[1] I Did It Just the Same (A.Lennox/D.A.Stewart) - 3:28
[2] Sex Crime (1984) [1984] (A.Lennox/D.A.Stewart) - 3:59
[3] For The Love of Big Brother (A.Lennox/D.A.Stewart) - 5:05
[4] Winston's Diary (A.Lennox/D.A.Stewart) - 1:22
[5] Greeting's from a Dead Man (A.Lennox/D.A.Stewart) - 6:13
[6] Julia (A.Lennox/D.A.Stewart) - 6:40
[7] Doubleplusgood (A.Lennox/D.A.Stewart) - 4:40
[8] Ministry of Love (A.Lennox/D.A.Stewart) - 3:46
[9] Room 101 (A.Lennox/D.A.Stewart) - 3:52
ANNIE LENNOX - Flute, Percussion, Keyboards, Vocals
DAVE A. STEWART - Bass, Guitar, Drums, Keyboards, Vocals
STEVEN STANLEY - Engineer
ERIC "ET" THORNGREN - Engineer, Mixing
SEAN BURROWS - Assistant Engineer
HOWARD BROWN - Logo
SARAH QUILL - Photography
PETER ASWORRTH - Photography
1984 CD RCA PCD1-5371
1986 LP Virgin 1984
1998 CD EMI 86727
1984 RCA 5371
1984 CS RCA ABK1-5371
Largely instrumental original sound track / score to the 1984 movie
directed by Michael Radford & starring John Hurt, Richard Burton
& Suzanna Hamilton. Features the UK top 10 hit 'Sexcrime (Nineteen
Eighty-Four)'.
While it is not billed as an Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, this
album does contain, as a jacket note indicates, "music derived from
Eurythmics," original score of the motion picture 1984, and it was
treated as a side project for marketing purposes, not as Eurythmics'
full-fledged fourth new studio album. Fair enough. Much of the album is
instrumental, and the closest thing to a pop song, "Sexcrime (Nineteen
Eighty-Four)" (which was a Top Ten hit in the U.K.), like the other
vocal numbers, relates to the movie's future fiction theme. As such,
the album is substandard if judged as an independent Eurythmics album,
adequate if judged as a soundtrack.
Eurythmics fourth album was a soundtrack to the film adaptation of
George Orwell's classic book "Nineteen Eighty-Four" about a
totalitarian society under constant surveillance. The film starred John
Hurt and was directed by Michael Radford. Eurythmics' soundtrack to the
film demonstrates the duo's diversity and their continuing pursuit of
musical innovation. Though not a pop album of easy-to-hum tunes, this
record manages to capture the dark element of Orwell's vision and
produce some memorable moments in the history of 80s rock. The album is
mostly instrumental, powered by rich, orchestral synth that creates an
eerie mood of edginess and uncertainty. Still, songs like "Sexcrime"
(released as a first single) and "I Did It Just The Same" recall the
icy funk of the group's former albums, giving the record an element of
powerful dance. Lyrical mastery is achieved on "Julia" (single no. 2),
a haunting ballad infused with the loneliness of Annie's hallowed
voice. And songs like "Doubleplusgood" brilliantly link the record to
the themes of the film.
The director of the film (Michael Radford) expressed discontent with
the music Eurythmics made for his film and was disappointed. Calling
the music too trendy, he later said he regretted allowing the group to
produce the soundtrack.
Radford's displeasure aside, the album is seamlessly produced driven by strong purpose and emotion.
Notable Songs: I Did It Just The Same, Sexcrime, For The Love Of Big Brother, Julia, Doubleplusgood
Review by Andrew Ritchie and dedicated to Norm Authier. Sources: "Annie
Lennox: Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This" by Lucy O'Brien; "Annie Lennox"
by Lucien Randall.
Don't let RCA fool you-there's too much soundtrack filler here to
consider this the new Eurythmics LP. But Annie and Dave have attacked
this project with their usual tenacity and given us a few surprises.
"For The Love Of Big Brother" is the first straight pop ballad
Eurythmics have completely pulled off-it's gorgeous in its synthesized
textures and vocal shadings; one of their best. "Julia" displays the
same soft touch but runs on a bit too long. The LP opener "I Did It
Just The Same" features a remarkable vocal performance from Annie
Lennox-starting as hums and yelps, it evolves into a sort of mutant
scat. And "Sexcrime" (reviewed last issue) shows off Dave Stewart's
production expertise in the cutting and mixing of this dance track.
College Media, Inc. - CMJ New Music Report Issue: 55 - Dec 17, 1984
Film soundtracks are generally not a very cost-effective investment,
and Eurythmics' 1984 (For the Love of Big Brother) proves no exception.
I count three full-blooded songs here: "Sexcrime (Nineteen
Eighty-Four)," "For the Love of Big Brother" and "Julia." The rest is
program music and incidental sonic snippets: appropriate embellishment
to the film, but no bargain on a $9.98-list LP. Actually, Eurythmics'
hard work appears to have been all for naught, as 1984's aggrieved
director, Michael Radford, used the duo's soundtrack only minimally in
the film and publicly griped about its inappropriateness. And the
single "Sexcrime" is having its own problems: radio tastemakers find
the subject matter rather too controversial. It's a shame, because
"Sexcrime" is a dynamic dance track – Annie Lennox' superior
vocal control limns the song's disturbing insinuations as the music
pounds on with sirenlike authority. "Julia" and "For the Love of Big
Brother" are less graphically unnerving, suggesting a wintry desolation
of the spirit infused with a sense of lost freedom. Most of the rest of
the cuts on 1984 effectively convey the shifting tenor of the book,
from defiant resistance ("I Did It Just the Same") to isolation, horror
and defeat ("Room 101"). Mostly, these tracks serve as a vehicle for
Lennox' supple vocalese. But 1984's vocal gymnastics and nuanced
moodscapes do not justify its high price tag, and Eurythmics' recent
output – the hocus-pocus of Touch Dance (their superfluous LP of
extended remixes) and this skillful but song-stingy soundtrack –
strains a consumer advocate's patience.
Can I take this for granted
With your eyes over me?
In this place
This wintery home
I know there's always someone in
Sexcrime
Sexcrime
Nineteen eighty four
And so I face the wall
Turn my back against it all
How I wish I'd been unborn
Wish I was unliving here
Sexcrime
Sexcrime
Nineteen eighty four
I'll pull the bricks down
One by one
Leave a big hole in the wall
Just where you are looking in
FOR THE LOVE OF BIG BROTHER
Like a train passing in the distance
Like a bird in flight
I hear you call
And even though there's no one
Dark shadows move across the wall
I still hear the echoes
Of your footsteps on the stairs
Still recall the images that
Seem to live out there
Faces seem like fingerprints
Like skeletons of leaves upon the lawn
People changing places
Lasting for a moment
Then it's gone
I still hear the echoes
Of your footsteps on the stairs
Still recall the images that
Seem to live out there
Like a train passing in the distance
Like a bird in flight
I hear you call
And even though there's no one
Dark shadows move across the wall
I still hear the sound of
Conversation from the hall
Look to see who's coming
But it's nothing
And there's no one there at all
(No one there at all)
JULIA
When the leaves
Turn from green to brown
And autumn shades
Come tumbling down
To leave a carpet on the ground
Where we have laid
When winter leaves her branches bare
And icy breezes chill the air
The freezing snow lies everywhere
My darling
Will we still be there?
Julia
When spring rejoices
Down the lane
And everything is new again
Will everything be
Just the same
Will we be there?
Oh Julia
DOUBLEPLUSGOOD
Attention!
Your attention please!
A newsflash has this moment arrived from the Malabar front!
Our forces in South India have won a glorious victory!
I am authorized to say that the action we are now reporting
may well bring the war within measurable distance of its end.
Here is the newsflash...:
plusgood
doubleplusgood
plusgood
doubleplusgood
doubleplusgood
times 17.3.84 bb speech malreported africa rectify
times 19.12.83 forecasts 3 yp 4th quarter 83 misprints verify current issue
times 14.2.84 miniplenty malquoted chocolate rectify
times 3.12.83 reporting bb day order doubleplusungood....