Who Did It Better?
She's The One
She's The One is a song by World Party, written and produced by Karl Wallinger, the group's sole member. It was included on their (his) fourth studio album,1997's Egyptology. Wallinger is a former member of the groundbreaking group, The Waterboys. World Party, a group in name only, is primarily remembered in the states for their Top 40 hit, Ship Of Fools.
She's The One won the prestigious Ivor Novello Award in 1997 and was featured in the 1997 movie The Matchmaker (Jeanne Garofalo, Denis Leary) and the 1998 movie The Big Hit (Mark Wahlberg, Christina Applegate.) World Party also performed the song live on the British TV show, Later... with Jools Holland.
Robbie Williams recorded a version of the song in 1998, for his second solo album, I've Been Expecting You. Heartthrob Williams is a former member of the popular UK boy band, Take That.
His version of the song was released as a single on November 8, 1999. It served as the fourth single from the album. It became a worldwide smash, reaching #1 in the UK, Scotland and Greece, #3 in New Zealand, #4 in Ireland, #8 in Italy, #9 in Europe, #13 in Finland, #14 in Czech Republic, #16 in Austria, #20 in Switzerland, #21 in Belgium, #27 in Germany, and #29 in Netherlands.
William's version went on to win a number of awards around the world, including a 2000 Brit Award for British Single of the Year and British Video of the Year, and a Capital Radio Award for Best Single.
All this attention, airplay, and sales meant that Wallinger, who never released the song as a full-fledged single (only a promo,) won the lottery when it came to residuals, which is something you'd think would have made him very happy.
Think again.
He took issue with a number of things...
First off, the song's producers, Guy Chambers and Steve Power, had the drummer and bassist of World Party's touring band (neither of whom played on the World Party version) to perform the backing track for Williams' version, resulting in a very similar-sounding cover. Secondly, Wallinger was not made aware that a cover was going to be released as a single, especially not one using his own band.
And then there was the issue of credit. It seems that when introducing the song during live performances, Williams often claimed it as one of the best songs he'd ever written. Williams also failed to publicly acknowledge that She's The One is a cover of a World Party track.
All this resulted in a telephone call from the song's actual writer, Wallinger, to Chambers (William's producer,) stating, "Your fucking friend Robbie Williams. Tell him from me that he's a cunt".
To this day, Wallinger admits that he continues to experience "ongoing bitterness," over the matter.
But, no worries. Williams finally did come clean... twenty years later!
In a 2019 commercial for his album The Christmas Present, Williams emphatically states that he wrote the song for Amazon's robotic Alexa. The device, on screen, quickly fires back that Williams, in fact, did not write She's The One, to which Robbie slyly admits, "No, I didn't."
And that's the whole story.
Now? On to the competition!
The Song: She's The One
The Competitors: World Party vs. Williams
She's The One - World Party
World Party
Always a fan of a piano intro. This piano? Very mushy, very out of tune, purposefully so, gives the song that bar/pub flavor. All pianos made of wood have a soul and even when not perfectly tuned, that soul still shines through.
So far, this makes me think of every song I ever wrote... when I was 14 years old. And then it makes a bit of a Beatlesque move.
I was a big fan of The Waterboys. Huge. Their first three albums are revelations. After Wallinger left, they became a different type of band and I lost interest, choosing, instead, to warm up to Wallinger's new venture, World Party. But that had limitations, too.
Those limitations are well on display, here. Wallinger's vocals? Thin. And, at times, uncompelling. They lack warmth and color. That said, I find he's much better on the more uptempo stuff.
Subtle strings. A simple guitar line. Big drums. Nice build up on the bridge. But it's so Paul McCartney era Beatles. And those synth-treated backing vocals? Sound dated now.
Done with this at the 3:20 mark.
It just plods on. He's pushing toward some kind of resolve, I guess. It's just so... boring. Pile on and pile on and invert the chords and ramp it up... but, as it had so little going for it from the beginning. I mean, this is pleasant, but not earthshaking stuff. And it's too derivative to truly matter all that much. So this is an attempt to make something more of very little.
The only thing missing is the squawky, raw Dylan-like harmonica solo jammed on top of the play out. And thank goodness we were spared that.
Pleasant? Yes.
But not a great deal to write home about, dears.
I think I would have liked this had it been a minute and a half shorter and Wallinger had kept things simple. But, since he seems to think he's Dylan meets the Beatles... well, we'll just have to let him keep his delusions.
Robbie Williams
I have a feeling this is going to succeed only due to Williams' abundant charm and charisma.
I like the cleaned up piano. It has a nice round tone. Yes, it's not a real piano, but... then this is manufactured pop music, so stay with the program, kids.
I like the mix better. Hear how Robbie floats on top of the piano? That bit of separation? And, again, nice round tones - in his voice. So far, I'm not seeing why Wallinger thought this was anything like his version.
Everything has a very bell-like tone to it.
The guitars enter on the second verse, same as Wallingers, but it's not a guitar line, it's plucked. And the strings are there, but very subtle.
Oh, messy, messy transition into the bridge. Like a shotgun misfiring twice. Meh. This feels hollow to me. I was hoping for Williams to dig in just a bit more. Well, there is more to come. Let's hope...
Same synth-treated backing vocal swell at the end of the bridge. I think I cared for Wallinger's bridge a bit more.
Oh, those strings are getting a bit treacly during the second half of the third chorus. And those buzzy feedback-laden guitars! If only they'd had the balls to turn them up a bit on the second bridge. It would have provided a bit of muscle - something for Williams, who sounds so... noodle like, to play off of.
Again... the 3:20 mark for me. But, let's see what he does with the rest. At least it's 30 seconds shorter than Wallinger's.
Huh, kind of like that Hammond-like synth on the playout. That's a surprise. He does alright, but I never get a sense he breaks a sweat. It would have been nice for a bit of angst or something cathartic. I mean, if you're going to fill out an extra minute of song, then bring something to the table, dear.
Well, he does alright. At least it all doesn't sound horribly borrowed.
The Verdict
I can't buy into Wallinger's conceit. He's not Dylan. He's not Paul McCartney. This is just a very simple, basic song grafted together from well-established songwriting tropes.
Neither of these versions even begin to soar. That's what that play-off after the 3:20 mark is supposed to be all about... soaring before landing right where you began with that simple piano. So, in that sense, neither achieve that goal.
I like William's production a bit better. It's cleaner. I liked the bell tones found in the opening verse. His version does ape a lot of what Wallinger brought to the table, but then what Wallinger brought to the table? Not all that original, now is it?
I don't like either version.
Which is strange. I was looking forward to this one. But, in this case, the backstory is better than the song.
That said, I will give it to Williams over Wallinger... if only on principal.
As I suspected, it's William's bit of charisma that's the deciding factor. It doesn't hurt that he's a good-looking, sly dog of a tart, either. That's what sold all those copies; his smug, rascally mug.
Disappointed by both, to be honest.
And now considering whether I want to bother learning to play this song. Difficult, it is not.
Worth the effort? I dunno. Let's find out.
--- ---
And that's enough of me.
Okay, your turn. Which do you prefer? And why?
Leave your choice and thoughts in the comments section. I always love to hear what you're thinking.
That's all for now.
Until next time...
Thanks for reading... and listening!
She's The One - Robbie Williams
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3 comments:
I have never heard the song before, but I am too drawn more to Williams's version. I like some of his other music and generally like his voice.
I'd have to give to Robbie - only due to production values. Otherwise, I don't care for his vocals in general. Go figure, eh?
Robbie's version.
I used to LOVE Take That, BTW.
And this is pure pop music. I had not listened to him sing in AGES.
XOXO
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