En concert (Mylène Farmer album)

En concert is the first live album by Mylène Farmer, released on 4 December 1989. It retraces her two first albums, Cendres de lune and Ainsi soit je... and contains a cover, "Je voudrais tant que tu comprennes", originally sung by Marie Laforêt.

En concert
Live album by Mylène Farmer
Released	4 December 1989
Recorded	20 and 21 October 1989 in Brussels
Genre	Synthpop, darkwave, baroque pop
Length	1:49:39
Label	Polydor
Producer	Laurent Boutonnat
Mylène Farmer chronology
Ainsi soit je... (1988) En concert (1989) L'autre... (1991)
Singles from En concert
"Allan" Released: December 1989 "Plus grandir" Released: 12 May 1990

Background

From May 1989, Farmer began a series of concerts through all France, which was successful. After these performances, a live album, mixed by Thierry Rogen, was eventually recorded on 20 and 21 October 1989 in Brussels. The photos, made by Marianne Rosenstiehl, illustrate the booklet with images from various shows of the singer on stage. The album was released on 4 December 1989. It was the last album edited by Bertrand Le Page for Mylène Farmer, because he was later dismissed.

A video of the concert, released in May 1990, was directed by Laurent Boutonnat who added to the concert some rather morbid sequences, such as satanic monks and cemeteries, giving thus to the video the look of a film. The editing was produced over a period of one year^[1] and was criticized, because certain scenes were re-filmed without the audience.^[2]

Two singles were released to promote En concert - what was rather rare at the time for a live album: "Allan" and "Plus grandir", which had a minor success, but were much aired in nightclubs. The album also contains the live version of a song which didn't appear then on Farmer's albums, "À quoi je sers...", and a cover version of Marie Laforêt's song, "Je voudrais tant que tu comprennes".

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]

En concert was generally well received in media. For example, The Mag stated that this album is "a beautiful technical and musical performance".^[4] TV Hebdo considered that this album is "loan of emotion".^[5] La Voix du Nord qualified it as "real present", containing "the most successful songs" of Farmer, with a "very class presentation" and a booklet of photos.^[6] As for France Soir, it said that it is a very "beautiful object".^[7] However, according to French journalist Caroline Bee, "the production, a little bit smooth, does not pass on completely the emotion and the strength which emanated from the blazing show".^[8]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 18 on 3 January 1990, on the French Album Chart. It was then number 15, then number nine, which was its peak position. It remained in the top ten for two months and in the top 20 for seven months. It fell off the top 40 after ten months.^[9] and was certified Double Gold album by the SNEP for 200,000 units sold. On 18 March 2005, the album, then released in a digipack version, re-entered the chart for four weeks, peaking at number 106.^[10]

Track listing

CD/vinyl

Disc one

1. "Prologue" (5:50)
2. "L'Horloge" (4:47)
3. "Plus grandir" (4:50)
4. "Sans logique" (5:06)
5. "Maman a tort" (6:20)
6. "Déshabillez-moi" (3:56)
7. "Puisque..." (8:15)
8. "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" (8:58)
9. "Allan" (6:50)

Disc two

1. "À quoi je sers..." (5:05)
2. "Sans contrefaçon" (6:10)
3. "Jardin de Vienne" (6:00)
4. "Tristana" (8:12)
5. "Ainsi soit je..." (7:49)
6. "Libertine" (12:07)
7. "Mouvements de Lune" (Part 1) (4:09)
8. "Je voudrais tant que tu comprennes" (4:03)
9. "Mouvements de Lune" (Part 2) (5:11)

VHS

1. "Prologue" (6:00)
2. "L'Horloge" (4:30)
3. "Sans logique" (5:00)
4. "Maman a tort" (6:00)
5. "Déshabillez-moi" (3:45)
6. "Puisque..." (5:00)
7. "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" (8:00)
8. "À quoi je sers..." (5:00)
9. "Sans contrefaçon" (6:00)
10. "Jardin de Vienne" (5:30)
11. "Tristana" (8:00)
12. "Ainsi soit je..." (7:40)
13. "Libertine" (12:00)
14. "Je voudrais tant que tu comprennes" (4:00)
15. "Mouvements de Lune" (5:00)

Note

• Does not contain "Plus grandir and "Allan" (they are added on Les Clips Vol. III).

Personnel

Musicians: Keyboards: Bruno Fontaine Drums: Yves Sanna Percussion: Philippe Drai Guitars: Slim Pezin Bass: Christian Podovan Cello: Jean-Philippe Audin Background vocals: Carole Fredericks, Beckie Bell Sound: Thierry Rogen Mixed by Thierry Rogen Mastering and engraving: André Perriat / Top Master Photos: Marianne Rosenstiehl / Sygma Design: Jean-Paul Théodule

Editions: Requiem Publishing: "Prologue" Bertrand Le Page / Polygram Music: "L'Horloge", "Plus grandir", "Sans logique", "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces", "Allan", "Sans contrefaçon", "Jardin de Vienne", "Tristana", "Ainsi soit je...", "Libertine" Bertrand Le Page / Cézame: "Maman a tort" Intersong - Paris: "Déshabillez-moi" Requiem Publishing / Bertrand Le Page: "Puisque...", "À quoi je sers...", "Mouvements de lune" Métropolitaines: "Je voudrais tant que tu comprennes" Recorded at Studio Mobile "Le Voyageur II" / Yves Jaget Mixed at Studio Mega Produced by Laurent Boutonnat

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1990) Peak position Belgian Albums (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[11] 2 European Albums (Top 100)[12] 46 French Albums (SNEP)[13] 9 Chart (2005) Peak position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14] 48

Year-end charts Chart (1990) Position French Albums (SNEP)[15] 42

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
France (SNEP)[16]	2× Gold	200,000*
France (SNEP)[17] video	2× Platinum	20,000*
* Sales figures based on certification alone.

Formats

Audio

• Double 12" ¹
• Double CD
• Double CD (only one case)
• Cassette ¹

Note:¹ Does not contain "Déshabillez-moi" and "Mouvements de lune (Part I)"

Video

• VHS
• VHS - Limited edition (+ Best of live)
• VHS - Polygram edition
• 12" Laserdisc

References

1. L'Intégrale Mylene Farmer, Erwan Chuberre, 2007, City Ed., p. 116-117 (ISBN 978-2-35288-108-7)
2. Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer, Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 210
3. AllMusic review
4. Le Mag, 1989, "Mylène Farmer en concert", Eric Joffo Devant-soi.com^{[permanent dead link‍]} (Retrieved 31 March 2008)
5. TV Hebdo, 31 December 1989, "La libertine sur scène" Devant-soi.com^{[permanent dead link‍]} (Retrieved 30 March 2008)
6. La Voix du Nord, 24 December 1989, "Mylène Farmer : sorcière" Devant-soi.com^{[permanent dead link‍]} (Retrieved 30 March 2008)
7. France Soir, 23 December 1989, "Mylène Farmer En concert" Devant-soi.com^{[permanent dead link‍]} (Retrieved 30 March 2008)
8. Mylène Farmer - La part d'ombre, Caroline Bee, Antoine Bioy & Benjamin Thiry, 2005, Archipel Ed., p. 362
9. Albums trajectories on French SNEP Albums Chart Infodisc.fr Archived 22 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved 1 April 2008)
10. En concert, 2005 version, French Albums Chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved 1 April 2008)
11. "Top 3 Albums in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 6. 10 February 1990. p. VII. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 25 June 2024 – via World Radio History.
12. "Hits of the World". Billboard. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
13. "Les "Charts Runs" de chaque Album Classé" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
14. "Ultratop.be – Mylène Farmer – En concert" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
15. "Les Albums (CD) de 1990 par InfoDisc" (in French). InfoDisc. Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
16. "French album certifications – Mylène Farmer – En concert" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 30 November 2021. Select MYLÈNE FARMER and click OK. 
17. "French video certifications – Mylène Farmer – En concert" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 27 February 2021.