Album: It's About Time (RCA)
Songwriters: Brian Alexander Morgan
Hit #1: August 28th, 1993 (7 Weeks)
To be included on the "Free Willy" soundtrack, producer Teddy Riley, and protegees Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo (later known as The Neptunes), married SWV's New Jill Swing debut "Right Here" (a previous Top 20 R&B success) with the wispy melodics of Michael Jackson's Thriller feature "Human Nature". The inspired mix resulted in a blissful midtempo ballad that spent seven weeks atop the R&B chart and pushed the trio in a more polished girl group vein.
In it's original entity, "Human Nature" stood out from it's more ambitious albummates due to it's simplistic beauty and enchanting hold over the listener. Penned by award-winning lyricist John Bettis and Steve Porcaro (from the band, Toto), the song touched on a restless eagerness to enjoy the excitement of the big city ("If this town/ Is just an apple/ Then let me take a bite"). Jackson lightly brushed the song's pillowy synth arrangement with his delicate phrasings, idiosyncratic ventures into senseless ad-libs and piercing falsettos. It might not have stood much of a chance up against the blockbuster Thriller escapades it was surrounded by, but it's soft nature was appreciated by his mega fanbase as well as the jazz community who offered instrumental interpretations on several occasions.
Updating the lush backdrop with sharper percussion and a early cameo from Pharrell (he provides the brief "S-Double-U-V" rap), "Human Nature" magically complimented the romantic "Right Here". It's ethereal vibe made Coko's assurance that her love never be a question feel much more pronounced and meaningful. The remix also gave them a sense of poise that had been lacking from their more street-savvy material, putting them more in line with their closest competition: fellow R&B girl group rival En Vogue. Jackson's bit of contribution through a heavenly vocal sample further tied the two songs together, making this one of the more successful of early mash-up recordings long before it became a cultish Internet phenomenon.
DL: "Right Here/ Human Nature" (YFH)
DL: "Human Nature" (YFH)
2 comments:
Wasn't there an official video for Human Nature? I can't remember
Sometimes I still put on my SWV the Remixes CD and let me tell you it does not get old. I saw them on a 90's R&B Reunion tour last summer and the girls can still sing.
Plus, they were wearing matching hats, jeans and jean jackets with airbrushed designs and bedazzled rhinestones all over it. The 90's were awesome.
Post a Comment