5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A nice goodbye, September 25, 1998
By A Customer
It wasn't the saddest occasion to see Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart end their ties as Eurythmics because those of us who were (and are) Eurythmics fans knew that good things would come from them individually. Yet it feels like a goodbye present for us to have We Too Are One to cap off a 10-year career that sent the biggest of the fans into different universes all at the same time.
This album has been panned for being too sedate compared to more ambitious past efforts. But, if Eurythmics wanted to create another Savage or 1984-type album, they would've. Here we see how Stewart and Lennox were able to keep the emotional level high even with such a refined sound.
The first single from the album, "Don't Ask My Why," is understated, to say the least. But what makes it a great number is the orchestral setting backing Lennox's held back performance. We couldn't have Annie pulling an "I Need a Man" with so much haute-couture surrounding her. "The King and Queen of America," likewise, holds tight and contains a reserved, almost sad, vocal performance. "Sylvia," a chamber-orchestra-style ballad, is obviously inspired by the Beatles. "Revival" is fun and the only personality protruding track on the album. "You Hurt Me (And I Hate You)" is less intense than its title. And "Angel," the track that makes this album worth having, shows us how beautifully Dave and Annie work together.
Of course, to end the album, they had to give us "When the Day Goes Down," a carthartic look at the hope of the down-trodden, "the burnt out and the useless and the lonely and the weak, and the lost and the degraded and the too dumb to speak." Although it's not standard Eurythmics fare, it's a nice way to give us one for the road.
This album is primarily a must for the Eurythmics fan and is not definitive of what made Eurythmics the practitioners of musical creativity in the more-sensible-than-aesthetic '80s. But it never hurts to expand your musical horizons.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Big improvement from "Savage", June 4, 2002
I totally thought I was going to hate an album with a song called "You Hurt Me And I Hate You" (does this sound like a three-year-old's whiny tantrum or what?) but in fact it's one of my favorite songs on the album. It starts off with a grandiose, soulful cry for help, then goes into a big funky verse and chorus, before leading into that MAGNIFICENT middle-eight where Annie deepens her voice with dark menace and purpose. It's really satisfying; this is one time you can tell Annie isn't going to take the heartache of life lying down.
That's probably why in the end this has become one of my favorites; Annie sings more about dealing with pain and moving on ("When the Day Goes Down","Revival","The King and Queen of America") than just wallowing in it. Couple that with a bigger production than usual and you have a really fun album to listen to. And I love to hear David play his funky guitar to boot!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Much Different From Earlier Work, January 17, 2001
Here was the Eurythmic's last album of the 80's, although much different from their earlier work, Annie & Dave dish out a few songs that may seem reminscent to earlier work. "We Two Are One" vividly returns to the "Revenge" album fusing soul and rock together, while "Sylvia" returns to the Sweet Dreams era with all the right synthesizer keys with Annie's voice gliding smoothly over it. The album ends with a beautiful song "When The Day Goes Down" most likely the most beautiful song they ever wrote together. While this album doesn't churn out many hits, it's worth having just because this is one of the most memorable groups of the 80's. Enjoy!
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