From 1968 and Thelonious Monk, to 1986 and one of the few pop acts that I actually liked during my Heavy Metal days in high school.
Disc 118 is...Revenge
Artist: The Eurythmics
Year of Release: 1986
How I Came To Know It: Like most other kids who graduated in 1988, the Eurythmics were a pretty big deal in the day, with many a radio hit. However, my deeper appreciation for their individual albums (including this one) come from my buddy Curt, who was pretty into the Eurythmics - and particularly liked this album and "Savage".
How It Stacks Up: I have five studio albums by the Eurythmics, which I think is all of them. They are hard to rate; I like different ones for different reasons on different days. That said, "Revenge" is not my favourite, so I'll say it floats between 3rd and 5th.
Rating: 3 stars.
As I noted above, the Eurythmics was one of the few eighties pop bands that I not only tolerated in high school, but openly enjoyed. Twenty five years later, nothing has changed.
Chronologically, "Revenge" is right in the middle of the five albums, and is a real hinge to their sound.
On the one hand, it has tracks that are reminiscent of the earlier pop-electronic sounds on "Sweet Dreams" and "Touch". It also has the smooth pop sound, accented by strings and saxophone which I associate more with the later albums "Savage" and "We Too Are One".
The album starts out very strong, with the two monster hits "Missionary Man" and "Thorn in My Side". I think even the third track, "When Tomorrow Comes" was a minor hit - this album likely did very well.
"Thorn In My Side" in particular is one of my all-time favourite Eurythmics songs. Annie Lennox is at her best - which is simply one of the greatest pop vocalists of all time. I always enjoy how strong and full her voice is, even at the very high register. The rich and natural tones she puts out are such a great counter to the electronic deliberately-artificial production of Dave Stewart.
Some of the weaker tracks ("Let's Go", "Take Your Pain Away") are pretty forgettable. I only mention this, because on most Eurythmics albums the songs that most people don't know are actually very good. The Eurythmics often use lesser tracks to do stuff that is expirimental or away from their more commercially known sound. While I've noted a couple that failed to connect, they usually do quite well when they branch out.
As an example, I really noticed "A Little of You" this time around. This song is 80% eighties electronic dance song, but right when you think nothing interesting is going to happen, Annie and Dave slip in a bridge of almost pure disco. Crafty...and effective.
The Eurythmics are also one of the few bands I forgive for using that eighties drum machine sound. Usually, it just sounds to me like some foley artist slapping a side of beef in a Bruce Lee Movie. Parts of "Savage" successfully translate this abomination into something almost resembling an instrument.
Although pretty familiar with this record from high school, and having had the hits for years on the Eurythmics "best of" album, I think I only bought this on CD in the last year or so. What was I waiting for?
I have it now, and with it (and other recent purchase "Savage") I can part with the "best of" before I even roll it!
Bye bye, "best of Eurythmics" - the studio album has had its just Revenge.
Best tracks: Missionary Man, Thorn In My Side, A Little of You, I Remember You
Disc 118 is...Revenge
Artist: The EurythmicsYear of Release: 1986
How I Came To Know It: Like most other kids who graduated in 1988, the Eurythmics were a pretty big deal in the day, with many a radio hit. However, my deeper appreciation for their individual albums (including this one) come from my buddy Curt, who was pretty into the Eurythmics - and particularly liked this album and "Savage".
How It Stacks Up: I have five studio albums by the Eurythmics, which I think is all of them. They are hard to rate; I like different ones for different reasons on different days. That said, "Revenge" is not my favourite, so I'll say it floats between 3rd and 5th.
Rating: 3 stars.
As I noted above, the Eurythmics was one of the few eighties pop bands that I not only tolerated in high school, but openly enjoyed. Twenty five years later, nothing has changed.
Chronologically, "Revenge" is right in the middle of the five albums, and is a real hinge to their sound.
On the one hand, it has tracks that are reminiscent of the earlier pop-electronic sounds on "Sweet Dreams" and "Touch". It also has the smooth pop sound, accented by strings and saxophone which I associate more with the later albums "Savage" and "We Too Are One".
The album starts out very strong, with the two monster hits "Missionary Man" and "Thorn in My Side". I think even the third track, "When Tomorrow Comes" was a minor hit - this album likely did very well.
"Thorn In My Side" in particular is one of my all-time favourite Eurythmics songs. Annie Lennox is at her best - which is simply one of the greatest pop vocalists of all time. I always enjoy how strong and full her voice is, even at the very high register. The rich and natural tones she puts out are such a great counter to the electronic deliberately-artificial production of Dave Stewart.
Some of the weaker tracks ("Let's Go", "Take Your Pain Away") are pretty forgettable. I only mention this, because on most Eurythmics albums the songs that most people don't know are actually very good. The Eurythmics often use lesser tracks to do stuff that is expirimental or away from their more commercially known sound. While I've noted a couple that failed to connect, they usually do quite well when they branch out.
As an example, I really noticed "A Little of You" this time around. This song is 80% eighties electronic dance song, but right when you think nothing interesting is going to happen, Annie and Dave slip in a bridge of almost pure disco. Crafty...and effective.
The Eurythmics are also one of the few bands I forgive for using that eighties drum machine sound. Usually, it just sounds to me like some foley artist slapping a side of beef in a Bruce Lee Movie. Parts of "Savage" successfully translate this abomination into something almost resembling an instrument.
Although pretty familiar with this record from high school, and having had the hits for years on the Eurythmics "best of" album, I think I only bought this on CD in the last year or so. What was I waiting for?
I have it now, and with it (and other recent purchase "Savage") I can part with the "best of" before I even roll it!
Bye bye, "best of Eurythmics" - the studio album has had its just Revenge.
Best tracks: Missionary Man, Thorn In My Side, A Little of You, I Remember You
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