Released in 1991, Eurythmics Greatest Hits was almost certainly the last vinyl album I ever purchased. I had always like their singles but had never got around to buying an album. The release of a greatest hits package was the perfect opportunity to correct that.
I actually saw Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart live, but that was in October 1980 when The Tourists came to Cardiff University promoting their Reality Effect LP. It was a great concert and I bought the album afterwards, which contained the hit singles "So Good To Be Back Home" and a cover of Dusty Springfield's "I Only Wanna Be With You". The earlier "Blind Amongst The Flowers" had also been a minor chart hit.
With Pete Coombes being the main song-writer, guitarist and co-vocalist, when The Tourists split up the probability was that it would be he that would go on to have the successful career, but instead it was the relatively unheralded Lennox and Stewart who went on to global domination whilst Coombes disappeared without a trace.
Eurythmics breakthrough singles were the slow, hypnotic electro-pop of "Love Is A Stranger", "Sweet Dreams" & "Whose That Girl ?" but changed their style with the uptempo calypso feel of "Right By Your Side" with steel drums, horns, saxophone and carnival backing vocals, which is one of my favourite songs of theirs.
"Here Comes The Rain" is a mid-paced pop song featured synthesized rain-drops, and the first to significantly feature the electronic rhythms.
Side One closes with "There Must Be An Angel ( Playing With My Heart ), their first ( and only ) number 1 in the UK. Whilst it has a nice, happy melody, and a gorgeous harmonica solo by Stevie Wonder I always found the high pitch backing vocals slightly annoying !
Side Two begins with the feminist anthem "Sisters Are Doing For Themselves" and features Aretha Franklin. It is an old fashioned R&B song with real guitars, drums and bass and a rousing chorus ! It certainly isn't out of place with Franklin's back catalogue.
The soulful "It's All Right ( Baby's Coming Back )" follows, and combines saxophone low down in the mix, a decent vocal and a delicate guitar break.
"When Tomorrow Comes" has a guitar intro, heavy drums courtesy of Blondie's Clement Burke , a strong hook and backing vocal, a guitar solo and more saxophone. It's a mainstream pop song.
"You Have Place A Chill In My Heart" is a decent song, but in this collection sounds a little bit ordinary.
"Sex Crime ( 1984 )", written for the John Hurt/Richard Burton film 1984 based on George Orwell's novel, is another one of my favourite all-time Eurythmics songs with a glorious melody breaking out from Kraftwerk style electronic rhythms, and the vocoder "1984" vocal.
"Thorn In My Side", not to be confused with The Smiths "Boy With A Thorn In His Side" is fair standard mid tempo song, with the saxophone solo being the highlight. There is also an acoustic guitar intro !
The album closes with "Don't Ask Me Why", which surprisingly only reached number 25 but for me is one of the best pieces the Eurythmics ever composed. A beautiful tune combined with bitter and melancholy lyrics describing the break-up of a relationship "I don't love you any more, I don't think I ever did, and if you ever had any kind of love for me, you kept it all so well hid". It also has perhaps Stewart's best guitar solo.
Track Listing :
Side One :
1. Love Is A Stranger ( 1983 - No 6 )
2. Sweet Dreams ( 1983 - No 2 )
3. Who's That Girl ? ( 1983 - No 3 )
4. Right By Your Side ( 1983 - No 10 )
5. Here Comes The Rain ( 1984 - No 8 )
6. There Must Be An Angel ( Playing With My Heart ) ( 1985- No 1 )
1. Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves ( 1985 - No 9 )
2. It's Alright ( Baby's Coming Back ) ( 1986 - No 12 )
3. When Tomorrow Comes ( 1986 - No 30 )
4. You Have Placed A Chill In My Heart ( 1988 - No 16 )
5. Sex Crime ( 1984 ) ( 1984 - No 4 )
6. Thorn In My Side ( 1986- No 5 )
7. Don't Ask Me Why ( 1989 - No 25 )
UK Chart Position :1
No comments:
Post a Comment