Customer Reviews

Touch (Reis) (Dlx) (Dig)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album was arguably Eurythmics' finest contribution to music. It is amazing that an album with such experimental leanings could sell nearly 10 million copies worldwide, but it did, largely on the strength of two magnificent pop singles, "Who's That Girl," and "Here Comes the Rain Again." Along with "Right By Your Side," they solidified Eurythmics as one of the 80's best and most successful pop groups.

What is interesting, though, is that the hits are anomalies in a way. "Regrets" hits hard as an electronic post-punk manifesto. "Cool Blue" and "Paint a Rumour" are very electronic, experimental, Kraftwerky recordings. And the magesterial "No Fear, No Hate, No Pain" is Annie Lennox at her best--punk, techno, and opera all wrapped into one.

Now the downside. Though the original tracks sound great, the bonus tracks here are anything but essential. Given the Eurythmics busy schedule here (the album was conceived and recorded in just 3 weeks), it is understandible that there wouldn't be much left over in the vault from these sessions. But the "long version" of Paint a Rumour is pointless. The space could have and should have been used to feature the best tracks from the "1984" album, which was inexplicably cast aside in the remastering project. The extra time on the disc would have been plenty for such stellar songs as "I Did It Just The Same" and "Sexcrime."

But it is worth the money to have the original album remastered. It is one of the landmarks of 1980's music.

With that said, I really enjoy the album itself. "Touch" has always been one of those quarky albums with a lot of experimental sounds & ad lib. Not my favorite Eurythmics album, because of songs like "Right by your side", "Here comes the rain again" and "Who's that girl". Ironically, I never cared for those 3 songs, although they're the "hits" of the album. "Regrets", "Paint a Rumor" and "No Fear..." are my favorite tracks. "Touch" is eclectic and dark, yet has a lighter side as well. Although it's not as edgy as "Savage" or "We too are one"...it's still powerful and Annie, as always, packs a great punch with lyrics such as "...an electric wire, stuck inside your head".

Recording/Sound quality is excellent. The artwork and unseen photos are gorgeous. Nice bio & layout in the booklet too. But, I'm very disappointed in the Bonus Tracks. Nothing impressed me there. I wasn't pleased with their rendition of David Bowie's "FAME" either. It's too short and just does NOT fit in at the end of 6 ridiculous bonus tracks. Talk about Cheap! What were they thinking? How could "You take some lentils..." possibly be a song at all? STOOPID!!! What a waste of space, and to make matters worse, "ABC (Freeform)" doesn't pick up the pace. What about songs which do the band some justice? Come on, guys! Does anyone know what these 2 songs are supposed to represent? I was totally let down when I played 'em. Don't hold your breath when you see the title "Plus Something Else", for it's just an instrumental of "Regrets".

If you want your money's worth, buy the Deluxe Edition of "SAVAGE" instead. At least you'll get something really polished and moving. There's nothing worse than an album with 7 bonus tracks of rubbish (referring to "Touch"). I'm really glad I didn't have to pay much for "Touch" on amazon....because it's definitely not worth the full price. Shame on you, Annie & Dave!

Tracklisting:
01- Here Comes The Rain Again - 4:50
02- Regrets - 4:39
03- Right By Your Side - 3:59
04- Cool Blue - 4:44
05- Who's That Girl? - 4:47
06- The First Cut - 4:42
07- Aqua - 4:33
08- No Fear, No Hate, No Pain (No Broken Hearts) - 5:22
09- Paint A Rumor - 7:33
Bonus Tracks
10- You Take Some Lentils And You Take Some Rice (From 'Who's that girl' 12") - 3:01
11- ABC (Freeform) - (from 'Who's that girl' 12") - 2:36
12- Plus Something Else (from 'Right by your side' 12") - 5:20
13- Paint A Rumor (from 'Here comes the rain again' 12") - 7:57
14- Who's That Girl (from 'Miracle of love' 12") - 3:28
15- Here Comes The Rain Again - LIVE (Previously Unreleased) - 3:07
16- Fame (Previously Unreleased) - 2:39

Album Credits:
- 25 page glossy booklet with bio & beautiful photos
- Glossy Gatefold digipack packaging
- Silver CD with black & red lettering (titling)
- FBI Anti-Piracy Warning on backside of packaging
- www.eurythmics.com
- Printed in the USA
- Project Manager: Charlie Stanford at Blue Cube Consultancy
- Music Consultant: Neal Wickens
- Sleeve Notes (Bio): Phill Savidge
- Remastering by: Ian Cooper at Metropolis Studios, London
- Design & Art Direction: Laurence Stevens - LSD Studio

I was thrilled when these re-mastered cd's were released and excited when I finally had the money to purchase them. I have the original LP's and cd's and now these and the songs have never sounded better. Crisp, clear, clean... I love them.... but, when I opened up my Touch cd and went to look at the booklet I noticed that the booklet was the one for the Sweet Dreams album. Did this happen to anyone else? And does anyone know if there is a way to can get a replacement?

Eurythmics continued to strengthen their repertoire with "Touch", their third album. Yet again, only the three hits "Here Comes The Rain Again", "Right By Your Side" and "Who's That Girl" were given airplay when the other six tracks were just as superior. In fact, this album marked a more experimental turn with the epic "Paint A Rumor" and "No Fear, No Hate, No Pain (No Broken Hearts)" as well as "Aqua". "Regrets", "Cool Blue" and "The First Cut" also showcased a darker, edgier Eurythmics sound. Not one track was out of place, and not one note was wasted on this album.

The remastering is excellent, and the b-sides are bountiful. However, they are not up to the quality of the b-sides offered on the previous two album remasters (see "In The Garden" and "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)"). Yet, I did like the acoustic versions of "Here Comes The Rain Again" and "Who's That Girl", but the long version of "Paint A Rumor" and the instrumental "Regrets" retitled "Plus Something Else" seemed wasteful. The cover of Bowie's "Fame" isn't very good. All of this does not detract from the original album and it's mark in the Eurythmics catalogue.

I am also going to make a statement here about "1984 (For The Love Of Big Brother)", the album that followed "Touch". I am disappointed that Annie and Dave did not think highly of that work. It contained nine tracks, three of which I think are some of their best work like "Sexcrime (1984)", "For The Love Of Big Brother" and "Julia". I think it's criminal for them to snub their fourth album just because it was a soundtrack. To me, it was always, and still is, a great album that I consider to be a Eurythmics album, not a soundtrack. I hope Dave and Annie really reconsider their decision not to make it part of the remastered series.

So, "Touch" is definitely worth having, and certainly one of the best Eurythmics albums.

This Is A Amazing Album By The Eurythmics, Packed With Lots Of Fun And Funky Dance Music Full Of Rich Textures And Moody Atmosphere. The Bonus Tracks Are A Great Addition To This Newly Re-Mastered Album, But A Couple Of Key Tracks Are Missing From This Updated Version.

1. Who's That Girl. (Extended Dance Mix)
2. Right By Your Side. (Extended Dance Mix)

These Song Should Have Also Been Included. Lets Hope They Will Appear On A Rarities Set.

For what is undeniably one of the greatest pop albums of the last 30 years, the reissue job for Eurythmics' classic "TOUCH" is totally botched and an incredible letdown. I am a longtime fan of this incredible duo, and have been waiting for almost two years for the reissue of Eurythmics' back catalogue. Sad to say they really missed the boat on this one. The sound is great, to be sure. A fine job was done on the remastering. Most disappointing however are the "bonus" tracks. The B-sides are marginally interesting at best, and do not warrant repeated listening. "Plus Something Else" is very simply an instrumental version of "Regrets". The track called "ABC (Freeform)" is meandering electronic noodling. And the cleverly titled "You Take Some Lentils and You Take Some Rice" is more of the same. Nothing really memorable. The live tracks are spare acoustic renditions of two great songs that are far superior in their regular versions. The "long version" of "Paint A Rumour" is quite possibly ten or fifteen seconds longer than the album version, and differs only slightly. And to cap it off, their cover of David Bowie's "Fame" should have stayed in the vaults. It is painfully amatuerish, and simply unbearable. The liner notes are spare as to the specifics of the origins of the bonus tracks, although the added photgraphs are kinda cool. There is no information as to the dates and locations of the live recordings and the essay is brown-nosing of the worst kind, offering very little in the way of insight into the recording of this great album. If you have "Touch" as it was originally released, I'd say leave it as it is. It is a five star classic, but this reissue leaves me cold.

On the original "Touch," "Here Comes The Rain Again" was considerably longer at the end. I was hoping that the original version of "Here Comes The Rain Again" would be on this CD. Instead, they include one which fades early. WHY??? What a disappointment.

I freaking LOVE Eurythmics. And this is them at their finest (even though I prefer "Savage"). The packaging is great, the sound is AMAZING. Buy this. The bounus tracks do suck, however. But hey, I got mine for only $2.99! Totally beyond worth that.

With "Savage" being the best, this is their second best album to date. After "Sweet Dreams are Made of This" they immediately came out with "Touch". The sound is fresh, solid and pure 80's Eurythmics as only they can do it!!! Bonus tracks are a nice addition and any true fan of this group MUST get this CD!!!

I was very pleased with the CD - I was expecting the same CD of music I once had back in the day, and I got so much more - the Bonus Tracks were a Very pleasant surprise!! Eurythmics have always been one of my Favorite Groups, and this collection is In my opinion - one of the Best Albums they ever did!!