Recorded January – May 1994 Medusa
(1995) Bare
(2003) Release date 6 March 1995 Producer Stephen Lipson | Length 47:11 Artist Annie Lennox Label RCA Records | |
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Released 6 March 1995 (1995-03-06) Genres Pop music, Rock music, Dance music, Adult contemporary music, Electronica Similar Annie Lennox albums, Pop music albums | ||
Annie lennox medusa full album
Medusa is the second solo album by the Scottish singer Annie Lennox, released in March 1995, and consists entirely of cover songs. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number 1 and peaked in the United States at number 11, spending 60 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart. It has since achieved double platinum status in both the United Kingdom and the United States and sold more than 6 million copies worldwide.
Contents
Background and release
The album yielded four singles in the United Kingdom: "No More I Love You's" (which entered the UK Singles Chart at No. 2, Lennox's highest ever solo peak), "A Whiter Shade of Pale", "Waiting in Vain" and "Something So Right".
The album was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the Grammy Awards of 1996, losing to Turbulent Indigo by Joni Mitchell, however, Lennox took home the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance award for her work on the first single "No More I Love You's". This album was re-released in late 1995 in a double jewel case containing the album Medusa and a nine-track bonus CD featuring the studio version of Paul Simon's "Something So Right" (with Simon guesting on vocals and guitar) and eight tracks recorded live from the concert in Central Park: "Money Can't Buy It", "Legend in My Living Room", her Eurythmics hits "Who's That Girl?", "You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart" and "Here Comes the Rain Again", along with "Why", "Little Bird" and "Walking on Broken Glass".
Critical reception
Professional reviews for Medusa were mixed, ranging from favourable to outright hostile. Allmusic notes that critics "savaged" the album upon release: Trouser Press was probably the most severe in its criticism, characterizing Lennox's interpretations of classic material as "obvious", "milquetoast" and "willfully wrongheaded" (although reviewer Ira Robbins did single out the track "No More I Love You's" for genuine, if backhanded, praise).
Meanwhile, Rolling Stone gave the album a more positive, though still mixed review:
Annie Lennox called her justifiably popular solo debut Diva, but it's actually on the follow-up effort Medusa that she really starts acting like one. This wildly uneven album of cover versions starts with perhaps its highest point—a truly wonderful interpretation of "No More I Love You's", a relatively obscure British hit by The Lover Speaks. Unfortunately, Lennox doesn't work the same magic with more familiar material like Al Green's "Take Me to the River" and Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale".
Personnel
Live in Central Park
Although no tour was held to promote this album, Lennox played a one-off concert in Central Park, New York City on 9 September 1995. This was subsequently released on videotape as Annie Lennox in the Park and on DVD as Annie Lennox Live in Central Park.
Information
Track listing
- "Money Can't Buy It" (Lennox)
- "Legend in My Living Room" (Lennox, Vettese)
- "Walking on Broken Glass" (Lennox)
- "No More "I Love You's"" (Hughes, Freeman)
- "Who's That Girl?" (Lennox, Stewart)
- "You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart" (Lennox, Stewart)
- "Waiting in Vain" (Marley)
- "I Love You Like a Ball and Chain" (Lennox, Stewart)
- "Little Bird" (Lennox)
- "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (Lennox, Stewart)
- "Train in Vain" (Jones, Strummer)
- "Why" (Lennox)
- "No More "I Love You's"" (Hughes, Freeman)
- "A Whiter Shade of Pale" (Reid, Brooker, Fisher)
- "Waiting in Vain" (Marley)
- "Something So Right" (Simon)
Songs
1No More "I Love You's"4:51
2Take Me to the River3:36
3A Whiter Shade of Pale5:17