The Gods of Earth and Heaven

The Gods of Earth and Heaven
Studio album by Army of Lovers
Released 1993
Genre Pop, Dance
Label Stockholm Records STOCD 1507
Producer Alexander Bard, Per Adebratt, Anders Wollbeck
Army of Lovers chronology

Massive Luxury Overdose
(1991)
The Gods of Earth and Heaven
(1993)
Glory, Glamour and Gold
(1994)
Singles from The Gods of Earth and Heaven
  1. "Israelism"
    Released: 1993
  2. "La Plage De Saint Tropez"
    Released: 1993
  3. "I Am"
    Released: 1993

The Gods of Earth and Heaven is Army of Lovers third studio album. It's the first new album, after the replacement of La Camilla by Michaela Dornonville de la Cour and the introduction of a new member, Dominika Peczynski. It was never released in the United States, because of the strong lyrics.

It contains hit songs like Israelism and La Plage de Saint-Tropez. "Israelism" was banned from MTV for allegedly making fun of Jewish culture (despite the fact that two of the band members were Jewish). The album didn't do as well as Massive Luxury Overdose did. The Gods of Earth And Heaven reached #1 in Russia, Greece and Hong Kong.[1] In Russia the album spent four months at #1.[2] In the Finnish album charts, it reached # 11 and sold over 22 000 copies. The Gods Of Earth And Heaven sold 1,7 million copies worldwide. In some parts of Europe it was considered as a flop but it became their most successful album ever in Russia, and to date, Army of Lovers have been the only foreign act in Russia to achieve diamond status besides Kylie Minogue's 2001 Album Fever.

In the end of June 1993, Army of Lovers performed in several TV shows in France, Spain and Italy.[3]

The first single from the album, Israelism, is about Jean-Pierre Barda's way back to his Jewish culture and history.[4]

Track listing

CD

  1. Chihuahuas on Parade (0:41)
  2. We Are the Universe (3:41)
  3. La Plage de Saint-Tropez (3:32)
  4. I Am (3:54)
  5. Le Portrait de Jean-Pierre (0:44)
  6. Israelism (3:20)
  7. The Grand Fatigue (3:32)
  8. Carry My Urn to Ukraine (4:04)
  9. Sebastien (3:33)
  10. La Storia di O (0:45)
  11. Blood in the Chapel (3:16)
  12. The Ballad of Marie Curie (3:48)
  13. Heterosexuality (4:10)
  14. Sons of Lucy (3:02)
  15. Also Sprach Alexander (0:35)
  16. The Day the Gods Help Us All (3:45)

Chart positions

Chart Peak Position Sales
Russian Albums Chart 1. Diamond 750.000 + Units
Greece Albums Chart 1. Platinum 50.000 + Units
Hong Kong Albums Chart 1. Platinum 40.000 + Units
Swedish Albums Chart 36. 10.000 + Units
Finnish Albums Chart 11. 22.000 + Units
Italian Albums Chart 8. Platinum 100.000 + Units
Chinese Albums Chart 1. 3x Platinum 250.000 + Units
Japanese Albums Chart 9. Gold 130.000 + Units
French Albums Chart 2. Platinum 250.000 + Units

Credits

References

  1. Aftonbladet, October 1994, Micke Pihlblad, "Näe, vi har aldrig velat provocera"
  2. Nyhetsmorgon TV4, 16 August 1994
  3. Okej, No 12, June 1993, Sandra Grossman, "Galnaste midsommarbuden Jean-Pierre Barda -Jag drömmer om en grupporgie med mig själv", p. 11
  4. Judisk Krönika, no 2 1993, Madeleine Salomon, "Jean-Pierre Barda i Army of Lovers: Nya singeln en väg tillbaka till de judiska", pp. 32-33
  5. Army Of Lovers – The Gods Of Earth And Heaven