| Author | Message | ||
     Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 388 Registered: 01-2005 |
Anyone miss EBTG? I know Tracy is busy being a mom and all, but I sure miss them. Idlewild is one of my Top 25 albums of all time and Amplified Heart isn't far behind. I must have bought 16LL, Idlewild and Til Tuesday's great overlooked Everything's Different Now all withing a month's time in November of 1988. They are all favorites of mine, with 16LL being the most hopefull of the three, Idlewild bringing of feelings of nostalgia, and EDN covering the feelings of loss of a lover (Aimee losing Jules Shear). | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 1138 Registered: 04-2005 |
I have two albums by them (Amplified Heart and Walking Wounded--is that the right title?) and I still can't quite get into them. What's the trick? I like her singing, but the music on AH is a little tame and the lyrics on WW strike me as way too obvious. Maybe Idlewild is the one that would tip the balance... | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1409 Registered: 03-2006 |
I know next to nothing, about EBTG, but initially had some interest, which I more or less completely lost, once they started incorporating all that, whatever you callit, dance, disco, etc. stuff into their music. To me, it just completely took all the edges off, and thus, interest. I do really like TT's voice though. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 389 Registered: 01-2005 |
LK, I agree with you on the drumm and bass crap that was on the last couple of EBTG albums. I never play those anyway. Kurt and LK, do give Idlewild a shot. It's staple listening for me during the Autumn season. | ||
| joe Member Username: Dogmansuede Post Number: 85 Registered: 07-2006 |
idlewild is great long train ride home music. it's one of those records that regardless of how many times i've heard it i'm strangely taken aback by it's simplicity. i have no idea what happened to them later on either. i guess missing did great things for them and they ran with it! not that i blame, mind. | ||
| TROU Member Username: Trou Post Number: 73 Registered: 05-2005 |
Tracey Thorne has an one of the most incredible voice I know. I saw EBTG during the jazzy 'Love not money' tour. LNM is still a very fine album. I listen to this band often. I even quite like their last productions. | ||
| spence Member Username: Spence Post Number: 1169 Registered: 05-2005 |
I don't miss them, but respect them. They started out in the early 80's on Cherry Red records along with may 'alternative' acts such as The Nightingales, Monochrome Set, Eyeless in Gaze et al, most of these acts didn't really break through commercially although artistically they had the 'it' factor by the bucketload. However, EBTG managed to get some commercial gratification after many years in teh Indie wilderness, hats off to em for perseveering. i believe ben Watt had or stil suffers massive anxiety problems during the 90's, I hope he is coping better now. Plain Sailing by TT and North Marine Drive were staples for me as a young lad in the early 80's, along with Aztec, OJ, The The etc, they made free time very enojoyable! | ||
| Andrew Kerr Member Username: Andrew_k Post Number: 203 Registered: 04-2005 |
Stop me if I've told this one already. I am at the Town and Country club watching the G-Bs (RF had just done his James Brown cape routine). I am suddenly aware of a small woman either side of me (I am over 6ft). Looking to my left I look down on Liz Fraser and to my right it is Tracy Thorn. I am far too nervous to introduce them to one another or to even ask Tracy why she isn't currently on stage crooning along to 'Headfull of Steam'. I liked EBTG early stuff ("Native Land" single), but kinda lost interest when the dance rhythms were introduced. 'Plain Sailing' is all the better for its sheer simplicity. And her vocal on Working Weeks' "Venceremos" is great. Rather than anxiety Ben Watt had massive physical problems (one of these bugs that eats you from inside): did he not write a book based on his experiences? | ||
| TROU Member Username: Trou Post Number: 74 Registered: 05-2005 |
Tracey Thorn should have a new solo record in the shops in march! http://www.myspace.com/traceythorn | ||
| Kurt Stephan Member Username: Slothbert Post Number: 1143 Registered: 04-2005 |
Actually, I dug out the mostly maligned "Walking Wounded" and listened to it last night, and it sounded pretty good. Maybe the electronic beats and dance rhythms are heresy to EBTG's fans who go further back, but as someone who likes the first Beth Orton and Portishead albums a lot, I can appreciate it. This is definitely a band I need to explore in more depth. And it's good to hear Tracey is still recording. I've seen Ben Watt's book about his medical problems--I was interested, but as a bit of a hypochondriac, I was worried it would freak me out to read. | ||
| Michael Bachman Member Username: Michael_bachman Post Number: 390 Registered: 01-2005 |
Tracey Thorn Has a new album due in March? Cool, I just pre-ordered it! Kurt, I like Portishead and Beth Orton as well. I understand why Ben and Tracey would want to explore different directions and get out of there comfort zone. I just prefer the albums from the 1982-1994 period. I hope you enjoy Idlewild! | ||
| Little Keith Member Username: Manosludge Post Number: 1411 Registered: 03-2006 |
Michael, I have Idlewild (somewhere) and it is indeed very good. I'm also a big fan of the Portishead, as well. While I'm not typically a very big fan of electronica, or whatever genre they're wedged into, there's something about what they do that really floats my boat. Of course, a lot of it is Beth Gibbon's singing, but there's also something about the audacious attitude - it's all reminiscent of, I dunno, a soundtrack for some particularly demented James Bond movie. There's an idea - they should have used Portishead for the newest JB movie instead of Chris f-ing Cornell. | ||
| Paul N Member Username: Pauln Post Number: 7 Registered: 10-2006 |
I love EBTG and their solo stuff. Like Spence used to be part of my regular listening. Not so much these days but when I play them I still find them enjoyable. Used to see Tracey and Ben at gigs sometimes when they were at Hull Uni. but never plucked up the courage to speak to them. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 473 Registered: 10-2004 |
Jeff's heavily opinionated rant on EBTG: I LOVE EBTG's early stuff. Eden, their debut, ranks among my favorite top 20 records of all time. Gorgeous, shimmery, melodic, tasteful jazzy pop. The eponymous US debut, which shares only half of Eden's songs but includes a slew of excellent non-LP singles and b-sides, is every bit as brilliant. If I were to recommend any of their output to people on this msg. board, it would be these first two albums (which are different enough to warrant having both). I thought they started losing the plot early on with Love Not Money, which has some great songs, but also a disappointingly streamlined sound and a few too many mediocre tracks. For me, the next few albums mark the frightening descent into pure MOR vapidity, though there are a few good songs here and there, like 'Sugar Finney,' from Baby, the Stars Shine Bright. From there onward, however, it was pure easy-listening MOR drivel all the way until they came to Amplified Heart. The lyrics were still cringe-worthy and obvious, but the music seemed to have a certain newfound freshness, like they'd been given a shot in the arm. It's got nothing on the early stuff, but I still like it. The next album showed them going the techno-jungle-ambient route, which was kind of an interesting change of direction for a band that'd been around as long as they had. Didn't work for me, save for a song or two, and I haven't kept up with any of their work since then. But seriously, anyone Eden and Everything But the Girl are just fabulously brilliant to my ears, and they hold up tremendously well. I can't say enough good things about these records. | ||
| Matthias Treml Member Username: Matthias Post Number: 188 Registered: 05-2005 |
Amplified Heart is Top Twenty albums of all-time for me. It holds a special place in my heart as an album I loved as a single person and then shared with my wife then girlfriend. I was dismayed when they went techno. The acoustic album is nice too (some great covers, Alison and Tougher Than The Rest) and I had an import from Japan that had some nice rarities too. We covered 25th of December and then later We Walk the Same Line as a band. WWTSL is the only time my wife has sung with my band. The only tracks from their earlist work that I've heard are from the Japanese Compilation. Bright brilliant acoustics and gut-wreching lyrics delivered with a sweet lilting voice. | ||
| Jeff Whiteaker Member Username: Jeff_whiteaker Post Number: 474 Registered: 10-2004 |
I love the solo stuff too. Ben Watt's North Marine Drive and Summer into Winter are quite nice. I love how atmospheric and artsy Summer into Winter is. It almost sounds like Durutti Column with the delicate, shimmery, delayed guitar textures and spare arrangements. Tracey Thorn's solo album is nice too. Hey, on a jazz-pop tangent, does anyone here like Kalima and the Swamp Children? I like both quite a bit. |