| See also: Live reviews from Canada and USA Live reviews from Europe "The album is a meticulous retracing of grown-up heartbreak, from the emptiness and paralysis to the self-recrimination and resignation. Importantly, Lennox doesn’t leave out the frustration, which she vents on “Wonderful” and “Bitter Pill.” While much of the material slots nicely beside older ballads like “Why” and “The Gift,” the funk/hip-hop soul inflections of these two tracks help prevent Bare from being one long sulk." "Annie Lennox's first album of original songs in 11 years on is a stylish tour "It's beautifully produced - almost too beautifully. While the full orchestra "Bare works on two levels a collection of strong, VERY LISTENABLE songs "The songs are gorgeously lush, elegant, and eloquent ... and startlingly contemporary. ... Lennox's writing craft remains sharp and poignant and her voice as emotive and crystalline as ever." "Pavement Cracks" is an exquisite calling card for Lennox's new set. It opens sadly, almost bashfully, with the a cappella sound of that glorious voice through the first verse, then escalates to a light bounce before catapulting into full fervent throttle, rife with lyrical discontent and delusion as "all my water colors fade to black/I'm going nowhere and I'm 10 steps back." "Pavement" is a rainbow of vocal hues, pure and seemingly effortless. Annie Lennox remains riveting and so very satisfying. "Lennox - who is usually all about toned precision - lets herself go on 'Oh "The chalky beauty of Lennox's voice, and the haunted-echo instrumentation with which producer Stephen Lipson surrounds it, is amply effective in communicating the isolation, loneliness, and dread that dominate the singer's first solo album of original material since 1992's Diva. Unfortunately, her melodies are frequently too similar ... The exception: the chilling "The Saddest Song" ..." (-Grade: B-) The former Eurythmic strips down emotionally and lyrically with the stunning "Taken as a whole, Bare leaves a heart-shaped stain ... Slower numbers such as country pastiche The Hurting Kind sag with glorious yearning. Lennox's full-bodied mid-life voice and the silken production will find Bare a home on every well-bred coffee table. A worthy addition to the canon of fortysomething breakup albums. " (3/5 stars) "Pavement Cracks starts as coffeehouse piano folk before bursting into an unexpected but welcome new-wave dance beat. The gospel scat break is just bragging, but it makes it for a cross-genre masterpiece. The harp melody of A Thousand Beautiful Things is fitting but unnecessary. Lennox could sell the sensuous rising and falling notes of Wonderful and The Saddest Song I Got in a room alone." "There is a consistent sense of ambition and style that makes this a brave and inspiring work. The musical textures, from the aggressive funk touches of "Bitter Pill" to the diva-like sweep of "The Saddest Song I've Got," add color and punch to the starkness of most of the lyrics." 4.5 stars "The new material frequently featured a contrast between the music and the lyrics. Wonderful had a sexy soul sway that belied the desperation of lines like "(I) don't want to need you/ But it's where I'm at". And Honesty was a spare ballad about feverishly falling in love. "I was mad to succumb so easily," she sang, as strings of lights descended from the top of the stage. "The songs on "Bare" lack the pith and punch of her best work. While the disk has a muted beauty and, as always, superb singing, it seems more attuned to nailing the pitch of the pain than transforming it into exquisite music. You'll find no song as blessed with grace as "Why" or as sharp with hooks as "Walking on Broken Glass." It's not that the new songs are bad. They're just a bit beige." "Though nothing here equals that personal triumph ('Why') or the beleaguered brilliance of "Cold," there are more than a few that come close - chilly- soul standouts, like choice Sade, that aren't quite as memorable but remind what a magnificent vocalist and underrated (if less-than-prodigious) writer the recluse is." (Grade: B+) "Heartache has rarely hurt so good as it does on Annie Lennox's sublime new "Even with the thread of pain running through it, the album is "The honeyed voice envelops you, and her sensual, rounded intonation slyly draws you into the lyrics. That isn't always such a good thing, as some of the more precious lines are wince-inducing. But, fortunately, most of the bittersweet, world-weary songs are listenable, if not destined to become standards. They're fine showcases for her rich talent." "When Lennox -- who wrote this album in the aftermath of a broken marriage -- wonders, "Where is my comfort zone?/ A simple place to call my own?" in "Pavement Cracks," the answer seems self-evident: If "Bare" is any barometer, her salvation resides within her own cathartic talent." "This is a fundamentally unhappy album, and the flashes of lust and rage and delirious joy that make it worth listening to are, in the end, dragged down by the pall of enervated misery that hangs over everything. Thus, high points like the selfberating "Wonderful," the falsely confident "Bitter Pill" and the angry groove of "Erased" are forgotten in the wallowing self-pity of "Oh God," where our heroine crumbles not only emotionally, but vocally, obviously straining her golden pipes past their comfort range." "Like every new Sade album, Lennox and Lipson stick to the tried-and-true formula and take few risks; though timeless, it would be interesting to hear Lennox's sound updated. Still, the impact of Bare's conceptual themes are potent." "the opener, A Thousand Beautiful Things, the R&B of Wonderful and other cuts are never less than decent adult pop. It's just that Lennox has a compelling story to tell here, and she never quite goes into it as deeply as she might have. We may be thrilled that a new Lennox CD is finally here, but as time goes by I don't think this will hold up as one of her strongest works." "For great chunks of this album nothing has changed. Lennox purists "Stephen Lipson's sparse production ... casts a thin, velvety fabric under Lennox's plaintive vocals. This unfortunately also places undue emphasis on Lennox's cliche-o-matic lyrics. She's hurtin' and longin' for some lovin', holdin' and hangin' on, hopin' that she'll quit feelin' low, 'cause a bitter pill is slidin' down her throat. This reviewer can't remember the last time he saw so many apostrophes on a lyric sheet." "It is a very particular piece of work - big on personal history but low on energy and lacking the broader insight that would lend it a more universal appeal. It is nice to have Lennox back, but anyone unfamiliar with her earlier work will wonder what all the fuss is about." "The shivery warmth of her voice is perfectly suited to Steven Lipson's production, which, like Lennox's writing, finds sparks even in cool, dark places. Any diva worth her salt can sell a good sob story, but few can achieve the kind of transcendence that makes this songbird soar." "Intense it certainly is, but Annie's voice demands that kind of complete attention. She's okay singing fey pop songs like There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart), but she metamorphosis's into a real diva via mournful anthems like Here Comes The Rain Again. Now we have a whole album of 'em, to weep along to." |