Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stimulation For the Senses, January 4, 2004
'Touch' is very special for me. For starters, it was the very first album I ever owned. I grew up in the 1980s and was mesmerized by MTV at the time, especially Eurythmics. So on my 6th birthday in 1984, I was given 'Touch,' on vinyl, as a birthday present from a family member. I loved it then and still do to this very day.Over the years, I've purchased all of their works from 'In the Garden' to 'Peace,' but 'Touch' is probably my favorite of them all. Not only is the home of one of their finest songs, "Here Comes the Rain Again," but upon closer inspection, you can notice the seeds of some of the themes that would blossom later on their 1987 masterpiece, 'Savage.' You can certainly dance to 'Touch,' but I usually prefer to sit and listen with headphones, especially when I'm feeling unmotivated -- for I've always found it to be a very stimulating (and visual) listening experience. Annie occasionally breaks into vocal chants which flow through the songs, providing a unique pulse and an added dimension. "No Fear..." never fails to leave me stunned, for she sings as though her very existence depended upon it. There's also a staggering slew of emotions conveyed throughout the album, including frustration ("Cool Blue"), isolation ("Aqua'), jealousy ("Who's That Girl"), paranoia ("Paint A Rumour"), rage ("Regrets"), and bliss ("Right By Your Side"). For my money, this is one of the best albums of the 80s. It hasn't dated a bit, and like a fine wine, gets better with age. Annie & Dave have always been artists who pour their hearts into their work, and present something both meaningful and universal. With 'Touch,' they definitely hit the jackpot.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Taking the sound a step beyond, September 25, 1998
By A Customer
When Touch was released in the United States in 1984, it would be at least another year before Eurythmics would dabble in sounds other than the synth riffs that propelled the U.K. duo's "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" to the top of the chart in September 1983. But how we were to know at the time? What we got as a follow-up was a lot more of the computer/synth experimentation that made Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), the album, an '80s new wave masterpiece.Yet here Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox take the sound to a different level, in many ways allowing Annie to step in front of the music to take even greater control over the image of the band at least aurally. It'd be hard to visually take any more control than Annie had in '83 sporting a black business suit and orange close-cropped hair or appearing as a leather-clad prostitute. Still, this album gives you a taste of both the music's (i.e. Dave's) shimmer and Lennox's sheen. Of course you have "Here Comes the Rain Again," featuring a beautiful string section and haunting vocals by Lennox. And you have "Who's That Girl," an eerie throwback to classical cabaret style, and "Right By Your Side," the seemingly happy sounding raggae-inspired tune about co-dependency. But there's more: the true coolness of "Cool Blue," the rattlesnake-like snarl of "Regrets," the liquid consistency of "Aqua," the suffering of "No Fear, No Hate, No Pain (No Broken Hearts)," the eight minutes of Casio-keyboard-like simplicity in "Paint a Rumour" and the drive of "The First Cut." These songs take a completely different turn from the moody, somber, nighttime aura of Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) and yet incorporate the same synthetic appeal. God bless the '80s.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Here come the hits again...., July 8, 2000
This album was just a treat. Another great one I owned first on vinyl, then 8-track (yes, 8-track) then tape and then CD. Yes, it's that good. Of course, the hit "Here Comes the Rain Again" makes the CD worth owning alone... but this CD is full of hits that made the singles charts in the UK, but didn't get the radio play they deserved here in the states."Right By Yourside" will get you jumping all over your house, singing along and "Regrets" will get you grooving... "Who's That Girl" is an instant first-run classic. Lots of synthesizers, drums and funky beats give these songs an 80s sound, but not cheesy... these were trend-breaking, innovative sounds that just didn't exist before this group came along. Great groovin', rockin' tracks... cool sounds and the penetrating voice of Annie Lennox.
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