Background
After two successful albums, Lear was teamed up again with producer Anthony Monn to work on their next effort. Never Trust a Pretty Face was recorded between September and December 1978 at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany, and released in early 1979.[2] Most songs were composed by Monn, and all lyrics but one were written by Lear herself. Musically, the album was a combination of disco, which was at the peak of its popularity at that time, with other musical genres, such as rock on "Forget It", cabaret music on "Miroir" and electronica on "Black Holes" and "Intellectually". It also included a German-English dance version of a war-time classic "Lili Marleen" and a number of ballads, making it one of Lear's most diverse albums. The song "Black Holes" was dedicated to Salvador Dalí.[3]
The promotional campaign for Never Trust a Pretty Face effectively continued to play on Lear's "devil in disguise" persona, portraying her as a mythological creature on the album cover, smiling innocently in the Egyptian desert with angel's wings and a snake's tail. The same image was reproduced on a giant 24"×36" fold-out poster which came with most European editions. The picture on the back cover of the album depicted Amanda dressed in a suit, complete with a bow tie, holding a cigarette, referencing Marlene Dietrich's classic gender-bending image.[4]
The ballad "The Sphinx" was released as the lead single in the autumn 1978 to a considerable chart success. The second single was the upbeat disco track "Fashion Pack" which turned out moderately successful across Europe. "Lili Marleen" was released as a promotional single and charted in Italy.
In France, the album included a German-French language version of "Lili Marleen". For the UK release, the track listing was re-arranged and additionally included an edit of "Blood and Honey", a hit single from Lear's debut album. A picture disc edition was also released in the UK, containing "Blood and Honey", an English language recording of "Miroir" and an extended version of "Dreamer (South Pacific)". In Argentina, the album was released as Nunca confíes en una cara bonita.[5] The record was a commercial success, performing best in France, where it reached the Top 10. It also placed within the Top 20 in Canadian Disco Albums Chart, being one of the very few Amanda Lear's releases to have charted on the North American continent. The album is now widely recognized as one of Lear's best works and holds the "Album Pick" status on AllMusic.[1] Lear was also the fourth most popular female artist in Germany in 1979.[6]
The rights to the Ariola-Eurodisc back catalogue are currently held by Sony BMG. Like most of Amanda's albums from the Ariola Records era, Never Trust a Pretty Face has not received the official CD re-issue, excluding Russian bootleg re-releases.
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