Most helpful customer reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars
The Eurythmics' slickest, most playful album., Sep 29 2006
By the time Eurythmics released "Revenge", they were one of the eighties' best-established bands. They had four years of successful singles and albums under their belts, and had undergone a sort of transformation from European synth-band to soulful rock masters. "Revenge", arguably their hardest-rocking album, completed this transition. Coming off the heels of the album "Be Yourself Tonight", it demonstrated that the band would be just as experimental as it ever had been; only now, their experimentations would be laced with organic, earthy arrangements and production.
The album is a slick, playful and generally upbeat affair, with tracks like "When tomorrow comes", "Take your pain away", "The miracle of love" and "Let's go" featuring some of the band's most positive lyrics. When things do get darker, such as on "Missionary man", "The last time" or "Thorn in my side", they do so with all the fervor of people not willing to get run over by their troubles. It also features the magnificent "I Remember You" (originally the closing track of the album), full of longing and elegance, smouldering with emotion and featuring one of Annie Lennox's most expressive vocals ever - which is saying a lot given the quality of this singer's extraordinary voice.
The album yielded four hit singles ("Missionary man", "When tomorrow comes", "Thorn in my side" and the achingly beautiful "Miracle of love"). It also became their top selling album in Europe and sent the band touring all over the world with a hit-loaded concert that was later captured on tape. Like all of the Eurythmics' studio albums, "Revenge" has now been remastered and released to great results; the audio quality is remarkable, the liner notes are extensive and insightful, the package is attractive and features many unreleased pictures. Best of all, this remastered edition features six bonus tracks, proof that this band didn't simply want to rip-off their fans and wanted to give them a little extra. It's well worth your money, but then so are all of the Eurythmics' remastered albums.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A masterpiece enhanced, Jul 30 2006
After great synth albums like Sweet Dreams and Touch and 1985's Soul/R&B excursion Be Yourself Tonight, Eurythmics created this riveting rock album with its melodic masterpieces. I don't like the meandering Missionary Man, but besides that it's genius all the way!
Thorn In My Side is a dramatic ballad with a great sense of finality, When Tomorrow Comes is a soaring number where Annie's voice goes full throttle, The Last Time is an eerie, brooding ballad with strange voice effects, and The Miracle Of Love is another lovely tuneful pop song.
These rank amongst the best compositions of Eurythmics, on a par with classics like Love Is A Stranger, Sweet Dreams, Right By Your Side and There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart). I also love the full rock sound they use here - it makes an interesting change from the earlier synth-based sound.
Other favorites include Take Your Pain Away and the gentle, wistful I Remember You with its torch-song vocal and textured instrumentation. Perhaps some Eurythmics fans didn't like the rock textures of this album, but to me it remains one of their best.
The bonus tracks here are amongst the best of all the Eurythmics reissues. The extended versions of When Tomorrow Comes and Thorn In My Side are my favorites and substantially different from the originals. I also love the live acoustic version of Tomorrow, and My Guy concludes the album on a playful note.
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