't happen.
24. Israel Lahakat
Shiru Shiru *
Another
false alarm. THIS is the dud of the evening. If you watch Sunday morning
tele-evangelists, they often have boring choirs singing boring songs about how
great life is. I'd like to think that this is the Jewish parody of that style.
It's not so much a power ballad as, oh... what's the phrase... a shit song!
25. Norway Silje
Vige Alle Mine Tankar ***
Remind
me, Norway is at the top of Europe, isn't it? Then you have to admire the guts
to perform a song featuring Spanish guitar, Italian accordion and a closing
section that sounds like the opening to a Balkan wedding dance. Silje's almost
child-like voice hovers over it all to create an extraordinary and totally unexpected
combination of sounds that makes quite an enigmatic end to the contest.
This was a surprisingly good contest. The Irish win promised
a disastrous 1994 contest, and so it came to be. Israel provided the night's
worst entry, but the standout entry for me was from Greece, closely followed by
Turkey. There are then a string of songs that were very pleasant without
blowing me away: Italy; Germany; Denmark; Belgium; Malta; Slovenia;
Bosnia-Herzegovina; Netherlands; Spain, and; Norway. I'm still deciding whom
I'd leave out of my top ten. This was one of the more even Eurovisions and
while I still rank it behind '95, '96 and '97, 1993 was a truly wonderful
contest.
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