Monday, September 13, 1993

Squeeze released Some Fantastic Place

Some Fantastic Place

Squeeze


Released: September 13, 1993


Peak: 182 US, 26 UK, 65 CN


Sales (in millions): --


Genre: new wave


Tracks:

Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

  1. Everything in the World [4:30] (9/18/93, 9 MR)
  2. Some Fantastic Place [4:32] (8/30/93, 73 UK)
  3. Third Rail [3:39] (7/12/93, 39 UK)
  4. Loving You Tonight [4:49] (10/18/93, --)
  5. It’s Over [3:45] (2/28/94, 89 UK)
  6. Cold Shoulder [5:48]
  7. Talk to Him [3:46]
  8. Jolly Comes Home [5:00]
  9. Images of Loving [4:10]
  10. True Colours (The Storm) (Wilkinson) [3:39]
  11. Pinocchio [4:42]

Songs written by Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook unless noted otherwise.


Total Running Time: 48:17


The Players:

  • Chris Difford (vocals, rhythm guitar)
  • Glenn Tilbrook (vocals, lead guitar, keyboards)
  • Paul Carrack (keyboards, vocals)
  • Keith Wilkinson (bass)
  • Pete Thomas (drums, percussion)

Rating:

3.435 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings)


Quotable: “Another in a series of commercial sleepers, but definitely worth a listen” – Chris Woodstra, All Music Guide

About the Album:

Paul Carrack, who’d previously made his name as a solo artist as well as stints with Ace, Mike + the Mechanics, and, back in ’81, with Squeeze on East Side Story, returns to the fold. Along with regular members Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford, he is joined by “drummer Pete Thomas [of] Elvis Costello & the Attractions.” AMG “The record's oddest aspect is Difford's near-absence; he doesn't play a note on several tracks and he takes none of the lead vocals.” JA

Carrack’s vocal contribution, though, is the absolute “blue-eyed soul” AMG gem Loving You Tonight. It is one of the best vocals ever delivered by Carrack and, while it doesn’t feel like a Squeeze song, does take on that classic it’s-a-phenomenal-pop-song-but-won’t-go-anywhere-vibe that has so maddeningly plagued the band’s entire career.

Once again, Squeeze shoot themselves in the foot with their choice of Third Rail as the first single, at least in the U.K. While a decent slice of “melodic power pop,” AMG it is nowhere close to the more obvious Everything in the World. That song is the album’s easiest listen; it jumps out and says “I’m a pop hit waiting to happen!” Then again, like most of Squeeze’s pop hits, it is still waiting to happen. The song was released in the U.S. and, not surprisingly, went nowhere.

The title cut was a single as well and it fits better. This is a wonderfully crafted song that catches the listener’s attention with its smooth style and lyrics a cut above the average song.

There’s also ”Keith Wilkinson’s surprise vocal spotlight” JA on True Colours (The Storm), a song that startling “turns out to be a reggae sendup.” JA

Elsewhere on the album is the cleverly titled Pinocchio, which never mentions its namesake, but eludes to the famous puppet with one line: “I used to come home late and lie, lie, lie.”

The album is peppered with a few more songs that the listener will tap or sway along with as the song plays (It’s Over, Cold Shoulder, and Jolly Comes Home), but fail to list as entries in the canon of Squeeze classics.

Which pretty much sums up the album. This is hardly vital; it is, after all, “another in a series of commercial sleepers, but definitely worth a listen.” AMG

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First posted 3/6/2008; last updated 2/7/2022.

Saturday, September 11, 1993

Mariah Carey “Dreamlover” hit #1 for first of 8 weeks

Dreamlover

Mariah Carey

Writer(s): Mariah Carey, Dave Hall (see lyrics here)


Released: July 27, 1993


First Charted: July 30, 1993


Peak: 18 US, 14 CB, 17 GR, 19 RR, 2 AC, 2 RB, 9 UK, 16 CN, 7 AU, 24 DF (Click for codes to charts.)


Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.15 UK, 1.575 world (includes US + UK)


Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 2.0 radio, 47.82 video, -- streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

Mariah Carey burst onto the scene in 1990 with her self-titled debut album. It made her a superstar, peaking at #1 for 11 weeks on the Billboard album chart and selling over 15 million copies sold worldwide, fueled by her first four singles topping the Billboard Hot 100. Her second album, Emotions, experimented with house music and more R&B. It peaked at #4 and only sold about half what its predecessor did, but generated three more top-5 hits, including the #1 title cut.

Then Mariah married Columbia’s label chief, Tommy Mottola. He now saw her as “an investment to be protected” SG and the label wanted a full-on pop album with Carey marketed as “an old school balladeer,” SG more like the first album. The result was Music Box, which found her back atop the Billboard album chart with worldwide sales of 28 million, making it not only her most successful album, but one of the best of all time.

While the album “is absolutely choked with puffy, grandiose ballads” SG the lead single, “Dreamlover,” was an exception. Unlike Mariah’s previous chart-toppers, this one wasn’t built specifically to showcase her voice. SG It “is, quite simply, a jam.” SG It “is an effortless floater. It drifts along, euphoric and frictionless, radiating joy in every direction.” SG The song “evokes classic pop without sounding like a savish attempt to recreate classic pop sounds.” SG It “seems to exist out of time.” SG

Mariah co-wrote and co-produced the song with Dave “Jam” Hall, a producer who had worked with Brand Nubian, Heavy D, and Mary J. Blige. They listened to loops from old records, building “Dreamlover” on a groove sample from the Emotions’ 1971 song “Blind Alley.” She’d previously used the groove from the group’s “Best of My Love,” a #1 song from 1977, for her song “Emotions.”

The song also samples Tom Tom Club’s “Genius of Love.” The group was formed by Talking Heads’ members Tina Weymouth and her husband Chris Frantz. Their 1982 hit has been sample dozens of times but this is their favorite. Weymouth said, “I think it reminds her of a happy time in her life, and what she’s done with it is very sweet.” TB


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First posted 4/10/2023.