''Enchanted'' is the sixth studio album by the British singer/songwriter

Marc Almond Peter Mark Sinclair "Marc" Almond, (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer. Almond first began performing and recording in the synthpop/ new wave duo Soft Cell where he became known for his distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. He ...

. It was released on 7 August 1990 and reached number 52 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

and number 81 on the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

albums chart. ''Enchanted'' includes the singles "A Lover Spurned" (a UK Top 30 hit featuring actress

Julie T. Wallace Julie Therese Wallace (born 28 May 1961) is a British actress. Biography Julie T. Wallace is the daughter of Scottish actor Andrew Keir and his first wife, Julia Wallace. She is the sister of actors Sean Keir and Deirdre Keir. She stands tal ...

), "The Desperate Hours" and "Waifs and Strays" (the latter of which was remixed by

The Grid The Grid is an English electronic dance group, consisting of David Ball (formerly of Soft Cell) and Richard Norris, with guest contributions from other musicians. They are best known for the hits "Swamp Thing", "Texas Cowboys", "Crystal Cle ...

Background

The songs for the album were recorded at Marcus, Beethoven Street, Sarm West, Advision, and Mayfair Studios, London. Almond was accompanied by former La Magia and Willing Sinners member Billy McGee, and various studio musicians. Almond worked with three producers,

Bob Kraushaar Bob Kraushaar is an English pop music record producer specializing in mixing. Kraushaar has mixed and produced commercially successful songs and albums for numerous British and international artists. His first industry appointment was as runner for ...

and Gary Maughan oversaw half of the tracks each, while

Stephen Hague Stephen Hague (born 1960) is an American record producer most active with various British acts since the 1980s. Early life Hague was born in Portland, Maine in 1960. Early career Hague started his musical career in the mid-1970s as a session k ...

produced the lead single "A Lover Spurned". Almond has described the recording process of this album as one of "conflict" between himself and producer Kraushaar.Almond, M., ''Tainted Life, the autobiography'', Sidgwick and Jackson, 1999, p336-8 Writing in his autobiography ''Tainted Life'', Almond describes how in the recording he wanted "spontaneity and surprise, passion and grit" and that he "wanted to be the conductor, waving my baton as musicians came in and out, brandishing strange instruments that created exotic sounds", whereas Kraushaar "was a technophile, and would have happily replaced everyone with the passionless dependability of his computer if he could." However, Almond concedes that "A year later I played the album and loved it. Bob Kraushaar had produced a highly polished, wonderful-sounding album, which at the time I just couldn't hear." The album was reissued on CD in 2002 having been remastered. The artwork was designed by Green Ink with a cover photograph of Almond and Zuleika by

Pierre et Gilles Pierre Commoy and Gilles Blanchard, also known as Pierre et Gilles, are French artists and romantic partners. They have been producing works together since 1976, creating a world where painting and photography meet. Their art is peopled by their ...

. Almond has stated that it is his favourite album cover.

Track listing

Personnel

Players

– vocals, arrangements * Billy McGee – keyboards, bass guitar, orchestra arrangements, conductor, arrangements, brass arrangement ("Deaths Diary" and "Orpheus in Red Velvet") * Gary Maughan – Fairlight, additional keyboards, percussion *

Jack Emblow Jack Alexander Emblow (born 27 June 1930) is a British jazz accordionist who is best known for his musical work accompanying the Cliff Adams Singers on BBC Radio. Biography Emblow was born on 27 June 1930 in Lincoln, England. His father sang a ...

– accordion * Enrico Tomasso – brass arrangement ("Deaths Diary" and "Orpheus in Red Velvet") * The False Harmonics String Ensemble – string orchestra

Additional players

* "Madame De La Luna" **Enrico Tomasso – flugelhorn **Chris Tombling – soloist, violin **Blair Booth – backing vocals * "Waifs and Strays" **

Hossam Ramzy Hossam Ramzy ( ar, حسام رمزي; 15 December 1953 – 10 September 2019) was an Egyptian percussionist and composer. He worked with English artists like Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, Siouxsie Sioux, as well as with Arabic music artists like Ra ...

– percussion **

Betsy Cook Betsy Cook is an American-born singer, songwriter and musician. Since the late 1970s, she has worked mainly in the United Kingdom and collaborated with various British artists such as Gerry Rafferty, Ray Jackson, Lindisfarne, George Michael, ...

– backing vocals, keyboards * "The Desperate Hours" **Richard Bissel – French horn **Juan Ramirez – flamenco guitar, handclaps **Roland Sutherland – flute **Linda Taylor – backing vocals **Maggie Ryder – backing vocals **Suzie O'List – backing vocals * "Toreador in the Rain" **Chris Tombling – soloist, violin **Enrico Tomasso – trumpet * "Widow Weeds" **Hossam Ramzy – percussion **Bashir Abdelal – flute **Kay Garner – backing vocals **Betsy Cook – soloist, voice * "A Lover Spurned" **

– voice **

– keyboards * "Deaths Diary" **Enrico Tomasso – trumpet **

Clare Torry Clare H. Torry (born 29 November 1947) is a British singer, well known for writing and performing the wordless vocals on the song " The Great Gig in the Sky" by the group Pink Floyd on their 1973 album '' The Dark Side of the Moon''. She also c ...

– backing vocals **Kay Garner – backing vocals **Stephanie De-Sykes – backing vocals **Betsy Cook – keyboards * "The Sea Still Sings" ** Dave Gregory – guitar **Clare Torry – backing vocals **Kay Garner – backing vocals **Stephanie De-Sykes – backing vocals * "Carnival of Life" **Marie France – soloist, voice **Clare Torry – backing vocals **Kay Garner – backing vocals **Stephanie De-Sykes – backing vocals **

– acoustic guitar * "Orpheus in Red Velvet" **Hossam Ramzy – percussion **Enrico Tomasso – trumpet **Betsy Cook – backing vocals

Technical

– Producer (all tracks except "A Lover Spurned") * Gary Maughan – Producer (all tracks except "The Desperate Hours" and "A Lover Spurned") *

– Producer ("A Lover Spurned") * Bob Kraushaar – Mixing (all tracks except "A Lover Spurned") * Mike "Spike" Drake – Mixing ("A Lover Spurned") and Additional engineering * Grant Nicholas, Kevin Whyte, Ron Swan, Simon Duff,

Simon Gogerly Simon Gogerly is a British audio engineer with credits including artists such as U2, Paloma Faith, No Doubt and Massive Attack. Gogerly started his career playing keyboards on tour in the 1980s for the new wave band Dead or Alive. He then w ...

and Steve Fitzmaurice – Assistant Engineer * Zuleika – Model * Pierre Et Giles – Cover Photo * Green Ink – Direct Art

Covers

* The song 'A Lover Spurned' was covered in Cantonese by singer

Leon Lai Leon Lai Ming SBS BBS MH (born 11 December 1966), is a Hong Kong actor, film director, businessman and Cantopop singer. He is one of the " Four Heavenly Kings" of Hong Kong pop music. He uses his Chinese name "Li Ming" or "Lai Ming", whi ...

in 1992 on his album 但願不只是朋友 under the name 情歸落泊,

References

External links

Marc Almond official website
{{Authority control Marc Almond albums 1990 albums Albums produced by Stephen Hague Parlophone albums