B-side Busted Format 7" Single, CD single Length 4:06 | Released 1990 Genre Rock Label Epic | |
"Wherever Would I Be" is the title of a song recorded by American rock band Cheap Trick which appeared on the album Busted. Released as the second single from the album, the song was written by American songwriter Diane Warren who had previously co-written the band's 1988 hit single "Ghost Town" with Rick Nielsen. The single, released in 1990, peaked at #50 in the US.
Contents
- Background
- Track listing
- Critical reception
- Personnel
- Additional personnel
- Dusty Springfield and Daryl Hall version
- Critical Reception
- Other cover versions
- References
The single was released on 7" vinyl and CD single. A Spanish 7" vinyl featured the track on both sides whilst an American promotional CD single featured the track without the b-side. A Japanese promotional 3inch CD single was also released, featuring both the a-side and the b-side.
The b-side "Busted" was featured as on the same album as the title track, written by Rick Nielsen and Robin Zander.
Both tracks were produced by Richie Zito who had previously produced the band's 1988 album "Lap of Luxury".
Background
The single was an attempt to capitalize on the success of the similar style found on the band's previous album Lap of Luxury. Epic Records were disappointed in the lack of success with the previous single "Can't Stop Fallin' Into Love" although it peaked at #12 in the US. "Wherever Would I Be" peaked at #50, becoming Cheap Trick's last single to peak into the top #100 on the Billboard Hot 100.
A music video was created for the single, receiving play on MTV.
Track listing
- "Wherever Would I Be" - 4:06
- "Busted" - 4:04
- "Wherever Would I Be" - 4:06
- "Wherever Would I Be" - 4:06
- "Wherever Would I Be" - 3:55
- "Wherever Would I Be" - 4:06
- "Busted" - 4:04
Critical reception
Fan reception for the single has remained poor since release.
In a review of the single, including the b-side, Allmusic.com gave one out of five stars, writing "Cheap Trick sleepwalks through the motions on this Diane Warren treacle, which Daryl Hall and Dusty Springfield later covered in While You Were Sleeping (Henry Lee Summer also took a stab [yikes]). Loopy axe murderer Rick Nielsen steps up for a decent guitar solo, but no rock band should put fans through something like this. On the back is "Busted," the title track to Trick's nadir. The Rockford quartet shows an inclination to burn with the zest of old, but Richie Zito weights the band down with gratuitous studio tomfoolery. "Busted" shouts out to Enuff Z'Nuff (seemingly for help). Cheap Trick is so much above the material on both sides here."
Allmusic.com picks the b-side track "Busted" as an AMG recommended track.
Personnel
Additional personnel
Dusty Springfield and Daryl Hall version
In 1995, British pop singer Dusty Springfield and American rock/soul singer Daryl Hall recorded a duet version of the track. Added to Springfield's album A Very Fine Love, the song was the second-to-last single from Springfield. Due to modest sales of the album, Springfield and Columbia Records decided not to renew her contract, and because her breast cancer recurred in late 1996, and Springfield died in 1999, "A Very Fine Love" proved to be her final album.
The version was used in the 1995 movie "While You Were Sleeping", starring Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman. The song was also released as a single in mid-1995, peaking at #44 in the UK for a total of three weeks.
The single was released within Europe only on CD single. The main European version of the CD single featured two tracks, the a-side duet and the 1990 Springfield hit "Reputation". The European Maxi CD single featured four tracks; the a-side, a remix of the a-side titled "Wherever Would I Be (Walter A. Mix)", a solo version of "Wherever Would I Be" with the vocal handled by Springfield alone and the 1990 hit "Reputation".
The UK Maxi CD single featured four tracks; the a-side, a track from her "A Very Fine Love" album titled "All I Have To Offer You Is Love", the 1990 hit "Reputation" and the solo version of "Wherever Would I Be". Another UK Maxi CD single featured another four tracks; the a-side, a remix of the 1990 album track "Daydreaming", titled "Daydreaming (Edited 12" Master)", the 1990 album track and single "Arrested by You" and the remix of the a-side titled "Wherever Would I Be (Walter A. Mix)". A UK promotional CD single was also released, featuring just the a-side alone.
For both versions of the single, the artwork consisted of two zoomed-in shots of Springfield, taken from the artwork for the album "A Very Fine Love".
A music video was created for the duet.
Track listing
- "Wherever Would I Be" - 3:52
- "Reputation" - 4:10
- "Wherever Would I Be" - 3:53
- "Wherever Would I Be (Walter A. Mix)" - 4:00
- "Wherever Would I Be (Dusty Solo)" - 3:53
- "Reputation" - 4:10
- "Wherever Would I Be" - 3:52
- "All I Have to Offer You is Love" - 3:47
- "Reputation" - 4:10
- "Wherever Would I Be (Dusty Solo)" - 3:51
- "Wherever Would I Be" - 3:56
- "Daydreaming (Edited 12" Master)" - 8:18
- "Arrested by You" - 3:50
- "Wherever Would I Be (Walter A. Mix)" - 4:00
- "Wherever Would I Be" - 3:53
Critical Reception
In a review of the album A Very Fine Love, allmusic.com wrote "Indeed, the performances and the songs here stack up favorably next to, say, Brand New Me, her early-'70s intersection with Philly soul. One song here, "Where Would I Be?," which features a duet with Daryl Hall, got a little play for being in the movie "While You Were Sleeping", but otherwise, sad to say, this album passed relatively unnoticed for most of the public."