Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (album)

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Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) is the second studio album by British pop duo Eurythmics, released on 4 January 1983 by RCA Records. Along with the title track, which reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 that year, the album also features the singles "This Is the House", "The Walk", and "Love Is a Stranger".

Background and release

Recording and production

The album was assembled by Eurythmics mainly at two locations: a small project studio in the attic of an old warehouse in the Chalk Farm district of north London, where the duo spent seven months living and working, followed by a small room in the Church Studios in London.<ref name="Attic">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Doyle">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="MRM"/>

The album was largely recorded onto an 8-track tape machine, apart from three songs: "The Walk" was transferred onto a friend's 16-track, and "Somebody Told Me" and "Wrap It Up" were both recorded onto 24-track (using only half the tracks) while the Church studio was being built.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Equipment-wise, the band had a recording setup consisting of a Tascam 80-8 8-track, a Soundcraft Series 2 mixer, two Beyerdynamic M201 TG microphones, a Roland Space Echo, a Furman compressor, a B.E.L. Electronics noise reduction unit, and a Klark Teknik DN50 spring reverb unit.<ref name="MRM">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="Doyle"/> The instruments they used were mainly a Roland SH-09 synthesizer (later said to be an SH-101 instead), a CSQ-100 sequencer, a Gretsch slide guitar, a Movement drum computer, a Roland Juno-6, and a borrowed Oberheim synthesizer (later described as the OB-X model by Stewart).<ref name="MRM"/><ref name="Doyle"/> Overall, the record cost around £5,000 to make, due to equipment costs.<ref name="MRM"/>

Release

After a year and a half of initial commercial failure for Eurythmics, this album became a breakthrough for the duo on both sides of the Atlantic. The title track became particularly popular and remains one of Eurythmics' most recognisable songs. Its music video, popular on MTV in the United States, featured Annie Lennox's gender-bending imagery. In the wake of this success, the single "Love Is a Stranger", previously a flop, was re-released and became a hit as well. It too was accompanied by a video that featured Lennox dressed both as a man and a woman.

The album was re-released in 2005 with the entire Eurythmics studio catalogue, except the 1984 (For the Love of Big Brother) album, to which Virgin Records holds the rights. The recordings were remastered, and several bonus tracks were added to each of the eight albums. In this release, Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) acquired six bonus tracks. Early Australian, German, and US CD releases (printed in Japan) and the 2005 reissue version of this album have a slightly longer version of "This City Never Sleeps". The length of 6:40 is due to some mixed sound effects and a backmasked message by David A. Stewart saying, "I enjoyed making that there record. Very good, very good."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Stewart was particularly pleased with the final product and called it "one of the most important records of 1983", due to the "carefully structured" arrangements and lyrics.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Critical reception

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) has generally received mixed-to-positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic praised some of the singles but felt that the album possessed a few dull moments.<ref name="AllMusic"/> Smash Hits noted that some of the lyrics detracted from the "otherwise pleasant LP", although they were complimentary of "Love Is a Stranger".<ref name="Smash Hits"/> Robert Christgau found that the album was "starkly hooky" but called the duo pretentious.<ref name="Christgau"/> The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).<ref>Template:Cite AV media notes</ref>

• Annie Lennox – vocals
• David A. Stewart – production Template:Small; engineering
• Adam Williams – production Template:Small; engineering
• Robert Crash – production Template:Small; engineering
• Chris Ashbrook – video stills
• Lewis Ziolek – cover photography
• Laurence Stevens – design
• Green Gartside – guest vocals Template:Small

Sweet Dreams: The Video Album

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Eurythmics also released a video album for Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), featuring in-concert performances, promotional videos, and narrative animation highlighting the duo's singles "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", "Love Is a Stranger", and other songs from the album.Template:Citation needed

The live concert performances, taped at the Heaven nightclub in London, feature a selection of songs from Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), as well as two songs from their 1981 debut album, In the Garden, "Never Gonna Cry Again" and "Take Me to Your Heart".Template:Citation needed

The video album was directed by Derek Burbidge, with the exception of the promos for "Love Is a Stranger" (directed by Mike Brady), "Who's That Girl?" (directed by Duncan Gibbins), and "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (directed by Chris Ashbrook).Template:Citation needed

Information

• Director: Derek Burbidge
• Producers: Kate Burbidge, Maurice Bacon
• Executive producer: Mickey Shapiro
• Animation: Bura and Hardwick
• VHS release: 1983
• DVD release: 1998

Track listing

1. "Prologue" (introduction montage) – 1:46
2. "This Is the House" (live version) – 4:48
3. "Never Gonna Cry Again" (live version) – 4:21
4. "Take Me to Your Heart" (live version) – 4:08
5. "I've Got an Angel" (live version) – 3:41
6. "Satellite of Love" (live version) – 5:01
7. "Love Is a Stranger" (promo) – 3:26
8. "Who's That Girl?" (promo) – 3:40
9. "This City Never Sleeps" (live version) – 5:12
10. "Jennifer" (live version) – 4:39
11. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (live version) – 3:36
12. "I Could Give You (A Mirror)" (live version) – 3:47
13. "Somebody Told Me" (live version) – 3:25
14. "Wrap It Up" (live version) – 3:20
15. "Tous les garçons et les filles" (live version) – 3:40
16. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (promo) – 3:40

Charts

Weekly charts

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

Weekly chart performance for Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

Chart (1983–2022)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	5
Greek Albums (IFPI Greece)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	66
Japanese Albums (Oricon)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	77
US Rock Albums (Billboard)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	18

Year-end charts

1983 year-end chart performance for Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

Chart (1983)	Position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	19
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	17
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	33
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	34
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	4
UK Albums (Gallup)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>	15
US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	72

1984 year-end chart performance for Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

Chart (1984)	Position
US Billboard 200<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>	72

External links

• Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed)