#223: Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (1983)

Emily: Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - the song and title track of this album - is honestly one of my favorite songs of all time. I remember a commercial for some '80s pop compilation CD that used to air when I was a kid that featured a short clip of the song with its classic music video, and I loved it. It played in the car on the '80s-'90s-and-today pop stations my mom would choose and I sang along to every word. Even today I'll still stop on it when I come across it on the radio and sing and dance along in the drivers' seat. Not surprisingly, however, I couldn't identify another Eurythmics song before today. I've noticed that '80s new wave and synth pop tends to work best for one song per album per artist (see: Soft Cell). Sweet Dreams the song is certainly the best song on Sweet Dreams the album - it's a perfectly synth-driven '80s pop song - but that doesn't mean you should throw away the rest of the album. Annie Lennox's soulful voice pairs so well with the electronic sounds of new wave, especially on the more upbeat dance tracks. It's worth at least one listen, and then you can put Sweet Dreams on repeat as many times as you want. That's my plan.
Favorite Tracks: Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This); I Could Give You (A Mirror); Wrap It Up

Zack: So obviously the title track is just ludicrously famous. And the album overall stands as a testament to something I’ve written time and time again: New Wave – for the most part – sounds really dated now. But I think it’s more important to mention that I had no idea Atmosphere’s Shoulda Known sampled Somebody Told Me. For those of you who (sadly) don’t know, Atmosphere is one of the most critically adored and commercially “successful” underground hip-hop acts in the word (success being a relative term only applied to underground artists here) and the album where Shoulda Known appears, When Life Gives You Lemons You Paint That Shit Gold, is absolutely in my top 10 favorite hip-hop albums of all time, maybe even top 5. So when I heard that pulsating synth appear, I damn near lost my mind. Overall, I liked Sweet Dreams less than I enjoyed Duran Duran or a-Ha, but more than several other albums from the genre. I expected to love it, and came away not upset in the investment of the time. I’ll take it.

Favorite Tracks: Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This); I Could Give You (A Mirror); Somebody Told Me