Eurythmics
Peace

THE REVIEW

"Peace" is not just the final statement of a band that in the much-vaunted Eighties elevated the synth-new wave movement to the nth degree, but it is also a solid declaration of intent before writing the unfortunately sad expression "the end" over a most respectable list of musical products.

It's 1999, and the generation of electronics has significantly downsized, caught between the grunge wave and the emerging boy-girl bands: within the Eurythmics family, the eclectic Annie Lennox is fresh from a debut that was truly remarkable (Diva), but also from a second studio effort (Medusa) that quite well consolidates her "egocentric" ambitions. Both solo works, however, highlight a brave attempt to shelve the vibrant dynamics of the electropop season and embrace an acoustic pop-rock with few frills and nonsense: a style more sober, clean, and dry (despite an already unshowy look during her partnership with David Stewart) that finds its perfect expression in the unforgettable hit ballads Why and No More I Love You's.

The final chapter of the Eurythmics saga is nothing but a "continuation" of Lennox's solo journey, far from the fluorescence and the multicolored, fun-loving, carefree party mood of Sweet Dreams and Beethoven (I Listen To). A bold turn that nonetheless detracts nothing from the full artistic validity of the duo, but rather elevates them to a maturity that probably would have been lacking if they had made a comeback conforming to the pre-1990 period. A tracklist of sweet lullabies leaning toward instrumental and rock'n'roll-like tracks, a small simple jewel that is anything but anachronistic and dated, the last attempt to send a semi-muted cry to a music-media landscape completely overturned ten years after their penultimate effort, We Too Are One.

Thus, the mini dialectic between soft ballads and energetic pop-rock bursts serves as the backbone for the entire album: on the one hand, there's the folk-instrumental nostalgia of the first single I Saved The World Today, the tearful chorus of strings and gentle semi-unplugged guitar strums in I've Tried Everything, the incredible lightness of Beautiful Child and Peace Is Just A Word (in my opinion the most significant and exemplary piece of the entire album), on the other hand, emerges the almost playful vigor reminiscent of Roxette in Power To The Meek, the pseudo rock'n'roll/country anger simmering in I Want It All, and the spiritual-vocal classical ascension of Forever.

It's highly probable that the Eurythmics myth is part of that collective imagination which sees the colorful 80s as the birth, life (and not death) of a party spirit, almost reductive and overly makeshift and artificial. But Ms. Lennox and Mr. Stewart have managed to transcend the fragile boundaries of these stereotypes, offering a pop in full evolution and completion, never trivial and plastic. And with "Peace" they have also managed to "deny", albeit kindly, the glories of the notorious decade, showing the crowd of records and cassettes, of walkmans and CD players, that beneath the surface sheen, there is much more, something else to be discovered, delved into, and continued.

Eurythmics, "Peace"

17 Again - I Saved The World Today - Power To The Meek - Beautiful Child - Anything But Strong - Peace Is Just A Word - I've Tried Everything - I Want It All - My True Love - Forever - Lifted