War of Nerves

"War of Nerves" is a song by English-Canadian girl group All Saints, released by London Records on 23 November 1998 as the fifth and final single from their debut album, All Saints. Group members Shaznay Lewis, Natalie Appleton and Nicole Appleton wrote the song with producers Cameron McVey and Magnus Fiennes. It is a ballad concerning mortality, inspired by the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. "War of Nerves" debuted at number seven on the UK Singles Chart, making it the group's fifth consecutive single to reach the top 10.

For the episode from the TV series M*A*S*H, see War of Nerves (M*A*S*H).
"War of Nerves"
Single by All Saints
from the album All Saints
B-side
Released23 November 1998 (1998-11-23)
Length4:51
LabelLondon
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Cameron McVey
  • Magnus Fiennes
All Saints singles chronology
"Bootie Call"
(1998)		 "War of Nerves"
(1998)		 "Pure Shores"
(2000)
Music video
"War of Nerves" on YouTube

Background

"War of Nerves" was the last song recorded for the group's 1997 debut album, All Saints.[1] The group wrote the song as a response to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. In an interview for The Irish Times, group member Shaznay Lewis reflected, "I never really thought about things like my own death until it happened to Diana. And the song definitely did help me face those feelings."[2] Natalie Appleton named it her favourite song on the album in the Appleton autobiography Together, saying, "the emotions are powerful and it gives me chills."[3]

Critical reception

In his review of All Saints for Rolling Stone, Chuck Eddy said the song "has an aptly unnerving prettiness".[4] Sarah Davis of Dotmusic gave "War of Nerves" four out of five stars, writing, "A distinctly heart-felt ballad, it's more soulful than most of their previous releases, including 'Never Ever' and while at first appears to go nowhere, is an engaging listen."[1] Conversely, Caitlin Moran of The Times believed "War of Nerves" proved that "Never Ever" was "a one-off, a glorious anomaly" and "the albatross around their necks".[5] NME's Jim Firth derided it as "unfettered toss" and "a sawn-off version of the Lionel Richie song book", concluding, "No tune, no soul, no fun."[6] Len Righi of The Morning Call wrote that All Saints seem "determined to embody monotony" on the track.[7] In retrospective reviews, Jon O'Brien from AllMusic said "the gorgeous, sweeping strings of soulful ballad 'War of Nerves' have aged better than most of their contemporaries' output",[8] while The Guardian's Caroline Sullivan found the song forgettable.[9]

Track listing

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "War of Nerves".

CD 1
1. "War of Nerves" ('98 Remix) 4:52
2. "Inside" 4:57
3. "War of Nerves" (Ganja Kru Dub) 9:13
4. "War of Nerves" (video) 5:11
CD 2
1. "War of Nerves" ('98 Remix) 4:52
2. "Always Something There to Remind Me" (live from the Burt Bacharach TV show) 3:20
3. "Never Ever" 6:28
Cassette/Two track
1. "War of Nerves" ('98 Remix) 4:52
2. "Inside" 4:57

Music video

The music video of "War of Nerves" is set in London's famous Met Bar[10] in the Metropolitan Hotel. It also features a London bus with an advertisement for All Saints which was visible in London for quite a while. Member Melanie Blatt's pregnancy was also written in the concept for the video as she would be shown singing in the shower, exposing her belly in a silhouette.[11] It also features a fight in a garage, between sisters Natalie and Nicole Appleton, they later comfort each other.

Live performances

The song has been performed in a number of All Saints' concerts since their 2014 comeback. In the album version, lead vocals are shared by Shaznay Lewis and Melanie Blatt, however Natalie Appleton has taken over Lewis's lead vocals for all recent live performances. In the 2016 Red Flag tour, the song was combined with Red Flag single "This Is A War".

Charts and certifications

Charts
Chart (1998) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[12] 13
European Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[13] 36
Ireland (IRMA)[14] 21
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[15] 10
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16] 79
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[17] 50
Scotland (OCC)[18] 9
UK Singles (OCC)[19] 7

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Silver 200,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  • Appleton, Natalie & Nicole (2002). Together. Michael Joseph Ltd. ISBN 0-7181-4544-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Notes
  1. Davis, Sarah (2 November 1998). "War of Nerves (London)". Dotmusic. Archived from the original on 21 June 2000. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  2. Jackson, Joe (21 February 1998). "Not quite all Saint Shaznay T. Lewis of the Chart-Topping Group the all Saints Talks to Joe Jackson about Love, Rap, and all Things Spice". The Irish Times. p. 64. ProQuest 310414406. (subscription required)
  3. Appleton 2002, pp. 178–179
  4. Eddy, Chuck (13 February 1998). "All Saints: All Saints". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 1 March 2002. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  5. Moran, Caitlin (8 January 1999). "Belly-buttons fluff it". The Times. p. 40.
  6. Firth, Jim (22 November 1998). "This Week's Singles". NME. Archived from the original on 31 August 2000. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
  7. Righi, Len (28 March 1998). "All Saints". The Morning Call. p. 62.
  8. O'Brien, Jon (27 September 2010). "Pure Shores: The Very Best of All Saints - All Saints". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  9. Sullivan, Caroline (10 January 2001). "The All Saints'split up". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  10. Worlds Best Bars Archived 2007-03-12 at the Wayback Machine Met Bar
  11. MelanieBlatt.co.uk Archived 2007-01-11 at the Wayback Machine Official Biography
  12. "Ultratop.be – All Saints – War of Nerves" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  13. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles". Music & Media. Vol. 15 no. 51. 19 December 1998.
  14. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – War of Nerves". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  15. "All Saints - War Of Nerves" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  16. "Dutchcharts.nl – All Saints – War of Nerves" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  17. "Charts.nz – All Saints – War of Nerves". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  18. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  19. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  20. "British single certifications – All Saints – War of Nerves". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 October 2016. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type War of Nerves in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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