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Dancing the Night Away

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Not to be confused with Dance the Night Away (disambiguation).
"Dancing the Night Away"
Song
B-side"Whiskey and Wine"

"Dancing the Night Away" is the debut single by English rock band The Motors, released as the lead single from their 1977 debut studio album 1. The song was written by bassist/keyboardist Andy McMaster and lead vocalist/guitarist Nick Garvey.[2]

The single was released on 7" within Europe and 12" vinyl in the UK only. The album version of the track lasted just over six and a half minutes,[3] whilst the single version lasted just over three minutes.[2] For the 12" vinyl version, a new mix of the a-side was used, lasting five and a half minutes whilst the same b-side was used.[4]

The b-side "Whiskey and Wine" was featured on the same album.[3]

Both tracks were produced by Zambian-born British record producer and songwriter Robert John "Mutt" Lange, one of the most successful music producers of all time.[3]

The single's cover is a similar photo as the band's debut album.[2]

The song peaked at #42 in the UK Singles Chart for a total of four weeks.[5] The band's next single to chart was in 1978 "Airport" would peak at #4.[6]

Track listing

7" Single
  1. "Dancing the Night Away" - 3:13
  2. "Whiskey and Wine" - 3:03
12" Single
  1. "Dancing the Night Away" - 5:30
  2. "Whiskey and Wine" - 3:03

Critical reception

In the review for the album Motors, allmusic.com wrote "The Motors kicks off with the superb "Dancing the Night Away," an excellent fusion of pop melody with big guitar firepower, and the song is so effective that it sets a standard the rest of the disc can't quite match."[7]

Allmusic picks the track as an AMG recommended track.[7]

Chart performance

Chart (1977) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[5] 42

Personnel

  • Nick Garvey - lead vocals, guitar
  • Bram Tchaikovsky - lead guitar, backing vocals
  • Andy McMaster - bass guitar, backing vocals
  • Ricky Slaughter - drums, backing vocals

Additional personnel

  • Robert John Lange - producer
  • Writers of "Dancing the Night Away" – Andy McMaster, Nick Garvey
  • Writers of "Whiskey and Wine" – Andy McMaster, Gordon Hann, Nick Garvey

Cheap Trick version

"Dancing the Night Away"
Song
B-side"Don't Make Our Love a Crime"

The American rock band Cheap Trick issued a cover of "Dancing the Night Away" as the lead single from their 1983 album Next Position Please.

The single was released on both 7" and 12" vinyl in America, Europe and the UK.[8]

An American 12" promo vinyl featured an alternate version of the song, cut down from five minutes to just under four, titled "Dancing the Night Away (Short Version)". The other two tracks were the usual version of the a-side, titled "Dancing the Night Away (Long Version)" and the 1983 single "I Can't Take It".[9] For the American 7" promo vinyl, both the "Long Version" and "Short Version" appeared as the a-side and b-side respectively.[10] For the UK 12" vinyl release, the full length song was included with three of the band's previous hits, the live recordings of "Ain't That a Shame", "I Want You to Want Me" and "Surrender, taken from the 1978 live album "Cheap Trick at Budokan". The UK 12" vinyl was headlined as a "Special Low Price 4-Track 12 vinyl", with the four tracks highlighted on the front cover as well as the back.[11]

The b-side "Don't Make Our Love a Crime" was a non-lp track, exclusive to the single, written solely by Rick Nielsen.[12] A demo version would later appear on the 1996 box-set "Sex, America, Cheap Trick".[13]

The a-side was produced by Cheap Trick and Ian Taylor, who had previously engineered the band's "One on One" LP in 1982[14] and produced the contributions that the band recorded for the 1983 Sean S. Cunningham comedy film "Spring Break".[15] In 1997, Taylor and the band produced the band's self-titled album "Cheap Trick".[16] The single's b-side was produced by American musician/songwriter/producer Todd Rundgren who produced the rest of the "Next Position Please" album.[17] Although the entire album was produced by Rundgren, "Dancing the Night Away" was not as Rundgren had refused to produce the track.

The single's cover is a copy of the album cover, featuring all four members of the band whilst the album version causes Nielsen's face to fold over on the back insert.[17][18]

Background

For the album, Epic Records had suggested the band record the song in hope to get a hit single. The album tracks "You Talk Too Much" and b-side "Don't Make Our Love a Crime" appeared as bonus tracks on the cassette version and later on the CD version. The album was originally supposed to include both of these tracks along with two others called "Twisted Heart" and "Don't Hit Me with Love," but Cheap Trick's label at the time, Epic Records, forced the band to include the cover of "Dancing the Night Away" and the outtake "You Say Jump" in their place.

No music video was created for the single but the song was performed live on the German TV show "Rockpalast" in 1983.[19]

Despite the song's wide release, the single failed to make any impact on national charts, remaining commercially unsuccessful.

In 2006, Cheap Trick and Epic/Legacy reissued the album as a digital download, calling it "Next Position Please (The Authorized Version)". The title refers to the fact that the 13 tracks intended for the original album were restored and sequenced according to the band's wishes, while "You Say Jump" and "Dancing the Night Away" were put at the end as "bonus tracks" along with the previously unreleased track "Don't Hit Me with Love".

Track listing

7" Single
  1. "Dancing the Night Away" - 4:57
  2. "Don't Make Our Love a Crime" - 3:40
7" Single (American promo)
  1. "Dancing the Night Away (Long Version)" - 4:57
  2. "Dancing the Night Away (Short Version)" - 3:50
12" Single (UK release)
  1. "Dancing the Night Away" - 4:57
  2. "Ain't That a Shame" - 5:04
  3. "I Want You to Want Me" - 3:33
  4. "Surrender" - 4:37
12" Single (American promo)
  1. "Dancing the Night Away (Short Version)" - 3:50
  2. "Dancing the Night Away (Long Version)" - 4:57
  3. "I Can't Take It" - 3:26

Critical reception

In the review for the album "Next Position Please", allmusic.com wrote "Rundgren wielded a heavy hand during his production, pushing Cheap Trick toward making a record that could easily be mistaken for a Utopia record. The bright surfaces with the guitars and keyboards melding so tightly with the vocal harmonies they're inseparable, produce a sound that is uncannily reminiscent of Oops! Wrong Planet, but Rundgren also helps keep an eye on quality control, letting Robin Zander’s terrific 'I Can't Take It' open the album, coaxing the band to cover the Motors' 'Dancing the Night Away'."[20]

Rolling Stone magazine spoke of the song in a review of the album "Throughout the album, every shred of melody is given the hard sell, so that when everything clicks — as it does on "I Don't Love Here Anymore" and the remake of the Motors' "Dancing the Night Away" — Next Position Please approximates the snap of the band's overlooked classic, Heaven Tonight. But things really don't click all that often, and a large part of the problem seems to be that Cheap Trick don't really remember what they're supposed to sound like."[21]

Personnel

  • Robin Zander - lead vocals, rhythm guitar, producer
  • Rick Nielsen - lead guitar, backing vocals, producer
  • Jon Brant - bass, backing vocals, producer
  • Bun E. Carlos - drums, percussion, producer

Additional personnel

  • Producer on "Dancing the Night Away" - Ian Taylor
  • Engineer on "Dancing the Night Away" - Paul Klingberg
  • Producer on "Don't Make Our Love a Crime" - Todd Rundgren
  • Producer on "I Can't Take It" - Todd Rundgren
  • Producer on "Ain't That a Shame" - Cheap Trick
  • Producer on "I Want You to Want Me" - Cheap Trick
  • Producer on "Surrender" - Tom Werman
  • Writers of "Dancing the Night Away" – Andy McMaster, Nick Garvey
  • Writers of "Don't Make Our Love a Crime" - Rick Nielsen
  • Writers of "I Can't Take It" - Robin Zander
  • Writers of "Ain't That a Shame" - Antoine Domino, Dave Bartholomew
  • Writers of "I Want You to Want Me" - Rick Nielsen
  • Writers of "Surrender" - Rick Nielsen

References

  1. ^ "The Motors - Discography". 45cat.com. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  2. ^ a b c "Motors, The - Dancing The Night Away at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  3. ^ a b c "Motors, The - 1 at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  4. ^ "Motors, The - Dancing The Night Away (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  5. ^ a b "The Motors - Dancing The Night Away". Chart Stats. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  6. ^ "The Motors". Chart Stats. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  7. ^ a b Deming, Mark. "Motors 1 - Motors". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  8. ^ "Cheap Trick - Dancing The Night Away at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  9. ^ "Cheap Trick - Dancing The Night Away/I Can't Take It (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  10. ^ "Cheap Trick - Dancing The Night Away (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  11. ^ "Cover of UK 12" vinyl" (JPEG). S.dsimg.com. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  12. ^ "Cheap Trick - Dancing The Night Away (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
  13. ^ "Cheap Trick - Sex, America, Cheap Trick at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  14. ^ "Cheap Trick - One On One at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  15. ^ "Cheap Trick - Spring Break (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 1983-03-11. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  16. ^ "Cheap Trick - Cheap Trick at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  17. ^ a b "Cheap Trick - Next Position Please at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  18. ^ "Cheap Trick - Dancing The Night Away (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  19. ^ "Dancing The Night Away - Cheap Trick - Live Rockpalast 1983". YouTube. 2010-07-13. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  20. ^ Thomas, Stephen. "Next Position Please - Cheap Trick". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  21. ^ J.D. Considine (1983-10-13). "Next Position Please | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
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