Who Did It Better? I Didn't Mean to Turn You On

Who Did It Better? 

I Didn't Mean to Turn You On

I Didn't Mean to Turn You On is a song written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, two of the (many) architects of 'The Minneapolis Sound.' They would go to have numerous hits for a number of artists over the years, but are primarily associated and credited with the evolution of Janet Jackson.  This song predates their work with Jackson by two years.

In 1983, the duo was still touring with Prince as members of his opening act, The Time. While on tour, the two decided to return to Minneapolis to finish some production work for Tabu artists The S.O.S. Band. When a freak blizzard prevented them from returning in time for the next gig, Prince fired them from the band. Fortunately, one of the songs they had been working on for The S.O.S. Band (Just Be Good To Me) became a sizable hit, cementing their place in the industry. 

Tabu was so impressed, they put them to work on releases for their artists: Cherrelle and Alexander O'Neal. 

Released in April of 1984,  I Didn't Mean To Turn You On served as  Cherrelle's debut single, garnering a lot of attention while peaking at #79 on the Billboard's Hot 100, #8 on the Soul Chart, and #6 on the Dance Chart. 

Robert Palmer would take on the song for his 1985 Riptide album. However, it ended up being the fifth single from the album, and wasn't released in the UK until July 14, 1986 and August 11, 1986 in the US. Empowered by a distinctive video which hit #1 on MTV on October 17, 1986, the song soared to #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 and #9 in the UK. 

It was included on the soundtrack for Mariah Carey's 2001 ill-fated star turn, Glitter. Composed of songs which influenced her as she was growing up, Carey had enough business cache to request not only that  Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis produced her version, but the she would get to sing over the original Tabu-era instrumental. Pop's then reigning princess was granted her wish, however, the whole project was not well-received and any plans to release it as a single were shelved. 

In 2005, Collette, or DJ Collette, as she is also known, did a cover for her Hypnotized album. Her version became something of a club favorite, receiving a number of remixes from the likes of Kaskade, Smitty & Coco, Justin Martin and Chuck Love.

And that's the whole story...

Now? On to the competition!

The Song: I Didn't Mean To Turn You On

The Competitors: Cherelle vs. Palmer vs. Carey

I Didn't Mean To Turn You On - Cherrelle

I Didn't Mean To Turn You On - Robert Palmer

I Didn't Mean To Turn You On - Mariah Carey

I Didn't Mean To Turn You On - Collette

Cherrelle

I remember when this came out. It was such an exciting time to be in the Twin Cities. Purple Rain, which would cement the scene, bringing it worldwide attention, had not come out yet and the air was ripe with possibilities.

That is the Roland TR-808 drum machine that Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis would use oh, so well throughout their early career. It would power an entire era of hits. It sounds a bit slight these days, but recording technology and sound engineering has taken such a huge leap forward, it's a little like comparing apples to mangos. 

That synth? A classic, it perfectly embodies 'The Minneapolis Sound', as engineered by Prince. This marks Cherrelle's debut. I think she'd become a much better singer later in her career. At this point? She sounds like a teen singer... and this is a very adult song. 

I adore the architecture at play here. Those synths, all creating such a deftly syncopated bed with the occasional sting, augmented with that handclap percussion - so much fun... and so much fun to dance to. 

I don't believe Cherrelle's doing her own back up vocals here. Is it Phyllis St. James? I don't know that the fuller, melodic sound works well with the rhythm-focused teen pop happening here. Seems a distraction, particularly on the line "I want a friend." 

Things get very messy as they move from the chorus to the second verse; that's a lot of unnecessary nonsense. I had to replay it twice to make sure it wasn't an issue with the YouTube recording. 

I rather like when she moves to her lower register and barely gets out "understand." And, perhaps, that gets to the failing of this release. Because of the key chosen, she has to do the same thing with the title of the song with the word "on." That's unfortunate, as hitting that with a less breathy, less guttural sound might have helped sell the single a bit better. People tend to clue in quickly to the repeated title of a song, so... keep it punchy and audible. 

When Cherelle overdubs herself this works, but when they add those backing vocals on top of the second half of the verses, it feels unnecessary and obtrusive. I don't like the synth guitar at all; it sounds silly.   

Her vocals are consistently very pointed, but she's young and it works well with the song. Is it sexy? No. This would seem to be a song of seduction (or date rape, depending on your take), and seductive? She is not. 

I adore all that happens after the 3:30 mark. That's so fun. The spoken word. The male group vocals. Absolute fun. 

Robert Palmer

This is only a year later, but didn't the beats get bigger? And the synths icier? Great opening, grabs your attention and then doesn't deviate. This was produced by Bernard Edwards of Chic and it shows. Had that group held it together and made music like this, their career arc would have ended much differently.  

Another thing about this release? This was the fifth single from the album. Not the second... the fifth. Somebody was clearly sleeping at the wheel. It sure gave the album a second wind.

Palmer's vocals are multi-tracked and all gravel, like a robot marching. I never noticed how tiny-mouthed he sounds. That said, he is one of my favorite vocalists... so suave. Only Bryan Ferry can touch him in this category. There's that synthesizer created scatter percussion that runs in the background over and over again... it's subtle but adds such an interesting texture to the proceedings. And proceed it does; this thing drives like a limousine on auto-pilot. 

This song takes on a much more acceptable context when sung by a man. I love it when they drop almost everything out on the repeat of "only trying to be nice." Very effective. The overall production work is much more dense and compact than that of the original. I sort of miss the air found in the Jam/Lewis version. 

Interesting what they do with the instrumental break. They don't fill it. Just a big fat plucked guitar string, followed by a synth swath, followed by that simple, grungy repeated keyboard run.

And... one of my all time favorite moments in musical history (of which I have a good thousand) - when they drop everything out and we just have that one icy synth note left hanging there... so dramatic. And it works so damn well. Rather genius. Yes. Less is more.

Mariah Carey

It checks out... this is definitely the original arrangement, but it sure sounds different; less tinny, duller, fatter. Princess doesn't do her own opening "woo?" Huh. So... this is not what I was expecting. She sort of doesn't show up at all. She's dropping out in her bottom range so much, there's nothing there but air.  

Okay, so I know this was right before her 'Britney' moment on TRL, otherwise known as 'the popsicle incident.' And the lady had been working her azz off for years before they decided to saddle her with a big feature film. So, I'm not going to grind the hell out of her vocals, here. She got tired. She was overworked. It cost her that frighteningly amazing voice of hers. I have never seen Glitter and I avoided listening to this up until now. It makes me sad, but I'm not surprised by what I'm not hearing here.

Mariah is definitely providing her own backing vocals and they are weird. 

It's weird. This arrangement is both cleaner and messier than Palmer's. I like the brightness and all the air. I dislike those messy transitions where they seem to be throwing the kitchen sink in the mix: it doesn't make musical sense - all that puttering/sputtering. 

Odd interp on "I knew you wouldn't understand." Synth guitar/keytar still sucks. Oh, Mariah busts out her butterfly octave! That's a nice surprise. Not sure what she's thinking with what follows the instrumental when she sings the song title. That's a bit over the top and doesn't feel right at all. Then she hands it over to some backing dudes, so she can... scat? Weird. 

This should have ended right after the 3:00 mark. Wow... that's like listening to a slowed down car accident. 

Not as good as I had hoped, but not as bad as I had feared.

Collette

Very chill beginning. Weird off-track percussion, not a deal breaker. Kind of in the mood, I like this groove. I like her voice! It's a pretty white girl voice, but dead on. Very clean. She's got a lot of flex in there, too. Dirties it up a bit and then pops into that head voice... sweet. Olivia Newton John? But not breathy.  Love the subterranean vibe in the instrumentation. Very globular. 

This is definitely of an age, but I rather love it. 

Huh. Starts to lose me at the 3:00 mark because she doesn't take it anywhere. Yeah, I keep waiting for a surprise. But nothing's coming. Boo.

The Verdict

Wow. Nothing very obvious here. 

They all get props of sorts. 

Cherrelle gets credit with helping create that original sound. At the time? It was head spinning stuff. Now? The production work sounds thin, pointed and a bit messy.

Palmer brings a weird robotic warmth to the thing. It's a tad dirty old man sounding. But sexy, too. 

Carey. Umm. 

Collette had me until it ran out of steam. Maybe I should try one of the remixes. This is the original version. I like the beat, I like her voice, I like the production work. Super clean. 

They all make me want to dance. 

I think the purpose of this song is to make you feel like you're gliding through a big city at night in a limousine. 

And Collette accomplishes that. 

So... that's who I'm going with. Listening to her version? I feel in tune, sophisticated and luxurious. 

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Okay, that's my two cents worth. Your turn. Let me know what you think. Leave your opinion in the comments section. I love to hear what you've got to say.

That's it for now...

Thank you for reading... and listening.

I Didn't Mean To Turn You On - Cherrelle

I Didn't Mean To Turn You On - Robert Palmer

I Didn't Mean To Turn You On - Mariah

I Didn't Mean To Turn You On - Collette