from TWENTY 1
written by Diane Warren
Let’s go back to the late Eighties. After a very successful stint with David Foster on their 16, 17 and 18 albums, Chicago opted for a more rock-infused sound for Chicago 19. They chose to collaborate with AOR producers Ron Nevison and Chas Sanford. Chicago 19 kept the hit series going for the veteran rock band with top ten hits like “I Don’t Wanna Live Without Your Love,” “You’re Not Alone” and their third #1 ever, Diane Warren’s “Look Away.” All those hits were sung by Bill Champlin and produced by Nevison who sports an illustrious track-record with names including Kiss, Starship, Heart, Bad English and Damn Yankees. The obvious subsequent move was to confirm Nevison for Chicago Twenty-1.
Released in 1991, Chicago Twenty-1 was produced by Nevison except “Explain It To My Heart” produced by Humberto Gatica. Gatica also handled the final mixes of the whole album, a thing that Nevison didn’t quite appreciate. Chicago Twenty-1, though carefully crafted and packed with potential hit material, didn’t match the success of its predecessor. It does consist of some very good, up-tempo album tracks including “God Save The Queen” and “If It Were You.” It also has a couple of strong power ballads from the Warren gold and platinum songbook – “Chasin’ The Wind” and the aforementioned “Explain It To My Heart.” The only legitimate hit single off the album was “Chasin’ The Wind,” making the Top 40 at #39 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and reaching #13 on the Adult Contemporary chart. “You Come To My Senses” was another ballad that became an Adult Contemporary entry at #11.
In our opinion, “Explain It To My Heart” was the best song of the bunch. It was a polished production with fantastic vocal performances and harmonies by Jason Scheff and Champlin plus gorgeous piano playing by special guest David Foster. Chicago ‘s former producer brought the song more depth and artistic value with his brilliant instrumental performance. Chicago ‘s musicianship was impressive on this beautiful ballad with the help of Gatica’s expert ear and Warren ‘s catchy melody and refrain. This song was a music piece that wouldn’t have been out of place on the Foster-produced Chicago 17 or 18.
Check it out!
Listen
[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/explain_it_to_my_heart.mp3|titles=Explain It To Heart|artists=Jason Scheff & Bill Champlin]
Lead & Backing Vocals: Jason Scheff & Bill Champlin
Acoustic Piano: David Foster
Drums: John Keane
Bass: Jason Scheff
Guitars: Michael Landau
Keyboards: Bill Champlin & Robert Lamm
Trumpet: Lee Loughnane
Trombone: James Pankow
Woodwinds: Walter Parazaider
Produced by Humberto Gatica
Lyrics
I understand there’s no future for us here
Guess, I fooled myself into thinkin’ there was
Now you’ve made it clear
It will never be right, guess we knew it all along
Now we’ve got to say goodbye
And I’ve got to be strong
So tell me one more time, how it’s better for the both of us
Tell me one more time, how we’ll hurt each other if we stay
Tell me one more time, my darlin’ there’s just one more thing
Before you walk away
Explain it to my heart, it’s better that we’re over now
Tell me one more time, this is the way it’s suppose to be
Tell me that I’m better off without you, how it’s better to forget about you
Darlin’ I understand, now won’t you please explain it to my heart?
Now if I try, I can see the reasons why
Why we can’t stay together
And I might convince my mind
But it’s breakin’ my heart to know I’ve got to let you go
To find that I must leave behind
The only love I’ve known
Well, I can tell myself that I never really needed you
I can tell myself that it’s better just to say goodbye
I can tell myself a thousand lies but tell me now
Tell me how I do
Explain it to my heart, it’s better that we’re over now
Tell me one more time, this is the way it’s suppose to be
Tell me that I’m better off without you, how it’s better to forget about you
Darlin’, I understand, now won’t you please explain it to my heart?
Say that I’ll be better if we don’t stay together
Say that I’ll be better off free but don’t say it to me
Explain it to my heart, tell me that I’m better off without you
How it’s better to forget about you, darlin’, I understand
Now, won’t you please explain it to my heart?
It’s better that we’re over now, tell me one more time
This is the way it’s suppose to be, tell me that I’m better off without you
How it’s better to forget about you, darlin’, I understand
Now, won’t you please explain it to my heart?