Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (Album)

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Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
Studio album by Eurythmics

Publication
(s)

4th January 1983

Label (s) RCA Records

Genre (s)

New wave

Title (number)

10

running time

41min 59s

production

David A. Stewart

chronology
In the Garden
(1981) 		Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) Touch
(1983)
Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Albums
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
  DE 6th 05/16/1983 (23 weeks)
  UK 3 02/12/1983 (60 weeks)
  US 38 05/11/1983 (36 weeks)
Singles
Love is a stranger
  DE 12 12/27/1982 (26 weeks)
  UK 54 11/20/1982 (6 weeks)
  US 25th 09/17/1983 (7 weeks)
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
  DE 4th 04/25/1983 (23 weeks)
  AT 9 08/15/1983 (8 weeks)
  CH 8th 05/22/1983 (5 weeks)
  UK 2 02/12/1983 (14 weeks)
  US 1Template: Infobox chart placements / maintenance / NR1 link 05/14/1983 (25 weeks)

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) is the second studio album by the British pop duo Eurythmics . It was the band's commercial breakthrough, reaching gold status in the US and Germany and platinum in the UK .

Emergence

After the commercial failure of its predecessor in the Garden decided Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart , in London a simple home studio set up, which she later The Church ( German : The Church ) called. At the turn of the year 1981/1982, while they were still on tour for their debut album, they began recording there. The duo composed a total of over 40 tracks for the album, which was initially to be called Invisible Hands .

In March 1982 the band and RCA Records decided to release the song This Is the House as a single from the tracks they had already recorded . Since it was a danceable number, both a normal and maxi single were released in the hope that the DJs would play the song in London clubs. On the B-side of the maxi were the unreleased tracks 4/4 in Leather and Home Is Where the Heart Is .

Despite the lack of charter success , another single was released on June 25, 1982 with The Walk . At the urging of Jack Steven, A&R manager at RCA, the single was released in different versions with B-sides such as Invisible Hands , Step on the Beast , Dr. Trash and The Walk Part II . After this single did not bring the hoped-for commercial success either, Annie Lennox took a break of several weeks, during which she and Conny Plank produced the album Latin Lover by Gianna Nannini . In early September, the release of the third advance single Love Is a Stranger , which reached number 54 in the singles charts in November 1982.

At the end of November 1982, the Eurythmics delivered the master tapes to the record company, in return they received another royalty advance . Despite the comparatively tight intake budget of GBP 15,000, the company was satisfied with the result. During the completion of the album at RCA, there was a dispute between RCA Europe and RCA America, because they feared that the record cover, on which Lennox can be seen from the waist up from the rear, was too revealing for the North American market. Only after A&R manager Jack Steven threatened to release the album in the USA via Geffen Records , the band was able to prevail with the cover. In the first week of January 1983 the album was released worldwide.

Track list

  1. Love Is a Stranger (Lennox, Stewart) - 3:43
  2. I've Got an Angel (Lennox, Stewart) - 2:45
  3. Wrap It Up ( Isaac Hayes , David Porter) - 3:33
  4. I Could Give You (A Mirror) (Lennox, Stewart) - 3:51
  5. The Walk (Chapman, Lennox, Stewart) - 4:40
  6. Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (Lennox, Stewart) - 3:36
  7. Jennifer (Lennox, Stewart) - 5:06
  8. This Is the House (Lennox, Stewart) - 4:56
  9. Somebody Told Me (Lennox, Stewart) - 3:29
  10. This City Never Sleeps (Lennox, Stewart) - 6:20

The third track on the album Wrap It Up is a cover version of a song that Sam & Dave first released as the B-side of a single in 1968.

reception

The album garnered very good reviews immediately after its release, with particular emphasis on the amazing voice of Annie Lennox. The NME described it as a "flawless piece of urban romance with a few morbid corners", the Sounds called it an absolute highlight, the Rolling Stone described it as a "rich and enchanting listening experience" and for the Melody Maker the album was one of the most important of the year 1983. Michael Gallucci from Allmusic describes the style as a mixture of electronic music, new wave and spirited R&B , combined with Lennox's warm vocals. He also describes the album as one of the best the genre has to offer.

literature

  • Bryony Sutherland, Lucy Ellis: Annie Lennox: The Biography . Omnibus Press, 2002, ISBN 978-0-7119-9192-7 , pp. 148-159 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ release date LP "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"
  2. ↑ Charts DE Charts AT Charts CH Charts UK Charts US
  3. ↑ Sutherland / Ellis, p. 140.
  4. ↑ release date "The Walk"
  5. ↑ Sutherland / Ellis, p. 141.
  6. ↑ Sutherland / Ellis, p. 142.
  7. ↑ Sutherland / Ellis, p. 156.

Web links