"Looking Through Patient Eyes" is a song by American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

and R&B group

P.M. Dawn P.M. Dawn is an American hip-hop and R&B act formed in 1988 by the brothers Attrell Cordes (known by his stage name Prince Be, sometimes credited as Prince Be the Nocturnal) and Jarrett Cordes (known as Eternal or DJ Minutemix) in Jersey City ...

. It was released on March 1, 1993, by Gee Street, as the second single from their second studio album, '' The Bliss Album...? (Vibrations of Love and Anger and the Ponderance of Life and Existence)'' (1993). The song, written by P.M. Dawn's

Attrell Cordes Attrell Stephen Cordes Jr. (May 15, 1970 – June 17, 2016), also known by the stage name Prince Be, was an American rapper, musician, singer and record producer. Cordes was the lead vocalist of the hip-hop group P.M. Dawn, which he formed in 198 ...

, features backing vocals by

Cathy Dennis Catherine Roseanne Dennis (born 25 March 1969)Gregory, Andy (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa; , p. 133 is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. She was discovered as a teenager by music manager Simon F ...

and samples "

Father Figure A father figure is usually an older man, normally one with power, authority, or strength, with whom one can identify on a deeply psychology, psychological level and who generates emotions generally felt towards one's father. Despite the literal t ...

" by

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...

. The line "''Joni help me, I think I'm falling''" is a reference to Canadian singer

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

's song " Help Me"; she is also referenced in the group's previous single "

Set Adrift on Memory Bliss "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" is a song by American hip-hop group P.M. Dawn, released in August 1991 by Gee Street and Island as the second single from their debut album, '' Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience'' ( ...

". Upon its release, "Looking Through Patient Eyes" became P.M. Dawn's third and final top-ten hit on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number six for two nonconsecutive weeks. On Canada's ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' Top Singles chart, the song reached number one on the issue dated May 29, 1993, becoming the group's only number-one single in Canada. The song also found success in Australia and several European countries, reaching the top 10 in Denmark, Iceland, and Portugal and charting within the top 20 in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

Critical reception

Upon the release,

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 ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' magazine wrote, "

Rap Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates " rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backin ...

duo is positioned to sail up the charts with a silky pop/hip-hop ditty that derives inspiration from samples of

's '

'. A warmly sung chorus cushions the deep-voiced and romantic rhymes that have made the act famous. A fitting way to usher in ''The Bliss Album''." Alan Jones 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 ...

'' described it as "a gently mournful rap", underscored by the instrumental from Michael's song. He also stated that "the sawing violins and some attractive female vocal support all help create a sweet and stylish single." Sam Steele from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' felt "Looking Through Patient Eyes" could easily be renamed "Listening Through Patient Ears", "as it's only ever going to excite

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

fans and Radio 4 listeners." ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''Peopl ...

'' noted that Prince Be "hooks up his celestial pony" to Michael's song.

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from the ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' Dance Update named it a "lushly swirled pop swayer" in his weekly dance column.

Charles Aaron Charles Aaron is an American music journalist and editor, formerly for ''Spin'' magazine, where he worked for 23 years. Personal life Charles Aaron was born in Rockingham, North Carolina, and raised in Asheboro, North Carolina and Rome, Georgia ...

from ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' wrote, "'

I'd Die Without You "I'd Die Without You" is a song by American R&B duo P.M. Dawn, first appearing on the soundtrack of the 1992 film ''Boomerang'', starring Eddie Murphy, and was one of several songs to chart from the album. Later, the song was released on the duo' ...

' was a sop to the mainstream, i.e. it kind of made sense, but this is the "real" shit—George Michael bite and Prince Be's comforting gibberish."

Music video

The accompanying music video for the song was shot in a church, and features various Christian images interspersed throughout it.

Track listings

* US 7-inch single :A. "Looking Through Patient Eyes" (radio edit) – 4:06 :B. "The Ways of the Wind" (radio edit) – 3:55 * US 12-inch single :A1. "Looking Through Patient Eyes" (extended mix) – 6:15 :B1. "Looking Through Patient Eyes" (radio mix) – 4:06 :B2. "Looking Through Patient Eyes" (instrumental) – 4:18 * US CD single # "Looking Through Patient Eyes" (radio mix) – 4:06 # "Looking Through Patient Eyes" (extended mix) – 6:15 # "Looking Through Patient Eyes" (instrumental) – 4:18 # "Plastic" (radio mix) – 3:50 * US and Canadian cassette single # "Looking Through Patient Eyes" (radio mix) – 4:06 # "Looking Through Patient Eyes" (album version) – 4:25 * UK 7-inch and cassette single :A. "Looking Through Patient Eyes" (radio mix) :B. "Plastic" (radio mix) * UK 12-inch single :A1. "Looking Through Patient Eyes" (extended mix) :A2. "Looking Through Patient Eyes" (radio mix) :B1. "Plastic" (12-inch mix) :B2. "Plastic" (Funk U Tomorrow mix) * UK and Australian CD single # "Looking Through Patient Eyes" (radio mix) # "Looking Through Patient Eyes" (extended mix) # "Plastic" (extended mix) # "Plastic" (radio mix)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 1993 singles 1993 songs P.M. Dawn songs RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by Attrell Cordes Songs written by George Michael