Track Listing

1. Beethoven (I Love To Listen To)
2. I’ve Got A Lover (Back In Japan)
3. Do You Want To Break Up?
4. You Have Placed A Chill In My Heart
5. Shame
6. Savage
7. I Need A Man
8. Put The Blame On Me
9. Heaven
10. Wide Eyed Girl
11. I Need You
12. Brand New Day
13. Beethoven (Extended Philharmonic Version) (Bonus Track)
14. Shame (Dance Mix) (Bonus Track)
15. I Need A Man (Macho Mix) (Bonus Track)
16. I Need You (Live) (Previously Unreleased Bonus Track)
17. Come Together (Previously Unreleased Bonus Track)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11413 in Music
• Released on: 2005-11-14
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

CD Description
Annie Lennox, the visual chameleon puts another face on; this time she is a blonde Barbie. Under the covers she is verymuch the familiar voice that became one of the most listened to throughout the 80s. This came towards the end, and as such is not the usual greatest hits package that many of their regular albums sounded like. Stewart was beginning to experiment with electronic sound (again) as Lennox seemed to want to sing more. In "I Need A Man", Annie sings of the type of man she does not want. In "Shame" she mourns nostalgia, while in "Savage" there is sadness, bitterness and anger. Thissounds like it was a difficult album to make.

Customer Reviews

More savage beauty
This 1987 album saw Eurythmics return to their electronic/experimental roots after the soul/R&B excursion Be Yourself Tonight (1985) and the full-bodied pop-rock of Revenge (1986). It has been substantially enhanced with the addition of 5 bonus tracks and deluxe packaging that includes a booklet with historical notes.

Whilst Beethoven (I Love To Listen To) is experimental yet catchy and I've Got A Lover (Back In Japan) tuneful and pleasant enough, it's with the buoyant Do You Want To Break Up? that the album really gathers momentum.

The next 3 songs are true classics, each mirroring a different side of Eurythmics at their most creative. The deceptively breezy You Have Placed A Chill In My Heart is a strange mix of cynicism and hope, despair and elation.

Shame is perfect 60s nostalgia at its most evocative and hypnotically tuneful, while the eerie title track creates a beautifully bleak landscape of alienation and despair - Love Is A Stranger devoid of romanticism.

Atypical of the album, I Need You has prominent acoustic guitars and a live feel. Brand New Day starts out as a moving morning-after ballad and develops into an atmospheric uptempo number.

Amongst the bonus tracks, my favourites are the extended philharmonic version of Beethoven and the dance mix of Shame. There is also a powerful live version of I Need You, and the album concludes with the Lennon/McCartney song Come Together.

The bonus tracks and the de luxe packaging has improved an already classic album by these masters of innovative synth-pop. Savage is a must-have for Eurythmics fans and all those who love timeless pop music.

Flawed Masterpiece
Well, this is the album where the Eurythmics lost their fairweather fans yet delivered a classic that is amongst their best.

After an album release per year, maybe it was just one album too many that led to it being viewed as a bit of a flop.

The sound though is that of a band doing exactly what they wanted, with a return to the electro/soul style of 'Sweet Dreams' after the loss of direction and wee bit over-commercial 'Revenge'.

For me the album really takes off after 'You Have Placed A Chill In My Heart' with every track thereafter a classic combining lyrical beauty with perfectly harmonised music.My personal favourite is the title track 'Savage', a bleakly beautiful song that tells it how it is (it must have been a scary place in their heads at the time).

A masterpice yes, but a flawed one. I think it was a mistake to to include tracks 2 & 3, I've Got A Lover (Back In Japan) & Do You Want To Break Up?, at least in this tracklisting as they are weak and more suitable as b-sides. Just ten quality tracks would have fitted with the nine or ten on most of their previous lps. Additionally, I think it was a mistake to use 'Beethoven' as the lead single when it was a bit confrontational compared to stronger tracks like 'I Need A Man' which no doubt would have achieved the higher chart placing that they deserved. A pity the album wasn't rejigged with this opportunity, however we get the extras which are of interest though not essential.

Anyway, buy the album and make-up your own mind.

My Personal Favourite Eurythmics Record...
I don't want to waffle on too much, but this is the best Eurythmics album ever made. With the exception of "Do You Want To Break Up" this album is all Gold (The other song being just silvery). Stand out tracks for me are "Shame", "You Have Placed A Chill In My Heart", "I Need You" and "Beethoven (I Love To Listen To)" (The beginning is quite scary...if your in a scary mood like...ahem...).
Annie is suberb, especially in the acoustic part.
If you prefered the rockier, more commercial Eurythmics sound, then try 'Be Yourself Tonight' or 'Revenge'...but for me, it's the more Savage, the better.

10/10