Who Did It Better? I Don't Wanna Go

Who Did It Better? 

I Don't Wanna Go

Ah, another song that never quite made it, but remains a big part of my personal musical recollection. Today, we take four different listens to the same song, one of which came within a few digits of breaking into the Top 40.

I Don’t Wanna Go is a song written by Bruce Roberts and Carole Bayer Sager. The two were riding high, having both been signed to solo deals with Elektra. In fact, Roberts would include the song on his self-named debut album and it would be released as a single in Canada and the UK in 1977.  It would fail to chart, but that would hardly be the end of Roberts career, who would go on to write major hits for Barbra Streisand, Donna Summer, The Pointer Sisters, and Whitney Houston, to name but a few.

The song would also be recorded by a trio known as The Moments. It was included on their 1976 album, Moments With You on Stang Records. Released as a single in 1977, it would climb all the way to #18 on the US R&B chart. Later in their career, due to legal entanglements, the group would change their name to Ray, Goodman & Brown and enjoy their biggest hit, Special Lady (#5 US). 

Joey Travolta, brother of John, had been signed to Casablanca's Millennium label. Hopes ran high for his 1978 self-titled debut album. The album's advance single, issued on May 1,1978, was I Don't Wanna Go. To promote the single, Travolta made several television appearances to sing the song, including American Bandstand. The Mike Douglas Show, and the the Netherland's Top Pop. With all the hype, the single almost eked its way into the Top 40 (which would have assured additional airplay), but ended up peaking at #43 on Billboard's Hot 100. 

   
The song got one more shot in the arm, when Samantha Sang, who had first received nationwide recognition in Australia, chose to include it on her 1978, Private Stock debut album, Emotion. However, it was decided not to release I Don't Wanna Go as a single because it had already had three shots at the Top 40.  

And that's the whole story.

Now? On to the competition!

The Song: I Don't Wanna Go

The Competitors: Roberts vs. The Moments vs. Travolta vs. Sang

I Don't Wanna Go - Bruce Roberts

I Don't Wanna Go - The Moments

I Don't Wanna Go - Joey Travolta

I Don't Wanna Go - Samantha Sang

Bruce Roberts

This is MOR (Middle of the Road) Pop, an acquired taste for sure. Most pop stars end up moving toward that market as they get a bit older. Roberts, because that is the stuff he writes, began there, reinventing it a bit. He's a part of a school of writers (Allee Willis, Carole Bayer Sager, Marvin Hamlisch, Libby Titus, Melissa Manchester, etc.) who would eventually rope in some pretty big names (Neil Diamond, Burt Bachrach, Barbara Streisand, etc.) 

I've always enjoyed listening to the albums created by the songwriters because you get a purer sense of a song's structure and hints about its creation. 

We've got a keyboard that sounds influenced by an old mellotron, and some strummed guitar to kick it off, so, you know right away this is not a big production number. Roberts voice is in confessional mode, his vocals, very polite - and this song brings to mind Stephen Bishop. 

I do love his lilt and his phrasing; combined, I feel like I'm holding hands with him as he sings (yes... I had a huge crush on Mr. Roberts.) 

I don't like the second verse... I don't like the bongos, I don't like the backing vocals, I don't like the messy keyboards. 

Once we get to the chorus? We're back on track. It's a bit strident, but you get the hook. 

Yeah, it's the arrangement here. Just not doing it for me. It feels clunky. I get that they are trying to fill in the song, but it's like they're simply dropping little pieces of ideas here and there. The backing vocals are really... unnecessary. I mean, what is that.. "woo-ha-hooo-ah?" Child, please.

And that guitar is so tinny and incidental and all over the map and in the way. 

I really would simply prefer to hear Roberts sing. Again... his phrasing is so relaxed and effortless, yet gives this trifle of a song a lot of shape. 

Second chorus... the backing vocals kind of wreck it for me. They sound flat-footed and uninspired. 

I think the main problem here is the tempo. It drags. If they wanted to do these backing vocals, then it needs a bit more zip to work. 

The instrumental break - very cloying, messy. Muted sax, blech. I still like Roberts, though. He keeps cutting through this dreck. 

Okay, done with this. By the time the key change happens, this is just not going anywhere. It's the tempo and the tone. Dull, dull, dull. 

(I still want him to ask me to prom, though.)

The Moments

Very clean intro. It's a bit brash, but works. The moment those vocals come in, I feel like this dude is confiding in me. His phrasing and timing, a bit odd, but those hints of falsetto... I'm like, go one, I'm listening!

I'm hearing a bit of Smokey Robinson magic here. That weird little trill in his voice. It's like my antennae keeps getting twanged. That electric keyboard is in the way. Very intrusive. Keeps interrupting my connection with the singer. 

That chorus. This is lovely. Great vocals. Subtle production work. Nice strings. 

"And, oh, how I wish..." - that sounds like Diana Ross, and now I wish she was singing this. 

That woodblock knock... annoying. "Would we still be running scared?" Great phrasing. Subtle. Totally hooks me. Very sly. 

That second chorus? No. Something's out of balance. The drums are annoying and mixed too high. I felt like a dove in his hand until this. And now, I'm trying to find that feeling again. 

So, you should know this about me... I adore The Stylistics. I can't explain it. Their vocal styling simply does something to me. This is from that same school. 

Sadly, there's something off about the mix the further we get into the song. It's harsh sounding, I don't think that's what this was about at the song's start. I no longer like the backing vocals. 

When we get back to just the lead singer singing? He trembles like a dove. I adore. 

So I just realized that I am listening to the album version, which is twice as long as the single version. 

The single version? It has a completely different arrangement! Glissandos, and heavy strings with a flugelhorn and the vocals sound like they took a hot iron to them and flattened them. 

Know what? I am gonna bail on this one. 

Joey Travolta

I like the tempo better. This is a very Barry Manilow sounding arrangement, except for that weird guitar thing. What is that? A steel guitar? 

Travolta sounds good. A little Frankie Valli like. He's riding the beat nicely, adding a bit of syncopation. 

As the chorus progresses they keep adding elements. It's overpowering the song and singer. Once that flute arrives... blech.

Travolta's voice has a breathy nasal sound to it that I kind of like. He's such a guido. I have to say, the more I listen to this version, the more I want Frankie Valli to be singing. Travolta's attack is, overall, quite nice. He handles that key change with aplomb. 

I like his energy. Yes, he's vocally limited, I suspect, but this is really pleasant. I like what he brings to this. Very winning. The backing vocals are a little over the top. 

Okay... what is with him singing "Nnnnnnnn?" What is that. That is weird. And unintentionally funny. 

I do like his enthusiasm. 

I do not like that final key change... that... is... terrible. Cheese. It dead now.

Samantha Sang

That intro purrs like a Bee Gees inspired kitten!  I like the way she over-pronounces certain words. I love the breathiness. Barry Gibb obviously gave her some great pointers - those ragged, breathy endings? Yes. 

The keyboard is way too busy and her vocals are buried in the mix. "I still don't understand... just... how..." I love it. 

What is with the 1950's rocket ship taking off as we move into the chorus? I like what she does with the chorus. Again... don't like the backing vocals. They are flat-footed. Is that like a whale call at the end of the chorus? What is that? Very nautical sounding. Like in a submarine. 

I get that her vocals are an acquired taste. I just dig 'em. 

This arrangement is one shaker short of a Holiday Inn lounge band. And I don't understand the use of the glissandos. Such a weird touch. 

Eek. Flute. 

I'm out.

Love her. Can't stand this arrangement.

The Verdict

How about.... none of the above?

Yes, it could be that this song was not a hit for anyone because... it is not that great of a song. It is slight. 

I think Travolta comes the closest, although he's undone by a meddlesome arrangement that tries way too hard. 

I like the vocals on all the other versions. Roberts has a great sense of style and impeccable phrasing. The Moment's lead singer has a gorgeous voice and uses it to tremendous advantage throughout. And I have a soft spot for Sang in all her breathy, Marilyn Monroe gooiness. 

Honestly? Not a single good arrangement in the bunch. And the production work on all these is absolute dreck. 

You know what? 

They can't all be winners.

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And that's enough of me. Okay, your turn... let me know what you think. Leave your choice in the comments section. Ask yourself: if you were a record executive, which of these versions would you release as a single? 

And that's it for today.

Until next time? Thanks for reading... and listening!

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I Don't Wanna Go - Joey Travolta

Special Lady - Ray, Goodman and Brown