Customer Reviews

1984 for the Love of Big Brother

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After Eurythmics blew up internationally with the Sweet Dreams and Touch albums, this was quietly released originally back in 1984. The director of the film 1984 is said to have rejected the soundtrack Eurythmics recorded as "too modern sounding" in favor of a mostly orchestral and traditional sounding score, which was written by someone else entirely. Although it wasn't a commercial ( or critical ) sucess, it is probably my favorite Eurythmics cd, along with the first three ( In the Garden, Sweet Dreams, and Touch ). The mix of the synthetic music, which is sometimes cold and mechanical, with the always incredible vocals of Annie Lennox, might seem on the surface like to oil and water - they just wouldn't seem to go together. It is that juxstaposition that I find the most intriguing. I personally never cared for this duo's output when they began flirting with American styled R and B and giving their music a fuller "band" sound, with real drums, sax, etc. I much prefer the clinical, synthetic sounds of their earlier work, and I find 1984 to be the apex of this approach. This disc was SO ahead of it's time. It sounds in places much like the ambient house music and world-beat music which became popular almost ten years after this album's release. The instrumentals are often spare in arrangement, but feature very distintive sounds. It doesn't sound like Dave Stewart hit any factory pre-sets on his syths, in other words, and took the easy way out, as so many synth-based groups of that era did. There are many highlights on this disc, from the stunningly beautiful ballad "Julia" to the menacing "Room 101" to the tribal sounding percussive attack of "Doubleplusgood." There's just so much variety here, which is especially refreshing coming from a duo who could have easily fallen into the cracks of the limitations set upon them from being a so-called "synth pop" act. I got this as a cassette back when it was released originally and was very pleasantly surprised to find it in a used cd store in Seattle, Washington. It was never released in the US on cd and you might have to pay a little more for it as an import, but if you like the first few Eurythmics releases, I highly recommend it. Five stars, absolutely.

I bought this cd on a whim, as part of a Gift Certificate from a friend. I was intrigued by the many positive reviews which placed this album with early industrial music rather than the rest of the Eurythmics catalogue of electronica. (Ie: "Isle of Man" era Ministry, Voivoid, etc.) I agree that there are elements of industrial roots here, but I really think that the album is more akin to "Dark Side of the Moon." When I obtained the album, I realized that one track, "Julia" was one I'd been looking for for years, after seeing a video of several looped Annie Lennoxes singing a haunting song in an eerie acapella, on Asian MTV at around three in the morning.

The Eurythmics abandon their normal format to venture into the realm of the concept album. They concentrate on the theme of Orwell's story, deviating only for an instant with "Sexcrime" which was clearly designed to grab airtime. A thread of constant paranoia invades the album, and it stays true to Orwell's claustrophobic portrayal of a society bent upon absolute totalitarian control. I especially felt that "DoublePlusGood" and "Room101" accomplished this very well. In fact, "DoublePlusGood's" rapid fire newscaster distillation of issues to simple "Goods, Bads, PlusGoods," etc, building to an almost orgasmicly cheerful ending of repeated "Good, Good DoublePlusGood," was delivered with the same cheer and artificiality as Seattle's "King 5 News", which made me wonder exactly how deep the connection ran.

I really enjoyed the album, because I felt that the Eurythmics really pushed themselves with this. I think it is tragic that the most innovative work by the band is relegated to relative obscurity. More artists should be given the freedom to innovate, then we wouldn't have so many cookie cutter groups that all sound as if they were pressed in plastic on some sound stage in Burbank.

I've owned all the Eurythmics' cds at one time or another, but I keep and play this one. Why...you may ask? Because of the sounds of the synth, the sadness, yet beautiful moodiness that the cold intrumentals coupled with Annie's beautiful emoting just equal something I have not caught on much of the Eurythmics other stuff(maybe a little on their 1st 2). I think they were inspired by the ideas and look of the film. I like it when an artist is not tightly restrained in making pop music, and while they are undeniably pop, here the melodies and creepy lonliness get to meander off in such a refreshing way. Listen to this in your car at night, after seeing an old intimate friend, preferebly while it's raining. Not really a weak moment on the whole album. And her voice! Sooooo Beautiful on "Julia"!

The most "recent" movie based on "1984," the 20th Century classic by George Orwell was very true to the book and likewise, so was this incredible piece of work by the Eurythmics. Penetrating lyrics, haunting sounds.

If you're a big fan of the book like I am, you will definitely appreciate what the Eurythmics have accomplished... one song after another (including one creepy instrumental) that tells the scary, lonely story of Winston Smith, his love for Julia and the love everyone must have for Big Brother.

If you're a new Eurythmics fan, this CD will hopefully inspire you to read the book. Annie Lennox's piercing voice and Dave's rocking guitar riffs will keep you thinking about this riveting story, the characters and how our society can easily turn into Orwell's horrific view of the future. Songs like "Room 101" will haunt you and songs like "Julia" will remind you of the brief glimpses of peace and happiness in Orwell's story.

At the height of their popularity, the Eurythmics (Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart) decided to take a risk with this dark, moody, would-be soundtrack. It's true that very little of the music here was actually used in the movie, but that doesn't mean it's bad music. At the time, it had a very abstract, dissonant quality, especially compared to the Eurythmics first three albums.

For people wanting the melodic synth pop of Touch or Sweet Dreams, there may be some dissapointment. Instead, the album has a mechanical, cold quality to it, which, I believe, is the intent here. Orwell's book expresses a sense of loss: the loss of human emotion and natural evolution. These are replaced by a mechanical world of machines, monotony and melancholy. Annie's amazing voice is full of emotion, but this stands in juxtaposition to the grinding machines produced by Dave. It's almost as if the two worlds (one of beauty, one of emptiness) are being pulled apart.

The first song, "I Did It Just the Same," demonstrates this contrast beautifully. The music has a synthetic, textured beat;
and Annie sings over the groove, expressing so much emotion without ever uttering a single word. Other highlights include the European hit "Sexcrime (1984)," which sounds a little dated now; the beautiful "Julia," which may be the best example of Annie's gift of voice and delivery; and the haunting "For the Love of Big Brother."

The album may not grab most listeners the first couple times around, and some of the effects on the album are certainly trapped in the 80s, but patients listeners will be rewarded with some musical moments that the Eurythmics never visited again.

This soundtrack is VERY good, and it was originally made for the film Ninteen Eighty-Four. However, the soundtrack's appearance in the movie is minimal, mostly limited to small parts of songs being played. For instance, a piece of "Ministry of Love" serves as background for a large portion of the movie's background. And, of course, Julia plays during the ending credits. It might be a -tad- more accurate to say "Music from and inspired by the movie" or something.

Moving on, the nine assorted tracks of this CD are quite interesting. From the slow and creepy (I Did It Just The Same, Winston's Diary), to the eerie and catchy (Julia, Ministry of Love, Room 101), to the rather upbeat Sexcrime or Doubleplusgood, there's a good variety of stuff on here. My personal favorites are Sexcrime, Julia, Doubleplusgood, Ministry of Love, and Room 101. Overall, a very nice CD. If you liked the movie, or the book, or just like the Eurythmics, I'd recommend buying it.

Length:: 1:26 Mins

The best Eurythmics release. Director Michael Radford rejected near 90 percent of it for his film; no matter, it lives, whole, on its own. Annie never more the anarchist than here. "Julia" seriously haunts.

After many, many, many years of searching for this album, my search is over. God bless the Internet.

This album is incredible !

It predates all of the techno/electronica (hate these terms) that came out in the 90's. A precursor to all of it. (ex. the repetitive DoublePlusGood, is similar to the repetition of lyrics we find in techno.) The Eurythmics were ahead of their times with this one.

At times the album is meditative. At times its ... very energetically moving ... difficult to describe. I dont want to say that it is music that you would neccessarily dance to, but it would certainly trance your head.

Another comment. If people say that this album is a precursor to Industrial, I dont see how. Its got way too much life. Industrial can be like cold steel at times.

I'll tell you my best guess why this transcendent piece of brilliance remains underappreciated after so long. This guy's review:

[...]

Review by William Ruhlmann (rating, two stars)

"While it is not billed as an Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, this album does contain, as a jacket note indicates, "music derived from Eurythmics." The original score of the motion picture 1984, 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."

This guy, Ruhlman, is a very prolific and esteemed critic. He's written books on Zappa and The Grateful Dead. It's pretty obvious he just phoned this one in, looking for a pop hit to identify while he read the liner notes before he could get back to writing another book about some classic rock icon. I see this review everywhere in reference to this album. It's a shame. He buried this album 26 years ago. This album is proof you can't always believe the critics.

A great album. I can't stand the other stuff by Eurythmics. It's a shame they didn't make more like this. It always sounds fresh.