"I Know Where It's At" is a song by English-Canadian

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

All Saints, released in August 1997 as their debut single from their first album, '' All Saints'' (1997). The song debuted on the National Lottery Live 9 August 1997 and was first performed on '' Top of the Pops'' on 2 September same year. It became the group's first top-ten hit, peaking at number four on the UK Singles Chart. In the US, the single reached to number 36 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song additionally reached the top 20 in Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Israel and New Zealand.

Background

"I Know Where It's At" was written by Shaznay Lewis and

Karl Gordon Karl Clive Gordon, known by the stage name K-Gee, is a British DJ, producer, rapper and songwriter and former member of the Outlaw Posse. Gordon was brought up listening to reggae by his father and was inspired to become a DJ after listenin ...

, and produced by Gordon. Walter Becker and

Donald Fagen Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician best known as the co-founder, lead singer, co-songwriter, and keyboardist of the band Steely Dan, formed in the early 1970s with musical partner Walter Becker. In addition to his w ...

are credited as writers because the song samples elements from

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...

's "The Fez".

Critical reception

The song received positive reviews from music critics.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

from AllMusic picked it as one of the "standouts" from '' All Saints'', describing it as "party-ready" and "

-fueled". Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' wrote, "This all-female quartet has taken the UK by storm recently, prompting inevitable comparisons with the

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Vict ...

in the press. That doesn't really do them full justice—the song itself is actually very well written and the distinctive razorsharp vocal harmonies are the icing on the cake." A reviewer from '' Music Week'' gave "I Know Where It's At" five out of five and named it Single of the Week, adding, "The London-based four-piece girl group's label debut is virtually all strong chorus and instant rhythm. Could be a smart move, so watch this one with care." Paul Martin from '' The News Letter'' stated, "The groovy party theme is just the tonic for any winter blues. Nicole and Melanie take lead vocals and the brilliant harmonies of Natalie and Shaznay dress the song in a superb gloss." He concluded, "Undoubtedly the most impressive track on the collection." Rob Brunner from '' Entertainment Weekly'' felt that "their upbeat ditties", like "I Know Where It's At", "are their best, but even those tracks cook over a low-to-medium flame."

Music video

The accompanying music video for "I Know Where It's At" was directed by Alex Hemming. It was the first video All Saints ever released. It was to show the girls in an urban setting as the more streetwise variants of

s. The video was shot with very little colour, with the girls almost entirely in black and white.

Track listings

* UK CD1 # "I Know Where It's At" ( Cutfather and Jo's alternative mix – radio) # "I Know Where It's At" (original radio mix) # "I Know Where It's At" (Cutfather and Jo's alternative mix) # "I Know Where It's At" (original mix) * UK CD2 # "I Know Where It's At" ( K-Gee's Bounce mix) # "I Know Where It's At" ( Nu Birth Riddum dub) # "I Know Where It's At" (Colour System Inc. Vox) # "Alone" – 3:31 * UK cassette single # "I Know Where It's At" (Cutfather and Jo's alternative mix) # "I Know Where It's At" (original mix) * Australian CD single re-release # "I Know Where It's At" (original mix) # "I Know Where It's At" (original radio mix) # "I Know Where It's At" (Nu Birth Riddum dub) # " Never Ever" (Booker T's vocal mix) # "Alone"

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Official site
{{Authority control 1997 songs 1997 debut singles All Saints (group) songs London Records singles Song recordings produced by Cameron McVey Songs written by Donald Fagen Songs written by K-Gee Songs written by Shaznay Lewis Songs written by Walter Becker