Sympathique

Sympathique
Studio album by
Pink Martini
ReleasedNovember 11, 1997
RecordedDecember 1996 – April 1997
StudiosStiles Recording Studio (Portland, Oregon)
Genres
Length47:40
LabelHeinz
Pink Martini chronology
Sympathique
(1997)		 Hang on Little Tomato
(2004)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllmusicStarStarStar

Sympathique is the first studio album by the American band Pink Martini. It was released on November 11, 1997, by the band's own record label, Heinz Records. As of 2013, it had sold over one million copies worldwide.

The first single, "Sympathique", was released in 1997 and was nominated as "Song of the Year" at the Victoires de la Musique Awards in France. The album has been certified Platinum in France and Greece and Gold in Canada, Switzerland, and Turkey.

20th Anniversary Edition

In 2018, Sympathique: 20th Anniversary Edition was released by Heinz Records and its global licensees. Pink Martini's arrangement of Maurice Ravel's "Boléro" had been on the original release of "Sympathique" (track 9), but was removed from the album in subsequent reissues due to a legal dispute with the Ravel estate. With the work now in the public domain, the song was added back to the album for the 20th Anniversary Edition.

There are some name changes for the 20th Anniversary Edition. "Sympathique" (track 3) was renamed "Sympathique (Je ne veux pas travailler)". "Never on Sunday" was renamed "Children of the Piraeus". "Brazil" was renamed "Brasil".

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Amado Mio"Doris Fisher, Allan Roberts4:51
2."No Hay Problema"Jacques Marray6:14
3."Sympathique"China Forbes, Thomas Lauderdale2:50
4."Qué Sera Sera"Jay Livingston, Ray Evans4:12
5."La Soledad"Pepe Raphael, Lauderdale, Frédéric Chopin5:41
6."¿Dónde Estás, Yolanda?"Manuel Jiménez3:25
7."Andalucia"Ernesto Lecuona3:41
8."Song of the Black Lizard" (From the film Black Lizard)Akihiro Miwa4:12
9."Boléro"Maurice Ravel6:10
10."Never on Sunday" (From the film Never on Sunday)Manos Hadjidakis, Billy Towne4:58
11."Brazil"Ary Barroso5:24
12."Lullaby"Forbes, Lauderdale2:12

Lyrics

The first and second lines of the first verse and the first line of the chorus (″Je ne veux pas travailler″) of the song Sympathique are taken from Guillaume Apollinaire's poem ″Hôtel″ from Le guetteur mélancolique. The French composer Francis Poulenc used that poem as part of the lyrics for his 1940 composition Banalités, FP 107.

Personnel

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Sympathique
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) Gold 50,000^
Greece (IFPI Greece) Platinum 60,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) Gold 25,000^
Turkey (Mü-Yap) Gold 5,000*
United States — 218,000
Summaries
Europe (IMPALA) Platinum 500,000

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Ankeny, Jason. Sympathique at AllMusic
  2. ↑ Gorder, Alisha (October 1, 2013). "How Pink Martini Became a Portland Export Worth Millions". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "Pink Martini – Sympathique". pinkmartini.com. Archived from the original on November 22, 2019. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Ελληνικό Chart – Top 50 Ξένων Aλμπουμ" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Breaking & Entering: Pink Martini & Blaine Larsen". Billboard. November 3, 2004. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Full list of new IMPALA Awards – 2008". Independent Music Companies Association. October 9, 2008. Archived from the original on December 27, 2015. Retrieved February 15, 2021.