Another long delay in getting my
latest post up, but only because I’ve been in Vancouver shopping for shoes!
This past weekend was my and Sheila’s 18th wedding anniversary! How
time flies when you are having fun.
Disc 719 is…. Be Yourself Tonight
Artist: Eurythmics
Year of Release: 1985
What’s up with the Cover? It is an out of
focus and overexposed picture of Annie Lennox, not unlike the music on this
record.
How I Came To Know It: In the last ten years I have been
fleshing out my Eurythmics collection (and junking my compilation album in the
process). The last two I was missing were this one and “In the Garden.” A
Youtube listen told me that “In the Garden” wasn’t worth the trouble, but I
still decided to give this one a go.
How It Stacks Up: I have six Eurythmics albums. Of those six, “Be
Yourself Tonight” is most definitely in last place.
Rating: 2 stars
When I was in Vancouver I had the chance to hang out
with my friend Anthony. In addition to being a great guy, Anthony is a
saxophone player, so over dinner I asked him what he thought of saxophone in
popular music.
Like me, Tony is not a fan of the proliferation of
the bad saxophone wrecking so many songs, particularly in the eighties.
Clarence Clemons got a well-deserved pass. Martin Dobson, the saxophonist on “Be
Yourself Tonight” did not.
It isn’t Martin’s fault, mind you. This album
features lots of greats (Heartbreakers Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench, Elvis
Costello and of course, the inimitable Ms. Annie Lennox herself). None of this –
not even Annie herself – can save it from itself.
“Be Yourself Tonight” occupies an awkward place
between the delightful weirdness of “Touch” and “Sweet Dreams” and the later
more polished sound of “ “Savage” and “We Too Are One” but rather than serving
as a delightful pivot point – as “1986’s Revenge” does – it feels adrift
and apart from their body of work.
The album is heavily influenced by American soul
music, and I felt like the Eurythmics must have grown up listening to David
Bowie’s “Young Americans” as well. “Young Americans” has some great tracks, but
is otherwise a pretty uneven record. “Be Yourself Tonight” is similar, but
without the great tracks.
The eighties production that usually serves Lennox’s
partner-in-crime David Stewart so well abandons him here. When he throws in
computer generated synth it feels out of place, and when he doesn’t the songs
lose their energy in a morass of pseudo-R&B riffs that never develop into
anything.
Annie Lennox has one of the great voices in the
history of music, and this material should suit her (everything else does).
Instead, it doesn’t let her fully emote. Where other Eurythmics albums are full
of songs that are rippling undertows of mood, “Be Yourself Tonight” feels more
like a jam session where everyone is too sober to groove.
The better songs all had me thinking of songs from
other albums I liked better. “Would I Lie
To You” is a raucous good time, but it mostly had me wishing I could listen
to “Missionary Man” or “I Need a Man” instead.
“It’s Alright
(Baby’s Coming Back)” is one of the album’s better songs, but for
relationship trouble songs I would prefer to listen to “Don’t Ask Me Why” or “You
Have Placed a Chill in My Heart.” What kind of person doesn’t care where
her baby’s been? I think that guy should have got the “chill in the heart” treatment followed by the “I don’t love you anymore” curb kick. I like my Annie Lennox tough
and sexy, and a little bit mad in both senses of the word. You know, like on “Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves”
except…er…not that song. Great message but terrible song and yes, it is also on
“Be Yourself Tonight.”
“I Love You
Like a Ball and Chain” is promising at first, but it descends into
questionable stereo effects (look – I’m in your left ear! Now I’m in your
right!) Such parlour tricks should be reserved for schmaltzy Prism songs. I prefer
those as well.
Despite all my negative riffing here, the songs aren’t
all bad. “Conditioned Soul” has a
nice relaxed groove, and apart from some weird steel drums the production lets
Lennox’s voice soar pure and easy, like it is supposed to. And despite what I
said about “Would I Lie to You” and “It’s Alright” are both passable when not
compared to tracks on other albums I like better.
For all that I can’t hide my disappointment that an
album I waited so long to get just didn’t live up to the expectations set by
the other five in my collection. I still love the Eurythmics – five albums and
my other reviews should make that clear – but it’ll take an intervention from
Sheila to keep this one off the giveaway pile.
Best
tracks: Conditioned
Soul
No comments:
Post a Comment