{"id":3279,"date":"2011-08-09T13:02:39","date_gmt":"2011-08-09T20:02:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=3279"},"modified":"2011-08-09T13:02:39","modified_gmt":"2011-08-09T20:02:39","slug":"annie-lennox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2011\/08\/annie-lennox\/","title":{"rendered":"ANNIE LENNOX"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/h1>\n

ANNIE LENNOX<\/h1>\n

Revisiting the music of her childhood while looking ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If Annie Lennox had done nothing in her life except sing \u201cSweet Dreams (Are Made of This),\u201d the 1983 No. 1 smash that helped define that decade, her place in pop history would be secure. But there\u2019s been no stopping her for nearly three decades. With the Eurythmics\u2014the duo she formed in 1980 with Dave Stewart\u2014Lennox scored hit after hit, from \u201cHere Comes the Rain Again\u201d to \u201cMissionary Man\u201d to \u201cWould I Lie To You?\u201d before striking out on her own in the \u201990s. Lennox displayed her considerable pipes and distinctive style in a variety of settings on carefully crafted multiplatinum albums like Diva<\/em> and Medusa<\/em>. Her solo career continued apace through the millennium\u2019s first decade, following a brief reunion with Stewart\u00a0in the late \u201990s.<\/p>\n

Lennox\u2019s latest release is A Christmas Cornucopia<\/em>, which finds her returning to some of the carols she heard while growing up in Scotland and offering one new song of her own. The album, produced by Mike Stevens (who also collaborated with her on 2007\u2019s Songs of Mass Destruction<\/em>) is an appropriate addition to the Lennox canon, as the singer was born on Dec. 25, 1954.<\/p>\n

But for all of her accomplishments\u2014she\u2019s sold more than 80 million albums worldwide, including her Eurythmics work\u2014Lennox\u2019s greatest impact may ultimately take place outside of the entertainment business. With her own Annie Lennox Foundation and SING campaign, Lennox has devoted herself to fighting the scourge of AIDS and HIV among women and children in Africa. Lennox\u2019s proceeds from the lone original on Cornucopia<\/em>, \u201cUniversal Child,\u201d will go to the Annie Lennox Foundation. \u201cI felt very strongly that if that song was to have a presence then I don\u2019t want to put the money into my own bank account,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019d rather utilize the song as a tool to support the work that I do with HIV.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why make a holiday album?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always had the idea that one day I was going to take the opportunity to record my favorite carols for posterity. I just adore them so much. It\u2019s not because it\u2019s a good career move or I felt I should do this. It\u2019s a\u00a0true labor of love.<\/p>\n

What makes this record unique?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I suppose the honest answer to that is me. If you\u2019re interested in my voice and my musicality and my interpretation, that\u2019s what you will get. You\u2019re going to get my\u00a0taste and my take.<\/p>\n

Some of the songs are quite obscure.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I used to sing in choirs as a kid, and the choirmistress had a wonderful repertoire of songs that she introduced us to. Some of them come from her knowledge and what she passed down. I was drawn to them because they have a particular resonance for me. The words of \u201cIn the Bleak Midwinter\u201d\u2014\u201cFrosty wind made moan, earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone\u201d\u2014that is timeless poetry, something so extraordinary. As a lyricist and performer, I\u2019m struck by these words and the beauty of the haunting melody. All of these songs have their own characteristics.<\/p>\n

Are you religious yourself?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t practice any particular form of religion. I find it profoundly ironic that most of the conflict in the world is exacerbated by different religious viewpoints. That really troubles me and makes me feel incredibly dark. It\u2019s odd to sing songs about Christ and all of that, but on the other hand, the songs are very close to my culture, my life and my upbringing. I think of them as\u00a0metaphors, in a way.<\/p>\n

\u201cUniversal Child\u201d is the only song you wrote. How did that come about?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I hadn\u2019t intended to write a single song for this album, but one day a title came to mind, \u201cUniversal Child,\u201d and it stuck around in my head for a few days. During a moment in the studio a couple of lines came to mind, and I realized it could develop into the seed of a song. By the end of the day, the song\u00a0had been completed.<\/p>\n

How is working with Mike Stevens?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We work very fast and very simply. We go to his studio, which used to be a garage\u2014just one room with a small sound booth. I sit at the keyboard and we have infinite sounds, which is beautiful. I draw from my memory: What do I feel like doing today? Then I might find my key and play with chordal structures. That\u2019s the beginning of the mood, that\u2019s the atmosphere. We\u2019ll put some simple tempo down and piece it together. Once all that is down, I\u2019ll start to put the vocal part down because I like to have that as a guide.<\/p>\n

Is covering a song as satisfying as singing one you\u2019ve written? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I love to sing any song, as long as I love it. You can\u2019t sing a song you don\u2019t like. Why would you? And it has to be something that you bring into yourself and then you get it out to the world in your way.<\/p>\n

Is your writing very personal? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I think everybody who writes songs is bringing themselves to the table. Whether they\u2019re doing it autobiographically or metaphorically, it doesn\u2019t really matter because what you\u2019re addressing is a universal experience that people feel. If you listen to all great songs, there\u2019s something in there you identify with. It\u2019s profoundly inspiring.<\/p>\n

How do you feel about awards?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a huge compliment, obviously, and very nice, but I don\u2019t consider myself that person. How do you grade a voice? It\u2019s like a dog show. How do you grade a dog? What\u2019s the best voice? It\u2019s not about that. Bob Dylan is probably not the best singer in the world, but he\u2019s Bob Dylan. It\u2019s about the character and the integrity and about\u00a0how people hear you.<\/p>\n

How do you look back on the Eurythmics?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m very proud of what Eurythmics did, visually and aurally. I think we wrote and recorded some very classic songs that are timeless. It\u2019s part of my catalog and part of my archive. A hell of a lot of creative stuff went down there.<\/p>\n

Might there be another reunion?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I never say no because I feel that\u2019s too complete. But at the same time, I like the autonomy of being my own person, and I feel that what Eurythmics did was so precious and special that I don\u2019t know about going back there. I think I want to\u00a0have another chapter.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s so much more to do. I\u2019m really informed by my curiosity. I\u2019m intrigued with life, and that appetite hasn\u2019t lessened, it\u2019s gotten stronger. I\u2019m never bored and never challenged as to what do next. I\u2019m on a\u00a0journey now\u2014it\u2019s so fascinating, so vital and I feel so privileged to be an artist. That\u2019s what I wanted to be all along and\u00a0that\u2019s who I am.<\/p>\n

\u2013Jeff Tamarkin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ANNIE LENNOX Revisiting the music of her childhood while looking ahead If Annie Lennox had done nothing in her life except sing \u201cSweet Dreams (Are Made of This),\u201d the 1983 No. 1 smash that helped define that decade, her place in pop history would be secure. But there\u2019s been no stopping her for nearly three […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[2345,1334,970],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3279"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3279"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3281,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3279\/revisions\/3281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}