More Than Words
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “More than Words” | ||
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| Single by Extreme from the album Extreme II: Pornograffiti |
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| Released | 1991 (as a single) | |
| Format | CD maxi 7" single |
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| Recorded | 1990 | |
| Genre | Rock, Power ballad | |
| Length | 5:33 | |
| Label | A&M Records | |
| Writer(s) | Nuno Bettencourt Gary Cherone |
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| Producer | Michael Wagener | |
"More Than Words" is a ballad written by and originally performed by rock band Extreme. It is built around intricate acoustic guitar work by Nuno Bettencourt and the vocals of Gary Cherone (with harmony vocals from Bettencourt), it was released in 1990 on the album Extreme II: Pornograffiti. The song was a departure from the funk metal that had permeated the band's style previous to its release. On March 23, 1991, "More Than Words" entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 81 and soon after reached number one. It also reached number two in the UK Singles Chart, where the group had had success before its American breakthrough. Though they had made a few European charts before, this brought the band to their first mainstream success in the United States. Extreme followed "More Than Words" with another power ballad, "Hole-Hearted," which was slightly faster paced than "More Than Words," but nevertheless topped at number 4 in the United States.
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[edit] Cover versions
Even years after its release, "More Than Words" has retained popularity as a romantic ballad. Cover versions of "More Than Words" include:
- BBMak in 1999-2000, on their first debut album, released in Asia in 1999, and as a b-side in 1999 from United Kingdom 'Back here' single.
- Westlife in 1999, on their first album, Westlife
- David Cassidy in 2003 for the album A Touch of Blue
- Naturally 7 in 2003 for the album "What Is It?" Done acappella-style, with no instrumentation.
- Walters & Kazha in 2005, as a live performance
- Frankie J in 2005, as a single
The song itself asks the person to whom it is addressed to show love through "more than words." The video for "More Than Words" was parodied by Weird Al Yankovic for his original song, "You Don't Love Me Anymore." Also Amateur Transplants wrote a comedic song to the same tune as "More Than Words" entitled "Northern Birds" which may be found on their 2006 album "We Are So Bad". Recently, Rob O'Connor of Yahoo! Music stated the song "may be the dullest song in the English language."
[edit] Track listings
- CD maxi
- "More Than Words" (remix)
- "Kid Ego"
- "Nice Place to Visit"
- 7" single
- "More Than Words" (3:43)
- "Nice Place to Visit" (3:16)
[edit] Chart
| Chart (1991)[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 2 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 13 |
| French Singles Chart | 8 |
| German Singles Chart | 8 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 2 |
| New Zealander Singles Chart | 1 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 4 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 4 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 3 |
| UK Singles Chart | 2 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| US Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 12 |
| US Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 2 |
| US ARC Weekly Top 40 | 1 |
| Chart (2000) | Peak position |
| US Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Recurrents | 20 |
| Preceded by "I Don't Wanna Cry" by Mariah Carey |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single June 8, 1991 |
Succeeded by "Rush Rush" by Paula Abdul |
| Preceded by "Are You Ready" by AC/DC |
RIANZ (New Zealand) number one single July 5, 1991 |
Succeeded by "I Wanna Sex You Up" by Color Me Badd |
[edit] External links
- www.youtube.com Extreme performing More Than Words
[edit] References
- ^ "More Than Words", in various Singles Chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
- ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
- ^ Irish Single Chart Irishcharts.ie (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
- ^ UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
- ^ Billboard Billboard.com (Retrieved April 7, 2008)
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