Music / DIVE!!

"Wasn't it you who was filling my dreams, the second element?"

"Oh, la mer
You're shimmering through
Oh, la mer
Magnificent blue"

—"La Mer"

Dive is the third studio album by Sarah Brightman, released in 1993 by A&M Records. It has an aquatic theme, and notably marks the beginning of her longtime relationship (both professional and, for a while, romantic) with producer Frank Peterson.

The musical theatre and operatic influence seen in most of Brightman's work is absent here. A heavy emphasis on Synth-Pop and inspiration from Peterson's group Enigma gives the album its own unique sound. It's worth noting that this album and Pop Rock follow-up Fly are the only ones in her discography that Brightman herself has co-produced. Dive gave Brightman her first Gold award for exceptional sales in Canada, where it sold 50,000 copies (by the time of certification on August 13, 1999).

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Tracklist:

1. "Dive" (0:52)
2. "Captain Nemo" (5:16)
3. "The Second Element" (4:14)
4. "Ship of Fools" (2:23)
5. "Once in a Lifetime" (4:21)
6. "Cape Horn" (0:49)
7. "A Salty Dog" (3:49)
8. "Siren" (1:15)
9. "Seven Seas" (4:09)
10. "Johnny Wanna Live" (4:40)
11. "By Now" (3:23)
12. "Island" (4:22)
13. "When It Rains In America" (3:42)
14. "La Mer" (3:33)
15. "The Second Element II" (4:47)

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From space, the planet is the territory. Not of humans, but of the tropes:

• Album Intro Track: The title track has Sarah whispering a few lines from Heathcote Williams's Whale Nation as whale calls are heard.
• Alliterative Title: "Seven Seas".
• Concept Album: A theme of water and the ocean runs throughout the album, complete with the appropriate sound effects.
• Cover Version: The album features covers of "Captain Nemo" by Dive (a band with the same name), "Once in a Lifetime" by Gregorian, "A Salty Dog" by Procol Harum and "Johnny Wanna Live" by Sandra.
• Face on the Cover: Sarah is shown on the cover as a mermaid with porcelain white skin and black dreadlocks.
• Fading into the Next Song: The album flows in such a way that most of the tracks do this seamlessly.
• Godiva Hair: For most of this album's photoshoot, Sarah appeared as an unclothed siren with a long thick tangle of black dreadlocks being her only covering.
• Grief Song: "By Now" is about Brightman's feelings of loss after her father committed suicide in 1992.
• Hotter and Sexier: "Once In A Lifetime" was rewritten from its original version by Frank Peterson's old project Gregorian. This was the effect.
• Lyrical Dissonance: "Once in a Lifetime" when you realize it's about a woman escaping an abusive relationship.
• Mood Whiplash: "Once in a Lifetime" starts off as an upbeat, romantic song about finding what seems to be true love. Then toward the end the music slows and it suddenly becomes apparent that this was an abusive relationship from which the singer has finally freed herself.
• New Sound Album: This was a marked departure from the showtunes Sarah had become famous for previously.
• One-Word Title: "Dive", "Siren" and "Island".
• Romantic Rain: "When It Rains In America" is about romance during a downpour. It opens with the sounds of a storm.
• Siren Song: The track "Siren" is meant to emulate one with Sarah's vocalizations.
• Spoken Word in Music: Sarah speaks lines from Heathcote Williams's poem Whale Nation to open the album. The track "Cape Horn" features an excerpt from the film Mutiny on the Bounty (1962). The version of "When It Rains In America" included on the "Captain Nemo" single opens with the "no rain" chant from the crowd at Woodstock.
• Title Track: A whispered intro less than a minute long.
• Wham Line:
  • "Once in a Lifetime''
  Giving you my soul
  Letting you control
  Took away a part of my lifetime

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