"I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That" is a song by British musicianElton John and lyricistBernie Taupin, performed by John. It is from his twenty-first studio albumReg Strikes Back (1988) and was released as its lead single.
Upon its release in 1988, the song peaked at number two on the USBillboard Hot 100 in August 1988, becoming John's highest-charting hit of the 1980s in the US. The song also became John's eighth number-one on theBillboardAdult Contemporary chart.[2] In Canada, the single peaked atop theRPM 100 Singles chart for three weeks, giving John his 13th chart-topper there. It became a top ten hit in Austria and Switzerland, and a top 40 hit in nine countries including the UK, where it reached at number 30 on theUK singles chart.
When John played this song with the band on his concerts, the intro had different arrangements as he regularly played it in his tours during thealbum tour,Sleeping with the Past Tour and the rest of 1990s before he retired it in 2000 as theOne Night Only concert inMadison Square Garden remains the most recent performance of it.[3][4]
American magazineCash Box called "I Don't Wanna Go On with You Like That" "a straight-aheaddance/rocker that gets on a forward track and stays there" with "biting lyrics."[5] Robin Smith fromRecord Mirror felt that John is "right on target" with the classic rock of the song.[6] Richard Lowe fromSmash Hits wrote, "His new tune's not much cop though. It's a lacklustre ditty that he probably knocked out one lazy afternoon and its only saving grace is the rather extraordinary popping noise that runs all the way through. Must be one of these new-fangled electric drums. Quite odd."[7] Jerry Smith ofMusic Week considered the song a "totally irresistible and thumpingly energic track".[8]
A12-inch extended remix of the song byShep Pettibone was released on vinyl during the song's initial release period. This remix appears on the CD box set compilation,To Be Continued..., released in 1990. TheJust Elton and His Piano mix of the song is also available (on the reissued 1998 version of theReg Strikes Back album).
