Songs of Mass Destruction
| Songs of Mass Destruction | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Studio album by Annie Lennox | ||||
| Released | 1 October 2007 | |||
| Recorded | September 2006—February 2007 in Los Angeles, California | |||
| Genre | Pop rock, funk rock, blues rock, soul | |||
| Length | 46:51 | |||
| Label | RCA, Sony BMG | |||
| Producer | Glen Ballard | |||
| Annie Lennox chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Songs of Mass Destruction | ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| BBC Music | (very favourable) [2] |
| Rolling Stone |  [3] |
| Slant Magazine | [4] |
| Stylus Magazine | (D) [5] |
 This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information. |
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Songs of Mass Destruction is the title of the fourth studio album by Annie Lennox, released on October 1, 2007 in the UK and October 2, 2007, in the U.S.[6]. The album debuted at number 7 in the UK, and number 9 in the U.S. where it sold 78,000 copies its first week.[7] It was her first album of new material since 2003's Bare.
Contents |
[edit] Singles
The first single, "Dark Road", first appeared on Lennox's MySpace page[8] on 15 August 2007. It was subsequently released as a single on 24 September 2007 and charted at number 58 on the UK Singles Chart.
The second single, "Sing," was released digitally on 1 December 2007 and it had a physical release as a single on 17 March 2008. "Sing" is a collaboration between Lennox and 23 other prominent female acts and artists and is a charity record aimed to raise money and awareness for the HIV/AIDS organization Treatment Action Campaign.
The song is a collaboration between Lennox and twenty-three prominent female acts and artists. The line-up consists of Madonna, Anastacia, Isobel Campbell, Dido, Céline Dion, Melissa Etheridge, Fergie, Beth Gibbons, Faith Hill, Angélique Kidjo, Beverley Knight, Gladys Knight, k.d. lang, Sarah McLachlan, Beth Orton, Pink, Bonnie Raitt, Shakira, Shingai Shoniwa, Joss Stone, Sugababes, KT Tunstall, and Martha Wainwright.[9]
As Lennox reported herself on her official website, this song is about raising money and awareness for what she considers to be the HIV/AIDS genocide:[10]
| “ | Several years ago I personally witnessed Nelson Mandela, standing in front of his former prison cell on Robben Island, addressing the world's press. His message was that the pandemic of HIV/AIDS in Africa was in fact, a genocide. Since that time I resolved to do as much as I can to bring attention to the HIV/AIDS crisis. | ” |
The second verse of the song is led by Madonna.
[edit] Tour
On 13 September 2007, Lennox announced a primarily North American tour for Songs of Mass Destruction called "Annie Lennox Sings", which is only the third solo tour of her career. Lasting throughout October and November, 2007, the tour included 18 stops: London, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Boulder, Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Washington, D.C., Nashville, Atlanta, Miami, New York City (two dates), Philadelphia, and Boston. The venues generally were at medium-size theatres, except in New York City, where one of the dates was a United Nations fundraiser at Wall Street restaurant Cipriani.
Artist Carina Round accompanied Lennox on the tour as an opener, promoting her third album, Slow Motion Addict.
[edit] Track listing
All songs written and composed by Annie Lennox, "Womankind" rap lyrics by Nadirah X.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dark Road" | 3:47 |
| 2. | "Love is Blind" | 4:18 |
| 3. | "Smithereens" | 5:17 |
| 4. | "Ghosts in My Machine" | 3:30 |
| 5. | "Womankind" (featuring Nadirah X) | 4:28 |
| 6. | "Through the Glass Darkly" | 3:29 |
| 7. | "Lost" | 3:41 |
| 8. | "Coloured Bedspread" | 4:29 |
| 9. | "Sing" (featuring Various Female Artists*) | 4:48 |
| 10. | "Big Sky" | 4:02 |
| 11. | "Fingernail Moon" | 5:02 |
* "Sing" is a collaboration between Lennox and twenty-three prominent female acts and artists. The line-up consists of Madonna, Anastacia, Isobel Campbell, Dido, Céline Dion, Melissa Etheridge, Fergie, Beth Gibbons, Faith Hill, Angélique Kidjo, Beverley Knight, Gladys Knight, k.d. lang, Sarah McLachlan, Beth Orton, Pink, Bonnie Raitt, Shakira, Shingai Shoniwa, Joss Stone, Sugababes, KT Tunstall and Martha Wainwright.
| Barnes & Noble bonus tracks | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 12. | "Dark Road" (Acoustic version) | 3:30 | |||||||
| 13. | "Don't Take Me Down" | 3:52 | |||||||
| iTunes special edition bonus tracks | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | |||||||
| 12. | "Little Bird" (Live) | 4:20 | |||||||
| 13. | "Walking on Broken Glass" (Live) | 4:30 | |||||||
[edit] Deluxe Edition
The deluxe edition contained a bonus enhanced CD featuring an interview with Lennox, a track by track commentary and the "Dark Road" music video.
[edit] Charts
 |
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2011) |
| Chart (2007) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Australia ARIA Top Albums | 41 |
| Austria Albums Chart | 25 |
| Belgium Albums Chart | 25 |
| French Albums Chart | 28 |
| German Albums Chart | 15 |
| Ireland Albums Chart | 21 |
| Poland Albums Chart | 21 |
| Italy Albums Chart | 3 |
| Netherlands Albums Chart | 45 |
| Spanish Albums Chart | 96 |
| Swedish Albums Chart | 26 |
| Switzerland Albums Chart | 7 |
| UK Albums Chart[11] | 7 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 9 |
[edit] Personnel
- Accordion - Eddie Baytos
- Arrangements, Producer [Additional] - Mike Stevens
- Artwork By [Design] - Allan Martin
- Bass - Sean Hurley
- Drums - Blair Sinta
- Guitar - Joel Shearer
- Keyboards - Annie Lennox, Glen Ballard, Mike Stevens, Randy Kerber, Zac Raeon
- Mastered by - Ted Jensen
- Mixed by - Tom Lord-Alge
- Mixed by [Assistant] - Femio Hernandez
- Photography - Mike Owen
- Piano - Annie Lennox, Randy Kerber
- Producer - Glen Ballard
- Recorded By [Engineer] - Scott Campbell
- Vocals - Annie Lennox
[edit] Notes
- ^ Songs of Mass Destruction at Allmusic
- ^ BBC Music review
- ^ Rolling Stone review
- ^ Slant Magazine review
- ^ Stylus Magazine review
- ^ Amazon.com site for Songs of Mass Destruction
- ^ Katie Hasty, "Springsteen Is Boss Of Album Chart With 'Magic'", Billboard.com, October 10, 2007.
- ^ Annie Lennox Official MySpace Site
- ^ RCA Label Group (UK) | News | Annie Lennox - A choir of 23 renowned female artists join Annie on her new album
- ^ Official site for "Sing" Retrieved on January 29, 2008.
- ^ "Chart Stats - Annie Lennox - Songs Of Mass Destruction". chartstats.com. http://www.chartstats.com/release.php?release=39952. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
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