"Anne's Song" is a 1988 single by American band

Faith No More Faith No More is an American Rock music, rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before settling on the current name in July 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, k ...

, taken from their 1987 album '' Introduce Yourself''. Written by band members Billy Gould and Roddy Bottum, the song describes an acquaintance of theirs from New York, and her circle of friends. The single was produced by

Matt Wallace Matt Wallace is an American record producer. He is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley,Steve Berlin Steven M. Berlin (born September 14, 1955, Philadelphia) is an American saxophonist, keyboardist and record producer, best known as a member of the rock group Los Lobos and, before that, Top Jimmy & the Rhythm Pigs, the Blasters, and the Fle ...

and released by

Slash Records Slash Records was an American record label originally specializing in local punk rock bands, active from 1978 to 2000. It was notable as one of the first and most successful independent record labels in alternative music, before its eventual ...

. "Anne's Song" was released alongside a music video directed by

Tamra Davis Tamra Davis (born January 22, 1962) is an American film, television and music video director. Early life Davis was born the second out of four children in Studio City, California. She was exposed to the media industry at an early age by her gr ...

, which featured both the eponymous Anne and an appearance by

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instru ...

member

James Hetfield James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder and a main songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his intricate rhythm playing, but occasionall ...

. The song has met with critical appreciation in later years, drawing comparisons to

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

and Tom Tom Club.

Production

"Anne's Song" was recorded in 1986 as part of the '' Introduce Yourself'' recording sessions, at Studio D in

Sausalito, California Sausalito ( Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, and about north of San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge. Sausalito's ...

. The recordings were produced by

Matt Wallace Matt Wallace is an American record producer. He is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley,Slash Records Slash Records was an American record label originally specializing in local punk rock bands, active from 1978 to 2000. It was notable as one of the first and most successful independent record labels in alternative music, before its eventual ...

Steve Berlin Steven M. Berlin (born September 14, 1955, Philadelphia) is an American saxophonist, keyboardist and record producer, best known as a member of the rock group Los Lobos and, before that, Top Jimmy & the Rhythm Pigs, the Blasters, and the Fle ...

. Wallace had worked with the band on their 1985 début album '' We Care a Lot'', and the earlier single "Quiet in Heaven"/"Song of Liberty". He recalled that the more experienced Berlin, having been a member of

Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") are an American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cum ...

and primarily accustomed to music unlike Faith No More's, essentially "babysat" the band to ensure their recording budget was not wasted. The song was written by band members Billy Gould and Roddy Bottum, and features one of the few guitar solos in the band's canon, performed by Jim Martin. The song had existed in a "rough and ready" incarnation for several months before the recording sessions began, and had its composition completed in the studio. The song's titular Anne is the band's friend Anne D'Angillo, whose residence in

Alphabet City, Manhattan Alphabet City is a neighborhood located within the East Village in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Its name comes from Avenues A, B, C, and D, the only avenues in Manhattan to have single-letter names. It is bounded by Houston ...

was used by the group during their previous tour; the other characters mentioned throughout the song are all real friends of D'Angillo. D'Angillo also featured in the song's music video, shot in New York and Los Angeles by director

; the video also featured shots of singer Chuck Mosley trapped in a cage, tormented by the other band members and

vocalist

; bass player Gould conceived of this segment, stating "my dream for that video was that I wanted to get Chuck in a cage, from which he couldn't escape, and I could poke him with a stick".

Release and reception

"Anne's Song" and the accompanying music video were released in April 1988. The single was available in both seven-inch and twelve-inch formats, with the former also available as a

picture disc Picture discs are gramophone record, gramophone (phonograph) records that show images on their playing surface, rather than being of plain black or colored vinyl. Collectors traditionally reserve the term picture disc for records with graphics ...

. The video was later included on the 1999 video compilation '' Who Cares a Lot?: The Greatest Videos''; the song itself, however, was not included on the concurrently-released album '' Who Cares a Lot?'' Writing in a review of ''Introduce Yourself'' for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

, Greg Prato noted that the song "should have been a hit", citing its "loopy bass and irresistible melodicism". ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

''s Jeremy Allen included "Anne's Song" in his 2014 list of Faith No More's top ten songs, describing it as "not unlike a heavier Tom Tom Club in the verses, with a smattering of Mosley’s hero

in the chorus". Allen felt that "Anne's Song", along with most of Mosley's work with the band, was "more aligned with contemporary music than anything that came after". In a Faith No More discography retrospective,

Louder Sound ''Classic Rock'' is a British magazine and website dedicated to rock music, owned and published by Future. It was launched in October 1998 and is based in London. The magazine publishes 13 editions a year, mainly covering rock bands from the 60 ...

wrote that the song "really delivers", noting Mosley's "goofy, purposefully-underachieving vocals". Writing for ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

'', Jamie Thomson felt that the song rewarded repeated listening, with successive playing revealing " the angst, uncertainty and sexual politics that come with something simple as "going out with some friends""; Thomson also highlighted the "charismatic, soulful melancholia" of Mosley's voice.

Track listing

Personnel

* Chuck Mosley vocals * Jim Martin guitar * Billy Gould

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

, backing vocals * Roddy Bottum keyboards, backing vocals * Mike Bordin drums

Footnotes

References

* * {{authority control 1988 singles Faith No More songs Songs written by Billy Gould Songs written by Roddy Bottum Music videos directed by Tamra Davis 1986 songs Slash Records singles