BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1988
REQUEST
“I Can’t Help It” is a song written and recorded by English girl group Bananarama. It is included on their fourth studio album Wow! and was released as its third single except in the U.S., where it was the album’s second single (following “I Heard a Rumour”) and Australia, where it was the album’s fourth single (after “I Want You Back”). The track was co-written and produced by the Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) trio.
The song is a disco-influenced pop tune similar to many hits produced by SAW during this time period
The single peaked at number twenty in the UK singles chart, #27 on the Australian ARIA chart (where it was released in August 1988 after I Want You Back), and just missed the top-forty on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. A hit in nightclubs, “I Can’t Help It” climbed to number seven on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart.
This is the final Bananarama single to feature Siobhan Fahey, who announced her departure shortly after its release.
The photos on the record sleeve were taken by famous American photographer Herb Ritts. The record sleeves for “I Can’t Help It” and “Love in the First Degree” were switched with each other for the UK and North American markets.
The song’s suggestive lyrics and music video further perpetuated Bananarama’s sensual visual image that the group began to incorporate with their previous album True Confessions.
The “I Can’t Help It” video featured muscle men dancing, colourful backdrops, and Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward in a milk bath filled with fruit and naked men. Siobhan Fahey, heavily pregnant at the time, also appears but was only shown on camera from the shoulders up. Music video directed by Andy Morahan.
SIDE A:
I Can’t Help It (The “Hammond” Version Excursion) 6:32
SIDE B:
Esctacy (Wild Style) 5:35
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
CHARTS:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | I Can’t Help It | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | #47 |
| 1988 | I Can’t Help It | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music\Club Play | #7 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: London Records
Catalog#: NANXR 15
Format: Vinyl, 12″
Country: UK
Released: 1988
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop
Credits: Design [Sleeve Designed – Assisted] – Andrew Biscomb
Design [Sleeve Designed] – Peter Barrett (3)
Producer – Stock/Aitken/Waterman*
Remix – Pete Hammond
NOTES:
Special versions from the LP “WOW”
Find The 12″ On DISCOGS
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut III
Cartridge: Ortofon Super
Stylus: Ortofon OM Stylus 20
Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Adobe Photoshop CS5
ClickRepair
dBpoweramp
Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
Downsampled to 24bit/96kHz and16bit /44kHz using iZotope RX Advanced 2
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
