| Cendres de Lune | |||||||||||
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| Studio album by Mylène Farmer | |||||||||||
| Released | April, 1986 (first edition) April, 1987 (second edition) |
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| Recorded | Paris | ||||||||||
| Genre | Pop music | ||||||||||
| Length | 53:08 | ||||||||||
| Label | Polydor | ||||||||||
| Producer | Laurent Boutonnat | ||||||||||
| Professional reviews | |||||||||||
| Mylène Farmer chronology | |||||||||||
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Cendres de Lune is the debut album by the French singer/songwriter Mylène Farmer, released on April 1, 1986. The album was precedeed by the hit single "Libertine", and the album was rereleased in 1987 preceded by the song "Tristana". This album, which was Farmer's sole one written and composed by Laurent Boutonnat, achieved a moderate success in France in comparison with the next albums of the singer, but helped launch the career of this one.
Contents |
Background
After the moderate success of the first four singles ("Maman a tort", "My Mum Is Wrong" [the English language version of "Maman a tort"], "On est tous des imbéciles" and "Plus grandir"), Farmer decided to release her first album. At the time, she had signed a contract for two albums with the recording company Polydor, which reserved the right to break the contract at any time. Fortunately, in 1986, the success of "Libertine" brought Farmer her first big hit and allowed her to produce Cendres de Lune.[1]
The vinyl release of the album contained only nine tracks, including "Maman a tort", "Plus grandir" and its B-side "Chloé", plus six other songs. Polydor did not procure the copyright for "My Mum Is Wrong", "On est tous des imbéciles" and its B-side "L'Annonciation" from RCA, the label Farmer released those tracks on. However, in 1987, with the increasingly prominence of the Compact Disc, the album was reissued with a total of 12 titles : "Tristana", the 1987 hit written by Mylène Farmer, and two remixes ("Libertine" [remix special club], "Tristana" [remix club]) were added to the track listing.
The album was also released in Canada and Germany. The cover, in black and white, was produced by Laurent Boutonnat and shows Mylène Farmer in profile, apparently sad, putting a hat.
Lyrics and music
The lyrics were written by Laurent Boutonnat who claimed to have had difficulty in composing them.[2] However, "Plus grandir", "Tristana" and "Au Bout de la nuit" were written by Farmer herself (from "Tristana" onwards, she wrote all the lyrics of her songs), and "Maman a tort" by Jérôme Dahan. Generally, the lyrics deal with themes that would recur in Farmer's future albums, namely death, violence, suicide, sexuality, sadness and fear of aging.[3] Therefore, the bases of the singer's universe were laid with this first album whose darkness contrasted greatly with the optimistic songs of the time.[2]
Except for "Maman a tort" and "Libertine", the music was produced by Laurent Boutonnat who used mostly synthesizers and acoustic keyboards and was inspired by the New Wave.[2]
Critical reception
Cendres de Lune was generally well-received by critics. It was considered as an "excellent" album (Gaipied),[4] a "success" (Podium),[5] "a first album rather masterly" (La Provence),[6] "in the area of the variety, one of the most beautiful things of the moment" (Les Gran).[7] "Full of little marvels" (Charente),[8] it contains "hits having an wholesome impertinence" (Télé Poche)[9] and "provides a real insight of [Farmer]'s talent" ; [the singer] carries us with her crystalline voice and strange texts, out of time and out of the standards" (Le Républicain).[10] "The songs of Mylène fill the air with an atmosphere alternately naughty and sad but very engaging" (7 à Paris).[11] "Mylène's voice is exquisite and her accomplices made her sing little ordinary things" (La Dépêche).[12] "[Farmer] seduces with sensitive texts, almost surreal, tenderly erotic" (Le Télégramme).[13]
Chart performances
In 1986, the album reached #10 on the French Top Albums and was certified Double gold by the SNEP for a minimum of 200,000 copies sold. Three years later, it appeared again on the chart for four weeks, peaking at #39.
In 2005, the album was reissued in a digipack version at the same time of Avant que l'ombre... 's release. As a result, Cendres de Lune entered the Top Mid 'Price album chart on March 20, 2005, and reached #5. It remained on this chart for four weeks totaling 5,649 sales.
Singles
| Year | Title | Date of release | Physical sales (France) |
Certification | Peak position | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR | BE (WA) | FR | BE (WA) | SWI | ||||
| 1984 | "Maman a tort" "My Mum Is Wrong" |
March, 1984 | 100,000 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1985 | "Plus grandir" | September 25, 1985 | 90,000 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1986 | "Libertine" | April 1, 1986 | 400,000 | Silver | — | 10 | — | — |
| 1987 | "Tristana" | February, 1987 | 250,000 | Silver | — | 7 | — | — |
Releases
| Date | Label | Country | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April, 1986 | Polydor | France | CD | 831732-2 |
| 12" | 829127-1 | |||
| Cassette | 831732-4 | |||
| Polydor | Canada | 12" | TFX8720 | |
| Cassette | ||||
| Polydor | Germany | 12" | 829127-2 | |
| April, 1987 | Polydor | France | CD | 831732-2 |
| 12" | 831732-1 | |||
| Cassette | 831732-4 | |||
| 1995 | Polygram | France | CD | 8317322 |
| 1998 | Polygram France | France | CD | 8317322 |
| 2005 | Polydor | France | Digital | — |
| 2006 | Universal | France | CD - Digipack | 9828263 |
Formats
- 12" (first version)1
- 12" (second version)
- CD (first edition)1
- CD (second edition)
- Cassette (first edition)1
- Cassette (second edition)
- CD - Digipack (released in 2005)
1 9 songs, without "Tristana" and the two remixes
Track listing
| # | Title | Length | Performance(s) on tour(s) | TV performance(s) | Comment[14] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Libertine" | 3:49 | * Mylène Farmer en concert * 1996 Bercy * Mylenium Tour *En tournée |
25 performances | See main article "Libertine" |
| 2 | "Au Bout de la nuit" | 4:21 | No | * Béart 87 (January 14, 1987, Antenne 2) * Ligne directe (April 2, 1987, Antenne 2) * C'est encore mieux l'après-midi (April 9, 1987, Antenne 2) * Sida : le grand rendez-vous (June 4, 1987, Antenne 2) |
This ballad deals with suicide after a break-up. While the first two stanzas glorify the love, the two following refer to the split which leads to a heavy solitude. A sigh performed by a male voice punctuates the song.
The song is the B-side of the vinyl for "Tristana". |
| 3 | "Vieux Bouc" | 5:38 | No | No | The song is about a rite of witchcraft called the Sabbath, in which the goat symbolizes the Devil. Farmer addresses him and takes part in Satanic rites including baptism. A phrase of Jean-Paul Sartre's book Huis-clos ("L'enfer, c'est les autres") is cited in the lyrics.
A choir of children, a goat's bleating and the singer's laughter are used in the background vocals. |
| 4 | "Tristana" 1 | 4:35 | Mylène Farmer en concert | 26 performances | See main article "Tristana" |
| 5 | "Chloé" | 2:35 | No | * Azimuts (June 1986, FR3 Lorraine) * Mon Zénith à moi (September 1989, Canal +) |
This rhyme, inspired by William Shakespeare's Hamlet, deals with the death of Chloé, the fictitious younger sister of the singer. Farmer sings in a high tone with a little girl's voice and a choir of children accompanies her on the second refrain.
The song is the B-side of the vinyl for "Plus grandir". |
| 6 | "Maman a tort" | 4:04 | * Mylène Farmer en concert * Mylenium Tour |
24 performances | See main article "Maman a tort" |
| 7 | "We'll Never Die" | 4:15 | No | No | This song (with lyrics in French-language) may be understood as tackling the theme of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It evokes a child who makes war for his homeland, which is futile because his death is inevitable. A musical bridge is sung in English by Carole Fredericks. |
| 8 | "Greta" | 4:48 | No | C'est encore mieux l'après-midi (January 22, 1987, Antenne 2) | This song is a tribute to Greta Garbo, called "Divine" in the text. Several allusions to the actress' life - the death of her parents, her distance from her fans - are mentioned in the couplets and slogans accompanying the release of some of her films are used in the refrain. Original statements by Garbo from several films are sampled at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the song.
The song is the B-side of the vinyl for "Libertine". |
| 9 | "Plus grandir" | 4:04 | Mylène Farmer en concert | 7 performances | See main article "Plus grandir" |
| 10 | "Libertine" (remix special club) 1 | 5:53 | No | No | See main article "Libertine" |
| 11 | "Tristana" (remix club) 1 | 7:10 | No | No | See main article "Tristana" |
| 12 | "Cendres de Lune" | 1:47 | No | No | This instrumental song, in which Farmer hums the melody, is used in the opening and closing credits of the music video for "Plus grandir". |
1 Only on the second edition of the album
Credits
Except "Libertine" : Jean-Claude Déquéant ; "Maman a tort" : Jérôme Dahan & Laurent Boutonnat
Except "Tristana" : Thierry Rogen
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Except : "Maman a tort" : Bertrand Le Page Cesanie ; "Greta" : Bertrand Le Page, Movie Box Music
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Certifications and sales
| Country | Certification | Date | Sales certified | Physical sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | 2 x Gold[15] | 1989 | 600,000 | 700,000 |
Charts
| Chart (1986) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| French SNEP Albums Chart[16] | 10 |
| Chart (1989) | Peak position |
| French SNEP Albums Chart[16] | 39 |
| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
| French Top Mid'Price[16] | 5 |
References
- ^ Cendres de Lune Mylenefarmeriscalled.net (Retrieved March 25, 2008)
- ^ a b c L'Intégrale Mylene Farmer, Erwan Chuberre, 2007, City Ed., p. 71-72 (ISBN 978-2-35288-108-7)
- ^ Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer, Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 67-68
- ^ Gaipied, August 1, 1986 Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 25, 2008)
- ^ Podium, 1986, "Mylène Farmer - Bonjour l'humour noir", Robert De Laroche Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 25, 2008)
- ^ La Provence, August 1, 1986 Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 25, 2008)
- ^ Les Gran, 1987, "Mylène Farmer, un je-ne-sais-quoi en plus" Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 25, 2008)
- ^ Charente, October 14, 1986, "Embrasons-nous", Jean-Louis Mathieu Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 25, 2008)
- ^ Télé Poche, June 2, 1986 Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 25, 2008)
- ^ Le Républicain, September 14, 1986, "Une chanteuse "libertine"", Christine Hiquet Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 25, 2008)
- ^ 7 à Paris, April 23, 1986, "Passionnément" Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 25, 2008)
- ^ La Dépêche, June 29, 1986, "Libertine, la petite Mylène qui monte..." Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 25, 2008)
- ^ Le Télégramme, April 16, 1986 Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 25, 2008)
- ^ Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer, Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 45,68,74,75,113,114,263-266
- ^ Mylène Farmer certifications Chartsinfrance.net (Retrieved February 8, 2008)
- ^ a b c Albums chart trajectories in France See : "Les Chart Runs" => "Sélection des autres artistes" => "Mylène FARMER" Infodisc.fr (Retrieved September 17, 2008)
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