Another 80s Classic

After the Eurythmics found a home in the hearts of millions across the planet with their second album "Sweet Dreams," they were under a lot of pressure to really deliver on their next album. And deliver they did. The lead off single (in America) was the hauntingly beautiful "Here Comes the Rain Again." A new-wave classic, this song can still be heard on radio stations around the world, and along with their international smash "Sweet Dreams," will remain one of their all time classics.



The rest of the album is just as strong, however. Although some of the quirky sounds are a little outdated, most of the album sounds really fresh, and Annie and Dave explore a variety of genres. On the carribean spiced "Right By Your Side," Annie seems to be crooning to a lover, but upon closer inspection, the lyrics are very sarcastic and biting. The horn section on "Regrets" is almost as fantastic as the trumpet on "The Walk," and Dave adds even more funky guitar licks on this album ("Cool Blue," "The First Cut").



The end of the album finds the duo moving deeper into their underlying theme of isolation and bitterness. "Aqua," which is arguably one of the best songs on the album, has a great bassline, subtle acoustic guitar and Annie's voice is icy cold. "No Fear, No Hate, No Pain (No Broken Hearts)" is the duo's contribution to the bottomless pit of drug addiction, and possibly Annie's greatest vocal achievement on the album.



Overall, the 80s duo deliver another masterpiece without any filler. All the songs are strong enough to stand on their own, while the collection of all nine songs together leave the listener with a bitter taste of dark beauty. This is really the last time the Eurythmics would be this dark, and it's almost a shame.

INCREDIBLE

This is my favourite Eurythmics album. Every song is a winner, even the more experimental ones that have no really catchy "hooks", but are carried effortlessly by Annie Lennox's gorgeous voice and the brilliant production and instrumentation of David Stewart. Just incredible, from start to finish, and an undeniable classic, not only of synth-pop, but of pop music in general. There are not too many cd's out there that are over 20 years old that I can still put in and listen to all the way through. This is one of them.

Synthetic Music

The jury is still out on the Eurythmics. They were either god-awful or bloody brilliant, I haven't decided which. I suspect it was the latter, but there is so much about their music that I object to that I can't whole-heartedly embrace them. The two of them were amazing songwriters and Annie Lennox's elegant and powerful vocals were the stuff of legend. But as much as they were artists they were also businessmen, and they seemed much more interested in generating record sales than they were in musical excellence. I know those words are heresy for some, but every note, hook and bass line seemed purposely placed to fit the mold of a radio-friendly pop song. Compositions that might have been really good come off sounding gimmicky and over-produced.



Take the duo's third album, "Touch," for instance. Best remembered for its gigantic hit single "Here Comes the Rain Again," "Touch" is a collection of solidly-structured songs that get buried beneath layers and layers of synthesized twerps, pings and boops. The songs themselves might have been exceptionally good if they had been recorded in a more straight-forward manner, but here the duo makes the grave mistake of not letting the music speak for itself. It is as though Dave Stewart poured on the sound effects to disguise the fact that, underneath, these are not really very good songs, and nothing could be further from the truth.



The worst thing about these synth-heavy performances is that they fail to muster the test of time. Not only do they sound dated but, worse, they sound cheesy, especially the bouncy riff keyed out on "The First Cut." However exotic "Who's that Girl?" may have sounded in 1984, it is downright laughable now. (Just thinking about all those pre-programmed loops and melodies makes me want to cringe.) Fortunately, Annie Lennox is just like the Calvary. She always rides in to save the day. Without her, this would just be an unlistenable mess. On the other hand, the album does have two really strong tracks, though neither of them were hit singles. "Regrets" is a good funk-laden number that shows Lennox warming up her soul chops, and "Paint a Rumour" is an underground-techno wannabe that is almost, though not quite, dark enough for the goth scene.



Rolling Stone magazine recently released its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, placing this one at #500. I'm not sure "Touch" actually belongs on the list at all, but if it has to be there then last place is the most appropriate. The Eurythmics did better stuff both before and after "Touch," and I suspect that this album suffered by the fact that it was released just after the duo had become superstars. The pressure was on to generate more hit singles and record sales. Still, one can hear the duo struggling to find its wings, which it later did. But, here, I get the feeling that the Eurythmics themselves were not exactly comfortable with the album, which is why they kept it mercifully short.