Idlewild

A decent low key / low level album

Tämä oli kuulasta ja sopi hyvin kiireettömän viikonlopun aamiaishetkeen taustamusiikiksi. Siksi se jäikin ja ainoastaan muutama biisi sai höristelemään korvia.

Turned into background music for me by the second song.

Красиво, но скучно и

So boring....

pleasant surprise. figured it was a two, but the diversity of the song writing and unique spins on the genre got it here.

The lady has a lovely singing voice. It’s the sort of music I’d love to hear someone play live as background music in a wine bar while trying to impress my date.

It’s good, but I like Walking Wounded much more

This was fine but mostly I'm mad that this has 10x the personality and character than the last two Radiohead albums and everyone seems to be calling those the best albums of all time and this a featureless drone.

2.5, total snooze but tracey thorn’s voice is pretty

Chill 80s alt. Ok for a few tracks but a full album isn't for me.

Basic but Exceptionally pretty.

Not really sure why this is here … doesn’t even have their best song on it.

A pleasant Sunday morning choice. Not outstanding but worth a listen.

Nothing overly wrong here. Pretty voice, simple orchestrations. Just not sure there's anything that actually makes this stand out in any way.

The names have been used so much it must have something special going for it. I just can't work out what that is

Beautiful stuff. I never gave them much of a look back in the day. Knew the single and nothing more. But this is thoughtful and well crafted. I good surprise.

Everything that was wrong with the 80s. This aged terribly

Soft

Too breezy for me

I used to work at a woman's clothing store called Gantos. This is the type of music they would play. It drove me nuts. It's a combo of easy listening and Muzak. I can't believe customers stayed and shopped. My last review for another EBTG album was, "And Entertainment. Everything but the Girl and Entertainment." That holds true here.

Meh

Pleasant, but not extraordinary. If I had to listen to this on its own, the rating would be lower.

Music made for adults. It's quite lovely if you're in a Sade-ish mood.

Boring

Detta var den hittills absolut tråkigaste skivan. Ingen låt fastnade hos mig och jag glömde den så fort jag lyssnat klart.

I liked this! fun 80s

The acoustic EBTG that Walking Wounded's programmed drums couldn't access — Tracey Thorn's voice warm and precise over chamber arrangements that step back and let the songs breathe. The production obstacle that kept that record at three is absent here, which turns out to reveal a different kind of distance rather than none at all. The yacht rock smoothness creates its own ceiling — pleasant, well-crafted, and generating the specific frustration of a record that should connect more than it does. Thorn's voice deserves better material or a different listener, and both things can be true simultaneously. A three, the other records waiting justified.

Great in an elevator… unless you get stuck. Aaaaargh!

Everything But the Girl – Idlewild (1988) I've never heard of this band before. I only recognized the first song, "I Don't Want To Talk About It," purely because it's been oversung at karaoke to the point of exhaustion, and that's pretty much it. Here's the good part: as much as I don't want to admit it, I actually enjoyed it a little bit. It’s got a really nice, relaxing vibe that makes it pleasant to listen to, and I finished the whole thing without having to pray to God to end it ASAP. But now for the bad part. There are simply no standout tracks on this record. The lyrics are about as subpar as it gets, and there are zero real highlights to hang your hat on. I liked the concept behind a few of the songs, but the execution just didn't deliver. I kept waiting for them to take me somewhere interesting, but it never happened. If I walk into a coffee shop or a store and this album is playing, I won't immediately leave—but that's the only circumstance where I'll ever hear this album again.

3.5

Honestly i hated this and it might be a 1 for me. Sounds like adult contemporary dental office music to me.

Soft pop. Pretty good. Nice voices.

Сара 2 Марко 2,5

Ever been on hold so long you can't remember who you were calling? -1 for saxophone

Nice album.

Didnt need two Everything But The Girl albums. The best song is a cover. It's elevator/on-hold music. 2/5.

Boring and the vocals arent great its decent

Boring 80s ballad pop. No redeeming features

на любителя, не зацепило.

Wow it’s so boring

lowks wedding music

Pretty good sophistipop but it’s still bland and average 3

Great harmonies, boring songs. Landfill album, not sure how it’s on this list and I’m scared that there’s going to be more of this band.

Really nice voice. The gentler arrangements don't grab me as much as their electronic sound though.

Another boring 80's album.

It was all the same… and got old really fast. Not a 1… but not much better. 2.0

Chill and pretty, but extremely boring. 4/10 Acceptable

I’m all here for this. Give me 80’s and give me calm all day. That’s paradise, my friend.

"I don't want to talk about it" is an amazing song, although it's sad when the best track in an album is the first one. However, this album was able to captivate me with other amazing songs like "I always was your girl" and "Apron strings". I really loved this album, something in it moved me. An easy 5/5

Quite bland to be frank, not for me

Awful

This album’s tracks all the same energy level. Very laid back. It risks becoming boring but the quality of the lead female vocal is so very soothing, and blends in with the saxophone so smoothly. I can imagine a warm tropical day lounging on a patio with this on and just feeling like I would be floating. It is very much a background album. When I paid attention too closely it didn’t hold up as well.

Weather channel music with vocals.

This album should be in a list called The 1001 albums to fall asleep to.

Rakkaus biisejä ja balladeja

Smoooooth Jazz, the scourge of every dentist's office

The author definitely loves EBTG, and I have absolutely no problem with that. If I'd written a book of 1001 albums there would be 8 Genesis albums and at least 6 Rush albums on it, so they can put on it whatever they like. As for EBTG, she has a lovely voice but this is really is background music for a sleasy cocktail bar. And I'd much prefer to be listening to it in a cocktail bar, especially if the cocktails were free and I can get slaughtered. It's not awful, but they wrote and recorded better stuff than this collection. 2½

Idlewild is too soft pop musically for my taste. If you like late 1980s production and the typical for their time synth patches, I can see the appeal. The singing is good but I can't feel anything else but disinterest. It's better than Simply Red, at least.

Good god, I'm bored - hard pass.

Its abundance of cheese and meloncholy I actually found charming. The vocal performances were aces, and that smooth electric piano was a nice little sweet addition. This album is dynamic and weeves parities between japanese city pop, smooth jazz, and 80's pop. Worth a listen, I enjoyed my time spent with this album but it pales in comparison to Walking Wounded.

I don't mind it at all. It's very soft, bland even but there's a place for soft, bland music.

yet another one i've never heard of. i'm being humbled here. accidentally saw the rating on this one up front, which i try to avoid. will try to ignore it i don't... think this is for me i like the instrumental in These Early Days, at least! i have no idea what this instrument i like is. a synth of some kind, i guess? and there's some fun organ there, see, there's something happening here do not like I Always Was Your Girl but at least the saxophone is nice i don't hate The Night I Heard Caruso Sing- this almost works for me- but i don't care for the piano and i started liking it less when she came in on vocals Goodbye Sunday is all right Tears All Over Town has a funky bassline but eegghh i'm at Lonesome for a Place I Know and it's not bad, none of this is bad, but i'm like 'ah, no thank you, please, i simply couldn't eat another bite' somebody should make vaporwave out of this. sorry i'm like half-kidding. but there are some non-vocal things here that i think have potential or that i like, i'm just... not. into the whole package. i thought 'this is music that really boring dads put on to fuck to in the 90s' and that's very mean but uh i'm recording it regardless. there's nothing really wrong with this, and there are elements here i like, but it's just not... quite my taste. mostly i'm vexed because i like a bunch of more modern stuff that feels like it's trying to *evoke* this kind of music or remix it, but i'm struggling to get into this. it feels like a ton of current online niche 'nostalgiacore' music is trying to tap into the sound on this album, so i think it's probably notable on those grounds this album has spurred me into a 'do i only like this if it's being done with a vague hint of irony? am i THAT guy?' crisis. i'm going to have to write a thinkpiece about vaporwave or something because of this album

1/5. “Gimme an album with no soul, and make sure it sounds like it’s made of plastic too.” 80’s pop saxophone I despise you and will never forgive your crimes against music. Luckily it only appears on a spare few tracks here, but even without it this album is just nothing. The type of stuff that plays in the background of a terrible hallmark romcom.

okay hear me out... I know this album is a bit slow and cheesy, but honestly found it very pleasant and enjoyable. The vocals are nice, the music has a sentimental and moody quality, and the vibes are nice and agreeable. It's not changing the world, but I would listen again! Top Songs: I Don't Want to Talk About It, Love Is Here Where I Live, These Early Days, Apron Strings

aburrido como él mismo. no es horrible como lo pintan pero...ahí se queda.

This is what Tom Cruise hears whenever he's feeding way too much tongue to whatever 20-year-old he's dating.

Extremely idle. Not wild.

Snoozefest

Sophisti-pop.

Big yawn. See review #839.

Not my thing.

Sadly agree with most reviews on here, it’s just a bit dull and MOR. It’s a shame because I liked Tracey Thorns recent solo album, but this one just sounds a bit dated in comparison

I can definitely appreciate quite a bit about this album. The muted qualities can be a positive, but I just feel like the album doesn't really go anywhere enough emotionally or dynamically, and it feels like something I could like and that fans of the band would like, but it feels more like an outlier than their prime material.

Boooring

This was pretty mid but enjoyable.

Elevator music.

First 2 songs were nice. The rest sounds like background music. It’s not offensive at all and that’s what I don’t like about it. The rest of the songs all sound the same. Her voice is nice at least

Not that familiar with them other than then I miss you.

Weird band !

She's not as good a singer as she thinks she is. The breathy stylings, faux-husky "Jazz singer" stuff get really annoying after a while. Production-wise it's pleasant enough. The songs and especially the lyrics are pretty weak. A passable singles band, very of their time, who have no business having a full album on this list.

2 stars for the first music

Listening so easy it becomes challenging. I Always Was Your Girl is one of the saddest songs I've ever heard.

quizás escuchar sus otros albumes, parecen mejor valorados en general, este no me gustó

70

I've always found Everything But The Girl to be hot and cold. Cracking hits, Missing, Rollercoaster. Opening this album with I Don't Want to Talk About It starts is on a high, but afterwards comes the cold, and sadly it feels a bit lame and lounge. Can't deny the vocals of Tracey Thorn are spot on and elevate this album to bring not too bad. it's the same with some of their other albums, absolute peak quality in parts, but unable to maintain for the duration, continuing the hot/cold theme. The exception is Waking Wounded, and for me is their gold standard album that Idlewild doesn't reach.

Well. Very easy listening. Very 3. 3 Boolean: 🤷‍♀️

2/5

Really dull

This is god awful. Breathy dramatic vocals over shitty Musak that hits in all the worst ways for me. Who likes this crap?

chill tranquilo no es malo pero tampoco es sobresaliente en nada no termino por pensar que tendria que escuchar este album antes de morir

not ugly but nothing special

There's some really nice stuff here but it's mostly just really boring synthpop

I liked the sound of this album. The intro to the first track was instantly captivating. The songs are earnest and the woman's voice is relaxed but polished. I enjoyed it, but nothing stuck out as a must-add to a playlist.

Endnu et band jeg ikke lige forventede at se igen. Bedre end den sidst vi havde med dem

Det er sgu for kedeligt. Kunne markant bedre lide den anden vi havde med dem.

Another snoozefest. Did not like this one at all.

Never really got into them, even in their best, 90s, dance music phase, and this is a long way from that. The album is a blandness machine, erasing itself from memory even as it plays.

the 14 yo says this is “like Shakira but less fun.”

It has a vibe, but it’s a bit dated in a negative way. Maybe the style will come back?