"More and More" is a song by German Eurodance music project Captain Hollywood Project. It was released in July 1992 by labels Blow Up and Dino Music as the first single from their first album, Love Is Not Sex (1993). The female singer on the song is German singer Nina Gerhard. It reached No. 1 in Germany and was a top-five hit in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Israel, Italy, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. "More and More" also found success in Australia and North America, peaking at No. 15 in Canada, No. 17 in the United States, and No. 43 in Australia. Overall, the single has sold over seven million units worldwide.[2] Two different music videos were produced to promote the single; one was directed by Bruce Ashley.[3]
Production and influence
The music for "More and More" was written by Nosie Katzmann, Giora Schein and Oliver Reinecke. Lyrics were written by front man/rapper Tony Dawson-Harrison (Captain Hollywood) and Nosie Katzmann. As executive producer of the single, Harrison worked with the collaborating production teams known as DMP (including Katzmann) and Cyborg (Marc Kamradt and Frank Schlingloff). Harrison chose singer Nina Gerhard to provide the chorus vocals for the track. His voice was electronically modified to sound deeper and this would also later inspire the producers of M.C. Sar & The Real McCoy.[2]
American entertainment company BuzzFeed ranked "More and More" at No. 81 in their "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs Of the '90s" list in 2017.[4]
Critical reception
Larry Flick from Billboard described it as "a seductive pop/house affair that only lightly nicks the surface of the Captain's obvious talent for combining complex groove patterns with simple, brain-embedding hooks and melodies."[5] He added that "the beats are rugged, and are topped by a breezy, radio-minded R&B melody. The give-and-take between sultry female vocals and deepthroated male rapping is appropriately seductive."[6] Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report commented, "Germany, not Hollywood, is home to The Captain, who has already racked up enough chart activity to become this week's Record To Watch. Many are comparing this production to Snap's "Rhythm Is a Dancer" with its Euro-dance feel. One very hot entry!"[1]
In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton stated that "More and More" "is in all honesty one of the more inspiring dance records this year and deserves a greater chart position than it looks like achieving."[7] Pan-European magazine Music & Media also compared it to Snap!'s 1992 hit, noting that they used the same recipe. The reviewer added further that "the basis is 1982 type of electro pop strengthened by dance elements such as a male rapper and female backing vocalists."[8] Martin Pearson from Music Week's RM Dance Update noted "the trance-drenched moodiness" of the song, stating that it "is a musical barrage, right down to the laser-guided bassline and armour-plated pop hook."[9]
Chart performance
Upon its release on 29 July 1992,[10] "More and More" became a hit in several countries in Europe. In Germany, it reached No. 1 for four weeks with a total of 36 weeks inside the German singles chart.[10] The single was also a number-one hit on the French Top Dance chart,[11] and a top-5 hit in Austria,[12] Belgium,[13] Denmark,[14] Italy,[15] Norway,[16] Sweden,[17] and Switzerland.[18] In Belgium, it peaked at No. 2 for two weeks, behind Def Dames Dope's "It's OK It's All Right", spending 14 weeks in total within the Ultratop 50 singles chart. In Denmark, the single also reached No. 2, behind Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You", for three weeks on the Danish singles chart.[14][19][20] In France,[21] Greece,[22] and the Netherlands,[23] the single was a top-10 hit. In the United Kingdom, it reached No. 23 during its third week on the UK Singles Chart, on 14 November 1993,[24] spending six weeks within the UK Top 100. On the Music & MediaEurochart Hot 100 and European Dance Radio Chart, the song reached No. 3 and 8, respectively.[25][26]
Outside Europe, "More and More" peaked at No. 5 in Israel in West Asia,[27] reached No. 16 in Zimbabwe in Africa,[28] and was a crossover pop hit in North America, where it reached No. 1 on the Canadian RPM Dance/Urban chart and the US BillboardMaxi-Singles Sales chart, where it spent two weeks in July 1993.[29][30] It also peaked at No. 14 on the US Cash Box Top 100 and No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.[31][32] In Oceania, it peaked at No. 43 on the ARIA Top 50 singles chart.[33]
The single was awarded with a platinum record in Germany, after 500,000 singles were sold there, and a gold record in Greece.[34]
Track listings
German maxi-CD single and Australian CD single[35][36]
^More and More (Australian CD single liner notes). Captain Hollywood Project. Possum Records, Blow Up Records. 1992. PDSCD 525.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^More and More (Dutch 7-inch single sleeve). Captain Hollywood Project. Dino Music. 1992. DNS 2091.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^More and More (UK 12-inch single vinyl disc). Captain Hollywood Project. Pulse-8 Records. 1993. 12 LOSE 50.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^More and More (UK maxi-CD single liner notes). Captain Hollywood Project. Debut Records. 1992. DEBCD 3145.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^More and More (US & Canadian maxi-CD single liner notes). Captain Hollywood Project. ä. 1992. 72787-25028-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN9789511210535.
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