| "I Want You" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byElvis Costello and the Attractions | ||||
| from the albumBlood & Chocolate | ||||
| B-side | "I Hope You're Happy Now" | |||
| Released | November 1986 (1986-11) | |||
| Recorded | March–May 1986 | |||
| Genre | New wave | |||
| Length | 6:45 | |||
| Label | Imp | |||
| Songwriter | Elvis Costello | |||
| Producers |
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| Elvis Costello and the Attractions singles chronology | ||||
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"I Want You" is a song written byElvis Costello and recorded with his backing bandthe Attractions. It was released on his 1986 albumBlood & Chocolate.
Featuring lyrics about an obsessive romance, "I Want You" was released as the second single fromBlood and Chocolate. It has since been positively received by critics and covered by multiple artists.
The dark lyrics describe a tormented romantic relationship. The narrator recounts the details of his partner's infidelities, while repeatedly declaring "I want you" after each line. The music is taken at a slow,dirge-like tempo; towards the conclusion Costello offers a brief guitar solo that repeats two dissonant notes. In his album notes for theGirls Girls Girls compilation album, Costello wrote that "[t]he sound of this track was always going to be the aural equivalent of a blurredpolaroid, so no apologies for the lack of fidelity. None are needed, it's just a pornographic snapshot; lots of broken glass, a squashed box of chocolates and a little blood on the wall."[1][2]
Due to its "bitter" lyrics, Costello commented, "That just that song is used as opening dance in weddings ... I humbly bow my head, and can only wish those people a safe journey."[3]
Attractions bassistBruce Thomas later expressed his dislike for the song, commenting, "Elvis was trying really hard to do the psychopath in 'I Want You' and all that. It's things like that that really annoy me. He loves all that stuff! That 'fingernail scratching down the wall' and 'I want youuuu' ... this sort ofTony Perkins job. I'll give you the address of a good analyst! That's not soul-bearing or honest, it's just neurotic. I find it incredibly neurotic and tension-inducing, which he'd say is entirely the point, but I thought, well that's not the point of self-expression at the end of the day."[4]
"I Want You" was released as the second single fromBlood and Chocolate in 1986, backed with an acoustic version of "I Hope You're Happy Now", another song from the album. The single was a moderate success on the UK charts, peaking at number 79 over a chart stay of 2 weeks.[5]
Stephen Thomas Erlewine ofAllMusic described it as "[among] the nastiest songs he has ever recorded, both lyrically and musically".[6]Blender Magazine named the song as one of the key tracks fromBlood and Chocolate to download whileGreg Kot of theChicago Tribune described the song as "riveting".[7][8]Robert Christgau called the song one of the two strongest on the album.[9]Rolling Stone called the track "an epic testament to jealousy over a former lover’s new partner".[10] Jeremy Allen ofThe Guardian named the song one of Costello's top 10 best, saying, "The lyrics and music together are intimately intense, like someone breathing down your own neck, making you shudder, but the melody is irresistible too."[11]The Daily Telegraph's Martin Chilton named the song Costello's 35th best.[2]
In 2006,Fiona Apple covered the song, accompanied by Elvis Costello, as a VH1 tribute to Costello.[10]Gavin Edwards ofRolling Stone said of the performance, "[Apple] metabolizes every molecule of the song’s poisoned atmosphere."[10] Costello also collaborated with hip hop bandthe Roots to perform a version of "I Want You" in 2013;Questlove said that the song "is pretty much the soundtrack to every relationship I've ever had".[2][11][12]
In 2010,Steven Page released a cover of the song recorded with theArt of Time Ensemble for his second solo album,A Singer Must Die.[13]
In 2017,Lydia Lunch andCypress Grove released a version of the song on their albumUnder the Covers.[14]
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