''Vanessa Paradis'' is the third studio album and English-language debut by French singer

Vanessa Paradis Vanessa Chantal Paradis (; born 22 December 1972) is a French singer, model, and actress. Paradis became a child star at the age of 14 with the international success of her single "Joe le taxi" (1987). At age 18, she was awarded France's high ...

, released on 21 September 1992 by Remark Records. It contains the singles "

Be My Baby "Be My Baby" is a song by American girl group the Ronettes that was released as a single on Philles Records in August 1963. Written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, and Phil Spector, the song was the Ronettes' biggest hit, reaching number 2 in ...

" and "Sunday Mondays".

Background and writing

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. His style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop and folk. Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male Roc ...

, who was dating Paradis at the time, produced and co-wrote the album. Some editions of the album contain the extra track "Gotta Have It", which is a tribute to Kravitz and is co-written by Kravitz himself. This was omitted on the US release of the album. The album is noted for being the first time Paradis took creative control over her music. It is also noted for being innovative in its use of instruments, and for its replication of the 1960s soundscape on virtually every song. A one-hour television special on the making of the album was recorded in 1992 and aired on 28 March 1993 on French channel

Canal+ Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...

Critical reception

The album was one of her most successful and most critically acclaimed, proving to be both popular in France and the UK. It spawned several successful singles, including one of her most recognisable songs "Be My Baby".

Track listing

Personnel

*Tony Breit – bass guitar (tracks 1, 2, 9, 11) *Debbe Cole – backing vocals (track 4) *David Domanich –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

*Greg Di Gesu – assistant engineer *Jamal Haines – trombone (track 6) *Henry Hirsch – bass guitar, engineer,

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

, mixing, organ, piano, string arrangement,

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

*Judith Hobson-Mitchell – backing vocals (track 10) *Huart/Cholley –

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

*Michael Hunter – trumpet (track 9) *

– backing vocals, bass guitar, drums,

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

, guitar, harmonica, horn arrangement,

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. A ...

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

, string arrangement, tambourine, vocal arrangement *Richard Mitchell – backing vocals (track 10) *

Jean-Baptiste Mondino Jean-Baptiste Mondino (born Aubervilliers, France on 21 July 1949) is a French fashion photographer and music video director. He has directed music videos for Madonna, David Bowie, Sting, Björk, Don Henley, Neneh Cherry, Axel Bauer and Les Ri ...

– photography *B.J. Nelson – backing vocals (track 4) *Didier Pain – executive producer *

– backing vocals, tambourine (track 6) *

Antoine Roney Antoine Roney (born April 1, 1963, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American tenor saxophonist, brother to trumpeter Wallace Roney.Allmusic profile/ref> He attended the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and the Hartt School of Music of the Univer ...

– saxophone (track 9) *

Craig Ross Craig David Ross is an American guitarist best known for performing and recording with Lenny Kravitz. Early life Craig Ross was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He has two daughters named Mia and Devon with his first wife Anna. Sinc ...

– guitar *

Angie Stone Angela Laverne Brown (born December 18, 1961) known professionally as Angie Stone, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. She rose to fame in the late 1970s as member of the hip hop trio The Sequence. In the early 1990s ...

– backing vocals (tracks 2, 10) String quintet (tracks 1, 4, 5, 7) *Eric Delente – violin *Soye Kim – violin *Sarah Adams – viola *Allen Whear – cello *John Whitfield – cello

Charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{Authority control 1992 albums Albums produced by Lenny Kravitz Vanessa Paradis albums