"I Can't Dance" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Single by Genesis | ||||
from the album We Can't Dance | ||||
B-side | "On the Shoreline" | |||
Released | 30 December 1991 [1] | |||
Studio | The Farm, Surrey | |||
Genre | Blues rock [2] | |||
Length | 4:04 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Lyricist(s) | Phil Collins | |||
Producer(s) | ||||
Genesis singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"I Can't Dance" on YouTube |
"I Can't Dance" is the fourth track from English rock band Genesis' 14th studio album, We Can't Dance (1991) and was released in December 1991 by Atlantic (US) and Virgin Records as the second single from the record. Lyrics were composed by drummer Phil Collins with music written collectively by the band. The song peaked at number seven on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart and also received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals at 1993. In Europe, the song reached number one in Belgium and the Netherlands, while peaking within the top five in Austria, Germany and Portugal. The accompanying music video for "I Can't Dance" was directed by Paul Flattery and Jim Yukich.
This section needs additional citations for verification .(August 2020) |
During one recording session, Mike Rutherford first created the main riff of the song he called "Heavy A Flat", to which Collins suddenly improvised the basic concept for "I Can't Dance". The riff was actually inspired by a Levi Strauss & Co. television commercial (in the studio, the song was created under the working title "Blue Jeans") that used The Clash song "Should I Stay or Should I Go". Originally, the band did not think of it as anything more than a joke recording that would be discarded quickly, because the song was too simple, too bluesy, and unlike Genesis' style. Tony Banks said in an interview: "It was one of those bits you thought was going to go nowhere. It sounded fun but wasn't really special".
It was not until Banks decided to add keyboard sound effects to complement Rutherford's playing that "I Can't Dance" took on a different feeling. The band came to appreciate the sly humour inherent in the song and chose to not only record it properly, but to put it on the album as a single.
Banks also said in an interview the recording of a song that featured minimal production indicated a direction Genesis could have gone to make themselves stand out better against the rising popularity of alternative rock: "Opposite to what Genesis has done as general practice, which is taking an idea and turning it into a long or complex composition, it was just taking an idea and leaving it alone". [3]
The Daily Vault's Christopher Thelen found that "I Can't Dance" is "a goofy number that features Genesis mocking themselves for being un-hip. (Best line from this song: "Ooh, she's got a body under that shirt"—dirty old man alert!)" He added, "If you ever get a chance to view the video, watch it; it's hysterical." [4] Sally Margaret Joy from Melody Maker wrote, "Phunny Phil, the Maker's Phavourite Phella, grinds and huffs his good self over one of those minimal, stab, crunch, plink, rock numbers. It seems to be a bit of a dig at those jeans ads that feature divine male bimbos." [5] A reviewer from People Magazine described it as a "melodically fetching, radio-ready track", and "a simple slammer with an arrangement that shows off the group’s remarkable facility for aural atmospherics." [6] Kara Manning from Rolling Stone named it "a gritty, tongue-in-cheek anthem for the average guy." [7] Adam Higginbotham from Select viewed it as "provocatively smug". [8] Ted Shaw from The Windsor Star wrote that "I Can't Dance", "with its bluesy melody and metallic effects, is unlike anything the band has ever done, and it's a wonderful pop creation." [9]
The accompanying music video for "I Can't Dance" (made by frequent collaborators Paul Flattery and Jim Yukich) illustrates the artifice and false glamour of television advertisements. Collins commented that the video was designed to poke fun at the models in jeans commercials and each verse refers to things models in these commercials do. During the first verse, he portrays a hitchhiker on a remote desert road in Hi Vista, California. A woman speeds past in a Porsche 911 then backs up to Collins and lets a lizard at his feet get in then she drives off, leaving him stranded. Collins is seen on a beach in the second verse, trying to pull his jeans away from a sunbather's angry dog and for the third, he loses them in a pool game at a bar.
These scenes are intercut with footage of the band and film crew members setting up the areas as if to shoot a series of commercials. The video ends with a parody of the video for the Michael Jackson song "Black or White," in which Collins imitates Jackson's erratic dancing. Banks and Rutherford eventually arrive to escort Collins off the set, at which point he goes limp and they have to drag him away.
The song created the "'I Can't Dance' dance" (a series of stiff, stylised motions). Collins explained in an interview that when he was at stage school, he would see kids that would always use the same hand and the same foot when they were tap dancing, meaning they could not coordinate. He then copied their movements and the 'dance' was born.
Collins told Rolling Stone the music video and the song were a joke about male models in jeans commercials who could not dance or talk but could only walk in their jeans. He also said the audience was confused and could not figure out the joke because clearly Phil Collins can dance as he dances at the end of the video. [10]
Single releases contained an extended remix entitled "Sex Mix". This was later released on the Genesis Archive 2: 1976–1992 box set retitled as the "12" Mix". The remixers were brothers Howard Gray and Trevor Gray of Apollo 440.
The B-side, "On the Shoreline", was also included on Genesis Archive 2: 1976–1992. The song features a sample of guitarist Mike Rutherford's guitar playing that was captured by Tony Banks during a jam session. The peculiar sound (dubbed "elephantus" by the band) was also used in the song "No Son of Mine." Several chord passages also appeared in "Living Forever." Rolling Stone commented that "On the Shoreline" is "enjoyable in an un-ironic way. Here, as usual, Phil Collins sounds most comfortable at the raspy apex of his vocal range, pushing his voice to the breaking point as Tony Banks' synths drift through like mists." [11]
The "Jesus He Knows Me" CD single also included a version titled "I Can't Dance (the other mix)" with a running length of 5:59.
"I Can't Dance" was played live during The Way We Walk , [12] Calling All Stations [13] (with Ray Wilson on vocals), Turn It On Again [14] and The Last Domino? tours. On the band's Turn It On Again Tour and The Last Domino? Tour, it was included as an encore. During live performances, the song was transposed to a lower key to accommodate Collins' deepening voice.
A live version appears on their albums The Way We Walk, Volume One: The Shorts , and Live over Europe 2007 , as well as on their DVDs The Way We Walk - Live in Concert and When in Rome 2007
Rutherford and Daryl Stuermer accompanied Collins doing the walk across the stage.
Ray Wilson continued to cover the song on his solo live album after his departure from Genesis. His version is a bluesier rendition, closer to the original.
|
|
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Austria (IFPI Austria) [57] | Gold | 25,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
In the 1990s, "Weird Al" Yankovic created a parody of the video for "I Can't Dance" for his series Al TV , in which he appeared alongside the band. He added shots of himself to several of the band shots.
In 2007, German death metal group Debauchery recorded "I Can't Dance" and released it on their fourth album, Back in Blood .
In 2014, Finnish metal band Sonata Arctica released a cover of "I Can't Dance" as a bonus track on their album Ecliptica: Revisited; 15th Anniversary Edition . The band made a promotional video which features all of the band members dancing in cities that they visited during their Pariah's Child tour.
In 2019, Tuff singer Stevie Rachelle released a cover of "I Can't Dance" on his "Best sTuff" solo album on RLS Records.
We Can't Dance is the fourteenth studio album by the English rock band Genesis, released on 11 November 1991 by Virgin Records in the UK and a day later by Atlantic Records in the US. It is their last studio album recorded with drummer and singer Phil Collins before his departure in 1996 to pursue solo projects full time. The album marked the return of band activity following an almost four-year hiatus after touring their previous album, Invisible Touch (1986).
Seconds Out is the second live album by English progressive rock band Genesis. It was released as a double album on 14 October 1977 on Charisma Records, and was their first with touring drummer Chester Thompson and their last with guitarist Steve Hackett. The majority was recorded in June 1977 at the Palais des Sports in Paris during the Wind & Wuthering Tour. One track, "The Cinema Show", was recorded in 1976 at the Apollo in Glasgow during their A Trick of the Tail Tour.
"The Best Things in Life Are Free" is a duet between American singers Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson, recorded for the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis produced soundtrack to the 1992 American film Mo' Money, starring Damon Wayans. The song was composed by Jam, Lewis, Michael Bivins, Ronnie DeVoe, Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch. The song was released as the soundtrack's lead single on May 12, 1992, by Perspective Records and A&M Records. Additionally, the song was remixed by David Morales, Frankie Knuckles, and CJ Mackintosh. The duet became a major hit in several countries, peaking at number two in Australia and the United Kingdom, number six in Ireland and New Zealand, number eight in Canada and Germany, and number 10 in the United States. Its music video was directed by Paris Barclay, but didn't feature Vandross and Jackson. The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.
"Digital Love" is a song by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk. It was released as the third single from their second album, Discovery, on 11 June 2001. It reached number 33 in France, number 28 in Italy, and number 14 in the United Kingdom. The song appears in the 2003 film Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem.
"Jesus He Knows Me" is a song by the English rock band Genesis from their fourteenth studio album, We Can't Dance (1991), released in July 1992 as the album's fourth single. The song is a satire of televangelism, released in a period when several televangelists such as Jimmy Swaggart, Robert Tilton and Jim Bakker were under investigation for promising financial success to their listeners, provided they sent money to them. The song reached No. 10 in Canada, No. 20 in the United Kingdom and No. 23 in the United States.
"Mama" is a song by the English rock band Genesis, released as the first single in 1983 from their self-titled album. It is recognisable for its harsh drum machine introduction composed by Mike Rutherford, which leads into minimalist synthesizer lines in a minor tonality and finally Phil Collins' reverb-laden voice. It remains the band's most successful single in the UK, peaking at No. 4 on the UK singles chart. It also made the top 10 in Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Ireland and the Netherlands. It was less popular in the US, only reaching No. 73 on the Billboard Hot 100. A 1992 re-release of the single managed to reach the Top 40 in Germany.
"Disappear" is a song by Australian rock band INXS, released as the second single from their seventh studio album, X (1990), in November 1990. The song was written by Jon Farriss, Michael Hutchence and Garry Gary Beers while they were living together in Hong Kong in 1989.
"No Son of Mine" is a song by British rock group Genesis, released in October 1991 by Atlantic and Virgin as the lead single from their 14th album, We Can't Dance (1991). The song, written by Phil Collins and composed by him with Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford, reached No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It was also a top-10 hit in several European countries and peaked atop Canada's RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart for five weeks.
"Invisible Touch" is the title track and first single from the 1986 studio album of the same name by the English rock band Genesis. The song is a group composition which featured lyrics written by drummer and lead vocalist Phil Collins.
"Follow You Follow Me" is a love song written and recorded by English rock band Genesis. It was released in February 1978 as the first single from their ninth studio album, ...And Then There Were Three... (1978). The music was composed by the band, and the lyrics were written by bassist and guitarist Mike Rutherford. The single became Genesis' first top 10 hit in the UK and first top 40 hit in the US, reaching No. 7 and No. 23 respectively.
"Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" is the second track on the 1986 album Invisible Touch by the English rock band Genesis, released in January 1987 as the fourth single from the album. It peaked at No. 3 in the US and No. 18 in the UK.
"Hold on My Heart" is a song by English rock band Genesis from their 14th studio album, We Can't Dance (1991). The ballad was released as the album's third single on 6 April 1992. The song reached number one on the Canadian RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart, the RPM Adult Contemporary chart, and the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, as well as number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. In the band's home country, the song peaked at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Vibeology" is a song by American singer Paula Abdul, taken from the singer's second studio album, Spellbound (1991). The house and new jack swing number was written by Peter Lord, Sandra St. Victor, and V. Jeffrey Smith and produced by Lord and Smith. It was first released on October 21, 1991, in Japan via Virgin Records and Abdul's vanity label Captive Records, becoming the album's fourth official single. In Europe and Australia, the track was released as the third single as "Blowing Kisses in the Wind" was not released in the former and would be released in the latter following "Vibeology".
"I Wish It Would Rain Down" is a song by English musician Phil Collins from his fourth solo studio album, ...But Seriously (1989). The song was a chart success in early 1990, peaking at No. 7 on the UK Singles Chart, No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Canadian RPM 100 Singles chart; in the latter country, it was the most successful song of 1990. Collins felt that it was as close as he had ever got, at the time, to writing a blues song.
"Tell Me Why" is a song by English rock band Genesis. It first appeared as the seventh track on their 14th studio album, We Can't Dance (1991), and was issued as a single in Europe in 1992 and in the United Kingdom on 8 February 1993 by Virgin Records. It was the last Genesis single featuring Phil Collins on vocals before leaving the group in March 1996.
"Sailing on the Seven Seas" is a song by English electronic music band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released on 18 March 1991 by Virgin as the first single from their eighth studio album, Sugar Tax (1991). Along with 1981's "Souvenir", it is the band's highest-charting UK hit to date, peaking at number three on the UK Singles Chart. It also charted at number three in Austria and Sweden, number five in Ireland and number nine in Germany. The single was the first to be released by OMD without co-founder Paul Humphreys, who had left to form his own band the Listening Pool.
"Pandora's Box" is a song by English electronic band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), released by Virgin on 24 June 1991 as the second single from their eighth studio album, Sugar Tax (1991). The song, which deals with the less glamorous side of celebrity, was inspired by silent film actress Louise Brooks and is named after the 1929 film Pandora's Box in which she starred.
"Dreams" is the debut single of Irish rock band the Cranberries. It was originally released in September 1992 by Island Records and later appeared on the band's debut album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? (1993). The song reached the top 50 of the US Hot 100 and the top 30 of the UK Singles Chart in early 1994. A 1990 demo version was released in Ireland only in the summer of that year under their initial band name, the Cranberry Saw Us. At the end of the song, the backing vocals are sung by Mike Mahoney, ex-boyfriend of Cranberries lead singer Dolores O'Riordan. Three different music videos were made to promote the single.
"Over My Shoulder" is a pop rock song by British rock supergroup Mike + The Mechanics. It was released on 13 February 1995 as the first single from their fourth album, Beggar on a Beach of Gold (1995). Written by Paul Carrack and Mike Rutherford and sung by Carrack, it was the most successful single from that album, peaking at number 12 on UK Singles Chart. It became the band's only hit in certain European countries, including Switzerland and France; in the latter country, it reached number nine and spent 20 weeks in the top 50.
"Where the Streets Have No Name (I Can't Take My Eyes Off You)" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. The song is a medley of U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", a 1967 song by Frankie Valli, though in an arrangement informed by the 1982 disco version of the song by the Boys Town Gang rather than the original. The song accompanied "How Can You Expect to Be Taken Seriously?", the third single from their fourth studio album, Behaviour (1990), as a double A-side in the United Kingdom (both singles were released separately in the United States). Released in March 1991 by Parlophone, the song became the duo's 15th consecutive top-20 entry in the UK, peaking at number four on the UK Singles Chart.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)