Close To You

Album

Love & Emotion

Label

Charisma Records

Genre

Reggae fusion

Duration

2:00

Composer(s)

Maxi Priest;Gary Benson;Winston Sela

Entered Chart

Jun 30, 1990

Peak Date

Oct 6, 1990

Released

Unknown

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

Charisma 4-98951

B-Side

One More Chance

This song is about a guy who is completely enamored with a girl. Even though he knows she's bad news ("Tellin' me lies when the truth was clear"), he can't resist her, as he's ruled by his burning desire. She keeps him off guard, like he's walking a tightrope, but when he's holding her in the midnight hour, all is well. The song has a very straightforward chorus, which has led many budding Romeos to put it on mix tapes and use it for seduction: I just wanna be close to you And do all the things you want me to I just wanna be close to you And show you the way I feel However, a listen to the verse lyrics reveals the dark side of this woman. The distinctive drums are a feat of programming handled by Phil Bodger, who also added the in-and-out string parts in the style of Soul II Soul. Bodger told Songfacts: "I was asked to mix a few tracks on what would become Maxi's Bonafide album by his manager Erskine Thompson. I had had some success as a mix engineer/re-mixer at that point (either working with Danny D or on my own) and Erskine gave me three tracks to mix. I booked Roundhouse Studios in Chalk Farm, London, and along with a programmer, I mixed the track as I saw fit. There were a lot more musical parts on the multitrack and I cut a few of them out to create more space. I also replaced Sly Dunbar's drum track with my drum patterns and samples. (I also worked with Sly a bit on another occasion on other tracks on the album)." Smoothed-out British reggae was big in America at this time: UB40 became the first UK reggae act to hit #1 on the US Hot 100 with their cover of "Red Red Wine" in 1988, and Maxi Priest became the second with this track. UB40 hit the top once again in 1993, this time with a cover of Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling In Love." Maxi Priest wrote this with the songwriters Gary Benson and Winston Sela. Benson's previous tracks include John Travolta's "Let Her In" and Stacy Lattisaw's "Miracles." Sela also wrote songs recorded by Lulu, Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams. In a Songfacts interview with Maxi, he explained how it came together. "I was in my Jeep on my way to a session with Gary Benson and Winston Sela," he said. "We were writing for the next album. It was a bright, sunny day, my sunroof was down, and I was just watching the road and watching people go by and then all of a sudden, I just started singing, 'I just wanna be close to you.' When I got to the studio they were working on something else, and I came in with this vibe. I was just singing and Gary asked me, 'Where did you get that from? Where did that come from? I like it!!!' and immediately we began working. That day we finished the basis of the song and the next day we came up with the idea of adding a rap. At the time rap music was fresh and we penned a few lyrics and sewed up the rest of it. That was pretty much how it came together. When I heard that we were so close to the top of the Billboard charts, there was a constant back-and-forth conversation all the way until we got the news that it hit. I remember the moment they called to say it was #1. I was in tears as I called my brothers and sisters reminiscing about our parents and my brother, Osburn, that we had lost, wishing they were around to share that news. I was just overwhelmed with joy." Three producers are listed on this track: Geoffrey Chung, Handel Tucker and Sly Dunbar. Chung and Dunbar were two of the most successful producers to come out of Jamaica, helping to craft tracks by Bob Marley, Max Romeo and Grace Jones, making this music accessible to wider audiences while retaining key elements of the sound. Report this ad Maxi Priest is known as the "King of Lovers Rock." His music is sometimes closer to R&B, and this song peaked at #2 in the Billboard R&B chart. Maxi Priest was born Max Elliott in London of Jamaican parentage. He was christened Max because his mother was a fan of the English 1950s all-round entertainer Max Bygraves and he took his professional name after his conversion to Rastafarianism. His other hits include a 1988 cover of the Cat Stevens song "Wild World" (#5 in UK, #25 in US), which was produced by Sly & Robbie, and "Set The Night To Music," a duet with Roberta Flack (#6 in US). Ivan Hussey, known as "Celloman," did the string arrangements for this hit and also did the same for the British chart toppers "Dreams" by Gabrielle and "Babe" by Take That. Maxi Priest compares his duplicitous lover to Jezebel, a wicked queen from the Bible known for her beauty and her treachery. As told in the book of Kings, she instituted worship of other gods and ordered the slaughter of Yahweh's (Hebrew word for God) prophets. After the throne was seized by a new king, Jezebel was thrown to her death and eaten by dogs.

She was a Jezebel, this burstin' queen
Livin' her life like a bad sweet dream
Tellin' me lies when the truth was clear
I think she knew what I wanted to hear

Spinnin' around like a wheel on fire
Walkin' the tightrope on love's highwire
A fatal attraction is where I'm at
There's no escapin' me

I just want to be close to you
And do all the things you want me to
I just want to be close to you
And show you the way I feel

I feel love when I'm lying in the midnight hour
Holding you's just like a dream
Love is never what it seems

When we touch
And you're holdin' me the way you feel
Girl, you make my dreams come true
You make my dreams come true

I just want to be close to you
And do all the things you want me to
I just want to be close to you
And show you the way I feel

She was a Gemini on the cusp of Mars
She holds me back but she goes too far
Windin' me up just to let me down
So emotional gagged and bound

There's more to this than meets the eye
A devil woman locked inside
With the formal rising I was scared
I think I was possessed

I just want to be close to you
And do all the things you want me to
I just want to be close to you
And show you the way I feel

I feel love everytime your body's next to mine
Somethin' deep inside of me
Wants to love you endlessly

When we touch
Girl, you don't know how it makes me feel
I just can't believe it's real
I can't believe it's real

I just want to be close to you
And do all the things you want me to
I just want to be close to you
And show you the way I feel

She had an attitude I can't explain
You never know if your in flame
Tying me up with elastic words
I'm on a countdown till I get hurt

Her blood was hot she burned so bright
A neon sign there in the night
It's hard to say if I went too far
My heart still bears a scar

I just want to be close to you
I just want to be close to you
I just want to be close to you

She was a Jezebel, this burstin' queen
Livin' her life like a bad sweet dream
Tellin' me lies when the truth was clear
I think she knew what I wanted to hear

I just want to be close to you

Spinnin' around like a wheel on fire
Walkin' the tightrope on love's highwire
A fatal attraction is where I'm at
There's no escapin' me

I want to be close to you
And do all the things you want me to
I just want to be close to you (I just want to be close to you, baby)
And show you the way I feel

I just want to be close to you
And do all the things you want me to
I just want to be close to you
And show you the way I feel