The Sphinx (song)
"The Sphinx" is a song by French singer Amanda Lear released in 1978 by Ariola Records as the single from her third album Never Trust a Pretty Face.
"The Sphinx" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Amanda Lear | ||||
from the album Never Trust a Pretty Face | ||||
B-side | "Hollywood Flashback" | |||
Released | 1978 | |||
Format | 7", 12" | |||
Recorded | 1978 | |||
Genre | Disco | |||
Length | 4:25 | |||
Label | Ariola | |||
Songwriter(s) | Anthony Monn, Amanda Lear | |||
Producer(s) | Anthony Monn | |||
Amanda Lear singles chronology | ||||
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Song information
The song was composed and produced by Anthony Monn, and marked a change in Lear's repertoire as her first downtempo disco ballad. The melancholic Lear-penned lyrics, in which the singer compares herself to the mythical Sphinx, tell about "the desire to remain a mystery".[1] The singer has reflected that "The Sphinx" is the best song she wrote.[2][3]
"The Sphinx" was released as the advance single from the singer's third studio album Never Trust a Pretty Face in late 1978. The single B-side was "Hollywood Flashback", the closing track on her previous album, Sweet Revenge. The song was a moderate chart success, reaching the top 20 across Europe, and remains one of Lear's biggest hits of the disco era.
Lear re-recorded the song for the 1998 album Back in Your Arms, and included the new version on her greatest hits compilation Forever Glam! in 2005.
Track listing
- 7" Single[4]
- A. "The Sphinx" – 4:25
- B. "Hollywood Flashback" – 4:31
- 12" Single[5]
- A. "The Sphinx" – 5:13
- B. "Hollywood Flashback" – 4:31
Cover versions
- Spanish singer Pedro Marín covered the song on his 2006 Amanda Lear tribute album Diamonds.[9]
- In 2015, Chilean-American musician Promis released a cover of the song on his collaboration album Sunset Blvd with producer Ian Matthews.[10] The song was released as the single in spring 2016.[11]
References
- Marco Pantella (2014-10-22). "Amanda Lear - An Interview with - The GROUND Magazine". www.thegroundmag.com. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
- "Compte-rendu du chat avec Amanda Lear et les lecteurs de Gay.com" (in French). gay.com. 2001-06-18. Archived from the original on 2002-01-29. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
- "The Original Queen Of Reinvention". ponystep.com. 2013-02-09. Archived from the original on 2015-07-23. Retrieved 2016-03-13.
- "THE SPHINX 1978 Germany". amandalear_singoli.tripod.com. Retrieved 2011-05-18.
- "Amanda Lear - The Sphinx (Vinyl) at Discogs". www.discogs.com. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
- "ultratop.be - Amanda Lear" (in Dutch). www.ultratop.be. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
- "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste" (in French). www.infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
- "Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). www.offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
- "Pedro Marín* - Diamonds (CD, Album) at Discogs". www.discogs.com. Retrieved 2017-12-25.
- "Amazon.com: Sunset Blvd: Promis & Matthews: MP3 Downloads". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
- "Promis & Matthews - The Sphinx - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2018-01-14.