If there was an award for the artist that has flirted most with the number one spot on the UK charts without ever getting a date – the ‘nearly number one’ award – then Bob Dylan would be hot favourite to win. ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ and ‘The Mighty Quinn’ were written by him, he sang a couple of lines on ‘We Are the World’, while ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ made it in a cover version. All we need now is for someone to sample Dylan on a chart-topping single…
Rise, by Gabrielle (her 2nd and final #1)
2 weeks, from 30th January – 13th February 2000
Well wouldn’t you know… Here is the Bob Dylan-sampling number one. He liked this record so much that he allowed Gabrielle to use the sample – the guitar chords and his vocal harmonies from ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ – free of charge. This sample adds a certain excitement to ‘Rise’, but I’m not quite sure what about the song convinced the often cantankerous Dylan to donate his work for gratis.
It’s a delicate, pretty ballad, nicely sung and sparingly arranged, with the gentlest of garage beats. In the ultra-processed, ultra-poppy early days of the 21st century it is a pleasant change of pace at the top of the charts. But ‘Rise’ never quite, ahem, rises above that word: ‘pleasant’. It’s nice enough to hear when it comes on Smooth FM (it has probably been on their playlists for twenty-five years straight), but I’d never rush to search it out.
I’m pretty sure I wrote much the same about Gabrielle’s first #1, ‘Dreams’ (in fact, I gave that a ‘Meh’ Award). There is something safe and very mum-leaning about her two biggest hits. I’ll argue that ‘When a Woman’ (the retro-pop follow-up to ‘Rise’), ‘Out of Reach’ (the ‘Bridget Jones’ soundtrack hit from 2001), or 1996’s big, brassy ‘Give Me a Little More Time’ – would have been worthier number ones.
As much as neither particularly excites me, it is worth noting the near seven-year gap between Gabrielle’s two number one singles. So much musical water has gone under the bridge since 1993 (for a snapshot: ‘Dreams’ knocked UB40 off the top, while ‘Rise’ displaces Britney Spears) that it is impressive how she managed to come back with such a big hit. She would go on scoring Top 20 hits until 2004, and released her most recent album just last year.
So, two number ones for Gabrielle, the most famous eye-patch wearing pop star since Johnny Kidd. And only ten letters between both titles, ‘Dreams’ and ‘Rise’. Has any singer managed to get more success out of even shorter song names? Nichest of niche pop knowledge, but let me know in the comments if you can think of one!
The UK Number Ones Blog 
Oh dear. I never cared for Gabrielle’s music, and I find there’s something simply ‘not on’ about sampling someone else’s music, particularly a song as well-known as this. OK, there are worthy heartfelt sentiments in the lyrics, but why oh why can’t she find someone to write a decent melody for her instead of grafting her vocals on to a cut-and-paste sample from what must have been one of the most-covered of 70s tunes. I did listen to it again on reading this post, for the first time since it was in the charts, and it did occur to me that the appalling cack-handed edit that sounded so prominent back in 2000 sounds less evident on the video (has it been remixed?). But I’d be quite happy not to hear it again.
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I’m not sure about a remix – the version in the video sounds to be the one I’ve always known.
I’m not against sampling as such, as it can be used very innovatively and effectively. I’m not sure this one is all that innovative, but Dylan gave it his wholehearted blessing, so what do we know!
Gabrielle’s best record by some distance for me, this one, love it. The use of Dylan’s sample was a great hook to use as the backbone of her song. It’s made me love Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door more these days than I did in 1973, which is the sign of a good sample – see Gimme Gimme Gimme becoming one of ABBA’s most popular after Madonna used it. Plus, Dylan getting another number one as writer is fine. I’m not precious about samples, the original artists get recognition and cash out of it, which is more than they do when acts (and they all do it, even the greats) just re-do a carbon copy bit or change one note to avoid court cases, see Marvin Gaye’s estate for one litigious example (hi Blurred Lines, when I first charted that one week one my words were “I hope they’ve got permission from Marvin Gaye’s Estate”. Turns out not! )
Gabrielle is generally very listenable, pleasant, inoffensive, mildly soulful and likeable, but I’ll happily hear this one where Dreams doesnt do it for me to the same extent. Sorry! 🙂
I heard it before I read…I was going to say…this is Knocking on Heavens Door lol. It’s not bad at all.