A Brief Essay by Pablo Maurer.
"Girl, I keep thinkin' of how I feel
When I'm in your arms gives me a chill.
Just knowin' that you want me by your side
Mellows my mind and enhances my pride. "
Wow...Just....Wow. For the first time in history, true beauty is captured in literary form. No poet, no author or artist could ever paint a picture quite as vivid as Vanilla Ice, or as I like to call him, Vanilla. I needn't mention that his 1991 album, "To the Extreme," is jam packed with absolute classics. But this is truly the standout track.
I was first introduced to this song by longtime friend and fellow early 90's music connesieur Sam Smith. During an extended conversation, where we were discussing the merits of N2Deep's, "Back to the Motel," we naturally progressed towards talking about Ice. Sam peaked my interest in this song when he claimed that there was a line in the song that refered to 'having sex in an inntertube.' Actually, Sam's claim was that the chorus went:
"I love you,
Because I love you.
I love you,
Havin Sex in an Innertube."
I should've known that lyrics like that were just too good to be true. I will give some merit to Samuel's comments, as Ice indeed does refer to such an act later on in the album.
I feel that this songs greatness is caused by only three things. Let's examine.
Thing #1: The drum fill
It makes its debut @ 57 seconds into the song. And let me tell you, it makes its presence felt. I could play you the fill at full speed, but I feel as though it would lose some effect. So I've slowed it down to 1/10th of its original speed. Take a listen. It comes after the 2nd "i love you."
The Fill, Homey.
I mean christ. The fill just takes control.
Thing #2: The Narration
This is definetly the key part of the song. Ice opens up. He admits wrongdoing. He shows his soft side. This is some seriously intense shit. Be prepared. I know for a fact that Sam's favorite line in the narration is "I just get all choked up inside, and it just doesn't want to come out!"
The Narration, Homey.
Thing #3: Don Diego's fine Hornwork.
It's widely known that Vanilla Ice's sax player, Don Diego, is a longtime hero of mine. With such masterful work on this song, and his solo effort which included the standout smash hit "It Never Rains in Southern California," he is surely worthy of enshrinement into the "Unquestionable Hall of Fame," should such an edifice arise at some point on WOB.
Download the whole song, Sucka.