Songs Of Mass Destruction : Annie Lennox : Review : Rolling Stone

The title is overstated, but Songs of Mass Destruction does layer welcome muscle beneath the porcelain-smooth surface of Annie Lennox's voice. 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.

The album was produced by Glen Ballard, who is best known for his work with Alanis Morissette and the Dave Matthews Band. He roughens up Lennox's sound -- as on "Ghosts in My Machine," which rides an irresistible, staccato synth riff. "Womankind" is a self-esteem booster, while "Sing" gathers a coterie of female vocalists -- including Madonna, Dido and Joss Stone -- to raise awareness about mother-child HIV transmission in Africa. That the song doesn't collapse under its good intentions is a tribute to its sturdy pop craft -- a virtue in more than ample supply on this sparkling album.