The Stars We Are

The Stars We Are is the fourth studio album by British singer/songwriter Marc Almond. It was released in September 1988, reaching number 41 on the UK Albums Chart,[1] and 144 on the US Billboard 200 album chart.[2] It is Almond's highest selling solo album in both countries and was certified silver by the BPI. The Stars We Are includes the singles "Tears Run Rings", "Bitter Sweet", "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" and "Only the Moment".

The Stars We Are
Studio album by
Marc Almond
ReleasedSeptember 1988
Recorded1988
StudioMatrix Studios, 35 Little Russell Street, London
GenreArt pop
Label
Producer
Marc Almond chronology
Singles 1984–1987
(1987)		 The Stars We Are
(1988)		 Jacques
(1989)
Singles from The Stars We Are
  1. "Tears Run Rings" b/w "Everything I Wanted Love to Be"
    Released: September 1988
  2. "Bitter Sweet" b/w "King of the Fools"
    Released: November 1988
  3. "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart"
    Released: January 1989
  4. "Only the Moment" b/w "Real Evil"
    Released: March 1989

With his assembled band La Magia (made up of former Willing Sinners members Annie Hogan, Billy McGee and Steve Humphreys) and accompanied by various studio musicians, Almond recorded the album at Matrix Studios in London. The artwork was designed by Huw Feather with a cover photograph by Andy Catlin.

Music and recording

The album includes a duet with the German singer Nico, titled "Your Kisses Burn", which was recorded shortly before her death. Almond also duets with Agnes Bernelle on the track "Kept Boy"[3] (a bonus track on the CD and cassette versions of the album) and also with US singer Gene Pitney as they perform Pitney's 1967 hit "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart". This version became a UK number one hit in early 1989 and was the UK's sixth best-selling single of that year, being certified Gold by the BPI.[4]

Original editions of the album did not feature Almond's duet with Pitney on "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart", and simply contained Almond's original solo version of the track instead. The duet version was recorded after the album was released and, after the success of the single in 1989, the duet was appended to CD and cassette versions and appeared in-place of the original solo version on some LP versions.

"Tears Run Rings" was Almond's only solo single to peak inside the US Billboard Hot 100.

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Marc Almond; except where indicated.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Stars We Are"Marc Almond, Annie Hogan3:44
2."These My Dreams Are Yours" 5:28
3."Bitter Sweet"Almond, Hogan3:21
4."Only the Moment"Almond, Hogan4:41
5."Your Kisses Burn" (Duet with Nico) 4:43
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."The Very Last Pearl" 4:45
7."Tears Run Rings" 4:22
8."Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart"Roger Greenaway, Roger Cook4:40
9."The Sensualist"Almond, Hogan5:28
10."She Took My Soul in Istanbul"Almond, Billy McGee6:22
CD bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."The Frost Comes Tomorrow" (B-side of "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" 12")Almond, Hogan4:18
12."Kept Boy" (With Special Guest Star Agnes Bernelle)Almond, McGee6:14
13."Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart" (Featuring Gene Pitney)Greenaway, Cook4:40

Personnel
  • Marc Almond – vocals, arrangements
  • Nico – vocals on "Your Kisses Burn"
  • Victoria Wilson-James – vocals on "These My Dreams Are Yours"
  • Suraya Ahmed – vocals on "She Took My Soul in Istanbul"
  • Gini Ball – violin
  • Sue Dench – viola
  • Julia Girdwood – oboe, cor Anglais
  • Derek Hannigan – bass clarinet
  • Sally Herbert – violin
  • Annie Hogan – piano, marimba, vibraphone, arranger
  • Philippa Holland – violin
  • Steven Humphreys – drums, percussion, programming, timpani, sampling
  • Christine Jackson – cello
  • Bob Kraushaar – additional percussion, mixing, producer on "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart"
  • Billy McGee – bass, keyboards, doubek, string arranger, string conductor
  • Chris Pitsillides – viola
  • Jocelyn Pook – viola
  • Audrey Riley – cello
  • Enrico Tomasso – trumpet, flugelhorn
  • Chris Tombling – violin
  • Audrey Ahmed – vocals
  • Agnes Bernelle – vocals

Charts
Chart (1988) Peak
position
Austrian Albums Chart[7] 15
Dutch Albums Chart[8] 26
German Albums Chart[9] 9
Swiss Albums Chart[8] 5
UK Albums Chart[10] 41
US Billboard 200 144

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[11] Silver 60,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "The Official Charts Company – Marc Almond". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
  2. "allmusic ((( Marc Almond > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". Billboard. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  3. "The Stars We Are" LP
  4. The Stars We Are CD Booklet
  5. AllMusic review
  6. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  7. "Discographie Marc Almond - austriancharts.at". austriancharts.at.
  8. "Marc Almond - hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch.
  9. "Suche - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". www.offiziellecharts.de.
  10. "Marc Almond | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  11. "British album certifications – Marc Almond – The Stars We Are". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 1 December 2020. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type The Stars We Are in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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