Good Life (Inner City song) explained

Good Life
Cover:Good Life by Inner City US single 7-inch.png
Caption:US and Canadian variant (7-inch edition pictured)
Type:single
Artist:Inner City
Album:Paradise
Released:28 November 1988 (UK)[1]
Length:4:03
Genre:
Label:
Producer:Kevin Saunderson
Prev Title:Big Fun
Prev Year:1988
Next Title:Ain't Nobody Better
Next Year:1989

"Good Life" is a song by American electronic music group Inner City, featuring vocals by Paris Grey, and was released in November 1988 by 10 Records and Virgin as the second single from their debut album, Paradise (1989). It is written and produced by Kevin Saunderson, and became a hit all over the world, reaching number one in Finland and number four on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, it peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Its music video is directed by Neil Thompson and filmed in London. "Good Life", along with "Big Fun", have been considered prototypes for Belgian act Technotronic's 1989 hit "Pump Up The Jam",[2] and is today widely considered a classic of its genre.

Background and release

Electronic music producer Kevin Saunderson met singer Paris Grey through a good friend of his. She then traveled to Detroit to collaborate with him on their debut single, "Big Fun", which was released in 1988. After its success, Virgin asked for a follow-up single and "Good Life" was chosen right away. It was written using basic instruments including a Casio CZ-5000 synth and a Roland TR-909 drum machine. Saunderson made the instrumental part in his own apartment and rented a studio for 24 hours to record it with Grey. He was very happy with the result.[3]

He said in an interview about making the song, "The vocals were 100% Paris on 'Good Life', I just gave her some direction. I said, 'Look, I don't want it to sound like 'Big Fun' but I want it to be in the same family, I want to follow up with a feel that's similar.'"[3] The original version of the track was almost like a radio version, and Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Steve "Silk" Hurley made remixes for the single. It peaked at number four in the UK in January 1989, and was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry for sales exceeding 200,000 copies.[1] It's their highest-charting single to date and became huge at rave parties and acid house clubs.

In 1999, it was re-recorded and remixed by producer Tommy Onyx and a Spanish language version was also released. It hit number 10 on the UK Singles Chart and was released by [PIAS] Recordings (whereas the original version was issued by Virgin/AVL's 10 Records label).[4] A new music video was also made to accompany it.

Chart performance

"Good Life" was very successful globally, peaking at number-one in Finland and on both the Canadian RPM Dance/Urban chart and the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. In Europe, it reached number two in West Germany, being held off the top spot by Robin Beck's "First Time". It entered the top 10 also in Belgium (7), Ireland (6), the Netherlands (4), Norway (10), Sweden (9), Switzerland (5), and the United Kingdom. In the UK, it peaked at number four in its fifth week at the UK Singles Chart, on January 1, 1989.[5] It spent two weeks at that position.

"Good Life" was a top-20 hit in Austria (12) and a top 30 hit in Italy (22). In Oceania, it reached number eight in New Zealand and number 52 in Australia. On the US Billboard Hot 100, it peaked at number 73.

Critical reception

Upon the release, J.D. Considine from The Baltimore Sun felt that songs like "Good Life" "boast more than enough pop appeal for the average listener."[6] Bill Coleman from Billboard wrote, "Detroit's own Inner City has served up yet another stylized, hook-filled club record with "Good Life" (Virgin). Producer/chief songwriter/member Kevin Saunderson is becoming the man of the hour—with good reason. Maintaining a feel similar to the act's previous No. 1 smash, "Big Fun", this new offering manages to blend familiar textures with exciting and refreshing melodies and hooks. Positive lyric treatment and a sensitive delivery by talented, 22-year-old Paris Grey intensify the track by complementing the potent energy the instrumentation creates."[7] Robert Hilburn from Los Angeles Times said, "The emphasis in this hyperactive dance-floor is on inviting sound textures, with all sorts of turntable high jinks adding to the dizzy exuberance."[8] Another Los Angels Times editor, Chris Willman, stated, "No record this year will have a better groove (or mixture of grooves, really) than this one from Inner City". He remarked that the lyrics "yearn plaintively for something better".[9]

Pan-European magazine Music & Media said, "If you thought "|Big Fun" was good, then check this out. Same basic formula but more melody. Funky and smouldering."[10] Upon the 1998 remix, Music Week wrote, "Guaranteed to cut through the winter cold, this uplifting update of the 1988 house classic adds acoustic guitar flourishes, warm synth washes and Spanish vocals to the original."[11] Alf Billingham from The Observer deemed it "another unequivocal slab of techno hi-tech".[12] Matthew Cole from the Record Mirror Dance Update named it Inner City's "finest moment".[13] Barry Walters for The San Francisco Examiner concluded that as evident in club hits like "Good Life", "Grey has a voice to be reckoned with. Exuberant, exultant and yet relaxed, it can lovingly rap itself around notes and emotions other singers strain to reach. And it won't let go."[14] Alex Kadis from Smash Hits praised it as a "smashing dance single", stating that "singing girlie person, Paris Grey, has the perfect voice for house-type records."[15]

Music video

The music video for "Good Life", which sees Kevin Saunderson and Paris Grey prancing around in London, was directed by Neil Thompson.[16] Several famous landmarks can be seen in the video, like Trafalgar Square, St Paul's Cathedral and Piccadilly Circus. Bystanders on the street were stopped and asked to film them. At one point they saw a Rolls-Royce parked on the kerb with a uniformed chauffeur standing by it. The director asked the driver if they could use the car for a minute. The chauffeur drove Grey down the street and then parked it back exactly where it had been, all before the owner returned.[17] "Good Life" was later made available on YouTube in October 2012, and by January 2024, the video had generated more than 9.5 million views.[18]

Impact and legacy

Alex Henderson from AllMusic complimented the song as a "house gem".[19] Another AllMusic editor, John Bush, praised it as a "uplifting" gem from the "uncommonly moody Detroit club scene of the '80s."[20] American DJ, record producer, remixer and songwriter Armand van Helden picked "Good Life" as one of his "classic cuts" in 1995, adding, "One of my first vocal house records, before that I was into the Todd Terry, Royal House stuff. When Inner City came out with "Good Life" it struck me – it's a happy song but very powerful. It moves the dancefloor but it's sassy, it wasn't weak. It had house and techno elements years ahead of its time."[21] Mixmag ranked the song number 20 in its "100 Greatest Dance Singles Of All Time" list in 1996, adding, "As the Summer of Love drew to a close, a tune emerged which distilled the spirit of club hedonism, pressed it onto vinyl and slapped it on the decks of every discerning DJ. "Let me take you to a place I know you wanna go", cooed Paris Grey over a chunky effortlessly uplifting backdrop, "it's the good life". And thousands of kids turned on to this bizarre new way of spending your Saturday night knew exactly what she meant. Remove it from its cultural context, play it eight years after it first came out and you're still left with a beautiful, remarkable house record."

Slant Magazine ranked it 55th in its "100 Greatest Dance Songs" list in 2006, writing, "1988's "Good Life" clanked like techno, pumped like house and featured disco diva vocals from his partner in Inner City, Paris Grey. "Let me take you to a place you know you wanna go/It's a good life", she belts, creating the clearest picture of dance floor halcyon since Chic sang about 54 and its roller skates, roller skates."[22] In Time Outs 2015 list of "The 20 Best House Tracks Ever", "Good Life" was included at #11, adding, "One of Detroit techno don Kevin Saunderson's housier, poppier moments - under his Inner City project with singer Paris Grey - also became his most well-known. With its unashamedly upbeat vocals and colourful '80s synths all over the place, 'Good Life' showed that dance music wasn't all about heads-down raving in a dark basement club - it could also be (whisper it) happy, for no damn reason at all."[23] In an 2017 retrospective review, Pop Rescue stated that the song is "absolutely flawless in production, strength of vocals and beats", noting that "those up-beat lyrics, over a catchy synth and bassline, mixed with Paris Grey's fantastically dreamy vocals really does make this track feel like a slice of sunshine in the winter".[24] Mixmag included it in their ranking of "The Best 20 House Classics From Before 1990" in October 2017.[25]

Accolades

YearPublisherCountryAccoladeRank
1996MixmagUnited Kingdom"The 100 Best Dance Singles of All Time"http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/mixmag.html#singles20
2003BlenderUnited States"The 1001 Greatest Songs to Download Right Now!"
2006Slant MagazineUnited States"100 Greatest Dance Songs"55
2008NeonGermany"Die 222 besten Songs aller Zeiten"
2009The GuardianUnited Kingdom"1000 Songs Everyone Must Hear"
2015PitchforkUnited States"The 200 Best Songs of the 1980s"165
2015Robert DimeryUnited States"1,001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die, and 10,001 You Must Download (2015 Update)"
2015Time OutUnited Kingdom"The 20 Best House Tracks Ever"11
2017MixmagUnited Kingdom"The Best 20 House Classics from Before 1990"
2020Slant MagazineUnited States"The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time"[26] 92
2020TomorrowlandBelgium"Ibiza Top 500"[27] 68
2022Rolling StoneUnited States"200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time"[28] 44
2022Time OutUnited Kingdom"20 Best House Tracks Ever"[29] 11
(*) indicates the list is unordered.

Track listings

  1. "Good Life" (Master Reese Edit) — 3:59
  2. "Good Life" (Instrumental) — 5:12
  3. "Good Life" (Original 12" Mix) - 7:13
  1. "Good Life" (Magic Juan's Mix) — 8:18
  2. "Good Life" (Mayday Club Mix) — 6:12
  3. "Big Fun" (L.A. Big Big Fun Remix) — 5:12
  1. "Good Life" (Mayday Mix) — 6:12
  2. "Good Life" (Steve "Silk" Hurley Mix) — 7:11
  3. "Good Life" (Radio Mix) — 3:59
  4. "Good Life" (Magic Juan Mix) — 8:28
  5. "Good Life" (Mike "Hitman" Wilson Mix) — 7:21
  6. "Big Fun" (Les Adams Remix) — 6:47
  1. "Good Life" (Master Reese Edit 7") — 4:05
  2. "Good Life" (Magic Juan's Mix 12") — 8:29
  3. "Big Fun" (L.A. Big Big Fun Remix) — 5:15

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1988–1989)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[30] 52
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[31] 12
Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[32] 1
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[33] 4
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[34] [35] 1
France (IFOP)[36] 77
Ireland (IRMA)[37] 6
Italy (Musica e dischi)[38] 22
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[39] 6
New Zealand (RIANZ)[40] 8
Norway (VG-lista)10
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)9
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[41] 5
UK Singles (OCC)[42] 4
US Billboard Hot 100[43] 73
US Hot Dance Club Play (Billboard)[44] 1
West Germany (Media Control Charts)[45] 2

1998 Tommy Onyx version

Chart (1998–1999)Peak
position
Belgium Dance (Ultratop)[47] 20
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[48] 41
Netherlands (Single Top 100)73
New Zealand (RIANZ)48
Scotland (OCC)[49] 10
UK Singles (OCC)10

Year-end charts

Sampling

In popular culture

Notes and References

  1. Web site: British Phonographic Industry > Certified Awards > Search results for Inner City. British Phonographic Industry. 2016-01-15.
  2. Larry . Flick . Dance Trax: An Inner City Man Enters The Reese Project . . 7 November 1992 . 30 . 8 October 2020 .
  3. Web site: GAME CHANGER: INNER CITY 'GOOD LIFE'. 4 February 2014 . djmag.com. 2017-02-26.
  4. Web site: INNER CITY | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company. Official Charts.
  5. Web site: Official Singles Chart Top 100 01 January 1989 - 07 January 1989. Official Charts Company. 15 September 2020.
  6. [J.D. Considine|Considine, J.D.]
  7. Bill. Coleman. Dance Trax: Kevin Saunderson Is Movin' On Up With Inner City. Billboard. 17 December 1988. 27. 14 June 2024.
  8. [Robert Hilburn|Hilburn, Robert]
  9. Willman, Chris. (7 May 1989). "Face the Video and Dance Nenah Cherry, Inner City get into the groove". Los Angeles Times. p. 66.
  10. Previews: Singles. Music & Media. 5. 51. 17 December 1988. 15. 25 September 2020.
  11. "Reviews - For Records Released On 1 February 1999". Music Week. (23 January 1999). p. 6.
  12. Billingham, Alf (30 April 1989). "Techno city soul". p. 7. The Observer.
  13. Matthew . Cole . Hot Vinyl Buzzing . Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert) . 17 April 1993 . 6 . 25 March 2021 .
  14. Walters, Barry (2 December 1989). "Prerecorded music, live excitement". p. A-17. The San Francisco Examiner.
  15. Alex. Kadis. Singles. Smash Hits. 5 April 1989. 59. 9 March 2023.
  16. Web site: Inner City: Good Life (Music Video). IMDb. 14 June 2024.
  17. News: How we made Good Life: Paris Grey and Kevin Saunderson on Inner City's house classic. The Guardian. 2019-08-06. 2020-03-05.
  18. Web site: Inner City - Good Life (Official Video). YouTube. 3 February 2023.
  19. Web site: Alex . Henderson . Inner City – Paradise . . 6 November 2020 .
  20. Web site: John . Bush . Inner City – Good Life: The Best of Inner City . . 6 November 2020 .
  21. Jock On His Box . Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert) . 6 May 1995 . 5 . 9 May 2021 .
  22. 100 Greatest Dance Songs . . 30 January 2006 . 26 January 2017.
  23. Web site: 20 best house tracks ever. Time Out. 2017-03-03.
  24. Web site: Review: "Paradise" by Inner City (vinyl, 1989) . Pop Rescue . 28 February 2017 . 4 December 2020.
  25. Web site: The Best 20 House Classics From Before 1990. Mixmag. 2019-09-16.
  26. Web site: The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time. Slant Magazine. 2020-06-15. 2020-07-27.
  27. Web site: 2020. Tomorrowland Ibiza Top 500 (2020). Spotify. 2022-04-26.
  28. Jon. Dolan. Julyssa. Lopez. Michaelangelo. Matos. Claire. Shaffer. 200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time. Rolling Stone. 2022-07-22. 2022-10-30.
  29. News: 20 Best House Tracks Ever. Time Out. 2022-01-17. 2022-02-13.
  30. Australian (ARIA) peak provided by ARIA through Web site: response to chart inquiry, received 2014-01-17. . . 2016-01-15 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141129020822/http://i.imgur.com/j7baC6b.png . 2014-11-29 .
  31. "Good Life", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved April 10, 2008)
  32. Top 25 Dance Singles of '88 . . 4 March 1989. 14 July 2019.
  33. Eurochart Hot 100. Music & Media. 6. 7. 18 February 1989. 29. 25 September 2020.
  34. Book: Pennanen, Timo . 2006 . Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 . fi . 1st . Tammi . 978-951-1-21053-5 . Helsinki.
  35. Top 3 Singles in Europe. Music & Media. 6. 6. 12. 11 February 1989. 29 October 2019.
  36. Web site: InfoDisc : Accès direct à ces Artistes > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste . fr . PHP . infodisc.fr . 29 February 2024.
  37. Web site: The Irish Charts - All there is to know > Search results for Inner City. Fireball Media. 2016-01-15.
  38. Web site: Classifiche. Musica e Dischi. it. 2022-06-01. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Inner City".
  39. Web site: dutchcharts.nl > Discografie Inner City. nl. Hung Medien. 2016-01-15.
  40. Web site: charts.nz > Discography Inner City. Hung Medien. 2016-01-15.
  41. Web site: hitparade.ch > Discographie Inner City . de . Hung Medien . 2016-01-15 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150323044957/http://hitparade.ch/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Inner%2BCity . 2015-03-23 .
  42. Web site: Official Charts > Inner City. Official Charts Company. 2016-01-15.
  43. Billboard > Artists / Inner City > Chart History > The Hot 100. Billboard. 2016-01-15.
  44. Billboard > Artists / Inner City > Chart History > Dance Club Songs. Billboard. 2016-01-15.
  45. Web site: Offizielle Deutsche Charts > Inner City (singles). de. GfK Entertainment. 2016-01-15.
  46. RM Club Chart Number Ones Of 93. Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental insert). 1993-12-25. 3. 2023-05-08.
  47. Web site: Ultratop Dance 27/02/1998. ultratop.be. 2018-05-29.
  48. Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. Music & Media. 16. 7. 1999-02-13. 10. 2018-06-26.
  49. Web site: Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100. Official Charts Company. 2018-06-08.
  50. Top 25 Dance Singles of '89 . RPM . 23 December 1989. 10.
  51. The RM Club Chart 93. Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental insert). 25 December 1993. 4. 3 February 2023.
  52. Web site: Lemme Take You by Ferry Corsten - Samples, Covers and Remixes WhoSampled. Whosampled . 2021-08-27.
  53. Smack is Back. New York Undercover. New York Undercover. Steven Phillip Smith (writer); Jesús Salvador Treviño (director). FOX. 1996-11-07. 3. 7.
  54. Web site: The Finkelsteins - Good Life (Official Music Video) . www.youtube.com . 28 October 2013.