•
The Hit Factory (New York, NY) • Wallyworld (San Rafael, CA) •
Stephen Perry •
Jonathan Cain •
Walter Afanasieff • Mariah Carey }} }}
Mariah Carey co-produced her cover of the song with
Walter Afanasieff for her fifth album,
Daydream (1995). Carey's career has crossed paths with Journey's: the band's drummer
Steve Smith played drums on many of her earlier singles, and its bassist for a short period in the mid-1980s,
Randy Jackson, has worked with her for a long time. The song was released as the album's third single between late 1995 and early 1996 by
Columbia Records in most markets outside the United States. It became a number-four hit in the United Kingdom and was performed live on the
BBC's flagship chart television show,
Top of the Pops. It also reached the top ten in Ireland and New Zealand; and the top twenty in Iceland and the Netherlands. The single's music video, directed by
Larry Jordan, is a live performance of the song by Carey at
Madison Square Garden. The video for the Spanish version of the song, "El Amor Que Soñé", was recorded after the MSG show as Mariah performed to the studio track.
Background and release While recording for the album, Carey expressed the desire to cover the song, saying: "I've always loved Steve Perry's voice, I think he's really an amazing singer. [...] I have a lot of good memories of growing up listening to that song and I always used to sing it and think that it would be a great singer song, kind of a great performance song." Additionally, with the help of her background singers, Carey added a touch of
gospel to the song. Released as the album's third single in the United Kingdom, Australia and Europe in general, "Open Arms" received a
CD single release in December 1995, whilst the radio release in the UK occurred in early February 1996. Columbia released two CDs in the UK on February 5, 1996. A UK CD single for "Open Arms" included the
Daydream track "I Am Free" and live versions of "
Fantasy" and "
Vision of Love" (1990). Another version of the CD single comprised the album cuts of "
Hero" (1993) and "
Without You" (1994), and a radio edit of "
I'll Be There" (1992). A Spanish version of the song titled "El Amor Que Soñé" ("The Love I Dreamt Of") was also released on Australian's editions of the single, as well as Spanish and Latin American re-editions of
Daydream.
Critical reception The cover received mixed reviews from critics. Bill Lamb felt it was "simply an uninspired song selection." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of
Allmusic also criticized the cover, calling it "second rate". "Open Arms" received a negative review from Stephen Holden as well, who called it a "sobbing remake". Rolling Stone called it an "ill-advised" cover. A
Billboard reviewer was more favorable, labelling it a "reverent rendition". Mike Wass of
Idolator ranked it at number 4 on his list of Carey's best covers.
Commercial performance UK sales for the song stand at 105,000 units.
Formats and track listings UK CD (Part 1) /
Australian CD/Cassette (Part 1) • "Open Arms" - 3:30 • "I Am Free" - 3:09 • "Fantasy" (Live from
Fantasy: Mariah Carey at Madison Square Garden) - 4:32 • "Vision of Love" (Live from
Fantasy: Mariah Carey at Madison Square Garden) - 3:50
UK CD (Part 2) • "Open Arms" • "
Hero" • "
Without You" • "
I'll Be There"
Australian CD/Cassette (Part 2) • "Open Arms" - 3:30 • "Slipping Away" - 4:32 • "El Amor Que Soñé" - 3:29
UK Cassette Single • "Open Arms" - 3:30 • "I Am Free" - 3:09
European CD Single • "Open Arms" - 3:30 • "Vision of Love" (Live from
Fantasy: Mariah Carey at Madison Square Garden) - 3:49
European CD Maxi-Single /
European 12" Single • "Open Arms" - 3:30 • "Fantasy" (Live from
Fantasy: Mariah Carey at Madison Square Garden) - 4:31 • "Vision of Love" (live from
Fantasy: Mariah Carey at Madison Square Garden) - 3:49 • "
Make It Happen" (live from
Fantasy: Mariah Carey at Madison Square Garden) - 4:43
Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts == Other cover versions ==