Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Eurythmics were one of the most successful duos to emerge in the early '80s. Where most of their British synth pop contemporaries disappeared from the charts as soon as new wave faded away in 1984, Eurythmics continued to have hits until the end of the decade, making vocalist Annie Lennox a star in her own right, as well as establishing instrumentalist Dave Stewart as a successful, savvy producer and songwriter. Originally, the duo channelled the eerily detached sound of electronic synthesizer music into pop songs driven by robotic beats. By the mid-'80s, singles like "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" and "Here Comes the Rain Again" had made the group into international stars, and the group had begun to experiment with their sound, delving into soul and R&B. As the decade wore on, the duo's popularity eroded somewhat; by the late '80s, they were having trouble cracking the Top 40 in America, although they stayed successful in the U.K. By the early '90s, Eurythmics had taken an extended hiatus – both Lennox and Stewart pursued solo careers – but they reunited occasionally for recording or tours.

The origins of Eurythmics lay in the Tourists, a British post-punk band of the late '70s formed by Lennox and Stewart. The pair met in London while she was studying at the Royal Academy of Music. Stewart had recently broken up his folk-rock group Longdancer and was writing songs with guitarist Pete Coombes. Immediately after meeting, Stewart and Lennox became lovers and musical partners, forming a group called Catch with Coombes, which quickly evolved into the Tourists in 1979. Though the band only was together for two years, the Tourists released three albums – The Tourists, Reality Effect, and Luminous Basement – which all were moderate hits in England; two of their singles, "I Only Want to Be With You" and "So Good to Be Back Home Again," became Top Ten hits.

During 1980, Lennox and Stewart's romantic relationship dissolved and, along with it, so did the Tourists. Though they were no longer lovers, Lennox and Stewart decided to continue performing together under the name Eurythmics and headed to Germany to record their debut album. Featuring support from various members of Can and Blondie drummer Clem Burke, among others, the duo's debut, In the Garden, was released in 1981 to positive reviews, but weak sales. Following the failure of In the Garden, Stewart set up a home studio and Eurythmics recorded a second album, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), which was released in 1983.

"Love Is a Stranger" was the first British single pulled from the album, and it became a minor hit in the fall of 1982, a few months before the LP appeared. The title track was released as a single in the spring, and it rocketed to number two on the U.K. charts; shortly afterward, it climbed to number one on the American charts. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" was helped enormously by its stylish, androgynous video, which received heavy airplay from MTV, who had only recently become a major influence within the music industry. After "Sweet Dreams," Eurythmics re-released "Love Is a Stranger" and it reached the U.K. Top Ten (number 23 U.S.), beginning a string of hit singles that ran for a year. Touch, the duo's third album, was released toward the end of 1983 and continued their success throughout 1984, spawning the hits "Who's That Girl?" (number three, U.K.; number 21, U.S.), "Right by Your Side" (number ten, U.K.; number 29, U.S.), and "Here Comes the Rain Again" (number eight, U.K.; number four U.S.). During the course of 1984, Annie Lennox's theatrical gender-bending was becoming increasingly notorious, which helped their record sales. At the end of the year, they released the soundtrack for the film adaptation of 1984, which received poor reviews and sales, despite the Top Ten U.K. placing of its single, "Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)."

Released in the spring of 1985, Eurythmics' fourth album, Be Yourself Tonight, boasted a tougher, R&B-influenced sound and featured a duet with Aretha Franklin, "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves." The duet became one of three hit singles from the album, in addition to "Would I Lie to You?" (number 17, U.K.; number five, U.S.) and "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)" (number one, U.K.; number 22, U.S.). Revenge, released the following year, followed the R&B and soul inclinations of Be Yourself Tonight to a harder-rocking conclusion. Though the album peaked at number 12 in the U.S. and spawned the number 14 hit "Missionary Man," its sales were noticeably weaker than its predecessor. In the U.K., the group was slightly more popular – "Thorn in My Side" reached the Top Ten – but it was evident that the group was past the point of its peak popularity.

As appropriate for a group passing their commercial pinnacle, Eurythmics began branching out into other areas. During 1985 and 1986, Dave Stewart produced a number of superstars, including Bob Dylan, Daryl Hall, Tom Petty, and Mick Jagger. Annie Lennox began a short-lived acting career, appearing in Revolution. Eurythmics reconvened in 1987 to release Savage, which was greeted with mixed reviews and weak sales. That same year, Stewart married Siobhan Fahey, a former member of Bananarama who had also appeared in the "Who's That Girl" video; she would later be a member of Shakespear's Sister, which was produced by Stewart. In 1988, Lennox had a hit duet with Al Green with "Put a Little Love in Your Heart," taken from the Scrooged soundtrack. The following year, Eurythmics released We Too Are One, which sold well in Britain, reaching number one, but poorly in America, despite "Don't Ask Me Why" becoming their first Top 40 hit since "Missionary Man." Furthermore, the reviews were decidedly mixed on the album.

Eurythmics quietly went on hiatus as of 1990, releasing Greatest Hits the following year. Lennox began a solo career in 1992, releasing Diva, an album that would eventually sell over two million copies. Stewart continued producing records and writing film soundtracks, as well as forming a band called Spiritual Cowboys. In 1995, he officially launched a solo career with the release of Greetings from the Gutter. Lennox and Stewart re-formed Eurythmics in 1999, releasing Peace, their first new studio album in a decade.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Allmusic.com

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Eurythmics' breakthrough album is a deft mix of electronic thrills, new wave chills, and sultry R&B, the latter supplied by Annie Lennox's warm tenor. Pretty much relying on themselves, Lennox and Dave Stewart slip past the music's usual coldness and into a territory all their own. It can be smug (the new wave here is served with a side of irony) and a tad dull (the long, operatic pieces serve little purpose), but the payoffs – "Love Is a Stranger" and, especially, the magnificent title tune – are among the finest the genre has to offer.

Review by Michael Gallucci, Allmusic.com

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Eurythmics followed their 1982 breakthrough album Sweet Dreams with the superior Touch, which yielded three hit singles and kept the innovative duo at the forefront of the 1980s British new wave explosion and MTV phenomenon. Mixing cold, hard, synthesized riffs with warm, luscious vocals, the duo crafted some of the most unique and trendsetting music the 1980s had to offer. Subsequent albums found the duo leaning heavier toward straightforward rock – this album found them at the height of their electronic incarnation. The lead single, "Here Comes the Rain Again," is a melodramatic opus, complete with pre-techno beats, sweeping strings, and Annie Lennox' rushing, cool vocals. The soulful "Who's That Girl" is an icy, steamy throwback to the torch songs of yesteryear, with Lennox oozing sensuality from every syllable emitted from her lips. The final hit, "Right by Your Side," finds the duo in a cheerful, Caribbean-inspired mode. Other standouts include the seven-and-a-half-minute disco trance of "Paint a Rumour," the driving "The First Cut," and the icy, spellbinding, and sparse "No Fear No Hate No Pain (No Broken Hearts)." The cool, sophisticated musical experimentalism all over Touch cemented Eurythmics' reputation as one of the most innovative duos of their time; the hit singles solidified their reputation as dependable 1980s hitmakers and MTV mainstays. Touch is a testament to what Eurythmics were at the height of their electronic-techno phase and, without doubt, is a milestone in 1980s pop music.

Review by Jose F. Promis, Allmusic.com

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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While it is not billed as an Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, this album does contain, as a jacket note indicates, "music derived from Eurythmics." The original score of the motion picture 1984, it was treated as a side project for marketing purposes, not as Eurythmics' full-fledged fourth new studio album. Fair enough. Much of the album is instrumental, and the closest thing to a pop song, "Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty-Four)" (which was a Top Ten hit in the U.K.), like the other vocal numbers, relates to the movie's future fiction theme. As such, the album is substandard if judged as an independent Eurythmics album, adequate if judged as a soundtrack

Review by William Ruhlmann, Allmusic.com

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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On Be Yourself Tonight, Eurythmics' most commercially successful and hit-laden album, the duo meticulously blended the new wave electronic elements that dominated their previous sets with the harder straight-edged rock and soul that would dominate later sets to come up with a near-perfect pop album. This disc scored no less than four hit singles and kept them a mainstay on MTV's play lists during the channel's heyday. Fusing pop, soul, rock, electronic beats, and even gospel, this is arguably the duo's finest moment. The first hit, "Would I Lie to You," is a straight-forward rocker, complete with great guitar licks, a soulful horn section, and Annie Lennox sounding as vicious and vivacious as ever. The second single, which was a huge chart topper in Europe, "There Must Be an Angel," is nothing short of shimmering beauty, with Lennox providing truly angelic vocals and Stevie Wonder lending an enchanting harmonica solo. Aretha Franklin lends her powerhouse pipes for the duet "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves," which has gone on to become an immortal feminist anthem. From the soulful electronic beats (a rarity) in "It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back)" to the beauty of the Elvis Costello duet "Adrian" to the pain and longing of the sorrowful rocker "Better to Have Lost in Love (Than Never to Have Loved at All)," this album runs a wide array of musical styles, each song standing tall on its own two feet. This disc is, without a doubt, one of the best rock/pop albums from the 1980s and one of the grandest, most creative albums delivered by the ever-appealing and innovative duo of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. A true classic.

Review by Jose F. Promis, Allmusic.com

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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On their fifth album, Eurythmics moved away from the austere synth-pop of their previous work and toward more of a neo-'60s pop/rock stance. "Missionary Man" (which went Top 40 as a single in the U.S. and charted in the U.K.) featured a prominent harmonica solo, while "Thorn in My Side" had a chiming guitar riff reminiscent of the Searchers and a fat sax solo. Of course, the primary element in the group's sound remained Annie Lennox's distinctive alto voice, which was still impressive even if the material was slightly less so. Revenge was a successful album, reaching the Top Ten in the U.K. and going gold in the U.S., but it was a disappointment compared to their last three albums. And creatively, it was a step down as well – there was nothing here that they hadn't done a little better before.

Review by William Ruhlmann, Allmusic.com

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Beethoven-lover as Neiman-Marcus girl, trans-Asiatic jilt, real live pseudoferal yowl announcing the cock-crazy "I Need a Man," synthesized pseudorathskeller clink-and-chatter punctuating the sarcasm-crazy "I Need You"–this record peaks so high that I tried to ignore all the in-between. It's there, though–medium tempo romantic-as-in-movement pseudoschlock, edgier than their worst but not so's it cuts much ice.

Review by Robert Christgau

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Switching to Arista Records in the U.S., Eurythmics made their last album together with We Too Are One, and they went out in style. Calling upon a broad pop range, their seventh album was their best since Be Yourself Tonight in 1985. The sound was varied, the melodies were strong, and the lyrics were unusually well-crafted. In retrospect, the album can be seen as a dry run for Annie Lennox's debut solo album, Diva (1992); songs like "Don't Ask Me Why" (which grazed the U.S. Top 40) serve as precursors to the dramatic ballads to come. There is, however, an air of romantic resignation throughout We Too Are One, appropriate to its valedictory nature. The disc spawned four chart singles in the U.K. and returned Eurythmics to number one in the album charts, but it did not substantially improve Eurythmics' reduced commercial standing in the U.S., confirming that it was time for Lennox and Dave Stewart to pursue other opportunities.

Review by William Ruhlmann, Allmusic.com

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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Eurythmics - Albums Collection 1983-1989 (7CD) [Non-Remastered]

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