L'autre...

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}} {{Infobox album | name = L'autre... | type = Album | artist = Mylène Farmer | cover = Lautre.jpg | border = yes | alt = | released = 8 April 1991 | recorded = Paris | venue = | studio = | genre = | length = 53:48 | language = French | label = Polydor | producer = Laurent Boutonnat | prev_title = En concert | prev_year = 1989 | next_title = Dance Remixes | next_year = 1992 | misc = {{Extra album cover | header = Alternative cover | type = Studio album | cover = L'autre (collector edition).JPG | border = | alt = | caption = Collector edition }} {{Singles | name = L'autre... | type = Studio album | single1 = Désenchantée | single1date = 18 March 1991 | single2 = Regrets | single2date = 29 July 1991 | single3 = Je t'aime mélancolie | single3date = December 1991 | single4 = Beyond My Control | single4date = May 1992 }} }} '''''L'autre...''''' is the third studio album by Mylène Farmer, released on 8 April 1991. It contains the singer's biggest hit, "Désenchantée", which was number one in France for nine weeks, and another three top ten hits. The album received mixed reviews from music critics but was a great success in terms of chart and sales (#1 for twenty weeks), becoming the best-selling album throughout the singer's career and the twenty-second best-selling album of all time in France.

== 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 Emil Cioran in which she drew inspiration. She also became interested in painting and visited many art galleries and museums that were also sources of inspiration for her.<ref>''Mylène Farmer, biographie'', Bernard Violet, J'ai lu ed., 2004, p. 131 ({{ISBN|2-290-34916-X}})</ref> Then she decided to compose a third studio album which was recorded at the studios Mega. This one showed an evolution of the singer : indeed, the texts marked a change of mindset and testified to a transformation in her life including a greater openness to the other (hence the album's title). From that moment, the singer decided to more express herself and went to the meeting of her fellow man.<ref>''Télé 7 Jours'', 1991, "Mylène Farmer : "J'ai voulu changer de tête et changer de vie"" Martine Bourrillon [https://web.archive.org/web/20241211040701/http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/1991/Tele_7_jours_1610d.jpg Devant-soi.com] (Retrieved 29 March 2008)</ref><ref name="L'intégrale">''L'Intégrale Mylene Farmer'', Erwan Chuberre, 2007, City Ed., p. 45-47 ({{ISBN|978-2-35288-108-7}})</ref><ref>''7 Extra Belge'', 8 May 1991, "L'Autre Mylène Farmer", T. de H. [https://web.archive.org/web/20241211040620/http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/1991/7_extra_belge_080591_2.jpg Devant-soi.com] (Retrieved 29 March 2008)</ref> Writing for five months, this album was the result of all what has happened to Farmer "at personal and artistic levels".<ref name="Star Music">''Star Music'', 1991, [https://web.archive.org/web/20241211041011/http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/1991/Star_music_18e.jpg Devant-soi.com] (Retrieved 29 March 2008)</ref>

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 poem The Raven).<ref name="Dictionnaire">''Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer'', Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 46</ref> 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.<ref name="Star Music" /> 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.<ref>''Télé 7 Jours'', 8 June 1991, Cécile Tesseyre [https://web.archive.org/web/20241211040625/http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/1991/Tele_7_jours_080691.jpg Devant-soi.com] (Retrieved 29 March 2008)</ref>

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).<ref name="Dictionnaire2">''Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer'', Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 106</ref> 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.

== Lyrics and music == Farmer explained the album's content 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."<ref>''France Soir'', 13 April 1991, "Mylène Farmer: "Je suis encore plus impudique"", Monique Prévot [https://web.archive.org/web/20241211041604/http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/1991/France_soir_130491.jpg Devant-soi.com] (Retrieved 29 March 2008)</ref> 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.<ref name="Dictionnaire" />

== Critical reception == {{Music ratings | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>L' Autre... - Mylène Farmer | Album | AllMusic</ref> | rev2 = ''DeBaser''' | rev2score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite web | title=Mylène Farmer's 1991 Classic l'Autre... Reviewed | date=27 March 2007 | url=https://en.debaser.it/mylene-farmer/lautre/review }}</ref> | rev3 = ''1001 Albums Generator'' | rev3score = {{Rating|2.76|5}}<ref>{{cite web | title=Album of the Day | url=https://1001albumsgenerator.com/user-albums/2P7i0qBBgJPxc01wRQU2DM/lautre }}</ref> }} ''L'autre...'' received mixed reviews from music critics. ''France Soir'' said this album is "a techno pop very well produced".<ref>''France Soir'', 29 November 1991, "Johnny, Mylène, Michael et les autres" [https://web.archive.org/web/20241211040943/http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/1991/France_soir_291191.jpg Devant-soi.com] (Retrieved 29 March 2008)</ref> ''Midi Libre'' stated : "This album will bring fair satisfactions to many people. The general atmosphere seems much less crooked than usual". The musicians are "excellent" and the songs are "good".<ref>''Midi Libre'', 21 April 1991, "Mylène Farmer" joliment désenchantée", J.-F. Bourgeot [https://web.archive.org/web/20241211041615/http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/1991/Midi_libre_210491.jpg Devant-soi.com] (Retrieved 29 March 2008)</ref> ''Télé Loisirs'' saw in this album "a more assertive maturity, a less shaken personality".<ref>''Télé Loisirs'', 1991, "Mylène Farmer a changé de coiffure... et de peau", Véronick Dokan [https://web.archive.org/web/20241211041049/http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/1991/Tele_loisirs_276b.jpg Devant-soi.com] (Retrieved 29 March 2008)</ref> ''L'autre...'' was even elected best album of 1991 by the readers of ''Smash hits''.<ref>''Smash Hits'', 1991 [https://web.archive.org/web/20241211040728/http://www.devant-soi.com/Monde-de-Myl%E8ne/presse/articles-presse/1991/Smash_hits_10c.jpg Devant-soi.com] (Retrieved 29 March 2008)</ref>

However, ''DeBaser'' rated the album three stars out of five and observed that while effective, the album's sound is ''very simple, little refined'' , suggesting that it was not as musically ambitious as her later work.<ref>{{cite web | title=Mylène Farmer's 1991 Classic l'Autre... Reviewed | date=27 March 2007 | url=https://en.debaser.it/mylene-farmer/lautre/review }}</ref>

== Commercial performance == In France, the album went straight to number one on the French Album Chart on 8 April 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. The album was certified Diamond disc by the SNEP for a minimum of one million copies sold.<ref name="Chartsinfrance">Mylène Farmer certifications [https://web.archive.org/web/20080427022955/http://www.chartsinfrance.net/certifications/artiste-850.htm Chartsinfrance.net] (Retrieved 8 February 2008)</ref> To date, ''L'autre...'' is the best-selling album of Farmer.

In other countries, the album's sales were more conservative. In Switzerland, the album appeared for nine weeks on the chart, from 26 May to 8 September 1991, peaking at #27 on 25 August.<ref name="Hitparade">''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 8 February 2008)</ref> In Sweden, it was #45 on 31 July 1991<ref name="Swedishcharts">''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 8 February 2008)</ref> and was ranked #55 in Germany.<ref name="germany" />

== Track listing == {| class="wikitable" width="100%" border="1" ! # !! Title !! Length !! Performance(s) on tour(s) !! TV performance(s) !! Comment<ref>''Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer'', Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 24,25,124,180,193,194</ref> |- |1 |"Agnus Dei" |5:47 |No |No |The title refers to the prayer called "Agnus Dei" in Catholicism. It is chanted in Latin in the refrains by the actor Christopher Thompson. The text, which seems irreverent, uses the vocabulary specific to the Catholic sacrifice. At the end, Farmer said she is excommunicated and prefers go away from the world. |- |2 |"Désenchantée" |5:22 | * 1996 Bercy * Mylenium Tour * Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy * N°5 on Tour * Timeless 2013 * Mylène Farmer 2019 * Nevermore 2023 |* ''Sacrée Soirée'' (17 April 1991, TF1) * ''La Une est à vous'' (20 April 1991, TF1) * ''Stars 90'' (13 May 1991, TF1) * ''Tous à la une'' (31 May 1991, TF1) * ''Riva del Garda'' (September, Rai Uno) |See main article "Désenchantée" |- |3 |"L'autre..." |5:26 | * 1996 Bercy * Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy * Nevermore 2023 |* ''Stars 90'' (13 May 1991, TF1) * ''Tous à la Une'' (27 December 1991, TF1) |See main article "L'autre..." |- |4 |"Je t'aime mélancolie" |5:29 | * 1996 Bercy * Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy * Timeless 2013 |* ''Sacrée Soirée'' (Décember 11, 1991, TF1) * ''Tous à la Une'' (27 December 1991, TF1) * ''Stars 90'' (13 January 1992, TF1) * ''Ein Kessel Buntes'' (March 1992, Germany) |See main article "Je t'aime mélancolie" |- |5 |"Psychiatric" |6:12 |No |No |See main article "Psychiatric" |- |6 |"Regrets" 1 |5:17 | * Mylenium Tour |* ''Star 90'' (7 October 1991, TF1) |See main article "Regrets" |- |7 |"Pas de doute" |5:09 |No |No |At first sight, the song seems to tell the story of a couple in which the woman accuses the man to shirk his responsibilities and to not get involved in the love relationship. However, the text allows a second meaning and seems to refer to premature ejaculation. |- |8 |"Il n'y a pas d'ailleurs" |5:50 | * Mylenium Tour |No |In the words, Farmer addresses somebody, her double, which is disappointed by the life and thinks about suicide. She advises him to learn to like living and to abandon her sadness. The music is very melancholic and ends by a military step. |- |9 |"Beyond My Control" |5:22 | * Mylenium Tour |No |See main article "Beyond My Control" |- |10 |"Nous souviendrons nous" |5:05 | * N°5 on Tour

|No |In the lyrics, the singer wonders whether her public would remember her if she stopped her career. In the refrain, she evokes her fears and her doubts. The music is melancholy and uses a sample of some chords played on the piano at the beginning of "Désenchantée". |}

'''Note''' * 1 Duet with Jean-Louis Murat

== Personnel == {{col-begin}} {{col-2}} * Text: Mylène Farmer * Music: Laurent Boutonnat * Keyboard and arrangement: Laurent Boutonnat * Piano on "Désenchantée": Bruno Fontaine * Guitars: Slim Pezin * Acoustic basses: Bernard Paganotti * Military step on "Il n'y a pas d'ailleurs": Philippe Draï * Flute and harp: Pol Ramirez Del Piu * Rhythmic programmings: Thierry Rogen, Laurent Boutonnat * Programmer: Patrice Rouillon Tsernsoff de Gironville * Vocals: Mylène Farmer {{col-2}} * Sound engineer: Thierry Rogen * Assistant: Lionel Philippe * Editions: Requiem Publishing, Paul van Parys * Management: Thierry Suc * Cover design: Com'N.B * Photos: Marianne Rosenstiehl (Sygma) * Mastering and engraving: André Perriat (Top Master) * Recorded and mixed at Studio Mega * Production: Toutankhamon, Laurent Boutonnat, Thierry Rogen {{col-end}} Except for "Désenchantée": Carole Fredericks, Beckie Bell, Debbie Davis, with the participation of Sophie, Dominique, Edwige, Mandy and Cécile

== Charts == {{col-begin}} {{col-2}}

=== Weekly charts === {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |+ Chart performance for ''L'autre...'' ! scope="col"| Chart (1991) ! scope="col"| Peak position |- ! scope="row" | Belgian Albums (SABAM/IFPI)<ref>{{cite magazine|date=15 June 1991|title=Top 10 Sales in Europe|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1991/MM-1991-06-15.pdf|magazine=Music & Media|access-date=7 December 2022|volume=8|issue=24|page=46}}</ref> | 1 |- {{album chart|Netherlands|57|artist=Mylène Farmer|album=L'autre...|rowheader=true|accessdate=17 June 2016}} |- ! scope="row" |European Albums (''Music & Media'')<ref name="eu">{{cite magazine|date=21 September 1991|title=European Top 100 Albums|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1991/MM-1991-09-21.pdf|magazine=Music & Media|access-date=7 December 2022|volume=8|issue=38|page=46}}</ref> | 15 |- ! scope="row" |French Albums (SNEP)<ref name="peak">{{cite web|url=http://www.infodisc.fr/Album_ChartRuns.php|title=Les "Charts Runs" de chaque Album Classé|publisher=InfoDisc|language=French|access-date=17 June 2016}}</ref> | 1 |- {{album chart|Germany|55|id=1230|artist=Mylène Farmer|album=L'autre...|rowheader=true|accessdate=17 June 2016|refname=germany}} |- {{album chart|Sweden|45|artist=Mylène Farmer|album=L'autre...|rowheader=true|accessdate=17 June 2016|refname=sweden}} |- {{album chart|Switzerland|27|artist=Mylène Farmer|album=L'autre...|rowheader=true|accessdate=17 June 2016}} |} {{col-2}}

=== Year-end charts === {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |+ Year-end chart performance for ''L'autre...'' ! scope="col"| Chart (1991) ! scope="col"| Position |- ! scope="row" | European Albums (''Music & Media'')<ref>{{cite magazine|date=21 December 1991|title=European Top 100 Albums – 1991|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1991/MM-1991-12-21.pdf|magazine=Music & Media|access-date=7 December 2022|volume=8|issue=51–52|page=24}}</ref> | 42 |- !scope="row"|French Albums (SNEP)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.infodisc.fr/B-CD_1988.php|title=Les Albums (CD) de 1991 par InfoDisc|language=French|publisher=InfoDisc|access-date=17 June 2016|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141023045245/http://www.infodisc.fr/B-CD_1991.php|archive-date=23 October 2014}}</ref> |8 |} {{col-end}}

== Certifications and sales == {{Certification Table Top}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=Belgium|type=album|title=L'autre|artist=Farmer|award=Gold|relyear=1991|certyear=1991|certref=<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1991/MM-1991-04-27.pdf|magazine=Music & Media|title=Spotlight - Mylène Farmer|author=Robert Tilli|volume=8|issue=27|page=13|date=27 April 1991|accessdate=8 September 2021}}</ref>}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=France|type=album|title=L'autre...|artist=Mylène Farmer|award=Diamond|certyear=1992|relyear=1991|source=infodisc|salesamount=1,800,000|salesref=<ref name="sales1">{{cite web|title=Mylène Farmer : quel est son album le mieux vendu ?|url=http://www.chartsinfrance.net/Mylene-Farmer/news-100370.html|publisher=Webedia|language=French|author=Jonathan Hamard|date=3 January 2016|access-date=17 June 2016}}</ref>}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=Switzerland|type=album|title=L'autre|artist=Farmer|award=Gold|certyear=1991|relyear=1991}} {{Certification Table Summary}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=Worldwide|salesamount=2,000,000|salesref=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mylene.net/presse/presse2009/mylene-farmer_presse_le-parisien_11-09-2009_002.jpg|title=Les spectacles: Mylène Farmer, les dessous du mythe|work=Le Parisien|date=11 September 2009|access-date=5 February 2018|language=French}}</ref>|nocert=yes}} {{Certification Table Bottom}}

== Formats == * 12" * CD * Cassette * Collector edition - Format : 12" - Limited and numbered edition (5,000)1 * CD - Japan * CD - Taïwan * CD - Digipack (since 2005)

1 Contains the CD album ''L'autre...'', the CD maxi for "Désenchantée", a watch illustrated by "Désenchantée", three photos and an excerpt from the music video for "Désenchantée".

== References == {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Autre}} Category:1991 albums Category:Mylène Farmer albums Category:Polydor Records albums