I Want You (Elvis Costello song)

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"I Want You"
I Want You - Elvis Costello.jpg
Single by Elvis Costello and the Attractions
from the album Blood & Chocolate
B-side "I Hope You're Happy Now"
ReleasedNovember 1986 (November 1986)
RecordedMarch–May 1986
Genre New wave
Length6:45
Label Imp
Songwriter(s) Elvis Costello
Producer(s)
Elvis Costello and the Attractions singles chronology
"Tokyo Storm Warning"
(1986)		"I Want You"
(1986)		"Blue Chair"
(1987)

"I Want You" is a song written by Elvis Costello and recorded with his backing band the Attractions. It was released on his 1986 album Blood & Chocolate .

Contents

Featuring lyrics about an obsessive romance, "I Want You" was released as the second single from Blood and Chocolate. It has since been positively received by critics and covered by multiple artists.

Background

The dark lyrics describe a tormented romantic relationship. The narrator recounts the details of his partner's infidelities, while repeatedly declaring "I want you" after each line. The music is taken at a slow, dirge-like tempo; towards the conclusion Costello offers a brief guitar solo that repeats two dissonant notes. In his album notes for the Girls Girls Girls compilation album, Costello wrote that "[t]he sound of this track was always going to be the aural equivalent of a blurred polaroid, so no apologies for the lack of fidelity. None are needed, it's just a pornographic snapshot; lots of broken glass, a squashed box of chocolates and a little blood on the wall." [1] [2]

Due to its "bitter" lyrics, Costello commented, "That just that song is used as opening dance in weddings ... I humbly bow my head, and can only wish those people a safe journey." [3]

Attractions bassist Bruce Thomas later expressed his dislike for the song, commenting, "Elvis was trying really hard to do the psychopath in 'I Want You' and all that. It's things like that that really annoy me. He loves all that stuff! That 'fingernail scratching down the wall' and 'I want youuuu' ... this sort of Tony Perkins job. I'll give you the address of a good analyst! That's not soul-bearing or honest, it's just neurotic. I find it incredibly neurotic and tension-inducing, which he'd say is entirely the point, but I thought, well that's not the point of self-expression at the end of the day." [4]

Release and reception

"I Want You" was released as the second single from Blood and Chocolate in 1986, backed with an acoustic version of "I Hope You're Happy Now", another song from the album. The single was a moderate success on the UK charts, peaking at number 79 over a chart stay of 2 weeks. [5]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described it as "[among] the nastiest songs he has ever recorded, both lyrically and musically". [6] Blender Magazine named the song as one of the key tracks from Blood and Chocolate to download while Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune described the song as "riveting". [7] [8] Robert Christgau called the song one of the two strongest on the album. [9] Rolling Stone called the track "an epic testament to jealousy over a former lover’s new partner". [10] Jeremy Allen of The Guardian named the song one of Costello's top 10 best, saying, "The lyrics and music together are intimately intense, like someone breathing down your own neck, making you shudder, but the melody is irresistible too." [11] The Daily Telegraph's Martin Chilton named the song Costello's 35th best. [2]

Other versions

In 2006, Fiona Apple covered the song, accompanied by Elvis Costello, as a VH1 tribute to Costello. [10] Gavin Edwards of Rolling Stone said of the performance, "[Apple] metabolizes every molecule of the song’s poisoned atmosphere." [10] Costello also collaborated with hip hop band the Roots to perform a version of "I Want You" in 2013; Questlove said that the song "is pretty much the soundtrack to every relationship I've ever had". [2] [11] [12]

In 2010, Steven Page released a cover of the song recorded with the Art of Time Ensemble for his second solo album, A Singer Must Die . [13]

In 2017, Lydia Lunch and Cypress Grove released a version of the song on their album Under the Covers. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elvis Costello</span> English singer-songwriter (born 1954)

Declan Patrick MacManus, better known by his stage name Elvis Costello, is an English songwriter, singer, record producer, author and television presenter. Music critics consider Costello to be one of the most gifted and versatile songwriters of his generation. His first album, My Aim Is True (1977), is widely regarded as one of the best debut albums in popular music history. The album spawned no hit singles, but contains some of Costello's best-known songs, including the ballad "Alison". Costello's next two albums, This Year's Model (1978) and Armed Forces (1979), recorded with his backing band the Attractions, helped define the new wave music genre. From late 1977 through early 1980, each of the eight singles he released reached the UK Top 30. His biggest hit single, "Oliver's Army" (1979) sold more than 400,000 copies in Britain. He has had more modest commercial success in the US but has earned much praise among music critics. From 1977 through the early 2000s, Costello's albums regularly ranked high on the Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics' poll, with This Year's Model and Imperial Bedroom (1982) voted the best album of their respective years. His biggest US hit single, "Veronica" (1989), reached number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.

<i>This Years Model</i> 1978 studio album by Elvis Costello

This Year's Model is the second studio album by the English singer-songwriter Elvis Costello, released on 17 March 1978 through Radar Records. After being backed by Clover for his debut album My Aim Is True (1977), Costello formed the Attractions—keyboardist Steve Nieve, bassist Bruce Thomas and drummer Pete Thomas —as his permanent backing band. Recording sessions took place at London's Eden Studios in eleven days between late 1977 and early 1978. Nick Lowe returned as producer, and Roger Béchirian acted as engineer. Most of the songs were written prior to the sessions, and debuted live during the latter half of 1977.

<i>Imperial Bedroom</i> 1982 studio album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions

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<i>Blood & Chocolate</i>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Attractions</span> UK musical group

The Attractions were an English backing band for the English new wave musician Elvis Costello between 1977 and 1986, and again from 1994 to 1996. They consisted of Steve Nieve, Bruce Thomas, and Pete Thomas (drums). They also released one album as an independent entity, without Costello, in 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver's Army</span> 1979 single by Elvis Costello

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<i>Goodbye Cruel World</i> (Elvis Costello album) 1984 studio album by Elvis Costello and the Attractions

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<i>Brutal Youth</i> 1994 studio album by Elvis Costello

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pump It Up (Elvis Costello song)</span> 1978 single by Elvis Costello and the Attractions

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea</span> 1978 single by Elvis Costello and the Attractions

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Chair</span> Song

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Hope You're Happy Now (Elvis Costello song)</span>

"I Hope You're Happy Now" is a song written by new wave musician Elvis Costello and recorded by Elvis Costello and the Attractions. The track was released on his 1986 album Blood & Chocolate after several failed attempts to record the song for earlier releases.

"New Lace Sleeves" is a song written by new wave musician Elvis Costello and performed by Costello and the Attractions for his 1981 album Trust. The first version of the song was written by Costello in 1974 and featured post-war themed lyrics that were largely scrapped in the final recording. In the final version of the song, Costello included lyrics about seduction and power. Musically, the song was performed at a slower tempo and features a band performance praised by Costello. Pete Thomas notably performed a drum beat inspired by songs from Devo and Stevie Wonder.

References

  1. ↑ Costello, Elvis. Girls Girls Girls [CD booklet]. Brentford: Demon Records.
  2. 1 2 3 Chilton, Martin. "Elvis Costello's 40 best songs". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  3. ↑ Van assche, Gunter. "'I want You' van Elvis Costello: nooit deed de liefde zoveel pijn". De Morgen. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  4. ↑ Ratcliff, Connor. "Costello in 1992, talking about how much he annoyed The Attractions when making Blood & Chocolate, and Bruce Thomas talking about how much he disliked the song "I Want You." (These interviews were prior to The Attractions 90s reunion, when the band was split up & estranged.)". Twitter. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  5. ↑ "Elvis Costello & the Attractions". Official Charts. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  6. ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine (1995-07-21). "Blood & Chocolate - Elvis Costello,Elvis Costello & the Attractions | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-05-09.
  7. ↑ Wolk, Douglas (March 2005). "Elvis Costello: Blood & Chocolate". Blender . Archived from the original on 4 February 2005. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  8. ↑ Kot, Greg (2 June 1991). "The Sounds Of Elvis, From San Francisco And Beyond". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  9. ↑ Christgau, Robert (31 March 1987). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 Edwards, Gavin (14 February 2014). "Unlucky in Love: 13 Songs for Valentine's Day Haters". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  11. 1 2 Allen, Jeremy. "Elvis Costello: 10 of the best". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
  12. ↑ Rosen, Craig (3 October 2013). "Elvis Costello & the Roots: Questlove's Pipe Dream Isn't Over". Yahoo! Entertainment. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  13. ↑ A Singer Must Die
  14. ↑ "Under The Covers CD | Rustblade – Label and Distribution". Rustblade. Retrieved 2017-06-23.
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