L'Autre...

Infobox Album | Name = L'autre...
Type = Album
Artist = Mylène Farmer


Released = April 9, 1991
Recorded = Paris
Genre = Pop music
Length = 54:59
Label = Polydor
Producer = Laurent Boutonnat
Reviews = * Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:0ifoxqqhldje link]
Last album = "En Concert"
(1989)
This album = "L'Autre..."
(1991)
Next album = "Dance Remixes"
(1992)Extra album cover 2
Upper caption = Alternate cover
Type = Studio album


Lower caption = Collector editionSingles
Name = L'Autre...
Type = Studio album
single 1 = Désenchantée
single 1 date = March 18, 1991
single 2 = Regrets
single 2 date = July 29, 1991
single 3 = Je t'aime mélancolie
single 3 date = December, 1991
single 4 = Beyond My Control
single 4 date = May, 1992

"L'Autre..." is the third studio album by Mylène Farmer, released on April 9, 1991.

Background

After her first concert tour in 1989, Mylène Farmer released the new song "À quoi je sers..." which was a synthesis of her musical work and marked the end of an age. While the album "En concert" was charted, she took advantage of the following months to travel in various countries including India, and to discover new literary works, such as those of )]

For this new album, Farmer changed her hairstyle because she wanted a different look without changing : she opted for a very short hair cut, made by Jean-Marc Maniatis. The album cover, much more luminous than that of "Ainsi soit je...", shows Farmer lying on a white background with a crow on her shoulder (this cover was undoubtedly inspired by the Edgar Allan Poe's novel "Le Corbeau")."Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer", Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 46] The singer explained that the crow on the cover was not for her a sign of doom, but had rather a role of a protective ally."Star Music", 1991, [http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/1991/Star_music_18e.jpgDevant-soi.com] (Retrieved March 29, 2008)] The album was eventually released in April 1991, one month after the marketing of the single "Désenchantée" which was #1 on the French Singles Charts. It was released in Europe, in francophone countries and Japan. ["Télé 7 Jours", June 8, 1991, Cécile Tesseyre [http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/1991/Tele_7_jours_080691.jpgDevant-soi.com] (Retrieved March 29, 2008)]

The album had the particularity to contain the first duet of Farmer, "Regrets", recorded with Jean-Louis Murat (in 1987, Farmer had already sung "Frantz" in a show with Guy Béart, but this duet hadn't appeared on an album)."Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer", Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 106] Laurent Boutonnat decided to record the songs of the album in English-language, but they were ultimately not used. He also wanted to release as singles all the songs from the album, but that didn't happen because of a lack of money."L'Autre..." [http://www.mylenefarmeriscalled.net/lautreglob.html Mylenefarmeriscalled.net] (Retrieved March 29, 2008)]

Lyrics and music

About the abum's content, Farmer explained in an interview : "What changed is that I don't want no more to feel pity for myself and to settle old scores. (...) I am much more shameless in this album than in the previous one. (...) Speak about what I feel in my heart and in my soul, it is a way of revealing myself." ["France Soir", April 13, 1991, "Mylène Farmer : "Je suis encore plus impudique"", Monique Prévot [http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/1991/France_soir_130491.jpgDevant-soi.com] (Retrieved March 29, 2008)] However, this album re-uses the old themes dear to the singer : indeed, death, religion, social revolt, despair, sexuality and madness are tackled in the various songs."Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer", Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 46]

Critical reception

On the whole, "L'Autre" received generally positive reviews from media and critics. "France Soir" said this album is "a techno pop very well produced". ["France Soir", November 29, 1991, "Johnny, Mylène, Michael et les autres" [http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/1991/France_soir_291191.jpgDevant-soi.com] (Retrieved March 29, )]

This album has earned to Farmer a reward at the World Music Awards as the French best-selling.

Chart performances

In France, the album went straight to number one on the French Album Chart on April 8, 1991 and stayed there for twenty consecutive weeks. As a result, at the time, Farmer topped both the Album and Singles Charts (with "Désenchantée"). The next sixteen weeks, the album dropped to #26, but reached again #3, three weeks later, thanks to the release of "Je t'aime mélancolie". The album appeared for a total of 55 weeks on the chart (Top 40), 32 of them in the top five."L'Autre..." [http://www.mylene.net/mylene/d_lautre.php Mylene.net] (Retrieved February 8, 2008)] The album was certified Diamond disc by the SNEP for a minimum of one million copies sold.Mylène Farmer certifications [http://www.chartsinfrance.net/certifications/artiste-850.htm Chartsinfrance.net] (Retrieved February 8, 2008)]

To date, "L'Autre..." is the best-selling album of Farmer and is the second best-selling album in France by a female artist (behind Céline Dion's "D'eux"). According to the French programme "Disques d'or" broadcast on December 30, 2006 on TF1, it is the third best-selling album of all time in France. Farmer featured for a second time in the Guinness Book of Records, thanks to huge sales of this album.

The album was also #1 in Belgium, and reached #9 in Canada.

In other countries, the album's sales were more confidential. In Switzerland, the album appeared for nine weeks on the chart, from May 26 to September 8, 1991, peaking at #27 on August 25."L'Autre...", Swiss Albums Chart [http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Myl%E8ne+Farmer&titel=L%27autre%2E%2E%2E&cat=a Hitparade.ch] (Retrieved February 8, 2008)] In Sweden, it was #45 on July 31, 1991"L'Autre...", Swedish Albums Chart [http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Myl%E8ne+Farmer&titel=L%27autre%2E%2E%2E&cat=a Swedishcharts.com] (Retrieved February 8, 2008)] and was ranked #55 in Germany.

ingles

References