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.......
Thank you for reading.
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Very well written. This came out as EBTG shifted to more of a Drum & Bass sound but you can still here other influences in songs like downhill racer.
I was lucky enough to meet Tracey in 1994 at a Party in London, she was lovely & I held myself together not to look the complete start struck fan (I think)
Great Album well worth investing in.
donnabroom 01.02.2007 00:09
Great review, I've heard that they might be bringing an album out soonish. Donna x
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...
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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...
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