Songs Of Mass Destruction
by Annie Lennox
  • Record Label: Arista
  • Release Date: Oct 2, 2007
Metascore
68

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 18
  3. Negative: 1 out of 18
  1. AllMusic
    80
    It's as gorgeous a collection as "Bare," and pop music should be so lucky as to have more of this kind of thing out in the world.
  2. Amazon.com
    80
    Songs of Mass Destruction is a sterling, rock-solid, expert example.
  3. Austin Chronicle
    78
    With her explosively satisfying fourth solo album, Annie Lennox delivers her best recording since her Eurythmics' heyday, eclipsing even 2003's marvelous "Bare."
  5. Billboard
    80
    There's no getting around the overall thematic pall, but Lennox surrounds every message with such beauty that one remains convinced that it's all going to be OK.
  6. Blender
    70
    The music is dominated by the same pounding pop-disco beats and thick textures that have defined all her record. But now Lennox sounds like she's been rubbed raw by life. [Oct 2007, p.111]
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  7. Boston Globe
    80
    She applies her ever-mesmerizing mix of vocal heat and instrumental chill to images of longing, falling, searching, raging, and despair on her deeply emotional and soul-stirring fourth solo album, Songs of Mass Destruction.
  8. Entertainment Weekly
    75
    While the aim is irreproachable, and Lennox's inimitable voice--all dark-chocolate rasp and throaty power--remains undiminished, listening to the album too frequently feels like eating your veggies. [12 Oct 2007, p.75]
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  9. Hartford Courant
    80
    Songs of Mass Destruction is a crop of solid, occasionally over-refined songs in which she consistently delivers lyrics with grand flourishes even as she lends them powerful intimacy.
  10. Hot Press
    65
    Lennox’s glossy white-soul template does sound a bit dated but she's still impressive when she gets it right.
  11. Los Angeles Times
    75
    Lennox has pop-rock maestro Glen Ballard, who marshals her voices into a cyber-soul chorale. The sleekness doesn't diminish the fervor or the fun.
  12. Observer Music Monthly
    80
    Check out the dissonant 'Womankind' ("Wish I had a lover who could turn this squalor into wine"), while the show stopper is 'Sing'--a collaboration with 23 female superstars that is incandescent.
  13. Rolling Stone
    70
    The result is an album that captures the range of her styles, from the rhythmically charged pop of her Eurythmics days to the haunted, longing ballads of her solo career. If the two approaches don't always cohere, each is satisfying in its own right.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.5

Universal acclaim- based on 38 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 38
  3. Negative: 2 out of 38
  1. KatieF.
    Oct 16, 2007
    10
    One of Annie's best. Moving, uplifting . . . a joy for your ears.
  2. munchkins
    Feb 1, 2017
    9
    Bought this when released. listened approximately a hundred times. Listened to every song, and each time I find/feel a new layer of this pearlBought this when released. listened approximately a hundred times. Listened to every song, and each time I find/feel a new layer of this pearl onion. I pray and hope she lives a very very long healthy life, writing and recording as long as she wants to. Genius.… Full Review »
  3. RandolphO.
    Oct 27, 2007
    10
    When God wrote down the word soul and the word singer, Annie Lennox name was right next to it. There is no other singer with this much When God wrote down the word soul and the word singer, Annie Lennox name was right next to it. There is no other singer with this much emotional power in their singing and songwriting.… Full Review »
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