Ingénue is the second solo album by Canadian singerk.d. lang, released in 1992. It is Lang's most successful album on the pop charts, both in her native Canada and internationally, and has more of acabaret flavor than her earlier more country-influenced work.[2]
According to Ben Mink, her producer and collaborator, German artistMarlene Dietrich was a "huge vocal influence" for lang at that time. This admiration extended to the visual realm: the cover art forIngénue is considered a direct homage to the cover ofThe Essential Marlene Dietrich. Both share a sepia color palette and the use of a similar thin-lined font. The primary pose of lang on the cover, gazing downward, also directly echoes Dietrich's pose on her album. Mink even characterized the sound ofIngénue as a "post-nuclear cabaret", a description that resonates with the aesthetic associated with Dietrich's repertoire.[3]
"Constant Craving" was the first single released from the album. It peaked at number 8 in Lang's native Canada,[4] number 38 on the USBillboard Hot 100[5] and number 15 in theUK Singles Chart when re-released, becoming her biggest solo hit single there.[6] "Constant Craving" inspired (albeit subconsciously)The Rolling Stones' 1997 single "Anybody Seen My Baby?", from theirBridges to Babylon album, with the result that the Stones gave writing credits on that song to lang and her collaboratorBen Mink.[7]
"Miss Chatelaine" was released as the second single from the album. The song's video depicted Lang—who was usually best known for a fairlyandrogynous appearance—in an exaggeratedly feminine manner, surrounded by bright pastel colours and a profusion of bubbles reminiscent of a performance onThe Lawrence Welk Show,[citation needed] complete with an accordion in the instrumentation.
A third single, "The Mind of Love", was also released.
Both "Save Me" and "Still Thrives This Love" were used in the 2003Showtime filmSoldier's Girl.
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