"More Than Words Can Say" (also known as "(I Need You Now) More Than Words Can Say" for promotional purposes) is a song by Canadian rock band Alias. It was released in September 1990 as the second single from their debut eponymous album. The

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

became a 2 hit in the United States and reached No. 1 in Canada for four weeks. BMI presented Alias lead vocalist and songwriter

Freddy Curci Federico "Freddy" Curci (born October 30, 1962) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. He was lead vocalist for the rock band Sheriff and later founded and became frontman for the band Alias, a position he retains to this day. Curci provided lead ...

with the "Million-airs award" for "More Than Words Can Say". According to BMI's web site, only 1,500 songs have achieved Million-air status (one million air plays) among the 4.5 million songs by 300,000 BMI represented artists. One million performances is the equivalent of approximately 50,000 broadcast hours, or more than 5.7 years of continuous airplay.

Composition and inspiration

"More Than Words Can Say" was written, arranged, and co-produced by former

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

vocalist

and guitarist

Steve DeMarchi Steven DeMarchi is a Canadian guitarist, backing vocalist and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist of the bands Sheriff (1979–1985) and Alias (1988–1991). DeMarchi also played guitar for The Cranberries (1996� ...

. DeMarchi's younger brother Denny played the keyboard and sang the backing vocals. Curci recorded the vocals in Denny DeMarchi's bedroom at DeMarchi's family home. At the time, their dissolved band had hit number one with " When I'm with You" the previous year, and the other band members had refused to reunite. Sensing the need to follow up the hit, Curci and DeMarchi joined ex-

Heart The heart is a muscular organ found in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon diox ...

members guitarist Roger Fisher, bassist

Steve Fossen Steve Fossen is an American bassist and a founding member of the band Heart.

, and drummer Mike Derosier to form Alias. This tune, bearing striking similarities to "When I'm With You" (including a sustained last note), was the result.

Chart performance

"More Than Words Can Say" was released as the second single of Alias' self-titled debut album. It entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at No. 84 and reached the top 40 four weeks later. On November 24, 1990, it peaked at No. 2. It also peaked at No. 2 on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...

chart and at No. 13 on the

Album Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart. In the band's native Canada, the song reached No. 1 on November 24 and stayed there for four weeks, ending 1990 as the country's second highest-selling single, behind another power ballad,

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

' " I Wish It Would Rain Down". It also topped Canada's Adult Contemporary chart for a week. Outside North America, "More Than Words Can Say" only managed to chart in Australia and New Zealand, peaking at No. 30 and No. 37 respectively.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

* Feldman, Christopher (2000). ''The Billboard Book of Number Two Hits''. .
"''Billboard''"
Billboard ''Hot 100 airplay and sales charts''. Retrieved 2006-06-11.

External links

Official Alias Myspace

Freddy Curci (lead singer) website
{{Authority control 1990 songs 1990 singles Alias (band) songs EMI Records singles Glam metal ballads RPM Top Singles number-one singles