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AUGUST 30,
2020 ROCKWiRED REWiND: EURYTHMiCS
- WE TOO ARE ONE (1989)
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That didn't mean that there wasn't music out there that was resonating with me like the offerings from GUNS N' ROSES and DEF LEPAPRD, but they were rock gods, not real guys with anything that could connect with me in a meaningful way. The same could be said with MADONNA and all of the controversy she courted thanks to a sexuality that was just as iconic as her music. THE CURE was making an impact with their latest album DISINTEGRATION and with their dark, moody brand of goth pop, they hit a little more closer to home with me than hair metal did. Being a biracial kid I saw a kindred spirit in ROLAND GIFT of FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS who had finally crossed over to the US market with their album THE RAW AND THE COOKED. The relationship between my father and I was also a tense one at this time, however FINE YOUNG CANNIBALS was something we could agree on. I wanted the world to make sense to me and I wanted to connect with people who felt the same way I did, but who would give me the time of day? And how could I make sense out of what I felt. Despite my dissatisfaction with everything around me, it didn't stop me from reading books from the library, going to movies alone or watching MTV and on one such day when I was watching MTV, I caught a new music video from EURYTHMICS. I hadn't given EURYTHMICS much thought since 1986 when they released the bluesy rock single MISSIONARY MAN from their album REVENGE. I remembered the song and the music video fondly as they both examined the wages of sin in a cheeky, sci-fi manner. You see, I was in the midst of a Catholic school education where terms such as “original sin” meant little to my protestant raised self. In fact, nothing about Catholicism resonated for me but seeing EURYTHMICS' front woman ANNIE LENNOX strutting like an sexy android in a PVC catsuit and staring into the camera with the most alluring blue eyes was something I seemed to understand completely. It was something I could see my religion teacher popping a blood vessel over. Despite only being fourteen, I actually had a little bit of a EURYTHMICS collection. I had their breakthrough album SWEET DREAMS (ARE MADE OF THIS) on vinyl and its follow up album TOUCH on cassette (it was probably the first album I bought on cassette). Their 1985 album BE YOURSELF TONIGHT was one of my favorite albums up to that point. I owned it on vinyl but it was recorded onto a couple of cassette tapes by that point. I never bought the REVENGE album. It's strange to look back and feel like the time from 1983 to 1985 was the good old days in comparison to 1989, but that's what puberty and growing pains do to you. Upon hearing news of a new release from EURYTHMICS in 1989, I was eager to see what the duo had to offer. The track record of DAVE STEWART and ANNIE LENNOX of EURYTHMICS was strong if not curious. In an age when music was something to be pigeonholed and marketed to a specific demographic, along came this quirky, mysterious odd couple with a bag of ever-changing musical tricks that would tantalize listeners for the better part of a decade. After splitting from their previous band THE TOURISTS in 1980 after three albums a couple of top ten hits in the UK, STEWART and LENNOX formed EURYTHMICS in CONNY PLANK's studio in Cologne, Germany and issued their experimental psychedelic debut album IN THE GARDEN which provided no hint of the transistorized pop sound of the albums to come. Global success came with the bluesy synth pop single SWEET DREAMS (ARE MADE OF THIS) and their aptly titled album of the same name where the duo made a name for themselves thanks to a cutting edge sound and a be-suited look that drove home LENNOX's androgynous allure. The follow up album TOUCH built on the duo's musical vision incorporating the strings of the LONDON PHILHARMONIC on the Wagnerian pop single HERE COMES THE RAIN AGAIN. An excursion into scoring films proved controversial and disastrous with the duo's 1984 soundtrack FOR THE LOVE OF BIG BROTHER, but STEWART an LENNOX turned things around with the rock and R&B charged 1985 album BE YOURSELF TONIGHT featuring the hard rock stomper WOULD I LIE TO YOU? and the suffragist bop of SISTERS ARE DOIN' IT FOR THEMSELVES were LENNOX trades of vocally with none other than the Queen of Soul herself. EURTYHMICS would continue to rock out a'la the E STREET BAND on their 1986 album REVENGE and its lead single in the U.S. MISSIONARY MAN would be the band's last top 20 hit. Probably sensing that their fans were missing what this duo could do with programmed beats and Roland synths, EURYTHMICS return to a striking synth sound with their 1987 album SAVAGE which failed to make any significant impact in the States which was unfortunate given the fact that STEWART and LENNOX sounded adventurous once again in both sound and vision. Oh and there was that duet that Ms. LENNOX did with AL GREENE for that BILL MURRAY film SCROOGED. LENNOX and GREENE's take on JACKIE DeSHANNON's PUT A LITTLE LOVE IN YOUR HEART is pure cotton candy soul and doesn't hold up to the original or with the best of either artist's work. It is also the first time LENNOX is credited as a solo artist four years before LENNOX would become a solo artist proper with her 1992 album DIVA. I
wasn't aware that EURTYHMICS had
anything new until I saw their video for DON”T ASK ME WHY on MTV's
TOP 20 COUNTDOWN and in true EURYTHMICS fashion the video ended up
being something that I would never forget. Synth strings get the lush
pop tune going and is punctuated by a pizzicato sound and the
strumming of STEWART's jazzy riffs on his Gretsch Guild guitar. The
video takes place on the stage of a swank nightclub with LENNOX in a
BOB MACKIE sparkling gown with her trademark cropped hair and bright
lipstick. Behind her is DAVE STEWART in a black suit with his
glorious looking Gretsch guitar with a be-suited rhythm section and
string section in the background. With the film over saturated by
color and light, LENNOX emerges as the glittering, alabaster figure
that all of the focus is on. The camera makes love to this actress in
song as she re-examines a relationship that has faded and has her
coming to the conclusion that she may not have loved the man in the
first place. The elegant song builds to STEWART's equally elegant
guitar solo and synth strings before the slightly bitter pop moment
makes a dramatic exit, as does LENNOX in the video, with a chorus
repeating “I don't love you anymore.” Adding to the dramatic exit
are various frames from the video flashing before your eyes which
makes you wonder if the video should've come a with a seizure
warning. Anyhow, a powerful pop moment with an equally powerful music
video made a huge impression on me and one of my favorite bands was
back in style. DON'T ASK ME WHY was the first cassette single that I
bought since it wasn't getting played on my local radio station and I
didn't have enough money to buy the new album WE TOO ARE ONE. I
remember playing the single in my mom's car and her wondering why I
would like such a dour song that didn't fit the mold of a JANET
JACKSON or a PAULA ABDUL hit. I didn't care if the song didn't grab
anyone else as long as it grabbed me, but I did wonder how the new
EURYTHMICS album was going to go over. THE
MUSiC ViDEO FOR DON'T ASK ME WHY
The
promotion behind WE TOO ARE ONE was
quirky and not at all characteristic of the usual promotional efforts
you saw on MTV where PEPSI was involved. For their tour of the United
States at that time, the duo would hold press conferences in the
lounges of U.S. Airports where the duo would discuss the album and
perform an acoustic set of all of their hits. I remember such a story
making news in Washington D.C., where I lived, but didn't think to
record it onto VHS. I remember feeling a little bit of sadness at not
being able to see the show Constitution Hall on November 12, 1989. EURYTHMiCS iN THE NEWS iN 1989 FOR WE TOO ARE ONE
And there was ANNIE LENNOX's appearance in VH1 TO ONE where the singer spoke on the back catalog of EURYTHMICS and the new album. I caught this presentation by accident and was completely transfixed but the striking singer and her lovely Scottish accent. More importantly, I loved her stance on the environment and her desire to make the world a better place. I had never heard do an interview before and quite frankly I loved what I saw. I had to get my hands on the new album. I
finally got a cassette copy of WE TOO
ARE ONE in my Christmas stocking. I don't even remember what else I
got for Christmas that year. I unwrapped the cassette anxiously to
study the liner notes when my dad grew curious over what I was so
excited about. He took a look at the cover and was immediately taken
aback by the pale skin of ANNIE LENNOX's visage blending in with the white
background. It reminded me of my mom buying the SWEET DREAMS album
years ago and her being puzzled but the album cover with a nude ANNIE
LENNOX with her back turned holding a box of chocolates in a gloved
hand with a black eye mask. My dad shrugged off his concerns and gave
the cassette and the liner notes back to me. ***
ANGEL
YOU HURT ME (AND I HATE YOU)
SYLVIA
(MY MY) BABY'S GONNA CRY
***
With equally
uncharacteristic humor, PEOPLE MAGAZINE noted: ROBERT CHRISTGAU of
THE VILLAGE VOICE took notice of the "bold new beginning" label I made
note of earlier in this article and went from there with his trademark
causticness. His summation: In the spring of
1990, LENNOX and STEWART announced that EURYTHMICS would be on hiatus
and released the long play video WE TWO ARE ONE TOO featuring tedious
footage from their REVIVAL tour and a couple of music videos. It
probably would've been better to have just released a live concert
video. STEWART would step up to the mic with his on band/side project
DAVE STEWART AND THE SPIRITUAL COWBOYS and release its self titled
album featuring the blazing rocker PARTY TOWN which found its way onto
the soundtrack for FLATLINERS starring KIEFER SUTHERLAND and JULIA
ROBERTS. And of course his work with producing other artists would
continue up to present day. IN 1992, LENNOX finally emerged as a solo
artist with the genteel album DIVA. The album would go on to sell
5 million copies in the U.S. as did it's 1995 follow up
MEDUSA. She even managed a couple of GRAMMY wins. No one would hear a
peep out of EUYTHMICS again until 1999 when DAVE and ANNIE released the
album PEACE and embarked on a 19 date world tour where all of the
proceeds went to GREENPEACE and AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL. PEACE was a fine
if righteous album that attain a little more resonance three years
after its release due to September 11. In 2005 EURYTHMICS surprised
everyone again with the release of another greatest hits collection THE
ULTIMATE COLLECTION and a new I'VE GOT A LIFE - an endearing anthem
with an addictive throbbing techno pulse. It is curious to note that
not one single from WE TOO ARE ONE made that cut in that retrospective.
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LUSH AT: djlush@rockwired.com
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