Description:
This CD is brand new and still in it's original shrink wrap.
This item will be mailed USPS First Class ( so you will even get it on a Saturday ) in a 6x9 Bubble Mailer!!!
| Track listing |
1. Yes!
2. Need To Be Naked, The
3. Anyway (Men Are From Mars)
4. You're Sent From Heaven
5. Dirty Thoughts
6. He
7. Sex Without Sex
8. Love On You
9. If There Would Be No Tomorrow
10. Heavenly Proximity
11. Sex & The City
12. Don't Say Goodbye
13. Sexual (Li Da Di) - (Afterlife Chillout remix)
14. Smile Of My Child, The
15. Need To Be Naked, The - (Thunderpuss mix, bonus track)
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| Details |
| Producer: |
Wolfram Dettki |
| Distributor: |
Alternative Dis. Alliance |
| Recording type: |
Studio |
| Recording mode: |
Stereo |
| SPAR Code: |
n/a |
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| Album notes |
Personnel: Amber (vocals); Lashawn Kwame Cremers (vocals); Thomas Goetze, Martin Schneider (acoustic & electric guitars); Jack Von Tongeren (electric mandolin, bass); Muenster Symphony Orchestra (strings); Anne-Mieke de Vroomen (grand piano, background vocals); J. Persson, N. Molinder, P. Ankarberg (keyboards, programming); Marie Claire Cremers, (background vocals); Mihai Lonesen.
Producers: Wolfram Dettki, "Twin" J. Persson, Chris Cox, Barry Harris.
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All Music Guide
Slowly gaining the sort of mass pop recognition that might cement her place as a true diva, Amber's third LP sees the German singer delivering the kind of stock 21st century dancefloor material that club patrons crave. "Yes!," the first single taken from the album, unknowingly follows Kate Bush's use of James Joyce's Ulysses for a portion of the song's lyrics. While Bush's interpretation of the text is decidedly more erotic, Amber's track is undeniably infectious and features all the standard club elements of the day: massive drums, sweeping synthesizer flourishes, and the necessary dynamic shifts and vocal edits that eventually propelled the tune to the top of the Billboard dance chart. But with Chris Cox of the hugely successful Thunderpuss dance remix team on hand for production purposes, the album's stellar club aesthetics were almost a certainty. The follow-up single, "The Need to Be Naked," was equally successful. But despite having well-crafted sound throughout, Amber's lyrical material deprives most of the tracks here of any real longevity outside of their genre. Lines such as "Take off my pants, my shirt, my socks, and my shoes" may have significant resonance during clubland's wee hours, but elsewhere they only serve to denude a track of anything but the sort of inane sensuality that modern dance fare still thrives upon. Joe Silva
A reviewer, 12/13/2002 
This is the sort of album that needs repetitive play. The lyrics are completely ridiculous ("Sex Without Sex," "Sex and the City"? Come on now!) often purely for the sake of the rhyme. Intelligent dance music this is not. Someone needs to teach this talented diva that simply saying the word "sex" over and over and over and over again does not make a song sexy. The woman claims a huge gay male following and yet she sings about her breasts ("Yes, Yes I put my arms around him, yes/And drew him down to me so he could feel my breast"). This is pure camp. The songs are danceable fun as long as you ignore the lyrics. For example, in the unfortunately titled "Need To Be Naked," Amber chants "Take off my pants, my shirt, my socks and my shoes." Do women wear socks? Are they sexy? And can you really take off your socks and THEN your shoes???? The music is high energy, late 1990's fun, and there is a surprisingly touching new mix of "Sexual (Li da Di)" that is almost, dare I say it, sexual. One wishes Amber had a Robbie Williams overhaul the way that Kylie did a couple of years ago. But don't analyze too much, just keep dancing and the album will grow on you eventually. You may not feel sexual, but I guarantee you'll laugh out loud at least once.
Andrew (avstolb@hotmail.com), a huge Amber's fan, 10/25/2002 
1. "Yes" This is a personable affection story. It was written with a co-writer Billy Steinberg. Amber describes Her encounter with a person whom She loves and wants to share the romanticism of the situation. “ . . .Draw him down to me so he can feel my breast", has already caused a substantial furor in the US due to the veiled, yet still visible and talked about Puritanism of this North American continent. 2. "Naked" These lyrics have a double meaning. As Amber describes, "The need to be naked" should not be taken in an outright literal manner as they mean Her current need of being forthcoming, sincere, honest and straightforward to whomever She addresses this tirade. Also, there is a big amount of passion being pressurized into the content. "If you don't want me, I'll be devastated" is setting the tone of this emotional escalation, "I'm so much in love with you Waiting not knowing baby I hate it Tell me what you want me do" further prologues this desperate cry for help, acceptance and understanding. As the relevance of this, my situation reflects the same kind of emotional desire to bring closure to this anticipating moment of my future rendezvous with Her. It is purely understandable that in this highly paranoid modern oversexed American society this song may be interpreted as having a "sexual" meaning, which it certainly does not have or foreclose. 3. "Anyway (Men Are From Mars)" This is an intriguing story written by Amber and pertains to Her explanation of differences in relationships between men and women. Amber wants to stay in a relationship together, however, due to the perpetual and irreconcilable differences between her and him, its rather difficult. "We're so different why give it a chance" She laments while "You want to be you but I can't be myself". That is why She calls Herself as being from Venus while he is from Mars as the direct connotation of Her compelling desire to break free and away from the matrimony of choice yet passed and buried desire. In the end, She descends to the powerful yet convulsive conclusion: "I love you anyway Only in my way Not in your way Oh not in your way Anyway" as Her way of saying that Her feelings and emotions for him are directed in Her own defined personal direction uninfluenced by the current state of set expectations from others. 4. "You're Sent From Heaven" This song describes Her uninterrupted desire for a never-ending romance with a new choice of affection. Amber delivers a tremendous amount of expectations and the strong like hood of success with a brand new relationship and obvious physical attraction to that object of Her desire. "And to my big surprise I'm feeling so alive, I'm feeling so for real" She suddenly discovers and further notices: Something beautiful, inescapable has happened to me". She, also, tends to abandon some things unspoken and to be left to the spirit of the epitomizing romance with the following verse "Unspoken words that love'll say". She further discovers that "Holding on to nothing but our love is strong" as the promulgating evidence of Her findings. As Her passion speaks: "I need you right here 24/7" which is left in parenthesis in the lyrics as Her own secret yet delivered way of saying how Her needs should be addressed and handled. 5. "Dirty Thoughts" This song is the most powerful on the album as a sexual expression of Amber's desire of relieving Her physical tension. I think this song is, also, an evidence of a "wishful thinking" which She indicated recently in Her modamag.com interview. "The thought of you, the thought of me, the thought of her Such insanity . . ." This is not an implication of a threesome fantasy which would vaguely wonder and linger through Her curious mind, this is a direct and compelling evidence of it . . . There is, also, a clear indication of Amber's desire to play a generally taboo type sado-masochistic game:" The thought of fears the thought of pain the thought of fears like cold and endless jagged rain" Well, New York is definitely an enormous playground of S&M, there are more people located there obsessed with the Dominance and submission (sexual or otherwise) than anywhere else in the world. I am not sure if there are official statistics on the subject, however, it would be preposterous to deny that New York affected Amber's current sexual thinking and enabled to Her to explore it at least as a strong, possessive and captivating fantasy. 6. "He" This song, again, reflects Her romantic description of Her love; his understanding of Her feelings, his everlasting comprehension of Her obvious infatuation as She simply puts it: "He can see through me when nobody knows me Nobody knows me" She further asserts as "He can come for me". 7. "Sex Without Sex" This is another interpretation of "Naked" as is having a physical attraction elevated on a tremendous anticipatory erotic level. The lyrics of this song have purely taken my heart away with the exact same impressions of the state that I am in right now. As to "Keep all your clothes on Talk about our fantasies Holding me so tender Flying through our galaxies" prevails the meaning of it as having a constant tension heightened by an erotic desire. 8."Love On You" This song further deepens the relations between two individuals being in a state of love and mutual obsession. As to taking the every day problems away from the pure and self-contained desire of being with each other without paying any further attention to the stigma of the world. Amber wonders:" Can't we just stay home Just you and me for one day Take the phone off the hook Don't care about what they say". The display of emotion is overwhelming and organic. 9. "If There Is No Tomorrow" This song has a profound philosophical meaning as to constant questioning of taking crucial and substantive things out of every day world and imagining it without it. I like it best as Amber further explores: "If there would be only one day left to exist What would you do if there would be no tomorrow". 10. "Heavenly Proximity" This is another song written with a creative input of another person. This time it was Amber's mom, Anne-Mieke de Vroomen. It has such an enlightening connotation to it as per say: "Always stars are falling over me the sun explores my heart, the moon is dazzling" yet the undying romanticism: "When I talk to you and hear your voice It's like the breezes whispering my name". Another wonderful uplifting exclamation of One's passion. 11. "Sex & The City" This is a playful combination of urban style of living which might be featured in the super popular HBO's series of same name, hopefully, by next season. The song is the outstanding exact description of every day living of four fabulous women in their 30's living in modern New York and making the best out of a dating scene. This is sex and the city Welcome to the craziest place". Could not be possibly described any better! 12. "Don't Say Goodbye" This is another plea of everlasting love and devotion which Amber emanates as Her love interest walks away from Her for whatever reason. In return, Amber contemplates: I wonder where you are, I wonder what you do It's your voice that I'm hearing It's fading, yet, gives Her advice as to: "Just walk away from all this pain inside" and then "Don't, don't say goodbye". 13. "The Smile Of My Child" This song is dedicated to Amber's 11 year old son Lashawn-Kwame Cremers. I am not going to analyze the lyrical content of this song and leave it to Amber as this song is Her most favorite on the album and speaks for itself . . .
A reviewer, 09/25/2002
You won't find many dance divas who can fill an entire CD with music you'll want to hear over and over again -- but Amber delivers. This CD features several recent dance floor hits (Yes! and Need to be Naked), and several others with dance and pop hit potential (Sex without Sex, Heavenly Proximity, Anyway, to name a few). Amber proves she's a pop star with some substance, with lyrics that move beyond the typical dance floor drivel. This is definitely one CD you won't regret adding to your collection.
 Amber
Growing up in Germany with a family background that was enriched in classical music -- her dad being an opera singer while her mom being a composer, singer, and piano teacher -- Amber knew that her eventual profession would involve music one way or another. With several years of vocal training that followed and sometime spent as a studio musician, Amber had the chance to collaborate with the Berman Brothers -- aka Real McCoy -- and release the single "This Is the Night," which not only became an international hit, but it also made it to almost every dance party compilation. After her debut full-length under the same name of her hit with Real McCoy, Amber would soon release a handful of additional singles through Tommy Boy Records, this includes 1996's "Colour of Love," 1997's "One More Night," and "Sexual (Li Da Di)" in 1999. Her second self-titled album followed in 1999. A remix album of her works was released in 2000, with remixes by Deep Dish, Junior Vasquez, and Hex Hector. In 2002 she returned with her third full-length album, Naked, and two chart-topping dance hits, "Yes!" and "The Need to Be Naked." Mike DaRonco
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