''Martika's Kitchen'' is the second (and final) studio album by pop singer and former

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associated t ...

Martika Marta Marrero (born May 18, 1969), better known by her stage name Martika ( ), is an American pop singer and actress. She released two internationally successful albums in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which sold over four million copies wor ...

, released in 1991 on Columbia Records. The album was reissued in deluxe 2CD edition in 2018 as ''Martika's Kitchen (Reheated Edition)'' with 12 bonus tracks of rare mixes and single edits.

Album background

The album was a departure in musical styles from Martika's debut album. ''Martika's Kitchen'' incorporates elements of

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, funk, R&B and traditional

Cuban music The music of Cuba, including its instruments, performance, and dance, comprises a large set of unique traditions influenced mostly by west African and European (especially Spanish) music. Due to the syncretic nature of most of its genres, Cuban mu ...

. The album features four songs written and produced by

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

. The four Prince songs (tracks 1-3 and 10) on the album were recorded by him and then sent to Martika to

overdub Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...

. Three of those songs were based on a lyrics notebook she had given him for inspiration.

Album reception

The Prince-penned title track cracked the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the gospel-themed " Love... Thy Will Be Done", co-written by Prince and Martika, made the top 10. The album was certified gold in both the UK and Australia. "Love... Thy Will Be Done" reached #1 in Australia, and the top 10 in the UK, Ireland, and New Zealand. The " Martika's Kitchen" single reached the top 40 in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand. A third single, " Coloured Kisses", narrowly missed the top 40 in the UK, and peaked at #39 in Australia. A fourth single, "Safe In the Arms of Love", was released in Europe in 1992 but failed to chart. "Temptation" was set to become the final single but was never officially released. A concert tour to promote the album visited over 200 cities.

Track listing

# " Martika's Kitchen" (

) – 5:09 # "Spirit" (Frankie Blue, Martika, Prince,

Levi Seacer Jr. Levi Seacer Jr. (born April 30, 1961) is an American musician. He was an early associate of Sheila E. when he was tapped by Prince to form a new touring band after the demise of The Revolution in 1986. Seacer became the band's bassist, as we ...

) – 4:38 # " Love... Thy Will Be Done" (Martika, Prince) – 5:02 # "A Magical Place" (Christopher Max) – 4:41 # " Coloured Kisses" (Blue, Les Pierce, Martika) – 4:37 # "Safe in the Arms of Love" (Michael Cruz, Martika, Michael Jay) – 5:09 # "Pride and Prejudice" (Cruz, Martika) – 5:12 # "Take Me to Forever" (Martika, Jay) – 4:35 # "Temptation" (Blue, Pierce, Martika) – 4:46 # "Don't Say U Love Me" (Martika, Prince) – 4:24 # "Broken Heart" (Blue, Pierce, Martika) – 4:33 # "Mi Tierra" (duet with Celia Cruz) (Blue, Pierce, Martika) – 4:38

Reheated edition - bonus disc

# "Love... Thy Will Be Done" (Single Version) – 4:23 # "Martika's Kitchen" (Single Version) – 4:12 # "Coloured Kisses" (Single Version) – 4:07 # "Safe in the Arms of Love" (Edit version) – 3:19 # "Spirit" (Radio Edit) – 3:55 # "Love... Thy Will Be Done" (Prince Mix) – 5:57 # "Martika's Kitchen" (Remix 1 Alt. 7" Video Version) – 5:00 # "Coloured Kisses" (Remix) – 4:57 # "Spirit" (House Mix) – 8:03 # "Martika's Kitchen" (Extended Version) – 5:24 # "Spirit" (Hip-Hop Mix) – 5:01 # "Martika's Kitchen" (Alternate Dub Version) – 5:09

Singles

# 1991: "Love... Thy Will Be Done" #10 US, #9 UK, #1 AUS # 1991: "Martika's Kitchen" #93 US, #17 UK, #29 AUS # 1992: "Coloured Kisses" #41 UK, #39 AUS # 1993: "Safe in the Arms of Love" # 1993: "Spirit" (remixes promo only) # 1993: "Mi Tierra/El Amor Llegará" (Argentine promo only)

Other tracks

# "El Amor Llegará" ("Love... Thy Will Be Done") – 5:01 * Released in Argentina with "Mi Tierra" as a double A-side promo single. # "Beautiful Fabulous" (outtake) # "Rub U Down" (outtake) # "The Do" (outtake)

Chart performance

Sales and certifications

References

{{Authority control Martika albums 1991 albums Albums produced by Prince (musician) Columbia Records albums