Everything but the Girl.

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i got their newer bestof this week and listened to it on the plane. there are maybe 1 1/2 songs that are a bit too melodically static/lyrically treacly for me, but otherwise it's pretty awesome (it's even ok that there's nothing from "idlewild", since i own that record anyway). some of the assorted (non-album) stuff is killer: "tracey in my house," the photek remix of "single," the cover of "almost blue."

it's kind of amazing that they manage to turn cap'n beefheart's "my head is my only house unless it rains" into a normal EBTG song, but on the downside the result isn't necessarily much more than a normal EBTG song.

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Friday, 22 October 2004 19:37 (twenty-one years ago)

this record sort of reasserts the awesomeness of tracey's voice, if nothing else. she even gets the "ão"s on "corcovado" right!!!!

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Friday, 22 October 2004 19:39 (twenty-one years ago)

I like that song she did with Adam F

― Riot Gear! (Gear!), Friday, 22 October 2004 19:44 (twenty-one years ago)

their version of "corcovado" is gorgeous.

― jed_ (jed), Friday, 22 October 2004 19:59 (twenty-one years ago)

Trayce OTM upthread - EBTG are great to sing along to.

― jed_ (jed), Friday, 22 October 2004 20:24 (twenty-one years ago)

really? i wouldn't dare, all those delicately flattened notes etc

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Friday, 22 October 2004 20:28 (twenty-one years ago)

my voice sounds great (to me!).

― jed_ (jed), Friday, 22 October 2004 20:34 (twenty-one years ago)

i plan to listen to a lot more ebtg in the near future

how is their "back to mine" volume?

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Sunday, 24 October 2004 05:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Agreed about "Corcovado" -- that's like the only EBTG track I own on CD (it's on Red Hot + Rio), and it's gone on a few mixes I've made.

― jaymc (jaymc), Sunday, 24 October 2004 05:33 (twenty-one years ago)

omg jaymc you need more. it gets so much better than that

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Sunday, 24 October 2004 05:34 (twenty-one years ago)

come to think of it, i can burn you some stuff

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Sunday, 24 October 2004 05:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Oh I know I need more!

― jaymc (jaymc), Sunday, 24 October 2004 05:36 (twenty-one years ago)

ebtg's "back to mine" is nice enough - nothing mindblowing. though it was the first time i heard ananda project's "cascades of colour", so it was good for something. pleasant to hear mary margaret o'hara in there too.

― jon dale, Sunday, 24 October 2004 05:37 (twenty-one years ago)

actually in response to some comments above... some of the relationship lyrics stuff i find a little antiseptic, sort of like jackson browne in that she delineates these emotional states with admirable precision but it seems a bit for show.... my favorite songs by them are pretty stripped-down, lyrically, if not opaque.

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Sunday, 24 October 2004 05:39 (twenty-one years ago)

extra comma in there

― amateur!!!st (amateurist), Sunday, 24 October 2004 05:39 (twenty-one years ago)

one of the most boring groups of all time.

― karl76 (karl76), Sunday, 24 October 2004 13:52 (twenty-one years ago)

five months pass...

one of the most boring comments of all time.

more please.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Saturday, 9 April 2005 15:08 (twenty-one years ago)

Andrew Eldritch called them the ugliest band of all time. Like he should talk.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 9 April 2005 15:34 (twenty-one years ago)

who is andrew eldritch?

a friend used to joke that ben and tracey suffered from opposite maladies: her eyes were too close together and his were too far apart. but they are both so cool i really feel bad making any such comments.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Saturday, 9 April 2005 15:50 (twenty-one years ago)

who is andrew eldritch?

Surely you jest!

Okay, maybe you don't. Here's Andrew in all his finery:

http://www.ultra-pop.org/images/band/som.jpg http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Basement/4286/Eldritch.GIF

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 9 April 2005 15:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Tracey has a lisp that I'd never noticed until I saw a video of theirs.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 9 April 2005 15:56 (twenty-one years ago)

three months pass...

Like the Deserts Miss the Rain is one of the more essential comps that I own.

― gear (gear), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 07:54 (twenty years ago)

It's well put together. Instead of sticking all the singles on, or the hits, the "personal selection" nature of the comp allows them to recontextualize some tracks. So "Rollercoaster" on this album sounds much more bossa-novaesque, and then it logially flows into the updated sounds of "Corcovado."

Having said that, I do find it a little annoying that they nowadays behave as if their entire pre-"Missing" career is not worthy of any attention. Idlewild is, as noted at the start of the thread, a fab album melodically and lyrically; only its slightly dated and thin-sounding production lets it down. But the band doesn't perform any early tracks in their concerts (not that they've given any in a while), and the more recent remix album (Adapt or Die) should have offered them a chance to revisit and update those early tracks. Instead, all the remixes were of Wounded and Tempermental songs. Frankly I'm hurt.

― brittle-lemon (brittle-lemon), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 09:09 (twenty years ago)

ten months pass...

re. tracey thorn's "a distant shore"

just pulled this out of my shelf and played it for the first time in a long while

this is a really nice lp (mini-lp?) that time seems to have forgot

in fact i don't think anything ebtg-associated is particularly hip right now, least of all the early stuff

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Friday, 16 June 2006 07:11 (nineteen years ago)

"A Distant Shore" and the Cherry Red comp "Pillows & Prayers" soundtracked my first hike around Europe so will always hold a special place.

― peter d (peter dee), Friday, 16 June 2006 12:51 (nineteen years ago)

No love for Temperamental? The beats are rather stale, but the songwriting is about as strong as Walking Wounded's.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Friday, 16 June 2006 14:18 (nineteen years ago)

I like the production on Temperamental! At least the faux deep house tracks. The two singles were stellar.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Friday, 16 June 2006 14:40 (nineteen years ago)

has there yet been no discussion about ben watt's collaborative ep with robert wyatt? i haven't heard everything from it but i remember being impressed and mildly infatuated with the songs i did hear. the marine girls were an everso-slight disappointment. strangely, despite having sought out their solo work fairly diligently, i'm pretty sure i have yet to hear an entire everything but the girl song.

― Adolescence Mokushiroku! (gendo ikari), Friday, 16 June 2006 15:40 (nineteen years ago)

Tempermental's "No Difference" may be their best track ever. I love the album in general, although it probably lacked the killer single that would have convinced people to pay more attention to the album.

― brittle-lemon (brittle-lemon), Friday, 16 June 2006 16:22 (nineteen years ago)

i own and very much enjoy the compilation 'like the deserts miss the rain'.

― gear (gear), Friday, 16 June 2006 16:37 (nineteen years ago)

"Lullaby of Clubland" is so lovely it hurts.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Friday, 16 June 2006 16:48 (nineteen years ago)

"Can you know the mighty ocean? Can you lasso a star from the sky? Can you say to a rainbow... 'Hey, stop being a rainbow for a second'? No! Such is Mango!"

― timmy tannin (pompous), Friday, 16 June 2006 16:54 (nineteen years ago)

seconding brittle's enthusiasm for no difference. it's so good.

― Wookie Rookie (Wookie Rookie), Friday, 16 June 2006 17:00 (nineteen years ago)

Is the new track that Thorn cut with Tiefschwarz a one-off, or is there more on the horizon? She sounds just as smooth as ever.

― Erick H (Erick H), Friday, 16 June 2006 17:35 (nineteen years ago)

She is apparently working on a solo album, with producers like Ewan Pearson, Charles Webster, and Cagedbaby.

― brittle-lemon (brittle-lemon), Friday, 16 June 2006 17:48 (nineteen years ago)

Anyone read Ben Watt's book about his illness, entitled Patient? A friend lent it to me and I quite enjoyed it.

― Fryin' Berry, Buck Cherry (Bimble...), Friday, 16 June 2006 19:17 (nineteen years ago)

i have occasionally wondered if watt plays-out tiefschwarz's damage?

― dh (djh), Friday, 16 June 2006 20:37 (nineteen years ago)

My fave EBTG is still their first album. I wasn't too impressed with Marine Girls or the Ben Watt solo album of the early 80's.

I flirted with them again when Walking Wounded came out.

I wish I could hear Baby The Stars Shine Bright again but I don't have the vinyl with me anymore. :(

Has anyone heard this song by Working Week (having at least one former members of Young Marble Giants) that had Tracey Thorn and Robert Wyatt singing on it called "Venceremos" something like that? Oh my GOD that is great.

― Fryin' Berry, Buck Cherry (Bimble...), Saturday, 17 June 2006 02:36 (nineteen years ago)

Easy As Sin is my favorite song, and I love the first two albums, which are the only ones I own. Why I never bought any more, I'll never know. Fantastic for late night romancing of a girl or a bottle of booze.

― nicky lo-fi (nicky lo-fi), Saturday, 17 June 2006 04:44 (nineteen years ago)

I wish I could hear Baby The Stars Shine Bright again but I don't have the vinyl with me anymore. :(

i think i am the only person who likes this record

ben watt's lazy dog mix cds are pretty great... haven't heard his more recent mix project, whose name escapes me...

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Saturday, 17 June 2006 07:25 (nineteen years ago)

Buzzin' Fly?

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Saturday, 17 June 2006 10:33 (nineteen years ago)

At least the faux deep house tracks.

Faux?

― jed_ (jed), Saturday, 17 June 2006 10:36 (nineteen years ago)

Anyone read Ben Watt's book about his illness, entitled Patient? A friend lent it to me and I quite enjoyed it.

His illness?

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn (Alfred Soto), Saturday, 17 June 2006 11:35 (nineteen years ago)

"Faux?"

Not meant judgmentally - more in the sense that I initially assumed "Five Fathoms" was actually produced by Deep Dish but it's Ben Watt saying "I wanna make my own "Future of the Future"."

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Saturday, 17 June 2006 13:39 (nineteen years ago)

ben watt has crohn's disease, he got very very ill and spent a lot of time hospitalized and having surgeries

― kyle (akmonday), Saturday, 17 June 2006 14:04 (nineteen years ago)

"Has anyone heard this song by Working Week (having at least one former members of Young Marble Giants) that had Tracey Thorn and Robert Wyatt singing on it called "Venceremos" something like that? Oh my GOD that is great."

It was released as 7" and a 12", was included on their first album, Working Nights, the 2LP B/O Pay Day and the CD distillation of that album Pay Check., and yes it is indeed great.

I don't believe any permanent members of Working Week had ever been in YMG 'though, although Simon Booth had worked with Alison Stratton in a post-YMG band called Weekend, which was also where he met Larry Stabbins with whom he subsequently formed Working Week.

Philip Moxham of YMG did play bass for EBTG for a while 'though.

Fwiw Corrine Drewery (later of Swing Out Sister) was WW's vocalist for a while before they recruited Juliet Roberts.

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Saturday, 17 June 2006 22:28 (nineteen years ago)

Thanks for setting me straight, Stewart. I knew it was either YMG or Weekend. By the way, Working Week is so ridiculously unknown in the States. Very irritating.

― Fryin' Berry, Buck Cherry (Bimble...), Saturday, 17 June 2006 22:57 (nineteen years ago)

I've just had a thought. If Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn are married, is she "T. Watt" ???

― uh oh (JTS), Sunday, 18 June 2006 16:59 (nineteen years ago)

Hello, I'm new. I never knew anything about EBTG until "Missing.." and their flirtation with drum'n'bass (which at the time seemed slightly disingenuous although that's probably harsh and ultimately was a worthy, if boring attempt done out of genuine interest in the music)but Ben Watt is a really good house DJ (more about tune selection than any mixing pyrotechnics).

Buzzin' Fly Volume 3 was released last week and like the other two volumes, it is something pretty special. All three volumes heartily recommended.

― iain macdonald (the_article_don), Monday, 19 June 2006 13:21 (nineteen years ago)

I always thought the drum & bass on Walking Wounded was pretty good actually! The title track is quite amazing.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Monday, 19 June 2006 13:45 (nineteen years ago)

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