Critical Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | |
| Entertainment Weekly | C− |
| Los Angeles Times | |
| The New York Times | (Mixed) |
| Rolling Stone | |
Professional reviews for Medusa ranged anywhere from mildly favourable to outright hostile. Allmusic notes that critics "savaged" the album upon release: Trouser Press was probably the most severe in its criticism, characterizing Lennox's interpretations of classic material as "obvious", "milquetoast" and "willfully wrongheaded" (although reviewer Ira Robbins did single out the track "No More I Love You's" for genuine, if backhanded, praise). The review in Rolling Stone, meanwhile, was probably the most positive contemporary review Medusa received, although even Rolling Stone gave it a generally lukewarm critical reception:
Annie Lennox called her justifiably popular solo debut Diva, but it's actually on the follow-up effort Medusa that she really starts acting like one. This wildly uneven album of cover versions starts with perhaps its highest point—a truly wonderful interpretation of "No More I Love You's", a relatively obscure British hit by The Lover Speaks. Unfortunately, Lennox doesn't work the same magic with more familiar material like Al Green's "Take Me to the River" and Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale".
Read more about this topic: Medusa (Annie Lennox album)
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