The difference between Madonna and Annie Lennox is that, to maintain longevity, Madonna has to keep reinventing herself, while Annie Lennox remains relevant without having to don cowboy boots and feather her hair or update tired Abba tunes. Oh and Annie’s voice has been flawless since the Eurythmics began back in 1981, while Madonna herself makes fun of her earlier songs like “Borderline” and “Lucky Star.”

So why even bring Madonna up in a review of Lennox’s new album, Songs of Mass Destruction? Because if you listen carefully, you’ll hear Madonna singing on the track “Sing”—with a backdrop of 22 other women invited to join Lennox in this gospel-style anthem, including Dido, Fergie, Pink, Shakira, k.d. lang, Sarah McLachlan, Beth Orton, Bonnie Raitt, Joss Stone, Faith Hill, Celine Dion, and others. The song is intended to raise awareness about mother-child HIV transmission, with download and merchandise proceeds going to the group Treatment Action Initiatives (TAC).

Maybe you’re tired of the gimmicky cause-anthems a la “We Are the World,” and I wouldn’t blame you. But don’t let that stop you from exploring this CD, because although Lennox does take a more global view, touching on the environment (“Big Sky”), the war in Iraq (“Lost”), poverty (“Love is Blind”), and other heavy topics, that doesn’t mean she’s necessarily offering answers. As she’s always done, Lennox continues to provoke on a personal level.

Whether in her own voice or that of a narrator, the desperation is palpable. But she also shines a small spotlight of hope in the distance, as demonstrated in the climax of “Dark Road”:

I can’t find the joy within in my soul
It’s just sadness takin’ hold
I wanna come in from the cold
And make myself renewed again
It takes strength to live this way
The same old madness everyday
I wanna kick these blues away
I wanna learn to live again

After quite a few listens, I still can’t stop myself from getting chills at this refrain. But this is one of the things Lennox does best—getting the listener invested in a quiet soulful ballad and then breaking out into a raucous emotional rant.

Satellite radio might have you believing she’s too old to rock and therefore relegated to “adult alterna-pop,” pointing to the tracks “Smithereens” and “Fingernail Moon.” I’d beg to differ and believe Eurythmics fans will be particularly pleased with the dance-worthy “Coloured Bedspread” and the soulful “Ghost in My Machine.” Honestly, people everywhere—and perhaps especially women—will identify with the sentiment of the album and feel the catharsis she intends to share.

For More Information
www.annielennox.com/
www.annielennoxsing.com/
www.songsofmassdestruction.info

Taryn Chase saw Annie Lennox open for Sting who was clearly inferior. Taryn is Managing Editor of the New River Voice.