Ainsi soit je...
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| Ainsi Soit je... | |||||||||||||||||
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| Studio album by Mylène Farmer | |||||||||||||||||
| Released | 1988 | ||||||||||||||||
| Recorded | Paris | ||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Synthpop | ||||||||||||||||
| Length | 45:47 | ||||||||||||||||
| Label | Polydor | ||||||||||||||||
| Producer | Laurent Boutonnat | ||||||||||||||||
| Professional reviews | |||||||||||||||||
| Mylène Farmer chronology | |||||||||||||||||
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.JPG/200px-Ainsi_soit_je..._(promo).JPG)
Ainsi Soit Je... (a play on ainsi soit-il, which can mean either "so be it" or "amen") is the second album by Mylène Farmer, released in April 1988.[1] [2]
Contents |
[edit] Background
After the success of the album Cendres de Lune and the hits "Sans contrefaçon" and "Ainsi soit je...", Farmer had any sense to release a second album that could be well received by the public, because it would enable her to consolidate her growing popularity, thus preventing her from slipping back into anonymity.[3] The album necessitated a total of five to six months of work.[4] It was recorded at the studio Mega, Avenue Maréchal-Maunoury, in Paris (XVIe arrondissement) under the leadership of Thierry Rogen, a renowned sound engineer who had already worked in particular with Michel Sardou.[5]
The album's cover shows Farmer who turns with, at left, the puppet used in the music video for "Sans contrefaçon". The photographs of the booklet were made by Elsa Trillat.
The album was eventually released in April 1988 and had a huge success.
[edit] Lyrics and music
The texts, which contain many literary references to famous authors (such as Baudelaire, Poe, etc), were written by Mylène Farmer, except "L'Horloge" (a poem by Charles Baudelaire), "Déshabillez-moi" (originally sung in 1966 by Juliette Gréco) and "The Farmer's Conclusion" (which is a instrumental song). The album has a melancholy and sad tone, and deals with death, suicide, madness with gloomy and desperate texts. The sexual ambiguity, sodomy and provocation are also tackled.[6] [7]
[edit] Critical reception
The album was generally well received in media at the time. Indeed, the press said : "Mylène shows an imagination and a new maturity in these charming libertine poems and her synthetic hits containing literary references" (20 Ans).[8] This "great" (Gaipied)[9] and "successful" (Dernières Nouvelles d'd'Alsace)[10] album has "an intellectual and musical universe always so creative" (Gaipied).[11] Its songs were described as "powerful, sometimes catchy and often spellbinding compositions" (Paris Nuit)[12], whose texts are "chiseled but perfectly licentious" (France Soir)[13]. The "poetic quality of the texts" and "the sense of the melody" (Le Télégramme)[14] were also mentioned. Rock and Folk said this Laurent Boutonnat's production is "impeccable", demonstrating his "undoubted talent".[15] According to Télé Poche, "the time of success has come for Mylène Farmer" with this album.[16] The journalist Caroline Bee said this album is "an ambiguous, bright, romantic and beautifully produced gem".[17]
Some criticisms were also made against Ainsi soit je... For example, according to L'Humanité, this album uses an "old-fashioned stylistic mannerism to reinvent poetry" (L'Humanité).[18] Rock Land qualified this album as a "second collection of bad thoughts with a spectacular flippantly", whose "B-side is flat".[19]
This album is generally considered by many people as "one of the most successful",[17] even "the best album" of Farmer, all periods combined.[7]
[edit] Chart performances
In France, the album debuted at #8 on April 1988, but it dropped to #26 five months later. However, thanks to the successful single "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" (number-one hit on December 1988), the album reached number one for two weeks on December 1988. The album managed to stay for 11 months in the top ten and about one year on the chart. On June 29, 1988, the album was certified Gold disc by the SNEP for 100,000 copies sold, then Platinum disc for 300,000 sales, then Double platinum disc on February 17, 1989 for 600,000 sales, and eventually Diamond disc on November 14, 1989 for a minimum of 1 million copies sold.[20] [21] According to the French show Les Hits de Diamant, broadcast on M6 on October 20, 2007, Ainsi soit je... is the 46th best-selling album of all time in France.[22]
The album was also released in Germany, where it reached #47.
On March 20, 2005, the album, then reissued in a digipack version, entered the French Top Mid' Price for four weeks, peaking at #2.
[edit] Releases
| Date | Label | Country | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Polydor | France | CD | 835654-2 |
| Picture CD | ||||
| 12" | 835564-1 | |||
| Cassette | 835465-4 | |||
| Collector edition | ? | |||
| Polydor | Allemagne | CD | 835564-1 | |
| 12" | 835564-2 | |||
| Polydor | Canada | 12" | 835564-1 | |
| Promo 12" | ||||
| Cassette | 835564-4 | |||
| Polydor | Italy | Cassette | 835564-4 | |
| Polydor | Japan | CD | POCP1001 | |
| Promo CD | ||||
| Polydor | Korea | 12" | RG2039 | |
| Polydor | Netherlands | Cassette | 835564-4 | |
| Polydor | Spain | 12" | 835564-1 | |
| 1994 | Polygram | France | CD | 8355642 |
| 1998 | Polygram France | France | CD | 835564 |
| 2005 | Polydor | France | Digital | — |
| 2006 | Universal | France | CD - Digipack | 9828262 |
[edit] Formats
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1 Contains the CD maxi for "Sans contrefaçon", the CD single for "Ainsi soit je...", the biography of Farmer translated into the language of the country, a documentary on video cassette and a lighter. |
[edit] Track listing
| # | Title | Length | Performance(s) on tour(s) | TV performance(s) | Comment[23] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "L'Horloge" | 5:03 | *Mylène Farmer en concert | No | The song is the adaptation of the poem of the same name by Charles Baudelaire in Les Fleurs du mal. Very throbbing and gloomy, the music begins and ends with the sound of a clock pendulum, as well as cries of a baby. The words evoke the passage of time which leads to death. A male voice said repeatedly : "Souviens-toi". |
| 2 | "Sans contrefaçon" | 4:07 | * Mylène Farmer en concert * 1996 Bercy * Mylenium Tour * Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy |
16 performances | See main article "Sans contrefaçon" |
| 3 | "Allan" | 4:46 | * Mylène Farmer en concert | * Fête comme chez vous (May 5, 1988, Antenne 2) | See main article "Allan" |
| 4 | "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" | 4:52 | * Mylène Farmer en concert * Mylenium Tour |
12 performances | See main article "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" |
| 5 | "La Ronde triste" | 4:13 | No | * Domicile A2 (December 15, 1987, Antenne 2) | Although the title is in French, the text is in English. The music is throbbing and lyrics evoke suicide and death. A male voice said repeatedly : "Don't quite".
The song is the vinyl's B-side of "Sans contrefaçon". |
| 6 | "Ainsi soit je..." | 6:18 | * Mylène Farmer en concert * 1996 Bercy |
11 performances | See main article "Ainsi soit je..." |
| 7 | "Sans logique" | 4:30 | * Mylène Farmer en concert | * Avis de recherche (February 24, 1989, TF1) * La Une est à vous (March 11, 1989, TF1) * Jacky show (March 18, 1989, TF1) * Sacrée Soirée (March 22, 1989, TF1) * Avis de recherche (May 12, 1989, TF1) |
See main article "Sans logique" |
| 8 | "Jardin de Vienne" | 5:17 | * Mylène Farmer en concert | No | This melancholy song begins with a few notes of Richard Wagner's opera Tannhäuser. The text is both poetic and naive. In it, Farmer discovers a little boy who hanged himself in a garden of Vienna. In the refrain, the death is seen as a release. |
| 9 | "Déshabillez-moi" | 3:45 | * Mylène Farmer en concert * Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy |
* Les Oscars de la mode (October 21, 1987, TF1) * Les Uns et les Autres (April 29, 1988, TF1) |
See main article "Déshabillez-moi" |
| 10 | "The Farmer's Conclusion" | 2:15 | No | No | This instrumental song contains many cries of animals mixed with sighs of Farmer. The title refers to the pseudonym chosen by the singer ("Farmer" means "fermière" in French-language) and is a humorous reply to journalists who sometimes give her that name in a literal way. |
[edit] Credits
Except : "L'Horloge" : Charles Baudelaire, "Déshabillez-moi" : Robert Nyel
Except : "Déshabillez-moi" : Gaby Verlor
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Except : "Déshabillez-moi" : Editions Intersong Paris
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[edit] Chart, certifications, and sales
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[edit] References
- ^ Le Progrès, April 18, 1988 Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 27, 2008)
- ^ Madame Figaro, June 3, 1988 Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 27, 2008)
- ^ Ainsi soit je... Mylenefarmeriscalled.net (Retrieved March 27, 2008)
- ^ Pulsion, May 1988
- ^ Mylène Farmer, biographie, Bernard Violet, J'ai lu ed., 2004, p. 93 (ISBN 2-290-34916-X)
- ^ L'Intégrale Mylene Farmer, Erwan Chuberre, 2007, City Ed., p. 26 (ISBN 978-2-35288-108-7)
- ^ a b Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer, Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 28-29
- ^ 20 Ans, June 1988 Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 27, 2008)
- ^ Gaipied, December 12, 1988, "Skeuds de Noël" Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 27, 2008)
- ^ Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace, May 14, 1988 Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 27, 2008)
- ^ Gaipied, May 17, 1988, "Ainsi soit-elle" Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 27, 2008)
- ^ Paris Nuit, April 1988 Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 27, 2008)
- ^ France Soir, November 19, 1988, "Mylène Farmer : "Vivre avec trois amants"", R.G. Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 27, 2008)
- ^ Le Télégramme, April 20, 1988 Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 27, 2008)
- ^ Rock and Folk, 1988 Devant-soi.com (1) Devant-soi.com (2) (Retrieved March 27, 2008)
- ^ Télé Poche, April 30, 1988, "Cherchez 'la' Farmer" Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 27, 2008)
- ^ a b Mylène Farmer, la part d'ombre, Caroline Bee, Antoine Bioy and Benjamin Thiry, January 2006, Archipel Ed., p. 362
- ^ L'Humanité, June 2, 1988 Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 27, 2008)
- ^ Rock Land, May 1988 Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 27, 2008)
- ^ a b Mylène Farmer certifications Chartsinfrance.net (Retrieved February 8, 2008)
- ^ Var Matin, March 3, 1989, "Du diamant pour Mylène Farmer" Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 30, 2008)
- ^ Les Hits de Diamant, M6, October 20, 2007 Dailymotion.com (Retrieved March 27, 2008)
- ^ Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer, Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 105,120,135,234
- ^ a b Ainsi soit je... Mylene.net (Retrieved February 8, 2008)
- ^ "Mylène Farmer : Biographie" Ramdam.com (Retrieved March 27, 2008)
