Nostalgia | ||||
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Studio album by Annie Lennox | ||||
Released | 30 September 2014Vinyl) 21 October 2014 (USA) 27 October 2014 (Worldwide) |
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Recorded | October 2013 – mid-2014 | |||
Genre | ||||
Label | Island | |||
Producer |
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Annie Lennox chronology | ||||
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Singles from Nostalgia | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 68/100 |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Boston Globe | positive |
Chicago Tribune | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Guardian | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Mojo | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
New York Daily News | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
PopMatters | 7/10 |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Nostalgia is the sixth studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Annie Lennox, released on 23 October 2014 by Island Records. It is Lennox's first album in four years, and her third album of covers. The album consists of cover versions of compositions from the Great American Songbook; researched and learned by Lennox as she studied archival footage uploaded to YouTube.
Nostalgia debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 32,000 copies, earning Lennox her third US top ten solo album, as well as her first-ever number-one album on both Billboard's Jazz Albums and Traditional Jazz Albums charts. It has sold 139,000 copies in the US as of April 2015. The album debuted at number nine on the UK Albums Chart, becoming Lennox's fifth UK top ten solo album. 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.
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 on 30 September 2014 as a three-week vinyl exclusive.
Nostalgia was previewed to a small audience at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles on 12 August 2014.
The album has met with generally favourable reviews from critics. On Metacritic, the album has a score of 68 out of 100 based on 8 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. 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."