Incredible Songs: 1990s, Vol. 1

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Incredible Songs: 1990s, Vol. 1 features music courtesy of Alice In Chains, Boyz II Men, Lauryn Hill, Mariah Carey, and Whitney Houston.

Ah, to be a 1990s kid! Sure, born in the late 1980s, much of the early music I experienced beyond the oldies played by my parents hailed from the 90s. Continuing a playlist series that examines various musical decades/eras, 🎧 Incredible Songs: 1990s, Vol. 1 marks the first of many anticipated volumes of some surefire musical highlights from the 90s. Will every big hit and every important song be covered? Nope – far too much ground! That said, you’re sure to find some bops and gems over the span of how many volumes of Incredible Songs: 1990s ultimately arrive. 🎧 Incredible Songs: 1990s, Vol. 1 features music courtesy of 🎙 Alice In Chains, 🎙 Boyz II Men, 🎙 Lauryn Hill, 🎙 Mariah Carey, and 🎙 Whitney Houston among others. Remember, each volume only scratches the musical surface!

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1. Mariah Carey, “Vision of Love”

💿 Mariah Carey • 🏷 Columbia • 🗓 1990

“Treated me kind / Sweet destiny / Carried me through desperation / To the one that was waiting for me.” Those memorable lyrics hail from the iconic 🎙 Mariah Carey record, 🎵 “Vision of Love”. Carey continues, “It took so long / Still I believed / Somehow the one that I needed / Would fine me eventually.” Sigh! “Vision of Love” appears on the 🏆 Grammy winner’s 1990 debut album, 💿 Mariah Carey. It’s a marvelous opening statement, setting the tone for a truly illustrious career.  Furthermore, “Vision of Love” spent four weeks at no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, one of many hits by Mimi.  

The brilliant “Vision of Love” was written by Carey and 🎼✍ Ben Margulies.  The record finds Carey singing about an infatuated heart that is ultimately fulfilled.  “I’m so thankful that I’ve received / The answer that heaven / Has sent down to me,” she proclaims.  Woo, that’s deep Mariah!  Also, divinely romantic! Carey sings angelically, flaunting her anointed pipes.  Her tone! Those runs! The famous whistle tones! Producing this utterly sublime, big-voiced, high-flying ballad are 🎛 Rhett Lawrence and Narada Michael Walden.  Given the time (again, 1990), “Vision of Love” sounds slick.  

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Appears in 🔻:

Mariah Carey, “Vision of Love”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 11 (2022)

2. Reba McEntire, “Fancy”

💿 Rumor Has It • 🏷 MCA • 🗓 1990

“I stepped into a satin dancing dress / That had a split on the side clean-up to my hip,” 🎙 Reba McEntire sings in the first verse of 🎵 “Fancy”, adding, “It was red velvet trim and it had fit me good /… There stood a woman where a half-grown kid had stood.” What is Reba getting at on this cover of the 1960s 🎙 Bobbie Gentry classic?  Poverty makes you make tough decisions, and for Fancy, the character portrayed by Gentry and McEntire in this cover from her 1990 LP, 💿 Rumor Has It, her mom encourages her to get out of poverty through sex work.  Yes, this country song is about prostitution – let that sink in.  

Even in the 2020s, songs about sex work still raise eyebrows, though arguably less so compared to ‘back in the day.’ Still, where country music’s biggest vice often seems to be an exorbitant amount of alcohol, prostitution obviously raises the bar.  The lyrics never cross the line, mind you, but the innuendo is loud and clear.  Furthermore, the fact that Fancy’s mother encourages her 18-year-old daughter to become a prostitute is shocking: “She looked at the pitiful shack / And then she looked at me and took a ragged breath / She said, ‘Your Pa’s runned off and I’m real sick / And the baby’s gonna starve to death.’” Desperate times call for desperate measures, exemplified by this record, where Fancy’s mother goes on to say, “‘Just be nice to the gentlemen, Fancy / They’ll be nice to you.’” Damn! It is worth noting that Fancy ends up on top: “I charmed a king, congressman / And an occasional aristocrat.”  She also addresses the pushback: “There’s a lot of self-righteous hypocrites that call me bad / They criticize mama for turning me out.” Even by the time the Reba version of 🎵 “Fancy” arrived, there was still C-O-N-T-R-O-V-E-R-S-Y! Later, 🎙 Orville Peck covered it, transforming the record to a queer male perspective, opening another can of worms.   

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Appears in 🔻:

Reba McEntire, “Fancy”: Controversial Tunes 😈🎶 No. 2 (2023)

3. Boyz II Men, “End of the Road”

💿 Cooleyhighharmony • 🏷 Motown • 🗓 1991

“Although we’ve come to the end of the road / Still I can’t let go / It’s unnatural, you belong to me, I belong to you.” 🎙 Boyz II Men ranks among the best male groups of all time – it’s not debatable!  The collective owned contemporary R&B in 1991, period.  Heck, they even went on to have continued success through the late 90s 💪.  Their voices – those soaring, soulful harmonies – are truly godsent.  Even if you don’t believe in God or any sort of deity, you can believe in Boyz II Men.  During their run, they had numerous music gems, though the 💿 Cooleyhighharmony slow jam, 🎵 “End of the Road”, ranks at the top of their illustrious collection. 

What makes “End of the Road” special? Besides the vocals, which are automatic, the songwriting is on-point.  Thank the team comprised of 🎼 ✍ 🎛 Daryl Simmons, Antonio “LA” Reid, and Babyface.  With those juggernauts, is there any way that 🎙 Michael McCary, 🎙 Shawn Stockman, 🎙 Wanyá Morris and 🎙 Nathan Morris could possibly miss? NO 👏 POSSIBLE 👏 WAY 👏! With love, specifically heartbreak, being the topic, “End of the Road” is relatable through and through.  Those ‘Boyz’ are struggling with the end, still desiring to be with their respective ex-lovers.  In the pre-chorus, Wanya asks, “Will you love me again like you loved me before? / This time, I want you to love me much more / This time instead, just come to my bed / And baby, just don’t let me, don’t let me down.” Ultimately, 🎵 “End of the Road” is a once in a lifetime song, PERIOD. The vocals are high-flying, and the harmonies celestial. The Grammys took notice, awarding the R&B group 🏆 Best R&B Performance by a Duo/Group with Vocal in 1992 for this transcendent gem. Furthermore, this 13-week, no. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit also won a Grammy for 🏆 Best R&B Song, awarded to Simmons, Reid, and Babyface.  30 years later, “End of the Road” remains potent.  

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4. Michael Jackson, “Will You Be There? (Theme from Free Willy)”

💿 Dangerous • 🏷 MJJ Productions • 📅 1991  

“Hold me like the River Jordan / And I will then say to thee, you are my friend.” 🎵 “Will You Be There” ranks among the elite, later hits by 🎙 Michael Jackson.  Long before asking us to “Carry me like you are my brother / Love me like a mother, will you be there,” the 🏆 Grammy winner had already cemented his legacy.  “Will You Be There” appears on Jackson’s 1991 New Jack Swing infused album, 💿 Dangerous.  That said, the version of the gem I prefer is a shortened single version that serves as the theme from 📽 Free Willy.  

Michael Jackson sings incredibly here – period.  Sure, he always sounds awesome but on “Will You Be There,” he takes that beloved tenor (and beyond) to another level.  Serving as the lead, backed by a superb gospel choir, it’s hard to listen to this record and NOT feel something.  No, “Will You Be There” never mentions God or a deity, and isn’t a contemporary gospel record, but it feels like a spiritual experience.  Jackson seems to be seeking someone who can and will be there for him in a world filled with adversity and lofty expectations.  “When weary, tell me will you hold me? When wrong, will you scold me? When lost will you find me?” he asks.  Among the most memorable sections of “Will You Be There” arrives on the powerful bridge, which precedes a modulating breakdown section.  Jackson proclaims:  

“Everyone’s taking control of me 

Seems that the world’s got a role for me 

I’m so confused, will you show to me 

You’ll be there for me and care enough to bear me?”  

The ad-libs that follow in the breakdown section are some of Jackson’s finest of his illustrious career.  Who doesn’t love to hear him welp (“Hoo”)! “Will You Be There’ is a must-hear throwback gem that never grows old.   

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5. Whitney Houston, “I Will Always Love You”  

💿 The Bodyguard – Original Soundtrack Album • 🏷 Arista • 📅 1992

“If I should stay / I would only be in your way / So I’ll go, but I know / I’ll think of you every step of the way.” Sorry to every other R&B artist who released music in 1992.  Why? Well, the best R&B song of that year belongs to one woman and one woman only. Pretty amazing how Whitney Houston totally transformed 🎵 “I Will Always Love You,” a country song written by 🎙 Dolly Parton isn’t it?  There’s not much commentary needed for this record – it speaks for itself.  This is the greatest of Whitney Houston’s many, many hits.  At her best, who could out-perform her?  The best moment is the modulation (key change), where from then on, Houston goes to a completely different level. No matter who sings this masterpiece in the future, there will only ever be one definitive, truly iconic version.     

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6. Alice In Chains, “Rooster” 

💿 Dirt • 🏷 Sony Music Entertainment • 📅 1992 

The 1990s was a bright spot for rock, particularly the grunge movement 🤟.  Sadly, it is an era that is no more with some participants deceased.  That includes 🎙 Layne Staley, the front man of one of my personal favorites, 🎙 Alice In Chains (bassist 🎙 Mike Starr is also deceased).  Sure, Alice In Chains didn’t end following the tragic death of Staley – they have released solid albums with guitarist/songwriter 🎙 Jerry Cantrell as the lead vocalist – but the version of the collective with Layne as the face of the band was special.  Among their best songs is 🎵 “Rooster”, written by Cantrell, which appears as the sixth track on their 1992 album, 💿 Dirt. 

“Here they come to snuff the Rooster,” Staley harmonizes with Cantrell on the timeless chorus. He continues, singing expressively himself, “You know he ain’t gonna die / No, no, no, you know he ain’t gonna die.” Besides the dramatic chorus, the verses, performed solely by Staley, are epic, commencing with the statement, “Ain’t found a way to kill me yet / Eyes burn with stingin’ sweat” in the first verse.   Obviously, “Rooster” is not about the animal itself, but rather, Cantrell’s father, a Vietnam war vet who was nicknamed Rooster. Besides war-driven lyrics, the music itself is heavy.  One of the best moments of this 90s classic is the truly heavy ending of each chorus section, as well as the instrumental break between the first two choruses.  Looking back, it is a shame that to date, only one song by AIC has charted on the Billboard Hot 100, sigh.  Chart accolades don’t mean everything though. “Rooster” has been certified as a double platinum single by the RIAA while parent album, Dirt was certified quintuple platinum.  

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Appears in 🔻:  

7. TOOL, “Prison Sex”  

💿 Undertow • 🏷 Tool Dissectional / Volcano Entertainment II • 📅 1993  

“I have found some kind of temporary sanity in this / Shit, blood, and cum on my hands / I’ve come ‘round full circle.” The lyrics from the 🎙 TOOL classic, 🎵 “Prison Sex”, are filled with controversy. Just analyze these isolated lyrics by the genius 🎙 Maynard James Keenan.  “Temporary sanity” suggests that the character in the song has transformed something insane into sane, which is an inappropriate rationalization.  Furthermore, if you heard no other portion of “Prison Sex,” the following lyric, “Shit, blood, and cum on my hands” suggests a sketchy, likely forced sexual experience. The confirmation comes as Kennan sings, “I’ve come ‘round full circle,” showing that the abused has become the ABUSER – a vicious cycle. 

Look no further than the song title: “Prison Sex.” ‘Prison’ opens a can of worms, and add sex to it, and a flurry of filthy, troubling thoughts come to mind. The abuse that occurs while inmates are incarcerated is unspeakable.  Even if you forget literal prison, what about metaphorical imprisonment from sexual abuse?  For good reason, the 💿 Undertow gem raised eyebrows in 1993 and still does so today.   

“My lamb and martyr, you look so precious 

Won’t you, won’t you come on a bit closer  

Close enough so I can smell you 

I need you to feel this 

I can’t stand to burn too long 

Release in sodomy 

For one sweet moment I am whole.”  

“Prison Sex” encompasses sexual abuse, specifically child sexual abuse. Besides the disturbing tone of the song, the music video, which uses stop motion, is more disturbing than the song itself.  What TOOL creates is disturbing, even with good intentions to speak against abuse.  Of course, censorship reared its ugly head. The vicious cycle is masterfully captured in the excerpted lyrics, as well as the chilling closing lyrics, “My lamb and martyr, this will be over soon / You look so precious, you look so precious.” Anytime you tackle tough subject matter, be prepared for backlash, controversy, and censorship.  

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Appears in 🔻:  

8. Nas, “The World Is Yours”  

💿 Illmatic • 🏷 Columbia • 📅 1994   

“Whose world is this? / The world is yours, the world is yours / It’s mine, it’s mine, it’s mine…” 💪  Sadly, it only took an entire career for iconic rapper, 🎙 Nas, to earn his first 🏆 Grammy 😏 (💿 King’s Disease, 2020). Looking back through an illustrious catalog, including the 1994 album, 💿 Illmatic, and the question is, why did it take so long? Furthermore, even if you neglect Illmatic, for whatever reason, how can you neglect the gold-certified song, 🎵 “The World Is Yours”? “The World Is Yours” is classic hip-hop at its finest, featuring production by 🎛 Pete Rock. The sampling choices – 🎙 Ahmad Jamal Trio, 🎙 T La Rock & Jazzy Jay, and 🎙 Jimmy Gordon & His Jazznpops Band – give “The World Is Yours” both an distinct East Coast sound coupled with jazz/jazz rap sensibilities.    Furthermore, how about Pete Rock singing on the unforgettable chorus?  

Pete Rock plays a pivotal role on “The World Is Yours.” Still, the star of the show is the young don himself, Nas. Nas has been serving up those bars for years, all the while deserving more credit than he’s received.  There are endless bars, delivered with a conscious mentality, that catch the ear. An entire essay could be written analyzing and deciphering his rhymes. Honestly, he starts off fast, asserting at the beginning of the first verse, “I sip the Dom P, watchin’ Ghandi ‘til I’m changed, then / Writin’ in my book of rhymes, all the words past the margin / To hold the mic I’m throbbin’, mechanical movement / Understandable smooth shit that murderers move with.” Woo! He closes the verse, spitting, “I’m out for dead presidents to represent me” [INSERTS show me the money GIF here]. There are some intriguing spiritual lines in the second verse, which seem to reference the MC’s son: “My strength, my son, the star will be my resurrection / Born in correction, all the wrong shit I did, he’ll lead in right direction.” In the third verse, in the line, “Picturin’ my peeps not eatin’ can make my heartbeat skip” is a prime example of social consciousness.  It does hit differently, doesn’t it?  The big takeaway is, 🎵 “The World Is Yours” is one of the greatest hip-hop songs of all time.  It never, NEVER grows old.  

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9. Seal, “Kiss from a Rose” 

💿 Seal • 🏷 Warner • 📅 1994   

“Ba-ya-ya, ba-da-da-da-da-da, ba-ya-ya.” One of my very favorite ‘kiss’ songs is none other than 🎵 “Kiss from a Rose” by 🏆 Grammy-winning pop singer, 🎙 Seal.  Once upon a time, Seal was a force in pop music, especially in the 90s and even with his well-rounded 💿 Seal IV in 2003.  No moment was bigger for him than “Kiss from a Rose,” which earned him three of his four Grammys (Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance).   

“Kiss from a Rose” is truly a ‘once in a lifetime’ song.  Perfect songs are hard to come by, but this is one of them.  As far as genre, the safest bet is pop, yet “Kiss from a Rose” dabbles in folk, rock, R&B – it exemplifies crossover.  As far as the musicianship, it’s elite, including the unique harmonic progression, plenty of less predictable moments, a sublime vocal performance that ranges from tender to more overt, and the arrangement/orchestration and production.  The songwriting (lyrics) is stunning, further accentuated by the nuanced vocals of Seal.  The centerpiece, of course, is that epic chorus:  

“Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the gray 

Ooh, the more I get of you, the stranger it feels, yeah 

And now that your rose is in bloom 

A light hits the gloom on the gray.”   

Beyond the chorus, the verses have no shortage of lyrical highlights.  “There used to be a graying tower alone on the sea,” he sings quietly but expressively on the first verse, continuing, “You became the light of the dark side of me.” On the second, Seal asserts, “To me, you’re like a growing addiction that I can’t deny / Won’t you tell me is that healthy, baby?” Nearly three decades old, there’s nothing unhealthy about this ‘kiss’ classic. 

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10. Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men, “One Sweet Day

💿 Daydream • 🏷 Sony BMG • 📅 1995 

“Sorry I’ve never told you / All I wanted to say / And now it’s too late to hold you / ‘Cause you’ve flown away, so far away.” 🎵 “One Sweet Day” was not only the best R&B song from 1995, but arguably, it was the best song of the year regardless of genre. 🎙 Mariah Carey and 🎙 Boyz II Men on the same song? Yes, please! That’s legendary star power to the nth degree – a formidable team to say the least given the musicianship and sheer number of hits. “One Sweet Day” spent 16 weeks at no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1995-96.  Despite being a catalyst for shedding tears, “One Sweet Day” is uplifting thanks to the celestial, unforgettable chorus:

“And I know you’re shining down on me from heaven

Like so many friends we’ve lost along the way

And I know eventually we’ll be together

One sweet day.”

Shockingly, “One Sweet Day” won no 🏆 Grammys 🤯 but was nominated for Record Of The Year.  Ultimately, it lost to another classic: 🎵 “Kiss From A Rose” by 🎙 Seal.

11. Fugees, “Killing Me Softly With His Song” 

💿 The Score • 🏷 Columbia • 📅 1996

To reiterate, unbeknownst to many, the legendary 🎙 Roberta Flack covered 🎵 “Killing Me Softly With His Song” – she didn’t originally record it.  Regardless, Flack has earned the honors of recording the definitive version of the song. I mean, reaching number one on the Hot 100 and winning two Grammys for one song – that’s success right there.  Who would dare touch something so iconic? 🎙 Fugees, that’s who! Perhaps it seemed Flack had no competition, but 🎙 Lauryn Hill and company had something to say about that from their 🏆 Grammy-winning rap album, 💿 The Score!    

Being a millennial, I’m naturally more familiar with the 1996 cover by Fugees – blame on being an 80s baby! Essentially, Hill and 🎙 🎛 Wyclef Jean update the 1973 version for the 90s, which is R-A-D.  The beat is indicative of the hip-hop soul sound prevalent at the time.  It naturally infuses freshness – there’s a new swagger.  Furthermore, add in a robust bass line, ad-libs (Hill and Jean), and “Killing Me Softly” has a new identity for a new generation.  Of course, the person who ‘brings it on home’ for us 80s babies and 90s kids is Hill, period.  Her voice is distinct – starkly different from Flack’s. She’d go on to make one of the greatest albums of all-time in the timeless 💿 The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.  Here, she prefaces the brilliance of her sole solo studio album, and it’s awesome.  Her nuance, the runs – it’s glorious over that dusty beat.  “Killing Me Softly With His Song” is in great hands with Fugees too.  Like Flack, they won a Grammy specifically for this song. 

Appears in 🔻:

Roberta Flack vs. Fugees: Head 2 Head 🗣️ No. 22 (2021)

12. Elton John, “Something About The Way You Look Tonight”

💿 The Big Picture • 🏷 Universal Music • 📅 1997 

“And I can’t explain / but it’s something about the way you look tonight / takes my breath away / it’s the feeling I get about you, deep inside.” 🎵 “Something About the Way You Look Tonight” is an 🎙 Elton John gem that arrives late in his career.  Accompanying his number one single 🎵 “Candle in the Wind”, released in memory of Princess Diana, the romantic “Something About the Way You Look Tonight” was the promo single for John’s 1997 album, 💿 The Big Picture.  As usual, longtime songwriting partner 🎼 ✍ Bernie Taupin gives John superb lyrics to bring to life. “Something About the Way You Look Tonight” is a gospel-infused pop/rock number, perfectly suiting his artistic sensibilities.  John has always possessed soul, and “Something About the Way You Look Tonight” showcases such.  Throw in Taupin’s knack for lyrics, and the authenticity created here is stellar. John’s affection for his lover, at least within the context of the song, is quite apparent.  He can’t even “describe” it.❤️ 

Appears in 🔻:

Experience the Events That are Going Down Tonight (2020)

13. Lauryn Hill, “Ex-Factor”

💿 The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill • 🏷 Ruffhouse • 📅 1998  

🏆 Grammy-winning hip-hop/R&B musician, 🎙 Lauryn Hill captivated us with the soulful 🎵 “Ex-Factor” from her 1998 masterpiece, 💿 The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.  “Tell me, who I have to be / To get some reciprocity.” Those timeless lyrics hail from one of the truly great classics about exes, sigh. Even north of two decades since the release of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, both the album, and the particular single carry ample weight.  Focusing only on the song itself, “Ex-Factor” is a prime example of the plight of love, as well as how potent songs incorporating break ups can truly be.   

At one point, Lauryn Hill sings, “And when I try to walk away / You’d hurt yourself to make me stay / This is crazy.” Crazy indeed Ms. Lauryn Hill, but, again, exes and broken-off relationship serve among the preeminent topics in music regardless of genre.  Yes, 🎵 “Doo Wop (That Thing)” remains the crowning achievement (and number one hit) from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, but you can totally feel Hill’s struggle with love – it’s so relatable on “Ex-Factor.” My favorite section of the song is the ‘breakdown’:  

“(Care) Care for me, care for me 

I know you care for me 

(There) There for me, there for me 

Said you’d be there for me 

(Cry) Cry for me, cry for me 

You said you’d die for me 

(Give) Give to me, give to me  

Why won’t you live for me?” 

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Appears in 🔻:

Incredible Songs: 1990s, Vol. 1 [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Arista, Columbia, MCA, MJJ Productions, Motown, Ruffhouse, Sony BMG, Sony Music Entertainment, Tool Dissectional / Volcano Entertainment II, Universal Music; ]

Incredible Songs: 1990s, Vol. 1 | Playlist 🎧

Published by the musical hype on May 26, 2023May 26, 2023