A New Sound; A New Voice

From the first few notes of "Would I Lie to You?," it was obvious that the Eurythmics had shed their cool, European sound for something totally new. I remember hearing the song for the first time on the radio and thinking, "What is this?"



On the Eurythmics' fifth studio album "Be Yourself Tonight," the duo tackle the sounds of North America. Drawing from R&B, the Annie and Dave create a brilliant synthesis of Euro Pop Rock and Motown, and with Annie's soulful vocals, how could they go wrong? In fact, Annie Lennox may be one of the few white women on the planet who would dare share a song alongside the legendary Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin (as witnessed on the feminist anthem "Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves").



The rest of the album is quite a gem as the band takes the listener on a journey through some well-crafted pop songs. From the gorgeous "There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)" to the bitter "Better To Have Lost in Love," there's not a mistep on the entire album. "Adrian," a duet with Elvis Costello, is an instant classic; "Conditioned Soul" and "I Love You (Like A Ball And Chain)" show that Annie's lyrics still carry the irony and bitterness of their early work; but most precious of all is the powerful fourth single "It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back)." This masterpiece is one of the centerpieces of the album. It showcases Annie's vocal abilities like no other song on the album (and arguably any other song from the band, period). Lennox delivers such a punch on this song, we almost forget the Eurythmics are a duo (sorry Dave!).



After twenty years, this is still a powerful album. In just a couple of listens, one can hear the hard work and creative energy that permeates this recording. Indeed, it's one of the band's finest works and holds some of the greatest hits of the mid-80s.

Be Yourself Tonight (1985)

In 1985, Eurythmics released their fourth album entitled, Be Yourself Tonight, an album that combined the mixture of 80s Synthesized Pop & Rock and R&B. This album is another amazing release for Eurythmics. Four hits had been produced from this amazing album and they are hits that everybody should recognize today. This whole album should not only be recognized, but owned by every fan around the world.



WOULD I LIE TO YOU?

The first single from the album. At first, I was not too pleased with this song. But I decided to give it another chance, and now, I cannot get enough of hearing this song.



THERE MUST BE AN ANGEL (PLAYING WITH MY HEART)

The second single from the album. This is an amazing song, where Annie's voice is soothing and beautiful. Make sure you listen to this song before taking off the album.



I LOVE YOU LIKE A BALL AND CHAIN

The fifth & final single from the album. This song should have been released as a single. I feel that if it was, it could have been a major hit.



SISTERS ARE DOIN' IT FOR THEMSELVES (duet with Aretha Franklin)

The third single from the album. As a solo artists, I find Aretha Franklin to be rather weak. But I do enjoy hearing two of her songs and they are: 'Respect' & 'Chain Of Fools'. But when she pairs up with another band or solo artist for a duet, I seem to find her at her strongest, especially here. Aretha teamed up with Annie and David for this kick a** duet. Two years after this duet, Aretha would go on to record a duet with George Michael entitled, 'I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)'.



CONDITIONED SOUL

Most people find a new specific sound when they record another album. Those people usually choose a different sound for one song on that album, where that particular song's sound is different from the rest of the album's sound. This song belongs in the statement I had just mentioned and the sound of this song is beyond amazing, sounding like a relaxing peaceful song, featuring a sort of Japanese sound.



ADRIAN (duet with Elvis Costello)

Not bad.



IT'S ALRIGHT (BABY'S COMING BACK)

The fourth single from the album. Definitely an amazing song, with one hell of a music video.



HERE COMES THAT SINKING FEELING

Not bad.



BETTER TO HAVE LOST IN LOVE (THAN NEVER TO HAVE LOVED AT ALL)

This is another favorite song of mine. The sound is incredibly outstanding in every way.



This is an album that should definitely be found in the possession of every fan around the world. It is an amazing album all the way. If you look at the album's front cover, you'll see that Annie changed her appearance a bit. Her hair is still boyishly short, but not a crew-cut. She went from the spray-on orange color to her original natuarlly blonde look.

mixed emotions

Just when I thought I had Eurythmics all figured out, that they were the new Yazoo (incredibly gifted vocalist and an experimental, imaginative synth player ) along came BE YOURSELF TONIGHT, which threw me for a loop. My favourite tracks from this cd are the mostly synth based tracks like "it's alright baby's coming back' and " i love you like a ball and chain" because they remind me of the early years of Eurytmics ( synths and Annie's voice, which i adore)

This cd has a sort of organic feel to it, in that it has lots of acoustic instruments ( gritty guitars, strings, sax, etc) and sounds nothing like their first few albums. The songwriting is still strong, of course - top notch - but it's the excecution that I have a slight problem with. It sometimes sounds a little more mainstream than some of their earlier work, kind of a blue eyed soul approach, with all the horns and stuff. Otherwise, it's a pretty decent cd.