“NOSTALGIA”

Blue Note Records

Annie Lennox, late of Eurythmics fame, is on shaky ground. “Nostalgia,” the title of her sixth studio album, is a loaded word, one that does not bode well for an artist once famous for pushing the outer edges of pop showmanship. And its premise, basically an American songbook rehash, is too often a phone-it-in, late-career refuge for countless rockers and divas, including Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, Aretha Franklin and Joni Mitchell.

What can Lennox offer that’s new? Not much, it turns out. It’s not like she’s radically rearranging classics associated with Hoagy Carmichael, Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday. Instead, she plays it straight, stripping the songs back and inviting comparisons to the great interpreters from eras past, including Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra.

Lennox’s technique is a good match for these songs, though the years have shaved a few inches off the top of her range. She doesn’t attack the songs so much as hold them up to the light, to be respected and revered anew. She could easily blow the top off “I Put a Spell on You,” but instead of going toe to toe with Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ unstoppable original, her restraint puts the emphasis on the song and its creepy tale of obsession.

Because the song selections aren’t particularly adventurous, Lennox sounds boxed in as an interpreter. It’s difficult to imagine how she could put a fresh-spin on well-worn standards such as “Summertime,” “Georgia on My Mind” and “The Nearness of You,” and she doesn’t offer any revelations. She takes on Holiday’s harrowing “Strange Fruit,” and gives it a dignified reading that is stark, solemn and a tad underwhelming. Holiday’s version is a monument that Lennox carefully tip-toes around. Like much of the album, it sounds strangely dull.

Clearly, these songs are standards for a reason, and Lennox does nothing to tarnish their legacy — or expand it.

— Greg Kot,

Chicago Tribune