FEATURE:
Too Good to Be Forgotten: Songs That Are More Than a Guilty Pleasure
Savage Garden - Truly Madly Deeply
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WHILST I vowed to stay away from the ‘90s…
when it comes to songs I include in this feature, I am drawn back to the decade. I don’t think any song is a guilty pleasure, though many have labelled the Australian duo, Savage Garden, as a guilty pleasure group. Consisting of Darren Hayes on vocals and Daniel Jones on instruments, they split in 2001. I think that Savage Garden’s eponymous debut is a great album with some really strong songs. Many feel that their biggest hit, Truly Madly Deeply, is slushy and a guilty pleasure. Maybe it is a bit syrupy, though I think that it has a tenderness and appeal that might have been missed by some in 1997. Produced by Charles Fisher and Mike Pela (there was an original Australian Version; there is also an International Version) and written by Hayes and Jones, I really like Truly Madly Deeply. It sits on the debut album alongside other big songs like To the Moon and Back and I Want You. There was a lot of great music released in 1997. I think Savage Garden were a group/dup who split people and maybe appealed more to young women/a narrow fanbase. In terms of background information and details regarding Truly Madly Deeply, this Wikipedia article explains more:
“Truly Madly Deeply" is a song by Australian pop duo Savage Garden, released as the third single from their self-titled debut album in March 1997 by Columbia Records, Roadshow Music and Sony Records. It won the 1997 ARIA Music Award for Single of the Year and Highest Selling Single and was nominated for Song of the Year. Written by bandmates Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones, the song is a reworking of a song called "Magical Kisses" that the pair wrote together during the recording of their debut album.
The song reached number one in Australia, Canada, and the United States. Two music videos were filmed for the track: one for its original Australian release and another for the international market shot in Paris. In November 2019, the song was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's selection of recordings. The songs added to the list provide a snapshot of Australian life and have "cultural, historical and aesthetic significance and relevance".
Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that "this is the single that should help affirm that Savage Garden is more than a one-hit wonder." He described the song as a "percussive ballad" and complimented it for revealing "vocal skills and charisma not previously displayed". He noted further that "with its romantic lyrics and plush, guitar-etched instrumentation, this song "truly madly deeply" deserves as much airplay as top 40 programmers can heap upon it." Insider described it as "a truly sweet song, written out of homesickness, this love ballad has total staying power and is still played over 20 years later." Music & Media stated that "this Australian duo possess a fine knack for writing excellent mainstream pop with top flight radio appeal." They added that "this track, taken from their eponymous debut album, is no exception—as proven by its recent two-week stay at the top of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart." In 2018, Stacker placed the song at number 21 in their list of "Best pop songs of the last 25 years", noting it as "a quintessential '90s pop song". In 2019, they ranked it at number 9 in their list of "Best 90s pop songs".
It is a shame that Savage Garden had a very brief run. Their second and final album, Affirmation, was released in 1999. It is a strong album but did not receive the same sort of reviews as Savage Garden. Maybe a song like Truly Madly Deeply is a very 1990s song and one wouldn’t really hear anything like it today. That said, it is a track that has received some stick; many feel it is a bit too sickly and it is a guilty pleasure. I am going to wrap up in a bit. Before I come to the end, I want to bring in an article from Smooth Radio. They provide us with a bit more information regarding the recording of the song and the different videos shot for Truly Madly Deeply:
“Jones were sent to Sydney for eight months to record songs for a debut album.
For Hayes, this was the first time in his life that he was away from his family and his native Brisbane.
This longing for his family and his then-wife, inspired him to write a song that would express his feelings.
The chorus of the song didn't occur until the very last moment before recording. Jones had doubts over the chorus they had written, as he felt it did not fit with the rest of the song or Savage Garden's other tracks.
The night before, Hayes had dinner at the Bayswater Brasserie on Bayswater Road, Kings Cross. Here, he came up with the new chorus of "I want to stand with you on a mountain, I want to bathe with you in the sea, I want to lay like this forever until the sky falls down on me."
The next day, they performed the new chorus for producer Charles Fisher, and recorded it as a trial run. Fisher loved it, and it was later released as a single.
The song actually started life as a song called 'Magical Kisses', that the pair wrote together long before they began recording their debut album.
Two music videos were made for the song.
The original Australian video, which sees Hayes with long hair, features the duo in a white room with other people. Hayes appears on a red sofa singing the song while Daniel performs on the piano.
However, the video used for Europe sees Hayes with short hair, and was filmed in Paris.
This video was directed by Adolfo Doring, and depicts the story of two lovers, a young man and a woman, who have been separated. The woman arrives in Paris in search of her lover, who is also waiting for her.
He is seen in various places within the Montmartre area, including the Soleil de la Butte restaurant. Hayes is also seen walking around Paris, in locations such as the Place de la Concorde and the Jardin des Tuileries”.
Some people have avoided Savage Garden and side-lined them. I would urge people to give them another taste and spin Truly Madly Deeply. Despite some cliché imagery (“I wanna stand with you on a mountain/I wanna bathe with you in the sea”), the lyrics are really strong and poetic. The chorus is powerful and it will draw you in soon enough! I was not a big fan of the song in 1997. In the years since, I have got behind it and embraced it. As a teen when it came out, perhaps I did not see it as cool. Having dispensed with that kind of attitude, I have changed my tune. Even though not everyone will love the song and appreciate it, I think it is unfair to label Savage Garden’s Truly Madly Deeply…
AS a guilty pleasure.