Like a Motorway

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"Like a Motorway"
Single by Saint Etienne
from the album Tiger Bay
B-side
  • "Sushi Rider"
  • "You Know I'll Miss You When You're Gone"
Released16 May 1994 (1994-05-16)[1]
Genre
Length3:38
LabelHeavenly (HVN 40)
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Saint Etienne
Saint Etienne singles chronology
"Pale Movie"
(1994) 		"Like a Motorway"
(1994) 		"Hug My Soul"
(1994)
Music video
"Like a Motorway" on YouTube

"Like a Motorway" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne. It appears on their third album, Tiger Bay (1994) and was released as a single by Heavenly Records in May 1994,[2] reaching number 47 on the UK Singles Chart and number 13 on the UK Dance Singles Chart. The US release of Tiger Bay also features an "alternate version" with more complex percussion and electric guitar stings. It also appears on the original soundtrack for the 1994 film Speed, although the single is never heard in the actual film itself.[3]

The song combines the melody from the nineteenth century folk song "Silver Dagger" with a driving techno beat influenced by German groups Kraftwerk and Snap!.[citation needed] It describes a friend whose lover has mysteriously vanished.[4] The cover art for the single features an abandoned car overgrown with foliage. The accompanying music video consists of a long, slow zoom in Sarah Cracknell as she sings against a black background, intercut with occasional rapid shots of Pete Wiggs and Bob Stanley in a car.

Critical reception[edit]

Dave Thompson from AllMusic described the song as "mysteriously Kraftwerk-ian".[5] Another editor, Tim Sendra, named it "one of Saint Etienne's best songs".[6] Larry Flick from Billboard felt it "has a nice sing-along chorus. Sarah Cracknell uses her girlish, light voice well, and has grown into a polished front person..."[7] He also noted its "gauzy softness", adding, "DJs will dig the rhythm foundation with its rapid, Giorgio Moroder-esque pattern, though single is also the act's best bet to date for a top 40 breakthrough."[8] Simon Price from Melody Maker praised it as "divine", adding further, "When I hear that heartbreakingly perfect bassline, feel that sublime, liberating, walking-on-air release you only get from disco (and I mean disco, 1979, Sheila & B. Devotion's "Spacer", DiscoDiscoDiscoDisco), I want to forever renounce nasty alternative noise as a bad idea."[9]

Another Melody Maker editor, Holly Barringer, named "Like a Motorway" Single of the Week, admitting. "I'm a long-standing member of the Saint Etienne non-fanclub. [...] But I just resigned, because this sounds like early Yazoo or Erasure and has blown my contempt right out of the water."[10] Stuart Bailie and Ben Willmott from NME both complimented the track. Bailie declared it as "Marvellous dreamy stuff — a Europop tune that's a near relative of Desireless' "Voyage Voyage" with a tragic storyline straight off an old Shangri-Las love-'em-and-leave-'em weepie."[11] Willmott stated, "Whether you believe the Etiennes to be perfect pop purveyors or kitsch glam chancers, you can't deny their love of good music from every genre."[12] On the album release, the magazine's Jim Wirth called the track "teutonic".[13] Neil Spencer from The Observer viewed it as a "chart contender" and "disco slick".[14]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks written and composed by Stanley and Wiggs; except where indicated.

7": Heavenly / HVN 40 and MC: Heavenly / HVN40C
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Like a Motorway (Radio Edit)" 3:38
2."You Know I'll Miss You When You're Gone"Cracknell, Bund2:57
3."Sushi Rider"Cracknell, Bund2:57
12": Heavenly / HVN 40 12 and CD: Heavenly / HVN40CD
No.TitleLength
1."Like a Motorway (Radio Edit)" (mixed by Rick Smith from Underworld)3:38
2."Like a Motorway (Chekhov Warp Dub)" (mixed by Dust Brothers)9:18
3."Like a Motorway (The David Holmes Mix)"13:01
4."Like a Motorway (Skin Up, You're Already Dead)" (mixed by Autechre)8:47
12": Heavenly / HVN 40 12 P II (UK Promo)
No.TitleLength
1."Like a Motorway (Chekhov Warp Dub)" (mixed by Dust Brothers)9:18
2."Like a Motorway (Chekhov Warp Mix)" (mixed by Dust Brothers)9:03
CD: Warner Bros. / PRO-A-6962 (US Promo)
No.TitleLength
1."Like a Motorway (Alternate Version)" (mixed by Daniel Abraham)5:26
2."Like a Motorway (Alternate Version Edit)" (mixed by Daniel Abraham)3:06
3."Like a Motorway"5:43
4."Like a Motorway (Radio Edit)"3:38

Charts[edit]

Chart (1994) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC) 47
UK Dance (Music Week)[15] 13
UK Club Chart (Music Week)[16] 31

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Like A Motorway UK 1994 Heavenly". Saintetiennedisco.com. Retrieved 2023-03-29.
  2. ^ "Like A Motorway UK 1994 Heavenly Records". Saintetiennedisco.com. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Like a Motorway - Saint Etienne | Song Info". AllMusic.
  4. ^ Plagenhoef, Scott; Schreiber, Ryan, eds. (November 2008). The Pitchfork 500. Simon & Schuster. p. 128. ISBN 978-1-4165-6202-3.
  5. ^ Thompson, Dave. "Saint Etienne – Tiger Bay". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  6. ^ Sendra, Tim. "Saint Etienne – Like a Motorway". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  7. ^ Flick, Larry (14 May 1994). "Dance Trax: Jacqueline Won't Let Go; Denise Johnson On Rise" (PDF). Billboard. p. 38. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  8. ^ Flick, Larry (25 June 1994). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. p. 89. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  9. ^ Price, Simon (26 February 1994). "Albums". Melody Maker. p. 30. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  10. ^ Barringer, Holly (21 May 1994). "Singles". Melody Maker. p. 33. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  11. ^ Bailie, Stuart (14 May 1994). "Singles". NME. p. 20. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  12. ^ Willmott, Ben (7 May 1994). "Groove Check". NME. p. 15. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  13. ^ Wirth, Jim. "St Etienne – London Kentish Town Forum". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  14. ^ Spencer, Neil (27 February 1994). "Pop: Releases". The Observer.
  15. ^ "Dance Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 28 May 1994. p. 26. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  16. ^ "The RM Club Chart" (PDF). Music Week, in Record Mirror (Dance Update Supplemental Insert). 7 May 1994. p. 4. Retrieved 15 May 2023.


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