Martika (album)

Martika
Studio album by Martika
Released October 18, 1988 (1988-10-18)
Recorded April–May 1988
Genre Pop, dance-pop, synthpop
Length 41:59
Label CBS (Europe)
Columbia, Sony Music (US)
Producer Michael Jay
Martika chronology
Martika
(1988)
Martika's Kitchen
(1991)
Alternative cover
European edition
Singles from Martika
  1. "Cross My Heart"
    Released: 1988
  2. "More Than You Know"
    Released: November 1988
  3. "Toy Soldiers"
    Released: January 21, 1989
  4. "I Feel the Earth Move"
    Released: July 1989
  5. "Water"
    Released: 1990
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Martika is the self-titled debut studio album by former child actor and teen pop singer Martika, released October 18, 1988 through CBS Records.

Background

The album marked the solo debut for Martika, and spawned the American #1 single "Toy Soldiers". The song is about drug addiction, but can sound like a break-up ballad. The song was later sampled by rapper Eminem for his 2004 song "Like Toy Soldiers" featuring Martika as the chorus singer. Songs that charted internationally included "More Than You Know", "Water", and "I Feel the Earth Move", a Carole King cover that cracked the American Top 25. Stylistically the music was strictly pop, despite exploring some adult topics lyrically. The song "Water" is partially sung in Spanish, an homage to Martika's Cuban ancestry. Other songs were re-recorded fully in Spanish for international release.

The album was successful in the United States; it managed to peak at #15 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Gold by the RIAA, making it her best-selling album to date. The album peaked at #11 in the United Kingdom, containing three top 20 singles there.[2] In the UK, the song "Cross My Heart" had already been a top 20 hit for the band Eighth Wonder a year previously,[3] whilst Big Fun pulled their planned single release of "I Feel the Earth Move" shortly before Martika's release.[4]

Track listing

Side one
  1. "If You're Tarzan, I'm Jane" (Michael Jay, Greg Smith) – 4:20
  2. "Cross My Heart" (Jay) – 3:52
  3. "More Than You Know" (Martika, Jay, Marvin Morrow) – 4:10
  4. "Toy Soldiers" (Martika, Jay) – 4:51
  5. "You Got Me Into This" (Jay) – 4:11
Side two
  1. "I Feel the Earth Move" (Carole King) – 4:12
  2. "Water" (Martika, Sue Sheridan, Larry Treadwell) – 4:39
  3. "It's Not What You're Doing" (Roberts Etoll, Jay) – 4:13
  4. "See If I Care" (Martika, Jay, Morrow) – 3:41
  5. "Alibis" (Martika, Mitchell Kaplan) – 3:50

Alternative versions

Four of the tracks from the album were recorded in Spanish by Martika:

  1. "Como Un Juguete" ("Toy Soldiers") – 4:48
  2. "Siento Temblar La Tierra" ("I Feel the Earth Move")
  3. "Quiero Entregarte Mi Amor" ("More Than You Know") – 4:13
  4. "Agua" ("Water")

"Toy Soldiers" was also recorded by Martika in Japanese, released on an EP in 1989 called "Special Touch".

Remixes

  1. "Toy Soldiers" (single version) – 4:19
  2. "Toy Soldiers" (special version)
  3. "Toy Soldiers" (original backing track)
  4. "Toy Soldiers" (edit version)
  5. "I Feel the Earth Move" (7" version)
  6. "I Feel the Earth Move" (single version) – 3:58
  7. "I Feel the Earth Move" (extended single version)
  8. "I Feel the Earth Move" (Seismic Rhythm Mix) – 7:13
  9. "I Feel the Earth Move" (12" club mix) – 6:36
  10. "I Feel the Earth Move" (dub mix)
  11. "More Than You Know" (7" edit/single version)
  12. "More Than You Know" (single remix) – 4:04
  13. "More Than You Know" (club mix) – 6:14
  14. "More Than You Know" (house mix part I) – 6:06
  15. "More Than You Know" (house mix part II) – 5:04
  16. "More Than You Know" (dance mix) – 6:10
  17. "More Than You Know" (dub mix part II) – 2:06
  18. "Water" (remix)
  19. "Water" (7" remix)

Personnel

Production

Chart performance

Chart (1988) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[5] 2
Austrian Albums Chart[6] 18
Canadian Albums Chart[7] 17
New Zealand Albums Chart[8] 11
Norwegian Albums Chart[9] 17
Swedish Albums Chart[10] 26
Swiss Albums Chart[11] 11
UK Albums Chart[12] 11
US Billboard 200[13] 15

Singles

References

  1. AllMusic review
  2. http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/25549/martika/
  3. http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/23931/eighth-wonder/
  4. "Big Fun - Biography". Freenet-homepage.de. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  5. Steffen Hung. "Australian charts portal". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  6. Steffen Hung. "Austria Top 40 - Hitparade Österreich". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  7. http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca
  8. Steffen Hung (2011-10-31). "New Zealand charts portal". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  9. Steffen Hung (2006-06-15). "Norwegian charts portal". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  10. Steffen Hung (2011-10-28). "Swedish Charts Portal". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  11. Steffen Hung. "Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
  12. http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/25549/martika/
  13. "AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
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