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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” | |
|---|---|
| Single by Phil Collins | |
| from the album Against All Odds: Music from the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
| B-side | “The Search” |
| Released | February 1984 (US)26 March 1984 (UK) |
| Recorded | 1983 |
| Genre | Pop soft rock |
| Length | 3:23 |
| Label | Atlantic |
| Songwriter(s) | Phil Collins |
| Producer(s) | Arif Mardin |
| Phil Collins singles chronology | |
| “Like China“ (1983)”Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)“ (1984)”Easy Lover“ (1984) |
“Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” (also titled “Against All Odds“) is a song by English drummer, singer and songwriter Phil Collins. It was recorded for the soundtrack to the 1984 film of the same name. It is a power ballad in which its protagonist implores an ex-lover to “take a look at me now”, knowing that reconciliation is “against all odds” while considering it worth trying. The single reached No. 2 in the United Kingdom, while it peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, the first of seven US No. 1’s for Collins in his solo career. “Against All Odds (Take a Look At Me Now)” also topped the charts in Canada, Ireland, and Norway.
Phil Collins version
Collins was approached to write the title song to the film Against All Odds while it was still in its “rough cut form”. At the time the soundtrack was being completed, Collins was on tour with Genesis. Director Taylor Hackford flew into Chicago to see one of the band’s concerts. Collins watched the movie on a videocassette recorder in his hotel room and agreed to appear on the soundtrack.
Originally titled “How Can You Just Sit There?”, the song was initially from the sessions for Collins’ debut solo album Face Value (1981). Collins wrote the song, while arranger Arif Mardin produced it. The piano performance is by New York musician Rob Mounsey. Piano, keyboard bass and a string section arranged and conducted by Mardin were recorded at RCA Studios, New York, while Collins recorded vocals and drums in Los Angeles.
“Against All Odds” won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male in 1985, was nominated for Song of the Year and for an Academy Award as well as for a Golden Globe both in the Best Original Song categories. At the Academy Awards ceremony, Collins was not invited to sing his song on stage and instead sat in the audience as dancer Ann Reinking gave a mostly lip-synced vocal performance accompanied by a dance routine. Reinking’s performance was poorly received by critics from the Los Angeles Times and People, as well as by Collins himself in a Rolling Stone interview.
After its release, “Against All Odds” peaked at No. 2 as a single in 1984 and became Collins’ third top-ten single in the UK. In the U.S., it peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in the spring of 1984. Billboard ranked it as the No. 5 song for 1984.
Mariah Carey version
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| “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” | |
|---|---|
| Single by Mariah Carey | |
| from the album Rainbow | |
| B-side | “Crybaby“ |
| Released | 29 May 2000 |
| Recorded | 1999 |
| Genre | PopR&B |
| Length | 3:25 |
| Label | Columbia |
| Songwriter(s) | Phil Collins |
| Producer(s) | Mariah CareyJames Harris IIITerry Lewis |
| Mariah Carey singles chronology | |
| “Crybaby” / “Can’t Take That Away (Mariah’s Theme)“ (2000)”Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)“ (2000)”Against All Odds“ (2000) |
American singer Mariah Carey co-produced her version of the song with James Harris III and Terry Lewis for her seventh studio album Rainbow which was released in 1999. It was released on 29 May 2000, as the third single from the album. Carey co-produced the single edit of the song with Steve Mac.
Although the song was promoted as part of Carey’s Rainbow in the U.S., it was not released as a commercial or radio single there. It was initially released in some markets in early 2000. This was also the last single with her then label Columbia. The song reached the top twenty in several countries. The highest peak of the song was number two in Norway.
The video for the Carey version of the song, directed by Paul Misbehoven, consists of a montage of clips of Carey singing the song from her various Rainbow World Tour stops to cullings from her Homecoming special.
Critical reception
Mariah Carey’s cover of “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” received positive reviews. Danyel Smith of Entertainment Weekly wrote: “Listeners with an eye on the tabloids could read her close, ringing interpretation of Phil Collins’ 1984 hit, “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now),” as a postmortem on her bittersweet affair with Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter and a poignant evocation of the couple’s shared mixed-race heritage (“You’re the only one who really knew me at all”).” L.A. Times’ Elysa Gardner called this cover “surprisingly faithful, forthright” and “she resists her tendency to over-embellish notes and focuses on what really matters: the melody and lyrics.” MTV Asia editor Dara Cook wrote: “Mariah festoons herself in Phil Collins’ 1980s melodic garb, appropriately pret a porter with overwrought emotion. She delicately ascends the sparely accompanied first verses—but alas, that damn drum roll soon sounds and the bouffant strings and vocal gymnastics ensue.” Rolling Stone’s Arion Berger was not happy with the cover selection which he called a “drippy Eighties power-pop hit.”
Mariah Carey and Westlife version
| “Against All Odds” | |
|---|---|
| Single by Mariah Carey featuring Westlife | |
| from the album Rainbow and Coast to Coast | |
| Released | 15 September 2000 |
| Recorded | December 1999–2000 |
| Studio | Flyte Tyme Studios, Edina, MinnesotaCapri Digital Studios, Capri, ItalyRokstone Studios, London, EnglandParc Studios, Orlando, FloridaOlympic Studios, London, England |
| Genre | PopR&B |
| Length | 3:25 |
| Label | BMGColumbiaSony |
| Songwriter(s) | Phil Collins |
| Producer(s) | Mariah CareySteve Mac |
| Westlife singles chronology | |
| “Fool Again“ (2000)”Against All Odds“ (2000)”My Love“ (2000) | |
| Mariah Carey singles chronology | |
| “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)“ (2000)”Against All Odds“ (2000)”Loverboy“ (2001) |
Carey rereleased the song in collaboration with Irish boyband Westlife. The song was released as the first single from the band’s second album Coast to Coast. The song was released on 15 September 2000, following Carey’s solo version. Carey’s vocals from the solo version were retained for the duet, though the instrumental track was reproduced with a more organic sound complete with violins. The music video shows Carey and Westlife recording the song and exploring the island of Capri by boat.
The single peaked at number one in both the United Kingdom and Scotland for two weeks, as well in Ireland for three weeks, while reaching number three on the continental chart, European Hot 100 Singles. It became Carey’s second single to top the UK Singles Chart and Westlife’s sixth consecutive number one single. The song has sold 440,000 copies in the total in the United Kingdom. It is Westlife’s sixth biggest selling single (paid-for sales and combined sales categories) of all-time and their fifteenth most streamed single in the United Kingdom.
The UK version of the single includes a limited edition Enhanced CD with video, poster and Westlife-only version and CD with Westlife video interview and picture sleeves. Due to its European success, the single is featured on the international editions of Carey’s compilation albums Greatest Hits (2001) and #1 to Infinity (2015).
Steve Brookstein version
| “Against All Odds” | |
|---|---|
| Single by Steve Brookstein | |
| from the album Heart and Soul | |
| Released | 20 December 2004 |
| Recorded | 2004 |
| Genre | Pop rock |
| Length | 3:12 |
| Label | Sony BMG |
| Songwriter(s) | Phil Collins |
| Steve Brookstein singles chronology | |
| “Against All Odds“ (2004)”Fighting Butterflies” (2006) |
English singer and The X Factor winner Steve Brookstein included “Against All Odds” on his debut studio album, Heart and Soul. It was released as his debut single on 20 December 2004 by Sony BMG.
A cover of the song by Deja Vu featuring Tasmin was featured in the 2001 gameDance Dance Revolution 5thMix for the Japanese arcade and PlayStation 2, and in the 2005 game Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2 for the North American PlayStation 2.
Dave Monk
| Against All Odds | |
|---|---|
| Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Taylor Hackford |
| Produced by | William S. GilmoreTaylor Hackford |
| Screenplay by | Eric Hughes |
| Based on | Out of the Past by Daniel Mainwaring |
| Starring | Rachel WardJeff BridgesJames WoodsAlex KarrasJane GreerRichard Widmark |
| Music by | Michel Colombier Larry Carlton |
| Cinematography | Donald E. Thorin |
| Edited by | Fredric SteinkampWilliam Steinkamp |
| Production company | New Visions Columbia-Delphi Productions |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date | March 2, 1984 |
| Running time | 121 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $13 million |
| Box office | $21.7 million |
Against All Odds is a 1984 American romantic neo-noir thriller film directed by Taylor Hackford and starring Rachel Ward, Jeff Bridges and James Woods alongside Jane Greer, Alex Karras, Richard Widmark and Dorian Harewood. A remake of Out of the Past (1947), the film’s plot is about an aging American football star who is hired by a mobster to find his girlfriend.
The film’s soundtrack, nominated for a Grammy Award, featured songs from Big Country, Kid Creole & the Coconuts, Stevie Nicks and Genesis breakout stars Mike Rutherford, Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins; the latter performed the title song, which was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Original Song and for a Golden Globe Award as Best Original Song as well as a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male.
Watch the movie “Against All Odds”
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