| The Art of Love | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 23 February 2007 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 54:44 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Producer | Jens Gad | |||
| Sandra chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| laut.de |   [1] |
The Art of Love is the eighth studio album by German singer Sandra released in 2007 by Virgin Records.
The Art of Love is Sandra's first album not to be produced by her then-partner, Michael Cretu, who at that time was unavailable due to working on the new Enigma album, A Posteriori . [2] It was also her last album released before their separation in late 2007. Instead, the material was produced by Jens Gad, Cretu's "right hand man". This change made Sandra actively participate in writing songs for the first time in her career. She contributed very personal lyrics, revisiting sad experiences from her childhood. The album also includes three cover versions: "Put Your Arms Around Me" originally recorded by Sinéad O'Connor, "All You Zombies" by The Hooters, and "Casino Royale", previously recorded by Edyta Górniak as "Sleep with Me" and Conjure One as "Sleep". "Love Is the Price" features DJ BoBo and is their second collaboration, after the 2006 hit "Secrets of Love". The promotional pictures for the album, shot in New York by Bärbel Miebach, saw Sandra return to her signature long hair and reveal a sexier image.
"The Way I Am" was released as the lead single from the album in January 2007 and reached no. 50 on the official German singles chart. "What Is It About Me" was released as the second single in May 2007 and failed to chart except for some airplay in russian Tophit charts reaching position 129 [3] .The single had three bonus tracks: the album track "What D'Ya Think of Me", French version of "What's Left to Say" ("Les qu'est-ce que c'est") and Spanish version of "Silence Beside Me" ("Silencio a mi lado"). [4] [5] "All You Zombies" was released as a promotional radio single in Poland. The album itself was a top 40 chart success in Germany and Poland.
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| French Albums (SNEP) [6] | 159 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [7] | 16 |
| Polish Albums (ZPAV) [8] | 26 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [9] | 88 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Russia (NFPF) [10] | Gold | 10,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Enigma is a German musical project founded in 1990 by Romanian-German musician and producer Michael Cretu. Cretu had released several solo records, collaborated with various artists, and produced albums for his then-wife, German pop singer Sandra, before he conceived the idea of a new-age, worldbeat project. He recorded the first Enigma studio album, MCMXC a.D. (1990), with contributions from David Fairstein and Frank Peterson. The album remains Enigma's most successful, helped by the international hit single "Sadeness ", which sold twelve million units alone. According to Cretu, the inspiration for the creation of the project came from his desire to make a kind of music that did not obey "the old rules and habits" and presented a new form of artistic expression with mystic and experimental components.
Michael Cretu is a Romanian-born German musician, composer and record producer. He gained worldwide fame as the founder and musician behind the musical project Enigma, which he formed in 1990.
Sandra Ann Lauer, later Sandra Cretu, commonly known mononymously as Sandra, is a German pop singer who enjoyed mainstream popularity in the 1980s and early 1990s with a string of European hit singles, produced by her then-husband and musical partner, Michael Cretu, most notably "(I'll Never Be) Maria Magdalena" (1985), "In the Heat of the Night" (1985), "Everlasting Love" (1987), "Secret Land" (1988), "Hiroshima" (1990), and "Don't Be Aggressive" (1992). Her albums Into a Secret Land (1988) and Close to Seven (1992) have won Sandra high critical acclaim.
MCMXC a.D. is the debut studio album by the German musical project Enigma, led by Romanian-German musician Michael Cretu. It was released in Europe by Virgin Records on 3 December 1990, and in the United States by Charisma Records on 12 February 1991. Cretu became fascinated with mixing archaic sounds with modern music after producing German pop singer Sandra's song "Everlasting Love", for which he experimented with Gregorian chant. Following Michael Cretu and Sandra's marriage in 1988, Michael developed the idea of the musical project Enigma and recorded the album over the course of eight months in 1990 at A.R.T. Studios.
Love Sensuality Devotion: The Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by the German musical project Enigma, released on 8 October 2001 by Virgin Records. The album, along with Love Sensuality Devotion: The Remix Collection brings a close to Michael Cretu's first chapter of Enigma.
Love Sensuality Devotion: The Remix Collection is a remix album by the German musical project Enigma, released on 8 October 2001 by Virgin Records. All of the remixes on the album were taken from previously released singles. Virgin Records reissued the album in the United States on 26 December 2006.
The Screen Behind the Mirror is the fourth studio album by the German musical project Enigma, released on 14 January 2000 by Virgin Records. It was recorded at the A.R.T. Studios in Ibiza, Spain.
Jens Gad is a German producer, songwriter and guitarist of Danish parents. He started making music at a young age.
"The Way I Am" is a pop song by German singer Sandra, written by Jens Gad, Sandra and Andru Donalds, and produced by Gad. It was released as the lead single from Sandra's eighth studio album The Art of Love in January 2007. The single included two non-album tracks, "Logical Love" and "Sleep", the latter an alternative version of the track "Casino Royale" from The Art of Love. "Sleep" is a cover of "Sleep with Me" released by Polish singer Edyta Górniak in 2002, which in turn has been originally performed by electronic act Conjure One featuring singer Marie-Claire D'Ubaldo. "The Way I Am" was moderately successful on the German singles chart. No official music video has been filmed for the song.
The Wheel of Time is the seventh studio album by German singer Sandra, released in 2002 by Virgin Records.
"Forever" is a 2001 pop song by German singer Sandra. It is a love ballad written by Peter Ries and Wolfgang Filz, and produced by Michael Cretu and Jens Gad. The song was released in October 2001 as the lead single from Sandra's seventh studio album The Wheel of Time and was a minor success on the official German chart. Music website AllMusic rated the song 3.5 out of 5 stars.
The discography of German singer Sandra consists of 10 studio albums, eight compilation albums and 47 singles, including 10 promotional-only singles. Her videography comprises three long-form video releases and 26 music videos.
Back to Life is the ninth studio album by German singer Sandra, released in 2009 by Virgin Records.
"The Night Is Still Young" is a 2009 song performed by German singer Sandra featuring Thomas Anders. The song was written by Toby Gad and Audrey Martells, and produced by Jens Gad. It was released in May 2009 as the second single from Sandra's ninth studio album Back to Life and was moderately successful on the German singles chart. The CD single also includes Sandra's solo version of the song as well as the English-French track "Redis moi" available only on the digital edition of Back to Life. The music video for "The Night Is Still Young" was filmed in Ibiza by Susanne Sigi.
"I Close My Eyes" is a 2002 pop ballad by German singer Sandra. It was released on 11 November 2002 by Virgin Records as the third and final single from her seventh studio album The Wheel of Time. The song was written by Andy Jonas who has performed male vocals on her fifth and sixth studio albums, and produced by Michael Cretu and Jens Gad. The song performed poorly on the charts and peaked only at number ninety-three in Germany.
Close to Seven is the fifth studio album by German singer Sandra, released on 17 February 1992 by Virgin Records.
18 Greatest Hits is the second greatest hits album by German singer Sandra, released on 12 October 1992 by Virgin Records.
Fading Shades is the sixth studio album by German singer Sandra, released on 12 June 1995 by Virgin Records.
My Favourites is the third greatest hits album by German singer Sandra, released on 4 June 1999 by Virgin Records.
The Platinum Collection is a compilation album by German singer Sandra released in 2009 by Virgin Records.
