Be Yourself Tonight (Deluxe Edition)
Eurythmics
Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Elvis Costello
Producer: Dave Stewart
Legacy Recordings, 2005
1 CD
Catalogue #: 56117
EAN: 0828765611725
UPC: 828765611725
You save: 20%
Eurythmics: Annie Lennox (vocals, keyboards); David A. Stewart (guitar, keyboards).
Additional personnel: Aretha Franklin (vocals); Mike Cambell (guitar); Michael Kamen (strings, celeste); Stevie Wonder (harmonica); Martin Dobson (saxophone); Dave Plews (trumpet); Benmont Tench (organ); Nathan East, Dean Garcia (bass); Olle Romo, Stan Lynch (drums); Elvis Costello, Angel Cross, The Charles Williams Singers (background vocals).
Eurythmics: Annie Lennox (vocals, keyboards); Dave Stewart (guitar, keyboards).
Additional personnel include: Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello (vocals); Stevie Wonder (harmonica).
Recording information: 1985.
This album replays like a greatest hits package, such is the content of full-blown memorable pop songs. The list is almost endless as this album is a chilling reminder of how good pop can be and how well Lennox and Stewart worked together. Even without the legendary Aretha Franklin on "Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves" there is the pace and guts of "I Love You Like A Ball And Chain' or the numerous confessional "I'll be's" of "It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back)". This album stands up to repeated plays and will continue to improve with age. What perfection.
Tracklist
Eurythmics
The duo of Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox hit the bullseye in 1983 with "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," and the Eurythmics soon became pop idols. With edgy synthesizers, crisp dance beats, and Lennox's powerhouse voice, they created a distinctive sound that was both sophisticated and accessible. Their videos only added to their appeal, as Lennox proved to be an ideal MTV star. The group's final few records saw them moving beyond synth pop to embrace a number of styles, from torch songs to soul, which Lennox has also explored in her much-loved solo records.
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin is one of the most important and influential female soul singers of the 20th century. The daughter of famed preacher Rev. C.L. Franklin, Memphis-born Aretha started out singing gospel while still in her teens in the 1950s, subsequently moving on to jazz and pop. She didn't hit her stride until her string of 1960s R&B hits on Atlantic records--"Respect," "Chain of Fools," and many others--which earned her the lifelong title "the Queen of Soul." Franklin's powerful, emotional voice goes straight to the heart--no list of the greatest voices in recorded history would be complete without her.
Stevie Wonder
From 12-year-old multi-instrumentalist prodigy to groundbreaking adult songwriter and producer, Stevie Wonder is one of the handful of pop musicians who just about everybody agrees is possessed of genius. His 1960s recordings were great straight-up R&B, but his visionary '70s albums took pop and R&B where they'd never been before, incorporating electronics, reggae, and incredibly sophisticated melodic and harmonic development.
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello arrived at the tail end of punk with short, incendiary tunes about revenge and guilt, and a visual image to match, looking like a pissed-off Buddy Holly. But the pose belied his musical range and lyrical sophistication, and he came to be recognized as one of the finest songwriters of his generation. Though he--along with his backing band, the Attractions--helped spark the new wave of the late 1970s, subsequent decades found Costello venturing into everything from country to neo-classical, proving himself a true eclectic and consummate craftsman.
