Here we are in 1983. There’s trouble in Bangladesh, there’s trouble in Sri Lanka. The USA sends troops into Grenada. Thatcher is re-elected by a landslide and allows the US to install nuclear missiles at Greenham Common in Berkshire (which I felt had happened sooner), triggering the development of the “peace camp” outside. It probably doesn’t help that there seem to be an unusually high number of incidents and accidents at nuclear power stations around the world this year.
The final episode of M*A*S*H airs. The migration to TCP/IP protocol heralds the beginning of the internet proper, the 3D printer is invented, and two groups uncover the novel retrovirus HIV that underlies the new disease AIDS.
I anticipate more anti-nuclear and anti-Thatcher/Reagan songs going forwards.
Back in my comments on Soft Cell, I rattled off a few of the synth-pop duos of the Eighties, and I completely omitted Eurythmics. Here, the member lurking at the back with the tech is Dave Stewart, while out front is Annie Lennox with her distinctive vocals and androgynous styling (or should that be gyno-androus if it originates with a woman?).
Lennox’s lush and melodic vocals contrast to Stewart's often moody and slightly sinister synth patterns, creating a tension to some memorable pop. The title track was their break-out single, bringing with it the other massive hit from this album, Love is a Stranger. A canny way of writing a pop song is to front-load it, dragging the listener in with a good hook, and both of these tracks do that, splitting into a middle eight that highlights the softer side to Lennox’s vocals. Both ultimately repeat to fade, because the reality of radio airplay is that a song can get cut off for time, so like a newspaper story, the end is usually less important than the start. It does mean that these tracks ultimately don’t go anywhere, there’s no build-up to a climax, which is not so satisfying as an album track.
Jennifer has a similar effect. It’s a slow and moody track about a woman with “orange hair, green eyes, and dress of deepest purple” (she’s Daphne from Scooby Doo?). The lyrics ask “where are you tonight”, and the haunting middle eight responds “underneath the water”, so one can assume that Daphne, sorry, Jennifer, has drowned. Probably by a guy dressed as a ghost pirate. But although the song feels like it should build to something big, it sort of fades out on a subdued guitar solo. It is, however, highly atmospheric, as is This City Never Sleeps.
Something about Lennox’s voice, especially when she drops to the lower range, reminds me of Grace Jones (and again the androgynous style matches as well), which made me realise that it’s a bit of a surprise that Jones isn’t on the list. Perhaps her albums have too many weak spots on, I may investigate this [Spoiler alert: I never did, but Jones is on some other "Albums You Must Hear" lists]. As for this album, it’s pretty good; thanks to Lennox, Eurythmics are always pleasant to listen to, and thanks to Stewart they stand out from many of the other synth-pop duos in terms of the sounds. The album tracks are not, perhaps, quite as strong as the famous singles; a lesser-known single The Walk is pretty good and different from the rest of their fair, having the additions of horns, but the fundamentals are strong.
Comments
Post a Comment