Your Loving Arms

"Your Loving Arms" is a 1994 song by German singer Billie Ray Martin, the former lead singer of Electribe 101. It was released as the first single from her debut solo album, Deadline for My Memories. Written by Martin and David Harrow, it is known to be one of her most notable singles. It was produced by English electronic dance group The Grid and was originally released in October 1994. But the track found greater chart success in 1995, where it peaked at number-one on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs and number 6 on the UK Singles Chart. In Italy the song also peaked at number-one. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Your Loving Arms" reached number 21. There were made two different music videos for the song. In 1996, Mixmag ranked the song number 47 in its 100 Greatest Dance Singles Of All Time list.[1]

"Your Loving Arms"
Single by Billie Ray Martin
from the album Deadline for My Memories
Released
  • October 1994 (1994-10) (original release)
  • 16 March 1995 (1995-03-16) (US)
  • 3 May 1995 (1995-05-03) (UK)
Recorded1994
GenreEurodance
Length
  • 6:38 (album version)
  • 4:16 (radio edit)
Label
  • Magnet
  • Warner Music UK Ltd.
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Billie Ray Martin singles chronology
"Persuasion"
(1993)		 "Your Loving Arms"
(1994)		 "Running Around Town"
(1995)
Music video
"Your Loving Arms" on YouTube

Critical reception

"Your Loving Arms" received positive reviews from most music critics. AllMusic editor John Bush described the song as a "magical electro-pop track" in his review of Deadline for My Memories.[2] On the 1994 release, Larry Flick from Billboard called it "a spirited foray into trancecarpeted hi-NRG territory. Her distinctively creamy voice has seldom sounded so strong and worldly, giving the song's romantic prose a decidedly dark and anxious edge."[3] In 1995, he added it as "an NRGetic dance number that makes excellent use of her milky soprano range. Her torchy style makes an intriguing contrast with the Grid's cool and rigid groove production."[4] He also called it "deliciously dramatic".[5] Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report commented that "there's something in Billie Ray's voice that is simply magnetic. This one-time member of London's Electribe 101 releases a lot of electricity on her own as proven by one super hot dance track."[6]

John Hamilton from Idolator described "Your Loving Arms" as "fiery", adding that it is "a predestined club classic, a pulsating techno torch song in which Martin sasses, vamps, and pleads over ominous rising chords and a frantic tambourine-inflected beat."[7] Howard Cohen from Knight Ridder noted that "an instantly memorable hook, retro-disco beat and warm, inviting vocals make this the most musical dance offering 1995 has offered so far."[8] Music & Media wrote, "Is there such a thing as adult-orientated pop dance? If there isn't yet, then it is debuting right here thanks to a lady who looks like Marianne Faithfull's twin sister with the voice of Carly Simon."[9] Barry Walters from Spin said it "was the pop song with underground credibility, one that everyone could agree had something special. Martin's lyrics speak of profound joy and pain, the melody soars through consciousness like a caress, and the vocal sets itself apart from the wailing of generic gut-busting divas."[10]

Chart performance

"Your Loving Arms" was a major hit in Europe and remains Ray Martin's most successful song to date. It went to number-one in Italy and was a Top 10 hit in Ireland, Scotland and the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 6 in its second week on the UK Singles Chart, on May 21, 1995.[11] But on the UK Dance Chart, the single reached number 2. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Your Loving Arms" peaked at number 21 on June 3, 1995. Outside Europe, it hit number-one on the US Billboard Dance Club Songs, number 5 in Israel and number 85 in Australia in November 1995. Additionally, the single also went to number 46 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 30 on the US Cash Box singles chart in 1996. It received a silver record in the United Kingdom with a sale of 200,000 singles.

Music video

There were made two different music videos for the song. The UK version is in black-and-white and features Ray Martin performing the song in a bedroom, sometimes lying on the bed or sitting in a chair. Other scenes features the singer walking in a garden or dancing with a man in a hallway. The second version is in colours. The UK version was uploaded to YouTube in 2014.

Impact and legacy

British magazine Mixmag listed the song at number 47 in its ranking of the 100 Greatest Dance Singles Of All Time in 1996. They wrote,

If you went into the ladies bogs in any club last summer while Billie Ray's song was playing you could see and hear all the girls joining in. Not only a top tune, Billie Ray Martin's heartfelt lyric spoke the truth about feeling insecure, needing reassurance and hating yourself for it. And, judging by the bogs, many women could recognise the sentiments Billie Ray sang with her incredible sweeping voice - the antithesis of house music's clichéd screaming divas and all the more real for it.[12]

Track listing
12" single, Europe (1995)
No.TitleLength
1."Your Loving Arms" (Soundfactory Vocal)10:03
2."Your Loving Arms" (S-Man's Anthem Mix)10:22
3."Your Loving Arms" (Hands In The Air Mix)11:52
4."Your Loving Arms" (Original Extended Mix)6:53
CD single, UK (1995)
No.TitleLength
1."Your Loving Arms" (Original Radio Edit)4:14
2."Your Loving Arms" (Original Extended Mix)6:00
3."Your Loving Arms" (Soundfactory Vocal)10:08
4."Your Loving Arms" (Eruption Vocal)7:44
5."Your Loving Arms" (Hands In The Air Mix)11:45
CD maxi, UK (1995)
No.TitleLength
1."Your Loving Arms" (Original Radio Edit)3:53
2."Your Loving Arms" (Diss-Cuss Vocal Mix)6:37
3."Your Loving Arms" (Original Extended Mix)7:01
4."Your Loving Arms" (Soundfactory Vocal)7:27
5."Your Loving Arms" (Diss-Cuss Bitchin' Dub)6:47
6."Your Loving Arms" (Eruption Vocal)7:46
CD maxi, US (1995)
No.TitleLength
1."Your Loving Arms" (Original Extended Mix)7:01
2."Your Loving Arms" (Sound Factory Vocal)10:08
3."Your Loving Arms" (Hands In The Air)11:45
4."Your Loving Arms" (S Man's Anthem Mix)10:31
5."Your Loving Arms" (Padapella)6:25

Charts and certifications

See also

References
  1. "The 100 Greatest Dance Singles of All Time". Rave History Homesteadd. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  2. "Billie Ray Martin - Deadline for My Memories". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  3. Flick, Larry (19 November 1994). "Dance Trax: M People's 3rd deConstruction Set To Bear 'Fruit'" (PDF). Billboard. p. 33. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  4. "Billboard: NEW & NOTEWORTHY" (PDF). Billboard. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  5. Flick, Larry (23 December 1995). "Dance Trax: Quit Griping, Take The Year-End True/False Quiz" (PDF). Billboard. p. 44. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  6. Sholin, Dave (17 March 1995). "Gavin Picks > Singles" (PDF). Gavin Report. No. 2046. p. 46. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  7. Hamilton, John (9 December 2015). "The 50 Best Pop Singles Of 1995 (Featuring New Interviews With Alanis Morissette, Garbage, Kylie Minogue, Monica, Ace Of Base & More!)". Idolator. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  8. "Discs for home dance club". Ocala Star-Banner. 28 July 1995. p. 7. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  9. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. 12 February 1994. p. 12. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  10. "SPINS: BILLIE RAY MARTIN - Deadline for My Memories". Spin. 1 April 1996. p. 110. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
  11. "Official Singles Chart Top 100 21 May 1995 - 27 May 1995". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  12. "The 100 Greatest Dance Singles of All Time". Mixmag. 1996. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  13. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 12 Nov 1995". ARIA. Retrieved 17 May 2016 – via Imgur. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
  14. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  15. "Austriancharts.at – Billie Ray Martin – Your Loving Arms" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  16. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12 no. 22. 3 June 1995. p. 18. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  17. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Your Loving Arms". Irish Singles Chart.
  18. Israel Top-30 07.06.1995
  19. "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12 no. 14. 8 April 1995. p. 24. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  20. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 43, 1996" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40
  21. "Dutchcharts.nl – Billie Ray Martin – Your Loving Arms" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  22. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  23. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  24. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  25. "Billie Ray Martin Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  26. "Billie Ray Martin Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard.
  27. "Cash Box Top 100 Pop Singles" (PDF). Cash Box. 6 July 1996. p. 6. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  28. "British single certifications – Billie Ray Martin – Your Loving Arms". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.