Martika (album)

Martika
Studio album by Martika
Released	October 18, 1988
Recorded	April/May, 1988
Genre	Pop, Freestyle
Length	41:59
Label	CBS (Europe) Columbia, Sony Music (US)
Producer	Michael Jay
Martika chronology
Martika (1988) Martika's Kitchen (1991)
Alternative cover
European version of the album, released in 1989
Singles from Martika
"Cross My Heart" Released: 1988 "More Than You Know" Released: November 1988 "Toy Soldiers" Released: January 21, 1989 "I Feel the Earth Move" Released: July 1989 "Water" Released: 1990

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Martika is the title of the debut album by former child actor and teen pop singer Martika. It was released on CBS Records in 1988.

Background

The album marked the solo debut for Martika, and spawned the American #1 single "Toy Soldiers". The song is about drug addiction, but can sound like a break-up ballad. The song was later sampled by rapper Eminem for his 2004 song "Like Toy Soldiers" featuring Martika as the chorus singer. Songs that charted internationally included "More Than You Know", "Water", and "I Feel the Earth Move", a Carole King cover that cracked the American Top 25. Stylistically the music was strictly pop, despite exploring some adult topics lyrically. The song "Water" is partially sung in Spanish, an homage to Martika's Cuban ancestry. Other songs were re-recorded fully in Spanish for international release.

The album was successful in the United States; it managed to peak at #15 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold by the RIAA, making it her best-selling album to date. The album peaked at #11 in the United Kingdom, containing three top 20 singles there.^[2] In the UK, the song "Cross My Heart" had already been a top 20 hit for the band Eighth Wonder a year previously,^[3] whilst Big Fun pulled their planned single release of "I Feel the Earth Move" shortly before Martika's release.^[4]

Track listing

Side one

1. "If You're Tarzan, I'm Jane" (Michael Jay, Greg Smith) – 4:20
2. "Cross My Heart" (Jay) – 3:52
3. "More Than You Know" (Martika, Jay, Marvin Morrow) – 4:10
4. "Toy Soldiers" (Martika, Jay) – 4:51
5. "You Got Me Into This" (Jay) – 4:11

Side two

6. "I Feel the Earth Move" (Carole King) – 4:12
7. "Water" (Martika, Sue Sheridan, Larry Treadwell) – 4:39
8. "It's Not What You're Doing" (Roberts Etoll, Jay) – 4:13
9. "See If I Care" (Martika, Jay, Morrow) – 3:41
10. "Alibis" (Martika, Mitchell Kaplan) – 3:50

Alternative versions

Four of the tracks from the album were recorded in Spanish by Martika:

1. "Como Un Juguete" ("Toy Soldiers") – 4:48
2. "Siento Temblar La Tierra" ("I Feel the Earth Move")
3. "Quiero Entregarte Mi Amor" ("More Than You Know") – 4:13
4. "Agua" ("Water")

"Toy Soldiers" was also recorded by Martika in Japanese, released on an EP in 1989 called "Special Touch".

Remixes

1. "Toy Soldiers" (single version) – 4:19
2. "Toy Soldiers" (special version)
3. "Toy Soldiers" (original backing track)
4. "Toy Soldiers" (edit version)
5. "I Feel the Earth Move" (7" version)
6. "I Feel the Earth Move" (single version) – 3:58
7. "I Feel the Earth Move" (extended single version)
8. "I Feel the Earth Move" (Seismic Rhythm Mix) – 7:13
9. "I Feel the Earth Move" (12" club mix) – 6:36
10. "I Feel the Earth Move" (dub mix)
11. "More Than You Know" (7" edit/single version)
12. "More Than You Know" (single remix) – 4:04
13. "More Than You Know" (club mix) – 6:14
14. "More Than You Know" (house mix part I) – 6:06
15. "More Than You Know" (house mix part II) – 5:04
16. "More Than You Know" (dance mix) – 6:10
17. "More Than You Know" (dub mix part II) – 2:06
18. "Water" (remix)
19. "Water" (7" remix)

Personnel

• Martika – lead and backing vocals, shaker
• Greg Smith – keyboards (tracks 1, 4, 6)
• Claude Gaudette – keyboards, drum programming, additional keyboards (tracks 1–2, 5–7)
• Brad Cole – keyboards, additional keyboards, synthesizers (tracks 2–3, 5, 8)
• Marvin Morrow – keyboards, drum programming (tracks 3, 9)
• Mitch Kaplan – keyboards (track 10)
• Mark Leggett – guitar (tracks 1–5, 7–9)
• Don Kirkpatrick – guitar (track 6)
• David Macias – guitar (track 10)
• Marc Jones – bass (track 10)
• Paulinho Da Costa – percussion (tracks 5, 7, 9)
• Omar Martinez – drums (track 10)
• Michael Jay – drum programming, backing vocals (tracks 1–2, 4–6, 8–9)
• Christopher Ainsworth – drum programming (track 7)
• Michael Mattioli – saxophone (track 10)
• Clif Magness – backing vocals (track 1)
• Davey Faragher – backing vocals (track 1)
• Michael Cruz – backing vocals (track 1)
• Rick Jude Palombi – backing vocals (tracks 1, 3, 6–7)
• Donna De Lory – backing vocals (tracks 3, 6)
• Niki Haris – backing vocals (track 3)
• Alitzah Wiener – backing vocals (track 4)
• Devyn Puett – backing vocals (track 4)
• Kimberly McCullough – backing vocals (track 4)
• Marlen Landin – backing vocals (track 4)
• Rahsaan Patterson – backing vocals (tracks 4, 7, 10)
• Rasha Patterson – backing vocals (track 4)
• Renee Sands – backing vocals (track 4)
• Stacy Ferguson – backing vocals (track 4)
• Mona Lisa Young – backing vocals (track 6)
• Laura Creamer – backing vocals (track 7)
• Mendy Lee – backing vocals (track 7)
• Sue Sheridan – backing vocals (track 7)

Production

• Arranged by Michael Jay, Greg Smith, Claude Gaudette, Marvin Morrow, Brad Cole and Martika
• Produced by Michael Jay
• Engineered by Peter Arata, Rick Butz, Greg Loskorn, Michael MacDonald, Mike Nicholson and Karen Siegel
• Mixed by Michael MacDonald and Keith "KC" Cohen

Chart performance

Singles

• 1988 "More Than You Know" – #18 US, #15 UK
• 1989 "Toy Soldiers" – #1 US, #5 UK
• 1989 "I Feel the Earth Move" – #25 US, #7 UK
• 1990 "Water" (Remix) – #59 UK

References

1. ↑ Allmusic review
2. ↑ "Martika UK discography". Chartstats. Archived from the original on 2012-07-29. Retrieved 2011-11-05. 
3. ↑ ""Cross My Heart" - Eighth Wonder". Chartstats. Retrieved 2011-11-05. 
4. ↑ "Big Fun - Biography". Freenet-homepage.de. Retrieved 2011-11-05. 
5. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Australian charts portal". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2011-11-05. 
6. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Austria Top 40 - Hitparade Österreich". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2011-11-05. 
7. ↑ http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca
8. ↑ Steffen Hung (2011-10-31). "New Zealand charts portal". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-05. 
9. ↑ Steffen Hung (2006-06-15). "Norwegian charts portal". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2011-11-05. 
10. ↑ Steffen Hung (2011-10-28). "Swedish Charts Portal". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2011-11-05. 
11. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2011-11-05. 
12. ↑ "UK Singles & Albums Chart Archive". Chart Stats. Retrieved 2011-11-05. 
13. ↑ "AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-11-05.