Song#: 3791
Date: 02/04/1989
Debut: 90
Peak: 65
Weeks: 10
Genre: Dance-Pop, Freestyle
Pop Bits: After a couple of Dance hits that failed to fully ignite on the Pop chart, this group headed up by Bob Rosenberg struck gold with the #1 "Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley" (#2 AC). The dual covers hit would help the group's self-titled debut album get to #68. For a follow up, they would retreat back to their dance-pop formula and push out "Fading Away." It would do well at Dance where it became their second chart topper. However, it seems that pop radio and listeners were not as enthralled by the group's more club oriented original material and that left this single stalling way outside of the Pop Top 40. It would be the fourth and final single from the LP.
ReduxReview: Yeah, this wasn't going to cut it for pop radio especially after the group got established with a covers ballad. They really needed a less club-oriented track in order to keep their pop audience. However, that really wasn't what the group was about. They were a freestyle/dance outfit that just happened to land a major hit with a covers medley. I don't think having that track as a hit was in the plan, so there wasn't much else to release afterwards besides another dance track. This one was a capable, average freestyle track that seemed to heat up dance floors, but received a chilly reception elsewhere. They rebounded with another ballad cover (see below), which I found just as unappetizing as their medley, and then promptly disappeared. Still, Rosenberg came out of it with two major Pop hits and a pair of Dance #1s.
ReduxRating: 5/10
Trivia: The success of their #1 medley and debut album allowed Rosenberg and his Will to Power project the opportunity to record a follow up effort. As sessions geared up for the album, Rosenberg replaced his original lead singer Suzi Carr with Elin Michaels. Michaels had been a background singer on the first album. Rosenberg would then produce the new LP titled Journey Home and write all but two tracks, which were cover tunes. One of those remakes was of the 1975 #2 10cc hit "I'm Not in Love." Released as the LP's first single in 1990, it would do well getting to #7 Pop and #4 AC. Then instead of issuing out one of Rosenberg's originals as a follow-up, it seems the label chose to push out the second cover tune "Boogie Nights," which had originally be a hit in 1977 by Heatwave (#2 Pop/#5 R&B). It failed to reach any chart. With that result, the LP could only manage to reach #178. After that, Rosenberg and Will to Power seemed to disappear. One could only surmise that after the second album failed to sell, Epic Records left them off their roster. It seems Rosenberg used the Will to Power name for a one-off 1994 indie single, a cover of the Daryl Hall & John Oates 1976 #4 hit "Sara Smile" (although the WtP version had it oddly spelled as "Sarah Smile) along with a 2002 single. Then in 2004, Rosenberg would put out a new Will to Power album titled Spirit Warrior.
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