Monday, November 07, 2005

Sweet Dreams


The Eurythmics were one of the better things to emerge from the 1980’s. The majority of the electro pop produced during that era was notable for shallowness and superficiality; a vapid glittering surface concealing an empty heart.

Suggestions of androgyny had previously been the preserve of male performers like David Bowie. Annie Lennox with her short cropped hair, killer cheekbones, and sharp cut suits, brought a female perspective to the concept of gender confusion. The music the Eurythmics produced had clearly defined influences, but sounded like nothing ever heard before. An icy cold sheen overlaid a melancholy wistfulness and aching sense of loss.

One of the few vocalists to merit the term ‘Diva’, Lennox has adopted a low profile over the last decade. Her triumphant performance at Live 8 showed that her talent is intact, and that she still has one of the most remarkable voices ever to grace pop music.

She has recently resumed her collaboration with Dave Stewart. I’m not sure that this is a good thing; Stewart is regarded as a bit of a self indulgent joke these days. She would be much better advised to rely on her own muse and produce some solo work.
If any female British artist has the potential to match Kate Bush it is Annie Lennox.

19 comments:

S.I.D. said...

True garfer,Dave was the Andrew Ridgley of the Eurythmics.

Annie was the true goddess and still is!

Faltanus said...

without a doubt one of the most beautiful and hypnotic voices of our times - she is incredible. While the Eurythmics were probably my favorite band of the 80's, Annie's solo projects "Diva" and "Medusa" leave her prior work in the dust.

garfer said...

An outbreak of good taste in blogger land. Most gratifying.

Anonymous said...

She was fucking awful when she was in the Catch/Tourists.

Thankfully, she's matured very gracefully.

We like her now. Dave Stewart is still a twat though.

garfer said...

He is the personification of twatness. A few years ago he complained that he had so much cash he was suffering from a psychological disorder he called 'happiness syndrome'. Tosser.

M said...

Thus is true, Annie Lenox is the epitomy of soulful vocalisation.

I love her. I love to sing along with her and would absolutely cherish being able to sing WITH her!!!

Ah, such dreams ARE made of this.

I think my two favourite Annie songs are "Would I Lie To You?" and "Missionary Man".

Wyndham said...

Ahh, yes, Paradise Syndrome. Poor love.

Not so sure about Mz Lennox, though, her recent stuff has sounded woefully dated.

surly girl said...

can i be the vioce of contention (until tina gets back) and say that annie lennox's voice makes me itch? i just can't bear it.

mind you, the last cd i bought was by robbie williams, and my last gig was motorhead so draw your own conclusions.....

*sits back and awaits backlash, which embarassingly turns out to be a damp squib as nobody gives a toss*

garfer said...

A Lennox/Lemmy duet would be interesting. Lemmy's facial warts would provide a nice counterpoint to Annie's cheekbones.

Alex M said...

Hmm... I dunno, Garfer. Yes, the Eurythmics were ace, but hasn't she rather descended into easy-listening mediocrity lately? I mean, what about that awful song at the end of Lord of the Rings?

Peevish McSnark said...

I have the Eurythmics' Greatest Hits and Annie's "Diva." I played Diva so much, the WCM threatened to throw it out the window. Favorite songs: Here comes the rain again, Cold (Diva).

garfer said...

To be honest, I haven't listened to the recent stuff (story of my life).
Didn't the song at the end of the Lord of the Rings win an Oscar?

Betty said...

I'm with Surly Girl on this one.

Annie Lennox probably nicked the idea for her androgynous image from Grace Jones. Fair enough. Annie Lennox is a technically excellent singer. Grace Jones can't sing for toffee but I'd rather hear one of her albums any day.

Anonymous said...

"The Eurhythmics"?

Are they the same band as The Eurythmics then? We assume the extra 'h' in your version is just another of your typo's?

How unfortunate. Mong.

*eagle-eyed Piggy trots back out, shaking head*

garfer said...

Dyslexia rules KO. I shall edit forthwith.

Unknown said...

I never understood why, in that song about being touched by an angel (don't know title, sorry) she sings that she's being "overgrown with fleas". Is that why she shaves her head, for de-infestation purposes?

Alex M said...

If memory serves, they're not fleas. They're fleeeaaaeeeaaiaiiiaaeeeeeaasssss.

Rowan said...

i completely agree...

Stef the engineer said...

I used to work at a nuclear power station (at Torness) with someone who went to school with Annie Lennox. How cool is that!
(What do you mean "not very"?)
For what it's worth, he said everyone hated her. Maybe everyone hated him really - I wasn't there.

Personally I think Dave Stewart was the essential part of the combination; he kept Annie away from the blander stuff that, freed from his influence, she has more recently flirted with. Yes, he's a bit of a tosser, but then we don't listen to music because the people making it are such jolly decent people.