Annie Lennox - Songs of Mass Destruction Review
by Dan MacIntosh
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The thumping synthesizer notes that introduce "Coloured Bedspread" may trick you into thinking Eurythmics never ended. But this is actually an Annie Lennox solo track, off her new Songs of Mass Destruction release. Yet whether with or without Dave Stewart (her Eurythmics partner), Lennox has always been one of pop music's most powerful voices. Only this time, the sister is doing it for herself.
And speaking about a lady doing it all on her own, this release also has a new semi-feminist anthem. "Womankind" opens with the lines, "One more time for womankind/This is for the womankind." It's not so much a female laborer's fight song, however, as it is addressed to females standing up for themselves in relationships.
"Ghosts in My Machine" is this CD's best upbeat track. It matches a disco 4/4 beat with churchy piano and accordion. It reminds me a lot of Talking Heads during their Little Creatures phase, and is a cry for escape from inner pain. "Gimme some of that medicine/To make me forget/I need some amnesia/'Cause I ain't found it yet."
Lennox has the unique ability to sound like a full force gale, yet still remain conversational. She can blow the roof off the sucker, as she does during "Ghosts in My Machine" then calm the storm with something more reflective, like "Through the Glass Darkly". "Big Sky" is also a slower winner; one that brings to mind the great Nina Simone. Lennox closes this disc with another quiet one, "Fingernail Moon", which is supported by little more than the singer and her acoustic piano work along with subtle strings.
This is one performer who has never turned her back on social causes, and Songs of Mass Destruction carries on that admirable trait. The track "Sing" is a piano-driven gospel-y "call for the national implementation of a mother to child transmission prevention programme in all the maternity hospitals in South Africa." It is designed to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. The song's inclusion is also a reminder that the return of Nelson Mandela to power did not automatically resolve all of the troubling issues in this much-troubled region. Lennox is here to tell us that there's still much work to do.
Songs of Mass Destruction is an odd title for an Annie Lennox CD. After all, she is an artist who always uses her talent to lift spirits and comfort hurting ones. And this is an album that sounds good and soothes well.
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Annie Lennox - Songs of Mass Destruction
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