Annie Lennox
So you thought Dave Stewart was the brains behind the Eurythmics and Lennox, his former lover, just a striking visual? Not. The high priestess of blue-eyed Brit soul has emerged from a three-year silence, flying solo. With Diva, a pop diva is reborn.
Restrained yet teeming with emotion, the singer's lovely voice can play lioness or coy siren and does both on "Legend in My Living Room," recalling the aplomb of "Missionary Man," the Eurythmics' last great song.
It's a long way up from the depths of the Eurythmics' lackluster swan song, We Too Are One, but Lennox has risen with grace from that wasteland. Diva features 10 Lennox compositions (including two collaborations) and a tongue-in-cheek retro rendition of the '30s nugget, "Keep Young and Beautiful," complete with faux groove scratches.
Bold, sassy workouts power the album, while stately, bittersweet ballads deepen it. When Lennox lets down her buzz cut, she sizzles as she seldom did with Stewart (who now leads the Spiritual Cowboys). The Eurythmics were too coolly detached to generate the passion Lennox does on "Precious" and "Money Can't Buy It."
Although nothing on Diva promises to become quite as hauntingly classic as "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," the album suggests that for this Annie the sun will come up tomorrow. And the next day. (Arista)
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