Without Love (Hairspray song)

"Without Love" is a song from the 2002 musical Hairspray. It is a quartet song performed by Tracy, Link, Penny, and Seaweed, and is inspired by the duets of Motown artists Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell.[1]

"Without Love"
Song
from the album Hairspray
Released	2002 (2002)
Genre	Traditional pop
Length	4:27
Label	Sony Classical
Songwriter(s)	Marc Shaiman Scott Wittman
Producer(s)	Marc Shaiman Thomas Meehan
Hairspray track listing
"Good Morning Baltimore" "The Nicest Kids in Town" "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now" "I Can Hear the Bells" "(The Legend of) Miss Baltimore Crabs" "It Takes Two" "Welcome to the 60's" "Run and Tell That!" "Big, Blonde and Beautiful" "The Big Dollhouse" "Good Morning Baltimore (Reprise)" "(You're) Timeless to Me" "Without Love" "I Know Where I've Been" "(It's) Hairspray" "Cooties" "You Can't Stop the Beat" "Blood on the Pavement"

Synopsis

Taking place during the second act of the musical and the 2007 musical film, "Without Love" finds the four teenagers singing about how they have all broken down societal barriers in order to love one another, and the two boys free the girls from their entrapment, heading off to the Corny Collins Show TV studio.

Answers.com explains: "In this song, the male lead, Link, reveals his love to Tracy, and Tracy's white friend, Penny, expresses her love for a black teen named Seaweed. The couples must literally fight through physical barriers in order to get to each other and rejoin the protest."[2]

Analysis

Answers.com explains the lyrical prowess of the song:

The lyrics of this song proclaim through many creative analogies that without love, life is seriously lacking. Tracy says "Without love, life is like my mother on a diet" and Link says that it is "like rock and roll without a drummer." The couples swear their lifelong allegiance to each other because none of them ever want to be "without love."[2]

Critical reception

CinemaBlend writes in a movie review that "we’ve lost some of the original picture's romance to the PG rating, so songs like “Without Love” don’t work as well".[3] The New York Times named the song has "one of the film’s musical high points", explaining that "the two young couples express their yearning with the help of some ingenious and amusing special effects".[4] The Washington Post said "Marc Shaiman's music is virtually wall-to-wall bliss, and some of the lyrics, written with Scott Wittman, particularly in the romantic quartet "Without Love", remain surprising and clever no matter how many times you've listened to them."[5] RecordOnline deemed it an "affirmative anthem",[6] while The Column named it a "energetic and comic number".[7] The Daily Texan described it as "perhaps one of the musical’s most iconic songs".[8]

References

1. Heller, Dana (2011). Hairspray. John Wiley & Sons.
2. "Meaning Behind the Fun: Hairspray Soundtrack List". Movies.Answers.com. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
3. "Hairspray Review". Cinemablend. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
4. "Teenagers in Love and a Mom in Drag in the '60s". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
5. "The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts". Kennedy-center.org. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
6. "Review: 'Hairspray' at Forestburgh Playhouse - Entertainment* - recordonline.com - Middletown, NY". recordonline.com. 2009-08-21. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
7. "Theatre Review: HAIRSPRAY - 2nd Review at Denton Community Theatre". Thecolumnawards.org. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
8. "'Hairspray' showcases big voices, small set charm | The Daily Texan". Dailytexanonline.com. 2011-06-27. Retrieved 2015-02-20.