Customer Reviews

1984 (For the Love of Big Brother)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Being a rummager of cassette cut-out bins in the mid 80's, I found a lot of quirky, bizarre musical fare that was usually pretty good and inexpensive. This Eurythmics album was one of those rare gems that continue to fascinate me years later.

I purchased the soundtrack without seeing the movie. I had been a fan of Orwell's writing for years. I had also been a fan of the Eurythmics sound, and once I started to listen to this cassette I IMMEDIATELY loved it's interpretation of Orwell's work. I rented the movie (which had come out only a scant year prior to my find) and embraced both contemparary interpretations.

Lennox & Stewart had it down pat. If there is any track on the album that is the most contrived it has to be to be "SexCrime", which did get air play at the time. It's sole purpose seemed to be to promote the movie via MTV, which if that is "SexCrime"'s worst crime, then so be it.

The strongest tracks for me were "Julia" (which got a lot of airtime in the movie) which is a dark gothic type ballad that floats by like a black-vieled dream, and "I Did It Just The Same", which has a driving, funeral drum beat that sets the mood for the album perfectly. It's subtle, hidden energy is kept in check by the oppresive, gear-like machinations Orwell created for the reader. It's a credit to the Eurythmics abilities to be able to take something so intense and translate it note for note into a musical representation.

Other artists have presented similar types of works (most notably David Bowie's cancelled project of the 70's) but this has them all beat. Bowie's 1984 seemed terribly uninspired when compared to this Eurythmics venture... and I am a BIG Bowie fan. I think the biggest problem surrounding this album is that everyone seemed to be expecting another standard Eurythmic's album instead of some sort of concept album, which is much more in line to what it is, in my opinion. Cudos to them for taking a chance and doing something off the beaten path.

I still have my cassette of this album, but it is on it's last legs. I searched for a cd version of it for years, and wasn't until I came here that I even found it. I strongly recommend getting it.

1984 by the Eurythmics has been one of the most underappreciated albums ever made. I remember when it first came out...I was in awe...amazed and overwhelmed with it. And when the industry, the label, and the listening public shunned it, I was stunned. It captures the essence of Orwell's 1984 . When the door slams on "Room 101", you can feel the finality of it. The eye of Big Brother is on you as "Doubleplusgood" keeps you updated on the news as Brother would have it. The passion of "Minsitry of Love"...the bittersweet haunting of "Julia". Its an immaculate album. My vinyl copy was beginning to warp, and I have mourned the day that it would cease to play...and now its available on disc! Its one album that I would never get over losing. The very best work the Eurythmics ever did...no doubt about it. A masterpiece.

This album would, if it had been produced in the mid to late 90's, have rivaled Nine Inch Nails' "Downward Spiral" for it's sheer intensity. It is orginal and came before it's time. It is dark, it is moody, but it has a passion that only Eurythmics could have given it. You probably need to be a major fan or a lover of experimental music to get into this album. But after searching for seveal years now for this album on CD...(and having been told that is was out of print and would not be reissued)...I am now a happy man. Now if I could just get Men Without Hats "pop goes the world on CD" my life will be complete.

I wore this tape out when in college. Thank God it is finally released on CD. It doesn't sound outdated at all! Annie Lennox's vocals are soooo good here. Doing the best ooohing and jamming on any of Eurythmics' CDs. A must have.

I could not understand at the time of its release why this album didn't do well. Then I realized that this was no ordinary "pop" album. Many people did not like the cd because it challenged them. One finds the tracks disturbing, nonsensical...at first. Listen more closely, open your mind, and you might be able to understand Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox's intrepretation of 1984. Lennox uses her voice as an instrument, at times as hard and cold as steel (I Did It Just The Same), and at others as soft as falling leaves (Julia). This recording is exceptional.

So many people did not either understand or know that the Eurythmics had been contracted to write the music that was supposed to be in the film release of Michael Radford's film 1984, but due to contractual problems in the US, the film was released without their music to the film. (It is my understanding that in the world wide release the music from this CD was on the film's soundtrack.) So many people who never read the book, yet were Eurythmics fans, could not understand how they, as a group, could create music that was not up to their regular standards (circa 1984). Not that I am a music snob by any means, but I think they did a great job conveying the feeling of George Orwell's phenomenal book, and Micheal Radford's vision of what music in that situation would sound like. Please read the book and listen to the soundtrack or watch the film with this soundtrack playing...I think that if you do not care for this CD now, it might change your mind!

I just recently purchased this CD, and I really enjoy it. Though it's not exactly a "soundtrack" (a collection of music from the film), tracks such as "For the Love of Big Brother," "Ministry of Love" and "Room 101" contain a lot of music from the movie that's been elaborated upon by the Eurythmics.

Hands down, the best song on the CD is "Julia." It's a haunting tune with wonderful vocals by Annie Lennox, and it can easily be listened to over and over again. Much of "Sexcrime" sounds awfully dated today, but it's still an enjoyable song too.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this CD for both fans of the Eurythmics and Orwell.

I thought the music they used for the movie was pretty darn good and I knew that most of the music on this album was not used in the movie, so I was not sure what to expect from the "rejected soundtrack"... Personally, I think this album contains some of the Eurythmics strongest songs since "Sweet Dreams". The individual songs may not stand alone that well, but as a complete album "1984" does a great job of evoking a mood and the songs strongly carry variations on that mood.
"1984" has spend years in my regular rotation of music and I haven't gotten tired of it yet.

I can't comment on the technical merits or lack of with regard to this album, but it's one of the albums that sticks in my mind after all these years. I too wore the tape to death and now search for the CD.

Annie's voice is superb, and the music is great to listen to - both intently or as background. It DOES fit the book and the movie. I couldn't imagine (in hindsight) anyone else doing the music. It's haunting and fits the mood of the other two media.

Finally I have to say that the choice of the lead actor (John Hurt?) was too perfect.

This album came out after the two commercially successful albums Sweet Dreams and Touch and the major label did not know how to market this experimental album, which features a lot of songs that have minimal singing and lyrics. Annie Lennox uses her voice as a melodic instrument on most of the songs without using words. The synthesizers and drum machines are amazing and dark and moody. In their later releases the band switched to live instruments, such as saxaphones and acoustic guitars, which alienated fans who loved their new wave sound but attracted new fans who enjoyed their blue-eyed soul. This album is a must buy for the fans of their earlier sound.