25 Eurythmics – All the Young (People of Today) (1981)Įurythmics’ debut album In the Garden was the sound of a duo working out who they were, but there are gems among the musical dead ends: the fantastic All the Young (People of Today) dealt in eerily blank-eyed vocals and atmospheric electronic pop, a sound they would pursue on their next two albums. More guitarist and chief songwriter Peet Coombes’ baby than vocalist Lennox’s, the Tourists couldn’t seem to work out which post-punk trend to follow: 60s revivalist powerpop? Synthesisers? The former won out on their biggest original hit: compact and buoyant, So Good to Be Back Home is a minor delight. Inevitably left in the shade cast by Be Yourself Tonight’s plethora of hit singles, Adrian is the album’s minor triumph: 12-string guitars chiming and sparkling over a synthesised bass line, Lennox’s tender vocal shadowed by the distinctively lemony tones of guest Elvis Costello.Ģ6 The Tourists – So Good to Be Back Home Again (1979) 28 Eurythmics – I’ve Got a Life (2005)Įurythmics’ 1999 reunion album Peace was a disappointment – big on rock guitar bluster, low on great songs – but the new track they appended to a 2005 greatest hits collection was something else: a richly soulful Lennox vocal over grinding synths that suggested familiarity with the oeuvre of Goldfrapp. Filled with silences, capable of instilling a chilly calm as it plays, Paranassius Apollo is a diversion, but a charming one. Should anyone doubt that Lennox marches entirely to the beat of her own drum these days, her most recent set of original material consisted entirely of sparse piano instrumentals that had more in common with Brian Eno’s ambient albums than her trademark oeuvre. 29 Annie Lennox – Parnassius Apollo (2019)

Spotify duos