Sandwich

Overall Album Score: 7.1 out of 10

Why is it that Annie Lennox always looks like a dude on the album covers? ... I mean, she's a fairly attractive dude, but ......... Look, she finally has long hair, but with all that make-up on her, she looks like a transvestite. COME ON!!!!!!!!!! She looks more guyish in this album cover than she did in any of the other ones. At least we could see hints of her breasts on the Revenge cover and her sensuous female back on Sweet Dreams (Are Made of Jeans).

OK, 'nuff of that. Musically, this album is certainly different. I'm not meaning this in a good way, unfortunately. For some reason Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart decided that they needed to experiment. This was a good time to do it as any, because their previous two albums, Be Yourself Tonight and Revenge were essentially the same thing. Unfortunately, this 'experimentation' seems more like an excuse not to make compelling music. There's really nothing a whole lot more artistic about Savage than Be Yourself Tonight. Savage is a dull work that's sounds awkward, and it doesn't contain any compelling songs.

The new thing the Eurythmics did here was write a bunch of grooves on a programmed synthclavier. Unfortunately, none of these grooves were inspired. They all sound so clunky and unpolished. It's like they were trying to walk normally when they only have one leg. Anyway, what's so experimental about this album, anyway? The synth-pop from Sweet Dreams (Are Made of Cheese) did the same sort of thing as Savage except it doesn't sound crappy. And, for this really to have been an experimental album, it would've had to not sound so much like it was made in the late '80s.

More important than the general sound of the album is the songwriting, which took an inexplicable dive here. Where are the infectiously catchy tunes such as "Sisters are Doin' It For Themselves" or "When Tomorrow Comes?" Where are the confident power-rockers such as "Missionary Man?"

Another point I'd like to make is the addition of an ACOUSTIC track called "I Need You." Don't get me wrong, this is a good song. I like this song. But after listening to 10 tracks of some of the most awkward synth-pop songs I've ever heard, this acousitc song is ... (forgive my lack of creative wording) ... AWKWARD. The final track, "Brand New Day," which starts out as an a cappella gospel song is the most bizarre song on here. I reiterate that bizarre songs are sometimes good (for goodness sake, I gave an extremely glowing review to Kate Bush's The Dreaming), but not when you can't be compelling with it. It seems the Eurythmics are just going for the madness without first having a method. This is one sloppy and misguided album, indeed.

Apparently, I agreed with the mass populace as well as the All Music Guide (which seems to be rare these days). This album received the poorest sales of any album they released since In the Garden, and the All Music Guide actually gave this a shockingly fair rating of two stars. I always appreciate experimentalism in artists, but not at the expense of the music.

Overall Album Score: 7.1 out of 10 (Oh brother ... Do me a favor, o Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. If it's going to sound this dated and uninteresting, don't experiment. Their real artistic materwork can simply be found by going back in time to 1981 when they released In the Garden.)

Average Song Score: 7.3 (This was a very disappointing set of songs. There just isn't a whole lot to enjoy about this.)

Album Tilt: 7.0 (It's weak. Weak. Weak. Although to its benefit, every song seemed misfired, so at least it's consistent in that sense!)

Artist Rating: 7.0 (I can't really respect this as an art-album, because the art wasn't very interesting. Besides, this sounds waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too late '80s for this to truly be considered a real art work anyway.)

Track Reviews

Beethoven (I Love to Listen to) 7.5/10

It took me about five listens of this to convince me that this isn't actually a bad song. But here's my beef: This seems like an '80s production nightmare. It features all these broken up little noises that culminate to produce an extremely messed up song. Why on Earth the Eurythmics decided to turn this into a Beethoven (of all dead people) tribute is beyond me. It doesn't really feature a whole lot of singing to my dismay ... Annie Lennox is talking and ... HEY! SHE'S BRITISH!!!! ... Anyway, this is without a doubt the worst Eurythmics opening song of their entire career thus far. It's not the worst song known to mankind, but ... for the Eurythmics this is pretty dismal. Especially for a song that doesn't seem like they were treating it as second rate material.

I've Got a Lover (Back in Japan) 6.5/10

...So... she likes Japanese dudes ... I thought Annie Lennox would go out with someone who could sing, at least. (OH! STEREOTYPE! I JUST MADE A RACIST REMARK!!) ... Well, this is a pretty disappointing song, too. The production is high, but the hooks are low. I kind of like the Asian stringed instrument we hear in at times in song, but ... those are synthesizers anyway. How on Earth are the Eurythmics writing all these songs and forgetting to put hooks in the melodies? That was always one of their strong points. While this song most certainly is listenable, there's no genuine value to it. (I'm being nice, by the way.)

Do You Want to Break Up? 5/10

You're actually a dude in a wig, so you freaking bet I want to break up. ... This song sucks as well. Again, the Eurythmics utlilize this incredibly awkward instrumentation. The melody is utterly toneless and there's a relatively short melody line that just repeat and repeats and repeats. There isn't even a hope of a hook in here. It's good that the Eurythmics were trying a new type of synth-pop than they were going for in previous albums, but this seriously isn't working. Guys, tell Annie to take off that wig and come up with some hooks or something.

You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart 8/10

Thank you! This is the first enjoyable song of Savage. Maybe that's why they called this album Savage. They wanted to savage your brain up before they start delivering real songs! The instrumentation can decidedly be placed in the late '80s, which might be too much for some people to take. But, I say if there's a good melody, it's worth bearing through the production standards one of pop music's most misguided periods in the entire history of Western civilization. Even though this is enjoyable overall, this really isn't that great of a song. Hooks are present, but they don't stick to you for too long.

Shame 8.5/10

This isn't awful. It does take too long to get started, there's about a half a minute of pretty boring fade-in and then a vocal chord of "Shame." Then, another awkward (and not very good) groove pipes up and ... ew. The '80s drums and the synthscapes come in making this flow a little bit. The only place where this song is truly enjoyable is a terribly awkward and very brief chorus, which is so hooky that it really doesn't fit in with the rest of the song! ... The build up during the latter half of the song works pretty well, though. There could have been big improvements made with this song, but ... by the time the end rolls around, I forget about the rocky start.

Savage 6.5/10

This isn't so bad, but ... it seriously could have used a lot more work. It's a slow song, and sometimes slow songs are really awesome for electronica groups, because this is their chance to make enchanting synthscapes. The Eurythmics do no such thing here. This song is boring. And where is the melody? Huh? Just because you say you're making an experimental album, that doesn't give you a compelling excuse to forget about melody.

I Need a Man 8.5/10

...You need a man... I thought Dave Stewart was your man! ... Or maybe Frodo Baggins is your man. After all, you're one of the 300,000 people who won an Academy Award for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. This song was the Eurythmics' most marketable singer in here. They sure could've done without the introduction. I enjoy Annie's spirit through this song and the late '80s groove is sort of enjoyable this time. It still sounds awfully awkward, though.

Put the Blame on Me 8/10

The melody here seems more conventional, which is good, because it's more enjoyable. The groove, which is another over-emphasized "experimental" thing, is better done here. Although, it's not experimental. It's very mainstream sounding. Granted the Eurythmics mainstream is better than what the average crappy band could accomplish, but seriously ... you know these guys are capable of so much more than this. I really wish the Eurythmics would've consulted the inner artists in them before they decided they wanted to be experimental, because these songs really aren't very compelling.

Heaven 7/10

OH MY GOSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH... This song is just another one of those boring old "experimental" grooves and then Annie Lennox coming in and saying "That's right" sometimes and then singing "heaven" sometimes and then singing a little bit in the background. How utterly dull.

Wide Eyed Girl 6/10

This is yet another dreadfully misfired song. It starts with one of the most awkward grooves of the entire album. Fortunately, this groove stops when Lennox starts singing. I'm not sure what the deal is with this song. Her vocal performance, while strong, is not as compelling as it used to be. The end of the song gets all violent, but my soul wasn't following the song well enough to allow myself to be compelled by the violent build-up. The end of the song features some really ugly vocals. Ick.

I Need You 9.5/10

This is very odd! This is an acoustic piece that ... um ... WHAT THE HELL IS THIS DOING IN THIS ALBUM FULL OF MISFIRED SYTNTH-POP SONGS???? ... Anyway, since this is the only song in here that doesn't sound misfired and ... besides ... this is a pretty good song, and it is the album's best song by default.

Brand New Day 7/10

The first part of this track is done entirely with Annie Lennox vocals. Now, if there were ever a song I'd like to hear with just vocals, it'd be Annie Lennox, because she can even sing bass guitar parts due to her phenomenal range! Unfortunately, she's decided to sing a gospel song, which isn't always my favorite thing to listen to. The end of this song also has some cheesy instrumentation. Granted, this isn't generic instrumentation, because I don't think we can find some of this stuff in normal radio crap. This was another misfired song, but at least it was somewhat unique.

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