Written by Jay Graydon, Glen Ballard & Clif Magness

“Insincere” is a beautiful power ballad. The song was co-written by David Foster’s old pal, Jay Graydon, with Glen Ballard (Alan Morrisette, Wilson Philips) and Clif Magness (Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson) for their collaborative effort, Planet 3. Planet 3’s album, A Heart From The Big Machine, was released in 1990. It was a solid AOR record with stellar songwriting and playing by the three, award-winning music makers.

The album featured Magness on tenor lead vocals, Graydon’s trademark guitars and Ballard on keyboards. Planet 3 disbanded soon after and the three top producers/songwriters went back to their usual studio work. Around 1997, “Insincere” was rescued by David Foster as he worked on songs for Japanese singer/actress Yukiko Ito’s (aka Yukiko Haneda) third cd eventually titled Good Times Bad Times.

Foster’s version of “Insincere” was rarefied and smooth compared to Planet 3’s rocking original. The Hitman’s keyboards gave the song a nocturne mood and perfectly supported Ito’s convincing performance. Here, and throughout the whole record, the singer gave solid proof of her talent and she sang in English with flattering results. The evocative mood of the track was enhanced by the late Jeremy Lubbock’s (1931-2021) pristine string arrangement.

Foster produced another ballad for Good Times Bad Times. “Could’ve Fooled Me” was co-written by Foster and Dennis Lambert. An article on “Could’ve Fooled Me” can be found in the archives. The album also featured good work by several other veteran producers including Humberto Gatica, Paul Anka, Phil Ramone (1934-2013) and Brooks Arthur (1936-2022).

Listen

• Lead Vocals: Yukiko Ito
• Keyboards: David Foster
• Saxophone: David Boruff

• Strings Arranged by Jeremy Lubbock
• Arranged by David Foster & Jeremy Lubbock
• Produced by David Foster

Lyrics

I’m not an angel, just a girl
But please understand
I’m not the kind who’d never lie
Most everything
You’ve heard is true
So boy now I come to you
A girl who has nothing left to hide

And what I’m saying to you now
Is how I really feel
And no matter what
You think of me
boy I’ll never be

Insincere
Wanting you is all I know
Heart and Soul
I can’t hold it back
So believe me when I say
That I’ll be there
No I won’t be insincere

Out on the Borderline of love
Some hesitate
But I’m gonna find my way across, ooh yeah
I never try to play it safe
It’s just the way I am
To want things
No matter what the cost

So if there’s any doubt about me
Baby make it clear
‘Cause I need you so completely
That I can’t be

Insincere
Wanting you is all I know
Heart and Soul
I can’t hold it back
So believe me when I say
That I’ll be there
No I won’t be insincere

‘Cause the strenght of this emotion
Is a river running free
And once my heart has spoken
Now you can believe in me

Insincere
Wanting you is all I know
Heart and Soul
I can’t hold it back
So believe me when I say
That I’ll be there
No I won’t be insincere

written by Bryan Adams & Jim Vallance

Recorded in 1985, Neil Diamond’s Headed For The Future saw the adult pop superstar try to update his sound with a string of collaborations with the cream of the crop of pop writers and producers in those years. The recording sessions were supervised by heavyweights including Burt Bacharach, David Foster, Maurice White and Stevie Wonder.

Among the writers were Diamond with the aforementioned top music-makers plus noted tunesmiths including Carole Bayer Sager, Bryan Adams, Greg Phillinganes, Steve Kipner and Bobby Caldwell. The more traditional pop stuff by Bacharach and Foster followed adult contemporary lines of Diamond’s previous efforts while White and Wonder tried a different, r&b-influenced approach with mixed results. Foster produced two tracks; “The Man You Need” and “It Should Have Been Me.” A review of “The Man You Need,” co-written by Foster with the veteran singer, can be found in the archives.

This week, the attention goes to “It Should Have Been Me.” This charming power ballad was co-written by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance. The song sports the classic, ear-candy Foster arrangement that owned the pop charts in the eighties. The tune’s trademark progression was based on the Hitman’s various keyboards and some tasteful rock guitars to embellish the atmosphere. This melodic gem offers a stirring refrain where Diamond’s familiar voice was joined by the pristine vocal harmonies of Bill Champlin and Jason Scheff of Chicago fame. Diamond handles the bittersweet lyrics with his usual bravura and the result was a track of pure bliss for his fans and adult contemporary music lovers. Adams wrote the song, at Foster’s request, for Spanish international superstar Julio Iglesias, but the tune was eventually resurrected on Diamond’s album though neither “The Man You Need” nor “It Should Have Been Me” were picked as singles. The two songs had chart potential that would have made them hits. The powers-that-be went with the title-track that barely reached the Top Ten on the Adult Contemporary chart and hit the wall at #53 on Billboard’s Hot 100.  Headed For The Future reached #20 on Billboard’s Top 200 in 1986 and was certified gold. The following year, “It Should Have Been Me” was covered by Carly Simon under Adams ’ production for her Coming Around Again album. This rendition, although helmed by one of the song’s writers, lacked a bit of the lustrous grandeur that Foster always guaranteed on his productions.

Listen

[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/It-should-have-been-me-Neil-Diamond.mp3|titles=It Should Have Been Me|artists=Neil Diamond]

Lead Vocals: Neil Diamond
Drums Overdubs: Tris Imboden
Bass: Jason Scheff
Keyboards: David Foster
Guitar: Dann Huff & Michael Landau
Programming: David Boruff
Backing Vocals: Bill Champlin & Jason Scheff

Produced & Arranged by David Foster

Lyrics

I think of you now and then
Cause I remember when
Love was new and you were mine
My love

So why should we pretend
We were lovers but now we’re friends
Don’t want to say good-bye to you again
My love

It should have been me
That’s holding you instead of someone else
I needed you but never let it show
It should have been me
That’s loving you
Through all the lonely nights
I knew that I should have never let you go
My love

What we once had is gone
No tears, no right, no wrong
We could never be the same again
My love

The more we see the less we know
You still believe our love could grow
Don’t want to say good-bye to you again
My love

It should have been me
That’s holding you instead of someone else
I needed you but never let it show
It should have been me
That’s loving you
Through all the lonely nights
I knew that I should have never let you go
My love

How will I survive
With another broken heart
On my own again
Just a lonely man
Looking for a place to start

It should have been me
That’s holding you instead of someone else
I needed you but never let it show
It should have been me
That’s loving you
Through all the lonely nights
I knew that I should have never let you go
My love

My love

written by David Foster

After countless hits composed and produced for other people, the summer of 1985 saw the release of David Foster’s classic instrumental, “Love Theme From St. Elmo’s Fire.” This gorgeous tune finally brought the Canadian super-producer some well-deserved success as a solo artist. “Love Theme From St. Elmo’s Fire” skyrocketed to the top 15 of Billboard’s Hot 100 and became a #3 Adult Contemporary hit.

Foster wrote this evergreen while in Vancouver . The song’s evocative atmosphere reflected a feeling of longing and nostalgia. Recently, our favorite Hitman told us a little about how this tune came about:

“I wrote a first instrumental for St. Elmo’s Fire that came to me while crossing the bridge in Vancouver . I sent it to Joel Schumacher, the director, and he didn’t like it, so that same night Bryan Adams came over and we used that melody for what evolved into ‘Tears Are Not Enough.’ The next day, Schumacher called me and said ‘I was wrong, so wrong. I love it, I love it!!!’ I said ‘I’m sorry, but it’s too late, it already got used.’ Right after I had to scramble so, for inspiration, I used the director’s original words, ‘I want this piece to sound like autumn, college, east coast, falling leaves, cool air, youth etc.’ and under a huge amount of pressure I came up with ‘Love Theme’ pretty fast.”

“Love Theme From St. Elmo’s Fire” captures catchy and refined while showing a melodic strength that is nothing short of sublime. Foster performed all the keyboard parts with his magnificent piano playing center-stage while Dave Boruff wowed us with his warm saxophone. They delivered a magnificent masterpiece that echoes the sounds of Sixties legends Burt Bacharach or Henry Mancini timeless instrumentals.

Foster collected two Grammy nominations for “Love Theme From St. Elmo’s Fire” as “Best Instrumental Composition” and “Best Pop Instrumental Performance.” The superior value of the composition, its great arrangement and the pristine production by Foster and Humberto Gatica deserved a trophy or two. “Love Theme From St. Elmo’s Fire” is a case in point of Foster’s superior knack for writing evocative and moving instrumentals that morph into gems and a shining example of his incredible gift of song.

Listen

[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/love_theme_from_st_elmo_s_fire.mp3|titles=Love Theme From St. Elmo’s Fire|artists=David Foster]

Acoustic Piano & Keyboards: David Foster
Saxophone: David Boruff

Arranged by David Foster
Produced by David Foster & Humberto Gatica

Lyrics

No Lyrics