Medusa (Annie Lennox album)

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Medusa
Annie Lennox - Medusa Album Cover.jpg
Studio album by Annie Lennox
Released 6 March 1995 (1995-03-06)
Recorded January - May 1994
Genre Pop, rock, adult contemporary, electronica, dance
Length 47:11
Label RCA (UK)
Arista (US)
Producer Stephen Lipson
Annie Lennox chronology
Diva
(1992)Diva1992		 Medusa
(1995)		 Bare
(2003)Bare2003
Singles from Medusa
  1. "No More I Love You's"
    Released: February 1995
  2. "A Whiter Shade of Pale"
    Released: May 1995
  3. "Waiting in Vain"
    Released: September 1996
  4. "Something So Right"
    Released: November 1996

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

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 2.5/5 stars[4]
Entertainment Weekly C−[5]
Los Angeles Times 2.5/4 stars[6]
The New York Times (Mixed)[7]
Rolling Stone 3.5/5 stars[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) Length
1. "No More "I Love You's""   Joseph Hughes, David Freeman 4:51
2. "Take Me to the River"   Al Green, Mabon Hodges 3:33
3. "A Whiter Shade of Pale"   Keith Reid, Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher 5:17
4. "Don't Let It Bring You Down"   Neil Young 3:36
5. "Train in Vain"   Mick Jones, Joe Strummer 4:44
6. "I Can't Get Next to You"   Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong 3:08
7. "Downtown Lights"   Paul Buchanan 6:44
8. "Thin Line Between Love and Hate"   Richard Poindexter, Robert Poindexter, Jackie Members 4:55
9. "Waiting in Vain"   Bob Marley 5:40
10. "Something So Right"   Paul Simon 3:54
11. "Heaven" (Japanese bonus track) Richard Butler, Tim Butler 4:57

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

  • Annie Lennox – all vocals, keyboards, flute
  • Stephen Lipson – programming, guitar, keyboards, bass
  • Anne Dudley – orchestral, brass and string arrangements

Live in Central Park

DVD cover

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

  1. "Money Can't Buy It" (Lennox)
  2. "Legend in My Living Room" (Lennox, Vettese)
  3. "Walking on Broken Glass" (Lennox)
  4. "No More "I Love You's"" (Hughes, Freeman)
  5. "Who's That Girl?" (Lennox, Stewart)
  6. "You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart" (Lennox, Stewart)
  7. "Waiting in Vain" (Marley)
  8. "I Love You Like a Ball and Chain" (Lennox, Stewart)
  9. "Little Bird" (Lennox)
  10. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (Lennox, Stewart)
  11. "Train in Vain" (Jones, Strummer)
  12. "Why" (Lennox)
Promotional video clips
  1. "No More "I Love You's"" (Hughes, Freeman)
  2. "A Whiter Shade of Pale" (Reid, Brooker, Fisher)
  3. "Waiting in Vain" (Marley)
  4. "Something So Right" (Simon)

Awards

Grammy Awards

Year Recipient/Nominated work Award Result
1996
[12]		 Medusa Best Pop Vocal Album Nominated
"No More I Love You's" Best Pop Vocal Performance - Female Won

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Argentina (CAPIF)[13] Gold 30,000
Austria (IFPI Austria)[14] Gold 25,000
Canada (Music Canada)[15] 2× Platinum 200,000
France (SNEP)[16] Gold 188,700[17]
Germany (BVMI)[18] Gold 250,000
Norway (IFPI Norway)[19] Gold 25,000
Poland (ZPAV)[20] Gold 50,000
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
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Charts

Chart precession and succession

Preceded by UK number-one album
18–24 March 1995		 Succeeded by
Elastica by Elastica
Canadian RPM 100 number-one album
18–29 March 1995		 Succeeded by
No Need to Argue by The Cranberries

References

  1. ↑ BPI Searchable database
  2. ↑ RIAA Gold and Platinum Database
  3. ↑ Amazon.com: Medusa/Live in Central Park: Music: Annie Lennox
  4. ↑ Allmusic review
  5. ↑ Entertainment Weekly review
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Rolling Stone review
  9. ↑ savaged
  10. ↑ http://trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=annie_lennox
  11. ↑ [1] Archived 11 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter Medusa in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
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  31. ↑ Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2011-11-07
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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