cover image Sweet Dreams Are Made of This: A Life in Music

Sweet Dreams Are Made of This: A Life in Music

Dave Stewart. New American Library, $27.95 (336p) ISBN 978-0-451-47768-2

In this sometimes tedious and tuneless but often melodic memoir, Stewart, who formed the Eurythmics with Annie Lennox, cannily and humorously catalogs his up and downs in music. After a soccer injury sidelined him in his youth, he picked up a Spanish guitar that his brother had given him. Before long, Stewart put his energy into music and began to see himself as a troubadour in the mold of Leonard Cohen, Donovan, and Bob Dylan. After a few years of playing music with friends, he met Annie Lennox and was mesmerized by "her singing, the chords she's playing, her delicate words, and her haunting beauty." Eventually, they form the Eurythmics%E2%80%94whose name they take from a method of teaching music%E2%80%94and record their first album, In the Garden. Stewart catalogs his life in music, going roughly year by year and providing details about albums and his own approach to music. As a producer, he focuses on building music around the human voice because he believes that element is what most people feel most emotionally connected with. Stewart also chronicles his work and friendships with artists such as Mick Jagger, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, and Jeff Lynne. Stewart's candid autobiography offers an intimate glimpse into the incandescent energy that's fueled his music and life. (Feb.)