"Like to Get to Know You Well" was actually a stand-alone single released in 1984, only
later included on the US version of Dream into Action, and as a CD bonus track
for the UK edition. Some may also remember it from the soundtrack
to Better Off Dead, one of my favorite 1980's screwball comedies.
It serves as an ideal ending point to these little reflections, because it so perfectly exemplifies that signature HoJo optimism. I have rarely found anything to come close without falling into a fake sentimentalism, and I suspect it is precisely because Jones so deeply means the message that he can come off as genuine.
The record was "dedicated to the original spirit of the Olympic Games", yet I remember being disappointed with the 1984 event in Los Angeles. This probably had more to do with the fact that I was growing up, and I was finally noticing all the shiftiness in the marketing, but my special disappointment with the nasty way the media covered Zola Budd, one of my heroes, left an especially bad taste in my mouth.
And still, Jones would surely tell me to respond to the bitterness with all the more love, and to offer total friendship, however great the distance between us. That is why his positivity has remained a beacon in my life now for over two decades.
—5/2007
A few words of commentary from Howard Jones:
And the song itself:
Howard Jones, "Like to Get to Know You Well" from Dream into Action (1985)
Like to get to know you well
Like to get to know you well
Like to get to know you well
So we can be one
We can be one togetherLike to get to know you well
Like to get to know you well
Like to get to know you well
So we can be one
We can be one together
Together we can cast away the fear
Together we can wipe away the tear
Together we can strip down the barriers
And be one
Don't wanna talk about the weather
Don't wanna talk about the news
Just wanna get to the real you inside
Like to get to know you well
Like to get to know you well
Like to get to know you well
So we can be one
We can be one together
Don't you think now is the time
We should be feelin'
Just wanna simply say
Won't let you slip away
People wanna talk about the future
Don't wanna linger on the past
Just wanna reach to the real you inside
Forget cold glances and rejections
Leave the things that separate
Build on a trust that we can stand on
Like to get to know you well
Like to get to know you well
Like to get to know you well
So we can be one
We can be one together
Finding all are insecure
Opening the same door
Leaving out a stubborn pride
Seeing from another side
Like to get to know you well
Like to get to know you well
Like to get to know you well
So we can be one
We can be one together
Jones continued on a major label for a number of years after this, and he found a niche in a more "adult contemporary" market as his fans grew up. I still bought his albums, and listened to all the songs, but the old magic wasn't quite there for me anymore, and so I wasn't surprised when he finally went into a sort of semi-retirement after his contract expired.
I do, however, cherish two special tracks from this time, of the sort only Jones could pull off, that played a role in the courtship of my wife, and so I value them almost as much as the first two albums:
Only recently, I was pleased to hear one of Jones' occasional self-produced projects, and I came across a song that brought me all the way back to the beginning, proof that the man had never lost it, and, more importantly, that the spark of joy was still alive inside of me. Mr. Jones had played a major part in making sure the fire never died.
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