At the Beginning

"At the Beginning" is a song by Donna Lewis and Richard Marx, released as the first single from the Anastasia soundtrack. It was released as a CD and cassette single on October 21, 1997, on Atlantic Records.

"At the Beginning"
Single by Donna Lewis and Richard Marx
from the album Anastasia: Music from the Motion Picture
ReleasedOctober 21, 1997
RecordedSarm West Coast, O'Henry
GenrePop
Length3:42
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)Stephen Flaherty
Lynn Ahrens
Producer(s)Trevor Horn
Donna Lewis singles chronology
"Love & Affection"
(1997)		 "At the Beginning"
(1997)		 "I Could Be the One"
(1998)
Richard Marx singles chronology
"Angel's Lullaby"
(1997)		 "At the Beginning"
(1997)		 "Days In Avalon"
(2000)

The song reached No. 45 on the Hot 100 giving Lewis her third Hot 100 hit and Marx his 17th. To date, neither has hit the Hot 100 since "At the Beginning" dropped out. It reached No. 2 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart, but did spend a week at No. 1 on Radio & Records' Adult Contemporary Chart before being knocked out by Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On".

The song gave Marx his eighth and most recent number one hit single as a singer. Lewis would not have any further songs that hit any chart.

Composition

The song is a moderate pop ballad.[1]

Critical reception

Filmtracks noted that in addition featuring the two pop reprises of songs in the credits, "the unique entry is the tolerable "At the Beginning", which seems to have been meant to be the centrepiece of the pop songs but was overshadowed in popularity by the cast song adaptations". The site added: "For soundtrack collectors, the song "At the Beginning" is interesting in that it included contributions by two composers still on the rise, including piano performances by Anne Dudley and string arrangements by Aaron Zigman, for whom it would be another ten years before his name would be widely known".[2]

Allmusic notes the film "duplicates the Disney formula of balancing big show tunes from the film with re-recorded MOR pop versions of the same song"; despite this being an original song the genre is still MOR pop.[3] Film Score Monthly said "only the Richard Marx-Donna Lewis pairing "At the Beginning" holds any interest (it's the only original song not performed in the film)".[4] TimeOut described it as "uplifting".[5]

Billboard wrote "the romantic "At The Beginning" solidly ushers in the soundtrack to Anastasia, with Lewis and Marx proving to be a surprisingly chemical pair. Her waifish voice gracefully flutters around his rock edged grit, while producer Trevor Horn provides a reliably grand and dramatic musical environment. Although this oh-so-charming recording deserves widespread pop play, it will likely begin its radio life at AC, where programmers are often quicker to appreciate such a lushly arranged power ballad".[6]

Music video

A music video for the song features a girl (a live-action version of Anastasia) visiting an old building. Throughout the video, Marx and Lewis are shown performing the song, intercut with scenes from Anastasia. The music video was also added on to some VHS copies of the film.

Track listing
  1. "At the Beginning" (album version)
  2. "At the Beginning" (instrumental)
  3. "At the Beginning" (remix)

Personnel

Production

Charts

References
  1. "Musicnotes.com: "At the Beginning" from 'Anastasia'". musicnotes.com. April 9, 2012.
  2. "Filmtracks: Anastasia (Stephen Flaherty/David Newman)". filmtracks.com.
  3. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "Anastasia [Music from the Motion Picture] - - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards - AllMusic". AllMusic.
  4. "Film Score Monthly". google.com.au. 1998.
  5. "Donna Lewis". Time Out New York. August 8, 2013.
  6. "Billboard". google.com.au. October 18, 1997.
  7. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 165.
  8. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 3465." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  9. "Richard Marx & Donna Lewis – At the Beginning" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  10. "Donna Lewis Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  11. "Donna Lewis Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  12. "Donna Lewis Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  13. "RPM's Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of '98" (PDF). RPM. 14 December 1998. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 May 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  14. "1998 The Year in Music". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 52. December 26, 1998. p. YE-95. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
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