Innamoramento

Innamoramento
Studio album by Mylène Farmer
Released April 7, 1999
Recorded Los Angeles, Paris
Genre synthpop, pop rock, alternative rock, house, darkwave
Length 64:34
Label Polydor
Producer Laurent Boutonnat
Mylène Farmer chronology

Live à Bercy
(1997)		 Innamoramento
(1999)		 Mylenium Tour
(2000)
Alternative cover
Collector edition
Singles from Innamoramento
  1. "L'Âme-stram-gram"
    Released: March 9, 1999
  2. "Je te rends ton amour"
    Released: July 8, 1999
  3. "Souviens-toi du jour"
    Released: September 2, 1999
  4. "Optimistique-moi"
    Released: February 22, 2000
  5. "Innamoramento"
    Released: June 18, 2000

Innamoramento is the fifth studio album by Mylène Farmer, released on April 7, 1999.

Background and release

By 1999, Farmer had barely appeared in the media since her 1996 concerts at Paris-Bercy. The singer spent most of this time traveling many countries (such as China, Ireland, Italy and the United States), where she drew her inspiration for her next album, giving it a greater ethnic orientation. She was also inspired by the books Le Choc Amoureux by Francesco Alberoni, Si c'est un Homme by Primo Levi, and books on Buddhism. While some media announced that the album would be called Immortelles, Mes Moires (according to the magazine Voici), Mémoires and Ensemble,[1] rumor had it that the next album would have more techno sonorities (and the first single would be named "The Small World", according to the Belgian newspaper 7 Extra).[2] It was recorded at studios Ocean Way Recording and Record One in Los Angeles, but mixed at Guillaume Tell studio in Paris.

Finally, the album was released on April 7, almost a month after that of the lead single "L'Âme-stram-gram" and was named Innamoramento, in reference to the book by Francesco Alberoni mentioned above. A quote from this author is also cited at the first page of the album's booklet.[3] The photographs, produced by Marino Parisotto Vay, cost about 104,000 euros.[4] The cover shows Farmer dressed in white on top of an open iron cage in the middle of the ocean.

Lyrics and music

All lyrics were written by Farmer, who also composed the music for five songs. They contain many references to literary writers and painters. The album deals with Farmer's anxieties, such as pain, unhappy love, sexuality and the passage of the time.[5] But as the album's title suggests, love is the central theme of the latter.

The album is slower in comparison to Farmer's previous studio album, the rock-inspired Anamorphosée (1995). The sound is more electronic and intimate.[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Rate Your Music [6]

The album received mostly positive reviews from media. It was indeed appreciated by critics and fans.[7] DH Magazine stated that this album doesn't contain "any surprise, but is "tidy, less sophisticated than Anamorphosée, and ultimately captivating. (...) It is more spiritual".[8] L'Humanité stated in their review "Her songs resemble the prayers of a monk, whose writing has always been seen as a therapy".[9]

However, certain reviews were less positive. For example, one magazine declared that "the musical climates remain the same, with arrangements with big spectacle and an evident dance efficiency", but with "too many strings, (...) too many background vocals, no place to breathe".[10] Another magazine said that, in spite of the sophistication of the lyrics which is equal to the lace of the arrangements of melodies, songs are however rather insignificant.[11] The album is considered "identical" to the previous ones by another press article.[12] It was finally trashed as a "Destroy" by Claude Rajotte of Canada's Musique Plus defunct show Le cimetière des CD, the same critic who had praised Farmer's previous effort, Anamorphosée.

In 2000, Innamoramento won a NRJ Music Awards in the category 'Francophone album of the year'.

Chart performances

In France, the album was released at a time when Francis Cabrel made also his comeback with his album Hors Saison which topped the French Albums Chart. As a result, Innamoramento failed to reach #1 on the chart, but went straight in at #2 on April 10, 1999, remaining there for two weeks. Despite not hitting the top spot, the album remained in the chart for 94 weeks, including 18 weeks in the top ten[13] and became one of Farmer's highest selling albums. It re-entered the chart during Farmer's Mylenium Tour and also when Universal organised further promotion of the album. Certified Diamond disc by the SNEP,[14] Innamoramento ranked #4, #43 and #92 on 1999, 2000 and 2001 End of Year Charts.

In Belgium (Wallonia), the album went directly in at #5 on April 17, 1999, and then climbed to #2 during the following week and stayed there for five consecutive weeks. As in France, Francis Cabrel's album prevented Innamoramento from reaching the top of the chart. The album remained for 27 weeks in the top ten and 66 weeks in the Top 50.[15] It featured at #5 and #58 on the 1999 and 2000 End of Year Charts.

Innamoramento also appeared for two weeks on the Belgium (Flanders) Albums Chart, on which it peaked at # 40.[16]

Singles

Year Title Date of release Physical sales
(France)		 Certification Peak position
FR BE (WA) FR BE (WA) SWI
1999 "L'Âme-stram-gram" March 9, 1999 220,000[17] Silver — 2 9 —
"Je te rends ton amour" July 8, 1999 100,000 — — 10 18 —
"Souviens-toi du jour" September 2, 1999 130,000 Silver — 4 18 —
2000 "Optimistique-moi" February 22, 2000 125,000 Silver — 7 15 58
"Innamoramento" June 18, 2000 100,000 — — 3 24 54

Formats

Track listing

# Title Length Performance(s) on tour(s) TV performance(s) Comment[18]
1 "L'Amour naissant" 4:59 Mylenium tour No This song has the same title as the album, since 'Innamoramento' means 'L'amour naissant' in French-language. This tribute to the film Ryan's Daughter by David Lean (mentioned in the lyrics) deals with boredom, cold, Ireland, love and death. It begins with the sound of thunder.
2 "L'Âme-stram-gram" 4:19 *Mylenium tour
*En tournée		 * Les Années tubes (April 2, 1999, TF1)
* Hit Machine (April 17, 1999, M6)
* Tapis rouge (April 24, 1999, France 2)		 See main article "L'Âme-stram-gram"
3 "Pas le temps de vivre" 5:12 Mylenium tour * NRJ Music Awards (January 20, 2001, TF1) The song deals with melancholy, regret and loneliness and evokes the absence of a loved person. Very esthetic, the text uses many images and neologisms. The music begins with the sounds of water.
4 "Dessine-moi un mouton" 4:34 Mylenium tour No See main article "Dessine-moi un mouton"
5 "Je te rends ton amour" 5:09 *Mylenium tour
*En tournée		 * La Fureur du parc (June 19, 1999)
* 50 Ans de tubes (July 30, 1999, TF1)		 See main article "Je te rends ton amour"
6 "Méfie-toi" 5:25 Mylenium tour No At the beginning of the song, Farmer enters the studio, coughs and laughs. At the end, she removes the headphones and leaves the studio.

The song refers to Buddhism and especially to the book Livre tibétain de la vie et de la mort, by Sogyal Rinpoche. The text evokes the astrology and the supreme god of gnostic (cited under the acronym 'IAO' = Isis, Apophis and Osiris).

7 "Innamoramento" 5:20 Mylenium tour No See main article "Innamoramento"
8 "Optimistique-moi" 4:19 Mylenium tour * NRJ Music Awards (January 22, 2000, TF1)
* Les Années tube (March 3, 2000, TF1)
* Hit Machine (March 11, 2000, M6)
* Tapis rouge (March 25, 2000, France 2)		 See main article "Optimistique-moi"
9 "Serais-tu là?" 4:40 No No Farmer addresses to her lover and seems to evoke the regrets that can be felt in love. In the refrain, she wondered if he would agree if she was willing to sacrifice herself for him. Some words quote Paul Verlaine's work Les Poèmes saturniens.
10 "Consentement" 4:35 No No Enigmatic lyrics refer to a budding love which is conjugated with the second-person of plural in French-language (= to address the lover as 'vous'). The title of the nursery rhyme Ah! Vous dirai-je, maman is also mentioned in song's lyrics.

"Consentement" was scheduled for the Mylenium Tour, but was finally abandoned. The song serves as sound background for one of the bonus included in the DVD Mylènium Tour.

11 "Et si vieillir m'était conté" 4:50 No No The song evokes the passage of time and thus the old age and the death, personifiing the night.

In the collector version of the album, the song's lyrics are not included in the booklet, but they are published on a sheet itself enclosed in an envelope stuck in the booklet.
Scheduled for being the third single from the album, the song was replaced by "Souviens-toi du jour".

12 "Souviens-toi du jour" 4:55 Mylenium Tour * Tapis rouge (September 11, 1999, France 2)
* 100% Johnny (November 12, 1999, TF1)		 See main article "Souviens-toi du jour"
13 "Mylenium" 5:20 Mylenium Tour No This is an instrumental song in with Farmer only repeats the word "Innamoramento", with tribal vocals as background.

Credits

Certifications and sales

Country Certification Date Sales certified Physical sales
Belgium Platinum[19] 50,000
France Diamond[20] March 28, 2001 1,000,000 1,300,000[21]
Switzerland Platinum[22] 2000 50,000

Charts

Peak positions

Chart (1999) Peak
position
Belgian (Wallonia) Albums Chart[15] 2
Belgian (Flanders) Albums Chart[16] 40
French SNEP Albums Chart[13] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (1999) Position
Belgian (Wallonia) Albums Chart[23] 5
French Albums Chart[24] 4
Chart (2000) Position
Belgian (Wallonia) Albums Chart[25] 58
French Albums Chart[26] 43
Chart (2001) Position
French Albums Chart[27] 92

Awards

Awards
Preceded by
—		 NRJ Music Awards
Francophone album of the year
2000 		Succeeded by
Au nom d'une femme by Hélène Ségara

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Jukebox, No. 179, June 2002 Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 22, 2008)
  2. ↑ Innamoramento Mylenefarmeriscalled.net (Retrieved February 25, 2008)
  3. ↑ Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer, Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 125-126
  4. ↑ Mylène Farmer, le culte - L'envers du décor, Sophie Khairallah, 2007, Why Not Ed., p. 58
  5. ↑ L'Intégrale Mylene Farmer, Erwan Chuberre, 2007, City Ed., p. 171 (ISBN 978-2-35288-108-7)
  6. ↑ Rate Your Music review
  7. ↑ "Mylène Farmer, la chanteuse libertine sort un nouvel opus" Mfamrer.org (Retrieved March 29, 2008)
  8. ↑ DH Magazine, 1999, "Un album pour son frère disparu", J.-Ph.D. Mfarmer.org (Retrieved March 29, 2008)
  9. ↑ L'Humanité, April 2", 1999, p. 22, "Les Nouvelles Enigmes de Mylène Farmer", Victor Hache Mfarmer.org (Retrieved March 29, 2008)
  10. ↑ Review Mfarmer.org (Retrieved March 29, 2008)
  11. ↑ "Les CD du mois", Christian Eudeline Mfamrer.org (Retrieved March 29, 2008)
  12. ↑ "L'amour naissant de Mylène Farmer", G.M. Mfarmer.org (Retrieved March 29, 2008)
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Innamoramento, French SNEP Albums Chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved February 1, 2008)
  14. ↑ Mylène Farmer certifications Chartsinfrance.net (Retrieved February 1, 2008)
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Innamoramento, Belgian (Wallonia) Albums Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved February 1, 2008)
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Innamoramento, Belgian (Flanders) Albums Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved February 1, 2008)
  17. ↑ Caroline Bee, Mylène Farmer, 2003, p.60, Ed. Librio, ISBN 2-290-33725-0
  18. ↑ Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer, Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 41,78,79,102,165,166,176,246,247
  19. ↑ Belgium certifications Fanofmusic.fr (Retrieved November 19, 2007)
  20. ↑ "Certifications Albums Diamant - année 2001" (in French). Disqueenfrance. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  21. ↑ Mathias Goudeau, Le Mystère, p.110, 2003, Ed. L'express, ISBN 2-84343-158-1
  22. ↑ Mylène Farmer certifications in Switzerland Swisscharts.com (Retrieved May 15, 2008)
  23. ↑ 1999 Belgian Albums Chart Skynet.be (Retrieved February 1, 2008)
  24. ↑ 2005 French Albums Chart Ifop.com (Retrieved February 1, 2008)
  25. ↑ 2000 Belgian Albums Chart Skynet.be (Retrieved February 1, 2008)
  26. ↑ 2005 French Albums Chart Ifop.com (Retrieved February 1, 2008)
  27. ↑ 2005 French Albums Chart Ifop.com (Retrieved February 1, 2008)