Savage is the sixth studio album by British pop duo Eurythmics, released on 9 November 1987 by RCA Records. The album peaked at number seven on the UK Albums Chart and has been certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments in excess of 300,000 copies.
The album spawned a total of four singles – "Beethoven (I Love to Listen To)", "Shame", "I Need a Man" and "You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart", all of which achieved considerable commercial success internationally.
Background
Following the much more mainstream commercial content of their previous two albums, Savage saw Eurythmics return to a more experimental sound that their early albums incorporated. The album was recorded at Chateau de Dangu in Normandy and mixed at Grande Armée Studios in Paris. The only other musician working on the recordings with Stewart and Annie Lennox was drummer Olle Romo, who handled much of the Synclavier programming. Lennox brought more of a feminist focus to her lyrics which was made more evident by the accompanying video album, which featured a video for each song.
Release and reception
Although the album was not as commercially successful as the duo's previous two albums, it reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom, spawned three UK top-30 singles, and has been certified Platinum. It was less successful in the United States, where it peaked at number 41.
On 14 November 2005, Sony BMG repackaged and released most of Eurythmics' back catalogue (including Savage) as deluxe edition reissues. Each of their eight studio albums' original track listings were supplemented with bonus tracks and remixes.
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Savage.
Eurythmics
- Annie Lennox
- David A. Stewart
Additional musician
- Olle Romo – programming
Technical
- Fred DeFaye – recording engineering; mixing engineering
- Alan Moulder – lead vocal recording
- Claude Pons – mixing engineering assistance
- Manu Guiot – additional recording ; mixing engineering
- Serge Pauchard – mixing engineering assistance
- David A. Stewart – production
Artwork
- Alastair Thain – sleeve photography
- Laurence Stevens – sleeve design
Charts
Weekly charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ Weekly chart performance for Savage
! scope="col"| Chart (1987–1988)
! scope="col"| Peak<br>position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (Australian Music Report)
| 15
|-
|-
|-
|-
! scope="row"| European Albums (Music & Media)
| 6
|-
! scope="row"| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)
| 9
|-
! scope="row"| French Albums (IFOP)
| 26
|-
|-
! scope="row"| Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)
| 11
|-
! scope="row"| Japanese Albums (Oricon)
| 89
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|}
Year-end charts
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 1987 year-end chart performance for Savage
! scope="col"| Chart (1987)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| UK Albums (Gallup)
| 85
|}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+ 1988 year-end chart performance for Savage
! scope="col"| Chart (1988)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| Australian Albums (Australian Music Report)
| 77
|-
! scope="row"| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)
| 42
|}