Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)

“Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by Eurythmics (1983) Even if we set aside the popularity of the title track, this album stands on its own as a fine musical production. It’s best heard from start to finish, noting the fittingness of the attention-grabbing opening track (“Love Is a Stranger”), the LP-flipping start of side two (“Sweet Dreams”), and the wistful goodbye of the closing track (“This City Never Sleeps”). The cohesion is in the sound. It’s wonderfully constructed. Annie Lennox is a first rate lyricist, presenting intriguing and unsubtle metaphors that bring the listener to well considered conclusions. She knows not to overwork the images. An example is the didactic line (in “Sweet Dreams”) “Everybody's lookin' for something”, followed by a compelling explanatory quatrain that sounds like it burst into her consciousness after a fresh reading of Aristotle’s Categories: Some of them want to use you Some of them want to get used by you Some of them want to abuse you Some of them want to be abused As a progressively potent breakdown of the relationship between universal desires and the listener’s role in their fulfillment, that about covers it. But what questions remain! What feelings haunt! The grooves are dominated by synthetic bass lines that drive from the basement and provide a (usually dark) background for freshly gathered sonic bouquets. Dave Stewart is a masterful composer/producer. Lennox has a fine voice, with exceptional contralto range that is notably powerful on the low end. And while dubbing melodies in three octaves (“The Walk”), she still has room for soaring descants. Freddie Mercury comes to mind. Choral directors salivate. This album is proof positive that synth and pop can be excellent music. 4/5 (almost a 5)

In 11th grade my video production teacher gave me the keys to his Mercedes to run an errand and this album was in the CD player. Shout out to Mr. Fix, the coolest teacher.

Sweet dreams the song is a timeless classic, the rest of the album is not, it drags a lot and the spanish song is just shameful

It's fine, but I feel like a lot of the songs were too much potatoes and not enough meat, you feel me? I'm hungry.

Each song feels like 30 seconds worth of material stretched to 3 minutes. Also, ever song except sweet dreams is musically boring, besides.

The hits are true classics, some other parts (especially towards the end) are not really memorable.

Very nice. We grew up with hits from Eurythmics and Annie Lennox, especially "Sweet Dreams." I always enjoy '80s new wave, but it took me a few tracks to really get into this. The production is really solid, and Annie Lennox's vocals are always nice, but overall it wasn't as explosive as I expected. Maybe just because the hits like "Sweet Dreams" and "Here Comes the Rain Again" feel so big that some of these songs feel meek in comparison. But it's still a good project. Also, "Jennifer" sounds like a precursor to "Goodbye Horses" by Q Lazarus. That’s more than okay with me. Favorite tracks: Sweet Dreams, Jennifer, The Walk. Album art: I really like the different font choices, and the geometric shapes, but the picture in the middle is just way too small. It's comically large framing. 3.5/5

Ace, early 80s synth-pop and dance. Always enjoyed this LP. Jennifer is haunting and great. The singles are rightly smash hits. Awesome album.

I don't have that many thoughts about this. There isn't anything that really sticks out to me as memorable (outside of sweet dreams but i think that's just because it's famous) but I don't think that it's doing anything particularly bad either. Middle of the road for me. 2.5/5

LOVE LOVE LOVE! Big fan of the Eurythmics and enjoyed the album.

Vocals and electronic music makes this one a classic.

Loads of cool stuff here but the title track is so immense

The album has some good moments, but the vibe is somehow not quite right. With synth as the key instrument, it takes some magic to make music that sounds human. Hopefully, there will be examples of European new wave on this list too!

One of the most classic synthpop albums of the 1980s, Sweet Dreams helped to create and establish the genre. Unlike some of their contemporaries, Annie Lenox's R&B vocals shine, refusing to get lost in the techno beat. A great listen even 40 years later and jam packed full of dance tunes, this album is part of the origin story of modern club and dance music. Without Sweat Dreams, as well as late era Donna Summers and New Order's Blue Monday, we wouldn't have modern EDM.

I deeply, madly love The Eurythmics and I feel they are severely underrated. To me they are THE sound of the 80s. One of my first real musical memories is being in my Mom's Honda Civic, hearing "Sweet Dreams" come on the radio, and being completely hypnotized by it. I can even remember the street we were on. As dark as this album tends to be, I associate it very strongly with my childhood. It is definitely where my fascination with electronic music began. I have always admired the way The Eurythmics combine cold, dark electronics with warm and soulful elements - Annie Lennox's incredible, shape-shifting voice being the warmest and most soulful element of all. It's an approach that seems like it would be easy to replicate but honestly I don't know if I've ever heard it better than on this album.

I would go as far as a title it the music that defined the 80s and was ahead of its time at the same time, and that's even without taking "Sweet Dreams" song

Listened to it once and it was meh. Listened after i got high and it was great.

better than i expected. very listenable. nice word joe.

Quintessential 80’s

An old favourite, straight from the 80's. Intelligent pop. Annie Lennox voice is always incredible.

Enjoyed it a lot more than I thought. I like some of the weirdness of it, it's a unique album

Solider 80er-Sound, Satellite of Love ist gut

11/19 Great Synth-Pop album. Standout Tracks: Love Is A Stranger, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), Jennifer, This Is The House, This City Never Sleeps

Big fan of Annie Lennox after seeing her open up for Sting in the early 2000’s – so mostly Eurhythmics hits and some of her solo tracks, as her vocals – especially live, were stunningly good… Like most bands, Eurhythmics scattered their better songs across a number of albums, and there are several on here that were really well done… Best tracks IMO were – “Love Is A Stranger” – 5-stars out of 7… “The Walk” – 4-stars out of 7… “Sweet Dreams” – 6-stars of 7… “This City Never Sleeps” – 4-stars out of 7… Not a Eurhythmics aficionado by any means, but at their best – they have their own sound, and some awesome, and quite unique songs – and at their worst (i.e. on this album there is a dreadful version of “Wrap-It Up”…) they are just there for me… Glad I listened, and would probably give this a 2.50 for the solid tracks on the album, but there wasn’t really enough there to push it to a 3 – so a robust 2 in my book…

This album is really bad. It doesn't even have an interesting story behind it like some albums on here to make you realise why it's on the list. It literally just says 'Eurythmics second album'. Jennifer is one of the worst songs I've ever heard and somehow they instantly top it with This Is The House. I feel most people will probably give this album an extra star because of Sweet Dreams but I've never really liked that song either. The next album can't come quick enough

Miércoles de previa al fin de semana largo de Semana Santa y nos despedimos con éste bandón, del que sólo ubico singles, mas nunca un álbum completo. Disco bailable, sexi, tiene temas que llegan hasta el presente con bandas argentas como "Mueran Humanos" (una versión más darkie, gótica, pero con reminiscencias) o contemporáneos a Eurythmics como la diosa eterna de Grace Jones. Muchas gracias por la recomendeishon. Nos vemos el lunes.

Süße Träume werden mit diesem Album gemacht.

Love me some Annie Lennox, so I definitely groove with this. Solid 5 Stars.

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5. This is my first time properly listening to a Eurythmics album, and while everyone on the planet knows the title track, I’m surprised that some of the other ones on here weren’t big hits too; “Love Is a Stranger” is a really solid opener that has some catchy vocal structures, & “Wrap It Up” is energetic as hell, feeling like a direct precursor to stuff like Pump Up The Jam or Get Ready for This. Annie Lennox’s vocals, which I only really know from the title track and her other all-timer in “Walking on Broken Glass”, really shine here, and capture the mood of each track nicely. If she was the primary songwriter on a lot of these, then she knows how to make a pretty solid chorus / hook too. This is obviously an extremely synth-driven album, which is sort of expected, but I was more surprised at how effectively some of the traditional instruments blended into these soundscapes, namely in the guitar, horns, & piano scattered throughout the album. They’re only used lightly, to compliment the lead synth melodies, but their presence feels important every time, so it works really well. This album also never really strays too far from its core of R&B / pop, which keeps everything just grounded enough to not feel overly futuristic or digital like a Kraftwerk album, or too reliant & gimmicky, ala “Temporary Secretary” (please don’t come at me, I don’t hate that song, but it *does* feel a bit gimmicky). Everything works together in a pretty strong harmony, and even though each track shares a general core of instruments, they all still feel decently distinct enough to not feel boring or homogeneous. I feel like this did pave the way for more experimental synth work over time, and there’s probably the earliest hints of Dubstep & EDM in here; maybe not in the most innovative or forward-thinking way, but with just enough of a spark to get the ball rolling. Honestly, it’s only at a 4.5 instead of a flat 5 because everything after “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” sort of felt like it was padding for time; they’re not bad tracks, but they all go about 2 times as long as they need to, even if they’re filled up decently well. “This City Never Sleeps” was pretty effective, but again, could’ve been like, 4 or 5 minutes instead of 7. However, I liked it too damn much to not bump it up – it’s a breezy 42 minutes, it’s a really good album, and it does honestly hold up. At worst, it’s a 3 if the more “boring” parts of the album nag at you that badly.

Marvelous!

What a wonderfully weird sound the Eurythmics have. I had of course heard Sweet Dreams before, but never listened to the whole album. But the whole thing is really well done. Weirdly Sweet Dreams was one of my least favourite songs from the album.

The Voice The Synths Polymath

5/5 - way fun

hell yes. rounding up to a 5 - there were a few songs that dragged for me but overall, a very enjoyable treat of a listen!

Да, это хорошая музыка Дим

Damn good album. For me it didn’t really have any weak tracks. Wow, This Is The House really is a Talking Heads track, isn’t it?

I know Eurythmics from their hit songs, but have never actually listened to a full album before. This is a good album. It seems a bit of a let down on first listen when you go in expecting the strength of the title track throughout, but it really grows on you with subsequent listens. Normally I would rate this a 4, but I was a child in the 80's. It's hard to imagine now but when Sweet Dreams hit the airwaves there was nothing like it. Adding to that was the video with Annie looking and acting androgynous, which was shocking at the time. I would love to know how many people found the image of of a suited Annie smacking the pointer into her gloved hand a gateway to bdsm lol. This is a band that carved their own path, echos of which can still be heard in music today. It's because of that that I'm bumping this up to a 5.

Honestly, probably the biggest surprise. I love "Sweet Dreams" but didn't realize the rest of this album is also pretty fucking solid. Sooo...80s. Weird at times (like the sax in The Walk) but it all seems to work so well. That hook in the song Sweet Dreams is absolutely incredible.

Damn. This list has so far only really subjected us to the dregs of British new wave, so I didn’t expect much from this album beyond the title track, but this album is super good. It’s moody and mysterious and cool and goes a lot of interesting places. It was interesting to me that Annie Lennox — at least in my mind and I think more broadly this is also true — is associated with the deeper voice she employs on their more well-known songs including “Sweet Dreams”, but on many tracks on this album she sings with a lovely softer voice in a higher register, like the opening “Love is a Stranger”. That song also has an awesome synth track and is just all-around exceptional. “I Could Give You” and “Jennifer” also stand out. When “This is the House” started, I had to check to make sure the album hadn’t ended and something else started playing - it was a pleasant surprise leading in to a really fun track. The closer, “This City Never Sleeps”, is an ultra-cool exercise in restraint and slow burns. I enjoyed this a lot and would/will definitely listen again. I’m torn between 4 ⭐️ and 5 ⭐️ because “I’ve Got An Angel” and “Wrap It Up” are kind of duds for me, but I think the good parts of this album are so good I’ve got to go 5 ⭐️.

Banger

I love this genre/period in music, but Eurythmics do it in a unique and original way; the clean, crisp synths complement the purity of Lennox's voice. The way she moves from note to note is like autotune without the autotune. I knew and loved the obvious ones already, but Jennifer was a great new discovery. I also like the Talking Heads-esque lyrics of This Is The House. Somebody Told Me made me look up when PiL released Rise (it was three years after this) - the intro is very similar! If you enjoyed Annie Lennox, try her early 90s album 'Diva'.

Who am I to disagree?

who am I to disagree

A sublime 80s enjoyment when playing with gender appearance wasn't already old hat. Annie's pipes are legendary. I was introduced to this album when they performed at the 1984 Grammys which I happened to watch with my parents. I was captivated by Dave Stewart's performance on the electric violin (an instrument I had never seen at a rock concert before) and Annie's Elvis Presley outfit, complete with sideburns. Features great synth and electronic production at time when it was not easy to both before MIDI became a thing. MIDI had only been introduced in the early part of 1983 before Stewart and Lennox put to work later that same year, meshing the sounds of Kraftwerk with soul and R&B that contributed to the formation of a new genre of artists that would become Romanticism 80s pop. This album would inspire many of the band and genres to come in the 809s and all the way to present.

Annie Lennox is a goddess who blows away the vocals.

I didn't know this was the name of the album too. I remember when this song came out it was a smash. This is my first time listening to a Eurythmics album. I always thought Annie Lennox's voice was great. If Sweet Dreams was released today it would still be a hit.

Mostly not my style but too cool not to love.

5 stars

Excellent!

Annie Lennox is the undisputed Queen of white soul. This is another example of the fact that we're living in a post-Eurythmics world. When this came out, it was a karate chop through the typical pop of its day. A classic.

I loved the album I had not heard all of the tracks before but I am glad I had the opportunity now

I feel silly I’ve gone so long not listening to a full album of theirs.

Pop perfection from early 80s. Lenox’s vocals shine and Stewart’s electronic confection musically is a Synth pop dream. A sweet one at that.

One of the greatest of time. Every song is art.

Amazing album for working, cleaning or just generally doing boring tasks - it's groovy, engaging and light, like a good 80's synth pop album should be.

I could go about this band and Annie Lennox, but I'll abbreviate my review: •Annie Lennox live (solo) was the best show of my entire life. I saw her at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium, and she could fill the venue with her voice at least three times over. That show was powerful. •I think Lennox is the best female vocalist due to her range, strength, and her ability to sing multiple genres. •Eurythmics are not so much pop as they are alt-new wave. I think that's why they were never really popular. •Lennox is Scottish and Stewart is English •Dave Stewart co-wrote Don't Come Around Here No More with Tom Petty. The Heartbreakers didn't want Stewart on the album (after all, he was British and the album was called Southern Accents, but the single was a huge success). •Lennox and Stewart were a great match and pushed electronic music to another level, and they were MTv video pioneers. •Lennox was gender bending before it was a thing. She wore men's suits and cross dressed more than once on MTv. No other female had done that before consistently on TV. •As a kid, I stopped in my tracks with mouth agape when I first saw Sweet Dreams on MTv. My little kid mind was blown to smithereens. My favorites from this album are Love Is a Stranger, I Could Give You (A Mirror), and Jennifer. Jennifer sounds like it could be in an 80s thriller-mystery movie, specifically Michael Mann's Manhunter. That film has neon hues, dark shadows, and ominous synth. I highly recommend it. (Plus, it's the first time we see the character Hannibal Lector on screen). I know this album and band aren't for everyone, but if you like 80s or modern synth, this album is definitely worth multiple listens. And as a side note, I absolutely adore Annie. She's a humanitarian and cares about the world. 5 stars.

Absolutely killer album that I need to listen to more often in my life

A great album with creative arrangements and killer vocals

Definitely some good songs on here. Sweet Dreams seems to get all the love. More people need to listen to the rest of the album. Something I've been noticing with a lot of these albums. How one song has over a billion listens and another song has under 100k is just wild. Listening to this twice straight through.

Part of the soundtrack for the 1980s. Contains some great tracks, the title track "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" obviously, but also "Love Is a Stranger", "Somebody Told Me", "This City Never Sleeps", and my favourite "Jennifer".

This has been an absolute favorite since it came out. So happy to listen to it today!

Awesome!

A delicious slice of 80s cake and about freaking time Annie Lennox showed up. A+

This album made a huge impression on me back in high school. I bought the cassette back in 1983 for Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This), but the entire album is etched in my mind. Particularly memorable is the title track, Love Is A Stranger, Wrap It Up, and The Walk. And I really love the ultra moody Jennifer - and how it is follow by the festive This is the House. Such a great pairing! Such a great 80’s classic. It’s good to listen to the album in its entirety again! TERRIFIC!

annie lennox 4eva and eva

What can you even say?

Es un must. Love Is A Stranger , Jennifer, Satellite of Love.

Es un must. Love Is A Stranger , Jennifer, Satellite of Love.

Transcendental musically and vocally, showcases why the Eurythmics were one of the best acts of the 80's. 4.5/5

Absolutely flawless

Perfect

Pure 80's perfection.

Always fabulous Love Anne voice

This was a really revolutionary record and an exciting band at the time this album came out. The videos were really cool, and the sound was unusual, as was the songwriting. They had a brilliant career, and Annie Lennox went on to do some great solo work. I think this is the best Eurythmics record. I have been stingy with my fives but will give this a five as I think it's a solid nine on a ten point scale, and I'm rounding up because of how revolutionary everything was... the instrumentation, the look, the design of the album itself. It all felt NEW.

Certified BANGER! I fucking looooove the Eurythmics. They are the most 80's-ist thing of all 80s things and I truly enjoy everything about them. Annie Lennox is a goddess and I worship at the altar of her cool unbothered androgynous style and feminist badassery! I salute a legend and dance in her honour today.

Yeah you read that right, this is a 5 star album for me! I know that seems wild, but I truly every single song on this album brings something to the table. We all know the gigantic hit of a title track, and the Moody family members of the group are very familiar with Love Is A Stranger from years of mom’s mix cds in the car, but even songs like Jennifer or Somebody Told Me which sound like filler tracks at first end up building to a noisy satisfying conclusion. There are three big factors at play here: the production, the excellent songwriting, and Lennox’s incredible vocal performances. For the first point, if you didn’t listen to this through headphones, you did yourself a disservice. This was my first listen to the album as a whole and I was blown away by how the perfectly balanced and creative the mixing was. Synthesizers attack from every angle on the upbeat tracks while they fall into a lush ecosystem on the slower songs. The vocals rise and fall out of the mix as if they are another instrument fitting into their place with perfection. I appreciate this coming so soon after Culture Club because it really hammers home what the difference is between their generic sound va the Eurythmics’ unique tone. Second, I absolutely love the lyricism on this album. Moreso however, the synth lines stand out as unique and unmistakable. They have the darkness and grit of Dark Wave standards like Depeche Mode, but keep an airy lightness that transition smoothly into catchy choruses. It’s like everything great about the genre being put on full display. Third, not much I can say about Annie Lennox. If you hear her sing, you should get why she’s special. So yeah. 5 stars. Full disclosure I did rate the original release which ends with This City Never Sleeps (great closer by the way). I see there’s a 2005 rerelease with some bonus tracks but I’m not grading it on those (good thing too if the other bonus tracks match the quality of that Satellite Of Love cover).

Contains two of the best 80s singles with Love Is A Stranger and Sweet Dreams. It is not the perfect synthpop album, but the number of 5 star songs is such that I still rate it as a 5 star album, just like its two successors Touch and Be Yourself Tonight. 9/10

I had only heard the singles off this record; I was amazed at how much of this album I ended up liking!

Great

This album is made out of awesomeness.

The call and response at the beginning of wrap it up both gave me a jump scare and made me laugh. Jazz at the end of the walk is so cool. This album has a really cool vibe, feels like it takes me to a different place when I’m listening to it. The production also has a lot of cool layers, and I feel like I’m picking up new sounds on repeat listens. Sweet Dreams is a top 10 80s pop song for me. Wtf were they thinking with the Spanish in This is the House? Took me out of the flow of the album. Honestly, the whole album really falls apart after Jennifer. Which is a shame because the first 7 songs are an incredible run. This brings me to a philosophical decision, 7 songs I love followed by 3 utter disappointments. 25 minutes of music I love is good enough for me, and it helps that it’s consecutive so I don’t have to skip, I can just turn it off when I’m done. I’m gonna give it a light 5. Cover art: 9/10 did Kanye make this?

Loved it

GOD DAMN why are only one of these songs famous? dude more than half these tracks could’ve made them one hit wonders, they’re all so amazing 10/10

Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)

Excellent post punk alt record. Obviously banger title track

Played this album a lot when it came out 40 years ago (!). Not so much in recent years - and this has been a mistake. I didn't care for some of their later pop/rock stuff, but this is an excellent synth pop album.

Loved Eurythmics before this project. Still a great album.

Muy bien lograda la atmósfera del disco, lo disfruté bastante :>

Annie Lennox slaps

Love it

It's a bit unfair to ask me to be objective since this is one of my all time favourite bands and albums. Annie and Dave. What a team! The greatest since Beauty and the Beast. I could listen to this all day. Perfect production and perfect New Wave Synth. And what a voice she has.

cool

Milestone... !

Wrap it up is so strange and I like it a lot. Fuck yeah. I was dancing down the street to Sweet Dreams. I really never got sick of this. It’s weird. It’s dancy. Good for them.

Bangers all round , fantastic

Classic electro 80s sound

Better than expected. For once the title track isn't the best jam!

The ethereal beauty of Annie Lennoxs voice never ceases from taking my breath away every time.

I've been listening to this album for years now and it's always such a joy. Everyone knows Sweet Dreams, but there is a lot of other really great stuff on here (Jennifer, This is the House, Love is A Stranger). Really pure 80s perfection here.

Love the rythm and the instruments !