"No More Words" by Berlin

Song#:  1826
Date:  03/10/1984
Debut:  86
Peak:  23
Weeks:  17
Genre:  Synthpop, New Wave



Pop Bits:  Even though Berlin's three singles from their LP Pleasure Victim would not be major chart hits, the songs and the band drew enough interest to boost sales and the album became a platinum seller. Poised for a bigger breakthrough, the band set out to record their next album. What they wanted to do was to grab a big name producer to help shape their music and the one they had in mind was Giorgio Moroder. Moroder's time was expensive and the band didn't have the budget to secure him for a full album. However, they thought working with Moroder was important, so they asked him to come on board for two songs. Moroder did and along with co-producer Richie Zito, produced the tunes "No More Words" and "Dancing in Berlin." The balance of the album was produced by Mike Howlett, who had recently had success with A Flock of Seagulls. The completed LP, Love Life, would be released with "No More Words" selected as the first single. It became a hit at Dance reaching #6, yet despite a popular MTV video, the song failed to get into the Top 20 at Pop or Rock (#25). Still, it was their first Top 40 entry and their association with Moroder would later lead to a major hit.

ReduxReview:  I'm still a bit peeved this didn't get into the Top 10. It's an awesome slice of synthpop with beefy guitars, a great chorus, and nice vocal turn by Terri Nunn. The production by Moroder and Zito was top notch and the thing sounded awesome cranked to eleven. Everything, including the video, was in place for this one and it should have easily sailed into the Top 10. Why it did not is a mystery to me. Folks still remember it, so I guess that is good, but it deserved a far better fate. The album was one of my favorites at the time and I about played the grooves out of the vinyl. Dialing this song up will most likely send me on a Berlin binge...again.

ReduxRating:  9/10

Trivia:  I remember hearing a story about how this song was chosen for the album's first single. I believe it was from Casey Kasem's American Top 40 show. Apparently, there was some debate regarding the lead single and a tape of the choices were playing on a loop. For whatever reason, this was done at a place where someone owned a parrot. While still discussing the issue, everyone left the room but the loop of songs kept playing. They returned to the room after being gone a while and finally shut off the loop. Not long after, out of the blue the parrot started saying "no more words" over and over. The band figured the song must have the strongest and most memorable hook, so why not give it a shot? Now, I can't confirm this old story, but it is hard to dispute something coming from Casey Kasem. However, if I were to guess I'd say it was a publicity story and the real deal was that in order to work with Moroder, they were contracted to issue his productions as singles. After all, the b-side to "No More Words" was Moroder's other production, "Dancing in Berlin." How convenient.

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