Medusa (Annie Lennox album)

Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English {{safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst-infobox||$params=italic_title,name,type,longtype,artist,cover,border,alt,caption,released,recorded,venue,studio,genre,length,language,label,director,producer,compiler,chronology,prev_title,prev_year,year,next_title,next_year,misc|$extra=italic_title,longtype,border,caption,language,director,compiler,chronology,year,misc|$aliases=italic title>italic_title,Italic title>italic_title,Name>name,Type>type,image>cover,Cover>cover,Border>border,Alt>alt,Caption>caption,Longtype>longtype,Artist>artist,Released>released,Recorded>recorded,Venue>venue,Studio>studio,Genre>genre,Length>length,Language>language,Label>label,Director>director,Producer>producer,Compiler>compiler,Chronology>chronology,Misc>misc|$flags=override|$B={{#ifeq:{{#invoke:Is infobox in lead|main|[Ii]nfobox [Aa]lbum}}|true|{{#if:Template:Has short description | |{{#if: Template:Start date | Template:Short description}}}}}}{{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template other Template:Category handler Template:Main other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox album with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y|italic_title |type |name |image |cover |border |alt |caption |longtype |artist |released |recorded |venue |studio |genre |length |language |label |director |producer |compiler |prev_title|prev_year|next_title|next_year|chronology|year|misc}}{{#if:{{#invoke:String|match|error_category=Music infoboxes with Module:String errors|A|1=Diva1992Bare2003studioMedusaAnnie Lennox - Medusa.pngAnnie Lennox Template:Start dateThe Aquarium (London)* Pop

electronic47:11RCA Stephen Lipsonx|2=</?t[drh][ >]|nomatch=}}|Template:Main other}}Template:Main other}}

Medusa is the second solo studio album by Scottish singer Annie Lennox, released on 6 March 1995 by RCA Records. It consists entirely of cover songs. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number one and peaked in the United States at number 11, spending 60 weeks on the Billboard 200. It has since achieved double platinum status in both the United Kingdom and the United States.<ref name="BPI"/><ref name="RIAA"/> As of 2018, Medusa had sold over six million copies worldwide.<ref name="Diva & Medusa Reissued on Vinyl">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards in 1996. Lennox won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her work on the first single released from Medusa, "No More 'I Love You's'Template:-", which was released in February 1995 to critical acclaim. Entering the UK Singles Charts at number two, the single is Lennox's highest-charting single in the United Kingdom to date. A further three singles were released during 1995 – "A Whiter Shade of Pale", "Waiting in Vain" and "Something So Right".

Background and recording

Like her debut solo album, Diva, Lennox once again worked with record producer Stephen Lipson on Medusa.<ref name="Diva & Medusa Reissued on Vinyl"/> Four tracks that Lennox recorded for Medusa and were ultimately cut from the album's final take were released elsewhere. B-sides releases include a version of "Heaven", originally by The Psychedelic Furs, a recording of Joni Mitchell's "Ladies of the Canyon", and a cover of Blondie's "(I'm Always Touched by Your) Presence, Dear". Lennox also recorded a version of The Sugarcubes' "Mama", which was included on the 1995 all-female compilation Ain't Nothin' But a She Thing.<ref name="Lennox's Medusa, 20 Years Later">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Lennox explains the origins of the album in the liner notes:

This album contains a selection of songs I have been drawn to for all kinds of reasons. They were not chosen with any particular theme or concept in mind—the method was more by instinct than by design. The work undertaken was truly a labour of love for me and I feel privileged to have been given this opportunity.<ref name="booklet"/>

Regarding Medusa and the nature of its cover versions, Metro Weekly claimed that "cover albums are notoriously hit and miss; even the best artists can sometimes stumble when straying from their original material and trying to reinvent somebody else's. Lennox is a masterful interpreter of other artists' tunes, getting to the heart of the songs and delivering one stunning vocal performance after another. Lennox imbues each of these songs her own distinct flavor. Even though the songs come from different eras and there is a vast stylistic diversity, the album is tightly cohesive."<ref name="Lennox's Medusa, 20 Years Later"/>

Release and promotion

File:Annie Lennox 1995.png

Lennox performing "No More 'I Love You's'Template:-" on the Late Show with David Letterman, May 1995

Medusa was released in March 1995 and became a "substantial hit" for Lennox, with music commentators claiming that the album was a "worthy successor" to her debut solo album, Diva which was released in 1992.<ref name="Lennox's Medusa, 20 Years Later"/> Whilst Medusa did not match the acclaim and success that Diva achieved, the album was still well received, becoming a substantial commercial success. It reached number one on the UK Albums Chart and in Canada, and reached number eleven on the US Billboard 200 charts, achieving double-platinum in all three countries. Medusa was a Top 10 album over Europe and in other parts of the world. Both "No More 'I Love You'sTemplate:'" and "Whiter Shade of Pale" were included on Lennox's 2009 greatest-hits album The Annie Lennox Collection.<ref name="Lennox's Medusa, 20 Years Later"/> As of 2018, Medusa had sold over six million copies worldwide.<ref name="Diva & Medusa Reissued on Vinyl"/>

The album yielded four singles in the United Kingdom: "No More 'I Love You's'Template:-" (which entered the UK Singles Chart at number 2, becoming Lennox's highest-peaking solo single), "A Whiter Shade of Pale", "Waiting in Vain" and "Something So Right". Metro Weekly claimed that "The Lover Speaks' recording of "No More 'I Love You'sTemplate:'" did no more than graze the lower reaches of the pop chart, and was soon forgotten" until Lennox recorded and released the track as a single, claiming that the song's "idiosyncrasies play right into her [Lennox] strengths. Lennox and producer Stephen Lipson turn the inventive composition into a piece of epic grandeur, with Lennox delivering a dazzling vocal performance, arguably the finest of her career."<ref name="Lennox's Medusa, 20 Years Later"/> "No More 'I Love You'sTemplate:'" was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video, and Lennox, at the 1995 Grammy Awards, won the award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the song.<ref name="Lennox's Medusa, 20 Years Later"/>

Citing the poor success of the three singles in the American music market that followed "No More 'I Love You'sTemplate:'", Metro Weekly argued that Lennox may have achieved considerably more success in the singles markets "if she'd released a couple of the catchier up-tempo tracks instead of all ballads".<ref name="Lennox's Medusa, 20 Years Later"/>

The album was nominated for Best Pop Album at the Grammy Awards of 1996, losing to Turbulent Indigo by Joni Mitchell. Lennox took home the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance award for her work on the first single, "No More 'I Love You'sTemplate:'". This album was re-released in late 1995 in a double jewel case containing the album Medusa and a nine-track bonus CD featuring the studio version of Paul Simon's "Something So Right" (with Simon guesting on vocals and guitar) and eight tracks recorded live from the concert in Central Park: "Money Can't Buy It", "Legend in My Living Room", the Eurythmics singles "Who's That Girl?", "You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart" and "Here Comes the Rain Again", along with "Why", "Little Bird" and "Walking on Broken Glass".

Commercial performance

In her native Scotland, it debuted at number one on the national albums chart, spending a combined total of forty four weeks within the Scottish Top 100 Albums Chart.<ref name="Medusa - Official Charts">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Likewise, in the United Kingdom, it also debuted atop the UK Albums Chart, spending a total of fifty-four weeks within the UK Top 100. Additionally, it debuted at number thirty-eight on the Official Vinyl Albums Chart in the United Kingdom in March 2018.<ref name="Medusa - Official Charts"/> Medusa peaked at number eleven on the US Billboard 200 Albums Chart, spending a total of sixty weeks on the US Billboard 200.

Elsewhere, the album debuted at number one in Canada<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and number two in both Austria and Italy.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It reached the top ten in a number of territories such as Germany, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Portugal and New Zealand.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Since its release, Medusa has sold over 6 million copies worldwide as of 2018, and achieved double platinum certification in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The album was also awarded double platinum status in both Canada and Ireland, indicating sales in excess of both 200,000 and 30,000 copies respectively.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It achieved Gold certification status in Australia, Argentina, Austria, France, Germany and Spain.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Awards and accolades

Lead single "No More 'I Love You'sTemplate:'" won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 1996 Grammy Awards and was nominated for Best British Single at the 1996 Brit Awards. Despite missing out on the award for Best British Single, Lennox won the award for Best British Female for the second time.<ref name="Diva & Medusa Reissued on Vinyl"/>

Template:Awards table |- | style="width:35px; text-align:center;" rowspan="2"|1996
<ref name="96grammynominees">Template:Cite news</ref> || Medusa || Best Pop Vocal Album || Template:Nom |- |"No More 'I Love You'sTemplate:'" || Best Pop Vocal Performance – Female || Template:Won |-

{{safesubst:#if:|||} }}{{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:End with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| html | 1 }}

Critical reception

Template:Music ratings

Professional reviews for Medusa ranged from favourable to hostile. AllMusic said critics "savaged"<ref>[{{#ifeq: yes | yes | https://www.allmusic.com/album/r209234{{

 #if: 
 | /{{{tab}}}
 }}

| {{#if: r209234

 | {{#if: 
   | {{#if: |[[{{{author-link}}}|{{#if: |, {{{first}}} }}]]|{{#if: |, {{{first}}} }}}}. 
   }}[https://www.allmusic.com/album/r209234{{
   #if: 
   | /{{{tab}}}
   }} {{
   #if: 
   | {{{title}}}
   | Template:PAGENAMEBASE
   }}] at AllMusic{{
   #if: 
   | . Retrieved .
   }}

 | {{#if: {{#property:P1728}}
   | Template:First word {{#if:  | {{{title}}} | Template:PAGENAMEBASE }} at AllMusicTemplate:EditAtWikidata

   | {{#if: {{#property:P1729}}
     | Template:First word {{#if:  | {{{title}}} | Template:PAGENAMEBASE }} at AllMusicTemplate:EditAtWikidata

     | {{#if: {{#property:P1730}}
       | Template:First word {{#if:  | {{{title}}} | Template:PAGENAMEBASE }} at AllMusicTemplate:EditAtWikidata

       | {{#if: {{#property:P1994}}
         | Template:First word {{#if:  | {{{title}}} | Template:PAGENAMEBASE }} at AllMusicTemplate:EditAtWikidata

         | {{AllMusic}} template missing ID and not present in Wikidata.Template:Main other

         }}
       }}
     }}
   }}
 }}

}} savaged]</ref> the album upon release: Trouser Press characterised Lennox's interpretations of classic songs as "obvious", "milquetoast" and "willfully wrongheaded". Reviewer Ira Robbins said, "The only song here that benefits from her ministrations is 'No More "I Love You'sTemplate:"', a minor 1986 hit for Britain's otherwise forgotten The Lover Speaks, and that's only by dint of the original's obscurity."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Rolling Stone gave the album a mixed review:

Annie Lennox called her justifiably popular solo debut Diva, but it's actually on the follow-up effort Medusa that she really starts acting like one. This wildly uneven album of cover versions starts with perhaps its highest point — a truly wonderful interpretation of "No More 'I Love You'sTemplate:'", a relatively obscure British hit by the Lover Speaks. Unfortunately, Lennox doesn't work the same magic with more familiar material like Al Green's "Take Me to the River" and Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web
}}</ref>

Track listing

Template:Track listing Template:Track listing Template:Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Medusa.<ref name="booklet">Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>

Musicians

Template:Div col

Annie Lennox – all vocals, keyboards, flute
Stephen Lipson – programming, guitar, keyboards, bass
Marius de Vries – keyboards, programming
Luís Jardim – percussion, bass
Peter-John Vettese, Andy Richards, Matthew Cooper – keyboards
Tony Pastor – guitar
Dann Gillen, Neil Conti – drums
Doug Wimbish – bass
Judd Lander, Mark Feltham – harmonica
Pandit Dinesh – tablas
Kirampal Singh – santoor
James McNally – accordion
Danny D, Steve Sidelnyk – additional programming
Anne Dudley – orchestral, brass and string arrangement

Template:Div col end

Technical

Stephen Lipson – production
Heff Moraes – engineering, mixing
Marius de Vries – pre-production

Artwork

Laurence Stevens – sleeve design
Bettina Rheims – photography

Live in Central Park

File:Annie Lennox - Live In Central Park DVD cover.jpg

DVD cover

Although no tour was held to promote this album, Lennox played a one-off concert in Central Park in New York City on 9 September 1995. This was subsequently released on videotape as Annie Lennox in the Park and on DVD as Annie Lennox Live in Central Park.

Information

Director: Joe Dyer
Recorded: Live in Central Park Summerstage, New York City, 9 September 1995
Release date: December 1995 (video); December 2000 (DVD)
Label: BMG/Arista
Runtime: 90 minutes

Track listing

"Money Can't Buy It" (Lennox)
"Legend in My Living Room" (Lennox, Vettese)
"Walking on Broken Glass" (Lennox)
"No More 'I Love You'sTemplate:'" (Hughes, Freeman)
"Who's That Girl?" (Lennox, Stewart)
"You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart" (Lennox, Stewart)
"Waiting in Vain" (Marley)
"I Love You Like a Ball and Chain" (Lennox, Stewart)
"Little Bird" (Lennox)
"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (Lennox, Stewart)
"Train in Vain" (Jones, Strummer)
"Why" (Lennox)

Promotional video clips

"No More 'I Love You'sTemplate:'" (Hughes, Freeman)
"A Whiter Shade of Pale" (Reid, Brooker, Fisher)
"Waiting in Vain" (Marley)
"Something So Right" (Simon)

Charts

Template:Col-begin Template:Col-2

Weekly charts

Template:Album chart Template:Album chart Template:Album chart Template:Album chart Template:Album chart Template:Album chart Template:Album chart Template:Album chart Template:Album chart Template:Album chart Template:Album chart Template:Album chart Template:Album chart Template:Album chart Template:Album chart

Weekly chart performance for *Medusa*
Chart (1995)	Peak position
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)<ref name="MM-1995-04-01">Template:Cite magazine</ref>	6
European Albums (Music & Media)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	3
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	10
French Albums (SNEP)<ref name="MM-1995-04-01"/>	5
Irish Albums (IFPI)<ref name="MM-1995-04-01"/>	5
Italian Albums (FIMI)<ref name="MM-1995-04-01"/>	2
Japanese Albums (Oricon)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	50
Portuguese Albums (AFP)<ref name="MM-1995-04-01"/>	6
Spanish Albums (AFYVE)<ref name="MM-1995-04-01"/>	5

Template:Col-2

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for *Medusa*
Chart (1995)	Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	93
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	24
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	60
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	17
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	5
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	25
European Albums (Music & Media)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	17
French Albums (SNEP)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	46
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	30
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	30
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	56
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	26
UK Albums (OCC)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	14
US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	50

Template:Col-end

Certifications

References

Template:Reflist

Template:Annie Lennox

Template:Authority control

Medusa (Annie Lennox album)

Contents

Background and recording

Release and promotion

Commercial performance

Awards and accolades

Critical reception

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

Technical

Artwork

Live in Central Park

Information

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

Navigation menu

Medusa (Annie Lennox album)

Background and recording

Release and promotion

Commercial performance

Awards and accolades

Critical reception

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

Technical

Artwork

Live in Central Park

Information

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

Navigation menu

Search