20 June 1999
Obviously being a rocket scientist, Brad Pitt or car gotter pales in comparison to, taking a random example, a tall dark handsome Kerry person who speaks fluent French, runs marathons and writes sparkling, thought-provoking prose about chart-topping pop songs. Still, we should be considerate to the less impressive – right, Shania?
The ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much’ we get at number one is a pop remix, with a slide guitar lick just before the pre-chorus to hark back to the original twangy country song. Musically it’s great fun: the strutting beat; the preening swagger of the instrumental hooks; the bright “oh-oh-ah-ooh” backing vocals. And for all its cheesiness about the moves and the touch, its lyrics are witty. What lets it down badly is Shania Twain herself, who sounds so stilted and wooden. The spoken word parts are painful: she delivers the pay-off diss of “So what do you think, you’re Elvis or something?” like she’s teaching it as a foreign language. Honestly, even Dana—present-day Dana—could give ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much’ more sass and energy. Okay, so you’re Shania Twain.
Irish Number Ones 