Wikipedia

Fly Up to the Moon

"Fly Up to the Moon" is a song by English singer-songwriter Black, released by A&M on 15 July 1991 as the third and final single from his third studio album, Black. The song, which features guest vocals from Sam Brown, was written by Black and produced by Robin Millar.

"Fly Up to the Moon"
Single by Black featuring Sam Brown
from the album Black
B-side"You Lift Me Up"
  • "What You Are"
Released15 July 1991
Length3:07
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)Black
Producer(s)Robin Millar
Black featuring Sam Brown singles chronology
"Here It Comes Again"
(1991) 		"Fly Up to the Moon"
(1991) 		"Don't Take the Silence Too Hard"
(1993)

Background edit

In 1991, Black said of the song, "I did intend [for] 'Fly Up to the Moon' to be a kind of microcosm of the LP. I felt I'd already written a protest song in 'Feel Like Change', but what both songs share is this sense of 'I'm just sick of this'. Not that you're any more compassionate or you're actually doing anything about it, it's just that 'I'm sick of this', and what an alterative might be or outlining why. 'Feel Like Change' is a kind of 'why' and 'Fly Up to the Moon' is 'what might happen then'.[1] The song was recorded as a duet with guest vocals from Sam Brown. Black recalled in 1997 of how he came to work with her, "We share the same friends, acquaintances and an A&M sojourn. She seemed right, so I asked her."[2]

Release edit

"Fly Up to the Moon" was released in the UK on 15 July 1991.[3] The 7-inch and CD formats included two new non-album tracks, "You Lift Me Up" and "What You Are", with the CD format adding a third extra track, a version of Janet Jackson's 1986 hit "Control". A digipack CD edition featured three other new recordings which were exclusive to the release, including a cover of Wreckless Eric's 1977 song "Whole Wide World".[4] The single failed to reach the top 75 in the UK Singles Chart and was Black's last release on A&M.[5] On 16 November 1991, the song peaked at number 4 on the Music & Media National Airplay chart for Switzerland's most played records on the national station DRS 3 and major privates.[6]

Music video edit

The song's music video did not feature Black or Sam Brown themselves, but clay models of them in a stop motion animation. The video was developed by Moving Picture Company, with Mike Olley as the director and Juliet Naylor as the producer.[7]

Critical reception edit

Upon its release, Steve Lamacq of NME wrote, "Black strolls back into the limelight with a song which sounds like a mis-timed Christmas record. The Goddess Sam Brown is roped in on guest vocals, purely to get a good review from me. There are shades of novelty to this on first hearing, but some gorgeous contempt hidden in the lyrics."[8] A reviewer for the Coventry Evening Telegraph commented, "I quite like this. Colin Vearncombe's got a pleasantly resonating voice. Not as good as 'Wonderful Life', though."[9] Tony Jasper of the Manchester Evening News noted the "captivating team-up" of Black and the "lucious" Sam Brown.[10] Andrew Hirst of the Huddersfield Daily Examiner was less positive, calling it an "agonisingly slow dirge that drones on about a flight of fantasy from a bleak world blighted by depression".[11]

In a review of Black, Robbert Tilli of Music & Media called the song "as pleasing as the 60s duets by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood" and added, "The inventive marching tempo yields a chorus that gives the song just that little bit of catchiness that EHR stations will love."[12] Paul Lester of Melody Maker drew similar comparisons but was more critical, stating, "'Fly Up to the Moon' is, basically, Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood for people with no wit or imagination, or The Beautiful South." [13] Martin Rigby of the Liverpool Echo considered the song to be the album's "only infuritating point" as the "delightful" Sam Brown "has to grit her teeth and deliver the line (probably drawn from John Cooper Clarke), "So this is how the world ends – not with a bang but with a wimpy". I mean, come on, the word cliché was invented especially for a naff line like that!"[14] Michael Sutton of AllMusic retrospectively noted the "deceptively romantic chorus", writing, "The protagonist dreams of escaping his troubled world, but his lover refuses to join him in the track's startling conclusion."[15]

Track listing edit

7-inch single (UK and Europe)[16]

  1. "Fly Up to the Moon" – 3:07
  2. "You Lift Me Up" – 3:51
  3. "What You Are" – 4:31

CD single (UK and Europe)[17]

  1. "Fly Up to the Moon" – 3:07
  2. "You Lift Me Up" – 3:51
  3. "What You Are" – 4:31
  4. "Control" – 4:33

CD digipack single (UK and Europe)[18]

  1. "Fly Up to the Moon" – 3:07
  2. "Whole Wide World" – 5:52
  3. "Under Wraps" – 4:34
  4. "What's Right Is Right" – 5:04

Personnel edit

"Fly Up to the Moon"

  • Black – vocals, acoustic guitar
  • Sam Brown – vocals ("Fly Up to the Moon")
  • Martin Green – bass clarinet, clarinet, tenor saxophone, brass arrangement
  • Steve Sidwell – trumpet
  • Rick Taylor – trombone
  • Pete Davis – keyboards, programming
  • Bob Andrews – Hammond organ
  • Gordon Morgan – electric guitar
  • Brad Lang – bass
  • Roy Martin – drums

Production

  • Robin Millar – production and arrangement (all tracks except "Under Wraps" and "What's Right Is Right")
  • Dave Dix – production ("Under Wraps" and "What's Right Is Right")
  • Jim Abbiss – mixing ("Whole Wide World")

Other

  • John Warwicker – design
  • Graham Wood – design, painting
  • Thomas Gidley – painting

References edit

  1. ^ Black (1991). Black (Electronic press kit). A&M Records – via YouTube.
  2. ^ "Let's talk about Black". Lexicon. Spring 1997.
  3. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 13 July 1991. p. 19. ISSN 0265-1548.
  4. ^ "Black and Brown Moonfly!" (Press release). A&M Records Promotion Dept. 1991.
  5. ^ Keeling, Andrew. "Black - Essay No. 3 in the series The Music of Black (Colin Vearncombe)". colinvearncombe.com. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  6. ^ "National Airplay: Switzerland". Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 46. 16 November 1991. p. 32. OCLC 29800226.
  7. ^ Downing, Jane (14 July 1991). "Street Buzz: Check This". Sunday Sun. p. 20. Retrieved 5 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ Lamacq, Steve (3 August 1991). "Singles". New Musical Express. p. 16. ISSN 0028-6362.
  9. ^ "Reviews: Look out for the brilliant Telescopes". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 12 July 1991. p. 4. Retrieved 4 January 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Jasper, Tony (23 July 1991). "The Pop Scene: Popbitz". Manchester Evening News. p. 25. Retrieved 4 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ Hirst, Andrew (27 July 1991). "Beyond the Beat: Reviews - Singles". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. p. 29. Retrieved 4 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ^ Tilli, Robbert (25 May 1991). "Spotlight: Black". Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 21. p. 15. OCLC 29800226.
  13. ^ Lester, Paul (13 April 1991). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 35. ISSN 0025-9012.
  14. ^ Rigby, Martin (12 August 1991). "On the CD scene - Get caught in this sensational Rain storm". Liverpool Echo. p. 20. Retrieved 5 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. ^ Michael Sutton. "Black - Black; Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  16. ^ Fly Up to the Moon (UK and Europe 7-inch single sleeve notes). Black. A&M. 1991. am 769, 390 769-7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ Fly Up to the Moon (UK and Europe CD single liner notes). Black. A&M. 1991. amcd 769, 390 769-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  18. ^ Fly Up to the Moon (UK and Europe digipack CD single liner notes). Black. A&M. 1991. amcdr 769, 390644-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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