Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) (album)

For the single, see Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
Studio album by Eurythmics
Released 4 January 1983
Genre Synthpop, new wave, electronica
Length 41:59
Label RCA
Producer David A. Stewart, Adam Williams, Robert Crash
Eurythmics chronology
In the Garden
(1981)		 Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
(1983)		 Touch
(1983)
Singles from
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
  1. "This Is the House"
    Released: 2 April 1982
  2. "The Walk"
    Released: 18 June 1982
  3. "Love Is a Stranger"
    Released: 8 November 1982
  4. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"
    Released: 21 January 1983
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert Christgau(B)[2]
Smash Hits6/10[3]

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) is the second studio album by British new wave duo Eurythmics, released by RCA Records on 4 January 1983.

Background and release

Release and popularity

After almost two years of initial commercial failure for Eurythmics, this album became a commercial breakthrough for the duo on both sides of the Atlantic. The title track became particularly popular, and it remains one of Eurythmics' most recognisable songs; its music video, popular on MTV in the United States, is memorable for 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 striking video, which featured Lennox dressed both as a man and a woman.

The album was re-released in 2005 with the rest of the Eurythmics' studio catalogue (excluding 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 eight albums. In this release Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) acquired six bonus tracks.

Recording

Dave Stewart, together with Robert Crash and ex-The Selecter bassist Adam Williams, produced the album in Eurythmics' own relatively primitive 8-track studio, winning awards for the quality of the recording which belied its low-budget origins. Sweet Dreams saw the duo move away from the psychedelic, guitar-tinged band-oriented sound of their 1981 debut album In the Garden, instead focusing on raw analogue synthesizers (including the Oberheim OB1 and EDP Wasp) and drum machines (particularly the Movement Systems Drum Computer, which featured a graphic visual display of the drum patterns). Whilst the "synthpop" genre had grown in popularity in the preceding years, it was often associated with all-male groups and somewhat clinical, emotionless music. Eurythmics (particularly with Lennox's vocal stylings) brought a soul music twist to the electronic sound, which proved popular with broader audiences.

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 6:41 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" that total 21 seconds. This message also appears on original UK vinyl pressings.

During 1982 Eurythmics recorded many tracks which ended up as B-sides of singles or as alternative versions of other songs. Tracks such as "Step on the Beast", "Invisible Hands", "Dr. Trash", or the alternative versions of "The Walk" or "I Could Give You (A Mirror)" have not been released on CD yet and any future plans for re-release are unknown at this time. However these tracks can now be heard through YouTube.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart, except "Wrap It Up" by Isaac Hayes and David Porter, and "Satellite of Love" by Lou Reed. 

No. Title Length
1. "Love Is a Stranger"   3:43
2. "I've Got an Angel"   2:45
3. "Wrap It Up" (featuring Green Gartside) 3:33
4. "I Could Give You (A Mirror)"   3:51
5. "The Walk"   4:40
6. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"   3:36
7. "Jennifer"   5:06
8. "This Is the House"   4:56
9. "Somebody Told Me"   3:29
10. "This City Never Sleeps"   6:33
2005 Special edition bonus tracks
No. Title Length
11. "Home Is Where the Heart Is"   3:03
12. "Monkey Monkey"   4:14
13. "Baby's Gone Blue"   5:15
14. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (Hot Remix) 5:17
15. "Love Is a Stranger" (Coldcut Remix) 7:18
16. "Satellite of Love"   4:37

Personnel

Additional personnel

Note: musician credits are not printed on the album sleeve, however some additional info can be gained from the sleeves of the Touch album and "This is the House" single.

Charts

Peak positions

Chart (1983/84) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[4] 5
Canadian Albums Chart[5] 6
Dutch Albums Chart[6] 11
French Albums Chart[7] 4
German Albums Chart[8] 6
Japanese Albums Chart[9] 77
New Zealand Albums Chart[10] 2
Swedish Albums Chart[11] 14
UK Albums Chart[12] 3
US Billboard 200[13] 15
US Billboard R&B Albums Chart[13] 36

Year-end charts

Chart (1983) Position
Australian Albums Chart[14] 19
Canadian Albums Chart[15] 17
Dutch Albums Chart[16] 33
French Albums Chart[17] 22
US Billboard 200[18] 72
Chart (1984) Position
US Billboard 200[19] 72

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[20] 2× Platinum 200,000
Germany (BVMI)[21] Gold 250,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[22] Platinum 300,000
United States (RIAA)[23] Gold 500,000

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ Robert Christgau review
  3. ↑ Hepworth, David. "Albums". Smash Hits (20 January – 3 February 1983): 17.
  4. ↑ "Chartifacts". ariacharts.com.au. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
  5. ↑ "Results – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
  6. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2013-02-20.
  7. ↑ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste". Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
  8. ↑ "charts.de". charts.de. 14 November 2005. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
  9. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  10. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 2013-02-20.
  11. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2013-02-20.
  12. ↑ http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/27723/eurythmics/
  13. 1 2 "Eurythmics". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
  14. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  15. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1983". RPM. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  16. ↑ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1983" (ASP) (in Dutch). Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  17. ↑ "Les Albums (CD) de 1983 par InfoDisc" (PHP) (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 2012-01-29.
  18. ↑ "Top Pop Albums of 1983". billboard.biz. 31 December 1983. Retrieved 2012-03-03.
  19. ↑ "Top Pop Albums of 1984". billboard.biz. 31 December 1984. Retrieved 2012-03-03.
  20. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams". Music Canada.
  21. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Eurythmics; 'Sweet Dreams')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  22. ↑ "British album certifications – Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Sweet Dreams in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  23. ↑ "American album certifications – Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

External links

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