Description
Annie Lennox – Songs Of Mass Destruction / RCA Label Group 2x CD 2007 / 88697152582
UPC 886971525823
International special two disc (CD + PAL/Region 0 DVD) edition of the 2007 album from the Eurythmics vocalist includes a bonus DVD that includes Artist Commentary, 'Dark Road' Music Video and a Photo Gallery. Sony/BMG.
Menacing as they sound, the songs of mass destruction gathered on Annie Lennox's fifth solo disc don't manage to so much as nick the gorgeous instrument she's built her career on. Weaving artfully as ever around the contours of songs that suggest the worst--Lennox is world-wise and therefore maybe inevitably world-weary--she imparts gravity and grace in a voice as cloudless and surface-smooth as just-brewed mint tea; from the tentative beginnings of the mournful "Dark Road" to the gospel-bottomed gorgeousness of "Ghosts in My Machine," she's in full command of her considerable vocal powers. And it's possible she's never used them to such moving effect on a single record. Earlier Lennox or Eurythmics albums might have succumbed here and there to slight-seeming experiments in style, but Songs of Mass Destruction doesn't dilly-dally. All swerves, even playful ones (see "Love Is Blind" and "Coloured Bedspread," a synth-y song that wouldn't seem so out of place on a recent Madonna record), are on-message: "Womankind" busts wide open not only because it needs to (a voice this big can't be contained, it reminds us), but to demo empowerment, and the hopeful "Sing" signs off with a seconds-long African guest vocal. There's an upside to the destruction of cultural wellness that led Lennox to write this record, and it's artistic creation. Songs of Mass Destruction is a sterling, rock-solid, expert example. --Tammy La Gorce
Tracklist:
| 1-01 | Dark Road | 3:47 |
| 1-02 | Love Is Blind | 4:18 |
| 1-03 | Smithereens | 5:17 |
| 1-04 | Ghosts In My Machine | 3:30 |
| 1-05 | Womankind | 4:28 |
| 1-06 | Through The Glass Darkly | 3:29 |
| 1-07 | Lost | 3:41 |
| 1-08 | Coloured Bedspread | 4:31 |
| 1-09 | Sing | 4:48 |
| 1-10 | Big Sky | 4:02 |
| 1-11 | Fingernail Moon | 5:04 |
| 2-01 | Dark Road (With Artist Commentary) | 3:47 |
| 2-02 | Love Is Blind (With Artist Commentary) | 4:15 |
| 2-03 | Smithereens (With Artist Commentary) | 5:15 |
| 2-04 | Ghosts In My Machine (With Artist Commentary) | 3:29 |
| 2-05 | Womankind (With Artist Commentary) | 4:27 |
| 2-06 | Through The Glass Darkly (With Artist Commentary) |
3:30 |
| 2-07 | Lost (With Artist Commentary) | 3:41 |
| 2-08 | Coloured Bedspread (With Artist Commentary) | 4:29 |
| 2-09 | Sing (With Artist Commentary) | 4:45 |
| 2-10 | Big Sky (With Artist Commentary) | 4:00 |
| 2-11 | Fingernail Moon (With Artist Commentary) | 5:01 |
| 2-Video-1 |
Dark Road (Video) | 3:47 |
| 2-Video-2 | Dark Road (Video With Artist Commentary) | 3:47 |
- Accordion – Eddie Baylos
- Arranged By, Producer [Additional Production] – Mike Stevens
- Bass – Sean Hurley
- Design – Allan Martin (4)
- Drums – Blair Sinta
- Guitar – Joel Shearer
- Keyboards – Annie Lennox, Glen Ballard, Mike Stevens, Randy Kerber, Zac Raeon
- Mastered By – Ted Jensen
- Mixed By – Tom Lord-Alge
- Mixed By [Mix Assistant] – Femio Hernandez
- Performer [Additional Performance] – The Generics (tracks: 1-09)
- Photography By – Mike Owen (3)
- Piano – Annie Lennox, Randy Kerber
- Producer – Glen Ballard
- Producer [Video Producer] – Langthorn (tracks: 2-Video-2), Owen* (tracks: 2-Video-2)
- Recorded By [Recording Engineer] – Scott Campbell
- Recorded By, Written-By [Rap] – Nadirah X (tracks: 1-05)
- Vocals – Anastacia (tracks: 1-09), Angelique Kidjo (tracks: 1-09), Beth Gibbons (tracks: 1-09), Beth Orton (tracks: 1-09), Beverley Knight (tracks: 1-09), Bonnie Raitt (tracks: 1-09), Celine Dion (tracks: 1-09), Dido (tracks: 1-09), Faith Hill (tracks: 1-09), Fergie (2) (tracks: 1-09), Gladys Knight (tracks: 1-09), Isobel Campbell (tracks: 1-09), Joss Stone (tracks: 1-09), KT Tunstall (tracks: 1-09), Madonna (tracks: 1-09), Martha Wainwright (tracks: 1-09), Melissa Etheridge (tracks: 1-09), Pink* (tracks: 1-09), Sarah McLachlan (tracks: 1-09), Shakira (tracks: 1-09), Shingai Shoniwa (tracks: 1-09), Sugababes (tracks: 1-09), k.d. lang (tracks: 1-09)
- Vocals, Written-By – Annie Lennox
Ending her long association with Stephen Lipson, Lennox's fourth solo album, Songs of Mass Destruction, was recorded in Los Angeles with veteran producer Glen Ballard (known for producing Alanis Morissette's album, Jagged Little Pill). It was released on 1 October 2007, and was the last studio album of Lennox's contract with BMG. It peaked at No. 7 in the UK and No. 9 in the US. Lennox stated that she believed the album consisted of "twelve strong, powerful, really emotive songs that people can connect to". If she achieves that, she says, "I can feel proud of [it], no matter if it sells ten copies or 50 million." Lennox described it as "a dark album, but the world is a dark place. It's fraught, it's turbulent. Most people's lives are underscored with dramas of all kinds: there's ups, there's downs – the flickering candle." She added, "Half the people are drinking or drugging themselves to numb it. A lot of people are in pain."
The album's first single was "Dark Road", released on 24 September 2007. Another song on the album, "Sing", is a collaboration between Lennox and 23 prominent female artists: Anastacia, Isobel Campbell, Dido, Céline Dion, Melissa Etheridge, Fergie, Beth Gibbons, Faith Hill, Angelique Kidjo, Beverley Knight, Gladys Knight, k.d. lang, Madonna, Sarah McLachlan, Beth Orton, Pink, Kelis, Bonnie Raitt, Shakira, Shingai Shoniwa, Joss Stone, Sugababes, KT Tunstall, and Martha Wainwright. The song was recorded to raise money and awareness for the HIV/AIDS organisation Treatment Action Campaign. Included among the group of vocalists are TAC activist members' own vocal group known as The Generics, whose CD of music inspired Lennox to make "Sing". To promote Songs of Mass Destruction, Lennox embarked on a primarily North American tour called Annie Lennox Sings, which lasted throughout October and November 2007.
- Eddie Baytos – accordion
- Mike Stevens – arrangements, additional production
- Allan Martin – artwork design
- Sean Hurley – bass guitar
- Blair Sinta – drums
- Joel Shearer – guitar
- Zac Rae – keyboards
- Ted Jensen – mastering
- Tom Lord-Alge – mixing
- Femio Hernandez – mixing assistant
- Mike Owen – photography
- Annie Lennox – vocals, piano, keyboards
- Randy Kerber – piano, keyboards
- Glen Ballard – producer, keyboards
- Scott Campbell – recording engineer
