Today’s POP RESCUE from a fate unknown, is the 1995 album Medusa from Eurythmics vocalist Annie Lennox. Is this album Something So Right, or should it get No More ‘I Love Yous’? Read on…

I should admit here, that I’m not particularly a fan of Annie Lennox. I don’t really know why – I just can’t put my finger on it.

Starting with the first single, No More ‘I Love Yous’, this track was the big hit, and it is also a fantastic showcase for her vocals. Throw this alongside the vaudeville styled video (see below), and you can see how it grabbed attention in February 1995.

Next up is Take Me To The River, a cover that has been done by many other artists, and this version doesn’t necessarily tread new water.

Second single, a cover of Procol Harum‘s A Whiter Shade Of Pale, suits Lennox’s vocals pretty well, and it’s sympathetic to the original. The inclusion of some delicate harp plucking is nice, but the track is not really a track that really goes anywhere (this, and the original version).

Don’t Let It Bring You Down is a nice use of Lennox’s higher vocals again, but it is otherwise fairly dull. Musically it doesn’t really do anything until nearer the end when the piano and backing vocals join in.

Train In Vain opens with beats and double bass, and feels a lot more up-beat than what we’ve heard so far.

The up-beat tempo continues with I Can’t Get Next To You, with Spanish guitar and string section. So far, this is my second favourite track after No More ‘I Love Yous’.

Downtown Lights is the next track, and it’s also the longest one on the album, weighing in at almost 7 boring minutes that you’ll regret losing.

A cover of The Persuaders song Thin Line Between Love And Hate is up next, with a nice bass line, synth, harmonica, and scattered strings, set against a low vocal line. This is actually quite a nice chilled out track.

Some delicate guitar bring in the next track, Waiting In Vain – the third single from the album. Whilst it’s an okay track, it rarely goes into new territory for this album.

Final track Something So Right was the fourth and final single, and it’s essentially a sleepy end to this somewhat dreary album.

Verdict

Medusa was hugely commercially successful, but whether this was because of Annie Lennox or because it was an album made up entirely of cover versions, remains a mystery. Either way, it was highly successful for Lennox, and spawned four singles.

I remember this album selling by the bucket load when I worked in a record store during the 1990s, and I’m also a big fan of the album artwork. It’s only my unreasonable discomfort with Lennox that stopped me from buying it 19 years ago.

• POP RESUE 2014 RATING: 2 / 5
• 1995 UK CHART POSITION: #1, certified 2x Platinum
• POP RESCUE COST: £1.00 (from a Poundland store)