FEATURE:
A Buyer’s Guide
Part Fifty-Eight: Eurythmics
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ONE of my favourite acts ever…
PHOTO CREDIT: Ilpo Musto/REX/Shutterstock
are in A Buyer’s Guide now. I discovered Eurythmics as a child and was instantly hooked on their music. Before I come to deciding which of their albums is the best and the ones you’ll want to own, here is some biography:
“Eurythmics were one of the most successful duos to emerge in the early '80s. Where most of their British synth pop contemporaries disappeared from the charts as soon as new wave faded away in 1984, Eurythmics continued to have hits until the end of the decade, making vocalist Annie Lennox a star in her own right, as well as establishing instrumentalist Dave Stewart as a successful, savvy producer and songwriter. Originally, the duo channelled the eerily detached sound of electronic synthesizer music into pop songs driven by robotic beats. By the mid-'80s, singles like "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" and "Here Comes the Rain Again" had made the group into international stars, and the group had begun to experiment with their sound, delving into soul and R&B. As the decade wore on, the duo's popularity eroded somewhat; by the late '80s, they were having trouble cracking the Top 40 in America, although they stayed successful in the U.K. By the early '90s, Eurythmics had taken an extended hiatus -- both Lennox and Stewart pursued solo careers -- but they reunited occasionally for recording or tours.
The origins of Eurythmics lay in the Tourists, a British post-punk band of the late '70s formed by Lennox and Stewart. The pair met in London while she was studying at the Royal Academy of Music. Stewart had recently broken up his folk-rock group Longdancer and was writing songs with guitarist Pete Coombes. Immediately after meeting, Stewart and Lennox became lovers and musical partners, forming a group called Catch with Coombes, which quickly evolved into the Tourists in 1979. Though the band only was together for two years, the Tourists released three albums -- The Tourists, Reality Effect, and Luminous Basement -- which all were moderate hits in England; two of their singles, "I Only Want to Be With You" and "So Good to Be Back Home Again," became Top Ten hits.
During 1980, Lennox and Stewart's romantic relationship dissolved and, along with it, so did the Tourists. Though they were no longer lovers, Lennox and Stewart decided to continue performing together under the name Eurythmics and headed to Germany to record their debut album. Featuring support from various members of Can and Blondie drummer Clem Burke, among others, the duo's debut, In the Garden, was released in 1981 to positive reviews, but weak sales. Following the failure of In the Garden, Stewart set up a home studio and Eurythmics recorded a second album, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), which was released in 1983.
"Love Is a Stranger" was the first British single pulled from the album, and it became a minor hit in the fall of 1982, a few months before the LP appeared. The title track was released as a single in the spring, and it rocketed to number two on the U.K. charts; shortly afterward, it climbed to number one on the American charts. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" was helped enormously by its stylish, androgynous video, which received heavy airplay from MTV, who had only recently become a major influence within the music industry. After "Sweet Dreams," Eurythmics re-released "Love Is a Stranger" and it reached the U.K. Top Ten (number 23 U.S.), beginning a string of hit singles that ran for a year. Touch, the duo's third album, was released toward the end of 1983 and continued their success throughout 1984, spawning the hits "Who's That Girl?" (number three, U.K.; number 21, U.S.), "Right by Your Side" (number ten, U.K.; number 29, U.S.), and "Here Comes the Rain Again" (number eight, U.K.; number four U.S.). During the course of 1984, Annie Lennox's theatrical gender-bending was becoming increasingly notorious, which helped their record sales. At the end of the year, they released the soundtrack for the film adaptation of 1984, which received poor reviews and sales, despite the Top Ten U.K. placing of its single, "Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)."
Released in the spring of 1985, Eurythmics' fourth album, Be Yourself Tonight, boasted a tougher, R&B-influenced sound and featured a duet with Aretha Franklin, "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves." The duet became one of three hit singles from the album, in addition to "Would I Lie to You?" (number 17, U.K.; number five, U.S.) and "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" (number one, U.K.; number 22, U.S.). Revenge, released the following year, followed the R&B and soul inclinations of Be Yourself Tonight to a harder-rocking conclusion. Though the album peaked at number 12 in the U.S. and spawned the number 14 hit "Missionary Man," its sales were noticeably weaker than its predecessor. In the U.K., the group was slightly more popular -- "Thorn in My Side" reached the Top Ten -- but it was evident that the group was past the point of its peak popularity.
As appropriate for a group passing their commercial pinnacle, Eurythmics began branching out into other areas. During 1985 and 1986, Dave Stewart produced a number of superstars, including Bob Dylan, Daryl Hall, Tom Petty, and Mick Jagger. Annie Lennox began a short-lived acting career, appearing in Revolution. Eurythmics reconvened in 1987 to release Savage, which was greeted with mixed reviews and weak sales. That same year, Stewart married Siobhan Fahey, a former member of Bananarama who had also appeared in the "Who's That Girl" video; she would later be a member of Shakespear's Sister, which was produced by Stewart. In 1988, Lennox had a hit duet with Al Green with "Put a Little Love in Your Heart," taken from the Scrooged soundtrack. The following year, Eurythmics released We Too Are One, which sold well in Britain, reaching number one, but poorly in America, despite "Don't Ask Me Why" becoming their first Top 40 hit since "Missionary Man." Furthermore, the reviews were decidedly mixed on the album.
Eurythmics quietly went on hiatus as of 1990, releasing Greatest Hits the following year. Lennox began a solo career in 1992, releasing Diva, an album that would eventually sell over two million copies. Stewart continued producing records and writing film soundtracks, as well as forming a band called Spiritual Cowboys. In 1995, he officially launched a solo career with the release of Greetings from the Gutter. Lennox and Stewart re-formed Eurythmics in 1999, releasing Peace, their first new studio album in a decade”.
To honour an iconic and legendary duo, this A Buyer’s Guide recommends the finest Eurythmics albums, the one that is underrated, their final studio album – I will also bring in a book that makes for useful reading. Here is a guide to the…
FANTASTIC Eurythmics.
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The Four Essential Albums
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
Release Date: 4th January, 1983
Label: RCA Records
Producer: David A. Stewart
Standout Tracks: Love Is a Stranger/The Walk/This Is the House
Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/eurythmics/sweet-dreams-are-made-of-this
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/5jNDWA19BJbE24x1UUJGRY?si=W4j_0qKkQNWJcY9IgPdKzg
Review:
“By the early 1980s, the electro-pop sounds of Kraftwerk, Yellow Magic Orchestra, and Gary Numan had seeped into the pop mainstream courtesy of a slew of Brit-poppers like Vince Clarke by way of Depeche Mode and Yaz, but synth-pop had been predominately male-driven up to that point. Not only did the Eurythmics’ breakthrough Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) give the genre a distinctly feminine voice, it helped give it soul, marrying the intentionally artificial, repetitive elements and robotic rhythms of techno to more organic sounds (a cornucopia of live flute, scat-like vocals, and synthesized organ creates a jungle milieu on the brief “I Have an Angel”; trumpets sound a lover’s forced departure on “The Walk”), not to mention Annie Lennox’s smooth, soulful voice. This was no more evident than in the title track (the album’s final single and the duo’s first U.S. hit), an ode to masochistic desire in which Lennox’s supple vocal takes on the stern, dominant tone of a taskmaster—and, mirroring the androgynous, Grace Jones-inspired dual personas of many of the group’s music videos, she is also the subordinate.
“Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” is a triumph of computer programming, boasting what this magazine’s own Ed Gonzalez called “the single greatest use of a prolonged synth line in the history of dance music” in our list of 100 Greatest Dance Songs, but it’s the album’s opening track, “Love Is a Stranger,” that is, perhaps, an even bigger coup. The very first line paints love as dangerous, frightening, and enticing with eight simple words: “Love is a stranger in an open car.” Her taut harmonies stretched out atop Dave Stewart’s drum computer beats and percussive grunts, Lennox goes on to describe the series of chemical and emotional disturbances that comprise the experience of love and lust, essentially achieving what poets and philosophers have attempted for centuries: “It’s guilt-edged/Glamorous and sleek by design/You know it’s jealous by nature/False and unkind/It’s hard and restrained/And it’s totally cool/It touches and it teases/As you stumble in the debris.”
Though Touch, which was released later that same year and brought the duo even more success, maintained the Eurythmics’ synth-pop sound, it implemented more Caribbean and dub styles and veered increasingly toward the pop mainstream. Sweet Dreams is more faithful to snyth-pop’s avant-garde roots, incorporating the jittery computerized drum patterns and sliced-and-diced vocals-as-snyths that would become even more prominently used by the likes of Art of Noise. The minimalist tech-pop song “Jennifer” gives us, aptly, minimal narrative information, an ominous synth bassline that sounds like it could have been composed by John Carpenter percolating beneath a simple arpeggio while Lennox beckons to the titular character who, we glean from the sounds of waves breaking and a bridge that consists of the softly repeated line “underneath the water,” has drowned. Only the album’s b-sides “Home Is Where the Heart Is,” “Monkey Monkey,” and “Baby’s Gone Blue” (later included on the 2005 remastered version of the album) are purer descendents of the electro-pop sound that influenced Dave and Annie’s sweet dreams” – SLANT
Choice Cut: Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
Touch
Release Date: 14th November, 1983
Label: RCA Records
Producer: David A. Stewart
Standout Tracks: Right By Your Side/Cool Blue/Who’s That Girl?
Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/eurythmics/touch
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/4WHI6fYfLxXBKGev2xNanW?si=dkS1-TuPQsy_rnZ8aorj0Q
Review:
“Eurythmics followed their 1982 breakthrough album Sweet Dreams with the superior Touch, which yielded three hit singles and kept the innovative duo at the forefront of the 1980s British new wave explosion and MTV phenomenon. Mixing cold, hard, synthesized riffs with warm, luscious vocals, the duo crafted some of the most unique and trendsetting music the 1980s had to offer. Subsequent albums found the duo leaning heavier toward straightforward rock -- this album found them at the height of their electronic incarnation. The lead single, "Here Comes the Rain Again," is a melodramatic opus, complete with pre-techno beats, sweeping strings, and Annie Lennox' rushing, cool vocals. The soulful "Who's That Girl" is an icy, steamy throwback to the torch songs of yesteryear, with Lennox oozing sensuality from every syllable emitted from her lips. The final hit, "Right by Your Side," finds the duo in a cheerful, Caribbean-inspired mode. Other standouts include the seven-and-a-half-minute disco trance of "Paint a Rumour," the driving "The First Cut," and the icy, spellbinding, and sparse "No Fear No Hate No Pain (No Broken Hearts)." The cool, sophisticated musical experimentalism all over Touch cemented Eurythmics' reputation as one of the most innovative duos of their time; the hit singles solidified their reputation as dependable 1980s hitmakers and MTV mainstays. Touch is a testament to what Eurythmics were at the height of their electronic-techno phase and, without doubt, is a milestone in 1980s pop music” – AllMusic
Choice Cut: Here Comes the Rain Again
Be Yourself Tonight
Release Date: 29th April, 1985
Label: RCA Records
Producer: David A. Stewart
Standout Tracks: Would I Lie to You?/Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves (with Aretha Franklin)/It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back)
Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/eurythmics/be-yourself-tonight
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/2tbXCl8en5ZDVnHIk1OZGI?si=HuWlb1-EQ4OedXuc34BMhw
Review:
“There is no denying that Eurythmics were at the forefront when it came to experimenting with their music via synth sounds and the usage of Lennox’s hauntingly, but incredibly soulful voice. For many, Be Yourself Tonight was a departure from this formula and was even perceived as “selling out” given its phenomenal commercial success. I disagree. Even with the introduction and implementation of a more traditional lineup and usage of instruments, their distinctive and somewhat unconventional take on the norm was still in full view.
Be Yourself Tonight is no doubt Eurythmics’ most commercially successful studio album to date. The album spawned four singles, with the aforementioned lead track storming the charts around the globe, ultimately securing the number one spot in Australia, whilst cracking the top ten and top twenty in the US and UK respectively. Two months later, the duo released the gospel inspired “There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart).” Again proving that Eurythmics where onto something special, the song hit number one in three countries, including the U.K., the only number one the band has ever achieved there. A harmonica solo by the legendary Stevie Wonder adds an extra, soulful layer to an already ethereal song.
Towards the latter half of 1985, the band turned up the soul to full blast by releasing “Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves,” featuring the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. The feminist anthem was filmed in the now historical Music Hall in Detroit, Michigan and also featured three of Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers. Mike Campbell provided the lead guitar, Benmont Tench on the organ the legendary Stan Lynchan on drums, all bringing an extra layer to a song that remains anthemic to many women around the world to this very day. Tina Turner was originally offered the track by Eurythmics, but was unavailable. Imagine if there is a long-lost demo floating around somewhere out there of the Queen of Rock going head-to-head with Annie Lennox. One can dream.
The fourth and final single from the album was “It’s Alright (Baby’s Coming Back).” Whilst it did break into the top 20 in the UK, it failed to make an impact elsewhere, like the album’s first three singles. The duo did go on to receive an Ivor Novello Award in 1986 for best song, recognizing the composition’s musical and lyrical importance.
There are some other treasures on this album too. “Conditioned Soul” opens with some beautiful instrumental work courtesy of the pan flute, which continues throughout the track, coupled with Dave Stewart showcasing some of his spectacular guitar work. Another equally interesting track on the album saw Elvis Costello join Lennox on vocals on the romantically fear laden “Adrian.” Yes, the commerciality is present in this album, but it was a move in the right direction both financially and yes, even creatively”- Albuism
Choice Cut: There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)
Revenge
Release Date: 30th June, 1986
Label: RCA Records
Producer: David A. Stewart
Standout Tracks: Missionary Man/Thorn in My Side/When Tomorrow Comes
Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/eurythmics/revenge
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/5vl4lQTP3L0avOrXQizFso?si=N0pT1j1zRUGdLnz4I7aKOQ
Review:
“This 1986 album is a turning point for the Eurythmics, towards rock stadiums and away from the electro synth-pop of their first four albums. I was very big on the Eurythmics at the time. Along with Queen, the Pet Shop Boys and Prince (and yes, I admit, a little bit of A-ha too) they were one of the few bands I followed in ‘real time’. The rest of my listening material was made up of discovering Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Genesis and David Bowie.
Revenge was a big commercial success at the time, and its easy to hear why, there’s some great songs on here, and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it again after a long hiatus, surprised to find that I still know ALL the words. Missionary Man is undoubtedly one of the sexiest, most subversive songs you’ll find about a preacher (Dusty Springfield notwithstanding) and clearly the raw mix of sex and religion appealed greatly to me at that age (still does tbh). Lennox has never sounded sexier and more dangerous, her vocal style and lyrics during the Eurythmics were always that of a strong powerful woman. She only ‘did vulnerable’ in her solo work, perhaps because it was safe then to do so, she’d already proved herself.
The first side contains all the hit singles – Thorn in My Side, When Tomorrow Comes and Miracle of Love, which was all over the radio in 1986 – but the second side isn’t filler. The Eurythmics never really did filler, some of their more interesting songs and inventive music is on the non-single fare. Even the throwaway Let’s Go – simply about jumping in a car with your lover and going for a drive – is sublime in Annie and Dave’s hands.
However, it’s always the soft slow ones that get me the most, and at the time I was particularly taken by the last track, I Remember You. It came to represent a confused not-quite-love-yet-too-close-friendship at the tender age of 13 with a boy at my athletics club. We used to walk home together afterwards, bike handlebars not quite touching.
Forgive me for a moment of nostalgia including most of the lyrics here: “And I remember you, you were the back-yard boy, hiding in the wreckage of broken dreams, standing by the railway line, standing. Oh – we were so young, we didn’t realise just what we’d done. Oh – we were too young. And all the sweetness has been taken out of this place, so many memories are knocked down or replaced. And I can’t stand to see the shifting time, taking me further – leaving you behind” – Random Record Review
Choice Cut: Miracle of Love
The Underrated Gem
In the Garden
Release Date: 19th October, 1981
Label: RCA Records
Producers: Eurythmics/Conny Plank
Standout Tracks: Belinda/Take Me to Your Heart/Your Time Will Come
Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/eurythmics/in-the-garden
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/1tpBcNFC8Wxy4Ci3woWwTx?si=cx9_3M6jQcyQpJr7Olo5NQ
Review:
“Eurythmics' debut album, In the Garden, is the missing link between the work of the Tourists, who included both Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox, and 1983's commercial breakthrough, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This). Co-produced by Kraftwerk producer Conny Plank at his studio in Cologne, Germany, it has some of the distant, mechanistic feel of the European electronic music movement, but less of the pop sensibility of later Eurythmics. The chief difference is in Lennox's singing; even when the musical bed is appealing, Lennox floats ethereally over it, and the listener doesn't focus on her. As a result, In the Garden wasn't much of a success, though when Eurythmics streamlined their sound and emphasized Lennox's dominating voice on subsequent releases, they found mass popularity” – AllMusic
Choice Cut: Never Gonna Cry Again
The Final Album
Peace
Release Date: 19th October, 1999
Label: RCA Records
Producers: Eurythmics/Andy Wright
Standout Tracks: 17 Again/Peace Is Just a Word/My True Love
Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/eurythmics/peace
Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/3u6LBuJSC7bIXSI63EzHYU?si=U-VWunWBSFKuWY1VuOo7Pg
Review:
“By definition, pop reunions are all about togetherness. But on the first new Eurythmics recording in ten years, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart practically turn their recommitment into a concept album. The opening cut and first single, "17 Again," traces the circle that runs from the meeting of these former lovers to where they are today, even quoting their immortal first hit, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)." Like Lennox's vocal, it's atypically strained but still affecting: "You and all your jewelry and my bleeding heart/Who couldn't be together and who could not be apart."
Lyrical echoes of their failed romance and hugely successful partnership resonate throughout Peace. Yet for a duo that broke through on a hook-happy synth-pop wave, Peace is low on the catchy choruses and instant-gratification electronics that defined Eurythmics, instead favoring ornate orchestral arrangements. Despite the presence of Stewart's trad-rock guitars on the Stones-y "Power to the Meek" and the grungy dud "I Want It All," the album's multiple stately symphonic ballads remain closer to Lennox's somber solo work than to the spunky spirit of the pair's peak-era delights. Peace charms with repeated listenings, but its well-crafted down-tempo musings lack the old urgency. This is Eurythmics without the rhythm” – Rolling Stone
Choice Cut: I Saved the World Today
The Eurythmics Book
Eurythmics: Ultimate Collection (Pvg Artist Songbook)
Authors: Eurythmics
Publication Date: 4th April, 2012
Publisher: Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation
Synopsis:
“This songbook includes nearly 20 top tunes from the globally adored British pop duo, Eurythmics, all arranged for piano, voice and guitar. Includes 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)', 'There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart)', 'Thorn In My Side' and more” – Amazon.co.uk