Making Love out of Nothing at All
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| “Making Love Out of Nothing At All” | |||||
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| Single by Air Supply from the album Greatest Hits |
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| Released | 1983 | ||||
| Genre | Power Ballad | ||||
| Length | 5:43 (Album Version)
4:29 (Edited 45RPM Single Version) |
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| Label | Arista for the USA | ||||
| Writer(s) | Jim Steinman | ||||
| Producer | Jim Steinman | ||||
| Air Supply singles chronology | |||||
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| “Making Love (Out of Nothing At All)” | ||
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| Single by Bonnie Tyler from the album Free Spirit |
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| Released | 1995 | |
| Genre | Power Ballad | |
| Length | 7:49 | |
| Writer(s) | Jim Steinman | |
| Producer | Jim Steinman | |
"Making Love Out of Nothing At All" is a song written and composed by Jim Steinman and has been released by Air Supply and Bonnie Tyler. There have also been numerous other versions that have not been as commercially successful.
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[edit] History of recording
The song was first performed by Air Supply, gaining them a number two hit in the United States of America (US). The song subsequently became the title track of their 1983 album. The B-side of the single was a song called "Late Again".[1] They have included the song on their numerous greatest hits and live albums, and recorded an acoustic version for their 2005 album The Singer and the Song.[2] The original is also featured on the Mr. and Mrs. Smith soundtrack album, where it was played during the car chase / gunfight scene. It was also used in the films, Click and Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd
Steinman gave the song, along with "Total Eclipse of the Heart", to Meat Loaf for his Midnight at the Lost and Found album; however, Meat Loaf's record company refused to pay Steinman for the material and Meat Loaf ended up writing the songs for the album himself. Steinman's song was then offered to Bonnie Tyler & Air Supply.[3]
By 1983, Air Supply had changed much of it's classic musician line-up, both in the recording studio & on tour. But Steinman known for his lavish, rock-opera-ish type productions, used Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band members Roy Bittan on keyboards and Max Weinberg on drums to musically underscore the recording with like energies. 70's glam-rock icon Rick Derringer, supplied the electric guitar solo that made the sound of Making Love Out Of Nothing At All stand so drastically apart from most other Air Supply productions.
[edit] Music and lyrics
The song opens with a few bars of the melody played on piano. The first part of the song lists several things that the vocalist knows how to do, followed by something that they do not. The structure is similar to Steinman's "I'd Do Anything for Love (but I Won't Do That)", where the chorus consists of things that the vocalist would and then would not do.
- And I know just where to touch you
- And I know just what to prove
- I know when to pull you closer
- And I know when to let you loose
Like the final lines of each chorus in "Anything for Love", the end of "Making Love" contrasts with the previous stating what he doesn't know how to do. The final part of the verse laments:
- But I don't know how to leave you
- And I'll never let you fall
- And I don't know how you do it
- Making love out of nothing at all
The title is repeated six times, with background vocals supplying the "making love" part, and the lead vocalist singing the last part of the line.
Strong drumbeats begin the next section of the song, which concentrates upon the attributes of its subject:
- Every time I see you all the rays of the sun
- Are streaming through the waves in your hair
- And every star in the sky is taking aim at your eyes like a spotlight
There is an instrumental interlude, dominated by the melody of the title line played by piano. The final verse returns to the structure of the first. The original Air Supply version had an American football analogy, with "I can make the runner stumble, I can make the final block; And I can make every tackle at the sound of the whistle, I can make all the stadiums rock."
[edit] Video
The video for the Air Supply version begins with a couple driving to an airport. The male singer is leaving for "one more tour" and asks the woman to join him, as he "can give you anything". The remainder of the video intersperses the singer on stage with a microphone with various scenes of the relationship. Graham and Russell, who comprise Air Supply, leave their dressing room for the stage. As they sing with the band, the female is shown packing and leaving their home, placing their photograph face down on the table in the process. Nevertheless, she changes her mind and does a u-turn on the freeway, and now drives to the airport. She meets him at the side of the stage near the end of the song and they embrace. Dialog: {{[Graham Russell] So, won't you be considered? [Girlfriend] So, won't you? [Graham Russell] Come with me, I can give you everything. [Girlfriend] I've been there, all I want is you. [Graham Russell] But it's one more tour then I'll be back. [Girlfriend] But I won't...I can't...}}
[edit] Charts
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
| UK Singles Chart | 80 |
[edit] Bonnie Tyler version
The song was later covered by Bonnie Tyler on her album Free Spirit. It opens with a word-less choral voice, before the melody begins, played on piano. All Music Guide call this version "fantastic, clocking in at nearly eight minutes, and seems perfectly suited for her voice. [Air Supply's] version was already great, but hers is awesome."[4] It was produced by Steinman, with Steven Rinkoff as co-producer, at The Hit Factory, New York City. Ma-Elsie Hopkins provided some vocals.[5]
These lines were changed for the Tyler version, and also for the subsequent Karine Hannah version, to:
- I can make you find your power
- I can make you lose your fear
- I can make your body do some very magical things
- I'll make your inhibitions all disappear
| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian singles chart | 2 |
| Netherlands singles chart | 17 |
| UK singles chart | 45 |
[edit] Other cover versions
- Dallas based band Funland covered this song on there 1993 "Sweetness EP" under the name "Obligatory Cover(For The Kids)"
- Karine Hannah recorded a demo of the song when she was working with Steinman on an album. The project fell through, but her version has been leaked onto the internet.
- The song was covered by singer Frankee under the name Nikki A. in 2003 for Louie Devito's Dance Divas, Volume One.
- An electronica pop version was recorded by artist Sexton Blake.
- A Wendy's commercial in Fall 2007 features 2 guys eating burgers, one from Wendy's (with the guy wearing a comical red Wendy's wig), and one pretend promotional burger from a competitor that sings "Making Love Out of Nothing at All."
[edit] Live performances, appearances in other media, etc.
- The Dream Engine have performed the song at their "Over the Top" concerts.
- In 2005, Carrie Underwood performed the song during the fourth season of American Idol.[6]
- The song is played on the car stereo of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's minivan in the final car chase scene of Mr. & Mrs. Smith
- Currently the song is being used for a Wendy's commercial, where a "burger" is "singing" a part of the song. This is part of a promo being used in conjunction with Rhapsody
- Korean Rock singer Kim Kyung Ho performed the song at a concert broadcast by SBS.
[edit] References
- ^ Special Sub-Topic: 'Making Love Out Of Nothing At All'. FunTrivia.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-09.
- ^ Air Supply: The Singer And The Song. CD Baby. Retrieved on 2006-10-22.
- ^ Adams, Cameron. "Meat Loaf's a Hell raiser", Herald Sun, 2006-10-26. Retrieved on 2006-10-26.
- ^ Bonnie Tyler: Free Spirit. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2006-10-22.
- ^ (1995) Album notes for Free Spirit by Bonnie Tyler [booklet]. East West Records (0630-12108-2). Free Spirit at MusicBrainz.
- ^ American Idol: Carrie Underwood. American Idol. Retrieved on 2007-05-26.
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