I think this is a great album, too. Production wise, it's tons better than "Medusa," which I thought had an overly slick sound to it. It's more in line with the last Eurythmics' album, "Peace."

I think her songwriting has continued to grow and mature. The melodies are really beautiful, and the songs' structure and nice. She certainly knows how to put things together.

My one question is where will this album and singles get played? Adult oriented stations? Radio has changed so much in the last seven years. I really don't think anything off this album will reach the pop charts. I think she's in the same boat as Prince.

OK, now that my jaw has been lifted off the floor, let me say that I LOVE this album. It is incredibly intimate, pained and soulful. Annie's voice is capable of incredible expression, even at 48. The music is intimate and refined, not unlike "Vespertine" and "Heathen." I listened to it with my bro while we were driving around Salt Lake City last night, and I was in awe.

"A Thousand Beautiful Things"- the opening track is an ornate, intimate reminder of why life is worth living. I think it would make a great lead off single. It sounds so personal that it seems like Annie is speaking directly to you. The lush guitar and soft synth, mixed with Annie's haunting vocal delivery make it an instant classic.

"Pavement Cracks"- my new favorite Annie Lennox song (solo). I downloaded this from MSN (for a price) months ago, and listened to it constantly. It starts off with a slow mixture of mournful and triumphant vocal delivery, only to usher in some "Little Bird"-like funk. The song builds beautiful and ends with among the most soulful vocal improvisation that I've ever heard.

"The Hurting Time"- this is an odd song for Annie Lennox, unlike anything she's done before. It's a smooth electronic jazz piece that is more self-reflective than anything, as she reveals the sources of her despair.

"Honestly"- definitely about her divorce, Annie takes and gives blame in this song, with the two coinciding vocal tracks seemingly telling both sides of her story. It's an interesting method of delivery and she nails it.

"Wonderful"- one of my favorites, this song was played at the Toronto show I attended in April. It's smooth in parts, over-the-top emotional in others. This is one of the best examples of the flow of the album, as Annie sounds triumphant despite her angst, only to grow bitter again in the next song.

"Bitter Pill" is an uptempo, very danceable, soulful and angry track that would make a great single. She's strident in her bitterness, cool and collected in her anger. An instant classic.

"Loneliness" is a little misleading, in that it starts off soulful and slow, only to grow gradually and soar at the end. She captures the essence of the emotion well, and the song fades into the plaintive "The Saddest Song I've Got."

"The Saddest Song I've Got" is an ethereal, dejected song of resignation. She takes responsibility for the pain she has caused, giving a new angle on what it means to be brokenhearted- bearing the guilt and shame of her shortcomings.

"Erased" is a fierce, fierce, groovy attack on her former beau, with the trademark Lennox ice. The song builds in its fury as it bares its fangs.

"Twisted" kinds of sums up the album, with Annie's convoluted emotions taking the forefront. It is elegant and quirky at the same time, again both taking and extending the blame.

"Oh God (A Prayer)" features some of the most intimate vocal delivery I've ever heard. This is why Annie Lennox is my favorite vocalist- loosely following a melody but straying often in her brokenness. She sounds completely broken, completely destitute, singing "if someone needed a helping hand, it must be now, it must be now." She confesses that she has messed up everything in her life and sounds so desperate that she doesn't know how to pray. Perhaps the most haunting song I've ever heard.

The album is scarily good, scarily emotional and intimate. It is Annie's exorcism and showcases all of her quirks, going from triumphant ("Wonderful") to bitter ("Bitter Pill"), remembering ("The Saddest Song I've Got") to blocking out the memory ("Erased"), without batting an eyelash. It has no commercial aspirations.

It's too early to say how well I like the album in comparison to her other efforts, but I get the feeling this will be the album of 2003 for me.

A week ago, I heard a song she and David Bowie performed together ~ UNDER PRESSURE. It had me on the floor in stunned emotional rawness ~ her voice with his was one of the most powerful sounds I've heard in a while. The music and lyrics have been playing through my mind since the first hearing of it.

TRON said:

well, judging from whom rolling stone deems important in music, this comes as no surprise to me. once upon a time rolling stone told prince they would not offer him another cover because he was irrelevant in the music world, meanwhile they were giving spice girls cover shots! the days of rolling stone being on the pulse of music are long gone...they are now just pr firms for pop culture.

I only bought this today, and after 3 or 4 plays I have to say I'm a little dissapointed. It's not a bad album, most of it is very good and a couple of the tracks are fantastic, but it isn't the exceptional piece of work that I was expecting.

xenon said:

I'm beginning to think "Bare" is to Annie what "Older" was to George Michael. A quiet, wonderful, incredibly mature but only "simmering" work at a time when fans really wanted something to crash the dancefloor with instead...

jtfolden said:

Dunno about that, I was expecting a much darker album myself if that makes sense, but maybe that says more about my frame of mind than hers.

Though I've been listening to it again this morning and I must admit it's starting to grow on me.

It has grown on me over the past few listens. I really like the song "The Hurting Time" now. There's maybe one or two tracks I don't like as much, but overall, a really good album by Annie.

What's the latest word on those Eurythmics reissues?