Incognito (Amanda Lear album)

Background

After Diamonds for Breakfast, Amanda Lear wanted to record more music to her own taste. The singer teamed up with producer Trevor Horn and started recording a rock-influenced album in London, however, Ariola Records did not approve of the material and persuaded her to work on a new album with Anthony Monn. The Monn-produced material continued to depart from the disco music which by the early 1980s had lost its momentum, and instead explored new wave music. The track "New York" was originally recorded by Francis Lai and included on his 1980 album Paris - New York. "If I Was a Boy" is a cover of a song previously recorded by Italian singer Walter Foini, with new, English language lyrics written by Amanda.

Incognito is a concept album, with every song referring to a different "deadly sin", as imagined by Amanda, including two of the original seven deadly sins. Amanda elaborated in the liner notes: "Walking incognito behind my dark glasses in a future world not so far away I see the deadly sins. Fighting to survive (it is the law of the jungle) we meet with envy, violence, greed, fear, indifference and even bureaucracy and nostalgia, this favorite sin of mine which helps to accept the future". She would also quote "Hell is who (where) you really are" from Robert Sheckley. Most tracks on the side A are a non-stop medley, a formula previously used on the 1978 album Sweet Revenge. The album's title comes from the lyrics of the song "New York", which concludes the suite on the side A.

The chansonesque "Égal" was released as the lead single from the album and was only a moderate success in Germany. The Spanish language version of the song, "Igual", was released in Spain and Latin America. Further singles, released specifically in different territories, included "Love Amnesia" in Italy, "Red Tape" in France, "Nymphomania" in Scandinavia and "Hollywood Is Just a Dream When You're Seventeen" in Brazil. None of the follow-up singles were successful in the charts. The album itself was Lear's first not to chart in Germany, her biggest market up to that point, but was met with a moderate success in Scandinavian countries and Latin America. For the South American market, Amanda re-recorded three songs in Spanish: "Égal" as "Igual", "Berlin Lady" as "Dama de Berlin" and "Nymphomania" as "Ninfomanía".

The rights to the Ariola-Eurodisc back catalogue are currently held by Sony BMG. Like most of Amanda's albums from the Ariola Records era, Incognito has not received the official CD re-issue.

Track listing

1. Laziness: "Hollywood Is Just a Dream When You're Seventeen" (Hanne Haller, Anthony Monn, Amanda Lear) – 4:50
2. Indifference: "Love Amnesia" (Eugene Moule) – 3:45
3. Bureaucracy: "Red Tape" (Anthony Monn, Amanda Lear) – 3:28
4. Fear: "New York" (Francis Lai, Amanda Lear) – 4:28

1. Pride: "Égal" (Anthony Monn, Amanda Lear) – 3:25
2. Nostalgia: "Berlin Lady" (Peter Dibbens, Mike Stepstone) – 3:22
3. Greed: "Nymphomania" (Pierre Macabal, Michel Gouty) – 3:27
4. Envy: "If I Was a Boy" (Walter Foini, Amanda Lear) – 3:15
5. Anger: "Made in France" (Patrick Jaymes, Amanda Lear) – 2:10

Personnel