Idlewild

Very very uninteresting

Slightly bizaree. Not for me

No thanks. Quite surprised this is on the list, so trying to listen closely to figure out why. Half way through want to bail. Would prefer to read the lyrics than listen to the arrangements. The singers voice is nice and the musical performances are generally good - say if the band was playing in a small venue that I happened to be in I’d have a listen and watch them… for a bit… Too much reverb for me. Really really don’t like the sax on this. I think that if hell existed it would have 80’s pop sax solos playing all the time. And the synth. (Reliably informed sounds like these come out of a Yamaha DX7). Don’t like. 2 Number tracks 12 Fave track (least un favourite):5 Oxford street - but just give me the lyrics.

Llegaron medio tarde a los 80 Él canta igual a Morrissey y no es Morrissey lo cual es raro

Not once did I think 'oh I actually like this' while listening. Mid at best

This is my rage review that isn’t really about the album. I’ve viewed this project as an exercise in both discovering great albums I’d never heard before and to delegate music selection (sometimes I spend too much time figuring out what I want to listen to). I haven’t put too much emphasis on the merits of this list - music is subjective and no two humans will curate the same list of 1001 albums, probably not even close. That said, I’ve heard that Weezer, for example, doesn’t have an album on the 1001 list. That’s bonkers to me given their first two albums are absolutely two that everyone should listen to before they die (in my subjective human opinion). I didn’t care so much for the first EBTG album I received on this list, but this one… kind of sucked? I normally have found something to like on pretty much all albums I’ve received here, and I certainly have a higher average rating (around 4) than most folks doing this project. That said, I found this one utterly listless and all I could think while listening was “HOW IS THIS HERE AND PINKERTON AND THE BLUE ALBUM AREN’T?!?” Sorry EBTG but you’re getting a rage 2 from me (which would be a 1 from most).

not really into it

thanks for nothing , just annoying i hate her vocals here, which is weird cause their cover of night and day is one of my fav songs, i'm open to listening to an album where this sort of production isn't going on.. not one song i considered hitting like on man,,

A bit boring to be honest. I liked Walking Wounded, but this wasn't worth the time I spent on it.

Samey. A bit boring for me. 2 stars

I was optimistic. I loved their cover of I don’t want to talk about it and the tones of her voice in the song Protection are soothing and transcendent. However, I believe they went in too quickly with I don’t want to talk about it and from there, I journeyed back to the 80s, as a child lost in Owen Owen. It became boring and the same

If Morrissey was female.... And rubbish.... And had a rubbish, hotel lobby backing band. An extra star for the opening track

Boring, but I don’t hate it. This is a good example of music that didn’t age well

Everything just sounds too tender and delicate here. Almost hymnal-like, more akin to something you'd hear in church, but with the occasional drum machine thrown in. Couldn't really get into it as a result. Not enough substance for me.

194/1001 Everything But the Girl - Idlewild Heard before? ❎ Revisit? ❎ For its 45 minute runtime, this album barely gets out of first gear. It all has the same one note, one pace nature to it, which quite frankly bored me. Tracey Thorn can sing, but nothing here engaged me.

A drum machine. A synthesizer. A lead singer with an amazing voice. 11 songs that are pretty average.

Apart from a couple of decent songs, this is mostly pretty boring across the board. The songs aren't necessarily all that bad, but they do drag on for way too long.

More sophisti-pop polite boredom. Heartfelt vocals, lavish jazzy arrangements, lyrics about raindrops falling on the mailbox across the street the very mailbox that the girl dropped her 9-page letter to the boy that takes her for granted. I would hate to be on my deathbed with this stuff playing in the background with the nurse tapping her foot to the barely there beat hoping I pass by noon so she can have her lunch before they run out of today's special. A few songs come to life or something that closely resembles life (Blue Moon Rose being one such song) but mostly sound like the kind of songs they play for patients in comas in hope they come around because if twee plastic soft jazz doesn't make you want to come back to life well, I reckon nothing will. Stay in your bloody coma - you selfish bastard- see if I care!

I tried to give this one a chance, but it was pretty bland. Not the type of music that moves me. A positive would be the sax on several songs, and some decent harmonies throughout. Still, I can't go above a 2.

Meh

Did not like this much at all. I don’t think I like a lot of 80s music.

This album is the musical embodiment of the color beige. I can’t imagine anyone would react to this at all one way or the other. 2.5/5

4/10

Rough stuff. This is cool for someone, but not me.

Well...it's nice...very nice, but the album has something of a indie bedsit lounge music demo vibe.

Why

Just din't get into and don't plan on trying.

Didn’t expect to find two EBTG records on this list. This one is a bit too elevator music for me.

Harmless yet completely puzzled why this is on here other than the fact that the guy who made the list likes them. Nice voice but very tepid.

I was SO close to getting Ziggy Stardust as my 100th album, but I suppose I can settle for another Everything but the Girl LP to fill the slot – Walking Wounded was a fairly pleasant surprise and I've been curious to hear what the duo sounded like before they started incorporating electronic elements into their sound! While I wouldn't call Idlewild an unpleasant listen, I would say its sound has aged like milk compared to Walking Wounded. The lyrical storytelling is decent and Tracey Thorn remains a compelling vocalist, but those aspects aren't worth sitting through 45 minutes of music this dull and Xennial-coded. Highlights: These Early Days, The Night I Heard Caruso Sing

Tracey Thorn has such a great voice, but blimey, this is bland. Everything But the Girl were in their mid-20s when they made this album, but it all seems a bit self-consciously 'grown up'.

Why would I need to listen to this? Boring, although a few songs rose to the level of meh.

All my romantic relationships have involved some form of artistic collaboration. Bands, theatre companies, shared drawings: micro-scenes built for two. These small creative circuits felt more intimate than anything else – not because the work was great, but because the act of making it briefly opened a portal. Beauty wasn’t the goal; the beauty was in the temporary suspension of subjectivity, the brief sense of being plugged into something beyond either of us. Indeed, I love all of my musical collaborators over the years, no matter what happened to them and where they are now. It is a special bond between people. Which is why I feel warm to the long collaboration between Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt, even when the results leave me cold. My problems with Walking Wounded stand, but perhaps my critique was insufficiently attuned to what the music represents: a fantasy of coupledom as a stable, frictionless production unit. Not Rumours, where the relationship collapses into song, nor the Waits-Brennan folie à deux where the work becomes a private mythos. Instead, Everything But The Girl offer a model of domestic creativity fully integrated into the smooth, IKEA warehouse landscape of the 90s. Idlewild makes this clearest. What you hear is Watt’s deference: an entire aesthetic architecture built to accommodate Thorn’s voice, her melancholy poise. There’s no tension, no triangulation, no attempt to rupture the form. The result is a kind of sonic interior design – everything in its place, nothing jutting out. A musical feng shui that soothes rather than unsettles. While Mark Hawley and Danny Macintosh get out of the way of Tori Amos and Kate Bush respectively, Watt creates the pedestal on which to admire Thorn and places her there. It is certainly the pedestal on which he admires her. For some, that’s a form of beauty. For me, it suggests a retreat from the kind of intensity that once made collaboration transformative. Beauty becomes mood-regulation. Other couples in indie understood the necessary dissonance. Harriet Wheeler and David Gavurin, whose output sounds very similar, let their sophistication brush against something sharper, more uncanny. Low stretched the domestic into a kind of devotional minimalism, slow enough to expose the cracks: when Mimi died, Alan cracked entirely. Against those, Thorn and Watt sound like a couple who have made peace with the world as it is – and produce music that asks us to do the same. It is only really only possible to admire from far, when Ben has put Tracey all the way up there. 2 Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt aren’t the worst pair of songwriters that we’ve encountered on this list, not by a long way. I want to root for them. I want to want to listen to any song of theirs a second time. 2/5

Everything but the dentist's chair ....

Sort of like wham without the charm.

Not my thing.

Voices are nice but I’m not into this easy listening style.

Her voice is really beautiful and I like the jazz undertones but these tracks got fairly repetitive.

2.5 A bit too cheese.

Objectively it’s not terrible, but I don’t like it. It’s as if The Girl From Ipanema was transported to the 80s. Didn’t realize they wrote I Son’t Want To Talk About It, I always had associated that with Rod the Mod. Nonetheless I shall not revisit this album in the future.

Sick another sophisti-pop album... The girl from this was on a song from the Style Council album earlier this week. Weird coincidence. 99% sure I heard this waiting in JC Penny for those stupid ass pictures my mom used to make us take. 0/10 nostalgia 4/10 album

Words cannot describe how boring this is. You have to fall asleep yourself.

Not my genre, and very calm album, the best part is the first song which I recall as a banger.

i didn’t really like it. it was alright, but far too slow, and all songs sounded very similar.

forgettable

First song is great but this kind of just goes around and doesn't hit anywhere else. Not bad but easy cut from the list.

It had it's moments, but nothing that really lasted. Not something I would think of to recommend to anyone.

Not for me

Kinda boring

Not my thing

Literally so boring.

1.5/5

Not my thing at all

Meh

Bit too soft for me, not my thing, but did not offend.

This album needs to crawl back into whatever 80s hole of boringness it oozed out of. Yuck

One of the most bland and boring albums I’ve heard my entire life

Meh.... It's not bad, but nothing really grabbed my attention.

Zzzzz......

Everyone else’s review for this one had me prepared for something truly awful, and this wasn’t that. I didn’t really like it and I don’t think it belongs on this list, but I was expecting worse.

1.9 Terrible. How beige must life be to be captivated by this album. Every single track skippable after 1-2 minutes, which isn't common despite the amount of shite on this list.

*1988. British pop duo. *The style of the whole album was very 80s soft, slow pop with a slight jazz influence. *Some pretty stuff in here, but there are better alternatives if you're in the mood for adult contemporary. *The Night I Heard Caruso Sing was the only song I really liked. RATING - 5.5/10

Nice easy listening with no standouts

First four singles are the first four songs on the album? Clever. There are things to like here: crispy production, nice vocalist. It’s just all so dull when assembled together.

Ahhh got a bit confused there - was about to pontificate on my relationship with Idlewild - not so keen and surprised they were on the list. But now I see! Also not too familiar with EBTG, so let’s see… Ah, didn’t know ‘I don’t wanna talk about it’ was them! Good start, if a bit sickly. Pretty cheesy, not helped by the electronic drum machine. Kinda social club, Tuesday night act. Full of cheese and heart. Strained faces and hand movements. Kinda ready for it to finish after 3/4 tracks. Get the gist, not too impressed and just feels a bit overly earnest and corny. Nothing surprising or engaging. All songs sound the same and can guess the rest of a song after 5 seconds. Yawn and puke. (2.5)

Their second album on this list, though I never really needed to hear the other album. Bland sophisti-pop. I genuinely don't understand the love for this group; I must be missing something, but for the life of me I don't know what. There were so many great bands going on in the 80's this lot should never have made it yet critics seem to love them - I guess fuck the critics... It's rather telling that the track that has the most listens on Spotify for this album (over 10 million more that it's nearest rival) is a cover. And I'm always put off by the singer looking like Nicholas Lyndhurst. I know it's not her fault but it always bothered me. In fact, it looks like they've used a face swap app. That's probably the most interesting thing about this muzak. Best Tracks: I Always Was Your Girl; Shadow on a Harvest Moon; Apron Strings

Pure dentist Muzak

Right off the bat I can say that if the vocals were better, “I don’t want talk about it” could have been a hit. Maybe not a top 10 hit but a hit nonetheless. I’m guessing this album is from the late 80’s. I’m not looking it up. That’s why I’m guessing. Even for an 80’s album, a decade flush with cheese, this fails miserably. I’m not seeing anything….sorry….hearing anything good. By my standards it’s not terrible enough to not rate nor is it terrible enough for a dreaded 1 star. I’ll give them that. It’s just, I don’t know man. It’s trying to hard to be something. What that something is, I don’t know, I am not a musical genius. I don’t know why it’s on the list. But that’s not a strange thing for me. I’ve come across that more than a handful of times. Not the worst album I’ve ever heard but it’s getting shipped off to the land of the forgotten ASAP

Ga meg ingenting. Men var ikke grusomt heller

Nice but bland. Why has this been included in a list of essential albums…?

Not bad, but (to me) boring 90s music that can stay there.

OK. 2/5

Even in the book “100001 albums you should hear before you die” this album should not have an entry. The music is fine as it is but come on…

Pleasant, nothing special though.

Very weird, not my thing

Smooth jazz meets adult contemporary. Some of the production is not far off from The Sims 1 soundtrack.

Had the potential to be pretty, but ultimately very dull.

Found this album a big disappointment - I knew Tracy Thorn's voice was amazing but this album is early on in EBTG's oeuvre and reeks of sentimental 80s soppiness. Not for me Clive.

Decent sounding album but I was not able to enjoy it much.

very cheesy, and extremely mid. tv movie soundtrack level. not particularly interesting or listenable

Bland

My knowledge of Everything but the Girl is a like of the Todd Terry remix of “Missing” and a real dislike of their version of “I Don’t Want to Talk About It”. I expected this album to fall in line with my dislike of its first track… and I was right. It’s dull. It’s depressing. The lyrics to “Oxford Street” had me rolling my eyes in places. It’s lucky I’ve listened to Trout Mask Replica, or I would be giving it 1*, or indeed that I have no half star option, because it would get 1.5*.

I found this so astonishingly dull. But it wasn't painful to listen to. But it was incredibly boring. What to do, what to do..... Thanks to the whole star rating system this is getting a 2, because I can't give it a 1.5, and I have listened to far worse 1s. 2/5

Dentist office music from the 80’s I’ll admit that Everything But The Girl deserves a spot on this list, but certainly not three spots.

Tracy Thorn has a ridiculously good voice, but that only takes this project so far. As a huge dance music fan who was of an impressionable age when I heard the Todd Terry remix of "Missing", I had a hard time digesting this soft, squeaky-clean ballad sound - or dethatching Tracy's voice from that minimalist, cutting-edge club beat sound. I hope they like that remix, I'm sure it follows them everywhere. Anyways. "Love Is Here Where I Live" has some decent electronic instrumentation, even without Tracy or Ben's voice this sounds like some nice 1990 shopping mall/waiting room music (a critique leveraged by many, but to me it's pleasant when done well). It's quite sweet to listen to a song like "I Always Was Your Girl" knowing these two quietly fostered a love for each other, never marketed it, and eventually got married almost 20 years after this record came out. Context doesn't always matter for listening to the albums on this list, but I feel like that little nugget means a lot. All these nice things being said, I think I'd heard enough by the 7th or 8th song. A solo piano with a strong melody, a choral accompaniment, something more was needed to give this thing some punch. "Apron Strings" came too little, too late. 2/5 stars because this just isn't an album you need to listen to, no matter how sweet it is

Sounds like.80s pop, reminds.me.of.lthe music they played in Asda when doing the shopping with my dad at the weekend

I know why you have to listen to this album before you die. It makes 45 minutes feel like an eternity. I skipped after the sixth song because it's too boring.

Inoffensive elevator music, boring.

100 albums in and I get hopefully the last album from this group ... Liked this better than Walking Wounded...80s vibes fit this band better than the cold electronic music on WW...but overall it's still very cookie cutter and unmemorable to me.

Sounds like the couple who tours churches across the Midwest hoping to be the next big discovery. Lovely voices but very dull album.

Everything But This Album

Maybe they needed The Girl

I much prefer their earlier records, which by and large distilled folk into their “thing”, versus this soulful jazz incarnation. Honestly can’t listen to this, much as I have a fondness for the duo.

Some nice background music but all kind of blended into one. Not one of the 1001 albums I needed to listen to before I die. 2⭐️

This was drab. It’s hard to feel any strong emotions towards this kind of music. At times it invokes Dido but without the distinctive voice or catchy hooks. It’s less middle of the road than lane-splitting a 3-lane motorway. Will not be returning.

Assume I hate mushrooms. You present me with a perfectly reasonable mushroom and ask me what I think of it What should I say... My answer its a perfectly reasonable mushroom but no thanks. I cant reasonably hate something that is objectively good can I? I suppose I could give a slightly personaly view point explaining my preference to not eat something because of the texture or whatever but pretty weak. However If said mushroom had wierd marks or dirt on it on the other hand I might be able to join the debate of my dislike of the specific mushroom and describe it. Peace and love to all mushrooms!

Mushy eighties pop which can't be rescued by the odd saxophone solo. I found this album so boring I struggled to get through it. It's one redeeming feature is the production quality which, like so many eighties albums, is excellent.

Not my favorite. I was hoping it would at least be danceable. It wasn’t.

This is a tough one. I like Tracey Thorn's voice. I like later Everything but the Girl albums. I loved her work with Massive Attack. This album, though, is boring and I don't like it. It's only tough because I like them and don't want to give them the 2 stars this album deserves. I like that it isn't standard 80s pop, but it is very poppy, and it's from the 80s, soooo...

Sounds like the kind of thing my mum would play in the car, after unexpectedly finding the CD somewhere way in the back of an old box in the attic. This is really, really not a compliment. I'm sorry, mum. Love you regardless.

Very disappointing. I really like Tracey Thorn's vocals and i do like later electro EBTG - but this was bland as fuck 80's lite jazz/lounge muzac shite.

Me gusta mucho más el disco que sacaron en los 90.

While Rick Astley receives adoration….

Pretty boring in general. Probably for someone, but not me. 2/5

I think I recognise the first song but this was all in one ear out the other.

It is not the best

I listened to the first song and skipped through the rest. Seeemed sort of like a wedding band ———————————— My non-musician scoring system. 5 - Love it. Would play anytime, buy, see live… 4 - Good music. 3 - Average playlist. Depends on time and setting. 2 - I can’t listen to whole songs. 1 - No.

Sometimes I liked it, sometimes I thought it was whiny and annoyiong. Who knows.

Very bland and forgettable

I did not enjoy. Another that was musically interesting but not something I enjoyed at all. Skipped through the album. Felt like easy listening music.

There is nothing more than weak Pop music here. 2 stars or D.

No 2/5

Great background music. Just something to keep the silence at bay for a while.

This is the SECOND Everything But the Girl album this list has subjected me to. I have no idea why this white bread adult contemporary easy listening music is here. It’s like Pat Boone playing Sade. I could not wait for this album to be over. Still, it’s better than Kid Rock. I want to give it a 1, but it’s not as terrible as Kid Rock. It really is like a 1.5, but I’ll give them a 2, like their last album (which I described as mild and inoffensive mid 90s coffee shop music.)

Pop

2.0

Durchschnitt 2,4

Are you kidding me? What are the chances of two of their albums being only a day apart! Still not into it. Fine and smooth but generally just dull and uninteresting to me. Feels like something that would be playing in a cliche coffee shop in an old television show. Better than the previous one though, more kind of tropical-ish or aquarium-ish.

I really do not think this was made for me, so I stopped after three songs.

This reminds me of waking up to my mom's Pandora stations in the morning. However usually I recognize most of the music she's playing. 2.75 stars

My original review is below which I’ve had to amend because I mixed Everything But The Girl up with Fairground Attraction. An easy mistake to make I’d wager and why it all sounds so bland. Whilst Tracey Thorn is an undoubted talent (Fairground Attraction) Everything But The Girl have never done anything for me. Even now when I’m a bit older and arguably wiser to the extent that I collect and appreciate the likes of Norah Jones, Diane Krall and the like EBTG (FA) still sound too MOR and devoid of any humph. A bit mind numbing. Still a lot like them and this album so they don’t need my vote. 2/5 6/8/25

I promise, you're good to skip this one.

Heavy on the idle, light on the wild, Everything But The Girl also forgets to pack a compelling reason to listen in this sleepy collection of half-formed melodies.

Couldn't tell you why but I didn't like this one. Nothing wrong with it but it didn't land for me

Hold music. Not worthy of this list. 2*

2.5

But really? Nothing personal, but I just don’t see why this is something one HAS TO hear before they die. But I have now, so I guess I’m safe.

Last dance at the high school prom type music 2/5

I Don’t Want to Talk About It.

This one sounds very dated and it’s a little too ballad-esque for me.

I can't tell if this is awful or not. I think it's probably fine for what it is, but it ain't for me.

< the Beatles

little too soft for me

frekar einhæf en snoturt gáfumannapopp með rafáhrifum. mér finnst þetta ekki mjög spennandi.

not my vibe

Everything this band does is so dull. It’s not bad, but none of it says anything or means anything.

This is airport music. I do not hear hooks or anything that makes this stand out at all.

Jazzy in a bad way for me

All the songs were pretty slow there was only one good song probably won't listen to it again overall like a 2 out of 5

Apart from a couple of songs, it's pretty bland and forgettable.

Fairly generic/samey soft pop album. Fine enough to listen to in short bursts, but not interesting enough to keep my attention through the whole album. Still a pleasant if boring listen. Top tracks: I Don't Want to Talk About It, The Night I Heard Caruso Sing

Album 825 of 1089 Everything But The Girl - Idlewild (1988) Rating : 2 / 5 This one didn’t really land for me. The vocals are pleasant—a few moments gave me strong k.d. lang vibes, which I liked—but after a few tracks, it started to feel like I was hearing the same song on repeat. There’s a bit of charm here, sure, but I’d be stretching to say it deserves a spot on a list like this. A decent album, just not a memorable one. One of many. On to the next.

Honestly not sure why this made the list. It's a smack average 80s pop album. It's ridiculously safe. No genre driving, just a very forgettable album.

Very much not a fan of this. Wasn't into the beat, wasn't into the vocals, a bit laid back and just felt a bit empty. It's not my cup of tea, but maybe it's yours.

Pleasant but not memorable

I wish the writer of the book had to give an explanation of why an album was on the list. This album doesn’t deserve to be on this list. There’s nothing innovative or special about it. Mostly boring with a few moments of cool jazz piano or something like that. The Night I Heard Caruso Sing was almost a beautiful ballad but something just felt off about it.

There was no need for this. I do not understand why this is on the list. Its fine at best, its basic and sad at worst. Redeeming qualities come halfway through with The Night I Heard Caruso Sing, the piano ballad with a cool sax solo and smart lyrics. This was the winner of the record.

Meh, not my thing. Background music in a restaurant I won’t be going to again.

Everything But The Will To Finish Listening To This Album

Zang: Goed Productie: Gedateerd. Dit is wel echt een album waarbij je meteen hoort dat dit uit de 80s komt. Het verbaast me zelfs een beetje dat het late jaren 80 is, ik had zelf eerder early 80s verwacht. Het is best wel lieve muziek? Ik weet niet hoe ik het anders moet omschrijven, maar dit is gewoon fijne popmuziek. Niet super bijzonder, maar ik zal het niet snel afzetten. Voelt daardoor wel een klein beetje als muziek die je in de Xenos hoort ofzo, en das natuurlijk geen heel groot compliment. Dit voelt, hoe meer ik luister, als Sade light. En dat is geen harde kritiek hoor, Sade is namelijk echt geweldig. Maar ik merk toch dat ik het hier gewoon net ff een stukje minder vind dan Sade. Het is goed, het klinkt prima, maar het is allemaal net wat minder gepolijst en de zang is gewoon niet zo goed als Sade bijvoorbeeld. Ok, hoelanger het album duurt, hoe meer ik me irriteer aan het feit dat dit net zo spannend is als een glas water. Er zit bar weinig pit in. Sorry Sade, dat ik je hiermee vergeleek. Het is gewoon heel erg saai. Begint best vibey, maar op een gegeven moment schrik je wakker en kom je er achter dat je het halve album al hebt geluisterd maar er eigenlijk niets is achter gebleven. Je legt je hoofd maar weer op je toetsenbord om nog even te genieten van de laatste tonen van de H&M Hitzone cd. Slaap zacht. FAVO: Love is here where I live, I always was your girl

Started off ok but I got bored quickly

I really don't like this album cover and I can't determine why. It seems like both of the members of Everything But the Girl are smirking at me, knowing this album should not be in the book yet it is anyway. Maybe it is the Michael Stipe-meets-Morrissey look of the guy or maybe it is just the smirk. Probably just the self-congratulatory smirk. The only song I knew by Everything But the Girl was "Missing," that massive hit that was impossible to miss on the radio and on MTV. These songs do not sound like that song. The cover of "I Don't Want to Talk about It" is pretty good and measures up to the original in many ways. This was softer and melancholier than I had expected it to be, mostly because I had heard the "Missing" remix. My final conclusion is I tend to agree with the other listeners that I'm not sure why this one is in the book. It's hard for me to give it a "1" because it's inoffensive. It's also hard for me to recommend it since there doesn't seem to be anything new or revolutionary presented here. Not sure why I need to hear this one. It does not feel notable. I did like: I Don't Want to Talk About It These Early Days Oxford Street Goodbye Sunday

Sappy elevator music

It is a nice calmer vibe

p588. 1988. 2 stars. UK k.d.laing clone. Bland background music for late 80's cocktail bars, complete with cheesy sax. Shame really, because there are a couple of half decent songs on here - it's just missing any sense of excitement.

She has a very pleasant voice, and I quite enjoyed the opening track, but it quickly deteriorated from there to disposable 80s cheese. By the time I got to the excruciatingly banal 'Goodbye Sunday' I was ready to turn it off, but I'm glad I stuck around for "Shadow on a Harvest Moon" which was the only other highlight for me.

Inoffensive office radio music. It's there, it's music, but I don't care enough to pay attention.

There's that one song that nearly everyone knows by "Everything But the Girl" -- I'm talking about "Missing". That early 90s song was always a unique play on the radio, not quite sounding like anything else playing at the time. It had that relaxing, easy-listening pop sound, but still somehow managed to sound exotic and intriguing. This album, unfortunately, was anything but that. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't unpleasant, but it was ultimately pretty one-note. This is kind of in line with 90s female singer songwriter (what I lovingly call "Lilith Fair music"), but ultimately it's just not quite as interesting.

En la cuarta pista ya llevaba como diez bostezos, supongo que todavía no bati el récord. Lo siento

The singer is good, the material is average, the production is smooth making for a chilled, pleasant but ultimately dull listening experience.

Incredibly normal.

Smooth ethereal jams. Tracey Thorn has such a distinct voice. I just… probably won’t listen to this one again.

Ok, yeah. It’s pretty bad. It’s not 1 star bad, but it’s bad. Let’s start with the positives. The lead singer has a pleasant voice. The background instruments and overall mood are pretty upbeat. Those are the positives, now let’s talk about the negatives. This album is so boring I can’t even put into words how much I wanted to fall asleep listening to it. The lyrics are cheesy, and every song sounds exactly the same as the one before it. Picking a favorite is pretty hard because of that. I guess it would be “Tears All Over Town” because of the smooth Jazz going on in the background of the song. Very well, they can’t all be bangers, but at least this wasn’t offensively bad. On to the next one.

Meh

Sounds fine but not for me.

Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood but this was pretty boring.

This group wasn't that popular here in the US, other than I remember their song Missing being big in the early 90s (good tune). And after listening to this album, I kind of know why on both fronts. Let’s just say that the dance infusion into Missing is probably why it was a hit. The first thing that struck me on this album is that Tracey Thorn is an excellent singer who has a really nice tone to her voice. She reminded me a bit of Natalie Merchant, though Merchant's voice has more character to it while Thorn is a bit more breathy. Ben Watt is also a good signer, though not as good as Thorn, and his best moments on this album really come when the two of them are harmonizing together. The opener to this record (original release), Love is Here Where I Live, is a decent song. Breezy in some ways, though Thorn brings some nice emotion to it. As I listened further though, a lot of these songs just kind of floated along for me. They were easy listens, but they didn't really reach me that much. Many times, the song would just drift off at the end, causing a "really, that's it?" reaction. Frankly, as I listened to this album, I found myself longing to listen to Johnny Hates Jazz, British contemporaries of Everything But The Girl. Turns out I wasn't wrong for that, as evidently they both could be categorized as sophisti-pop, a genre I've never heard of before. Anyway, JHJ songs are just better, as they have more weight and are superior constructions. I would encourage anyone reading this to go find their Turn Back the Clock album, which blows this one away - Shattered Dreams, Heart of Gold, I Don't Want to Be a Hero, Don't Say It's Love, What Other Reason, and Turn Back the Clock are all better tracks than anything on this record. All the same, there are a few songs on here that I did like, such as Blue Moon Rose and Lonesome for a Place I Know. Also, their cover of I Don't Want to Talk About It, which was added to the re-release of this album, was decent. Some nice instrumentals in it. Maybe if this was the first song I heard from them, I might have really enjoyed it. But after listening to the rest of the album that sounded very similar, I just didn't care. A pretty weak album for me and probably not worth seeking out by most people. Off to listen to Johnny Hates Jazz . . .

I enjoyed it and would be interested in my thoughts on a relisten but first time through wasn't all that interested.

I actually hate this. It's easy listening schlock you'd hear on 80s and 90s AM radio. I'm rounding up to 2 because I kinda liked the song the dude sings (The Night I Heard Caruso Sing), and didn't hate Apron Strings. I thought I hated Missing when it blew up and was all over MuchMusic in high school, but I'd rather hear that for 45 mins than this dated adult contemporary snoozefest.

Too sentimental. Boring.

Well, to be honest, i think it's better to know her as a one hit wonder, although the remixed version. Really, not a single catchy song in that album, almost all of them are skippable or at least one-time listen songs. They get boring. Maybe it's just me. Maybe she revolutionized music genre, maybe she has great voice(no, tbh). I didn't really like it. But, did I like it more than Adele? Hell yeah! Songs saved 0/12 :c

Not really my thing…

Inoffensive but doesn't really stand out

I was a bit disappointed by this, being a fan of Tracey Thorn's voice and later EBTG tracks. The drums are just too tinny sounding, makes the whole album sound like a demo.

This felt like I was in a late night McDonalds in the 90s and this muzak played while I waited.

Meh.

I didn't hate this but wouldn't say I liked it either. But I'm reserving 1* for albums I actively disliked.

Slow Pop, slow food.

How did I get two albums of this bland tat twice in three days? Why is it even on here? Like Dido without the edge.

Put me to sleep

yawn

Not for me.

Leiðinleg plata

Generally pleasant listening and soothing voice. Some occasionally enjoyable guitar composition, but the drum clicks got distracting. Wanted to enjoy this more, but tedium got the best of me.

Unbelievably boring, I would have believed you if you said the whole album was one very long track

Kind of droned by the end of it, not a fan

Boring

Obviously talented. Undeniably dull

Not my jam.

This wasn't a bad album, just an incredibly forgettable one. I kept waiting for a song that impressed me, and "Lonesome for a Place I Know" came closest with some folksy charm, but it was much too little and much too late. It's the pinnacle of inoffensive British music.

I can't get past the sap. I feel it keeps trying to get away from it but it pulls them back in. Not bad, just blah. I had to play some Pinkshift (Suraksha) to cleanse my palate.

This sounds like a million other bands playing hotel lobbies across the world.

A very un-fun 80s album. Had kind of an elevator music/ easy listening sound that did not do it for me

The definition of elevator music. Totally forgettable. There is some nice acoustic guitar work though.

I should have taken some notes when I listened to it 12 hrs ago because I have forgotten anything that I liked about this album - boring is the only words that come to mind. I don’t hate it, it was just not memorable in any way.

Did not need two from this band / duo in a 10 day period.

Rating: 5/10 Meh.

The Smiths knockoff tribute with a sound reminiscent of Simon & Garfunkel.

meh

Lounge music

5/10 Another one that it is very surprising to find on a list like this. It just doesn’t seem worthy. Totally fine pop-soul, well made but pretty bland. I genuinely can’t remember any of the songs 12 hours later except for the cover at the start. Best: I don’t want to talk about it

The only reason this isn't a 1/5 is the vocals. They were pretty good. This just sounds like sewing/candle shop-core background muzac. Not for me, unfortunately.

I had never heard of the genre Sophisti-pop before. Currently not a genre I like, but maybe there are bands that do it differently. This album was way too sedate for me. I'd need something dreamier or psychedelic to be into a full album of songs at a slow tempo with sparse instrumentation. I like the band name and I liked a short organ solo in one of the songs, so there's that.

Certainly not an album that demands attention from the listener - quite the opposite actually. Tracy Thorn's effortless vocals lend a sort of elegance and quiet beauty. There’s an emotional richness in the details and the arrangements are subtle but effective. It's not really my thing, and seems like something that should be playing in the background at a cocktail party. Not necessarily a bad thing, though.

It's okay. I think the vocals elevate it but ultimately it sounds like this group wanted to write songs for Broadway. It's 80s pop with piano instead of synth. Been done better.

home cooking again.

This is the soundtrack to an anime that was only really successful in Slovenia before they gained their independence called “KYOTO POLICE EVENING”. There is a closing shot of a skinny disheveled man wearing a suit walking downhill while the city and a full moon rises over him in the background. His chief, an anthropomorphic 4 ft tall pig in a uniform, chases him down carrying several cup noodles which they eat on a park bench while the credits roll. Any song on here is playing.

Slow and sappy. Not in a good way.

1.9 1x catch up 3/12 -- not great

Pleasant, but not that inspiring. And it starts with a cover!

This album was so boring that my teeth magically got cleaned just by listening to it.

Scented candle: Vanilla. Perfect background music for when you need mellow and smooth, but also borderline boring and entirely bland. 2.5/5

It is giving wedding or cruise ship performers with gloomier lyrics - no memorable songs for me but the female singer’s voice is reminiscent of other artists.

Nice elevator music

So so. Didn't hate it, didn't love it. Won't be relistening. Would give it a 2.5, but rounding down.

Bored but didn’t hate every song. Doesn’t make it out of the 80s genre with many redeeming qualities tho

Couldn't get into this; it was pretty but just not very interesting overall. 2/5

Was really ready to love this (especially as they are Uni of Hull alumni, represent!) but all kind of blended together for me

Ho hum

It was pleasant but I can't say I'll be going back to this one

Nice enough but didn’t really grab me, some really lovely vocals

Bit bland

80s easy listening junk. It's the music they played st the salon when my mom got a perm. Can't be either important or difficult.

One hundred albums in, I have to wonder why we need to listen to a thousand? If 500 of them are as forgettable as this one. She has a nice voice, that’s the best one can say about Idlewild. 2 for the voice.

Albumi #149, 16.02.2025 Everything But The Girlin neljäs albumi vuodelta 1988 ei mielestäni yllä vielä ysärijulkaisujensa tasolle. Levy jää vähän tasapaksuksi verrattuna vaikkapa 1994-vuoden Amplified Heart -albumiin.

Meh

Very meh

Glorified elevator music. Extremely undeserving of a spot on this list.

This should not be on the list. Every song sounded the same. It was rather monotonous and nothing inspiring.

Waste of time and in general not good

vocally, she's got a nice voice. but oh my goodness, this was a snooze of an album & not in a good way.

Not for me. I'm not crazy about her voice. Even the massive attack stuff is my least fave of their songs.

Bon, j'ai pas vraiment aimé. J'ai rien de trouvé de particulièrement marquant, j'ai rien ressenti de spécial en écoutant cet album. C'était loin d'être inécoutable hein, mais j'ai trouvé ça assez plat.

This is a peculiar little album. The instrumentals are giving me big time Hold/Elevator music vibes. The lady singer is WAY better than her buddy. The songs with lyrics kind of got an older 10,000 Maniacs thing going on. Not sure what to make of this or why it’s on the list.

Fine for background music. Just kinda low-key and unengaging. I enjoy some of their later work more, when they went a little more electronic. This is just kinda...meh.

I'm going to give this album 2 stars instead of its deserved 1 because I admire Idlewild's, almost tyrannical, commitment to being as boring as humanly possible.

some good examples of doing less with more here music: hated. (⌐■_■)

Not much to say here. In one ear, out the other? Sorry, English sophistipop duo.

Just bland light rock. Found myself falling asleep multiple times. 2/5

The musicianship is impeccable but the songs are boring.

Big emphasis on the Idle, not so much on the Wild.

Idlemild - Anything But Strong Feelings (for this album) Seriously what the fuck is this lovey dovey/ballad demo disc for 80's romances doing on this list?

BOOOOOOOOORRRRRIIIINNNNGGGGGG

1001 albums to put on the PA in your money laundering front disguised as a mattress shop. Not sure exactly why this album was included in here, but it was a mostly enjoyable listen. Very competently written and performed pop music but ultimately forgettable. It is weighed down by Watt's production which ultimately makes the album feel extremely dated. I thought I found similarities with this and some of Sade's work and was not surprised to see he had worked with her as a producer. The album drags on quite a bit and I don't see myself clamouring to listen to this again. Highlights: Love Is Here Where I Live, Goodbye Sunday

Not crazy about this record but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Her voice is amazing. There’s some great classical guitar and saxophone. The occasional synth. But not really my vibe.

Ladies, gentlemen, and friends of all sorts! We've found our first Bad Album! Very boring; incredibly standard 80s-synth lounge music with a soulless drum machine! It's hold muzak, baybee!! Lead singer is nice, though!

Extrem langweilige 80er serien mäßige Musik Mit viel Saxofon, konnte nicht weiter hören nach ein paar songs

Eh? Unremarkable. I didn't really care for anything particularly on this album

lovely vocals , but boring songs. . bring on the drum and bass !

Idlewild by EBTG is so fucking dull. Every song sounds the same, identical shades of boring, 2/5 because I never hate it, I just can't be bothered with it. Feels like I'm on hold to speak to customer service.

This is just fine all the way through, I Don't Want To Talk About It is a great song, but it's not theirs and theirs isn't close to being the best cover version of it. She's got a really nice voice, but it's all just a bit dull. 2/5.

not offensive but just some new age/jazz/yacht rock blehness.

uneventful and uninteresting for me. wouldnt say its terrible but it just never caught me...

Just dodged a 1 star rating because the sax goes pretty hard at times

Boring, nothing grabbed me and it became background noise fast.

Just blended into background music.

Boring

This album was really just very OK. There weren't any songs that grabbed me, and many that bored me. I liked the two or three song section on the back half where the saxophone showed up. It's possible this is an album where the focus is the lyricism. Unfortunately I'm just not really engaging with these albums actively enough for that to get through to me. 3/10

I liked maybe a couple near the start but got to be the most forgettable album yet. Rating: 1.7

1001 albums that Robert Dimery listened to while he was at university.

boringggggggggggggggg

Ive never really been a fan of the whole soft acoustic guitar and mellow singing thing but women eat that shit up

2 out of 5. I found this album a little bland, but not the worst so far.

Nope

Da hani jedi Form vo Herzschmerz duregmacht. bi jedem Lied hani e neui Trennig müsse duremache wo ich denn ganz lang im Rege gstande bin, d Kamera langsam um mich ume fahrt während JEDES EINZELNE Lied im Hintergrund gloffe isch. Eigentlich doch sehr schön ihr zwei Schnügglige, aber das mir grad innerhalb vo 45 minute 12 mal s Herz broche wird findi grad chli frech. Wenni widermal gnadelos mini Seel, mis Herz und all wiitere innereie in Wasserfall-Ästhetik usehüüle möchti, chumi widermal uf eu zrug. Bis det here, lönd mi in rueh mit eune Emotione!! da chani nume zwei ganz tüüfi Schluchzer büüte

Opens with the amazing cover of "I Don't Wan To Talk About It" and then.... *Fart Noise* Honestly, I hate albums that put the objectively best song as track 1, the rest of the album is just a slow speed skid after that. Blowing your load with 40 minutes left to fill is the worst thing any artist can do.

Sounds like yer mas haircut in old photos

This is the second Everything but the Girl album I’ve gotten and it still doesn’t include their biggest hit. I don’t think this band is worth one let alone two albums on this list. Are there going to be more?!?

Conflicted by this one, I didn't hate it, found it relaxing, vocals and production are excellent, definitely a mood album, I listened to it on the couch with headphones. On the other hand I'm not sure if I'd listen to it again, I can see why it's been described as lounge music, it's relaxing to have on in the background maybe, there's very little change from song to song. Is it an essential album, I'm not sure, maybe within it's genre

I want to like this but I'm so bored. It's so uninspired and I'm really tasking myself with finding some reason as for why it should be on this list. The production is nice and possibly the best thing, but nothing else feels special or specifically impressive to be on this list. The lyrics are pretty boring and the music is mostly the same. Overly lite jazz that doesn't really say much.

Tracey Thorn's got an amazing voice but I swear the entire album is too deep into the sort of sophisti-pop sound that's just too smooth and chill in a way that I find very uninteresting and kinda corny. It's nice, but one note. It might also be that I'm not in the mood for this :/

Not my music. Nothing special.

No joy with this one.

Agradable de escuchar pero sin nada muy emocionante. Todas las canciones son medias parecidas, aunque sinceramente tampoco me centré tanto individualmente en cada una. Más escuchaba y menose gustaba, estoy entre 1 y 2, pero me quedo con 2 por poco, por lo menos no es desagradable o molesto de escuchar (no siempre al menos).

Bad

Idlewild is the fourth studio album by Everything but the Girl, originally released in 1988. Wow. I'm very impressed. They managed to fit every cheesy 80s music trope into 1 album. It has everything from Casio drums to cheesy sax solos! I suppose it's important to hear at least once in your life for the sake of music history. This sort of Muzak did exist and yes it likely did get played on repeat in various department stores. It's not really offensively bad it's just... soulless?

Very dull, and a few nice moments can't save it.

Found it boring

could i write poetry to this? n

Meh

The most average of average albums.

Boring and don't they know drum machines have no soul? Made it all the way so it gets a 2. Not list worthy

It's like, really boring. 2/5

Bo-ring

Groupe inconnu, je ne me rappelle pas l'avoir entendu à l'époque. Belle voix, instrumentation parfois intéressante (chorus de sax, de trompette, harmonies), mais pas très original. Je n'ai pas envie de l'écouter de nouveau. =>2/5

Generic

Nice but dull.

Oooph, I think I’m my last review of these guys I said I underestimated them, well here’s why! Damn that’s pedestrian. Electro-lounge-jazz, (that actually sounds quite appealing though). It’s just like Sade or Simply Red. The second half actually started to grow on me a little as I knew what I was in for but it’s still a disappointing, middle of the road, 2 stars.

I don't really listen to lyrics, I've always preferred the tune over the lyrics. So this album definitely wasn't aimed at me. There are worse albums on this list but not many.

There are certain sounds from the 80s that make me cringe and this album has some of those. The singer’s voice is great and she’s very talented, but there is something about it that really reminds of the worst parts of the 80’s culture. Add in the instrument choices and it’s a recipe for disaster for me personally, I’m sure this is some people’s jam though and that’s cool….for them…..away from me.

Elevator music, though nice one

Boring background music that should have been left in the 80s. There are better musicians that made music in the same genre.

Ei oikein toimi. Tuntu kuin olisi kuunnellut yhden pitkän biisin ja moti loppui pahasti kesken. Ehkä pieninä annoksina voisi löytää tästäkin jotain liikuttavaa, mutta ei pitkäsoittona.

Aika tylsää muniinpuhaltelua

It is not a bad album. It is just not my thing. For me it is too unsalty and the tracks are too similarious,

2.5

Fine but also I didn't care enough to finish it. New strategy with this list! Who cares!

# Playlist Track - I don't want to talk about it # Notes - Dug the opening tracks, but once "The Night I heard Caruso Sing" rolls on, I'm done. - Kind of a boring album, unfortunately,

Not awful, but not a single song stood out. Generic 80s love album. Not 1 star territory but we can do better than this

I listened to this showering this morning and then while eating breakfast. Especially hit hard on Goodbye Sunday even though today is Tuesday. This felt like the kind of album that played in elevators or malls in the 80’s and I laugh because at that point I’m like why is this on the list and of course it’s a 4th album by a British band. Say no more. Not sure this needed to be here.