I've always been a big fan of Lennox's voice and persona. Her first solo CD, DIVA, is one of my favorite albums, and her follow-up MEDUSA has grown on me over the years.

This time though, while I admire the artistry and groove on the voice, something about this project leaves me detached and uninterested.

With the exception of "A Thousand Beautiful Things", "Wonderful" and "Pavement Cracks", I don't think this is a very strong album.

Then again, maybe Lennox is trying to reach me and I'm just not ready to listen to what she has to say? I have to admit that since I've bought this album (over a year ago), I do return to it often and try to get into it, but so far, as a whole, I have not been able to. I'm intrigued by it for sure, but I don't enjoy it.

However, the dance remixes of "A Thousand Beautiful Things", "Wonderful" and "Pavement Cracks" are truly joyful and they are what brought me back to the original tracks in the first place and now I find I like the originals more, but do I need to have dance remixes of all the songs in order to like the whole album? Something must be wrong with this if that's the case.

Who knows if time and/or maturity will help me understand what Lennox is trying to deliver with this set, but whatever happens, I do know that admiration alone is not enough to make an album successful.

There has to be some joy somewhere.

SHE IS WHINY OLD LADY WITH A BAD TASTE OF MUSIC.THE ALBUM IS BORING SHE SUCKS,IT LOOKS LIKE THE LONG BREAK SLOWLY MELTED HER
BRAIN.SARAH MCLACHLAN IS WAY RECOMMENDED AND I DONT LIKE HER THAT MUCH.

When I saw the cover of this album, I thought that it was brilliant because I assumed that the album was about baring her soul. I was so wrong. The whole entire album is about her painful and bitter divorce from her husband Uri. It is not necessary to have a whole entire album about a break-up! All you need is one song and one song only to get the message across. Alanis Morrisette managed to pull off a song about hate with "You ought to Know", and Paul Carrack did the same with "Without you". As Carrack said, : "All that I saw in you, now I see through!" Maybe Lennox was too cheap to see a therapist? Anyway, if you want to hear really good mope music, get Morrissey's greatest hits.

First let me tell you that I've always been appreciating Annie Lennox's works/vocal contributions to film scores. I do think that she has a great, unique, powerful/dramatic voice. I was utterly disappointed by this record. I don't know, but I might have expected something similar to the lush, cinematic "Peace", the latest Eurythmics album - which was simply gorgeous. It had a "90's sound", it was rocking, breathtaking. "Bare" feels so outdated (I mean the arrangements of the songs) as if it was produced 15 years before. IT IS NOTHING LIKE "PEACE"! You'd say that OK, this is a solo album. But I've listened to Medusa too and that was cool - unlike this new alnum. At first I just didn't understand how on earth could Annie do anything like this. There are, let's say four or five "listenable" songs on the album (maybe two really good, but no way outstanding, like "Pavement Craks"), the rest is at times almost annoying. (I mean not my cup of tea at all.) Or utterly boring. ("Hurting Time" and the terrible and blatant "Oh God") Well, I only hope Annie will make better things in the future. This wasn't worth the effort.

With eternity in mind and a desire to act her age without losing her bite, Annie draws from the available wells to craft a pivot-point effort that will only grow in appeal to her audience. First let me state that I'm of like mind with the reviewer who thought her explanation or the cover shot was a bit much. It reminded me a bit of how Paul Weller used to be so defensive in The Style Council and how that posturing often sold short the music, which taken on it's own in hindsight was quite clever and ahead of it's time. Regarding "the explanation"- remember the politics that go on in the A&R departments of the major labels and perhaps this explanation was bargained or coerced, who knows? Unfortunately it suggest that Annie's audience is somehow beneath her intellect or that she herself was unsure of the action...

As for the music, it is swirling with brave intensity and tinged with sentimentality for the Eurythmics era, though probably not deliberately. For example:"Bitter Pill" utitilizes an 80s sounding programmed rhythm that will strike techno-children as cheesy and outdated, while thrilling vintage Eurythmics fans with a taste of that old inventiveness they so loved. I'm torn, one moment i hate it and am embarrased, the other I'm right with it! What does that say? She's still capable of pushing buttons.

On that note is the overall arc of the album, which on the whole lends nobility to the descent of emotion. Many of the songs (make that most) are "downer" types. The best of these are "the Hurting Time" and "Oh God". "Hurting Time" is classic in structure yet original, and will doubtless be reinteptreted in the future by others. "A Thousand Beautiful Things" is haunting because it's suggesting something musical that isn't fully realized here. I'm no musician so I can't explain the mechanics of it, but compositionally it's cutting edge and stays with you. "The Saddest Song I've Got" is actually the most boring song she's got, and by far! That's the only one I really hate here.

Annie's vocal delivery is state-of-the art, and she makes it come off as effortless, but... Listen closely and witness a virtuoso vocalist and the way she spins individual words, syllables, even pauses! Every breath, every movement of the lips and tongue and every micro-decible in volume are choreographed with skilled intent and overseen (without much awareness I'm sure) by a brain steeped in a lifetime of music and emotion dealt in equal servings. I'm reminded of Dusty Springfield (not hard for me!). Annie has stated her admiration and Ms. S's influence on her own developing talent. Annie, you are way beyond the lessons and it is you who now teach the master's course! Anyone who has ever tried to get "mary had a little lamb" to come out in tune in the shower can appreciate the amazing gift that a good vocalist has. I go beyond that and look for storytelling ability and dramatic force, those are what a GREAT vocalist has practiced and cultivated. By doing just that, Annie has assured herself of a loyal and loving audience for all her natural life, and beyond. She chooses to write and compose as well, icing on the cake for us all!

Ive had "Bare" for a year and a half now and keep returning intermittently to it's tracks. Though I like this album in parts, it doesn't fully resonate with me. It may be ahead of it's time (or I'm not ready for it, often the case!). The power of some individual tracks makes up for this, however. It would be foolish to think that such a great musician isn't on to something promising. It will grow on you, but more importantly something here may assist you to grow on your own.