Music: Listening Party for Annie Lennox "Nostalgia"

One of the most successful, talented and creatively engaging artists in pop music history - and one of my personal musical idols - Annie Lennox, will release her 7th solo album Nostalgia on October 21st.

Nostalgia is a collection of the iconic singer’s impassioned takes on standards primarily from the 1930s and 1940s, many of them popularized by the likes of Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Jo Stafford and Louis Armstrong.

Nostalgia is the result of hours Lennox spent perusing vintage recordings and video performances of songs from the Great American Songbook, particularly those rooted in the blues.

“I was just curious,” says the singer/songwriter. “I thought, ‘I wonder what my voice would be like. Would these songs suit my voice?’ It was like a little challenge. I just sort of got to know them, became friends with them really and had a great deal of joy in the process.”

In choosing the songs for the new album, Lennox had this to say: “I think your values change and shift. I’m a woman and I’m getting older but I want to still make music. I don’t want to twerk, but I want to be relevant."

Produced by long-time collaborator Mike Stevens and recorded in his West London studio, Lennox explores levels of depth and warmth in songs that primarily originated from the civil-rights era.

Nostalgia will be released by Blue Note Recordings in the US. “To have been given the opportunity to record these classic, timeless songs on such a significant label as Blue Note, representing 75 years of legendary jazz history, is truly a privilege for me,” said Annie Lennox.

The album will be available digitally, on CD and in a deluxe CD/DVD edition on October 21. The deluxe CD/DVD package, which will be available exclusively at Amazon, will include Nostalgia plus a 36-page book with photos and detailed notes on the songs and lyrics as well as a DVD that features Annie discussing the album and a video of Lennox performing “I Put A Spell On You” live.

You can also pre-order today on iTunes and download the first single "I Put A Spell On You" today.

Nostalgia – Track Listing:

1. Memphis In June
2. Georgia On My Mind
3. I Put A Spell On You
4. Summertime
5. I Cover The Waterfront
6. Strange Fruit
7. God Bless The Child
8. You Belong To Me
9. September In The Rain
10. I Can Dream, Can’t I?
11. The Nearness Of You
12. Mood Indigo