Diva

LENNOX ANNIE DIVA

Although traces of her synthpop roots certainly showed through, Annie Lennox's solo debut, Diva, made it abundantly clear that her new material would veer away from gender-bending robotics of the early Eurythmics sound and continue toward the more emotionally grounded soul of later releases. On Diva, Lennox infuses each song with tenderly perceptive lyrics, hypnotic rhythms, and irresistibly soulful wailings. Her arrangements are clean and simple, utilizing bare instrumentation and sometimes-languid chord work. The singles "Walking on Broken Glass," "Little Bird," and "Why" became radio mainstays, while gems such as the Eastern-influenced dream ballad "Primitive," the hauntingly autobiographical pop-lament "Legend in My Living Room," and the cheerfully satirical "Keep Young and Beautiful" gave the album a plump maturity. --Sally Weinbach

The term "diva" is an honorific to be bestowed, not a title to be claimed. That alone gets Annie Lennox's 1992 solo debut off on the wrong foot. Nor does it help that, instead of following the often-daring path of her former outfit, the Eurythmics, Lennox chose instead to wrap her big, emotional voice in aloof, sophisticated settings rendered primarily on synthesized keyboards. "Why" is a gorgeous ballad about a crumbling relationship, but nothing about the pristine "Walking on Broken Glass" comes close to the danger its title implies. "Precious" offers little beyond lite funk, while "Cold" is studiously icy and distant. Only "Why" and the closing number, "The Gift," achieve the sort of richly detailed intimacy she was obviously reaching for here. So hold off on that diva stuff, Annie. We'll let you know when it's time. --Daniel Durchholz