Once again Michele has given us a superb insight into all of the tracks on Savage.

 

She is but a shadowOf her former selfYou can’t recognize herShe is someone else

In 1981, when Eurythmics released In the Garden, it seemed the world wasn’t ready yet for Dave and Annie’s music: just two years later they had reached to top with Sweet Dreams and Touch, and the next two albums strengthened their credit as one of the most influential acts of the decade.With Be Yourself Tonight and Revenge Eurythmics softened their early electronic sounds, welcoming soul and rock influences in their songs.And then, at the end of 1987, they released Savage.

I don’t care if you won’t talk with meYou know I’m not that kind of girlAnd I don’t care if you won’t walk with meIt don’t give me such a thrill

Savage is the ideal and natural continuation to Touch: the enigmatic persona hiding behind a black leather mask morphs into a remissive housewife, who occasionally (?) likes to turn into a blonde bombshell and set the place on fire.With Savage the sombre atmosphere of Dave and Annie’s early works comes back enhanced by rage and passion, and Lennox lets her voice burn and soar through all the record, while Stewart builds up urgent and hypnotic layers of electronic beats.Savage is a fortress of synths with an acoustic heart. Savage is Eurythmics showing their inner core through music and videos. Savage is a dark road with a shining light at the very end. I love you, Savage.

Michele Aversa

 
“Beethoven (I Love to Listen to)”

You think you know just what you needBut you have used that weapon against me

The inner dynamics of a relationship are always interesting.And sometimes (maybe too often?) the desire to pry into someone else’s affairs is just too strong to be curbed: “Who knows what they’ll decide to do? Who knows what they’ll get up to? I’d love to know, wouldn’t you?”.Actually this may happen when a personal liaison languishes in a marsh of rage and frustration: “Did I tell you I was lying, by the way, when I said I wanted a new mink coat? I was just thinking about something sleek to wrap around my tender throat”.Then resorting to a relaxing hobby, like listening to classical music, can be quite helpful… or not: “I was dreaming like a Texan girl, a girl who thinks she’s got the right to everything, a girl who thinks she should have something extreme”.

“I’ve Got a Lover (Back in Japan)”

When the whole world descends on meI’ll be waiting for you

Having love affairs all around the world may be funny: “I’ve got a lover back in Japan; he’s got tattoos, he’s my Superman; I try to call him up from time to time, we can talk about the weather: ‘Is the weather fine?’”.Sometimes romance rises above the Earth’s atmosphere: “I’ve got a lover up in outer space, he’s been tumbling around all over the place; I like to call him from time to time, we can talk about heaven”.But handling this situation is not easy… “Got another lover in Timbuktu; got a name for him, he’s my little guru; when I don’t call him he starts to cry; I have to tell him stories just to pacify”.

“Do You Want to Break Up?”

Take me up to heavenHeaven’s where I’m going

Shutting down a relationship it’s not easy, but when the cons largely exceed the pros it becomes inevitable: “I’ve seen trouble, I looked right up to its face; never tried to turn away; and I’ve been sad, I’ve been overjoyed; let me disembrace you now, my little troubled boy”.That doesn’t mean that exploring new, exciting shores is not allowed… “You took me to the ocean, dropped me like a stone; took me to the deep blue ocean; I don’t wanna stay there baby, I don’t wanna swim alone; I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna”.

“You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart”

I’ll be the figure of your disgraceA crisscross pattern upon your face

Love is such a huge and universal subject. Its essence changes constantly, and maybe it’s impossible to define it once and for all. But when it comes to face a lover who freezes your heart without striking a blow, words come out easily: “Love is a temple, love is a shrine; buy some love at the five and dime; a little bit of love from the counter store, get it on credit if you need some more”.Then remembering all the anger and pain becomes so unbearable that disappearing seems the most suitable choice: “I wish I was invisible, so I could climb through the telephone when it hurts my ear, and it hurts my brain, and it makes me feel too much, too much, too much too much; don’t cut me down when I’m talking to you, ’cause I’m much too tall to feel that small, yeah”.And freeing heart from the cold makes it able to receive the long awaited warmth of a true embrace: “Love is a temple, love is a shrine; love is pure and love is blind; love is a religious sign, I’m gonna leave this love behind; love is hot and love is cold, I’ve been bought and I’ve been sold; love is rock and love is roll, I just want someone to hold”.

“Shame”

Don’t you want to feel the shame?

Turning up the TV is a banal gesture, like picking up a magazine or taking a walk in a crowded mall. But the simplicity of these actions often makes us exposed to something almost intolerable: “Shame, in the dancehalls and the cinema; shame, on the TV and the media; shame, we loved you”.And the dread doesn’t end here: “Shame, at the lido and the opera; shame, at the races and the theatre; shame, we loved you”.Everybody wants to be on the red carpet, everybody craves for people to comment on their personal photos, everybody just needs to be in the limelight… “Day after day, day after day, day after day”.

“Savage”

Words of power are killing meWhile the sun displays his teeth

We all live in a society based upon the law of the jungle, where nearly everyone feels free to dominate and deride who shows any kind of frailty or hesitation: “All mockery is laughing, all violence is cheap”.In such a disheartening environment someone may attempt to hide weakness and despair behind powerful status symbols: “She said: ‘These are my guns, these are my furs, this is my living room; you can play with me there sometimes if you catch me in the mood’”.But then, delving a little into this loudly self-proclaimed satisfaction, all the glitter disappear: “I have this unhappiness to wear around my neck; it’s a pretty of piece of jewelry to show what I protect; she said: ‘Everything is fiction, all cynic to the bone; so don’t ask me to stay with you, don’t ask to see me home’”.Hey… what did you expect from this dark, crazy, Savage world?

“I Need a Man”

Baby, you’re just overblown

Some girls can be quite bold when it comes to… love? Well, not exactly: “I don’t care if you won’t talk to me, you know I’m not that kind of girl; and I don’t care if you won’t walk with me, it don’t give me such a thrill; and I don’t care by the way you look, you should know I’m not impressed; ‘cause there’s just one thing that I’m looking for and he don’t wear a dress”.Don’t be too judgmental with them, as you may not know how many gentlemen they had the pleasure to meet in the past: “I don’t need a heartbreaker, fifty-faced trouble maker, two-timing time taker, dirty little money maker, muscle-bound cheap skater, low down women hater, triple crossing double dater, yella bellied alligator”.

“Put the Blame on Me”

Take me to a dark roomAnd hug me to bits

Uncertainty about a lover’s loyalty may produce passionate attempts to bring back the lost thrill: “I just wanna be kissed so badly right there, on my lips”.But ignoring what is glaringly obvious doesn’t help anyone: “Why did you close your eyes when I’m the one that’s blind? Why did you close your eyes? That was too unkind”.Then jealousy explodes and relentlessly sweep away all the doubts: “I need to know where you are tonight, are you sleeping on your very own? Tell the one that’s lying with you to get right up and go back home”.

“Heaven”

Just what you need

There are billions and billions of dreams about paradise, and probably the only certainty about it is that getting there… “Takes a little time, takes a little time, takes a little time”.

“Wide Eyed Girl”

Mona Lisa!

A pretty signorina walking in Rome: “She was a wide eyed girl with teased up hair, she could have had money but she didn’t care; she was looking for you, daddy; oh, never there”.She’s in love, and her determination betrays the lack of parental affection: “She was a wide eyed girl of a tender age, just moving out of her sensitive phase; she said: ‘I love you baby, it’s for always; and I don’t care what the teacher says’”.And reeling on her high stilettos, she soon attracts all the Italian boys’ attention: “All the brown little babies with the slicked back hair saying: ‘Primm’ammore’”.

“I Need You”

I need someone to listen toThe ecstasy I’m faking

After eons of struggle spent in ineffectual love affairs, one may feel the need of a full stop: “I need you to catch each breath that issues from lips; I need someone to crack my skull, I need someone to kiss; so hold me now, and make pretend that I won’t ever fall; oh hold me down, I’m gonna be your baby doll, yeah yeah”.And even though the remedy can be worse than the disease, it simply doesn’t matter: “Is it you I really need? I do, I do, I do, I do, I really do; I need you”.

“Brand New Day”

Big old sun is rising upSo elegant and thin

Walking alone when the city begins to wake: “Six o’ clock in the morning and I’m stepping through the street; the pavement’s cold and empty, got the blues beneath my feet”.In such a private moment it’s easy to see things in a more distinct way: “Oh baby baby baby, I dreamed about you; please tell me tell me tell me what I’ve seen could not be true; you have taken my existence, you have filled it full of stones; you have turned into a stranger, now I need to walk alone”.Parting from a (once) loved one it’s never easy, but there’s no need to be sad: “And the word said: ‘Hey, it’s a brand new day’”.