Pure (No Angels album)

Infobox Album |
Name = Pure
Type = Album
Artist = No Angels


Released = August 25, 2003
Recorded = 2003
Genre = Pop
Length = 71:55
87:23 (Limited edition)
Label = Cheyenne/Polydor
Producer = Thorsten Brötzmann, Lucy Diakovska, Nik Hafemann, T. Lundgren, Perky Park, Peter Ries, Nigel Rush, Twin, Stephan Ullmann
Reviews =
* "CDStarts" rating-10|9 [http://www.cdstarts.de/kritiken/No%20Angels%20-%20Pure.html link]
* "laut.de" Rating|2|5 [http://www.laut.de/lautstark/cd-reviews/n/no_angels/pure/index.htm link]
Last album = "When the Angels Swing"
(2002)
This album = "Pure"
(2003)
Next album = "The Best of No Angels"
(2003)
Misc = Singles
Name = Pure
Type = studio
single 1 = No Angels (It's All in Your Mind)
single 1 date = April 22, 2003
single 2 = Someday
single 2 date = July 13, 2003
single 3 = Feelgood Lies
single 3 date = September 22, 2003

"Pure" is the third studio album by German pop group No Angels, released by Cheyenne Records and distributed via Polydor Records on August 25, 2003 (see 2003 in music). It was the band's first studio release as a quartet after Wahls departure and primarily produced by Thorsten Brötzmann and Peter Ries, with additional contribution from Siedah Garrett, Perky Park, Nigel Rush, Twin and others. The album debuted on top of the Germans album chart, and peaked at number two in Austria, and number nine in Switzerland.

History

Production

After Jessica Wahls' pregnancy break from the group and the end of the "Four Seasons Tour", the remaining four members of the No Angels began intensifying work on their then-untitled third studio album. Encouraged to exercise more self-control on the longplayer after their critically-acclaimed contribution on predecessor "Now... Us!",cite web|title=Band biography|work=Star Channel|url=http://www.star-channel.de/bands/n/no-angels/biographie/|accessdate=2007-12-29] the band took over responsibility in composing, recording and selecting songs to guarantee a more personal theme on the album — a step that challenged criticism and growing scepticism among the band's label Cheyenne Records and recording company Polydor.

Intermitted by a pause due to Nadja Benaissa's knee operation and a following physical therapy, almost all tracks except parts of the solo songs were entirely recorded at the Department-2-Studios in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Although the album saw the quartet mainly reuniting with longtime contributors such as Thorsten Brötzmann and Peter Ries, a wider team of foreign producers was consulting. William Orbit also was in negotiations with the label, but plans fell through.cite web|title="Pure" review|work=laut.de|url=http://www.laut.de/lautstark/cd-reviews/n/no_angels/pure/index.htm|accessdate=2007-12-29] "We selected song for us, which are best pop music, sort absolutely well with us, and represent at best what we want to talk about," band member Sandy Mölling said in an interview during the album's release. Impressed by the intensity of the musical output, the group settled on the album title "Pure". "The music is very, very pure, [...] there's nothing we had to dissemble for, the album shows who we really are [musically] ."

Release and reception

Although receiving a generally mixed reception from critics, "Pure" became the group's most critically acclaimed album then, drawing comparisons to Madonna's 1998 studio album "Ray of Light" as well as other female groups such as All Saintscite web|title="Pure" review|work=CDstarts.de|url=http://www.cdstarts.de/kritiken/85136-Pure.html|accessdate=2007-12-29] and the Sugababes. Especially praised for the implementation of the album's ballads, some critics however, criticized the band's third studio album for its "overbalancing status of filling material" and stereotypical boy band/girl group output.

Finally released on August 25, 2003 after several delays, "Pure" debuted at number-one of the German "Media Control" albums chart, becoming the band's third consecutive regular studio album to reach the top position on particular chart; number 2 in Austria and number 9 in Switzerland. Although receiving a gold certification by the German branch of the IFPI for more than 150,000 sold copies, the album was a moderate success in comparion with its predecessors "Elle'ments" (2001) and "Now... Us!" (2002), eventually ranking fifty-second on the German albums year-end charts only.cite web|title=Jahrescharts 2003|work=Music-Central|url=http://www.music-central.de/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=53|accessdate=2007-12-29]

The album produced three singles: Jiant-penned lead single "No Angel (It's All in Your Mind)" became the band's fourth number-one hit on the German Singles Chart, and seventh Top 10 entry in Austria; while it failed to reach the Top 40 of the Swiss Singles Chart, it also reached number 4 on a composite European chart.cite web | title=Chart Archive| work=APC-Chart| url=http://www.apcchart.com/|accessdate=2007-05-29] Follow-up "Someday" reached the top of the German Airplay Chartcite web | title=German airplay chart | work=Charts.de| url=http://www.charts.de| accessdate=2007-03-22] and third single "Feelgood Lies" became the album's best-selling single in Switzerland.cite web | title=Chart Archive| work=APC Chart| url=http://euro200.eu.mialias.net/Euro-p3.htm| accessdate=2006-11-20] Plans for a fourth single, "Elevent out of Ten," never materialized when the band decided to prepare their official disbandment towards the end of the year and instead went on with the compilation album, "The Best of No Angels".No-Angels.tv newsletter]

Track listing

# "Sister" (Vanessa Petruo, Thorsten Brötzmann, Alexander Geringas) - 3:26
# "Eleven Out of Ten" (Niclas Molinder, Joacim Persson, Pelle Ankarberg, Charlie Dore) - 3:37
# "So What" (D. Adam, J. Dobbins, Pete Kirtley, Tim Hawes) - 3:12
# "Angel of Mine" (Stephan Browarczyk, Mirko von Schlieffen, Christoph Brüx, Alex Prinz) - 3:43
# "Forever Yours" (Fredrik Thomander, Anders Wikström) - 3:25
# "Someday" (Thomas Jansson, Niklas Hillbom) - 3:16
# "You Lied" (Suzanne Smith, Sandy Frederickson, Kit Hain) - 4:09
# "Feelgood Lies" (N. Molinder, J. Persson, P. Ankarberg, C. Dore, Maryann Morgan) - 3:22
# "No Angel (It's All in Your Mind)" (Pete Kirtley, Tim Hawes, Liz Winstanley) - 3:14
# "Takes a Woman to Know" (C. Dore, Terry Britten) - 3:36
# "New Beginning (Thomas Who, Negin) - 4:00
# "Washes Over Me" (Peter Ries) - 4:13
# "Venus" (Robbie van Leeuwen) - 3:18

Limited Edition CD

# "Soft Place to Fall" (Allan Simpson) - 4:26
# "Confession" (Lucy Diakovska) - 3:59
# "How Can We Be Friends" (Pam Sheyne, Sean Hosein, Dane Deviller) - 3:38
# "Ten Degrees" (Vanessa Petruo, Thorsten Brötzmann, Alexander Geringas) - 3:25

Credits and personnel

* Thomas Blug - guitar
* Thorsten Brötzmann - keyboards
* Alan Darby - acoustic guitar, electric guitar
* Flo Daunber - drums
* Stefan Hansen - keyboards
* Clemens Heger - bass
* Jeo - keyboards
* Jens Kempgens - violin
* Stephan Keller - piano
* Michael Knauer - keyboards
* Björn Krumbügel - keyboards
* Marco Lehmann - keyboards
* Fredrik Norburg - guitar
* Peter Ries - keyboards
* Ben Robbins - keyboards
* Nigel Rush - keyboards
* Ossi Schaller - guitar
* Peter Weihe - guitar

Production

* Supervising producer: Nik Hafemann
* Vocal assistance: Lisa-Marie Brötzmann, Sina Brötzmann, Freda Goodlet, Maryann Morgan, Alexa Phazer, Pam Sheyne, Rick Washington
* Engineers: Justin Broad, Trevor Hurst, Klaus Überlacker, Ulf Zwerger
* Mixing: Jeo, T. Lundgren, Peter Ries, Jörg Steinfadt
* Artwork: Ronald Reinsberg, Berlin
* Photography: Mathias Bothor

Charts

Notes

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