Background

Madonna

Madonna (entertainer)

Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...

 recorded a cover version of "I Want You" with British trip-hop group Massive Attack

Massive Attack

Massive Attack are an English DJ and trip hop duo from Bristol, England consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. Working with co-producers, as well as various session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be of the trip...

 for her ballads compilation album Something to Remember

Something to Remember

Something to Remember is a compilation album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on November 7, 1995 by Maverick Records. It came after a controversial period of Madonna in the 1990s and at this time critics had deemed her career over...

and the Marvin Gaye tribute album Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye

Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye

Inner City Blues: the Music of Marvin Gaye is a tribute album to soul singer Marvin Gaye who died in 1984. It was released in 1995 on the Motown Records label. The album was not success on music charts and sales were low...

in 1995. It was released as a promotional single in 1995.

After the release of her successful single "Take a Bow", Madonna was approached by Earle Sebastian about a cover of this song for a tribute album. She originally turned down the offer because of her vocal training for Evita

Evita (film)

Evita is the 1996 film adaptation of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical of the same name based on the life of Eva Perón. It was directed by Alan Parker and written by Parker and Oliver Stone. It starred Madonna, Antonio Banderas, and Jonathan Pryce...

but later decided to release a compilation album to hold fans over while she was working on Evita. When Warner Bros. asked for three new tracks, Madonna accepted the proposal of Massive Attack.

Originally, "I Want You" was slated to become the first single from the compilation album, Something to Remember. The song was released as a promotional single in September 1995 and a music video was shot and released to many media outlets. Many problems arose internally, which resulted in "You'll See

You'll See

"You'll See" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her ballads compilation Something to Remember . The album was released with the intention of tone down the image of Madonna, who was being heavily criticized at the time. The singer decided to work with producer David Foster, who...

" being quickly released as a single instead. The video received heavy airplay on both MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

 and VH1

VH1

VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

. Along with medium radio airplay, many fans speculated as to why the song was never released as an official single. Neither Massive Attack nor Madonna have commented on this matter.

The song appears on the album in two versions: the original album version and an orchestral version. Dance remixes by Junior Vasquez

Junior Vasquez

Junior Vasquez, , is an American club DJ and remixer/producer.-Career:...

 and Warren Rigg have also surfaced and are available on the internet, as well as various mixes of the orchestral and original versions.

Reception

Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...

 said that "I Want You" is the most notable among the three new tracks on Something to Remember. In a review for Inner City Blues: The Music of Marvin Gaye, Erlewine also wrote "A few tracks stand out from the mire, particularly Madonna and Massive Attack's trip-hop re-interpretation of "I Want You"..." Jim Farber of the New York Daily News stated that "[Madonna] has never sounded better than in the cover of Marvin Gaye's "I Want You"." Tony Power from Blender listed the song as the stand out track on Something to Remember. Because the song was not released officially as a single, "I Want You" never got into the charts.

Music video

"I Want You" was shot on August 5 and 6, 1995 at Empire Stages in Long Island City, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and directed by Earle Sebastian. Directed by Earle Sebastian, produced by Joel Hinman, edited by Bruce Ashley, the video was inspired by and pays hommage to A Telephone Call, a short story written by American writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

, Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker

Dorothy Parker was an American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th century urban foibles....

. The video was promoted to VH1

VH1

VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

 and MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

. MTV Europe

MTV Europe

MTV Europe is a pan-European 24-hour entertainment cable and digital television network launched on August 1, 1987. Initially, the channel served all regions within Europe being one of the very few channels that targeted the entire European continent...

 did and still does air the video, especially in the late-night show "Chill Out Zone". "I Want You" received a nomination for "MTV Amour

MTV Europe Music Award for MTV Amour

The following is a list of the MTV Europe Music Award winners and nominees for MTV Amour.-1990s:...

" at the MTV Europe Music Awards 1996

MTV Europe Music Awards 1996

The 1996 MTV Europe Music Awards were presented in London, England in November 1996. The host was former Take That member Robbie Williams who opened the show being chased by police and guard dogs through the venue whilst wearing a straitjacket....

, but lost to The Fugees

The Fugees

Fugees were a Haitian American hip hop group who rose to fame in the mid-1990s. Their repertoire included elements of Hip hop, soul and Caribbean music, particularly reggae. The members of the group were rapper/singer/producer Wyclef Jean, rapper/singer/producer Lauryn Hill, and rapper Pras Michel...

's "Killing Me Softly". Julian Hirsh did several mixes of the track, while rare promos featuring nearly a dozen slightly altered versions of the original song exist. The video was also the only case in Madonna's career where a non-released single was given the full video treatment. The video was commercially released in 2009 on Celebration: The Video Collection

Celebration: The Video Collection

Celebration: The Video Collection is a greatest videos DVD compilation by American singer-songwriter Madonna. Released by Warner Bros. Records on September 29, 2009, the release accompanied the greatest hits Celebration. The collection follows on from her other greatest videos compilations The...

.

External links

• [ Allmusic.com article about the Marvin Gaye version of "I Want You"]
• BBC Review of I Want You album
• "I Want You" video by Madonna at America Online
  AOL
  AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...