"Guaranteed" is a song by English
jazz-funk
Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat ( groove), electrified sounds, and an early prevalence of analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the cre ...
band
Level 42
Level 42 is an English jazz-funk band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s.
Their highest-charting single in the UK was " Lessons in Love", which reached number three on the ...
. It was released in August 1991 by
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...
on the
album of the same name (1991). It was the group's first single of the 1990s, and came two years after the group's previous single, "
Take Care of Yourself".
Background
The song was written by Mark King, Mike Lindup, Gary Husband, and Wally Badarou, producer and secondary composer and musician of the group. The current
guitarist
A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...
was
Allan Holdsworth
Allan Holdsworth (6 August 1946 – 15 April 2017) was a British jazz fusion and progressive rock guitarist and composer.
Holdsworth was known for his esoteric and idiosyncratic usage of advanced music theory concepts, especially with respe ...
. The vocals were composed by Mark King, on verses, and a duet with Mike Lindup
falsetto
''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.
It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentou ...
on chorus. The song follows the same structure of the song "Two Hearts Collide", released in 1988 on the album ''
Staring at the Sun''.
Music video
This song has two different music videos, by the same director: "The Mill". All versions feature the song performances in two different places. The first version outside in the mountains, and the second in a white room. The second version has some parts of the first. The two versions feature
Jakko Jakszyk
Michael "Jakko" Jakszyk (born Michael Lee Curran, 8 June 1958) is an English musician, record producer, and actor. He has released several solo albums as a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist and has been the lead singer for King Crims ...
on guitars. Guitarist Alan Holdsworth left the group after the album was completed.
Reception
It was the most successful track from the ''Guaranteed'' album. It reached the top 20 in the UK. It also enjoyed chart success in Europe.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{Authority control
1991 singles
1991 songs
Level 42 songs
Songs written by Mark King (musician)
Songs written by Mike Lindup
Songs written by Wally Badarou
Songs written by Gary Husband
RCA Records singles