Classic Mo’ Better than the Book
posted by on February 27 at 10:35 AM
The best thing about Michael Radford’s adaptation of George Orwell’s novel 1984 is not in the movie, the Eurythmics’ soundtrack.
Radford rejected the Eurythmics’ synthpop score and instead used a dull (dry, dead, dreadful) original orchestral score. The Eurythmics, however, released the soundtrack separately and provided the world with what might be the only instance of a soundtrack being not only better than the movie but also the book.
No need to read Orwell when the essence of his famous work is better captured by the Eurythmics’ pop.
Track List01. I Did It Just the Same - 3:29
02. Sexcrime (nineteen eighty-four) - 3:59
03. For the Love of Big Brother - 5:06
04. Winston’s Diary - 1:22
05. Greetings from a Dead Man - 6:14
06. Julia - 6:40
07. Doubleplusgood - 4:41
08. Ministry of Love - 3:48
09. Room 101 - 3:50
Charles - thanks for this post, as I'm a big fan of both the book and definitly of Annie L...and wasn't aware of this album. long live the 80s, eh? cheers -
"SexCrime (1984)" is still my favorite Eurythmics track. I used to watch the video at (ok, this makes me very old) a video jukebox in a video-game arcade as a kid all the time.
Yah! You probably never heard of this overlooked gem in Annie Lennox's discography, because the record label chose to release "Sexcrime" as a single, which was widely misinterpreted as a song about rape, and therefore bombed accordingly. The full length album then sunk without a trace, and the Eurythmics went to work on their next album. Combine this with the director rejecting the soundtrack for his album, and the press that surrounded it at the time, and the album was D.O.A. in record stores.
Chalk it up to cultural illiteracy.
That book is banned in Cuba, oddly enough. I wonder if the CD is, as well.
Orwell >>>>>> Eurythmics
No contest.
This was easily my favorite Eurythmics album at the time. It was re-issued about 12 years ago, but is sadly out of print again.
It's far and away the weakest album they ever made. (With the possible exception of The Garden - and not counting the utterly inconsequential "reunion" one - whatever it was even called.)
thanks Charles- I love your taste in music. I agree it's an amazing soundtrack. I have the album first release edition and adore it.
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