En La Gardeno

Overall Album Score: 9.4 out of 10

I love the Eurythmics. In fact, I really, really, really adore this group. And that’s not at all because of the image (…frankly, Annie Lennox with her buzz cut serves to frighten me more than anything else…), but it’s because of their FREAKING AWESOME 80S SONGS!!! … I mean, I can’t count how many of their popular 80s songs that I absolutely adore. Even their Peace album, which was among the first CDs I’ve ever bought, has plenty of moments on it that I deem utterly priceless. Quite simply, they’re one of my favorite '80s groups.

I’ve listened to most of their stuff extensively since I’ve started listening to popular music … except for this album, In the Garden. The reason I haven’t listened to it much isn’t because I haven’t been able to get my grummy hands on it. … In fact, they’ve had this album uploaded on Rhapsody since I started receiving the service (more than two years ago). Simply put, when I tried to listen to this album on a casual basis, I wasn’t really paying attention to it.

Listening to this album, I wouldn’t think that The Eurythmics thought they were very good. I only say that because anyone who can play “Sweet dreams are made of this” while pretending that “Dreams” and “This” rhymes has got to think that their stuff is great. Completely unlike their subsequent material, this album is very very reserved. The rhythm sections (some of which might have made a perfectly normal Sweet Dreams-era dance hit) are buried under other things … such as instrumentation or … Annie Lennox’s angelic voice.

…In fact, this is an album when Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart were fairly normal people. I mean, Dave looks a little strange on the album cover, but what’s with Annie? … SHE HAS A NORMAL HAIRCUT??? And what type of music is of normal people? … Not something that a lot of people want to listen to, apparently!

It’s a shame that I never really paid attention to this album … and it’s easy not to! Even though this song has nothing to do with their song “Sweet Dreams,” this album feels like a sweet dream. The music is pillowy, flowery … maybe it’s meant to be a part of the scenery than something you’d hear on the pop radio. Some of these songs even sounded New Age-ish to me, expressing a side of Annie Lennox’s voice that we don't hear too often (her image became that of a power-woman, which didn’t allow her to use the soft, angelic side of her voice … but, seriously, she did the power-woman thing better than anyone)!

Of course, there’s still the strong element of synth-pop in here. Most of the songs have a robotic drum-machine beat and a solid bass-line … so their transformation to Sweet Dreams wasn’t a 180-degree turn. It was only a 90-degree turn.

Anyway, don’t pass this album by. Seriously! Every song makes a fantastic listen, and some of the melodies are among the band’s catchiest (including but not limited to “Belinda” and “Revenge”). Dudes! GET THIS ALBUM!!

Overall Album Score: 9.4 out of 10 (If you are a Eurythmics fan and haven’t listened to this yet, it’s definitely worth tracking down and giving a serious listen to. You’ll likely note that the songs, while not synth-pop dance classics, are as strongly written and as solid as their more popular stuff later on.)

Average Song Score: 9.3 (These songs might not qualify for the pop radio, but most of these songs are as well-written as any of this band’s popular stuff.)

Album Tilt: 9.5 (Very solid songs … the album is very highly reserved yet it is still beautiful and I adore it for that.)

Artist Rating: 9.5 (Certainly, the Eurythmics are never going to do this again. I continue to respect their music during their MTV years, but … this is certainly an interesting album in a style that’s unique and hard to classify.)

Track Reviews

English Summer 9.5/10

Even though I’ve never experienced an English summer, I still kind of identify with this song. (In spite of the fact I spend most of my summer cooped up in an air-conditioned room.) … This is a rather expressive song for a synth-pop band! … Oh wait, this was before they were popular. Only bands that don’t want to be popular can do stuff like this, I guess. The melody isn’t very complex here, but it’s almost soothing in how it repeats. (Also, the bass-line is sa-weet.)

Belinda 10/10

Not too far off from popular-version Eurythmics, except the drums aren’t that loud. The melody is about as solid as the Eurythmics were ever able to pull off (and, believe me, I’m in love with a lot of their melodies). This song, not only features a nice groove, but a very sleepy (and alluring) vocal performance from Annie Lennox. This seems as if Lennox was of the gods.

Take Me To Your Heart 9/10

Very nice! Again, these songs don’t seem to have much self-importance (which is something that characterizes this lesser-known debut release from the pop-superstar turn this band would take the next year), but it’s a solid composition, a nice groove, catchy tune. … I like it!

She’s Invisible Now 9/10

With a little more heavy synth layers, this might have made a totally valid new age song … even though new age wasn’t quite invented yet. The melody sounds rather loose and made of liquid. … It’s aesthetically pleasing and Lennox’s voice is fantastic.

Your Time Will Come 9/10

Sweeeeeetttt! This is another nice, sleepy song from the Eurythmics people. Again, it doesn’t carry any smugness or self-importance with it … it’s just a solid tune. Lennox, whose voice is overdubbed over itself, provides some nice, pure moments in here.

Caveman Head 8.5/10

Most of these songs repeat the same melody lines over and over again. This one is no exception, but it does that almost to a fault. … Despite that, the song is perfectly listenable … and it continues to intrigue me that this album was actually made by the Eurythmics. … I always knew they had lots of talent, but … dude … this album’s, like, awesome in a totally non 80s MTV superstar way.

Never Gonna Cry Again 10/10

…Just add a really loud drum, more pronounced (and synthesized bass-line), and this would have been a perfectly good Eurythmics hit. The melody (not one of the ones that just repeat a lot) is very very very good. The instrumental interlude (consisting of flute-like instruments) is very pleasant (and something this band won’t do much of again). The instrumentation of this song, in particular, compliments the song perfectly. I’m glad they didn’t save this song for Sweet Dreams!

All the Young (People of Today) 9/10

The song is slow, but the chorus (while never ever showing signs of being self-important) is rather glorious in its reserved way. The instrumentation is quietly chaotic, making this yet another sleepy piece of pop-art.

Sing-Sing 8.5/10

A disco beat! … Oooooo!!! … The rhythm might be more pronounced on this song (again, the rhythm will be EXTREMELY pronounced on their following albums). Annie is singing in a weird language. … Almost sounds like she’s singing a nursery rhyme. A nice song … it’s not among the album’s strongest, but … all of these songs are pretty freakingly strong.

Revenge 10/10

A great song to close with! (They also had an album called Revenge interestingly enough … I’m not sure if there’s any real connection other than that.) The melody is extremely good, the bassline chugs along very pleasantly … Annie Lennox’s voice is as angelic as ever … oy! Everybody should love this song!

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, the Juannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn here.