Hidden Treasure: The Lover Speaks

There are very few albums as criminally unknown to the masses as the one and only release from UK duo The Lover Speaks. Their career certainly began in true story-book fashion; a demo tape made its way to Eurythmics' Dave Stewart, who forwarded it to Jimmy Iovine, who then helped secure a deal with A&M Records. Iovine also produced the duo's lone release, which hits stores in the fall of 1986.

Aside from some obligatory college radio play and a smattering of dance club spins, the album came and went with little fanfare. A second album was released, but rejected by the label. The duo then broke-up in 1988.

That could have been the final chapter in this saga if not for Eurythmics' singer Annie Lennox rediscovering the song "No More I Love You's" for her 1995 covers project, Medusa. Her version of the song broke the US Top 40 and received massive Top 40 radio airplay.

While the original version of the song is not without its charms, Lennox did not so much cover the song as re-invent it and, in doing so, make it her own. After months of hearing Lennox's version, I recall revisiting the original and being quite surprised at the depth of her interpretation. Where the original is much more idiosyncratic, mixing male/female vocals to great effect, Lennox creates a singular vocal performance that lifts the song to new heights, all the while retaining many of the idiosyncrasies that could have very easily fallen by the wayside.

While the song was obviously worthy of the attention Lennox brought to it, the great thing about The Lover Speaks' album is that there is a wealth of great material to be found beyond "the hit". The aforementioned "Never To Forget You" has an earworm-of-a-chorus and a dance groove that, in hindsight, seems tailor-made for the charts and dance floors alike. "Love Is: 'I Gave You Everything'" sounds like a love theme from a John Hughes movie that never was. Close your eyes and you can almost see a young Jon Cryer crying his eyes out in the rain.

"Okay, Darren, we get it, it's a great album. Where can we buy it?"

I'm glad you asked. A quick check of Amazon and eBay reveals that, indeed, you can buy the album. It's gonna cost you, though. Used copies go for a minimum of $85 on Amazon.

This, of course, is a direct result of the album never receiving a much-deserved re-release on CD beyond its initial 1986 release. Considering the fact that just about everything else has seen the light of day on CD, I remain speechless as to why this album remains a buried gem.

And, of course, the idea of paying $85 for any CD is absurd.

Every Lover's Sign
No More I Love You's
Never To Forget You
Face Me And Smile
Absent One
Love Is 'I Gave You Everything'
This Can't Go On
Still Faking This Art Of Love
Tremble Dancing
Of Tears