Songs of Mass Destruction is the fourth solo studio album by Scottish singer Annie Lennox, released on 1 October 2007 by RCA Records and 19 Recordings. It was her first album of new material since 2003's Bare and to date her most recent of original material.
| Songs of Mass Destruction | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1 October 2007 | |||
| Recorded | September 2006 – February 2007 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 46:51 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Glen Ballard | |||
| Annie Lennox chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Songs of Mass Destruction | ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 68/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The Austin Chronicle |  [3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[4] |
| The Guardian | [5] |
| Houston Chronicle | [6] |
| Los Angeles Times | [7] |
| People | [8] |
| Rolling Stone | [9] |
| Slant Magazine | [10] |
| Stylus Magazine | D[11] |
Singles
editThe first single, "Dark Road", originally appeared on Lennox's Myspace page[12] on 15 August 2007. It was subsequently released as a single on 24 September 2007 and charted at number 58 on the UK Singles Chart.
The second single, "Sing", was released digitally on 1 December 2007 and it had a physical release as a single on 17 March 2008. "Sing" is a collaboration between Lennox and 23 other prominent female acts and artists and is a charity record aimed to raise money and awareness for the HIV/AIDS organization Treatment Action Campaign. The line-up consists of Madonna (who sings solo on the second verse of the song), Anastacia, Isobel Campbell, Dido, Celine Dion, Melissa Etheridge, Fergie, Beth Gibbons, Faith Hill, Angélique Kidjo, Beverley Knight, Gladys Knight, k.d. lang, Sarah McLachlan, Beth Orton, Pink, Bonnie Raitt, Shakira, Shingai Shoniwa, Joss Stone, Sugababes, KT Tunstall, and Martha Wainwright.[13]
As Lennox reported herself on her official website, this song is about raising money and awareness for what she considers to be the HIV/AIDS genocide:[14]
Several years ago I personally witnessed Nelson Mandela, standing in front of his former prison cell on Robben Island, addressing the world's press. His message was that the pandemic of HIV/AIDS in Africa was in fact, a genocide. Since that time I resolved to do as much as I can to bring attention to the HIV/AIDS crisis.
Critical reception
editSongs of Mass Destruction received generally favourable reviews from critics upon its release, holding a Metacritic's average score of 68 out of 100 based on 18 reviews.[1]
Tour
editOn 13 September 2007, Lennox announced a primarily North American tour for Songs of Mass Destruction called Annie Lennox Sings, which is the third solo tour of her career. Lasting throughout October and November 2007, the tour included 18 stops: London, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Boulder, Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Washington, D.C., Nashville, Atlanta, Miami, New York City (two dates), Philadelphia, and Boston. The venues generally were at medium-size theatres, except in New York City, where one of the dates was a United Nations fundraiser at Wall Street restaurant Cipriani.
Commercial performance
editSongs of Mass Destruction debuted at number seven on the UK Albums Chart with 25,000 copies sold in its first week,[15] and has since been certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). It peaked at number nine on the US Billboard 200, selling 78,000 copies its first week.[16] As of October 2010, the album had sold 275,000 copies in the United States and 71,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[17]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Annie Lennox, except "Womankind", written by Lennox and Nadirah X
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dark Road" | 3:47 |
| 2. | "Love Is Blind" | 4:18 |
| 3. | "Smithereens" | 5:17 |
| 4. | "Ghosts in My Machine" | 3:30 |
| 5. | "Womankind" | 4:28 |
| 6. | "Through the Glass Darkly" | 3:29 |
| 7. | "Lost" | 3:41 |
| 8. | "Coloured Bedspread" | 4:29 |
| 9. | "Sing" | 4:48 |
| 10. | "Big Sky" | 4:02 |
| 11. | "Fingernail Moon" | 5:02 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Dark Road" (Acoustic version) | 3:30 |
| 13. | "Don't Take Me Down" | 3:52 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Walking on Broken Glass" (Live) | 4:30 |
| 13. | "Dark Road" (Live) | 3:46 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Track-by-track commentaries" | 46:51 |
| 2. | "Dark Road" (Music video) | 3:46 |
| 3. | "Bonus materials" |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Little Bird" (Live) | 4:20 |
| 2. | "Walking on Broken Glass" (Live) | 4:30 |
| 3. | "Smithereens" (with Audio Commentary) | 5:15 |
| 4. | "Sing" (with Audio Commentary) | 4:46 |
| 5. | "Dark Road" (with Audio Commentary) | 3:47 |
Personnel
editCredits adapted from the liner notes of Songs of Mass Destruction.[18]
Musicians
edit- Annie Lennox – all vocals, piano, keyboards
- Blair Sinta – drums
- Sean Hurley – bass
- Joel Shearer – guitar
- Randy Kerber – piano, keyboards
- Zac Rae – keyboards
- Glen Ballard – keyboards
- Mike Stevens – keyboards, arrangements
- Eddie Baytos – accordion
- Nadirah X – rap on "Womankind"
- Anastacia, Angélique Kidjo, Beth Gibbons, Beth Orton, Beverley Knight, Bonnie Raitt, Celine Dion, Dido, Faith Hill, Fergie, Gladys Knight, Isobel Campbell, Joss Stone, k.d. lang, KT Tunstall, Madonna, Martha Wainwright, Melissa Etheridge, Pink, Sarah McLachlan, Shakira, Shingai Shoniwa, Sugababes – choir on "Sing"
- The Generics – additional performance on "Sing"
Technical
edit- Glen Ballard – production
- Tom Lord-Alge – mixing at South Beach Studios (Miami Beach, Florida)
- Femio Hernandez – mix assistance
- Scott Campbell – recording engineering
- Mike Stevens – additional production
- Ted Jensen – mastering at Sterling Sound (New York City)
Artwork
edit- Mike Owen – photography
- Allan Martin – design
Charts
edit| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[19] | 41 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[20] | 25 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21] | 57 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[22] | 25 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard)[23] | 9 |
| Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[24] | 14 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[25] | 36 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[26] | 26 |
| European Albums (Billboard)[15] | 9 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[27] | 28 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[28] | 15 |
| Greek Albums (IFPI)[29] | 47 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA)[30] | 21 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[31] | 3 |
| Polish Albums (ZPAV)[32] | 21 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[33] | 6 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[34] | 94 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[35] | 26 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[36] | 7 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[37] | 7 |
| US Billboard 200[38] | 9 |
| US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[39] | 2 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[40] | 3 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[41] | Silver | 71,000[17] |
References
edit- ^ a b "Songs of Mass Destruction reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
- ^ Songs of Mass Destruction at AllMusic. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
- ^ Moser, Margalet. "Music Review: Songs of Mass Destruction – Annie Lennox". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
- ^ Greenblatt, Leah. "Music Review: Songs of Mass Destruction – Annie Lennox". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 5 October 2007.
- ^ Sullivan, Caroline (4 October 2007). "Music Review: Songs of Mass Destruction – Annie Lennox". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 November 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2007.
- ^ Guerra, Joey (2 October 2007). "Annie Lennox doesn't wallow in sadness on new disc". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2007.
- ^ Cromelin, Richard (1 October 2007). "Grit, gospel and an army of Annies". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
- ^ Arnold, Chuck (8 October 2007). "Picks and Pans Review: Songs of Mass Destruction". People. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
- ^ "Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 3 August 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ "Slant Magazine review". Slant Magazine. 27 September 2007. Archived from the original on 5 April 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
- ^ Stylus Magazine review Archived 2 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Annie Lennox Official MySpace Site". Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- ^ RCA Label Group (UK) | News | Annie Lennox – A choir of 23 renowned female artists join Annie on her new album Archived 26 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Official site for "Sing" Archived 26 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 29 January 2008.
- ^ a b Sexton, Paul (11 October 2007). "Bruce Bosses European Albums Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ Hasty, Katie (10 October 2007). "Springsteen Is Boss of Album Chart With 'Magic'". Billboard.
- ^ a b McLean, Craig. "Annie Lennox Draws Upon Childhood for Christmas Album". Billboard. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
- ^ Songs of Mass Destruction (liner notes). Annie Lennox. RCA Records. 2007. 88697154522.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Australiancharts.com – Annie Lennox – Songs of Mass Destruction". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Annie Lennox – Songs of Mass Destruction" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Annie Lennox – Songs of Mass Destruction" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Annie Lennox – Songs of Mass Destruction" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ "Annie Lennox Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 41.Týden 2007 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Annie Lennox – Songs of Mass Destruction". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Annie Lennox – Songs of Mass Destruction" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Annie Lennox – Songs of Mass Destruction". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Annie Lennox – Songs of Mass Destruction" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ "Top 50 Ελληνικών και Ξένων Άλμπουμ" [Top 50 Greek and Foreign Albums] (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 29 October 2007. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 40, 2007". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
- ^ "Italiancharts.com – Annie Lennox – Songs of Mass Destruction". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
- ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Annie Lennox – Songs of Mass Destruction". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Annie Lennox – Songs of Mass Destruction". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Annie Lennox – Songs of Mass Destruction". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ "Annie Lennox Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ "Annie Lennox Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ "Annie Lennox Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ "British album certifications – Annie Lennox – Songs of Mass Destruction". British Phonographic Industry. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 13 September 2021.