ALIAS: More than Words can say CD single. Rare. Killer A.O.R ballad. No 1 in the 1990 US charts! Check videos! Sheriff singer Freddy Curci.

Description

Fred Curci and Steve DeMarchi formed ALIAS after leaving Sheriff (When I’m With You) and joined forces with 3 of the original members of HEART.

Label: Capitol Records
Catalog#: CDEM 168
Format: CD
Released: 1990
Style: Soft Rock, A.O.R
Tracklist:
More Than Words Can Say 3:53
Say What I Want To Say 4:44
Who Do You Think You Are? 4:10
Call me 5:00 [always loved this song. It was actually first released on the Perfect World EP in 1992 when the movie “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitters Dead” used the “Perfect World” song].

Original Band Members 1988-1991
Freddy Curci – lead vocals, keyboards, piano, guitars
Steve DeMarchi – guitar, backing vocals
Roger Fisher (ex member of HEART) – guitar, backing vocals
Steve Fossen (ex member of HEART) – bass, backing vocals
Mike DeRosier (ex member of HEART) – drums

Alias was a Canadian album-oriented rock/hard rock super-group band, formed in 1988 by vocalist Freddy Curci and guitarist Steve DeMarchi of the Canadian arena rock band Sheriff (“When I’m With You”), along with Heart founding members Roger Fisher, Steve Fossen, and Mike DeRosier.
The band released its self-titled debut album in 1990 which went gold in the US and platinum in Canada, scoring hits with power ballad “More Than Words Can Say” (#2), “Waiting For Love” (#13) and “Haunted Heart” (#18 on Mainstream Rock Charts). They also recorded the Tonio K song “Perfect World” for the Christina Applegate film, Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitters Dead.
Alias toured extensively through 1990, including touring with REO Speedwagon. The band also performed twice on The Tonight Show, once with Johnny Carson and once with Jay Leno.
BMI presented Freddy Curci and Steve DeMarchi with the “Million-air award” for “More Than Words Can Say”. According to BMIs web site, only 1,500 songs including “When I’m With You” by Sheriff have achieved Million-air status (one million air plays) among the 4.5 million songs by 300,000 BMI represented artists. One million performances is the equivalent of approximately 50,000 broadcast hours, or more than 5.7 years of continuous airplay.
Alias was featured in the Top 20 AOR Records of All Time, ranked at number 17. The impressive list includes Def Leppard, Foreigner, Toto, Boston and Journey.

Composition and inspiration

“More Than Words Can Say” was written, arranged, and co-produced by former Sheriff vocalist Freddy Curci and guitarist Steve DeMarchi. DeMarchi’s younger brother Denny played the keyboard and sang the backing vocals. Curci recorded the vocals in Denny DeMarchi’s bedroom at DeMarchi’s family home.

At the time, their dissolved band had hit number one with “When I’m With You”, and the other band members had refused to reunite. Sensing the need to follow up the hit, Curci and DeMarchi joined ex-Heart members guitarist Roger Fisher, bassist Steve Fossen, and drummer Mike Derosier to form Alias. This tune, bearing striking similarities to “When I’m With You” (including a sustained last note), was the result.

Chart performance   “More Than Words Can Say” was released as the first single of Alias’ self-titled debut album. It entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 84 and reached the Top Ten four weeks later. On November 24, 1990, it peaked at No. 2, kept from the top spot by Mariah Carey’s “Love Takes Time”. It also peaked at No. 2 on the adult contemporary chart and at No. 13 on the Mainstream rock chart.

Chart (1990-1991) Peak position:
Australia (ARIA) 30
Canada Top Singles (RPM) 1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) 37
US Billboard Hot 100 1
US Billboard Adult Contemporary 1
US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 13