Annie Lennox — Nostalgia
• Androgynous, smoky–voiced diva, half of the Eurythmics, adult contemporary star by her own right by the '90s.
• Mike Wass of Idolator wrote that Lennox "breathes new life into the much–covered gems with perhaps the best vocal performance of her long and varied career," noting that the "haunting arrangements" assists in his opined effect. He stated that it would be an understatement to call the album "a departure from Annie’s usual oeuvre," and that Lennox "puts her own inimitable spin" on the tracks.
Born: December 25, 1954 in Aberdeen, Scotland
Location: Aberdeen, Scotland
Instruments: Vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar, accordion, harmonium, flute, bass guitar
Album release: September 30 (Vinyl), October 21, 2014
Recorded: October 2013 — summer 2014
Record Label: Blue Note (Universal)/Island Records
Duration: 42:30
Tracks:
Disc 1:
01 Memphis in June (Hoagy Carmichael / Paul Francis Webster) 2:47
02 Georgia on My Mind (Hoagy Carmichael / Stuart Gorrell) 3:56
03 I Put a Spell on You (Jalacy Hawkins) 3:32
04 Summertime (George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin / Dolores Heyward) 5:12
05 I Cover the Waterfront (John W. Green / Edward Heyman) 3:00
06 Strange Fruit (Lewis Allan) 3:47
07 God Bless the Child (Billie Holiday / Arthur Herzog, Jr.) 3:03
08 You Belong to Me (Pee Wee King / Chilton Price / Redd Stewart) 3:22
09 September in the Rain (Al Dubin / Harry Warren) 2:53
10 I Can Dream, Can't I? (Sammy Fain / Irving Kahal) 2:56
11 The Nearness of You (Hoagy Carmichael / Ned Washington) 2:33
12 Mood Indigo (Barney Bigard / Duke Ellington / Irving Mills) 5:35
Disc: 2
01. Annie Lennox Discusses Nostalgia
02. I Put A Spell On You (Screamin' Jay Hawkins, live)
Editorial Reviews
• On Nostalgia, Annie Lennox pays tribute to some of the greatest artists of the 20th century — including Hoagy Carmichael, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Billie Holiday and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins — and interprets compositions that have moved her, stripping them down to their emotional and musical core and making them her own. ♥ This beautiful deluxe package (created by Lennox herself and exclusive to Amazon) includes a 36–page bound book with photos and detailed notes on the songs created and lyrics as well as a DVD that features Annie discussing the album and a video of Lennox performing “I Put A Spell On You” live. "To have been given the opportunity to record these classic, timeless songs on such a significant label as Blue Note, representing 75 years of legendary jazz history, is truly a privilege for me," said Annie Lennox.
Review by Matt Collar; Score: ***½
• Annie Lennox‘s 2014 covers collection, Nostalgia, finds the former Eurythmics vocalist soulfully interpreting various pop, jazz, and R&B standards. In many ways, Nostalgia works as a companion piece to her similarly inventive 2010 album, the holiday–themed Christmas Cornucopia. As with that album, Lennox eschews predictability by picking an unexpected set of songs and producing them with detailed care. While Nostalgia certainly fits nicely next to any number of other standards albums by veteran pop stars, it does nothing to diminish Lennox’s distinctive style. On the contrary, working with producer Mike Stevens, Lennox has crafted an album that brings to mind the sophisticated, contemporary sound of her original studio releases while allowing her to revel in the grand popular song tradition. Moving between evocative piano accompaniment, orchestral numbers, moody synthesizer arrangements, and even some rollicking small–group swing, Lennox takes a theatrical — yet always personal — approach to each song, finding endlessly interesting juxtapositions and stylistic combinations to explore. She references Miles Davis’ plaintive take on the Porgy and Bess classic “Summertime,” tenderly evinces a combination of Billie Holiday and Sade on “Strange Fruit,” and draws on both Aretha Franklin and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins for “I Put a Spell on You.” Elsewhere, tracks like “I Cover the Waterfront” and “Mood Indigo” bring to mind similar recordings from Carole King and Bryan Ferry. Ultimately, even without Nostalgia‘s impeccable production, in the end it’s Lennox’s burnished, resonant vocals that steal the focus here, and just like the songs she’s picked, their beauty will likely stand the test of time.
CREDITS:
• Lewis Allan Composer
• Barney Bigard Composer
• Richard Brook Percussion
• Hoagy Carmichael Composer
• Cameron Craig Engineer
• Al Dubin Composer
• Duke Ellington Composer
• Sammy Fain Composer
• Simon Finch Trumpet
• George Gershwin Composer
• Ira Gershwin Composer
• Stuart Gorrell Composer
• John W. Green Composer
• Jalacy Hawkins Composer
• Arthur Herzog, Jr. Composer
• Edward Heyman Composer
• Dolores Heyward Composer
• Chris Hill Double Bass, Guitar (Bass)
• Billie Holiday Composer
• Ivan Hussey Cello
• Stephen Hussey Orchestration, Viola, Violin
• Irving Kahal Composer
• Pee Wee King Composer
• Annie Lennox Creative Director, Fender Rhodes, Flute, Percussion, Piano, Producer, Quotation Author, String Arrangements, Vocals
• Irving Mills Composer
• Mandy Parnell Mastering
• Chilton Price Composer
• Robert Sebree Photography, Post Production
• Mike Stevens Accordion, Engineer, Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboards, Organ (Hammond), Producer, Programming, String Arrangements, Vibraphone
• Redd Stewart Composer
• Gavin Taylor Art Direction, Design
• Nichol Thomson Trombone
• Urban Soul Orchestra Strings
• Harry Warren Composer
• Ned Washington Composer
• Paul Francis Webster Composer
• Neal Wilkinson Drums
AWARDS:
• Billboard Albums
• 2014 Nostalgia Jazz Albums #13
:: http://www.allmusic.com/
Website: http://nostalgia.annielennox.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/annielennox
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annielennox
Press:
Personal life
• Lennox has been married three times. Her first marriage, from 1984 to 1985, was to German Hare Krishna devotee Radha Raman. From 1988 to 2000, she was married to Israeli film and record producer Uri Fruchtmann. The couple have two daughters, Lola and Tali. A son, Daniel, was stillborn in 1988. On 15 September 2012, Lennox married South African gynaecologist Dr. Mitch Besser, in London, in a private ceremony.
• In September 2012, Lennox featured in Series 9 of the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are?, in which she discovered that her great–great–grandmother Jessie Fraser worked, at the age of 13, at the Broadford Flax Mill in Aberdeen. Her maternal grandmother, Dora Paton, was a dairy maid at the Balmoral Royal Estate and her maternal grandfather, William Ferguson, was a gamekeeper also at Balmoral, who on one occasion danced with the then queen consort of the United Kingdom, Elizabeth Bowes–Lyon.
• Both of Lennox's parents died of cancer. Lennox describes herself as an agnostic. In the 2010 Sunday Times Rich List, Lennox was estimated to have a fortune of £30 million.
Studio albums:
• Diva (1992)
• Medusa (1995)
• Bare (2003)
• Songs of Mass Destruction (2007)
• A Christmas Cornucopia (2010)
• Nostalgia (2014)
Eurythmics discography:
• Studio albums 8
• ↙Live albums 1
• ↙Compilation albums 2
• ↙EPs 1
• ↙Singles 33
• ↙Music videos 29
• ↙Soundtracks 1
____________________________________________________________
• Androgynous, smoky–voiced diva, half of the Eurythmics, adult contemporary star by her own right by the '90s.
• Mike Wass of Idolator wrote that Lennox "breathes new life into the much–covered gems with perhaps the best vocal performance of her long and varied career," noting that the "haunting arrangements" assists in his opined effect. He stated that it would be an understatement to call the album "a departure from Annie’s usual oeuvre," and that Lennox "puts her own inimitable spin" on the tracks.
Born: December 25, 1954 in Aberdeen, Scotland
Location: Aberdeen, Scotland
Instruments: Vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar, accordion, harmonium, flute, bass guitar
Album release: September 30 (Vinyl), October 21, 2014
Recorded: October 2013 — summer 2014
Record Label: Blue Note (Universal)/Island Records
Duration: 42:30
Tracks:
Disc 1:
01 Memphis in June (Hoagy Carmichael / Paul Francis Webster) 2:47
02 Georgia on My Mind (Hoagy Carmichael / Stuart Gorrell) 3:56
03 I Put a Spell on You (Jalacy Hawkins) 3:32
04 Summertime (George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin / Dolores Heyward) 5:12
05 I Cover the Waterfront (John W. Green / Edward Heyman) 3:00
06 Strange Fruit (Lewis Allan) 3:47
07 God Bless the Child (Billie Holiday / Arthur Herzog, Jr.) 3:03
08 You Belong to Me (Pee Wee King / Chilton Price / Redd Stewart) 3:22
09 September in the Rain (Al Dubin / Harry Warren) 2:53
10 I Can Dream, Can't I? (Sammy Fain / Irving Kahal) 2:56
11 The Nearness of You (Hoagy Carmichael / Ned Washington) 2:33
12 Mood Indigo (Barney Bigard / Duke Ellington / Irving Mills) 5:35
Disc: 2
01. Annie Lennox Discusses Nostalgia
02. I Put A Spell On You (Screamin' Jay Hawkins, live)
Editorial Reviews
• On Nostalgia, Annie Lennox pays tribute to some of the greatest artists of the 20th century — including Hoagy Carmichael, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, Billie Holiday and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins — and interprets compositions that have moved her, stripping them down to their emotional and musical core and making them her own. ♥ This beautiful deluxe package (created by Lennox herself and exclusive to Amazon) includes a 36–page bound book with photos and detailed notes on the songs created and lyrics as well as a DVD that features Annie discussing the album and a video of Lennox performing “I Put A Spell On You” live. "To have been given the opportunity to record these classic, timeless songs on such a significant label as Blue Note, representing 75 years of legendary jazz history, is truly a privilege for me," said Annie Lennox.
Review by Matt Collar; Score: ***½
• Annie Lennox‘s 2014 covers collection, Nostalgia, finds the former Eurythmics vocalist soulfully interpreting various pop, jazz, and R&B standards. In many ways, Nostalgia works as a companion piece to her similarly inventive 2010 album, the holiday–themed Christmas Cornucopia. As with that album, Lennox eschews predictability by picking an unexpected set of songs and producing them with detailed care. While Nostalgia certainly fits nicely next to any number of other standards albums by veteran pop stars, it does nothing to diminish Lennox’s distinctive style. On the contrary, working with producer Mike Stevens, Lennox has crafted an album that brings to mind the sophisticated, contemporary sound of her original studio releases while allowing her to revel in the grand popular song tradition. Moving between evocative piano accompaniment, orchestral numbers, moody synthesizer arrangements, and even some rollicking small–group swing, Lennox takes a theatrical — yet always personal — approach to each song, finding endlessly interesting juxtapositions and stylistic combinations to explore. She references Miles Davis’ plaintive take on the Porgy and Bess classic “Summertime,” tenderly evinces a combination of Billie Holiday and Sade on “Strange Fruit,” and draws on both Aretha Franklin and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins for “I Put a Spell on You.” Elsewhere, tracks like “I Cover the Waterfront” and “Mood Indigo” bring to mind similar recordings from Carole King and Bryan Ferry. Ultimately, even without Nostalgia‘s impeccable production, in the end it’s Lennox’s burnished, resonant vocals that steal the focus here, and just like the songs she’s picked, their beauty will likely stand the test of time.
CREDITS:
• Lewis Allan Composer
• Barney Bigard Composer
• Richard Brook Percussion
• Hoagy Carmichael Composer
• Cameron Craig Engineer
• Al Dubin Composer
• Duke Ellington Composer
• Sammy Fain Composer
• Simon Finch Trumpet
• George Gershwin Composer
• Ira Gershwin Composer
• Stuart Gorrell Composer
• John W. Green Composer
• Jalacy Hawkins Composer
• Arthur Herzog, Jr. Composer
• Edward Heyman Composer
• Dolores Heyward Composer
• Chris Hill Double Bass, Guitar (Bass)
• Billie Holiday Composer
• Ivan Hussey Cello
• Stephen Hussey Orchestration, Viola, Violin
• Irving Kahal Composer
• Pee Wee King Composer
• Annie Lennox Creative Director, Fender Rhodes, Flute, Percussion, Piano, Producer, Quotation Author, String Arrangements, Vocals
• Irving Mills Composer
• Mandy Parnell Mastering
• Chilton Price Composer
• Robert Sebree Photography, Post Production
• Mike Stevens Accordion, Engineer, Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboards, Organ (Hammond), Producer, Programming, String Arrangements, Vibraphone
• Redd Stewart Composer
• Gavin Taylor Art Direction, Design
• Nichol Thomson Trombone
• Urban Soul Orchestra Strings
• Harry Warren Composer
• Ned Washington Composer
• Paul Francis Webster Composer
• Neal Wilkinson Drums
AWARDS:
• Billboard Albums
• 2014 Nostalgia Jazz Albums #13
:: http://www.allmusic.com/
Website: http://nostalgia.annielennox.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/annielennox
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annielennox
Press:
Personal life
• Lennox has been married three times. Her first marriage, from 1984 to 1985, was to German Hare Krishna devotee Radha Raman. From 1988 to 2000, she was married to Israeli film and record producer Uri Fruchtmann. The couple have two daughters, Lola and Tali. A son, Daniel, was stillborn in 1988. On 15 September 2012, Lennox married South African gynaecologist Dr. Mitch Besser, in London, in a private ceremony.
• In September 2012, Lennox featured in Series 9 of the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are?, in which she discovered that her great–great–grandmother Jessie Fraser worked, at the age of 13, at the Broadford Flax Mill in Aberdeen. Her maternal grandmother, Dora Paton, was a dairy maid at the Balmoral Royal Estate and her maternal grandfather, William Ferguson, was a gamekeeper also at Balmoral, who on one occasion danced with the then queen consort of the United Kingdom, Elizabeth Bowes–Lyon.
• Both of Lennox's parents died of cancer. Lennox describes herself as an agnostic. In the 2010 Sunday Times Rich List, Lennox was estimated to have a fortune of £30 million.
Studio albums:
• Diva (1992)
• Medusa (1995)
• Bare (2003)
• Songs of Mass Destruction (2007)
• A Christmas Cornucopia (2010)
• Nostalgia (2014)
Eurythmics discography:
• Studio albums 8
• ↙Live albums 1
• ↙Compilation albums 2
• ↙EPs 1
• ↙Singles 33
• ↙Music videos 29
• ↙Soundtracks 1
____________________________________________________________