Medusa is the second solo studio album by Scottish singer Annie Lennox, released on 6 March 1995 by RCA Records. It consists entirely of cover songs. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number one and peaked in the United States at number 11, spending 60 weeks on the Billboard 200. It has since achieved double platinum status in both the United Kingdom and the United States.

The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards in 1996. Lennox won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her work on the first single released from Medusa, "No More 'I Love You's', which was released in February 1995 to critical acclaim. Entering the UK Singles Charts at number two, the single is Lennox's highest-charting single in the United Kingdom to date. A further three singles were released during 1995 – "A Whiter Shade of Pale", "Waiting in Vain" and "Something So Right".

Background and recording

Like her debut solo album, Diva, Lennox once again worked with record producer Stephen Lipson on Medusa.

Lennox explains the origins of the album in the liner notes:

<blockquote>

This album contains a selection of songs I have been drawn to for all kinds of reasons. They were not chosen with any particular theme or concept in mind—the method was more by instinct than by design. The work undertaken was truly a labour of love for me and I feel privileged to have been given this opportunity. Likewise, in the United Kingdom, it also debuted atop the UK Albums Chart, spending a total of fifty-four weeks within the UK Top 100. Additionally, it debuted at number thirty-eight on the Official Vinyl Albums Chart in the United Kingdom in March 2018. and number two in both Austria and Italy. It reached the top ten in a number of territories such as Germany, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Portugal and New Zealand. Since its release, Medusa has sold over 6 million copies worldwide as of 2018, and achieved double platinum certification in both the United Kingdom and the United States. The album was also awarded double platinum status in both Canada and Ireland, indicating sales in excess of both 200,000 and 30,000 copies respectively. It achieved Gold certification status in Australia, Argentina, Austria, France, Germany and Spain.

Awards and accolades

Lead single "No More 'I Love You's won the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 1996 Grammy Awards and was nominated for Best British Single at the 1996 Brit Awards. Despite missing out on the award for Best British Single, Lennox won the award for Best British Female for the second time. || Medusa || Best Pop Vocal Album ||

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|"No More 'I Love You's || Best Pop Vocal Performance – Female ||

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Critical reception

Professional reviews for Medusa ranged from favourable to hostile. AllMusic said critics "savaged" the album upon release: Trouser Press characterised Lennox's interpretations of classic songs as "obvious", "milquetoast" and "willfully wrongheaded". Reviewer Ira Robbins said, "The only song here that benefits from her ministrations is 'No More "I Love You's, a minor 1986 hit for Britain's otherwise forgotten The Lover Speaks, and that's only by dint of the original's obscurity."

Rolling Stone gave the album a mixed review:

<blockquote>Annie Lennox called her justifiably popular solo debut Diva, but it's actually on the follow-up effort Medusa that she really starts acting like one. This wildly uneven album of cover versions starts with perhaps its highest point — a truly wonderful interpretation of "No More 'I Love You's, a relatively obscure British hit by the Lover Speaks. Unfortunately, Lennox doesn't work the same magic with more familiar material like Al Green's "Take Me to the River" and Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale".</blockquote>

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Medusa.

Musicians

  • Annie Lennox – all vocals, keyboards, flute
  • Stephen Lipson – programming, guitar, keyboards, bass
  • Marius de Vries – keyboards, programming
  • Luís Jardim – percussion, bass
  • Peter-John Vettese, Andy Richards, Matthew Cooper – keyboards
  • Tony Pastor – guitar
  • Dann Gillen, Neil Conti – drums
  • Doug Wimbish – bass
  • Judd Lander, Mark Feltham – harmonica
  • Pandit Dinesh – tablas
  • Kirampal Singh – santoor
  • James McNally – accordion
  • Danny D, Steve Sidelnyk – additional programming
  • Anne Dudley – orchestral, brass and string arrangement

Technical

  • Stephen Lipson – production
  • Heff Moraes – engineering, mixing
  • Marius de Vries – pre-production

Artwork

  • Laurence Stevens – sleeve design
  • Bettina Rheims – photography

Live in Central Park

160px|thumb|right|DVD cover

Although no tour was held to promote this album, Lennox played a one-off concert in Central Park in New York City on 9 September 1995. This was subsequently released on videotape as Annie Lennox in the Park and on DVD as Annie Lennox Live in Central Park.

Information

  • Director: Joe Dyer
  • Recorded: Live in Central Park Summerstage, New York City, 9 September 1995
  • Release date: December 1995 (video); December 2000 (DVD)
  • Label: BMG/Arista
  • Runtime: 90 minutes

Track listing

  1. "Money Can't Buy It" (Lennox)
  2. "Legend in My Living Room" (Lennox, Vettese)
  3. "Walking on Broken Glass" (Lennox)
  4. "No More 'I Love You's (Hughes, Freeman)
  5. "Who's That Girl?" (Lennox, Stewart)
  6. "You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart" (Lennox, Stewart)
  7. "Waiting in Vain" (Marley)
  8. "I Love You Like a Ball and Chain" (Lennox, Stewart)
  9. "Little Bird" (Lennox)
  10. "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (Lennox, Stewart)
  11. "Train in Vain" (Jones, Strummer)
  12. "Why" (Lennox)

Promotional video clips

  1. <li value=13> "No More 'I Love You's (Hughes, Freeman)
  2. "A Whiter Shade of Pale" (Reid, Brooker, Fisher)
  3. "Waiting in Vain" (Marley)
  4. "Something So Right" (Simon)

Charts

Weekly charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ Weekly chart performance for Medusa

|-

! scope="col"| Chart (1995)

! scope="col"| Peak<br />position

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

! scope="row"| Danish Albums (Hitlisten)

| 6

|-

|-

! scope="row"| European Albums (Music & Media)

| 3

|-

! scope="row"| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)

| 10

|-

! scope="row"| French Albums (SNEP)

| 50

|-

|-

|-

! scope="row"| Portuguese Albums (AFP)

| 93

|-

! scope="row"| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)

| 24

|-

! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)

| 60

|-

! scope="row"| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)

| 17

|-

! scope="row"| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)

| 5

|-

! scope="row"| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)

| 25

|-

! scope="row"| European Albums (Music & Media)

| 17

|-

! scope="row"| French Albums (SNEP)

| 46

|-

! scope="row"| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)

| 30

|-

! scope="row"| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)

| 30

|-

! scope="row"| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)

| 56

|-

! scope="row"| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)

| 26

|-

! scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC)

| 14

|-

! scope="row"| US Billboard 200

| 50

|}

Certifications

References