Be Yourself Tonight [DELUXE DIGIPACK] [Extra tracks, Original recording remastered]

I remember hearing this album when I was in senior school around the time it would have been new out. I liked it then and in the last few years have toyed with the idea of picking it up on vinyl or CD. I approach this album as a casual fan and someone who picked up the 8 album boxset for a good price out of intrigue to hear their recorded album journey (well, most of it.)

A good test of how easy something is to listen to (for me anyway) is to play it when ill. I had not been holding back on playing the CD at home waiting for a bout of man flu, but at the latter end of recovery I gave it a spin on the home stereo expecting it to sound bright and compressed like many remasters seem to these days. It is to the credit of Ian Cooper at Metropolis Mastering that this was very easy to listen to. It sounds like every thing was taken from good sources, although there is a little tape damage or something audible in parts of the 12" mix of Sisters... but I found that quite charming in a way.

So, the album:
Sounds nice, NOT harsh, NOT mega trebbly - hooray! I think it has stood up well over time, although the last two tracks of the album proper are easily skipped for me despite memory telling me I quite liked the last track: Better To...

The bonus tracks:
I'm not a mega fan so some may strongly disagree but it appears across this series that Eurythmics were not really champions of the classic b-side or 12" mix. Nothing made me run out of the room screaming, but there's maybe only one or two tracks that I'd want to pay more attention to in the near future. The two b-sides are generally "b-side"y. The 12" mix of Sisters is not very exciting - it shows to me that they really nailed the mix with the LP version. However, the 12" of Would I Lie To You? - although only about 30 secs longer than the LP version - is of interest, sounding more like a stadium performance than before (NOTE: the CD credits this as the ET version, but it's actually the Extended Version that was on the b-side of the 12".) Conditioned Soul (live) didn't really do anything for me (I didn't get on with the backing vocals in places either) and Hello I Love You was interesting enough, but I've never been into the Doors (or their lyrics) so it wasn't a big deal for me, but it was an interestingly different arrangement.

In summary:
Sounds nice, bonus tracks not massively exciting - oh and no complete lyrics included.

So the Eurythmics, hot off the success of "Touch" and "1984", decided to leap into fairly new territory. How you ask? By removing their renowned synthesisers and replacing them with an array of gospel singers, guitars and some surprise guests. Yes, "Be Yourself Tonight" marked the first artistic shift for the Eurythmics from synth-pop to rock-and-or-roll. The album recast Annie Lennox into a blond bombshell and Dave Stewart into a guitar god. The first track "Would I Lie To You" opens brilliantly, quickly removing any doubt about a loss a creative ideals. Again, Lennox's vocals are top-notch, with some nifty guitar skills from Stewart. The next track "There Must Be Angel" is the duo's (to this date) only UK NO.1. And deservedly so, for although it is slightly tongue-in-cheek, for Annie, it's tounge-and-vocals. More highlights include the Tibetan soundscape intro of "Conditioned Soul", the saucy feminist duet "Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves" with Aretha Franklin and the twisted "Adrian" with Elvis Costello. Any downpoints? Well, just a few; the album art is slightly dull (a blurred still from the "Would I Lie To You" video- apparently the original design was too graphic), and the final 2 tracks "Here Comes That Sinking Feeling" and "Better to have lost in love" are somewhat repetitive of each other. Overall, "Be Yourself Tonight" is just that- no illusions, no electronics, just Dave and Annie singing away with their usual flair. Just a shame that that flair seemed to later vanish...

The Eurythmics just cant stop pumping out more and more high quality music and you dont have to be a Eurythmics fanatic like me in order to appriciate any of their albums. Annie Lennox has one of the best if not the best female voice in the music industry and she uses it to the full along with Dave Stewarts superb instrumentation in tracks like "Better to have lost in love than never to have loved at all" and "There must be an angel" (One of their best works) to take you to another world where you float on the lyrics, like being immerssed in a bath full of Champagne. Although its signature track "There must be an angel" has a dated tone, it is still a beautiful piece of music. Just like Sweet Dreams on the Sweet Dreams album or Missionary Man on the Revenge album.

All of the tracks share a common musical semi-divinity that makes you realise how few very good bands there actually were in the 80's. Some others being R.E.M and, erm, well, ..., . Well I'm sure that there were others. In any event, the Eurythmics first album for 10 years, "Peace" is also equally as good, if not better than any of the magic that they produced in years past.

Even if you have never heard of the Eurythmics. Go and by all of their albums now, and you can start with this one, "Be Yourself Tonight".