Sweet Revenge (Amanda Lear album)

Sweet Revenge
Studio album by Amanda Lear
Released February 1978
Recorded 1977-1978
Genre Disco
Length 35:30
Language English
Label Ariola
Producer Anthony Monn
Amanda Lear chronology
I Am a Photograph
(1977)		 Sweet Revenge
(1978)		 Never Trust a Pretty Face
(1979)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Sweet Revenge is the second studio album by French singer Amanda Lear, released in 1978 by West German label Ariola Records. The album turned out a major commercial success, spawning European hit disco singles "Follow Me" and "Enigma (Give a Bit of Mmh to Me)". Sweet Revenge remains Lear's best-selling album. It was released in CD format in 1992.

Background

After the major success of the debut album, Lear teamed up again with Anthony Monn to work on her second LP. Sweet Revenge was recorded between December 1977 and February 1978 between various studios in Munich, and consisted of mainstream disco material, with all lyrics written by Lear herself.[2] The album incorporates elements of cabaret music in "Comics" and rock in "The Stud". All songs from the side A of the original LP release are a lyrically linked non-stop medley, making Sweet Revenge a concept album. The songs tell the story of "a girl who sold her soul to the Devil and won", as Amanda explained in the liner notes. The girl surrenders to the Devil's temptation, who promises her fame and fortune, but eventually runs away and finds real love with a man, which is her "sweet revenge over the Devil's offer".[3] In a 1997 interview, Lear considered Sweet Revenge the album she is the most proud of.[2]

The album's gatefold cover was designed by Amanda Lear.[2] Pictures, taken by Denis Taranto, reference sadomasochism and present Amanda as a dominatrix, holding a whip. Other images depict Lear channeling Marlene Dietrich, sitting on a barrel, wearing stockings and a top hat, what refers to the image of Dietrich in her iconic 1930 film The Blue Angel. Included are also two pictures of Amanda performing in concert as well as a topless photograph from her Playboy shoot.[3] The album came with a big poster of the front cover image, with lyrics printed on the back.

"Follow Me" was released as the lead single and went on to become a Top 10 hit in many European countries, including No. 3 in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. The song now remains Lear's signature tune. "Enigma (Give a Bit of Mmh to Me)" was also met with a commercial success, reaching Top 10 in certain territories, and "Gold" became a minor hit in Belgium. "Run Baby Run" received a single release, but did not match the chart success of other singles from the album. The 1977 hit single "Queen of Chinatown", previously available on Lear's debut album, was released as a bonus track on Italian editions of Sweet Revenge. In Spain, a cassette version of the album was released as Dulce Venganza (Sweet Revenge).[4]

Sweet Revenge was accompanied by a concert tour, which was bigger and more elaborate than her previous shows. A promotional tournée was also launched in the United States, however, to no success. The publicity campaign again focused around Amanda's scandalous sex symbol image. The album was met with a commercial success, placing in Top 10 in several European charts, including No. 4 in Germany, her most successful market at that time. It was certified gold in Germany and France, for selling 250,000 and 100,000 copies respectively, and remains Lear's only album known to have received a sales certification. It is also her best-selling album to date, with an estimated 4 million copies shifted around the world.[5]

The rights to the Ariola-Eurodisc back catalogue are currently held by Sony BMG Music Entertainment. Sweet Revenge was re-released on CD in 1992, excluding much of the visual content of the original double cover and syncing all songs from the side A into one CD track. For two decades, Sweet Revenge remained the only original Ariola album by Amanda Lear to have been re-released on compact disc worldwide, until her debut LP, I Am a Photograph, received a CD re-release in 2012 and 2013.

Track listings

Original LP release

Side A
  1. "Follow Me" (Anthony Monn, Amanda Lear) – 3:50
  2. "Gold" (Charly Ricanek, Amanda Lear) – 3:45
  3. "Mother, Look What They've Done to Me" (Anthony Monn, Amanda Lear) – 4:32
  4. "Run Baby Run" (Anthony Monn, Amanda Lear) – 3:45
  5. "Follow Me (Reprise)" (Anthony Monn, Amanda Lear) – 3:40
Side B
  1. "Comics" (Charly Ricanek, Amanda Lear) – 3:40
  2. "Enigma (Give a Bit of Mmh to Me)" (Rainer Pietsch, Amanda Lear) – 5:08
  3. "The Stud" (Rainer Pietsch, Amanda Lear) – 4:02
  4. "Hollywood Flashback" (Anthony Monn, Amanda Lear) – 4:31

Italian edition

Side A
  1. "Follow Me" (Anthony Monn, Amanda Lear) – 3:50
  2. "Gold" (Charly Ricanek, Amanda Lear) – 3:45
  3. "Mother, Look What They've Done to Me" (Anthony Monn, Amanda Lear) – 4:32
  4. "Run Baby Run" (Anthony Monn, Amanda Lear) – 3:45
  5. "Follow Me (Reprise)" (Anthony Monn, Amanda Lear) – 3:40
Side B
  1. "Comics" (Charly Ricanek, Amanda Lear) – 3:40
  2. "Enigma (Give a Bit of Mmh to Me)" (Rainer Pietsch, Amanda Lear) – 5:08
  3. "The Stud" (Rainer Pietsch, Amanda Lear) – 4:02
  4. "Hollywood Flashback" (Anthony Monn, Amanda Lear) – 4:31
  5. "Queen of Chinatown" (Rainer Pietsch, Amanda Lear) – 4:15

Spanish cassette edition

Side A
  1. "Sigueme (Follow Me)" (Anthony Monn, Amanda Lear)
  2. "Gold" (Charly Ricanek, Amanda Lear)
  3. "Mother, Look What They've Done to Me" (Anthony Monn, Amanda Lear)
  4. "Run Baby Run" (Anthony Monn, Amanda Lear)
  5. "Follow Me (Reprise)" (Anthony Monn, Amanda Lear)
Side B
  1. "Comics" (Charly Ricanek, Amanda Lear)
  2. "Enigma (Give a Bit of Mmh to Me)" (Rainer Pietsch, Amanda Lear)
  3. "The Stud" (Rainer Pietsch, Amanda Lear)
  4. "Hollywood Flashback" (Anthony Monn, Amanda Lear)
  5. "Comics (Reprise)" (Charly Ricanek, Amanda Lear)

CD edition

  1. "Follow Me"/"Gold"/"Mother, Look What They've Done to Me"/"Run Baby Run"/"Follow Me (Reprise)" (Anthony Monn, Charly Ricanek, Amanda Lear) – 19:44
  2. "Comics" (Charly Ricanek, Amanda Lear) – 3:40
  3. "Enigma (Give a Bit of Mmh to Me)" (Rainer Pietsch, Amanda Lear) – 5:08
  4. "The Stud" (Rainer Pietsch, Amanda Lear) – 4:02
  5. "Hollywood Flashback" (Anthony Monn, Amanda Lear) – 4:33

Personnel

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1978) Peak
position
Austrian Albums Chart[6] 8
Dutch Albums Chart[7] 9
French Albums Chart[8] 17
German Albums Chart[9] 4
Italian Albums Chart[10] 9

Year-end charts

Chart (1978) Peak
position
German Albums Chart[11] 19
Italian Albums Chart[10] 35

Certifications

Country Certification
France[12] Gold
Germany[13] Gold

Release history

Year Region Format(s) Label
1978 Germany LP, cassette Ariola Records
Spain
Austria LP
Benelux
United Kingdom
France Eurodisc
Italy Polydor Records
Portugal PolyGram
Yugoslavia PGP-RTB
Greece Epic Records
Canada
United States Chrysalis Records
Australia RCA Records
1980 Venezuela Ariola Records
1992 Germany CD BMG Ariola

References

  1. ↑ Michael Freedberg. "Sweet Revenge - Amanda Lear". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  2. 1 2 3 "Amanda Lear - Interviews". www.eurodancehits.com. Retrieved 2013-12-04.
  3. 1 2 "Images for Amanda Lear - Sweet Revenge". Discogs. www.discogs.com. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  4. ↑ "Amanda Lear - Dulce Venganza (Sweet Revenge) (Cassette, Album) at Discogs". Discogs. www.discogs.com. Retrieved 2013-12-17.
  5. ↑ "Amanda Lear Biography". www.eurodancehits.com. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  6. ↑ "Discographie Amanda Lear" (in German). austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
  7. ↑ "Discografie Amanda Lear" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
  8. ↑ "Tous les Albums classés par Artiste" (in French). www.infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
  9. ↑ "Amanda Lear, Sweet Revenge" (in German). www.officialcharts.de. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  10. 1 2 "Hit Parade Italia - ALBUM 1978" (in Italian). www.hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 2013-10-05.
  11. ↑ "Alben 1978 Deutschland Album-Charts Top 100 Auswertung" (in German). www.chartsurfer.de. Retrieved 2015-03-24.
  12. ↑ "Les Certifications (Albums) du SNEP (Bilan par Artiste)" (in French). www.infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
  13. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank" (in German). www.musikindustrie.de. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
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