"Take Me Away" is a song from British-New Zealand electronic dance music group

Babble Babble may refer to: * ''Babble'' (That Petrol Emotion album), 1987 album by That Petrol Emotion * ''Babble'' (Coyne & Krause album), 1979 album by Kevin Coyne And Dagmar Krause * Babble (band), a later incarnation of the Thompson Twins * Babb ...

, which was released in 1994 as the lead single from their debut studio album '' The Stone''. The song was written and produced by

Alannah Currie Alannah Joy Currie (born 20 September 1957) is a New Zealand artist based in London. She is a musician and activist, best known as a former member of the pop band Thompson Twins. Career Born in New Zealand and trained as a journalist, Currie e ...

and Tom Bailey. It reached number 18 on the US ''

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 advertis ...

'' Hot Dance Music Club Play chart.

Background

"Take Me Away" originated with Currie, who had the idea for the song when she and Bailey were part of the audience at

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contempo ...

. Bailey told ''

Hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...

'' in 1994, "Alannah actually wrote the song at Glastonbury. We were there in a massive crowd of people and she wrote it gazing over a hill looking at the crowd." Currie and Bailey then rewrote the song two or three times, with Bailey revealing, "It started out fairly plain and we decided that it was too monolithic, so we broke it down into all these Middle Eastern bits."

Release

For its release as a single, three remixes of "Take Me Away" were created by Tony Garcia and

Peter Daou Peter Daou (born 1965) is a Lebanese-American political strategist, activist, musician and author who has advised major political figures, including Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. He was described by '' The New York Times'' as "one of the most p ...

. Bailey and assistant producer/engineer Keith Fernley also created one remix. Bailey told ''Billboard'' in 1994, "As a marketing tool, I don't mind remixes of our songs, but it's really important that we get to do one, too. Otherwise, the single becomes a complete reflection of everyone but the band."

Critical reception

On its release,

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 ''

'' listed the single under "new & noteworthy" and described Babble as a band that "playfully indulges in dreamy, ambient dance culture and synth-sweetened pop melodicism". He considered "Take Me Away" to an "overall tone that is highly complex", but added it was "completely accessible to mainstream club and radio formats". He concluded that the song was "utterly cool" and "the perfect vehicle to take Bailey and Currie to an interesting and successful new phase of their careers". Dave Sholin of the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The ...

'' noted that although Currie and Bailey had changed their name to Babble, on "Take Me Away" "the sound is intact and very ready for the '90s".

Track listing

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the US CD maxi-single and '' The Stone'' CD booklet. * Babble – vocals, music * Amey St. Cyr – vocals Production * Tom Bailey – producer, programming, mixing *

– producer * Keith Fernley – assistant producer, engineer, programming, mixing Remixes * Tom Bailey – additional production and remix on "Bel Mix" * Keith Fernley – additional production and remix on "Bel Mix" * Tony Garcia – additional production and remix on "Lounge Lizard Mix", "Flying High Mix" and "Toga Dub" *

– remix on "Lounge Lizard Mix", "Flying High Mix" and "Toga Dub" Other * Katherine Delaney – design * Ira Cohen – photography ("Face" image)

Charts

References

{{authority control 1994 songs 1994 singles Reprise Records singles Songs written by Alannah Currie Songs written by Tom Bailey (musician)