Illustration by Jillian Tamaki

Last week, Annie Lennox announced that she was regretfully bowing out of an upcoming speaking engagement at Edinburgh's Festival of Politics, due to a back injury incurred while attending an AIDS conference in Mexico. Today, the Scottish singer-songwriter issued an update.

The good news: she's healing well after surgery to repair an "impinged nerve". The bad news: her forthcoming retrospective collection, which spanned the tremendously talented artist-slash-activist's catalogue of solo hits, is in limbo. Originally slated for a September 16 release, the project's been shelved till 2009, presumably cuz the fat cats at RCA/Sony want to make sure she's able to pull off an exhaustive promo tour without feeling as though she's walking on broken glass (sorry).

Judging from a sneak peek at the projected track listing, the set's worth waiting for (though hardcore Lennox fans no doubt already have every song):

THE ANNIE LENNOX COLLECTION

Track Listing

1. “Little Bird”

2. “Walking on Broken Glass”

3. “Why”

4. “No More I Love You’s”

5. “Precious”

6. “A Whiter Shade of Pale”

7. “A Thousand Beautiful Things”

8. “Sing”

9. “Pavement Cracks”

10. “Love Song for a Vampire”

11. “Cold”

12. “Dark Road”

13. “Pattern of My Life”

14. “Shining Light”

To sate your Lennox-lust in the interim, here's a clip of the woman VH1 called "the greatest white soul singer alive," performing her ethereal tune Why? at the Arista label's 25th anniversary bash.

--Sarah Liss