Date: Feb 16, 1985
Weeks: 3
I had forgotten about this song. When I started it up, I immediately recognized it. "Hey, it's that cheesy saxophone riff that gets used a lot when a sexy scene is being played for laughs." Then I realized that reaction probably wouldn't work in the song's favor.
Everything about this song is so desperate to be sincere, but it's hard to take it seriously when I have to dig through layers of dated 80s-specific cheese. The saxophone. The whispery, echoing background vocals. The overly passionate, yet insincere lead singing. Synthesized keyboard stings. All terrible tropes of soft rock in the 80s that feel really dated now.
I suppose the drum, bass, and guitar lines aren't so bad. If you put them under a different song, maybe they'd be fine. But the song leaves me with the overall impression that it's trying to be sexy, but it really doesn't succeed.
And then the lyrics. This is a "sorry I cheated on you" song. "I'm never gonna dance again, guilty feet have got no rhythm." "I should have known better than to cheat a friend." Basic stuff, I suppose, but there's something else here. First there's the bridge that says "Now who's gonna dance with me. Please stay." Then the overall (attempted) sexy tone of the music. This isn't a "sorry I cheated on you, I feel bad about it, goodbye" song. This is a "sorry I cheated on you, but if you walk away, you're the one giving up on a good relationship" song. It's got it's sentiment in entirely the wrong place. It's one thing to try to be a "sorry I cheated on you, please forgive me and give me another chance" song. But this song fails to even use the words "sorry" or "forgive." Nope, this is the kind of song a shallow inconsiderate person uses to try to seduce their ex back after cheating on them.
My verdict: Don't like it. The sentiment implied by the lyrics is lousy, the music is dripping with the worst cheese of the 80s, and both George Michael and Wham have better songs than this.
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