Nostalgia (Annie Lennox album)

Nostalgia is the sixth studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Annie Lennox. It was released on 30 September 2014 by Island Records.[1] It is Lennox's first album in four years, and her third album of covers. The album consists entirely of cover versions, mainly of compositions from the Great American Songbook originally written in the 1930s; two compositions initially date from the 1950s. The material was researched and learned by Lennox as she studied archival footage uploaded to YouTube.[2]

Nostalgia
Studio album by Annie Lennox
Released	30 September 2014 (2014-09-30)
Recorded	October 2013 – mid-2014
Genre	Soul jazz
Length	42:31
Label	Island
Producer	Annie Lennox Mike Stevens
Annie Lennox chronology
A Christmas Cornucopia (2010) Nostalgia (2014)
Singles from Nostalgia
"I Put a Spell on You" Released: 15 September 2014 "Summertime" Released: 30 September 2014

Nostalgia debuted at number nine on the UK Albums Chart, becoming Lennox's sixth UK top-10 solo album. It debuted at number 10 on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 32,000 copies, earning Lennox her third top-10 solo album on the chart, as well as her first-ever number-one album on both Billboard's Jazz Albums and Traditional Jazz Albums charts.[3] It had sold 139,000 copies in the United States as of April 2015.[4] Nostalgia peaked inside the top ten in Austria, Canada, Italy and Switzerland. The album was nominated for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 57th Grammy Awards.[5]

Background and release

On 15 August 2014, Lennox published a blog post on her official website announcing the upcoming release of Nostalgia. She stated that the album would initially be released on vinyl LP format[1] on 30 September 2014 as a three-week vinyl exclusive.[2] Nostalgia was previewed to a small audience at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles on 12 August 2014.[2]

Promotion

Lennox explained that she did not plan to tour as extensively as she did in support of her album Songs of Mass Destruction (2007). She told Billboard that "at this point in time, less is more for me. I'm more about quality than quantity, and I think this is quite a niche place to be."[2]

The single "I Put a Spell on You" received its first radio play on 15 September 2014 by Ken Bruce on BBC Radio 2.[6] Lennox performed the song at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards in 2015, and coupled with the inclusion of the track as the opening song of the film Fifty Shades of Grey, pushed it into the Billboard Hot 100 at number 97 in February 2015. It also entered the UK Singles Chart at number 63 that same month.

Critical response

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	68/100[7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[8]
The Boston Globe	Positive[9]
Chicago Tribune	[10]
The Guardian	[11]
Mojo	[12]
New York Daily News	[13]
PopMatters	7/10[14]
Rolling Stone	[15]

Nostalgia received generally favourable reviews from critics. At Metacritic, the album has a score of 68 out of 100 based on eight reviews.

Mojo gave the album a positive review, stating it was "Straight and true, without a trace of rear-view-mirror sentimentality." Mike Wass of Idolator wrote that Lennox "breathes new life into the much-covered gems with perhaps the best vocal performance of her long and varied career", noting the assistance given by the "haunting arrangements". He stated that it would be an understatement to call the album "a departure from Annie's usual oeuvre," and that Lennox "puts her own inimitable spin" on the tracks.[16] In a mixed review, The Guardian stated "Lennox can't hope to approach the anguish or disgust of Billie Holiday's original 'Strange Fruit', so why even try, unless you're going to totally reinvent the song like the Cocteau Twins did? Lennox is at her best when she sounds most involved, and her beautiful takes on 'Georgia on My Mind', 'God Bless the Child' and 'You Belong to Me' are full of poignancy and yearning."[11]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Memphis in June"	Paul Francis Webster Hoagy Carmichael	2:47
2.	"Georgia on My Mind"	Carmichael Stuart Gorrell	3:55
3.	"I Put a Spell on You"	Screamin' Jay Hawkins	3:32
4.	"Summertime"	George Gershwin DuBose Heyward Ira Gershwin	5:12
5.	"I Cover the Waterfront"	Johnny Green Edward Heyman	2:59
6.	"Strange Fruit"	Abel Meeropol	3:46
7.	"God Bless the Child"	Billie Holiday Arthur Herzog, Jr.	3:03
8.	"You Belong to Me"	Chilton Price Pee Wee King Redd Stewart	3:22
9.	"September in the Rain"	Harry Warren Al Dubin	2:53
10.	"I Can Dream, Can't I?"	Sammy Fain Irving Kahal	2:56
11.	"The Nearness of You"	Carmichael Ned Washington	2:32
12.	"Mood Indigo"	Duke Ellington Barney Bigard Irving Mills	5:34

Deluxe edition bonus DVD

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Annie Lennox Discusses Nostalgia"
2.	"I Put a Spell on You" (live)	Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2014) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[17] 16 Australian Jazz Albums (ARIA)[18] 1 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19] 10 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] 45 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[21] 24 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[22] 9 Croatian Albums (HDU)[23] 16 Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[24] 17 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[25] 13 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[26] 34 French Albums (SNEP)[27] 75 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[28] 15 Greek Albums (IFPI)[29] 8 Irish Albums (IRMA)[30] 16 Italian Albums (FIMI)[31] 7 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[32] 17 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[33] 25 Polish Albums (ZPAV)[34] 22 Scottish Albums (OCC)[35] 7 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[36] 70 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[37] 34 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[38] 8 UK Albums (OCC)[39] 9 US Billboard 200[40] 10 US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)[41] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2014) Position Australian Jazz Albums (ARIA)[42] 4 UK Albums (OCC)[43] 71 US Top Jazz Albums (Billboard)[44] 3

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[45]	Gold	100,000^^
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Edition	Label	Ref.
United States	30 September 2014	LP	Standard	Blue Note	[46]
	21 October 2014	CD + DVD	Limited (Amazon exclusive)		[47]
		Digital download	Standard		[48]
Germany	24 October 2014	CD LP digital download		Universal	[49][50][51]
		CD + DVD	Deluxe		[52]
France	27 October 2014	CD digital download	Standard		[53][54]
		Digital download	Deluxe		[55]
United Kingdom		CD LP digital download	Standard	Island	[56][57][58]
		CD + DVD digital download	Deluxe		[59][60]
Australia	31 October 2014	CD digital download	Standard	Universal	[61][62]
		Digital download	Deluxe		[63]

References

1. Lennox, Annie (15 August 2014). "New Album – Nostalgia – Coming Soon". AnnieLennox.com. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
2. Hampp, Andrew (14 August 2014). "Exclusive: Annie Lennox Talks Return to Music With 'Nostalgia' Album, Reveals Cover, Track List & More". Billboard. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
3. Caulfield, Keith (30 October 2014). "Annie Lennox 'Thrilled and Delighted' to Have No. 1 Jazz Album". Billboard. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
4. "Upcoming Releases". Hits Daily Double. Archived from the original on 25 April 2015.
5. "Grammys 2015: Complete list of nominees". Los Angeles Times. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
6. "Tony Blackburn picks the Tracks of My Years". BBC Radio 2. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
7. "Nostalgia Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". metacritic.com. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
8. Nostalgia at AllMusic. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
9. Reed, James (28 October 2014). "Music Review: Annie Lennox Nostalgia". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
10. "Annie Lennox turns nostalgia trip into a dull ride" (Chicago Tribune)
11. The Guardian (Annie Lennox: Nostalgia review – poignant renditions of pre-rock standards)
12. [Mojo Magazine (Nov 2014, p.92)
13. Farber, Jim (21 October 2014). "CD reviews". NY Daily News. New York Daily News. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
14. Popmatters
15. Hermes, Will (21 October 2014). ""Sweet Dreams" diva digs into standards, shows off that voice (Nostalgia review)". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
16. Wass, Mike (13 August 2014). "Annie Lennox Previews New Covers LP 'Nostalgia' At Hollywood Forever Cemetery In LA". Idolator. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
17. "Australiancharts.com – Annie Lennox – Nostalgia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
18. "ARIA Jazz Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 10 November 2014. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
19. "Austriancharts.at – Annie Lennox – Nostalgia" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
20. "Ultratop.be – Annie Lennox – Nostalgia" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
21. "Ultratop.be – Annie Lennox – Nostalgia" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
22. "Annie Lennox Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
23. "Top Kombiniranih [Top Combined]" (in Croatian). Top Combined Albums. Hrvatska diskografska udruga. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
24. "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 201504 on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
25. "Danishcharts.dk – Annie Lennox – Nostalgia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
26. "Dutchcharts.nl – Annie Lennox – Nostalgia" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
27. "Lescharts.com – Annie Lennox – Nostalgia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
28. "Offiziellecharts.de – Annie Lennox – Nostalgia" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
29. "Official IFPI Charts – Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Week: 7/2015)". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 28 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
30. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 46, 2014". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
31. "Italiancharts.com – Annie Lennox – Nostalgia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
32. "Charts.nz – Annie Lennox – Nostalgia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
33. "Norwegiancharts.com – Annie Lennox – Nostalgia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
34. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
35. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
36. "Spanishcharts.com – Annie Lennox – Nostalgia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
37. "Swedishcharts.com – Annie Lennox – Nostalgia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 December 2014.
38. "Swisscharts.com – Annie Lennox – Nostalgia". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
39. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
40. "Annie Lennox Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
41. "Annie Lennox Chart History (Top Jazz Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
42. "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 50 Jazz & Blues Albums 2014". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
43. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2014". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
44. "Jazz Albums – Year-End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
45. "British album certifications – Annie Lennox – Nostalgia". British Phonographic Industry. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Nostalgia in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
46. "Annie Lennox: Nostalgia (Vinyl)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
47. "Nostalgia (Ltd. Ed CD/DVD Deluxe Amazon Exclusive)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
48. "Nostalgia by Annie Lennox". iTunes Store (US). Apple. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
49. "Annie Lennox | Nostalgia" (in German). Universal Music Germany. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
50. "Nostalgia (Limited Edition) [Vinyl LP]" (in German). Amazon.de. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
51. "Nostalgia: Annie Lennox: MP3-Downloads" (in German). Amazon.de. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
52. "Nostalgia (Deluxe Edition)" (in German). Amazon.de. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
53. "Nostalgia – Annie Lennox – CD album" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
54. "Nostalgia: Annie Lennox: Téléchargements MP3" (in French). Amazon.fr. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
55. "Nostalgia (Deluxe) par Annie Lennox" (in French). 7digital (FR). Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
56. "Nostalgia by Annie Lennox". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
57. "Nostalgia [VINYL] by Annie Lennox". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
58. "Nostalgia: Annie Lennox: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
59. "Nostalgia (CD+DVD) by Annie Lennox". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
60. "Nostalgia (Deluxe) by Annie Lennox". 7digital (UK). Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
61. "Nostalgia". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
62. "Nostalgia by Annie Lennox". zdigital (AU). Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
63. "Nostalgia (Deluxe) by Annie Lennox". zdigital (AU). Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.