Innamoramento

Innamoramento is the fifth studio album by Mylène Farmer, released on 7 April 1999. With sales of 1.5 million, the album is one the singer's most successful ones. It reached Diamond status in France[1] and landed Farmer a number of awards, including Album of the Year at the 1st NRJ Music Awards.[2] On the heels of the album's success, Farmer was also named Best Female French-language Artist in two consecutive years: 2000 and 2001.[2]

Innamoramento
Studio album by
Mylène Farmer
Released7 April 1999
Recorded
  • Record One, Los Angeles
  • Ocean Way Recording. Inc., Hollywood
GenreSynthpop, pop rock
Length64:34
LabelPolydor
ProducerLaurent 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: 9 March 1999
  2. "Je te rends ton amour"
    Released: 8 July 1999
  3. "Souviens-toi du jour"
    Released: 2 September 1999
  4. "Optimistique-moi"
    Released: 22 February 2000
  5. "Innamoramento"
    Released: 18 June 2000

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 Falling In Love by Francesco Alberoni, If This Is a Man 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, rumor had it that the next album would have more techno sound (and the first single would be named "The Small World", according to the Belgian newspaper 7 Extra). 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 7 April, almost a month after the lead single "L'Âme-stram-gram" and was named Innamoramento, in reference to the book by Francesco Alberoni mentioned above. A quote from the author is also cited on 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 title suggests, love is the central theme of the album.

The album is slower in comparison to Farmer's previous studio album, the rock-inspired Anamorphosée (1995). The sound is more electronic and intimate.[6]

Critical reception

The album received mostly positive reviews from media. 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". L'Humanité stated in their review "Her songs resemble the prayers of a monk, whose writing has always been seen as a therapy".

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". 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. The album is considered "identical" to the previous ones by another press article. 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'.

Commercial performance

In France, the album was released at a time when Francis Cabrel also made 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 10 April 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[7] 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,[8] Innamoramento ranked #4, #43 and #92 on 1999, 2000 and 2001 End of Year Charts respectively.

In Belgium (Wallonia), after entering at #5 on 17 April 1999, the album 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.[9] 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.

Track listing
#TitleLengthPerformance(s) on tour(s)TV performance(s)Comment[10]
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
*Mylène Farmer 2019		 * Les Années tubes (2 April 1999, TF1)
* Hit Machine (17 April 1999, M6)
* Tapis rouge (24 April 1999, France 2)		 See main article "L'Âme-stram-gram"
3 "Pas le temps de vivre" 5:12 Mylenium tourNevermore * NRJ Music Awards (20 January 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
*Mylène Farmer 2019		 * La Fureur du parc (19 June 1999)
* 50 Ans de tubes (30 July 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 The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, 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
*Mylène Farmer 2019		 No See main article "Innamoramento"
8 "Optimistique-moi" 4:19 Mylenium tourNevermore * NRJ Music Awards (22 January 2000, TF1)
* Les Années tube (3 March 2000, TF1)
* Hit Machine (11 March 2000, M6)
* Tapis rouge (25 March 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 (11 September 1999, France 2)
* 100% Johnny (12 November 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.

Personnel
  • Angeline Annonier – choeurs
  • Fred Attal – arranger, clavier, producer, programming, sauf
  • Pascaud Caroline Blandin – background vocals
  • Bertrand Chatnet – engineer, mixing
  • Jeff Dahlgren – guitar
  • Pol Ramirez del Piu – bagpipes, cymbalom, flute
  • Jerome Devoise – assistant
  • Mylène Farmer – vocals
  • Johanna Ferdinand – choeurs, background vocals
  • Denny Fongheiser – drums
  • Joelle Jaque-Gustave – Choeurs
  • Abe Laboriel, Jr. - drums
  • Abraham Laboriel, Sr. - bass
  • Sophia Nelson – choeurs, background vocals
  • Rik Pekkonen – engineer
  • Colonna Phillippe – engineer
  • Marie-jo plezel – Choeurs
  • Mathieu Rabaté – drums
  • Carole Rowley – background vocals
  • Rafa Sardina – assistant
  • Mike Scotella – assistant
  • Billy Sheehan – bass
  • Frank Simes – guitar
  • John Sorenson – assistant
  • Chris Spedding – guitar
  • Jerry Watts, Jr. - bass

Charts

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Belgium (BEA)[26] Platinum 50,000*
France (SNEP)[27] Diamond 1,100,000[28]
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[29] Platinum 50,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[30] Platinum 1,000,000*
Worldwide — 1,500,000[31]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Formats
  • CD - Jewel case
  • CD - Cardboard gatefold sleeve - Limited edition (300,000)
  • Collector edition box - Numbered travel log version (including a CD and a booklet of travel with unpublished photos)
  • Cassette
  • Double 12"
  • CD - Japan
  • CD - Digipak (since 2005)

References
  1. "Les certifications - Mylene Farmer". SNEP (in French). Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  2. "NRJ Music Awards 2000". NRJ (in French). 18 November 2000. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  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. Jukebox, No. 179, June 2002 Devant-soi.com (Retrieved 22 March 2008)
  7. Innamoramento, French SNEP Albums Chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved 1 February 2008)
  8. Mylène Farmer certifications Chartsinfrance.net (Retrieved 1 February 2008)
  9. Innamoramento, Belgian (Wallonia) Albums Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved 1 February 2008)
  10. Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer, Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 41,78,79,102,165,166,176,246,247
  11. "Ultratop.be – Mylène Farmer – Innamoramento" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  12. "Ultratop.be – Mylène Farmer – Innamoramento" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  13. "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 16, no. 34. 21 August 1999. p. 12. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  14. "Lescharts.com – Mylène Farmer – Innamoramento". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  15. "Lescharts.com – Mylène Farmer – Innamoramento". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  16. "Ultratop.be – Mylène Farmer – Innamoramento" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  17. "Swisscharts.com – Mylène Farmer – Innamoramento". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  18. "Rapports annueles 1999" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  19. "Rapports annueles 1999 - albums francophones" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  20. "European Top 100 Albums 1999" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 1. 1 January 2000. p. 11. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  21. "Classement Albums - année 1999" (in French). SNEP. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  22. "Rapports annueles 2000" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  23. "Rapports annueles 2000 - albums francophones" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  24. "Classement Albums - année 1999" (in French). SNEP. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  25. "Classement Albums - année 1999" (in French). SNEP. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  26. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2000". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  27. "French album certifications – Mylène Farmer – Innamoramento" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  28. Jonathan Hamard (3 January 2016). "Mylène Farmer : quel est son album le mieux vendu ?" (in French). Webedia. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  29. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Farmer; 'Innamoramento')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  30. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2001". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  31. "Mylène Farmer et Laurent Boutonnat: Leur bebe s'appelle Alizée". Voici (in French). 8 May 2000. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
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