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From the Dallas Morning News:
An Annie Lennox concert proceeds like a three-act play. The first segment immediately engages. The second portion reaches deep into the artistic core. The finale rouses the audience, bringing them to their feet for an explosive ending.
Before an enthusiastic crowd Sunday night at Southern Methodist University's McFarlin Auditorium, the always dramatic singer-songwriter delivered songs from her four solo albums and a smattering of selections from her days as half of the Eurythmics.
She was backed by a fierce seven-piece band that included two female background vocalists. The 75-minute show's musical heart was rave-up R&B, a style that Ms. Lennox has mastered. But she also found space for a stripped-down midpoint during which she revealed her piano-playing talents.
Opening with "No More 'I Love You's'," the Grammy-winning song from 1995's covers CD Medusa, immediately put her in a playful mood. She pranced around the microphone as if in some spoof of Swan Lake . She followed with "Little Bird" and "Walking on Broken Glass," both from her solo debut, 1992's Diva.
Ms. Lennox is such an expressive singer, able to dip into a rich lower register, then soar to a piercing high. She feels each lyric, singing it with potency and reverence. Within the space of the song, she's in character.
"Pavement Cracks," from 2003's Bare, and "Dark Road," from the new Songs of Mass Destruction, displayed her knack for wringing emotions out of seemingly simple words. "Pavement Cracks" closed with Ms. Lennox as a black silhouette while rays of red lights shone behind her. It was a stunning visual that matched her wrenching vocalizations.
For her piano interludes, she peeled away the layers of the Eurythmics' haunting "Here Comes the Rain Again," turning it into a sultry piano ballad. Ditto for "A Thousand Beautiful Things" which morphed into "Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves." The latter tune announced the return to the stage of her background vocalists, two women who soulfully complemented Ms. Lennox's supreme voice.
She took a few more chances, launching into the Eurythmics' "When Tomorrow Comes" and "Thorn In My Side," two less-than-hits that slammed in that rock-meets-R&B style.
Add "Ghost In My Machine," an amazingly funked-up cut from Songs of Mass Destruction, and a heavy take on "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" for that fiery finish.
Her encore? "Sing," her new anthem for HIV-infected African women who pass the virus to their unborn children. It's Ms. Lennox's crusade, to shed light on this cause.
With her force of personality, everybody will stand up and listen.
An Annie Lennox concert proceeds like a three-act play. The first segment immediately engages. The second portion reaches deep into the artistic core. The finale rouses the audience, bringing them to their feet for an explosive ending.
Before an enthusiastic crowd Sunday night at Southern Methodist University's McFarlin Auditorium, the always dramatic singer-songwriter delivered songs from her four solo albums and a smattering of selections from her days as half of the Eurythmics.
She was backed by a fierce seven-piece band that included two female background vocalists. The 75-minute show's musical heart was rave-up R&B, a style that Ms. Lennox has mastered. But she also found space for a stripped-down midpoint during which she revealed her piano-playing talents.
Opening with "No More 'I Love You's'," the Grammy-winning song from 1995's covers CD Medusa, immediately put her in a playful mood. She pranced around the microphone as if in some spoof of Swan Lake . She followed with "Little Bird" and "Walking on Broken Glass," both from her solo debut, 1992's Diva.
Ms. Lennox is such an expressive singer, able to dip into a rich lower register, then soar to a piercing high. She feels each lyric, singing it with potency and reverence. Within the space of the song, she's in character.
"Pavement Cracks," from 2003's Bare, and "Dark Road," from the new Songs of Mass Destruction, displayed her knack for wringing emotions out of seemingly simple words. "Pavement Cracks" closed with Ms. Lennox as a black silhouette while rays of red lights shone behind her. It was a stunning visual that matched her wrenching vocalizations.
For her piano interludes, she peeled away the layers of the Eurythmics' haunting "Here Comes the Rain Again," turning it into a sultry piano ballad. Ditto for "A Thousand Beautiful Things" which morphed into "Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves." The latter tune announced the return to the stage of her background vocalists, two women who soulfully complemented Ms. Lennox's supreme voice.
She took a few more chances, launching into the Eurythmics' "When Tomorrow Comes" and "Thorn In My Side," two less-than-hits that slammed in that rock-meets-R&B style.
Add "Ghost In My Machine," an amazingly funked-up cut from Songs of Mass Destruction, and a heavy take on "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" for that fiery finish.
Her encore? "Sing," her new anthem for HIV-infected African women who pass the virus to their unborn children. It's Ms. Lennox's crusade, to shed light on this cause.
With her force of personality, everybody will stand up and listen.