about
"Finally" was the debut single by CeCe Peniston, and is a widely beloved club classic, with lyrics and original melody by the singer, somewhat breaking from the other songs covered here. As such, her producers needed to come up with an arrangement to match the vocal, and for the single release came up with an arrangement that wraps bass and piano quite neatly around the vocal line, giving the song constant forward momentum.
This "arranging around the vocal line" was apparently not very difficult, as even at the time of release there were at least 5 versions of "Finally" that one could hear, all of which are at least functional given the clarity and power of the vocal performance. I'd recommend finding the one usually labeled the "Extended" mix as it turns the song into a disco showstopper.
The real thing of note, ultimately, is Peniston's vocal performance that includes great control, rhythm, and, most impressively to me, some really incredible doubling, both in the precision of the harmonies that she sings with herself, as well as the near-perfect pitch and time unison when she sings "the way I feel about you." There's a reason this song sticks around, no matter what version you're hearing.
lyrics
The lyrics were written by the singer, Peniston, when she was in college, originally conceived as poetry. I'll admit that I originally misheard the lyric "the way I feel about you it just can't be wrong" as "it just gets me wrong" which is a bit spicier, but it's still a love song that doesn't feel insincere (seems to be the theme of this collection) and that does help the vocal quite a bit.
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