Pure (No Angels album)

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Pure
Studio album by
No Angels
Released25 August 2003
Length
  • 71:55
  • 87:23 (ltd. edition)
Label
Producer
No Angels chronology
When the Angels Swing
(2002) 		Pure
(2003) 		The Best of No Angels
(2003)
Singles from Pure
  1. "No Angel (It's All in Your Mind)"
    Released: 22 April 2003
  2. "Someday"
    Released: 13 July 2003
  3. "Feelgood Lies"
    Released: 22 September 2003

Pure is the third studio album by all-female German pop group No Angels. It was released by Cheyenne Records and Polydor on 25 August 2003. Conceived after the departure of original member Jessica Wahls, the project marked No Angels's first studio release as a quartet and their final album before their temporary disbandment in fall 2003. The remaining four members reteamed with frequent collaborators Thorsten Brötzmann and Peter Ries to work on the majority of the album, with additional songwriting and production contribution from Tobias Lundgren, Perky Park, Nigel Rush, Stephan Ullman, and Twin.

Recorded at the Department-2-Studios in Frankfurt, Pure is predominately a pop album with slight elements of electronic, pop rock and Latin music, marking a departure from the contemporary R&B and teen pop-oriented sound of previous projects; its lyrics explore themes of heartbreak, love, family, and escapism. Elaborating a more grown-up theme for the album, the band requested promotional material to depict a serious, less girlish image. Pure was released to generally mixed reviews from music critics, many of whom praised the slower songs on the album but found the rest of the material too generic

Despite failing to match the commercial success of the group's two previous albums Elle'ments (2001) and Now... Us! (2002), Pure became No Angels' third consecutive chart-topper on the German Albums Chart and was eventually certified gold by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI). It also peaked at number two and nine in Austria and Switzerland, respectively, and produced three top five singles, including the band's fourth number-one hit "No Angel (It's All in Your Mind)". A 2004 concert tour in support of the album, the Pure Acoustic Tour, was cancelled after the group's announcement of their disbandment in fall 2003.[1]

Background[edit]

In June 2002, No Angels released their second album, Now... Us!, which received acclaim from many critics who believed the band would not last past their first album.[2][3] Another major commercial success for the group, it debuted at number one on the German Albums Chart.[4] Following an exclusive swing concert at the Tränenpalast in Berlin in October, No Angels soon followed with a swing album, When the Angels Swing, featuring their biggest hits and selected songs from their first two albums, re-arranged by German jazz musician Till Brönner.[5] Critically acclaimed by critics, the album reached number nine of the German Albums Chart, eventually going gold.[4] In November, the girls embarked on their second national concert tour, the Four Seasons Tour, playing sell-out shows in theatres across German-speaking Europe.[6]

After Jessica Wahls' pregnancy break from the group and the end of the tour, the remaining four members of No Angels began intensifying work on their then-untitled third studio album. Encouraged to exercise more self-control on the longplayer,[7] the band took over responsibility in composing, recording and selecting songs to guarantee a more personal theme on the album — a step that challenged criticism and growing scepticism among the band's label Cheyenne Records and recording company Polydor.[7] "We selected song for us, which are best pop music, sort absolutely well with us, and represent at best what we want to talk about," band member Sandy Mölling said in an interview during the album's release.[7] Impressed by the intensity of the musical output, the group settled on the album title Pure. "The music is very, very pure, [...] there's nothing we had to dissemble for, the album shows who we really are [musically]."[7]

Recording and production[edit]

Recording of all vocals on Pure took place at the Department-2-Studios in Frankfurt.[7] Unlike with previous sessions, the remaining four band members did not record together. Instead, each member would record on her own in the studio, while vocal mixing was provided by engineers.[8] Vocal production was supervised by frequent collaborator Nik Hafemann, with Nadja Benaissa and Vanessa Petruo contributing to the arrangement of the vocal harmonies.[7] Petruo als penned opening track "Sister", another collaboration with songwriter Alex Geringas and producer Thorsten Brötzmann, both of whom had co-written their number-one hit "Something About Us" (2001). The strings-led mid-tempo song chronicles Petruo's fallout with her father, actor Thomas Petruo, and their subsequent reconciliation.[9] Kids voices were provided by Brötzmann's daughters Sina and Lisa-Maria.[9]

Brötzmann produced another five songs on Pure, including the uplifting Latin-flavored mid tempo song "Someday" and the melancholic Latin ballad "Angel of Mine" both of which were compared to their 2002 single "Still in Love with You".[7] He also contributed to the up tempo song "So What" and Petruo's solo song "Ten Degrees" as well as an acoustic version of Dutch musician Robbie van Leeuwen's 1969 song "Venus".[10] The band reportedly disliked their Bananarama-influenced original rendition of the song which they had recorded as testimonials for Gillette's Venus division of razors for women in early 2003.[7] Production on "Eleven Out of Ten", a cover version of the same-titled 2003 song by Swedish girl group Play, was helmed by Tobias Lundgren, while its songwriters, Swedish production duo Twin, provided production on the beat-driven "Feelgood Lies".[10]

Further six tracks were produced by Peter Ries, another longtime contributor of the band, including the electronic ballad "New Beginning" and the warm acoustic ballad "Washes Over Me".[10] His production on "You Lied" was compared to the synth sounds of British electronic musician William Orbit with whom Cheyenne Records had been in negotiations for a possible collaboration on the song, but plans fell through.[10] "Forever Yours" incorporates slight elements of Arabic music, while "Takes a Woman to Know" combines strings and keyboard arrangements with Italian folk music.[11] Ries also produced "Soft Place to Fall", Benaissa's solo song, who rejected a self-written but "dramatic and melancholic" composition in favor of his track, as well as Diakovka's solo song, the rock pop-heavy "Confession".[7] Production on another rock pop song, lead single "No Angel (It's All in Your Mind)", was overseen by Perky Park and Hafemann.[7]

Promotion[edit]

Pure was preceded by lead single "No Angel (It's All in Your Mind)," released on 22 April 2003. A mid-tempo pop rock track about picture-perfect illusions in a relationship.[11] it marked No Angels' first release without Wahls' vocals on it. Another commercial success for the group, the song became their fourth number-one hit on the German Singles Chart. It also placed tenth in Austria, where it would become the band's seventh top ten entry on the Austrian Singles Chart, but was significantly less successful in Switzerland, where it peaked at number 46, a breakaway from the success of previous leading singles. Follow-up "Someday," a latin pop-flavored love song, was issued on 13 July 2003. It became the band's seventh top ten hit in Germany and while it peaked at number five, it would become the album's lowest-charting single in Germany.[12]

On 27 August 2003, the band announced that they would embark on their third concert tour, the Pure Acoustic Tour, in early 2004.[13] Inspired by Acoustic Angels, their special one-off unplugged performance at the P1 club in Munich in March 2003,[1] during which they had previewed some then unknown songs from Pure, including "No Angels (It's All in Your Mind)", "Someday" and "Washes Over Me,"[14] the tour was scheduled to commence on 31 January 2024 at the Stadthalle Bielefeld and conclude on 28 February 2004 at the Grugahalle in Essen,[15] comprising 22 dates across Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, and Switzerland.[16] Ticket sales and reservations began on 3 September 2023.[13]

Only two days later, on 5 September 2023, the group revealed that they would not come together for a new project in 2004 and were instead preparing their official disbandment towards the end of the year.[17] While No Angels manager Regina Weber initially announced that all scheduled Pure Acoustic Tour dates would take place as expected,[17] the tour was eventually cancelled only days after,[18] leading to a breach of contract between Cheyenne Records and concert agency Marek Lieberberg.[16] On 22 September 2003, "Feelgood Lies," the third and final single from Pure was released. The song became the album's third consecutive top five hit on the German Singles Chart, peaking at number three, and marked Pure's only top thirty entry in Switzerland.[19] Following the physical release of "Feelgood Lies," the album's promotion officially ended in favor of The Best of No Angels (2003).[16]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
CDStarts3/10[11]
laut.de[10]

Pure was released to generally mixed reviews from music critics, many of whom praised the slower songs on the album but found the rest of the material too generic.[10] MusikWoche remarked that the strength of the album was its ballads and cited songs such as "New Beginning", "Washes Over Me" as well as the band's rendition of "Venus" as the "quiet, rousing highlights" of the album. The media magazine concluded: "The third studio album of No Angels is not as 'pure' as the title might suggest. But it is a successful proof of their heavenly vocal power."[20] Marie-Louise Leinhos from magazine Aviva felt that "the album is an imaginative work with varied songs [that] is also experimental and open to new influences." She called Pure “another solid continuation” to their discography as well as a "classically crafted pop album with danceable parts."[21] Similarly, Sachar Kriwoj from Berlin magazine Brainstorms! called the album a "dedication to everyone who loves good pop."[22]

Matthias Reichel from online magazine CDStarts criticized the album for its "overbalancing status of filling material" and rated the album three stars ouf of ten. He commented: "In principle, everything on Pure is unchanged: A few 'highlights' are flanked by soulless mass products that are on b-side level at best." However, Reichel felt that single releases such as "Someday", "No Angel (It's All in Your Mind)" and "Feelgood Lies" as well as "Forever Yours" and "New Beginning" confirmed the songwriters' skills for catchy, radio-friendly tunes.[11] Similarly, laut.de editor Vicky Butscher found that Pure was less of a personal album instead of a collection of "typical boy or girl group repertoire". She rated the album two out of five stars and remarked that the album was drawing inspiration from Madonna's 1998 studio album Ray of Light, particularly on "You Lied", as well as British female groups such as All Saints and the Sugababes. Satisfied with later half of the album though, she concluded: "The best thing would be for No Angels to focus on ballads in the future. Anyone who listens to "New Beginning" or "Washes Over Me" knows why. Also, the re-arranged "Venus" is much more beautiful, than the pop jingle."[10] SWR3 called Pure a "pop album worth listening to with excursions into funk and soul."[23]

Chart performance[edit]

Released on 25 August 2003, Pure debuted at number one on the German Albums Chart in the week of 8 September 2003.[24] It marked the band's third consecutive studio album to reach the top position on this particular chart.[25] Due to the announcement of their disbandment two weeks after its release, promotional efforts for No Angels soon shifted to their first compilation The Best of No Angels (2003) after the release of Pure's third single "Feelgood Lies" in late September 2003.[1] Pure, however, fell out of the top ten in its sixth week of release but remained on the chart until late December 2003.[26] While not as commercially successful as its predecessors Elle'ments (2001) and Now... Us! (2002), both of which had been promoted significantly longer and spawned several reissues and special editions, it was eventually awarded a gold certification by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) for selling more than 100,000 copies.[26] In Germany, Pure ranked fifty-second on the national year-end chart.[27]

In Austria, Pure became No Angels's third consecutive studio album to reach the top two of the Austrian Albums Chart.[28] Upon its debut week, it was blocked from the top spot by Dead Letters (2003), the fifth album by Finnish rock band The Rasmus.[28] While Pure failed to place on the national year end chart and was left uncertified, it spent twelve weeks on the chart.[28] In Switzerland, the album became the group's third top ten album. The second highest new entry of the week after American R&B singer Mary J. Blige's album Love & Life (2003), it debuted at number nine on the Swiss Albums Chart.[29] While none of Pure's singles managed to reach the top twenty of the Swiss Singles Chart, the album would spend one week within the top ten and remain another eight weeks on the chart.[29] Pure also peaked at number ten on Billboard's European Top 100 Albums chart.[30]

Track listing[edit]

Pure – Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Sister"
Brötzmann3:26
2."Eleven Out of Ten"
Tobias Lundgren3:37
3."So What"
Brötzmann3:12
4."Angel of Mine"
Brötzmann3:43
5."Forever Yours"
Peter Ries3:25
6."Someday"
  • Thomas Jansson
  • Niklas Hillbom
Brötzmann3:16
7."You Lied"
Ries4:09
8."Feelgood Lies"
  • Maryann Morgan
  • Molinder
  • Persson
  • Ankarberg
  • Dore
3:22
9."No Angel (It's All in Your Mind)"
  • Kirtley
  • Hawes
  • Liz Winstanley
  • Perky Park
  • Nik Hafemann
3:14
10."Takes a Woman to Know"
Ries3:36
11."New Beginning"
  • Thomas Who
  • Negin Djafari
Ries4:00
12."Washes Over Me"
Ries4:13
13."Venus" (including Pure outtakes)Robbie van LeeuwenBrötzmann3:18
Total length:71:55
Pure – Limited edition (Bonus CD)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Soft Place to Fall" (Nadja's song)Allan SimpsonPeter Ries3:26
2."Confession" (Lucy's song)Lucy Diakovska
  • Stephan Ullman
  • Diakovska
3:59
3."How Can We Be Friends" (Sandy's song)
Nigel Rush3:38
4."Ten Degrees" (Vanessa's song)
  • Petruo
  • Brötzmann
  • Geringas
Brötzmann3:25
Total length:87:23

Personnel[edit]

Production[edit]

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Certifications for Pure
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[31] Gold 100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history[edit]

Pure release history
Region Date Edition Format Label Ref.
Austria 25 August 2003
  • Standard
[32]
Germany
Switzerland

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "No Angels gehen getrennte Wege". MusikWoche. 8 September 2003. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019 – via mediabiz.de.
  2. ^ Gauger, Joachim. "Now... Us! review". laut.de (in German). Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  3. ^ Eisen, Matthias. "No Angels - Now... Us! (review)". CDStarts.de (in German). Archived from the original on 4 August 2008. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  4. ^ a b "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (No Angels)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 31 January 2007.
  5. ^ "Boulvevard Berlin: Erkältete Engel im Tränenpalast". Berliner Zeitung (in German). 4 October 2002. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  6. ^ cs (23 November 2002). "Es war eine kunterbunte Party". Hamburger Abendblatt. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Band biography". Star Channel. Archived from the original on 3 February 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2007.
  8. ^ Dippel, Tinka (1 October 2010). Alles wird gut (in German). Kontor New Media GmbH. ISBN 9783841900661. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  9. ^ a b "No Angels - PURE" (in German). Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Butscher, Vicky. "Keine Engel? Doch!, schreien die Balladen". laut.de (in German). Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  11. ^ a b c d Reichel, Matthias. "Pure". cdstars.de (in German). Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  12. ^ "German airplay chart". Charts.de. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2007.
  13. ^ a b "The Pure Acoustic Tour 2004". NoAngels.tv (Official website) (in German). 27 August 2003. Archived from the original on 29 August 2003. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  14. ^ Jordan, Gesine (15 March 2003). "There is no angel inside us". Welt.de (in German). Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  15. ^ Schrüfer, Martin (11 September 2002). "No Angels, no tour, no money..." MusikWoche (in German). Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  16. ^ a b c Levien, Wiebke (10 September 2002). "No Angels Gericht soll sie zum Singen zwingen". Berliner Kurier (in German). Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  17. ^ a b "Girlgroup trennt sich (wohl nicht)". laut.de (in German). 7 September 2002. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  18. ^ ""Pure"-Tour definitiv abgesagt". laut.de (in German). 10 September 2002. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  19. ^ "Top 100 Singles-Jahrescharts (2003)". offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
  20. ^ "Musikwoche-Kritik". MusikWoche (in German). Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  21. ^ Leinhos, Marie-Louise. "Haltbarkeitsdatum abgelaufen oder kurze Atempause?". aviva-berlin.de (in German). Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  22. ^ Kriwoj, Sachar. "CD der Woche: No Angels: Pure". brainstorms42.de (in German). Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  23. ^ "Engel erinnern sich, CD-Kritik: "Pure"". SWR3 (in German). Archived from the original on 5 October 2003. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  24. ^ "Charts KW 37: TV-Stars verhelfen PIL zu Charts-Rekord". MusikWoche (in German). 4 September 2003. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  25. ^ "Charts: No Angels im Höhenflug". MusikWoche. 4 September 2003. Archived from the original on 22 July 2019. Retrieved 22 July 2019 – via mediabiz.de.
  26. ^ a b c "Offiziellecharts.de – No Angels – Pure" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  27. ^ a b "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts (2003)". Offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 22 November 2015.
  28. ^ a b c d "Austriancharts.at – No Angels – Pure" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  29. ^ a b c "Swisscharts.com – No Angels – Pure". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  30. ^ a b Sexton, Paul (5 September 2003). "Eurochart Looks Blu". Billboard.com. Retrieved 11 January 2008 – via All Business.
  31. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (No Angels; 'Pure')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  32. ^ "Pure by No Angels". Amazon. Germany. 22 July 2019.
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