"Too Shy" is a song written and recorded by the British band Kajagoogoo, released in January 1983. The first single from their debut album White Feathers, the song was an immediate hit and reached number one on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks. It was also very successful in other European countries and Japan, spending five weeks at number one in Germany, also reaching number one in Belgium and Ireland, as well as reaching number two in France and Switzerland, and number four in Sweden, Austria and the Netherlands. In the UK, it became the 13th best-selling single of 1983.
Assisted by heavy rotation on MTV, the song later became a success in the United States, peaking at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Too Shy" is Kajagoogoo's only significant hit in the US, where the band is widely regarded as a one-hit wonder. In the UK, Kajagoogoo had further hits, including two more top 10 singles: "Ooh to Be Ah" and "Big Apple", both in 1983.
"Too Shy" was written by Kajagoogoo and produced by Duran Duran keyboardist Nick Rhodes and Colin Thurston, the latter of whom had produced Duran Duran's first two albums. In 2006, "Too Shy" was ranked number 27 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the 80's and number 9 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s.
The music video directed by Simon Milne, cast model Carolyn Espley (later wife of Dennis Miller) as a waitress cleaning up a nightclub at the end of the night. As the band performs the song on the club stage, she has visions of dancers from different eras populating the dance floor.
The song was an immediate hit, topping the UK Singles Chart for two weeks. It spent five weeks at number one in Germany, and reaching number two in Switzerland, and number four in Sweden, Austria and the Netherlands. The song was also a top 10 hit in the United States during the summer of 1983.
The 12" maxi single's B-side, "Take Another View", a non-album track, often performed live, was included on the 2004 re-issue of White Feathers, which contained several bonus tracks, including the instrumental version of "Too Shy", originally featured on the B-sides of both the 7" and 12" singles.
The extended version of the song, titled "Midnight Mix", can be heard in the Rockstar video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, played on the in-game radio station Wave 103. It also appears as a collectable cassette tape in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. A Simlish version of the song is also featured in The Sims 2 expansion pack, The Sims 2: Open for Business. The song also features in the Black Mirror interactive film Bandersnatch on Netflix. It can also be heard in the 1998 film The Wedding Singer during the engagement party scene.
"Return to Innocence" is a song by German musical group Enigma, released in December 1993 by Virgin as the lead single from the group's second album, The Cross of Changes (1993). It reached number one in over 10 countries, peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart, and entered the top five in several other countries. "Return to Innocence" was the project's biggest hit in the United States, reaching number two on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and number four on the Billboard Hot 100. Julien Temple directed its accompanying music video, which received heavy rotation on European music channels.
The song's melodic and talking vocals in English are provided by Angel X (Andreas Harde), and a short talking vocal by Sandra ("That's not the beginning of the end, that's the return to yourself, the return to innocence"), while an Amis chant ("Weeding and Paddyfield Song No. 1") sung by folk music duo Difang and Igay Duana opens the song and is repeated throughout. Hailing from Taiwan, these Amis musicians were in a cultural exchange program in Paris in 1988 when their performance of the song was recorded by the Maison des Cultures du Monde and later distributed on CD. The producer of Enigma, Michael Cretu, later obtained the CD and proceeded to sample it. In addition, the drum beat of the song was sampled from the Led Zeppelin song "When the Levee Breaks", played by John Bonham.
The song was used to promote several types of media in the mid-1990s, including film and TV commercials. In autumn 1994, the song was featured in an episode of the TV show My So-Called Life. In 1995, the song was used as the closing theme in Disney's live-action film Man of the House, as well as in the opening and closing of an Outer Limits episode. In 1996, the song was further popularised when it was used in a television advertisement to promote the 1996 Summer Olympics.
In March 1998, Difang and Igay sued Cretu, Virgin Records and a number of recording companies for unauthorised use of their song without credit. The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount of money and all further releases of the song were credited (including royalties) to the Duanas. Cretu has stated that he had been led to believe that the recording was in the public domain and that he did not intentionally violate the Duanas' copyright.
English film, documentary and music video director Julien Temple directed the accompanying music video for "Return to Innocence", which depicts a man's life in reverse, starting with him dying and ending with his baptism as a baby. It received heavy rotation on MTV Europe and was A-listed on Germany's VIVA.
Track listings
European CD single
UK 7-inch and cassette single
US and Australian cassette single
"Return to Innocence" (radio edit) – 4:03
"Return to Innocence" (380 Midnight mix) – 5:55
UK and Australian CD single
Japanese maxi-CD single
"Return to Innocence" (radio edit) – 4:03
"Return to Innocence" (Long & Alive version) – 7:07
"Return to Innocence" (380 Midnight mix) – 5:55
"Return to Innocence" (short radio edit) – 3:01
UK and US 12-inch single
A1. "Return to Innocence" (380 Midnight mix) – 5:55
A2. "Return to Innocence" (radio edit) – 4:03
B1. "Return to Innocence" (Long & Alive version) – 7:07
US maxi-CD single
"Return to Innocence" (radio edit) – 4:03
"Return to Innocence" (Long & Alive version) – 7:07
"The Rivers of Belief" is a 1991 song created by the musical project, Enigma. The single was the last to be released from MCMXC a.D..
On the album, the song is part three of the overarching song, "Back to the Rivers of Belief", which includes the songs "Way to Eternity" and "Hallelujah", which then segues into "Rivers of Belief". The single version of the song starts with a sample of the intro to Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D minor and a spoken passage by Sandra, before picking up where the album version begins.
"Principles of Lust" is a 1991 song created by musical project Enigma. It was released as the third single from their debut album, MCMXC a.D. (1990). On the album, "Principles of Lust" is a multi-part song consisting of two versions of "Sadeness" with "Find Love" in between. The single version is a remix of "Find Love" with some additional instrumentation.
Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "The church choir hit-team changes the tempo way down low. Combined with Sandra's vocals and sighs plus some strange bubbling sounds, it should work wonders again."
Track listing:
CD single, UK
"Principles of Lust" (Radio Edit) – 3:25
"Principles of Lust" (Omen Mix) – 5:52
"Principles of Lust" (Jazz Mix) – 3:06
"Sadeness (Radio Edit)" – 4:17
CD single, US
"Principles of Lust" (Radio Edit) – 3:25
"Principles of Lust" (Everlasting Lust Mix) – 5:09
"Principles of Lust" (Album Version) – 4:20
"Principles of Lust" (Jazz Mix) – 3:06
CD single, Japan
"Principles of Lust" (Radio Edit) – 3:25
"Principles of Lust" (Everlasting Lust Mix) – 5:09
"Mea Culpa (Part II)" is a song by German musical project Enigma. It was released in April 1991 as the second of four singles from their debut album, MCMXC a.D. (1990). Like their previous single "Sadeness (Part I)", it is sung in French and Latin, though "Mea Culpa (Part II)" also has a line in English, "The time has come". It was the project's second top ten hit in their native Germany, reaching number seven, as well as reaching the top ten in Belgium, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland. However, it failed to match the success of "Sadeness (Part I)" in many other countries, reaching number 20 in Ireland, number 59 in Canada and number 55 in both Australia and the United Kingdom. In the United States, the single failed to chart on the Billboard Hot, but reached number seven on the dance chart. The accompanying music video for the song received heavy rotation on MTV Europe. Two music videos were made, the first for the orthodox version and the second for the catholic version.
Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "Follow-up to the mega hit Sadeness Part I: this time there's also the choice of a Catholic mix. How long do we have to wait until Pope John-Paul II takes action?"
"Sadeness (Part I)" is a song by German musical project Enigma, released in October 1990 by Virgin Records as the lead single from their first album, MCMXC a.D. (1990). It was written by Michael Cretu, Fabrice Cuitad and Frank Peterson, and produced by the latter. The song features French lyrics whispered by Cretu's then-wife, Sandra and became an international hit, reaching number one in 14 countries. In the United States, it peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on both the Dance Club Play and 12-inch Singles Sales charts. Its music video was directed by Michel Guimbard, featuring a scribe dreaming of wandering into The Gates of Hell. A sequel to the song, "Sadeness (Part II)" featuring Anggun, was released on Enigma's eighth studio album, The Fall of a Rebel Angel (2016).
"Sadeness" was written by Michael Cretu (under the pseudonym Curly M.C.), Frank Peterson (under the pseudonym F. Gregorian), and Fabrice Cuitad (under the pseudonym David Fairstein). The song was named "Sadeness (Part I)" on its single release in Germany, and "Sadness Part I" on its single release in the United Kingdom and Japan. It is a sensual track based around "questioning" the sexual desires of Marquis de Sade; hence the German release name of "Sadeness", as opposed to the English word of "Sadness" used in the UK release. The track reached number-one faster than any new release in German history - before its video clip had even been finished. The record company Virgin had done virtually no promotion on the song. Sales took off purely on the strength of radio and club play.
In the 2017 book Stars of 90's Dance Pop: 29 Hitmakers Discuss Their Careers by James Arena, producer Frank Peterson recalled: "Well, we finished the song, and we were in total awe of ourselves. Michael's manager, who also managed Sandra, came out to Ibiza with us for a weekend, and we played him the track. He was sitting there listening and said, "That's very heavy going. You'll never get that on radio." We started thinking, "Oh shit." An hour later, our contact at Virgin tells us his secretary and other people at the office are fucking amazed by the song. He said he didn't get it, but everyone else seemed to love it. So pretty quickly the song came out."
The track makes use of the following:
Gregorian vocals mostly sampled from the 1977 album Paschale Mysterium by the German choir Capella Antiqua München with conductor Konrad Ruhland. Particularly prominent is music from "Procedamus in pace!", an antiphon which is the second track on the album. The vocals were at first used without permission; a lawsuit followed in 1994 and was settled by compensation.
Part of the drum beat is sampled from James Brown's song "Funky President (People It's Bad)".
The track's main drum beat is sampled from Soul II Soul's 1989 song "Keep on Movin'"
French lyrics whispered by Cretu's then-wife, Sandra, who at the time of Enigma's formation had already hit singles as a solo artist.
Ned Raggett from AllMusic commented, "Snippets of monks invoking the Almighty effortlessly glide in and out of a polite but still strong breakbeat, shimmering, atmospheric synth and flute lines and a Frenchwoman whispering in a way that sounds distinctly more carnal than spiritual (as her gasps for breath elsewhere make clear)." Keith Clark from Bay Area Reporter called the song "suggestive". Larry Flick from Billboard described it as "brilliant and quirky", remarking that "it is currently the fastest-selling single in German recording history." He added that it "has already raised the ire of religious groups for its use of traditional Gregorian chants within the context of orgasmic groaning and a tribal hip-hop groove." Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly described it as a "incense trance". Irish Evening Herald called it "one of the most seductive dance records of the past couple of years". Swedish Expressen noted that church song are used "as a very reliable vocal generator".
Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report wrote, "Listeners may not have a clue what it's about, but the mood created by this totally unique production will keep 'em glued and wanting more. Not only have the Germans demolished the Berlin Wall, they had the good sense to make this a number one "sod - as in (Marquis De Sade) ness." A reviewer from Music Week described it as "chanting monks and a sensual muttering rolling over a hypnotically rolling slow beat". Ian Cranna from Smash Hits noted the "atmospheric lines" of the song in his review, adding that it's "combining medieval monks' chants and wispy, wistful synthesiser driftings over hippety-hoppety beats." Bob Mack from Spin called it "the Dark Ages disco cut". He added that "the track starts with a standard call and response—but it's one of monks doing Gregorian chants. After the beats kick in, synth washes buoy the flute flourishes, while French spoken words and heavy female panting get the point across." Kimberly Chrisma from The Stanford Daily felt the result of combining Gregorian chant with "pulsating synthesizers" was "an ambient fantasia that made the heart throb and the mind tingle."
The single reached number-one on the UK Singles Chart on 13 January 1991, as well as in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. It reached the top spot on the Eurochart Hot 100, where it remained at the top for nine weeks. In the United States, the single peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in April 1991. The record sold over 500,000 copies in the US and was certified Gold there. The single has sold more than 5 million copies worldwide. It earned a gold record in Australia, Austria, France, the Netherlands and the United States, and a silver record in the United Kingdom. It also earned a platinum record in Germany and Sweden.
The accompanying music video for "Sadeness (Part I)" was directed by Michel Guimbard, and received heavy rotation on MTV Europe. It shows a scribe who dreams of wandering among cathedral ruins. He comes up to Auguste Rodin's The Gates of Hell; and as the scribe looks on, he sees a woman (played by French model Kati Tastet) beyond it, who whispers the main lyrics from the song to him. The scribe then opens the gates and, realising what he has done, attempts to flee, but is dragged through the gates. The video ends with the scribe waking up.
In July 2013, Complex included "Sadeness (Part I)" in their list of "15 Songs That Gave Dance Music a Good Name", commenting, "We doubt that something like this, with lyrics in Latin and French that dealt with religion and the sexual desires of Marquis de Sade, would fly in today's pop charts, but there's something that was so undeniable about this new age/downtempo track that it was featured everywhere, from Single White Female to Tropic Thunder." In February 2022, Classic Pop ranked it number four in their list of the top 40 dance tracks from the 90's, praising it as "unique".
Queen of Hearts is a country-pop song written by Hank DeVito, the pedal steel guitarist in Emmylou Harris's backing group The Hot Band. It was first recorded by Dave Edmunds on his 1979 album Repeat When Necessary. Edmunds' version was released as a single and reached number 11 in the UK and number 12 in Ireland that year, but failed to chart substantially elsewhere in the world. The most successful version of the song was recorded by Juice Newton in 1981 – her version reached number two in the United States and South Africa. Newton's version also reached the top 10 in Canada, Australia, Denmark, Switzerland and New Zealand.
Following an appearance on the 1980 Rodney Crowell album But What Will the Neighbors Think, on which composer DeVito played guitar, "Queen of Hearts" had its highest-profile rendition in a version by country-rock singer Juice Newton from the 1981 album Juice. Newton would later recall: "I did ['Queen of Hearts'] live for about a year...Then I brought it to [producer] Richard Landis when we started the Juice album. He wasn't convinced at that point that it was a breakout song but I told him I think this is a real cool song … so we cut it". Newton's own favorite cut on the Juice album, "Queen of Hearts" was issued as the album's second single and would reach number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in September 1981. While still at number two, "Queen of Hearts" was certified Gold for domestic sales of one million units.
"Queen of Hearts" also gave Newton her second huge international hit, with top 10 chart positions in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and Switzerland, and more moderate success in Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands. Her recording of the song earned Newton a 1982 Grammy nomination for Best Female Vocalist, Country and Western category, "Queen of Hearts" having been a number 14 country hit. In June 2014, Newton's version of the song was ranked number 92 by Rolling Stone on its list of the 100 greatest country songs of all time.
Newton re-recorded "Queen of Hearts" for her 1998 album The Trouble With Angels.
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