The Ultimate Collection

1	I've Got a Life 4:07
2	Love Is a Stranger 3:44
3	Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) 3:37
4	Who's That Girl? 3:47
5	Right by Your Side 3:50
6	Here Comes the Rain Again 4:51
7	Would I Lie to You? 4:26
8	There Must Be an Angel (Playing With My Heart) 4:42
9	Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves 4:56
10	It's Alright (Baby's Coming Back) 3:48
11	When Tomorrow Comes 4:17
12	Thorn in My Side 4:15
13	The Miracle of Love 4:35
14	Missionary Man 3:48
15	You Have Placed a Chill in My Heart 3:53
16	I Need a Man 4:24
17	I Saved the World Today 4:28
18	17 Again 4:22
19	Was It Just Another Love Affair? 3:52

Barnes & Noble

As this career-spanning retrospective proves, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart's cerebral brand of '80s dance-pop stands the test of time. Ultimate Collection touches on all aspects of the duo's creative partnership, from the polished keyboard pulse of songs like "Who's That Girl?" to the horn-drenched techno-soul of "Would I Lie to You?" And those are just the titles that end in question marks. Lennox's performances mark her as one of the era's most fluid, compelling singers, capable of creating neo-cabaret drama on "Love Is a Stranger" and dueting lovingly with Aretha Franklin -- a palpable influence on her style -- on "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves." The duo's evolution, and incremental disintegration, is palpable on later tracks -- notably the sighing "I Saved the World Today" -- but the pair of new songs they recorded for inclusion here hark back, rather surprisingly, to their halcyon days. The ornate "I've Got a Life" employs the same sort of intricate arrangements and empowering lyrical stance that permeated albums like Be Yourself Tonight, while the moodier "Was It Just Another Love Affair?" re-creates the ambience of In the Garden. Consider them cherries atop a sonic sundae that offers a new flavor with every spoonful. David Sprague

All Music Guide

Preceding the elaborate 2005 reissues of Eurythmics' eight proper albums by a month, The Ultimate Collection narrowly trumps 1991's Greatest Hits since it features remastered sound and a more extensive track list. While it does not contain "Don't Ask Me Again," opting to instead select a couple merely decent highlights from 1999's Peace, two new (unplanned) recordings add value for any kind of fan. Bookending the disc, "I've Got a Life" is powerful disco-pop with Annie Lennox strongly present over a bursting multi-tiered arrangement, while the relatively low-key "Was It Just Another Affair" has more in common with late-period Everything But the Girl. Both songs pleasingly sound the way Eurythmics should sound in 2005. The rest of the disc leans toward the duo's peak of popularity, 1985's Be Yourself Tonight and the following year's Revenge, while the remainder of the albums -- with the exception of the unrepresented In the Garden, the debut -- chime in with two or three songs each. A truly ultimate collection would contain two discs and dig deeper into some of the best album cuts, rather than rely on charting singles, but this disc will sufficiently satisfy the casual fans who just want the songs they know and love. Andy Kellman