Cloud Number Nine

For other uses, see Cloud Nine (disambiguation).

"Cloud Number Nine"
Single by Bryan Adams
from the album On a Day Like Today
Released	April 30, 1999
Format	CD
Recorded	1998
Genre	Pop Soft rock (Original) Pop rock (remix)
Length	4:12 (remix) 3:55 (album version)
Label	A&M
Writer(s)	Bryan Adams Max Martin Gretchen Peters
Producer	Bryan Adams Bob Rock
Bryan Adams chronology "When You're Gone" (1998) "Cloud Number Nine" (1999) "The Best of Me" (1999)

"Cloud Number Nine" or "Cloud #9" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams from his 1998 album On a Day Like Today.

Versions

Original

The song was first released on Adams' 1998 album "On a Day Like Today", and is the only place it appears in its original form. This version has somewhat of a country rock feel, and seems inspired by Eagles. It is produced by noted rock producer Bob Rock, and mixed by Adams' long time collaborator Bob Clearmountain.

Chicane Mix

It was remixed by Chicane into more of a dance pop sound, with synthesizers added, as well as a drum sample from Gota Yashiki's "Groove Activator". It was released as a single in May 1999 in Europe. The single reached #6 in the UK Singles Chart, and became a Top 10 hit in Ibiza. Chicane said upon its release in 1999, he'd turned down a previous offer of remixing a Bryan Adams single, due to a lack of time. Chicane later worked with Adams of the songs "Don't Give Up", "East Side Story", and "She's Got A Way".

Chicane's mix of the song was featured on Bryan Adams' compilation album The Best of Me, however simply titled "Cloud Number Nine". It appeared again on his 2005 Anthology album, this time titled correctly as "Cloud Number Nine (Chicane Mix)". The Chicane Mix has become the standard live version for Bryan. In 2000, Chicane joined Bryan onstage to perform this song and "Don't Give It Up", as can be seen on Bryan's DVD Live At Slane Castle.

Demo

The demo for this song was released as a B-side to the single "The Best Of Me", in late 1999, and shows a significantly different arrangement from the later versions. It features a beat clearly inspired by Max Martin's previous work for Backstreet Boys and Ace Of Base. The Max Martin-type computerized drum beat has been replaced by actual drumming on the album version and by a sample of Yashiki on the Chicane Mix. The Bascome Mix, however, is more closely to the demo version, using the arrangement of the album version with a similar beat as heard on the demo. It is presumed that the Bascombe Mix was actually meant to be the single version, but Adams changed his mind after being impressed by Chicane's remix. This resulted in a string of collaborations, as mentioned above.

Also, it contains two lines of lyrics not present on the final recording. When asked about the absence of the two lines in fall 2009, co-writer Gretchen Peters commented that once she is "done writing a song, they'll lead a life of their own". She added; "I don't get too attached too Bryan's songs, because he'll change them a couple of times, until it's become something completely different." The demo version of "Cloud Number Nine" and its subsequent recordings illustrate Peters' comments well.

Original first verse in demo version:

Clue number one was when you on my door
Clue number two was the look that you wore
Back in your hand there was clue number three
I guess love wasn't all that I hoped it would be
Clue number four was when you said you were wrong
That I was the one that you loved all along
That's when I knew it was a pretty good sign
That something was wrong upon cloud number nine

First verse featured in final recording, remix, and live versions:

Clue number one was when you knocked on my door
Clue number two was the look that you wore
That's when I knew it was a pretty good sign
That something was wrong upon cloud number nine

Also, the second verse of the demo version differs by only one word, thus giving the song a different meaning:

Now you hurt him and you hurt me
And that wasn't the way it was supposed to be
So baby tonight let's leave the world behind
And spend some time upon cloud number nine

In the album version and all subsequent recordings, the first sentence of the second verse is:

Now you hurt you and you hurt me

This minor lyrical change no longer implies the protagonist's lover was romantically involved with someone else than him, leaving a more open interpretation of what could be "wrong on cloud number nine".

Music video

The music video made for this single, features mainly the color white. Bryan is dressed in all white, in a white room with an Asian woman who is body painted all white. Various images and things that are white are featured in the video such as milk, white paint, eggs, a dove, and a white dog. The video contains several elements seen in Adams' previous music video, "When You're Gone" - most notably the tape recorder and the apples. While being reviewed on the Saturday morning show Alive & Kicking on BBC 1, dance producer Norman Cook commented: "The most positive thing I can say about it, is that it's very white."

Track listing

UK CD1

1. "Cloud Number Nine" (Chicane Mix)
2. "Let's Talk About Love "
3. "When You're Gone" (Acoustic version) - featuring Melanie C

UK CD2

1. "Cloud #9" (Chicane mix)
2. "Cloud #9" (Bascombe Mix)
3. "Snippets (C'mon C'mon/Inside Out/Where Angels Fear To Tread)"

European CD

1. "Cloud Number Nine" (Chicane Mix)
2. "Let's Talk About Love"
3. "When You're gone" (Acoustic Version) - featuring Melanie C
4. "Snippets (C'mon C'mon/Inside Out/Where Angels Fear To Tread)"

NOTES:
The Chicane Mix was sometimes dubbed "radio mix" or "radio edit" on some promotional discs. It was also a bonus track on the 1999 re-release on its mother album "On A Day Like Today", and featured on all of Bryan's compilation albums since.
The song "Let's Talk About Love" is actually the demo version of a song recorded by Celine Dion on the album with the same title.
The acoustic version of "When You're gone" was recorded at TFI Friday Live in January 1999. It was one of the rare live versions by both performers. The Slane Castle live version appears on the Bryan Adams DVD "Live At Slane Castle", as well as on Melanie C's single If That Were Me, both released in late 2000.
The full-length versions of all the songs edited in "Snippets" can be found on the album "On A Day Like Today".

Chart positions

Chart (1999)	Peak position
Canadian Singles Chart	12
UK Singles Chart	6
Irish Singles Chart	16
Swiss Singles Chart	26
German Singles Chart	33
Austrian Singles Chart	13
Dutch Singles Chart	62
Swedish Singles Chart	43