Written and raved about a lot of stuff over the years, and some of it's aged better than others. Some doesn't seem as rave-worthy as it did at the time.  No indeed.

To an extent you worked with what you were supplied at any given time. The state of the scene fluctuates. (And  specifically with Singles columns, sometimes the week it was your turn there was a real scrabble to find anything for the top spot. Other times, I was spoiled for choice. Once I had seven singles of the week).

Doesn't bother me at all, to have been "wrong", to have over-estimated things. I think "hype" is part of the job of the music journalist. Much better to hail excessively and prematurely than to weigh in with judicious, measured, deflationary assessments. Leave that to the newspapers.

But it is interesting, to look back and see what's endured.  Not because I believe in the Test of Time. Assuredly, some music is only meant for its moment. Realistically, judged against the scale of Eternity, the most transient, trivial, local pleasure and the "truly lastingly universally important" are barely distinguishable.  If you'd really contemplate the vastness and indifference of the universe,you'd never be able to use the word "universal" to describe anything human-related. 

Besides, even if Time's test had validity, there's no way you can gauge what's going to make the grade long-term, when you're responding immediately as a real-time week by week journalist.

But it is interesting to look back and see what's faded away versus what proved to be imperishable, in terms of your own life.  Judged purely from the vantage point of your own eyes and ears.

A lot of the time, it is a case of  "what was I thinking?"....

But sometimes the song still astonishes and enchants, tantalises the imagination as genuine Lost Classic, a should-have-been ....