One record at a time: 142. Eurythmics - Savage

When I bought Dave Stewart's autobiography a couple of years ago, the section I was most keen to read was about the creation of my favourite Eurythmics album "Savage". After the car crash that was "Revenge", Dave and Annie decided to return to a more experimental electronic sound. Dave's book confirms that this change in direction was a conscious decision following the realisation they had become too much of a Rock 'n Roll band.

I first bought this album on CD in 1989 from Britannia Music Club and here I will be playing a copy of the original vinyl which I bought in 2014 (when I seem to have been buying all of the Eurythmics back catalogue). I also own a remastered 180g vinyl from 2018, but the least said about that pressing the better. Somewhere in the loft I also own a copy of the video album which I watched endlessly in my youth.  

The experimental nature of this album is perfectly illustrated by the opening track "Beethoven (I Love to Listen)" which features a thundering Synclavier backing track and Annie's spoken vocals. The second track "I've Got a Lover (Back In Japan)" sees Annie channel her inner Aretha Franklin (as well as highlighting the bands love of parenthesis). The juxtaposition of the twee delivery and disconcerting subject matter on "Do You Want To Break Up?" make for a great song. "You Have Placed a Chill in my Heart" sounds like a hit record and "I Need a Man" is the kind of radio friendly track record companies would have been desperate for. 

The synth funk of "Put the Blame on Me" provides perfect contrast to some of the darker songs such as the title track and "I Need You". The single "Shame" has always been one of my favourites and it remains drastically underrated in my opinion. "Wide Eyed Girl" is probably my least favourite track but it still remains head and shoulders above anything on "Revenge".

Some might see the largely instrumental track "Heaven" as filler, but to me this is one of the best tracks on the album. Dave wrote most of the music for this album on his own, and it is my guess that when it came time for Annie to make her contribution the track couldn't be moulded into a conventional song structure. As a consequence we end up with a fantastic slice of pre-house dance music. A perfect album deserves a perfect ending and "Brand New Day" does not disappoint. Things begin with Annie singing acapella before layers of vocal harmony give way to Dave's dreamlike Synclavier arrangement. Perfect. 5/5