Fretplay.com Eurythmics guitar tabs CD reviews Revenge

Eurythmics - Revenge Audio CD

Band: Eurythmics Title: Revenge Rating: Release Date: 1990-10-25 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Missionary Man 2: Thorn in My Side 3: When Tomorrow Comes 4: Last Time 5: Miracle of Love 6: Let's Go 7: Take Your Pain Away 8: Little of You 9: In This Town 10: I Remember You

"Let's Go!"
The experiment of that record gave the Eurythmics more musical credibility, so the question was could they follow the same success?

While some may've thought "Revenge" to be a lukewarm successor to "Be Yourself Tonight", I think it more than lives up to the previous bar set by that album, almost moving it higher. The Eurythmics had previously shifted into a "soul/rock" sound on "Be Yourself Tonight" which was received critically & commercially well.

"Revenge" moves specifcally into a more rock, or 1980's bar rock with synth flourishes, soul leanings, & immaculate pop melodies. I find that the securing of a live band, the drummer of Blondie (Clem Burke), a much welcomed addition help seal the deal. Annie delivers some of her most searing vocals & Dave arrangements sparkle with creativity & sponeaity.

The album kicks off with the bluesy, ballsy "Missionary Man" which after a intro of blurred harmonica histrionics, kicks into gear with Annie's smooth voice. The track ranks as one of their finest single cuts, as well as compositions. From there you are treated to the euphoria of "When Tomorrow Comes" which celebrates the prospect of love growing with each day, this joy is conveyed in the sharp drumming & keyboard shading.

Other highlights include the slick "The Last Time", raucous "Let's Go!", the fantastic ballad "The Miracle of Love", & a personal favorite "Take Your Pain Away". I love the latter because it starts of as a band jam, much sharpened of course, but has a club leaning or beat underneath it. This "beat" at one point takes stage, switching the band sound to the back, then quickly shifting the band sound back to the front.

The record seems to balance lyrically the promise of love, yet the paranoia of the failure of love. This is seen in tracks such as the mentioned "The Last Time", more specifically the soul seether "Thorn In My Side" & bittersweet tang of "A Little of You". "Be Yourself Tonight" definitely had more of a romantic feel, which still spilled over here, but you see the side of romance gone bad here. The paranoia of love here would totally become bitter & take shape on the follow-up "Savage".

Commercially, this heralded a slump in the Eurythmics American career, but in their native U. K. the record steamed ahead as a hit. One of my favorites, I recommend if you want to see Annie & Dave at their most focused, and with their most "bite". .

Eurythmics: Revenge (1986)
This album shows that Eurythmics are still within their sound of 80s Synthesized Pop & Rock, but this album allowed The Eurythmics to include the sound of acoustic guitars and a heavier sound of synthesizers. In 1986, Eurythmics released their fifth album entitled, REVENGE, an album where Eurythmics proved that they can still win the fans over with their music. This album is unbelievably amazing. It remains as one of their absolute best out of their entire discography.

MISSIONARY MAN
The fourth & final single from the album. Although, I really enjoy this song, I do not understand what it is about. But it is definitely a great song. The music video, in which I have seen recently on VH1 Classics' Tuesday Two-Play, is oustandingly incredible, but eerily freaky for the most part.

THORN IN MY SIDE
The second single from the album. The acoustic guitar that is played in the very beginning of the song is unbelievable. The song is one of my favorites all the way. One of my favorite sections of this song, aside from the acoustic introduction in the beginning, is the spoken phrase Annie says before the first verse. That spoken phrase is said like this, ". . . You gave me such a bad time, tried to hurt me, but now I know. . . " A song not to miss.

WHEN TOMORROW COMES
The first single from the album. Another amazing song that I can sing along with. Annie's voice is pure gold.

THE LAST TIME
Great.

THE MIRACLE OF LOVE
The third single from the album. Great.

LET'S GO!
Awesome.

A LITTLE OF YOU
Another awesome song. Why wasn't this one released as a single?

IN THIS TOWN (Live)
Amazing.

I REMEMBER YOU
Amazing.

WHEN TOMORROW COMES (12" Dance Mix) (Unlisted Bonus Track)
This song, as I have already indicated, is an unlisted bonus track. An awesome mix.

This is an album that I listen over and over again. I honestly cannot get enough of this album. This album's front cover is their best album cover yet. There is no need for me to describe, since you all could see it for yourselves.

A rocking album; a creative slip
The lead-off single and the first song on the album promised great things from the duo for their sixth studio album "Revenge. After the fantastic "Be Yourself Tonight," the Eurythmics moved almost completely away from the synth sound of their early albums into a full-fledged rock album with heavy R&B influences. "
With a futuristic, imaginative video, "Missionary Man" delivered everything the Eurythmics were about: great hooks, hip-moving beats, powerful vocals, electric energy and biting lyrics. From there, however, the album begins to slip. It's not that the songwriting isn't good here ("Thorn In My Side," "The Miracle of Love" and "Last Time" are all good songs), it's just that there's really nothing very memorable beyond the first track. The energy seems to be wearing thin and Annie and Dave lack the diversity and creativity in their songwriting.
This is definitely an album worth listening to, it's just not the best of what they could do. The album before and the masterpiece after ("Savage") prove that this is just a temporary creative slip. As with all their work, however, when you find the Eurythmics at their least effective, it's still usually way above the par in comparison to their contemporaries.

On rockier ground
I don't like the meandering Missionary Man, but thereafter it's genius all the way! Thorn In My Side is a dramatic ballad with a great sense of finality, When Tomorrow Comes is a soaring number where Annie's voice goes full throttle, The Last Time is an eerie, brooding ballad with strange voice effects, and The Miracle Of Love is another lovely melodic pop song. Wow! After great synth albums like Sweet Dreams and Touch and 1985's Soul/R&B excursion Be Yourself Tonight, Eurythmics created this riveting rock album of moving melodic songs. These rank amongst the best compositions of Eurythmics, on a par with classics like Love Is A Stranger, Sweet Dreams, Right By Your Side and There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart). I also love the full rock sound they use here - it makes an interesting change from the earlier synth-based sound. Other favorites include Take Your Pain Away and the gentle, wistful I Remember You with its torch-song vocal and textured instrumentation. Perhaps some Eurythmics fans didn't like the rock textures of this album, but to me it remains one of their best.

You can see a complete list of all Eurythmics discography, or go back to the Eurythmics tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.