Get Here

"Get Here" is a pop ballad written by American singer and songwriter Brenda Russell. The title track of her fourth studio album, Get Here (1988), it became a moderate hit on the Billboard R&B chart on the heels of the album's massive first hit, "Piano in the Dark". American vocalist Oleta Adams covered and released the song in 1990, reaching the top five in both the US and the UK with her version. Adams's version of "Get Here", co-produced by Roland Orzabal from the band Tears for Fears (for whom she had performed the female vocals on the hit single "Woman in Chains" a year earlier), became her signature song.

For the album, see Get Here (album).

"Get Here"
Single by Brenda Russell
from the album Get Here
B-side"Le Restaurant"
ReleasedSeptember 13, 1988
Recorded1985–1987
Genre
Length4:06
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)Brenda Russell
Producer(s)André Fischer, Brenda Russell, Peter O. Ekberg
Brenda Russell singles chronology
"Gravity"
(1988)		 "Get Here"
(1988)		 "Kiss Me with the Wind"
(1990)

Composition and first release

Brenda Russell had written the song while staying at a penthouse in Stockholm: the tune came to her as she viewed some hot air balloons floating over the city, a sight Russell recalls set her "really tripping on how many ways you can get to a person" (the eventual song's lyrics include the line: "You can make it in a big balloon but you'd better make it soon"). Although Russell did not pursue the musical ideas that came to her as her current record label saw her as a dance artist and she thought would not be interested in a song such as the one which became "Get Here", the song was still in the singer's mind when she woke up the next day: "I don't read or write music [so] it's extraordinary if a song is still in my head that I haven't jotted down or recorded. So if it's still in my head overnight, I think that's something extra special, it's like somebody trying to tell me something."[1] Russell recorded the song as the title cut of her 1988 album from which it was issued as a single - the album's third - reaching number 37 on the Billboard R&B chart.[2]

Oleta Adams version
"Get Here"
Single by Oleta Adams
from the album Circle of One
B-side
Released1990
Genre
Length4:37
Label
Songwriter(s)Brenda Russell
Producer(s)
Oleta Adams singles chronology
"Circle of One"
(1990)		 "Get Here"
(1990)		 "You've Got to Give Me Room"
(1991)
Music video
"Get Here" on YouTube

American singer-songwriter Oleta Adams released her cover of "Get Here" in 1990, taken from her third studio album, Circle of One (1990). It was while Adams was visiting Stockholm, Sweden that she heard Russell's song playing in a record store and was sufficiently impressed with the song to record it for her album.[1] World events at this time gave the song a resonance as an anthem for the US troops in the Gulf War—underscored by the lyrics "You can reach me by caravan / Cross the desert like an Arab man"—which sent Adams's single into the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 1991.[3][4][5]

Critical reception

"Get Here" received favorable reviews from most music critics. AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the song as a "gospel-tinged belter".[6] Larry Flick from Billboard remarked that "delicate instrumental arrangement contrasts with Adams' powerful reading of a lovely Brenda Russell composition."[7] The Commercial Appeal named it a "standout" track from the album, declaring it as "magnificent".[8] Karla Peterson from Copley News Service called it "warmhearted".[9] A reviewer from The Daily Telegraph said it is "the Single of the week, the year, the decade..."[10] Ellen Fagg from The Deseret News wrote that it's a "stunning love song-cum-transportation commercial". She noted that the lyrics "are creative and witty and plaintively passionate, a difficult triple combination to score. But the words are great because they're underlined by the rich power of Adams' big voice."[11] James Bernard from Entertainment Weekly viewed it as "an unrushed call to her lover" and noted that the singer's voice "can soar with intensity, hanging onto notes for dear life, or suddenly drop into hushed intimacy."[12]

A reviewer from Los Angeles Times named it "one of the year's most satisfying hit singles." David Quantick from NME wrote, "Oleta is a total groover. This is a huge soft ballad that sounds lots better than Mariah Carey and her lacewanky ilk."[13] Stephen Holden from New York Times declared it as a "ballad of separation and longing",[14] while Philadelphia Daily News noted it as "that come-home-safe song widely connected to our troops in the gulf war."[15] Nick Duerden from Record Mirror wrote, "With few singers capable of matching her eloquent tones (Anita Baker excepted), 'Get Here', a wondrous three-minute love affair with the senses, is destined to scale deserving heights."[16] Caroline Sullivan from Smash Hits labeled it as a "wistful souly ballad" from the former Tears For Fears backing singer.[17] Tonya Pendleton from Vibe called it "anthemic".[18]

Chart performance

"Get Here" reached the top 5 in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In the UK, the single peaked at number four on February 17, 1991, after spending seven weeks on the UK Singles Chart. It also reached the top 30 in the Netherlands, peaking at number 27. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Get Here" peaked at number nine in March. Outside Europe, the song peaked at number 27 in Canada and number five on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Get Here" was directed by Greg Gold.[19] It begins outside a pittoresque red wall with a blue door and window, where Adams slowly appears in front. Then she is seen sitting and playing by a piano. Other scenes shows Adams in a room with blue-green walls and a white window, or she performs while standing in a corner. As the video progresses, Adams is also seen inside the red-walled house. The video concludes with a close-up of the singer as she sings the last lines of the song, while leaning towards one of the blue-green walls.[20]

Track listings
7-inch single, Europe (1990)
No.TitleLength
1."Get Here"4:34
2."I've Got to Sing My Song" (live)4:30
12-inch single, UK (1990)
No.TitleLength
1."Get Here"4:36
2."I've Got to Sing My Song" (live)4:32
3."Birdland"3:13
CD single, Europe (1990)
No.TitleLength
1."Get Here"4:36
2."I've Got to Sing My Song" (live)4:32
3."Birdland"3:13

Charts

Other versions

The Beautiful South's album Gaze included a song with the same title and, partially, similar lyrics - but reversed the theme, with Paul Heaton protesting his unwillingness to travel any distance at all for his lover. (Sample lyric: "You can get here by helicopter"/"I can barely make Blackpool sands").

References
  1. "Songfacts". Retrieved February 2, 2011.
  2. "Get Here" album, Allmusic.com
  3. Ollison, Rashod (April 24, 2012). "Always Something to Get Over: Oleta Adams Offers a Hug". pilotonline.com. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  4. Harrington, Richard (March 20, 1991). "GULF WAR SONGS, OUT OF TUNE". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  5. "In Concert Video: 'Get Here' ~ Oleta Adams is Back + Soon Releasing Two New Songs [WATCH]". Atlanta Daily World. August 9, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  6. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Oleta Adams - Circle of One". AllMusic. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  7. Flick, Larry (October 27, 1990). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 81. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  8. "Playbook". The Commercial Appeal. August 24, 1990.
  9. Peterson, Karla (January 22, 1994). "Oleta Adams offers antidote to the blues". Oxnard Press-Courier. p. 15. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  10. "A name you will remember" (PDF). Billboard. 1991. p. 2. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  11. Fagg, Ellen (June 22, 1991). "Oleta Adams belts out witty, soulful, lasting music". The Deseret News. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  12. Bernard, James (April 12, 1991). "Circle of One". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  13. Quantick, David (January 19, 1991). "Singles". NME. p. 19. Retrieved April 3, 2023.
  14. Holden, Stephen (March 5, 1991). "Twenty-year struggle yields a hit for Adams". Lawrence Journal-World. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
  15. "Lounge Act To Opening Act, Adams Shines Successful LP, Tour Haven't Changed This Modest Singer". Philadelphia Daily News. August 15, 1991.
  16. Duerden, Nick (January 12, 1991). "The Adams Family". Record Mirror. p. 5. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  17. Sullivan, Caroline (January 9, 1991). "Review: Singles". Smash Hits. No. 316. p. 49. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  18. Pendleton, Tonya (December 1, 1995). "Oleta Adams - Moving On". Vibe. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  19. "Greg Gold - director, writer, producer". Kinorium.com. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  20. "Oleta Adams - Get Here (Official Video)". YouTube. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  21. "Bubbling Down Under Week Commencing 25 February 1991". Retrieved February 28, 2022.
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  23. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 1465." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  24. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 8, no. 10. March 9, 1991. p. 45. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
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  26. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Get Here". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  27. "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved June 1, 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Oleta Adams".
  28. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 2, 1991" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  29. "Oleta Adams – Get Here" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  30. "Oleta Adams – Get Here". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  31. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  32. "Top 60 Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. January 12, 1991. p. xii. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  33. "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. March 23, 1991. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  34. "Adult Contemporary". Billboard. February 9, 1991. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  35. "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. February 16, 1991. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  36. "RPM 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of 1991". RPM. Retrieved March 18, 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  37. "1991 Top 100 Singles". Music Week. London, England: Spotlight Publications. January 11, 1992. p. 20.
  38. "1991 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 51. December 21, 1991. p. YE-14.
  39. "1991 The Year in Music" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 103, no. 51. December 21, 1991. p. YE-36. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
  40. "Patti LuPone Live".
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