Reviews (page 7 of 8)
Really chill 90sish smooth pop. I'm not a huge fan of this genre of music. It's like half acoustic with drum machines. Just can't get into this one.
Chill album nothing special
I found this pretty boring. Had a hard time getting through the album.
A little elevator musicy. Not my fave
I like their 90’s stuff so was expecting more from this but this is quite boring 80’s music
Nice little pop album, but not for me.
Just kind of boring
This was just boring. Nothing more than muzak. 2/5.
Sometimes I thought "hmm this is nice chill background" and other times I thought "fucking hell this is naff" and I think the latter outweighed the former
Yaaaaaaaaaaawn
This is okay. I mean, it's really simple and pretty - but I don't necessarily like it. Still, I appreciate it.
Ok pop album. The female singing is pretty good and has a good voice. The songs are all pretty slow and relaxed. Nothing really too bad. Just not for me. 3.7/10
Imo, it was great but not overly-amazing. But I love that jazzy arrangements on the record. Tears All Over Town, Shadow on a Harvest Moon, Goodbye Sunday, I Always Was Your Girl, I Don't Want to Talk About It are my personal favourites from the album.
2.6 - Please God, anything but Everything But The Girl.
The Rod Stewart cover is nice, the rest pretty ordinary. I know it wasn’t ordinary back then, but what can one do, time renders us all old & ordinary
I was hoping this album would be a little bit more influenced by trip-hop, based on their song "Missing". It's a lot more jazz, lounge influenced. It's pleasant, and Tracey Thorn has a really nice voice, but it ended up being more background than anything. Favorite tracks: "Goodbye Sunday", "Lonesome For a Place I Know"
2-5
Bought this back in the day. I had to, I needed the cash and had to break a record voucher so i found this in a bargain bucket. I resented it ever since and gave the tape away. 1 song album for me. It is non contentious easy-going music that doesn't grab me musically or emotionally in any way. Not a patch on a contemporaneous album and genre such as Steve McQueen by Prefab Sprout. Cover art: 2/5
kinda boring the lead female singer has a weird nasal thing that you hear every once in a while like Cher but more subtle
The production is so incredibly dated that it makes it hard to listen to. It's smooth and artificial and any good songwriting gets lots is the late 80s synth haze
Should’ve taken the girl as well
No need for this with walking wounded already representing
The music is not for me. I personally would like it slightly more without the singing as a chill background. This type of music is not for me
I mean it was decent but all the songs sounded the same Sounded like ABBA and Fleetwood Mac but worse Sax was pretty cool in some of the songs though
Uhhh my mind is mush, this all sounds the same, not bad though
I like their version of I Don't Want to Talk About It, the rest of the album is nice, but nothing else stood out on first listen.
This is ok but not for me.
Inoffensive and nothing special. Better than the hip hop bollox to date so need the half stars to distinguish. I can’t give this 3 despite giving some of the hip hop 2
trash
Lots of the songs sounded similar
It's pleasant, but sterile and overproduced. When I see a British band in the late '80s, I expect a bit of economic panic and some anger as well. This album seems exists in a world where Thatcher was never PM. It takes no risks whatsoever and sounds like an adult contemporary radio station. I can hear glimpses of the post-punk ethos in the vocal delivery, but the backing music washes it out and sanitizes it. A notable exception is 'The Night I heard Caruso Sing'
Very Average. Only listened to a few songs
Not memorable in the slightest. Like a less good Joni Mitchell.
3
nope
I liked the other album that was recommended much better, at last after the 2.5 songs I listened too.
Wasn't a big fan of this Album. Started off good but sound got a bit old and the literal lyrics bugged me a bit. Album also too long did not get to the end
Boring 80s ballad pop. No redeeming features
Awful
This album should be in a list called The 1001 albums to fall asleep to.
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.
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.
Boooring
Elevator music.
This is god awful. Breathy dramatic vocals over shitty Musak that hits in all the worst ways for me. Who likes this crap?
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.
All idle. No wild.
Background music that is so bland that you forget you are listening to it.
I was prepared to be charmed by this album, as the haunting “Missing” from 1994 is an absolute classic. Thus, I was shocked by my hatred of this. It’s absolute, bland Muzak. Tracey Thorn has a lovely voice, but it doesn’t vary here at all, just floats at the same register over slow, ponderous, sad songs that seem half-baked. It became boring, then annoying, and finally I had to DNF.
Gear: Dunu SA6 Artwork: 🙂🙂💐 Production (2012 Remaster): 👂🩺🧈 Music: 🧼🧀😤 Rating: 🌬️/5
That was challenging to hear on gloomy Saturday morning. Too slow and same tone throughout this album. Need more coffee now.
Ehhh.
Offensively inoffensive. Staggeringly dull - so much so that I actually kept forgetting it was playing.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
1. talk - 2 2. live - 1 3. dayz - 1 4. girl - 2 5. ztreet - 2 6. night - 1 7. zunday - 2 8. moon - 2 9. roze - 1 10. tearz - 1 11. knouu - 1 12. apron - 1
We're currently dog sitting. It's a poodle/border collie cross. Why would someone breed these two together? You have a border collie that requires stimulation, work, etc, and a poodle, a breed known for boundless energy and never leaving the puppy stage. Last night he tried to jump on my bed to sleep with me. The thing is, our dog sleeps on the bed. Our dog (a golden retriever) was not happy with this. WTF are you on MY bed? She jumped up, started bouncing up and down and barking - Get off! Get off! So today, I'm quite tired, but I still need to work. Which all means I did NOT need this. My only experience of these guys before was "Missing" which was a bit of a snooze but had a beat and stuff. This is a whole other level. Starts with a snoozy cover, moves on to what I assume is a snoozy original, and my eyes are getting heav, this three-minute song feels like it's been going for 15 minutes... And there is still a minute and a half left? DNF.
Idlewild is de geurkaars onder de albums in deze lijst. Mocht er tóch nieuwsgierig naar worden dan weet je al vrij snel dat je een verkeerde keuze hebt gemaakt. Mijn breekpunt was de saxofoon in I Always Was Your Girl. Toen blies ik deze kaars weer uit. 3/10
An eepy sleepy album I hated.
Thoughts before listening: Oh look...more British alternative synth pop. I believe these guys had a big hit in the 90s, but this is an 80s album. Maybe it was a big deal over in Europe? Review: So I guess I missed on the sound of this one. This definitely isn't synthy new wave at all, but is instead lush, jazzy pop ballads that seems to be called "sophisti-pop". Totally was not expecting this sound from this group...and according to AllMusic, this is likely because they transitioned into more of a dancey sound in the 90s. I have to say I am a little bored by this album. It sounds like the soundtrack to the montage scene in a sappy 80s love story. 1-star
beyond insufferable & english in the worst way #sorrynotsorry
Shite
Was like background music that you would find in a restaurant in a foreign country who just wanted to play something in English. Only knew one of their songs, and I didn’t know they sang it. Background music
Awful
The editors of this book after listening to the blandest 80s British pop album: "Wow everyone really needs to hear this before they die" Favorite Track - These Early Days Least Favorite Track - The Night I Heard Caruso Sing ⭐️
this was boring, why its on this list is beyond me.
Without a doubt in my mind this is the least deserving album to be on this list, and this list is plagued by issues. There are very mediocre electronica albums that are over 1.5 hours long. There are British groups of the 80’s that all sound the same (this album happens to fall in this category), and then there are the experimental albums that deserve to be on the list, such as Throbbing Gristle, and yet, are not easy to listen to. This album is hard to listen to because there is not a single outstanding quality about it. The singing is mediocre, the songwriting is the same love song over and over again (or I can assume, because it’s the same slow song over and over again). It’s constantly hitting you with cheesy 80’s production, there is no groove, no guitars, or really anything of substance. There may be another album I hate more on this list eventually…… but this one will be tough to beat.
Just awful.
I could not get into any of this.
album #72 why on earth is this on the list lmfao. utterly pointless. ꩜ favourite track(s): none ꩜ least favourite track(s): all lol ꩜ album rating: ★☆☆☆☆ ꩜ number of albums left to review: 1,017 ꩜ number of albums from the list that i agree with being on the list: 35 ꩜ albums from the list that I would consider on my list: 14 ꩜ albums from the list I won't include on my list: 58
1.4 I wasnt really expecting this to be a shitty smooth jazz album, but thats exactly what it is.
Slickly sickly. Pretty bland from start to finish.
This was an absolutely terrible album. Nothing about it stood out and I question it's existence on this list.
Longest 45 minutes of my life. I want them back please. It was like I was stuck on hold.
Boring slow 80s synthy nothing.
Oh jee, wederom Everything But The Girl. Ik trek haar stem slecht. En dan komt er bovendien een lading standaard 80s geluid voorbij. Met name die doorsnee drumbeat is gewoon storend. Verder zijn de synths van het niveau likmevestje, tenenkrommend gewoon. Later gingen ze een soort triphop maken, maar door haar stem was dat ook al niet aan mij besteed. Deze standaard jaren 80 vind ik dus al helemaal niets toevoegen aan een lijst met albums die je ooit gehoord zou moeten hebben. Het album stevent in eerste instantie af op een 1. Niet omdat ik zuur of boos ben, al werkt de zangeres me op mijn zenuwen. Maar simpelweg omdat het totaal overbodig is en werkelijk waar niets toevoegt. Later wordt het iets minder slecht, ik hoor af en toe een harmonie. Helaas blijven de matige drumbeatjes en de gedateerde synths. Het doet me ergens denken aan de trage nummers van beroepszeurkous Morrissey. Ik wil er een 2 van maken, al heb ik wel een paar nummers door moeten skippen. En dat is het equivalent van een 1. Dus ik heb weinig keus. Sorry Roel, ik geef de schuld aan de zangeres.
Gepflegte Langeweile. Aber eben Langeweile! Langwei …. . Schnarch!
Sad it was not that girl
Kattengejank
Walking Wounded had some cool beats, but this has absolutely nothing going for it.
Bordel.
I guess even adult contemporary has to have its landmark albums. However, when an entire genre is devoted to being as unobtrusive as possible isn't that antithetical to landmarkosity? Anyway, I don't know why I had to listen to this, but I did, and now I will forget it.
This needed to be one the list of albums to listen to before you die because you'll want to die after listening to it, completing the cycle the list intended on
Jesus… just strip out the vocals and it feels like I’m watching the weather channel
Oh no no no, wimpy soft rock at it's worst
"Mr. President, a second Everything But The Girl album has been included" 😭😭😭
I've tried listening to this album 3-4 times now, and each time it just leaves absolutely no impression on me. The synths are just so vague and boring. Feels like everything is just a Casio keyboard playing it's built in song demos.
"Good news! Today we're going to be listening to a duo from the 80s. There's synths!" Aww hell yeah! Are they mysterious? And British? Do they have a cool sounding name? Is there a drum machine?" "You know it!" Sweet. It's gonna be a good Friday! "Just one other thing..." What? "They suck" Huh? "They really suck. Just like, wall to wall sucky, boring music." ....oh. "Yeah." And who are you? "Me? I'm an entity you created. For the purpose of this review." Just for this? That's sort of sad. That means you'll cease to exist when this review is done? "That's right. Everything I am. All my hopes and dreams. Gone." What did you hope and dream? Besides telling me in a mildly amusing way that "Idlewild" by Everything But The Girl sucks? "I...well..." What? "It's dumb but...I always wanted to see Spain." See Spain?!? But you don't even have eyes! You're not even...corporeal! "Don't you think I know that? DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT!?" I'm sorry. "Yeah, well. It's sensitive." Well. This is it. "Yeah. It's been nice knowing you." You too. Hey...do you have a name? "..." Hello? Hello?
todo el álbum estuve esperando algo que nunca llegó. el peor tipo de tortura
Seemingly one long, painful song with pretentious lyrics.
Garden centre music. Gets a 2 instead of a 1 just because it's so inoffensive that it's impossible to feel anything about this album at all. Changed my mind, it’s a 1.
The way she ended every word of every line in a breathy tone ruined it for me. It would've been bearable had she not done that. For that reason, the only song that was almost decent was "The Night I Heard Caruso Sing", where the guy randomly sang lead vocals (although I wasn't a fan of the lyrics much either)
ufff
Huh?
A collection of boring, insipid songs sung by female Morrisey. 1.2
Yawn. Couldn't wait for this to finish. The sort of music Alan Partridge would like.
Not into experimental, weird music
I forced myself to listen to this to the end. Sounds like an 1980s soap opera soundtrack.
This album proves that this is a UK over indexed list and really doesn’t belong here. It’s unmemorable despite the lead singer having a nice voice. Just meh across the board with the worst of the 80’s instrumentation to accompany it.
Gentle sophisti-pop and slow jazz-inflected pop built on soft piano, restrained percussion, mellow guitar, and intimate, whispery vocals drifts along with minimal variation. Listening feels like sitting in a quiet café where the music barely shifts, leaving the surroundings more noticeable than the songs themselves. The melodies are pleasant at first stay ultimately slow and uninspired, and the lyrical content is simplistic.
Woof, this album was rough to get through. Just boring old school sounding mom pop. Just soft and boring. Sure, the vocals are very pleasant and well done, but that can only get you so far. I feel bad giving this 1 star but it was honestly torture to get through this album. Vocals were nice but that can't save how utterly boring this was. Idlewild was just not for me.
This is not the Everything But The Girl I was expecting. In fact, maybe nothing could have been further from what I was expecting based on the one song I know than this. I'm not sure how I feel about this, but I think I like it better than an album of Missing clones. I bet Lisa Stansfield loves these guys. Michael McDonald too. Maybe I spoke too soon though. This sucks. It's getting much worse. This is easy listening garbage. This feels like a joke. This is the softest music I have ever heard and I changed my mind, I'd take 100 Missing dance remixes over the songs on this album.
It appealing to my ears
And there was us thinking Taylor Swift was really dull the other day. This is next level. Fair play.
Wow, this was cheesy and lame! And I’m typically more forgiving of cheese. This maybe doesn’t quite deserve one star but I’ve been itching to give one for a while and I know I’ll never come back to this one. So here!
The bland, unseasoned, overcooked chicken breast of music
I thought the low ratings were exaggerating.
Not my tempo
nothing special. strange pop
Shitty easy listening 80s pop
This album was more boring than I expected it to be…too many slow grooves that go nowhere.
Just so incredibly boring. What did really stand out on this album? I honestly don't know. This one will be forgotten very fast. 1/5
Nope
When I first saw the album cover I thought, cool this sounds like some alternative band I've never heard of. Boy, was I wrong My first DNF. I made it through the first 7.5 songs and felt it was safe to stop as I probably would've died of shock if any of the last 4 tracks were any different from the first 8. I really don't understand why this album is on this list. The lyrics are corny, the instrumentals are horribly overproduced pop of the 80s. I legit had to look up this group to make sure it wasn't a group that spoofed cheesy 80s romantic songs There aren't any redeemable qualities to this album. As each song went on, I longed for this album to be over. I questioned how anyone could willingly listen to this and enjoy it. I can honestly say I could've gone the rest of my life without listening to this album and nothing would've changed
Disappointingly forgettable. Interesting to know where the first song came from as I heard it a lot as a kid. Only needed one listen of this to know I wouldnt listen again
sooo 80's /neg
too much whiny keyboard
No
Milktoast 1
this after the Smiths? No wonder i left for two months and only just resumed
1.5 - Bad
Slow, maybe pop is the best way to describe it, but I couldn't stand it. It gave me glimpses of stuff that would come later that I actually enjoy from people who I imagine built off this sound, but I didn't need to hear this stepping stone
So lame
I really hated this. It was like if you married British folk music with 80s synthesizers. Just not for me.
New Wave has to be top 5 most oversaturated genres. The Brits just COULDN'T get enough. I'd yawn, but I fear opening my mouth would be enough of a prompt to barf after this.
I was excited to see an album from the 80s on my list today, but only got through track 5 before I called it quits.
First record on this list that I truly consider bad. It’s always a matter of taste, but this one was so unabashedly boring that it’s honestly a miracle to make it through the whole thing without falling asleep.
This album absolutely lived up to its cover.
It’s ok
Perfect name. Perfect music - for The Blue Oyster Bar.
Woof. I'd been wondering what it'd take for me to give an album a "1 star". Here it is. This was physically painful to listen to. The most generic elevator kind of pop. Sounds like the drums are some cheap Casio midi percussion. Moments where a song might start come together are killed by the cheap sounding instrumentation. Maybe "Blue Moon Rose" is the least offensive track, but I've definitely found a new band I don't like.
From what little I know about Everything But the Girl, it seems like they were one of the last Sophisti-pop holdouts. I think as they aged, they got closer to a Sade sound. As for this earlier album, it's a miss on many fronts. I don't know why it's included on this list. All of the songs feel like karaoke ballads (derogatory).
I wasn't expecting to enjoy this much, but I wasn't expecting to dislike it quite this much. I remember their cover of I Don't Wanna Talk About It which was fine but dull I had to go and look at what the drum machine he used cost back in 1988, and it was £999. It sounds so bad and cheap now. It's all over everything and just turns boring background music into something much worse. Just use drums. It sounds like a bad double act in an old folks home that no-one is listening to. Final track, Apron Strings ditches the drum machine and it's such a relief. Doesn't get it an extra star though. I hated this.
Eighties Wine Bar music
Self indulgent lyrics over Muzak-esque soft jazz instrumentation with occasional cringey sax solos.
zzz 😖
This is a joke, right? AI concocted effemera?
Anything but the good.
Didn’t make it thru. Too much of a mix of kenny g, índigo girls & Ben fold, none of which i like. Tried listening while starting a work day & it hot off to a goober-y start.
I don’t think I can do this kind of soft rock. I tried, I really did. There’s just no punch to it. It’s the kind of thing that would be hold or elevator music. I kept wanted there to be some crazy drum fills or for that saxophone that sneaks in occasionally to have a ripping solo and then I remember what kind of music I’m listening to and am disappointed. I know I should listen to this as it is and not as I want it to be, but the dated synths and mostly uninteresting vocals fail to allow me not to consider what could be.
Among the worst things I’ve heard on this list.
Schrecklich belanglos!
So there are some terrible albums on this list but they seem to hold some cultural or other value to warrant inclusion. This album wasn’t terrible but also appears to lack any historical importance. Boring and uninspired, it’s the kind of drivel you hear waiting for the dentist to call you back. When I think of all the deserving albums (not one from Tool?), listening to albums like this just leave me angry. Grr. 1/5
Idk what to say. Boring, annoying voice, elevator music at best. Sorry lol
Why is this album on this list... every song sounds the same....
Muzak shit
It was alright. Probably before my time.
Bad late 80' / early 90's Muzak
Boring ballads. Good for focusing on work but I would probably not enjoy actively listening to them.
A cross between elevator music and the soundtrack to a tv movie of the week where one of love interests gets cancer. Borderline unlistenable.
Nope. Nothing about this was good to me, and I'm not sure I get what anyone would find here that's worth a listen tbh
Not especially bad or offensive, but also not especially good and was one of those albums that I just wanted to end sooner rather than later.
Everything but good songs, amirite?!! ✋ Christ, this is dull middle of the road dreary ballads and I would probably usually give this sort of thing 2 stars but I’m in a bad mood and this is not helping, it’s just making me miserable. Add to that, I’m just annoyed about the suggestion that I should listen to this album before I die. I’ve also discovered they have 2 albums on here 😭
Sooooo boring
90’s Christian Mom Minvan Music
this is maybe a top 10 most boring album we've had so far to me. this is multi-suite office park lobby music
I never thought an album could be this boring.
This might be one of the most boring, synthetic, over-produced and annoying thing I've ever heard.
Too twee for me.
No thanks
This album is an experiment: what if we took country music vocals and lyrics and layered them over electro-bop, bossa nova, or soft jazz? In short, it's a disaster. EBTG even admits to cringing at their early stuff. For all intents and purposes, the band doesn't find their sound until Todd Terry remixes Missing into a house track. Idlewild is when they're still finding out what doesn't work. Fascinating origin and history lesson, and kudos to them for being willing to experiment and explore new sounds on a public stage: without that willingness, they never would have become such a heavy influence on 90's electronica. Doesn't make this album easier to listen to, though.
I want to give this a one because it was so boring and bland and really annoying, but I’ll be generous and bump it up. Wait. No, I won’t. I don’t ever want to hear this terrible elevator music again. It actually made me mad.
Idlewild Jesus, I thought EBTG were a kind of coolly detached dance inflected pop band with a great singer. And while Tracy Thorn’s voice is excellent on this, musically this is the worst type of insipid, soporific, bland, self satisfied, soulless, hotel lobby, hold music to the point of feeling like an utterly pointless album. Not fun at all. 👎 Playlist submission: These Early Days
This is the musical version of wet cardboard. 'These Early Days' is one of the worst because it feels like they've said 'let's do an upbeat one', but it's more beige than my old maths teacher's corduroys. What follows is a stream of hotel cabaret schmaltz with no character. 'I Was Always Your Girl' is a watery trickle of the blandest shite. Please please don't add 80s sax as well, oh fucking hell there it is. It's worse than the music they play when you spend an hour waiting to speak to customer services at Plusnet. It doesn't even fail spectacularly like the Napalm Deaths of this world. And that's the really unforgivable thing. Thank goodness Todd Terry showed them the way, down the line.
👎
This is the 2nd god awful album from this duo. May it be the last! BRING. ON. NAPALM. DEATH!!!! 1/5 #175
Generic Hallmark Movie: The Soundtrack
I feel bad giving this a 1 but it is so so boring and uninteresting. She has a great voice but it is wasted here. This was hard to make it through - kept waiting to see why this was on the list but that moment never came.
Meh
That was, not interesting at all
Incest/5 I avoided this at first based on the brigade of negative reviews. No offense, but the album cover looks, ahm... yeah. But I thought after listening to my other vacant albums, I wanted to give this album a chance... ...but instead of using that chance for good, it turned my ears inside and out. This is probably a good album to fuck your cousin or sister to.
This is nothing. Incredibly boring. There's like brief moments of something interesting, but they are very short lived and few and far between. The lyrics are also pretty nothing. It's almost impressive how nothing this is. For the most part, it isn't pain inducing music, which is actually a plus. But it does take a bit of a quality hit as the album goes. To the point where I'm debating on adding it to my "Did Not Finish" list. I did end up finishing it... To say that the album sucked, is going a little far, but it is not good. It's not interesting. And it for sure shouldn't be on this list. Favorite Song(s): I Don't Want to Talk About It
Of all the albums on this list, this is certainly one of them. Instrumentation is cool at times. The one thing it has going for it is that its not the worst thing I've ever heard. Its just boring and uninteresting
Uninspiring!
What a mid tier album... Why the hell is this Yankee Candle/christian book store music on this list?! Do yourself a favor and skip this one
What…did you say something?!
Pleasant but forgettable.
Too easy-listening and compressed 80s production.
1/2
Most songs opened with programmed drums and had cheesy synthesizer. The vocals were bland and boring.
Many years ago I really liked Eden but clearly my tastes have changed
Limp dick!!!!!!!!!
jesus if i wanted to listen to ballads with a biiiig side of melancholia i would have just put on whitney houston immediately followed by the smiths but this was not it
Boring, elevator/hold music vibes. I prefer to listen to opus one.
1.25
Slightly depressing music.
So. Boring. 100% not my style of music at all. Next please!
Everything but a shit, shite 80s style
This took me 45 minutes closer to the day that I die and gave me absolutely nothing in return. Utterly pointless.
I'd prefer Walking Wounded over this, literally and metaphorically.
Absolutely not, hard pass.
I love their later electronic stuff but this easy listening stuff does nothing for me. It's largely inoffensive but I don't connect at all.
ma no
Fairground Repulsion
dyk idlewild was the original name of jfk airport? also an endurance test in endless tedium
blah
From whom dont understand Portuguese the expression: mela cueca, música de motel e antena 1 songs, its exactly what this álbuns means. The word cheesy define all this songs. Its time to you in the 80s put this song and iniciate the art of copulation with the song of this lazy sax. Mental!
Second EBTG album, still not had their "big hit" so I'm worried there is a third that I have to endure.
Yawn
Gah. I’m one song in, and I’m already pissed and bored. I ended up listening to some of this while my 7yo son was in the car, and he asked if we could listen to anything else. I said we could, and then we laughed about how much we couldn’t stand this.
I hated pretty much every minute of this inane nonsense. Vapid rhyme schemes, dull backing tracks, and cringey AF lyrical content. How did this even get made? Never again. This list honestly puzzles me sometimes.
So cheesy dreadful. More like Everything But The Music. I'd be happy to never hear this soulless mess again.
I'm not sure why this album is on this list at all. Sure, we can think about representation of all genres, but this is generic and bland especially considering the time in which it was released. A few tracks have some crooning horns, which had been done with more style and originality by Tom Waits in his early works over a decade prior. Generic ballads abound here, nothing of note. Pass.
Dreadfully boring.
Wow, that was intense... ly boring.
When I get these Brit I always listen hoping that this will be the one that resonates. This wasn't the one that resonates and I'm starting to think maybe Brit Pop might be the equivalent to me of what other people think when they get the a hardcore album from Napalm Death or an out there album from the Butthole Surfers.
Please, no. Anything but 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭.
Music for waiting rooms, but with slightly more interesting lyrical content.
An 80's version of Joni Mitchell. I dislike Joni Mitchell
I actually like this music (I like elevator music). What's wrong with some low key vibes for a lazy Sunday morning reading the newspaper in the sun. But needing to hear this before I die?? Embarrassing. To quote Aesop Rock, these are songs for people "who have never had a day a snow cone couldn't fix".
One hit wonder
I remember Everything But The Girl feeling quirky and a little different back in the nineties, so I came to Idlewild expecting something with a bit of edge. Instead, it falls quite flat for me. The album leans heavily into soft, middle of the road ballads that feel safe and overly restrained. There is a gentle, understated style running through it, but very little that truly grabs the attention. I found myself zoning out for much of the listen, with tracks blending into one another without a standout hook or moment. I can appreciate the clean production and Tracey Thorn’s smooth, controlled vocal, but as a complete record it feels lifeless rather than intimate. It is hard for me to see why this would land on a must hear list when there are so many more dynamic albums from the era. Favourite track: None really stood out. Least favourite: Difficult to choose as everything felt similarly subdued and forgettable. Album artwork: A nice, nostalgic cover that captures their late eighties image well
nope
Everything But a Song I Want to Listen To.
Nope, couldn't connect to them. Just not my cup of tea. Did like I don't want to talk about it song, but that was only because I'd forgotten the song so hunted out my Rod Stewart version
in what universe is this an album someone must hear before they die? tepid tunes, horrible '80s production, muzak-y arrangements. the only thing it's missing is a dentist asking the hygienist to pass the drill.
I lost any and all manhood after that
Very bad. Couldn’t finish it.
Horrid, one of the worst ones I've ever listened.
Nope
1/5 - not for me. Wrong kind of 80s music
Yawn, boring…..
Adult contemporary bullshit.
I.....can see why someone would like this, but didn't have enough pep or enough of anything to really do much for me.
1 booooorinh
Quasi muzak. Inoffensive enough, but an absolute chore to get through. What is this doing on a list like this?
Trash.
This really wasn't that good. I know that Everything But the Girl have some decent tunes, but I guess they came after this period because this hasn't aged well at all.
Curiously bad. The leader singer has a compelling voice, and does different things with it. Knew I didn’t like it from the outset, but had to solve the mystery of why and play the whole thing back. I think sound mixing may be the crux of the issue—the guitar and drums wash her out, like live music at a restaurant not designed for live music.
https://youtu.be/uzidMPMhYiA
Everything But The Girl before their uber-hit Missing. You realise very quickly indeed why they weren't big before Missing. I find this incredibly boring and the worst kind of synth-dominated aseptic 80s ballad. Yes, the whole album. Extra point deduction would be well-deserved for combining gratuitous 80s sax with senseless, soulless programmed cowbell on "I always was your girl". But 1 is the lowest ranking already.
This sounds like the most generic coffee shop music of all time. 2/10
I really hated this one. It sucks. No. 0.75/5
Horrible. Boring. No substance.
This is album #28 and this is the fourth album that I have given 1 star. For the other 3 albums, although I did not like or get into them, I could still understand why they were on the list of 1001 albums to hear before you die for historical or influential reasons, but for this one I just don't get it. Rather dull and uninspiring to be honest. Did like the voice of the female singer though.
...what the hell was that? What an awful album. Also, possible incestuous relationship with her brother in Oxford Street. Big woof. 1 for sure.
Sophisto-pop? More like sophisto-snoozefest!! Sophisto-poop! Sophisto-trash! This is very boring - maybe it would work in a restaurant or a lobby or something, but wow.
God bless them but everything about this is so terrible
The most interesting part of listening to this is wondering whether the Soft Rock - Smooth Jazz - New Age production vibe of the 80s is just triggering for me or objectively irritating. Incredible, in retrospect, that the industry turned away from the tube systems and whole room recording techniques for all of this close-mic'd-nascent digital reverb-solid state processing. Throw in the regular appearances of Kawai synths and Kenny G sax stylings and by Oxford Street I was so depressed by the sound that I started focusing on the lyrics. That made it worse. Like a sophomoric ode to meek suburban living.
Do people actually like this?
I understand if something isn’t for me but holds great historical or genre significance for one reason or another. This just baffles me. Lovely voice, but I’m struggling. I could easily die without hearing this.
The highlight is a cover of Rod Stewart song and the rest of utterly forgettable.
It gets funky and groovy, bass player is a killer. The lady has an awesome voice, the dude not so much. I think my Fresh Thyme might play something from this album. Maybe it's good shopping or on hold music. It does a good job of bleeding together, the only time it got much of a reaction from me was when the lyrics were so bad "I hope you never change, I'll call you Jimmy call you James" "Every Monday is goodbye Sunday" ... no thanks
I don’t know if I could have hated this more. It was just one never ending song with no definable anything bleeding into the next. I had to stop by the 4th song because it was filling me with a rage at 7am that I haven’t felt since I was like 14 and mad at my mom all the time about nothing in particular.
This album felt like being on hold with the cable company for 45 minutes...I really don't want to experience either situation ever again.
Das war so langweilig. Nichts stach heraus, weder Instrumente noch Gesang. Beim Hören spürte ich nichts als Langeweile. Das kann in einer Hotellobby im Hintergrund laufen, aber käme das im Radio beim Autofahren würde ich einschlafen.
3/10 Fav tracks - Blue moon rose
Unspeakably bland.
Unbelievably boring and cheesy. I can clearly imagine the 90s office mom who was so excited to have discovered this album. It tries its best to shake the milquetoast affect of its front woman with its hot beats, but it falls short.
It's like a nightmare. I hated every single sound
No thank you!
not offensive but just some new age/jazz/yacht rock blehness.
Boring.
No business being on this list
Idlewild has earned the distinct dishonor on my first one star review. As mentioned to Stijn yesterday, it sounds like elevator music without the fun of being in an elevator. While elevator/waiting room music is bland, I appreciate it because that's what its purpose is. Digestible music that will offend no one, and cover up the sound of the old lady across from you coughing. This is just as bland, but they were clearly trying to make good and meaningful music. You can hear them thinking "Yeah that sounds good. These lyrics are deep. I'm really telling the tale of my fellow impoverished Scotsmen." But it doesn't sound good. It sounds like beige. I listened to the second half of this sitting in traffic, and it made me much more aware that my time and life are finite. It sounds not like waiting, but like time is wasting. When I don't listen to an album for this group, it's usually because I weigh the opportunity cost of listening. I could listen to this unknown album on my drive home, or I could listen to a familiar playlist or podcast I know will bring me joy. This album took me 5 attempts to finish, because each time I would think "Life is passing me by. I could be listening to Doolittle again." The lone bright spot was the sax on I Always Was Your Girl. I thought in that moment "If they do this more, we have ourselves a second star". But then they shelved the sax for the rest of the album. Booooooooo. Album cover: (C+) I like the photo well enough. That has some nostalia energy. The text and graphic design are pretty amateurish looking.
Opens with a desecration of 'I Don't Want to Talk About It' & goes downhill from there. No idea what this is doing on the list.
Such a relief to see "boring" as the top keyword. Feels good to finally agree with people here. Ahh can't wait to listen to another Bob Dylan album, now that's real music
Booooring
generic 80s pop
Edit: This was horrible, and I should have given it a 1 to begin with. “I don’t want to talk about…” how overly long this felt. It gives adult contemporary a bad name.
To anybody that hasn't started: go, save yourself.
Drænende... Hader det..
This was fucking boring.
Boring
Idlewild is the smoothly of the smooth jazzy dad rock I’ve ever heard, to the point of being offensive. 3.2/10
Not really my style, knew a few of the sings but a little too slow for me
More like Everything but the Good Music. She can sing. Ben can seemingly write decent music. Put them together and it's a steaming turd of no thanks.
Easy listening music that is extremely hard to get through.
Truly awful. A band with a one hit wonder which isn’t even on this album.
Not a redeemable quality about it
A bit depressing. Not the best album.
Could t finish it. Not my type of music at all.
I'm pretty sure that this is going to be my least favorite album on this whole shindig. DNF
boring 80s ballads, could have gone fine without ever hearing this
I just got one of their albums and it made me realize that they're embody my least favorite type of music. Now you lay this shit on me again?
Execrable
Corny and dated and not good.
I first heard of Everything But The Girl in the mid 90's with Missing You which was a huge hit in the UK and I didn't like it as I thought it was boring. The music on this album might be slightly different from later EBTG albums but unfortunately they are just as boring.
I'm not sure what I expected, but bland, below average pop tunes was not it.
This is offensively anodyne. Why is this album on a list of albums I must listen to. 1/5
ass
Never liked them, always found them dreary and drippy and this album just reinforces that. Awful!
Christ I hated them in he 80’s - I haven’t changed my opinion - hold music for car insurance.
No redeeming features
DNF not for me.
Really, really awful.
Forgettable 80's soft pop. Surprised this would make the list.
This was ass. Fuck right off.
Horrible
This is the music they play in hotel lobbies. I was going to give this a 2, as I was eating breakfast and not really having to give this my full attention, but then I was done and had to actually listen to the last 3 songs and oh, no. They felt longer than the 9 songs I didn’t actively listen to as much, they are that boring. And I listened enough to know that they’re the same exact type of music, that they’re basically the same songs, the same boring songs, and this 1 star rating is for all the people who had to actively listen to this for an excruciating 45 minutes. And also since it got me specifically so bored but still.
Disappointing
Why is this album on this list. I didn't need to listen to this album before I die. I did not lis this at all. I cannot beleive this was their forth album!
Pure Moods has found its polar opposite.
I love waiting rooms.
Boring cheesy 80s ballads, nonstop
This is absolute garbage and its inclusion on this list should embarrass the authors and editors. It’s this kind of detritus that clogged up the pop airwaves for 40 years. If you’re not going to do anything interesting, get the fuck out.