Retro Spins: Eurythmics - Be Yourself Tonight

Leap frogging over both 1983 albums from Eurythmics, because I've already posted a Retro Spin about them, we land at 1985's Be Yourself Tonight. Though it's not their biggest seller to date, it is considered to be their most critically successful, spawning four singles.

Be Yourself Tonight was a departure from previous new wave / synth pop, encompassing a wide range of instruments, and adopting a more rock style. It also featured appearances from the like of Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello, and Michael Kamen.

There appears to be nothing negative that people have said about the album, so hopefully, that translates to my listening session.

Playing through it, I felt high energy from start to finish. I could definitely tell why Be Yourself Tonight was touted as the best from the due. While it has its hits, overall, it delivers a great listening session.

The sound styles are all over the place. While rock is definitely at the forefront, this is mixed with synth pop, ballads, and unique sounding guitarwork which takes me back to the more experimental psychedelic days of the 60's.

With that said, most of the hits are definitely the superior portion of the album. Would I Lie To You?, There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart), and Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves are all present. As is the minor hit, It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back). However, this latter tune, though a single which charted, was unknown to me. It's also not as good as some of the other non-single tunes.

I'm pleasantly surprised at how well my journey through Eurythmics is going. Overall, it was enjoyable to play through, and leaves me intrigued to continue going through their remaining albums. Honestly though, I think this is one I need to circle back to at some point to see if there's anything else I wanted to add to my shuffle list (beyond three of the four singles). There were tracks that intrigued me, but didn't necessarily stay in my mind long enough.

Eurythmics would follow up in 1986 with Revenge. Sales wise, it would be their highest selling studio album, but not their highest selling album of all time. That honor would go to their 1991 Greatest Hits album. We'll pick up with Revenge tomorrow.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
October 31, 1981

 

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
October 31, 1987