"Relax" is a song by American singer-songwriter

Crystal Waters Crystal Waters (born November 19, 1961) is an American house music, house and dance music singer and songwriter, best known for her 1990s dance hits "Gypsy Woman (Crystal Waters song), Gypsy Woman", "100% Pure Love", and 2007's "Destination Cal ...

from her second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, '' Storyteller'' (1994). It was released in 1995 as the fourth and last single from the album and peaked at number one on the US ''

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'' Dance Club Play chart. In the UK, it reached number 37. A black-and-white

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was also produced to promote the single, directed by German director

Marcus Nispel Marcus Nispel (born 26 May 1963) is a German film director and Film producer, producer, best known for several high-profile American remakes such as ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003 film), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' (2003). He has also di ...

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

'' complimented "Relax" as a "breezy, pop-inflected houser", and a "notable single-ready moment" from the '' Storyteller'' album. He also called it "lively" and "

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

charged". M.R. Martinez from ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' felt tracks like "Relax" make the album "more than a dance record."

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a British music critic and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worke ...

for ''

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'' deemed it as "slightly formulaic and disappointing". Ross Jones from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' said that Waters "delivers another of her berserkly positive electro-scat anthems, this one imploring you to kick back even when you're "mad at the world"." Chuck Campbell from ''

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'' described it as a "thick disco song". A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' gave it three out of five, declaring it as "an uplifting and catchy track with those recognisable vocals that feels as though it might be equally at home on radio as in the clubs." Michael Wilson of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' felt songs like "Relax" "are pleasant enough but don't push Waters beyond where she has been before." Jonathan Bernstein from ''

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'' viewed it as a "potential successor" to Waters' signature singles.

Track listing and formats

* 12-inch single, US # "Relax" (Jazz-N-Groove club mix) – 10:13 # "Relax" (LP version) – 3:29 # "Relax" (Lorimer Vission mix) – 6:10 # "Relax" (Tony B!'s mix) – 7:09 * CD single, Europe # "Relax" (Lorimer Vission radio edit) – 3:09 # "Relax" (LP version) – 3:29 # "Relax" (Lorimer Vission mix) – 6:10 # "Relax" (

Tin Tin Out Tin Tin Out were an English electronic dance music duo, comprising Darren Stokes and Lindsay Edwards. They remixed songs for a variety of artists such as Duran Duran, Erasure, Pet Shop Boys, The Corrs and Des'ree, as well as collaborating ...

Crystalized mix) – 6:51 * CD maxi, Canada # "Relax" (LP version) – 3:29 # "Relax" (Lorimer Vission radio mix) – 3:09 # "Relax" (Jazz-N-Groove club mix) – 10:13 # "Relax" (Lorimer Vission mix) – 6:10 # "Relax" (Tony B's mix) – 7:09

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1995 singles 1995 songs Black-and-white music videos Crystal Waters songs Mercury Records singles Music videos directed by Marcus Nispel