Eurythmics: Classic or Dud?

• ...listened to them yet!!!!

Also search their early b-sides from 'Garden' and 'Sweet Dreams'. Primitive, weird, great.

If I did I'd buy it.

Not the bin.

Here comes the rain again, Julia, Sexcrime, I Need a Man, Beethoven, Love is a stranger, Sweet Dreams, Who's that girl... I don't believe anyone who says they don't like at least one Eurythmics single.

Album wise it all went downhillafter 'Touch'.... Be Yourself Tonight was horrible US stadium posturing, far too rocky by half, We Too Are One was wishy washy, only Savage justifies their releasing records after 1984. And Savage was a masterpiece. 'Shame' should have been their biggest hit single (and Lennox looks strikingly beautiful in the video) and 'Beethoven' was a huge gamble for a band who had toed the commercial line for several years and done very well out of it, thank you.

The reunion album, bar the lovely 'I Saved the world today' was a washed up mess, twee and middle aged and horrible.

Let's not forget, too, that Eurythmics almost single handedly invented the fabulous pop video - their early 80s videos for 'Love is a Stranger', 'Sweet Dreams' etc. were all incredible.... and their later ones like Missionary Man, Who's that girl and Shame were all superb and worthy of a mention.

So inbetween classic and dud, really.... I think Stewart's discovery of stadium rock, and rock in general, tainted the band and stripped away what I loved about them - their icy aloofness (well, Lennox's icy aloofness) and made them rawk. Horrible.

And Lennox is a star, even now, one of the few genuine 'stars' we have left. And despite the ropey cover for the new album, she's still looking pretty great.

I recently bought "Sweet Dreams" for $1. I remember listening to it a lot as a kid and being alternately freaked out/turned on by Annie Lennox's weird, flirty S&M/drag schtick. I remember constructing elaborate mental narratives to accompany songs that had maybe three lines of lyrics. Listening to it now a lot of it is tame, but there's an undercurrent - something a little sinister - that still appeals. Plus "Love is a Stranger" and "Sweet Dreams" are just great, dark, minor-key synthpop. I also have "Be Yourself Tonight" which I don't enjoy quite as much - 'tis true the addition of stadium rock gestures and shitty horns did not improve upon their formula.

I say classic just for the early singles/videos, but after 1985 yeah it's pretty much shit.

i evenm like some of the stuff on "we two are one" ,but not as much as the proper synth pop stuff. its a cliche, but love is a stranger is just totally wicked manipulative obvious desperate stuff, sweet dreams is likewise amazing. i guess they got into coke or something (i dont knwo anythign about drugs) and started playing sax and stuff and being a soul rock band. btu savage is quite. ive never seen a copy of in the garden. might hit slsk now for it tho.

i thought annie lnnox was a man first time my brother played me "savage"

"Be Yourself Tonight" has a number of really good songs on it. "Ball and Chain" is also my wife's fave, oddly.

x-post

I heard "Revenge" the other day and, man, that's a dull one. It takes a lot to make Clem Burke sound like a drum machine. I genuinely prefer "Savage," which has "You Have Placed A Chill In My Heart" and "I Need You."

In The Garden”
“Belinda “
“Never Gonna Cry Again”
“Revenge”

Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
“Love Is A Stranger”
“I Could Give You (A Mirror)”
“The Walk”
“Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)”
“This Is The House”

Touch
“Here Comes The Rain Again”
“Right By Your Side”
“Who's That Girl?”
“Paint A Rumour”

Be Yourself Tonight
“Would I Lie To You”
“Conditioned Soul”
“It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back)”

Revenge
“Thorn In My Side”

good times!

I was sitting in the front row, an industry thing. She came up, cooed a line, and, well, fell out of her top.

I A-Bed that with post New Romantic memories of feeling delightfully miserable while listening to the first three records and experioenced a unique, troubling and sassy frisson.

*actually I liked whole albums when I was prepubescent but haven't listened to any since. except for Savage, which I dug out of a box three years ago when I needed to listen to stuff on tape and was happy to discover that my childhood impression of it being a TOTAL UBERCLASSIC was entirely accurate.!

Has anyone heard the reissues? Much as I dig on these guys I can't say I've been feeling a burning need for remasters, but I am curious about the "Satellite Of Love" and "Last Night I Dreamt..." covers.

What are those crap rockist responses up top?

Tracer Hand was on point - you can never go wrong with "I Need You"

Thanks for the link. And, er, yeah. I forced myself to hang in until the chorus, and it did get better, but... ouch. Fun times in the studio, I guess.

i just picked up Touch just for "Aqua"

OK, I've learned to love "Missionary Man" after 20 years.

hellooooo ... "this city never sleeps"

"Aqua" and "This City Never Sleeps" have both completely blown me away, but right now I've been especially into "Take Me To Your Heart" from In The Garden.

Also, some amazing B-sides to "Love Is A Stranger": "Monkey Monkey" and "Let's Just Close Our Eyes"... http://www.discogs.com/release/383009

Listened to a few more covers since the last time. "Come Together" is dire; "Last Night I Dreamt..." points unfortunately toward Annie's solo career.

Nonetheless, still emphatically classic, including a few tracks off PEACE.

“This Is The House” = killer bassline

I'm surprised by all the love for In The Garden; most of the album reviews I've read call it a misfire.

Only decent album they ever made.

Still haven't heard ITG, but Touch and Be Yourself Tonight sound marvelous.

Each album is, respectively, a sucker of Satan's cock and the cock itself.

I can believe that Satan would sport Dave Stewart's hair.

I was quite into them as a pre-teen, and Love is a Stranger was the only song on their greatest hits I didn't like. Now it's easily my favourite. Sweet Dreams and Here Comes the Rain Again are hard to deny as well.

I quite liked the singles off Peace, actually, myself.

Savage and Be Yourself Tonight hold up as full albums, and all the rest (up 'til 1990) have high highlights.

Once in was in La Coupole in Paris and the waitress said to us: "Look, over there, an eel, an ox." "What?" "An eel, an ox, at the next table." "What, an eel, an ox?" "From Euromix." "Euromix? Some kind of French VH1?" Finally I got it that the dressed down no-makeup blonde lady at the table was Annie Lennox, although I had to stare a little while to make sure it was really her.

thinking about the eurythmics just makes me think of the smell of charity shops

Remarkably, I now prefer its predecessor. Still, it's amazing that the American public took the album into the top ten despite the presence of the harsh effects-laden songs on the B.

never heard savage before today, holy shit what a record

isn't it something? Revenge was their biggest worldwide hit and their worst album to date: they went for a mullet-and-guitar-wank arena sound. Suddenly at the peak of their power they returned to what sounds like demos.

Savage sounds enormously produced and polished!

Not to my ears. Take "I Need You" or "I've Got a Lover" -- Eury is back to Lennox-Stewart and no sidemen.

I Need You is a deliberate anomaly on an album that opens with Beethoven setting the tone

ever heard savage before today, holy shit what a record

― emo canon in twee major (BradNelson), Sunday, March 30

sort of envious of this, like I get when people say "oh i think i'm going to start The Wire."

Savage really is immense.

Title track kills me every time. I just realised the percussion is the same drone-and-thwack I love in Björk's "All is Full of Love" video mix.

Heard a couple of tracks from their debut today, pretty good! I could go for a proper anthology but it appears all their comps are just the singles. Boo...

Ha, I bought the debut recentlty, still plucking up the courage to actually play it!

no courage necessary, the debut is great.

probably seen this already, but this is an early OGWT performance with holger czukay and clem burke:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7VqGt5dzQc

"here comes the rain again" has got to be one of history's most underrated songs

History loves this song.

for a band whose strengths seemed to lie in icy cold synthpop, there sure are a lot of shitty sounds on these records, especially when they try to incorporate more "exotic" or "world music" touches

shittier or less shitty than the coral sitar on "don't come around here no more?"

"here comes the rain again" has got to be one of history's most underrated songs

― Treeship, Tuesday, July 26, 2016 6:39 AM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

History loves this song.

― The burrito of ennui (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, July 26, 2016 7:04 AM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

angelus novus, what's on yr ipod

I admit I like the fake sitar on the Petty tune :)

I do my best

To clarify: the theatrical rights belong to Warner, not me. The people making this musical have been working with Warner, and there are no copyright infringement issues here! I was just taken by surprise; I think they all thought someone else was in charge of letting me know?

— Audrey Niffenegger (@AANiffenegger) March 5, 2021

dangit, meant to link yesterday's original tweet:

Should I know about this? https://t.co/BRrpxTofSj

— Audrey Niffenegger (@AANiffenegger) March 4, 2021

maybe they already told her in the future

Just saw that Stewart is touring the "Eurythmics Songbook" at the moment. Shame Lennox isn't on board for this, as she doesn't seem to be doing much these days.