"Save Tonight" is a song by Swedish

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

musician

Eagle-Eye Cherry Eagle-Eye Lanoo Cherry (born 7 May 1968) is a Swedish singer and stage performer. His 1997 single "Save Tonight" achieved commercial success in Ireland, the United States and the United Kingdom, and was voted song of the year in New Zealand. Cher ...

, released on 7 October 1997 as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from his debut album, ''

Desireless Claudie Fritsch-Mentrop (born 25 December 1952), known by her stage name Desireless (), is a French singer. Between 1986 and 1988, her hit single "Voyage, voyage" made it to number one on many European and Asian single charts. According to h ...

'' (1997). It is the album's

opening track An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...

and gained substantial radio success, reaching number three in Ireland, number five in the United States, number six in the United Kingdom, and number two in Cherry's native Sweden. It was voted song of the year by New Zealand radio station

The Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing voca ...

. "Save Tonight" is considered the signature song of Cherry, and was awarded the

Rockbjörnen Rockbjörnen (Swedish: ''the Rock Bear'') is a music prize in Sweden, divided into several categories, which is awarded annually by the newspaper ''Aftonbladet''. The prize was first awarded in 1979, and is mostly centered on pop and rock. In 2 ...

award in the "Swedish song of the year 1997" category.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' wrote, "With a voice mildly reminiscent of

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

, the lad gives "Save Tonight" a richly soulful edge that cuts through the track's shiny arrangement of strumming acoustic guitars and prickly electric licks. Beyond the single's well-crafted surface are vivid, storyteller lyrics that are smarter than what you'll typically find on radio. An excellent, commercially sound way of introducing the artist's sterling full-length debut, ''

'', this cut demands immediate modern and mainstream rock radio play—and perhaps even triple-A and eventually top 40 stations." Scottish newspaper '' Daily Record'' felt that with the song, "late

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

legend

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's son and Neneh's brother is living up to his musical heritage."

Music video

The

monochrome A monochrome or monochromatic image, object or palette is composed of one color (or values of one color). Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale (typically digital) or black-and-white (typically analog). In physics, monochrom ...

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song was filmed at Skånegatan 92-94 in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Södermalm Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is a district and island in central Stockholm. Overview The district covers the large island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''). Although Södermalm usually is considered an island, wat ...

district from 9–10 September 1997, and features

playing different characters and seeing the story from different perspectives. The first is a man readying for a date by buying roses and a bottle of wine at a

deli Deli may refer to: * Delicatessen, a shop selling specially prepared food, or food prepared by such a shop * Sultanate of Deli, a former sultanate in North Sumatra, Indonesia Places * Deli, Boyer-Ahmad, a village in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Pro ...

. He then tells the butcher "goodbye" and the camera reveals that the butcher is in fact Cherry himself. A robber wearing tights on his head as a means of disguise (bought in the very first scene of the music video, which is watched by Cherry via shop window) then comes and takes the money out of the cash register. As he leaves, he is hit by a pickup truck, and as bystanders help him up he is revealed to actually be Cherry, as well as the driver in the truck. Another Cherry is seen playing a guitar and another is a bum on the street. The "first" Cherry appears once again at the end of the video, walking to the home of his date. The video gives the illusion of being presented as one continuous take.

Track listings

* Swedish and European CD single, UK cassette single # "Save Tonight" – 3:55 # "Conversation" – 4:55 * UK CD single # "Save Tonight" # "Save Tonight" (Bacon & Quarmby remix) # "Conversation" # "Save Tonight" (video) * Australasian CD single # "Save Tonight" # "Save Tonight" (Bacon & Quarmby remix) # "Conversation"

Personnel

Personnel are lifted from the ''Desireless'' album booklet. * Eagle-Eye Cherry – music, lyrics, vocals, background vocals, co-production * Mattias Torell – acoustic guitar, electric guitar *

Klas Åhlund Klas Frans Åhlund (born 11 April 1972) is a Swedish songwriter, record producer, and guitarist. He is the founding member of the Swedish rock band Teddybears. As a songwriter and producer, he has worked with artists such as Robyn, Sugababes, J ...

– electric guitar * Elias Modig – bass * Magnus Persson – drums * Adam Kviman – production, mixing, engineering

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

E.M.D. version

In 2010, Swedish boy band

E.M.D. E.M.D. was a Swedish boyband consisting of Erik Segerstedt, Mattias Andréasson and Danny Saucedo. All three members had participated on the Swedish version of ''Idol'', with Erik as a finalist and Danny at 6th place on Idol 2006. Mattias was el ...

released a cover version of "Save Tonight" as the first single from their second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, '' Rewind'' (2010). Released first through digital stores on 28 May, the single had a physical release on 16 June.

Track listing

* CD and digital single # "Save Tonight" – 3:35

Charts

References

External links

Eagle-Eye Cherry's official website
* – music video {{Authority control 1997 songs 1997 debut singles Black-and-white music videos Eagle-Eye Cherry songs English-language Swedish songs Polydor Records singles