Be Yourself Tonight

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Be Yourself Tonight is the fourth studio album by British pop duo Eurythmics, released on 29 April 1985 by RCA Records.[1] It spawned four singles – "Would I Lie to You?", "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)", "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" (a duet with Aretha Franklin) and "It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back)". The album has been described as their most commercially successful album, and has been pitched as "one of the greatest pop and rock albums of the 1980s".[2] A notable departure from both the musical composition and image of their previous albums, Be Yourself Tonight was widely regarded as an example of their finest work due to their continued "innovation" of their music.[2]

It was a major commercial success for Eurythmics on international albums charts, reaching the top five in regions including Australia (where it reached number one), New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Canada, Finland and the United Kingdom.[3][4][5] Elsewhere, it reached the top ten in the United States, Switzerland and Germany.[6][7]

It was nominated for the Billboard Music Award for Top Billboard 200 Album and Top Compact Disk Award at the 1985 Billboard Music Awards[8] and the Brit Award for British Album of the Year at the 1986 Brit Awards. Two of the albums singles – "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves" and "Would I Lie to You?" were nominated for two awards at the 28th Annual Grammy Awards in 1986 for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal respectively.

Background

Largely recorded in Paris, with additional recording in Detroit and Los Angeles, this album saw Eurythmics move away from their previous more experimental, synthesizer-based songs, to a more pop/rock sound with some R&B elements. Songs, such as "Would I Lie To You?" were influenced by 1960s style music, as well as utilising American soul and British pop.[2] Combining elements of Motown and rock music, the album incorporates a more traditional band line-up/instrumentation. Nonetheless, the recordings still possessed an atmospheric and cutting edge sound, winning David A. Stewart awards for his production work on the album.

The release of the album coincided with a new look for singer Annie Lennox, who ditched the androgynous look of the previous albums and became, in biographer Lucy O'Brien's words, "a bleach-blonde rock 'n' roller". Be Yourself Tonight includes guest appearances by notable artists such as Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, and Elvis Costello. The album features a range of genres performed by the duo, many of which were performed by the band for the first time. It has been described as both a "masterpiece" and "one of the best pop/rock albums of the 1980s" largely in part a result of their "innovation and ability to not succumb to the machine”.[2]

Release and promotion

No tour followed the album's release, due to Lennox's recuperation from vocal fold nodules (which also caused her to have to miss 1985's Live Aid concert).

Chart performance

Be Yourself Tonight reached the top 3 in the UK and top 10 in the US, as well as spawning several hit singles. The album includes the duo's first (and only) UK number-one "There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)". The first single released was "Would I Lie to You?". It would hit #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, #6 on the Cash Box Top 100 and also hit #1 in Australia. The album was certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), indicating sales in excess of 600,000 copies,[9] and Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales in excess of one million copies.[10]

Track listing

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Notes

  • Track 9 is incorrectly labelled "Better to Have Lost in Love (Then Never to Have Loved at All)" on the 2005 remastered reissue.
  • Track 13 of the 2005 remastered reissue is listed as the "ET Mix", but it is actually the "Extended Mix" from the "Would I Lie to You?" 12-inch single.
  • The live version of "Conditioned Soul" (track 14) was recorded on 14 February 1987, not in 1985. It was captured during Eurythmics' Revenge Tour at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, and it's the same performance featured in their Eurythmics Live video. This was omitted from the final video release but remains part of the audio recording used for the bonus track.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Be Yourself Tonight.[11]

Eurythmics

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  • David A. Stewart – guitars (tracks 1, 3, 4, 6–9)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".; sequencers (tracks 1, 5, 7)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".; keyboards (tracks 2–5, 8, 9)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".; bass sequencer, drum computer program (track 3)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".; electric guitar, slide guitar (track 5)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".; six-stringed octave guitar (track 6)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Additional musicians

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  • Nathan East – bass (tracks 1, 4)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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  • Benmont Tench – organ (tracks 1, 4)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Dave Plews – trumpet (tracks 1, 7)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Martin Dobson – saxophones (tracks 1, 7)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
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  • Stevie Wonder – harmonica (track 2)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Angel Cross – backing vocals (track 2)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • The Charles Williams Singers – backing vocals (track 3)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".; gospel choir (track 4)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Adam Williams – drum computer program (track 3)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Sadie (and other uncredited performers) – gravel stomping (track 3)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Aretha Franklin – "super" vocals (track 4)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Stan Lynch – drums (track 4)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Mike Campbell – lead guitar (tracks 4, 6)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Elvis Costello – harmony vocal (track 6)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

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Technical

  • David A. Stewart – production, mixing
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  • Don Smith – special help (track 1)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".; engineering (tracks 2, 4)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".; mixing (tracks 3, 4, 6, 8)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".; additional engineering (track 6)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Jay Willis – engineering assistance (tracks 2–4)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Shelly Yakus – drum recording (track 4)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
  • Stephen Marcussen – mastering

Artwork

Charts

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Certifications and sales

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References

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Bibliography

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Further reading

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