Medusa (Annie Lennox album)
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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[1] and the United States[2] and sold more than 6 million copies worldwide.
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".[3]
Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [4] |
Entertainment Weekly | C−[5] |
Los Angeles Times | [6] |
The New York Times | (Mixed)[7] |
Rolling Stone | [8] |
Professional reviews for Medusa were mixed, ranging from favourable to outright hostile. Allmusic notes that critics "savaged"[9] 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).[10]
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".[11]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original Artist(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "No More "I Love You's"" | Joseph Hughes, David Freeman | The Lover Speaks | 4:51 |
2. | "Take Me to the River" | Al Green, Mabon Hodges | Al Green | 3:33 |
3. | "A Whiter Shade of Pale" | Keith Reid, Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher | Procol Harum | 5:17 |
4. | "Don't Let It Bring You Down" | Neil Young | Neil Young | 3:36 |
5. | "Train in Vain" | Mick Jones, Joe Strummer | The Clash | 4:44 |
6. | "I Can't Get Next to You" | Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong | The Temptations | 3:08 |
7. | "Downtown Lights" | Paul Buchanan | The Blue Nile | 6:44 |
8. | "Thin Line Between Love and Hate" | Richard Poindexter, Robert Poindexter, Jackie Members | The Persuaders | 4:55 |
9. | "Waiting in Vain" | Bob Marley | Bob Marley and the Wailers | 5:40 |
10. | "Something So Right" | Paul Simon | Paul Simon | 3:54 |
11. | "Heaven" (Japanese bonus track) | Richard Butler, Tim Butler | The Psychedelic Furs | 4:57 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Money Can't Buy It" | Annie Lennox | 4:45 |
2. | "Legend in My Living Room" | Lennox, Peter-John Vettese | 3:48 |
3. | "Who's That Girl?" | Lennox, David Stewart | 4:44 |
4. | "You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart" | Lennox, Stewart | 5:19 |
5. | "Little Bird" | Lennox | 5:27 |
6. | "Walking on Broken Glass" | Lennox | 4:01 |
7. | "Here Comes the Rain Again" | Lennox, Stewart | 5:59 |
8. | "Why" | Lennox | 5:17 |
9. | "Something So Right" (studio version) (featuring Paul Simon) | Simon | 3:50 |
B-sides
Title | A-side(s) |
---|---|
"Ladies of the Canyon" | "No More "I Love You's"" |
"Heaven" | "A Whiter Shade of Pale" |
"(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear" |
Personnel
- Produced by Stephen Lipson
- Engineered and mixed by Heff Moraes
- Pre-production by Marius de Vries
- Annie Lennox – all vocals, keyboards, flute
- Stephen Lipson – programming, guitar, keyboards, bass
- Martin De Vries – keyboards and programming
- Peter-John Vettese, Andy Richards, Mathew Cooper – keyboards
- Luís Jardim – bass, percussion
- Tony Pastor – guitar
- Dan Gillen, Neil Conti – drums
- Doug Wimbish – bass
- Judd Lander, Mark Feltham – harmonica
- Pandit Dinesh – tablas
- Kirampal Singh – santoor
- James McNally – accordion
- Anne Dudley – orchestral, brass and string arrangements
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
- Director: Joe Dyer
- Recorded: Live at Central Park, Summerstage, New York City, 8 September 1995
- Release date: December 1995 (video); December 2000 (DVD)
- Label: BMG/Arista
- Run time: 90 minutes
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)
- Promotional video clips
- "No More "I Love You's"" (Hughes, Freeman)
- "A Whiter Shade of Pale" (Reid, Brooker, Fisher)
- "Waiting in Vain" (Marley)
- "Something So Right" (Simon)
Awards
Grammy Awards
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
1996 [12] |
Medusa | Best Pop Vocal Album | Nominated |
"No More I Love You's" | Best Pop Vocal Performance - Female | Won |
Certifications
‹See Tfd›‹See Tfd›Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Argentina (CAPIF)[13] | Gold | 30,000^ |
Austria (IFPI Austria)[14] | Gold | 25,000* |
Canada (Music Canada)[15] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
France (SNEP)[17] | Gold | 188,700[16] |
Germany (BVMI)[18] | Gold | 250,000^ |
Norway (IFPI Norway)[19] | Gold | 25,000* |
Poland (ZPAV)[20] | Gold | 0* |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[21] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Sweden (GLF)[22] | Gold | 50,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[23] | Gold | 25,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[24] | 2× Platinum | 600,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[25] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
Summaries | ||
Europe (IFPI)[26] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Chart precession and succession
References
- ^ BPI Searchable database Archived 24 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ RIAA Gold and Platinum Database Archived 22 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Amazon.com: Medusa/Live in Central Park: Music: Annie Lennox
- ^ Allmusic review
- ^ Entertainment Weekly review
- ^ Rosenbluth, Jean (26 March 1992). "Record Review: ANNIE LENNOX; "Medusa" Arista". articles.latimes.com. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Holden, Stephen (10 November 1995). "CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK;They're Adults, And Sound It". Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ Rolling Stone review
- ^ savaged
- ^ http://trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=annie_lennox
- ^ [1] Archived 11 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Strauss, Neil (5 January 1996). "New Faces in Grammy Nominations". nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ "Discos de oro y platino" (in Spanish). Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ^ "Austrian album certifications – Annie Lennox – Medusa" (in German). IFPI Austria.
- ^ "Canadian album certifications – Annie Lennox – Medusa". Music Canada.
- ^ "Les Albums Or". infodisc.fr. SNEP. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ "French album certifications – Annie Lennox – Medusa" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Annie Lennox; 'Medusa')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
- ^ "Norwegian album certifications – Annie Lennox – Medusa" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway.
- ^ Expression error: Unexpected <= operator
- ^ "Solo Exitos 1959-2002 Ano A Ano: Certificados 1991-1995". Iberautor Promociones Culturales. ISBN 8480486392.
- ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011.
- ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Medusa')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
- ^ "British album certifications – Annie Lennox – Medusa". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Medusa in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
- ^ "American album certifications – Annie Lennox – Medusa". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1997". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
- ^ "australian-charts.com Annie Lennox - Medusa" (ASP). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
- ^ "austriancharts.at Annie Lennox - Medusa" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ "ultratop.be Annie Lennox - Medusa" (ASP). Hung Medien (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ "ultratop.be Annie Lennox - Medusa" (ASP). Hung Medien (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2011-11-07
- ^ "dutchcharts.nl Annie Lennox - Diva" (ASP). Hung Medien. MegaCharts. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ "Album Search: Annie Lennox - Medusa" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ a b Hits of the world. Billboard. 1 April 1995. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
- ^ アニー・レノックス-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック "Highest position and charting weeks of Medusa by Annie Lennox". oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "charts.org.nz Annie Lennox - Medusa" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ "norwegiancharts.com Annie Lennox - Medusa" (ASP). Hung Medien. VG-lista. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ "swedishcharts.com Annie Lennox - Medusa" (ASP) (in Swedish). Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ "Annie Lennox - Diva - hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ "Chart Stats - Annie Lennox - Medusa" (PHP). UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "allmusic ((( Medusa > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at - Jahreshitparade 1995" (ASP) (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1995". Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
- ^ "Rapports annuels 1995". Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 20 May 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1995". RPM. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "Les Albums (CD) de 1995 par InfoDisc" (PHP) (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
- ^ "Hitparade.ch - Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1995". Swiss Music Charts (in Swedish). Hung Medien. Archived from the original (ASP) on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ "CIN Artist Albums - Year-End - 1995". Retrieved 7 November 2011.
- ^ "Billboard.BIZ - Year-end Charts - Billboard 200 - 1995". billboard.biz. Retrieved 7 November 2011.