Allan (song)
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| Single by Mylène Farmer from the album En concert |
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| Released | December 1989 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Format | CD maxi 7" single 7" maxi Digital download (since 2005) |
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| Recorded | 1989 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Pop | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 4:46 (album version) 6:50 (live album version) 5:14 (live single version) |
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| Label | Polygram | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Text : Mylène Farmer Music : Laurent Boutonnat |
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| Producer | Laurent Boutonnat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mylène Farmer singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Allan" is a 1988 song recorded by the French singer Mylène Farmer. It was the first single from her first live album En concert and was released in December 1989.
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[edit] Background and writing
The song "Allan" was chosen as the first single from the 1989 concert even before the live album En concert would be released. Curiously, the B-side of the vinyl is not a live song, but the first version of "Psychiatric" (the 'new beat remix'), which appeared two years later on the album "L'Autre...". "Allan" doesn't appear on the VHS En concert and is on the 12" in a shorter version. However, the video of this song and that of the following live single, "Plus grandir (Live)", feature on Les Clips vol. 3.[1]
The song was not included on the best of Les Mots.
[edit] Lyrics and music
"Allan" is a tribute to Edgar Allan Poe, a American poet, that Farmer is very appreciative and that she has evoked in many interviews. One verse of the song containing the word "Ligeia" which refers to the name of Poe's fairy tale published in 1837 in the review The American Museum.[2] Farmer also sings "Pauvres poupées / Qui vont qui viennent", which is an excerpt from "Ligeia". In the refrain, the singer slips into the skin of Lady Rowena, one of the heroines of the fairy tale. In this way, Farmer "appropriates Poe's literary work giving another dimension, her own".[3] [4] The French magazine Top Secret tried to give an interpretation of the text.[5]
[edit] Music video
The video, a 5:42 Requiem Publishing production, was directed by Laurent Boutonnat (but François Hanss made all the big shots), with a budget of about 30,000 euros. It was shot for two days in Marne-la-Vallée (France) : one day for the monk and the white horse, and another for Farmer and the stage's decoration ignited. Two explosives and a rocket-flame were needed to set fire to the stage. The screenplay was written both by Boutonnat and François Hanss. The video's backstage were filmed by an amateur who sold unofficially this video ; it contains many secrets of the 1989 concert tour's video, and that of "Allan" (for example, Farmer slips on the dress for the video in her car because there was no dressing room on the stage).[6]
François Hanss directed many other Farmer's videos, including "Je te rends ton amour", "Innamoramento", "Dessine-moi un mouton", "Redonne-moi", "Avant que l'ombre..." and "Déshabillez-moi".
In the video, the monk who opened the cemetery's gates which were used as stage's set during Farmer's concert lights the fire to this set. The scene takes places in a field[3]. The photograph of Edgar Allan Poe burns in the video.[7]
[edit] Critical reception
According to Star Music, "Allan" is a "sad" but "beautiful" song with "dance" sonorities.[8]
[edit] TV and chart performances
Farmer performed the song about two years before the single's release, in the French TV show Fête comme chez vous, on Antenne 2, on May 5, 1988.[9]
The song was listed for eight weeks, from January 13 to March 3, 1990, on the French Top 50 Singles Chart, peaking at number 32 in its fourth week.[10] Its remixes were biggest successes in discothèques.
[edit] Formats and track listings
A-side :
B-side :
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[edit] Versions
- Official versions
| Version | Length | Album | Remixed by | Year | Comment[11] |
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| Album version | 4:46 | Ainsi soit je... | 1988 | See the previous sections | |
| Extended mix | 7:57 | Dance Remixes | Laurent Boutonnat | 1990 | Devoted to discothèques, this version includes a new orchestration with a fast tempo. There are more refrains. |
| Live version (recorded in 1989) | 6:50 | En concert | 1990 | Farmer sings the song after a one-minute introduction performed by Carole Fredericks. | |
| Live single version | 4:50 | Laurent Boutonnat | 1989 | This version does not include the introduction and deletes one refrain. | |
| Live maxi version | 5:15 | Laurent Boutonnat | 1989 | Unlike the live version on the album, this version does not include the introduction sung by Carole Fredericks. |
[edit] B-side : "Psychiatric"
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Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. |
[edit] Credits and personnel
- Text : Mylène Farmer
- Music : Laurent Boutonnat
- Editions : Bertrand Le Page and Toutankhamon
- Recording company : Polydor
- Photography : Marianne Rosentiehl
[edit] Charts, certifications and sales
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[edit] References
- ^ "Allan", L'histoire de la chanson : le premier single live Mylenefarmeriscalled.net (Retrieved January 14, 2008)
- ^ "Allan" Sans-logique.com (Retrieved January 14, 2008)
- ^ a b Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer, Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 32-35
- ^ Mylène Farmer Influences, Benoît Cachin, 2006, Mascara Ed., p. 16,17 (ISBN 978-2351440261)
- ^ Top Secret, 1990, "Dans l'ombre de Mylène", Sébastien Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 22, 2008)
- ^ "Allan", videoclip Mylenefarmeriscalled.net (Retrieved January 14, 2008)
- ^ L'Intégrale Mylene Farmer, Erwan Chuberre, 2007, City Ed., p. 26-27 (ISBN 978-2-35288-108-7)
- ^ Star Music, January 1990 Devant-soi.com (Retrieved March 22, 2008)
- ^ "Allan", TV performances Sans-logique.com (Retrieved January 14, 2008)
- ^ a b "Allan", French Singles Chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved January 8, 2008)
- ^ Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer, Benoît Cachin, 2006, Tournon Ed., p. 32-35
