More than This (Roxy Music song)

"More than This"
Single by Roxy Music
from the album Avalon
B-side "India"
Released April 1982 (1982-04) [1]
Format Vinyl record, 45 RPM, 7", Single
Recorded 1981–1982 (1981–1982)
Genre Synthpop, pop rock, sophisti-pop
Length 4:30 (Album version)
4:10 (7" single version)
Label Polydor/Warner Bros./E.G./Atco
Songwriter(s) Bryan Ferry
Producer(s) Rhett Davies and Roxy Music
Roxy Music singles chronology
"Jealous Guy"
(1981)		 "More than This"
(1982)		 "Avalon"
(1982)

"Jealous Guy"
(1981)		 "More than This"
(1982)		 "Avalon"
(1982)

"More than This" is a 1982 single by English rock band Roxy Music. It was released as the first single from their final album, Avalon, and was the group's last Top 10 UK hit (peaking at #6). Although it only reached #102 (on Billboard's Bubbling Under The Hot 100 chart) in the United States, it remains one of Roxy Music's best-known songs in America.

The American alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs released a successful cover version in 1997 which peaked at #25, and British singer Emmie released a dance cover version which reached #5 in the UK in January 1999.

The cover of the single's release is the painting Veronica Veronese, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, which was completed in 1872 with Alexa Wilding as the model.

Composition

The song was written by the lead singer Bryan Ferry, who has stated in interviews that he began writing the songs for Avalon while on the western coast of Ireland, which he believes contributed to the dark melancholy of the album.

"More than This" is somewhat unusual for a pop song in that Ferry's lead vocals end at 2:45 minutes, leaving the last 1:45 minutes as a synthesizer-driven instrumental outro.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1982) Peak
position
Australian Kent Music Report[2] 6
Belgium VRT Top 30[3] 13
Dutch Top 40[3] 24
German Media Control Singles Chart[3] 24
Irish Singles Chart[4] 6
New Zealand Singles Chart[3] 12
Norwegian Singles Chart[3] 2
Radio Luxemburg Singles[5] 3
Spanish Singles Chart 10
Swedish Singles Chart[3] 17
Swiss Singles Chart[3] 6
UK Singles Chart[6] 6

Cover versions

  • In 1997, a cover performed by 10,000 Maniacs with Mary Ramsey singing the lead became a US hit when it reached 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. The video for the cover was filmed at House on the Rock. A live version was also included on their 2016 album Playing Favorites.
  • Emmie's cover of "More than This" reached #5 in the UK charts in early 1999.
  • Jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter and singer Norah Jones covered the song for Hunter's 2001 album Songs from the Analog Playground.
  • Jimmy Gomma, an Italo dance producer did a cover of the song in 2002.[7]
  • During 2004, a compilation called Roxy Remodeled was released with Madison Park's version.
  • Blondie played and recorded the song for their double-billed Road Rage Tour of 2006. They also recorded the track, which is now available in two versions. The first one was officially released, first in a 10-track album along with the tour tickets[8] and currently in a shortened 4-track EP entitled The New Cars and Blondie: Road Rage.[9] The second version is an alternate arrangement known as "Paul mix" (Paul by Paul Carbonara, producer of the track and Blondie guitar player at the time) and is only available as a bootleg.
  • Electrelane did a live cover of this song, which can be found on their album Singles, B-Sides & Live.
  • Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins recorded a cover of the song that was released as a single in 2009 and appears on her EP Steer & More.
  • Low Pop Suicide covered the song on the 1997 tribute album Dream Home Heartaches... Remaking-Remodeling Roxy Music.
  • Robyn Hitchcock has covered the song live. A recording can be found on his greatest hits compilation.
  • Contemporary folk artist Lucy Kaplansky covered the song on her 2007 album, Over the Hills.
  • Canadian singer/songwriter Damhnait Doyle covered the song on her 2008 album of cover songs, Lights Down Low.
  • Dance songwriter Alex Christensen released a cover in 2011 under the adopted name Jasper Forks.
  • Spanish band Peanut Pie covered the song for their only album in 1994.[10]
  • Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs covered the song for their 2013 album, Under the Covers, Volume 3.
  • One Nation feat Victory did a dance cover in 1995.
  • Andy Allo & Prince released an acoustic album, 'Oui Can Luv', streamed on Tidal on 7 November 2015, which featured the song

References

  1. ↑ Strong, Martin C. (2006). The Essential Rock Discography. Edinburgh: Canongate Books. p. 931. ISBN 1-84195-860-3.
  2. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hung, Steffen. "Roxy Music - More Than This". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2013-02-21.
  4. ↑ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  5. ↑ "Ultimate Music Database". Umdmusic.com. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  6. ↑ "The Official Charts Company - More Than This by Roxy Music Search". The Official Charts Company. 6 May 2013.
  7. ↑ "Jimmy Gomma - More Than This". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  8. ↑ "Press Release: 2006 US "Road Rage" Tour". Archive.blondie.net. 2006-03-14. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  9. ↑ "Download The New Cars and Blondie: Road Rage by The New Cars And Blondie". eMusic. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  10. ↑ "Peanut Pie — More than this — Listen, watch, download and discover music for free at". Last.fm. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.