Sometimes I can hardly believe that it is seven years since Everything But The Girl released their last and ninth studio Album, Temperamental, but since this Album was released in the September of 1999 then this is a fact.
The release of a re-mixed version of Missing in 1996 by Todd Terry ... Read review
Temperamentalis ample evidence of Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn's continuing evolution from ... more
an acoustic- guitar-based pair of comfortably suburban love griots to acoustically accomplished soundscape explorers who still have a weakness for a pleading mel...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Temperamental is ample evidence of Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn's continuing evolution from ... more
an acoustic- guitar-based pair of comfortably suburban love griots to acoustically accomplished soundscape explorers who still have a weakness for a pleading me...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Temperamentalis ample evidence of Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn's continuing evolution from ... more
an acoustic- guitar-based pair of comfortably suburban love griots to acoustically accomplished soundscape explorers who still have a weakness for a pleading melody. After Todd Terry's remix of "Missing" (fromAmplified Heart) revitalised the duo, Watt took the opportunity to open their sound up to the clubs, all the while managing to retain the sense of warmth against which so much anonymously ironic dance music actively rebels. In doing so, Watt managed to create a bed of music that mirrors and complements Thorn's impossibly expressive, impossibly flat vocals. Though it carries EBTG's sound farther away from their deep roots, a good half of the songs onTemperamentalstill sound right at home next to their earlier acoustic work ("Hatfield 1980", "Low Tide of the Night" and "Lullaby of Clubland", which straddles the gap)--and those that don't, "Blame" and the instrumental "Compression" are more than enjoyable on their own terms.--Randy Silver
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Advantages: Good Songs, Good Lyrics Disadvantages: Only 10 tracks
...is therefore not surprising that Temperamental takes this experimentation a step further.
The Album contains 10 tracks as below:
Five Fathoms
The Low Tide Of The Night
Blame
Hatfield 1980
Temperamental
Compression
Downhill Racer
Lullaby Of Clubland
No Difference
The Future Of The Future
The Albums opens with Five Fathoms. This song is deceptively ... ...the underpass."
Temperamental is obviously the title track from this Album and as you would expect it is one of the standout songs on this Album, the tempo is increased again. This is the sort of song that would never have been made had Todd Terry never remixed Missing those years before, but thankfully he did, and even if you are sick to death of his version of Missing then this is the sort of track that should restore your faith. more
Sometimes I can hardly believe that it is seven years since Everything But The Girl released their last and ninth studio Album, Temperamental, but since this Album was released in the September of 1999 then this is a fact.
The release of a re-mixed version of Missing in 1996 by Todd Terry had ensured that Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt, the duo that comprise the band, embarked on a much more dance orientated Album with the predecessor to Temperamental, Walking Wounded. It is therefore not surprising that Temperamental takes this experimentation a step further.
The Album contains 10 tracks as below:
Five Fathoms The Low Tide Of The Night Blame Hatfield 1980 Temperamental Compression Downhill Racer Lullaby Of Clubland No Difference The Future Of The Future
The Albums opens with Five Fathoms. This song is deceptively upbeat but the strange noises that the band had discovered on Walking Wounded are still here, although now they are more polished and more finely produced. Ben provides most of the musical arrangements on this Album, including the odd scratchboard sounds but he understands the superiority of Tracey's soulful voice so well, that it is never drowned out.
The Low Tide Of The Night is a song that again is written and produced specifically for the dance clubs with its up and down rhythm of droning beats, but here the tempo is a little slower and Tracey's voice rides over the top of this, and above it, with perfect ease. This is a dance song with a difference however as there is a nice string arrangement and even a saxophone melody.
Blame lifts the tempo further but once again Tracey's haunting voice leaves you captivated.
Hatfield 1980 is a standout track on this Album for me. Here the tempo is slowed down again and you suddenly realise that the tracks on this Album seem to be alternating between fast and slow. Lyrically this is Tracey Thorn at her best as she reminisces about her childhood, half talking, half singing as her voice rides over the beats: " Suburbia at 1 am, You're walking home again, Shopping bags and broken glass, I hate going through the underpass."
Temperamental is obviously the title track from this Album and as you would expect it is one of the standout songs on this Album, the tempo is increased again. This is the sort of song that would never have been made had Todd Terry never remixed Missing those years before, but thankfully he did, and even if you are sick to death of his version of Missing then this is the sort of track that should restore your faith.
Compression is an instrumental track which has a fantastic bass rift that keeps you interested right up to the end. Musically this is similar to many of the other tracks found here, particularly Lullaby of Clubland, I can't help feeling however that it would be so much better with Tracey's voice, but then I guess that it was put here to prove that Everything But The Girl are musically adept enough to produce a gem, even without the unique sound of Tracey's voice.
Downhill Racer slows things down a little bit again, but this is a truly beautiful song. It is another showcase of Tracey's lyrical genius where everything fits together perfectly.
Lullaby Of Clubland picks up the pace again, here there are hints of Walking Wounded from their previous Album, and even Todd Terry's trance house beats would not be out of place here. This song works well however and although it was never released as a single it became a firm favourite in the dance clubs on both sides of the Atlantic.
The alternating fast then slower theme continues and next up we have No Difference. Here there is the addition of a Piano and an Acoustic Guitar as Tracey sings her heart out about lost loves and failed relationships.
The final track on the Album is the Future of the Future, a song recorded with the dance act Deep Dish. This track also appears on their Album Junk Science which to me is a testament to the fact that Everything But The Girl have gained the respect of some of the "real" established dance acts in the business and that they are being taken seriously.
Overall I think that this is an excellent Album and the way that the tracks are arranged with fast dance tracks interspersed with slower, more ambient songs works perfectly. Once again Tracey Thorn's voice sets this Album apart from its competitors and Ben's musical arrangements show that the duo are a true professional team.
There is no doubt that this Album takes Everything But The Girl further away from their early roots of Soul and Jazz, yet there is still enough here to sit comfortably alongside their earlier works.
I still listen to this Album regularly and often I wonder what direction its successor would have taken. The fact is however that we may never know because after the release of Temperamental Tracey and Ben decided to put Everything But The Girl on the back burner, Ben forming his dance label Lazy Dog and Tracey opting to stay home and raise her their three kids away from the public glare.
Things however may be about to change as Tracey is about to release a solo Album in the New Year, and she said in a recent interview with a German music magazine that there is the possibility of new Everything But The Girl material in the distance.......
Every thing but the girl, a ludicrusly long title for a band, first hit the headlines for me, with their massive chart success, missing. I loved that song, it had sort of a couldn’t be arsed while singing it sound, like no one tried to make it a good record, but it was. Anyway I think it got to number one in the chart and a re release is on the cards. Everything but the girll specialise in chill out tunes in my opinion, from missing to the more recent ...
sayman 14.09.2000
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Reviews which might be of interest for "Temperamental - Everything But The Girl"
Advantages: Some Great Songs Disadvantages: A Couple Of Weaker Tracks
Tracey Thorn will be best remembered as the voice on EverythingBut The Girl's massive hit "Missing" one of the biggest selling Singles of the nineties.
"Missing" heralded a new direction for EverythingBut The Girl . One that was more orientated towards the Club scene and whilst the Bands last studio Album "Temperamental" has some wonderful tracks, Tracey's superb vocals are often drowned out by excessive drum beats.
On "Out of the Woods" Tracey manages to deliver her crystal clear vocals on top of the electronic beats and they are never drowned out. Instead her voice just rides along over these beats.
I would best describe this Album as a collection of eleven intimate moments that was never intended to be anything else, other than an opportunity for Tracey Thorn to share her thoughts with anyone out there that would care to listen ...
Product Information for "Temperamental - Everything But The Girl" »
Product details
Title
Temperamental
Performer
Everything But The Girl
Genre
Rock & Pop
Release Date
27/09/1999
Original Release Year
1999
Label / Distributor
Virgin / EMI Operations/CEVA Logistics
Pieces in Set
1
Studio / Live
Studio
Stereo
Stereo
Format
Performer
EAN
724384789626
Catalogue Number
CDV 2892
Additional notes
Album Notes
Everything But The Girl: Tracey Thorn (vocals); Ben Watt (guitar, strings, keyboards, bass, programming, scratches). Additional personnel: Deep Dish (programming). WALKING WOUNDED's open embrace of dance music was revolutionary in the context of EBTG's delicate pop past. But the duo's 11th studio album signals a complete break with this history. Whereas EBTG previously flirted with drum-and-bass, techno, and house while remaining in touch with the pop melodies of past recordings, TEMPERAMENTAL is a more focused affair. The album reflects Ben Watt's increased profile as a deep house DJ, featuring the EBTG/Deep Dish collaboration "The Future of the Future." Tracy Thorn's voice proves as plaintive and despairing as ever on an album preoccupied with the facets of urban life. Where "Full Fathoms" is built upon the anticipation of a night on the town, "Lullaby of Clubland" details the stark loneliness of the journey home. "Hatfield 1980" grimly recalls underpasses and knife attacks, and the album's finest moment "No Difference" finds Thorn yearning for past thrills over a pummeling live drum loop and a '70s guitar lick reminiscent of late-night US cop shows. J Majik (of Metalheadz) lends his expertise to the unrelenting "Blame," one of two forays into drum-and-bass. EBTG may never be loved by the dance underground, but TEMPERAMENTAL is nevertheless a modern, accessible, and impressive work.
Album Reviews
Rolling Stone (10/14/99, p.120) - 3.5 stars out of 5 - "...digs even deeper into clubland...[weaving] their elegantly morose songcraft around house and jungle beats....if Cole Porter had composed a disco song cycle for Dusty Springfield, it might have sounded like this." Spin (10/99, pp.151-2) - 9 out of 10 - "...tension between private moments and public spaces reaches a conceptual peak on [TEMPERMENTAL]....EBTG's darkest album, lit only by the promise of the dance floor, the all-night cafe, and strangers' smiles..." Entertainment Weekly (10/8/99, p.72) - "Gorgeous sound washes by producer-arranger Ben Watt; self-assured yet vulnerable vocals from Tracey Thorn....pop fans will appreciate the way Watt loosens house's relentless thud..." - Rating: B+ Alternative Press (12/99, p.94) - 3 out of 5 - "...exudes a deep understanding of how dance music ebbs and flows....engaging house and drum & bass beats and memorable choruses...Tracey Thorn's distinctive vocals truly make these songs more than just club-ready fare..." Muzik (10/99, p.98) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...deep house and breakbeat polished almost to the point of blandness....Assured but not adventurous....proves that EBTG are no dilettantes..." Vibe (10/99, p.183) - "...[carries] over many of the same elements as its predecessor - the repetitive beats and wistful melodies are all in order....Fittingly, it's another collaboration, this time with Iranian-America remix squad Deep Dish, on 'The Future of Future" that saves the album..."
Titles on disc 1
1.
Five Fathoms
2.
Low Tide Of The Night
3.
Blame
4.
Hatfield 1980
5.
Temperamental
6.
Compression
7.
Downhill Racer
8.
Lullaby Of Clubland
9.
No Difference
10.
Future Of The Future (Stay Gold)
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