Search - Eurythmics :: Peace

Don't lose your original

Tim Brough | Springfield, PA United States | 02/08/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Just a note - my original rating of "Peace" was four stars. The rating drops by one for the weird remastering.



The first time I heard that Eurythmics were planning a reunion album, I was more than a little suspect. After all, Annie's solo career didn't necessarily need to be "rescued." Originally I didn't even buy the "Peace" CD when it was released, and there was a time when I was at the door of the shops the day a new Eurythmics' disc hit the shelves.

But then came two rather unconventional events. One was an episode of "The Sopranos." At the end of one show, after Tony Soprano decides that he didn't need to resort to violence to solve a problem, the fabulous and haunting "I Saved The World Today" played below the credits. I instantly recognized Annie's voice but not the song. A few days later, the A&E network played the Eurythmics' reunion concert show featuring a few of the songs from the new CD, "Peace," and the classics from their past. I was astounded that all the new songs didn't sound like throw-aways and bought the new CD that week.



I'm glad I did, because unlike most reunion albums that come across as desperate attempts to snare a few extra nostalgia bucks, "Peace" sounds like Dave and Annie never had the fights that split them after "We Too Are One." The tongue in cheek "17 Again" even teases the listener with references to "Sweet Dreams." Yet the remainder of the songs, especially the title track, follow in the footsteps of Annie's finest solo material. Dave's rocker instinct comes to the fore in a couple tracks ("I Want It All" and "Power To The Meek"), which could have been from "Savage" or "Be Yourself Tonight."



There are days I actually like "Peace" better than Annie's "Bare," because here she has an exuberance that "Bare" needed so much. (Not that I would ever say you shouldn't own both!) But "Peace" certainly builds on the Eurythmics' legacy of durable albums, and a worthy one off between two artists with undeniable chemistry. And as several reviewers here have noted, the tracks are remixed from the barely six year old original. That counts of the drop to three stars from an original four star rating.



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2005 Remaster Is Better Than Original 1999 Master! Yet, The

Jason W. Bellenger | Byron Center, Michigan, USA | 08/04/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Many fans whined about the reissue and remaster of this 1999 Eurythmics reunion album because it had only been 6 years, at the time, since the album had been released. Was it really necessary to go back to the original master tapes and work a new master for 2005?! Will there really be much difference in sound?! What's the point?! Ugh!



Well, first of all, the audio quality on the 2005 remaster is, gasp, much better, in my opinion, than the 1999 original master. Strangely enough, both were mastered by the same mastering engineer -- that is, Ian Cooper at Metropolis Studios, London. Some editorial reviews claim that the releases were digitally remastered by Dave Stewart himself. This is not the case. He simply supervised the remastering process. While the 1999 original release is nothing to complain about this 2005 remaster simply shines above the original in terms of punch, sharpness, depth, clarity, and bass.



Take "I Saved The World Today" as an example. I did an A/B comparison between the 1999 release and the 2005 release and the instruments all sound sharper, cleaner, and louder. The stunning track sparkles with brightness! The 2005 remaster allows me to appreciate this gem even more.



Of course, that's only one track. All tracks have benefited from the remastering and sound more crisp than ever. The single, "17 Again', roars with it's bass, and rocker, "I Want It All", rocks louder than ever before! It has even more punch this time around, and the electric guitars have never sounded louder! "Forever" benefits from a cleaner production with not only minor instrumentation additions but also crisper drums and louder bass.



While many tracks may have benefited from added instrumentation and changes (i.e. "17 Again", "Peace Is Just A Word", "Forever", etc.), a couple have been totally re-worked. The lovely "I've Tried Everything" has a completely new arrangement with added drums, programming, and keyboards. I'm probably in the minority here, but I find this new mix just as good as the original mix. It sounds like a radio-friendly version of an otherwise non-single/album cut. I actually think this new version would have worked as a single over the original version. It's excellent! But, the problem is that we lose the original 1999 version in favor of this! This new version should have been placed as an exclusive bonus track, not in place of the original version! After all, the remastered disc clocks in at 63 minutes! Surely enough space exists!



"Power To The Meek" suffers from a strange edit in which Annie repeats the first verse again.



The 2005 remastered version repeats:



"I got my fingers stung

My fingers stung yea

I'm just a girl with my fingers stung



Bless these bones

Bless this skin

All of me and the mess I'm in

But I don't care

Don't know where I've been

But I'll get me there"



Instead of the original 1999 version which features:



"Power to the shine

In my worn out shoes yea

Power to me

Power to you



Yea bless this head

Bless this hair

Bless me to the dirt

In my fingernails yea

Bless this day

Bless this night

Give me something good

Make me feel alright"



Yes, we lose all that in place of a repeated verse! It is mixed totally different as well. The 2005 mix fades with a repeating chorus of "I'm alive..." The 1999 remaster fades with a repeat of the "bless these bones" verse. The 1999 version clocks in at 3:18, whereas the 2005 version clocks in at 3:32. Again, including this 2005 version would worked as a bonus track (there's still room!), just not in place of the original '99 cut!



"Peace Is Just A Word" fades with the strings overtaking the rest of the instrumentation, creating a totally different outro. Again, while it's not a totally different mix, it would have worked better as a bonus track so that the original versions were kept intact.



Included as bonus tracks are excellent acoustic versions of "Beautiful Child", "17 Again", and "I Saved The World Today", recorded live at The Church Studios, London. A mediocre cover version of "Something In The Air" is tacked on as well.



So, those are my major gripes when it comes to the new versions and mixes! Now on to the artwork...



Like the other 2005 remasters, the 'Peace' artwork suffers from the same layout, losing the original album artwork concept on not only the back cover but the spine as well! All remasters use the same font, colors, and generic white background on the back of the album! It doesn't work! While I understand the artwork will differentiate the remasters from the originals it was not necessary since these are presented in digipak not the jewel cases in which the original discs were presented. Therefore, in the case of 'Peace' the shot of the back of Dave Stewart's head is not even here! That completely ruins the original album concept with the back of Annie's head on the front and the back of Dave's head on the back! Dave's shot isn't even included anywhere in the inside booklet or artwork other than in a photo with Annie smiling next to him.



Now on to the inside artwork and booklet. Like the other 2005 remasters, they are striking! They were very well done! Included are a number of previously released and unreleased photographs from the era, including shots of Dave & Annie used for the single sleeves. If the orginal album concept was kept intact with these photos it would have been a nearly flawless overall artwork reissue concept. Unfortunately, it didn't work that way!



Instead of lyrics for the tracks (as included in the original 1999 release) we get an essay instead, which tends to include a few selections of lyrics here and there. Not good enough!



Perhaps the real problem here is that Dave and Annie wanted to put the album out again with differences in order to entice the fans who already owned the original. In that case, this release may have worked, yet the differences with the tracklisting should have been listed on the back sleeve at the very least. Nobody knows that he/she is getting different versions than the originals until actually popping the CD in the player!



I give this release 5 stars for the remastering, 1 star for the tracklisting, and 3 stars for the artwork and overall presentation. Nonetheless, I recommend adding this release to your collection if you wish to hear a number of the original recordings presented with slight to totally different arrangements in addition to superior sound.



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