Last Goodbye / Be With You

Released at the beginning of 2003, Be With You is, in my opinion, Atomic Kitten's best dance single. It was released as a Double A Side with The Last Goodbye. It seems that The Last Goodbye was released first in the UK and then was followed by Be With You. The single peaked at a respectable #2 spot on the UK singles chart in November 2002. (Double A-Side singles chart as only one single.)Be With You is a clever re-working of an ELO song entitled "Last Train To London." Atomic Kitten's 'Be With You' uses sampled hooks, looped into the music from the ELO track as well as the chorus: "I really want tonight to last forever, I really wanna be with you." Only two of the Atomic Kitten girls, Liz McClarnon, and Natasha Hamilton really get to showcase their vocals on the track, each getting a verse, with Jenny Frost predominantly singing backgrounds.Be With You surprisingly works as a dance song, especially considering it is based on a funky rock/disco song from 1979 that I'd consider to be mid-tempo.The Last Goodbye, a ballad taken from Atomic Kitten's 2002 album "Feels So Good," was the Double-A side to Be With You.The orignal album version is quite flat, and predominantly featured the vocals of Natasha Hamiltion with the other girls, Liz McClarnon and Jenny Frost doing backgrounds. When The Last Goodbye was chosen for single release, the girls went back into the studio and re-recorded the verses so that Jenny and Liz's parts would be expanded. Atomic Kitten used this tactic many times in their career - frequently re-distributing vocals on songs chosen for single relase. (They did this on the singles "You Are," "Love Doesn't Have To Hurt," "Someone Like Me," and "Cradle 2005.")The result, once the vocals were re-distributed, was a beautiful ballad about the loss felt at the end of a relationship. The song is sung from the point of view of someone who hasn't moved on, and is still thinking about their partner. They are defiant however, about having no regrets, especially in the final bridge, "If I could do it over, I'd do it all again..." hence the reason why they don't want to "cry the last goodbye."The B-Side of on this single was the previously unreleased song "For Once In My Life," co-written by Kitten Natasha Hamiltion. You can also find this disco-lite dance track on the Asian only compilation "Access All Areas: Remixes & B Sides." The song speaks of a person empowered, and for 'once in my life' is going to do something for themselves. Natasha sings this song predominatly.In an enhanced component, the video for "Be With You" is also included on this single. It's shot in a nightclub and has no plot or story, but it features the girls dancing amongst a group of people during the chorus.