Rear End

Overall Album Score: 8.5 out of 10

Yet another album cover in which I'm not sure if Annie Lennox is naked or not. I'm also not sure if she's a woman or not, but ... um ... I think I've already discussed this matter in quite a bit of detail in previous albums, so ... no need to continue ...

What I like about the Eurythmics here is their refusing to add true filler in their albums. Sure, some of these songs could've used more work, but they're hardly valueless. I don't think they really spent a lot of thought on some of those, but Annie Lennox's and Dave Stewart's juicy talent is mightily strong, and it shines through strongly even though some of these half-hearted tracks.

Oh, but this Eurythmics release is priceless, because it has that great 80s pop song "When Tomorrow Comes" on it, which among the few songs that essentially makes me go into a trance whenever I hear it. This song is fantastic. "Missionary Man" is another great song from the album, which has such a strong, confident drive to it that it's only characteristic of the whole thing this band seemed to be striving for since they broke into the pop scene in 1982.

I am also partial to the album closer "I Remember You" even though it doesn't demand the attention those two power-hits receive. It's a fairly modest and synth-orchestrated ballad. (Hey, "modest and synth-orchestrated ballad" isn't an oxymoron, afterall!) Anyway, there's nothing in here that stinks, which is what makes this a valuable album and worthwhile CD purchase.

Overall Album Score: 8.5 out of 10 (This might be similar to their previous release, but this is a little bit better in my book. The tunes are more solid and ... dudes ... "When Tomorrow Comes.")

Average Song Score: 8.6 (Good songs! Some are better than others, but that's fine.)

Album Tilt: 8.5 (It's uneven, but any album with "When Tomorrow Comes" on it is alright by me.)

Artist Rating: 8.5 (They give a great deal of thought to their songs. They might be aiming themselves toward the pop scene, but at least they're giving the public something worthwhile and intelligent.)

Track Reviews

Missionary Man 9.5/10

This is a power rocker with a confident ('80s) beat. It has a driving force that sounds like it can bust through a brick wall with instrumentation consisting of heavy electric guitars, harmonica, well chosen synths and (most importantly) Annie Lennox's voice. Hey, this song is solid by definition, then! Finally, this song has a catchy melody. Nothing at all is wrong with this song. The songs is addicting and an exciting way to begin the album!

Thorn in My Side 9/10

This track is a calmer and less catchy synth-pop song, but it's still incredibly solid. The instrumentation is pretty developed (which is definitely a good thing in synth-pop). There's a pretty good loop of electric guitar in this song as well as a very nice sax solo. The melody isn't the greatest, but it's functional. Lennox's voice is always good, too!

When Tomorrow Comes 10/10

In my mind, this is the crown-jewell of this album! The melody of it is so infectious that it got into my mind the very first time I heard it and started taking it to some magical places. The instrumentation is also pretty fantastic on this track. It consists of a hooky guitar loop and an even hookier vocal melody. Yeah, this is synth-pop for the radio, but this goes far beyond the simple, miserable tripe we hear so often from the radio people. This is such a great song that it's NOT EVEN FUNNY.

The Last Time 8/10

It has a pretty good melody, but the hooks seem a bit obvious! Well, it's nothing like "When Tomorrow Comes," anyway. Based on rapid synths, this song manages to be mesmerizing (but not all that great). I like the bells I hear occasionally in the background the most. This remains a pretty good effort, and I enjoy listening to it, but this is a serious let-down after 'Tomorrow.'

Miracle of Love 8/10

This is very unfortunately a ballad. And it's not a very interesting ballad! I think the melody is decent, but it's not catchy enough to make it memorable. The instrumentation and Annie Lennox's singing is by far the strongest aspect of this song. It makes a perfectly engaging and listenable song at the moment, but there isn't a whole lot that I take away from this.

Let's Go! 7.5/10

The melody is mostly nicely written (with a few nice hooks in it), but the instrumentation seems a bit too '80s radio for me. This clearly wasn't developed as well as some of the other songs on here and, for the worse, sounds like a weaker incarnation of "Missionary Man." The end of this is too goofy! (But hey, at least they're not pretentious buggars.)

Take Your Pain Away 8.5/10

The driving bassline propels this song and those pounding monotonous drums in the background makes this sound like a very mean factory. The instrumentation is pretty good in this song (although I can't be sure if they actually spent very long with this track). The melody isn't everything it could've been, but I'm too busy paying attention to that freaky rhythm section. The ending really wasn't too great, but in any case, this song works!

Little of You 9/10

This one is a pretty good song. I like the instrumentals thoroughout the song. It has an obligatory synth-pop backdrop, but it's fairly modest. The instrumental interlude, consisting of violins and a clavinet-type-instrument, is really awesome. These alone make the song engaging. However, the melody is pretty well written, too! (Awesome.)

In This Town 7.5/10

It's hardly a sinker, but this another mediocrely developed song. It makes too fine of a listen at the time to really want to dismiss it (besides, I really like Annie Lennox's power-woman voice). The instrumentation isn't too great here, either, although adding in audience noises thoroughout it turned out relatively well. This is probably the worst song of the album but, then again, it ain't that bad.

I Remember You 9/10

A very nice song to close with (and an interesting choice for such a well-established synth-pop duo) is a strictly orchestral ballad. The instrumentation is obviously done with synthesizers, but it sounds almost like they had an orchestra full of keyboard players doing their stuff. It could've been more lush sounding, but I like the more modest approach! The song is incredibly engaging with a nice, uppity rythm going (thanks to a violin-sounding synth).

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