Idlewild

A little slow and romantic for my liking recently. Definitely good songs but average for me right now just because I’m not looking for this typa music

It's not music, it's muzak.

Meh 3/5

Melancolia adocicada pela vocal e batidas.

A scan of the reviews says that a lot of folks hate this one. EBTG's take on the genre hasn't aged well and the music isn't memorable, at least not in a positive way, but the vocals are something special. Tracey Thorn's voice is excellent. The opening tune, I Don't Want To Talk About It, I knew as a Rod Stewart tune back in the day. Tracey nails it wonderfully. I also think her vocals on Paul Weller's The Paris Match, released a few years before this, was amazing. It's perhaps telling that my two favourite songs she sings are written by others. I prefer their songs like missing as well as the other album on the 1001 although I rated that one lower for some reason. 

This is a fairly innocuous album. I was surprised to find out that the opening cover “I don’t want to talk about it”, was originally done by Crazy Horse. From a song-writing perspective the other tracks can’t match the starter, and it wasn’t even on the original UK release. Maybe this LP is here for historical reasons, it influenced the down-tempo artists of the 90s? I’m a fan of Tracy Thorn and of Everything but the Girl’s earlier material, so I won’t go below a 3.

Lame is the adjective that best describes this album. EBTG has one good single - Missing, but it ain't on this album. I knew this was gonna be a slog when the first song was a lame cover of I don't want to talk about it (even Rod Stewart did it better). Sophisti-pop was the rage in the 80s and 90s but other groups such as Sade, Style Council and Matt Bianco did it much better.

Impressions: Love her voice but all the tracks sound the same. Favorite: Love Is Here Where I Live, Apron Strings Rating: 1/5

Forgettable. Did not seem particularly interesting

AJ: The Cure with a lady singer. Honestly listened to 30 seconds.

I remember a few years ago there was a big ‘make everything sound like 80’s music’ vibe all across the whole industry and I was so disgusted with it. This record is a great example of why I felt that way. There was a lot of great experimentation and innovation in music in the 80s but goddamn so much of it was this mopey nonsense that doesn’t seem to have any other reason to exist other than “I’m a musician! I make music!” This isn’t offensive it’s just like a braindead continuation of a line of musical thinking that went nowhere and it seems like everyone in the universe should have been able to make that determination even in 1988

Mooi gezongen, verrassend tof eigenlijk

2 stars. not my thing

Very chill, low energy vibes. Good album to have for easy listening background noise, but it still holds if you're actually listening too

Coñazo.

So cheesy, loved falling asleep to it

Felt like a blur of softcore lounge music. Not great, not terrible. Probably won't listen again

cheesy 80s. I can only wonder how it sounded when it was released. was it really something new and cool? "every Monday is goodbye Sunday" -- thanks, very deep. but not gonna lie, towards the end I started enjoying it more. Tears All Over Town is when I was head nodding along This album also made me think... Sometimes the most important insights are in the places we are most uncomfortable to look at. This energy is really uncomfortable for me, but why? Is it because they are unapologetically cheesy, emotional, "not cool", and sensual?

Rod Stewart cover song my dad knew gets an extra star

Alternate lifestyle easy listening?

Rating: 6/10 Best songs: The night I heard Caruso sing

2.5/5 - It's cute at times. Thats about it. She has a pretty voice and he comes up with some cool sounds here and there. Talented musicians, not my type of music.

Pleasant but very same-y throughout.

Bravely answering the question of what of the Indigo Girls were a heterosexual couple that wrote boring ballads with bad electronic instruments, I have no idea why this album is on this list. This is about as milquetoast as you could possibly get.

Bad. Way too British and shitty writing

I don’t hate it, I don’t like it either. The instrumentals are pleasant but the writing sounds like someone who has never struggled for anything in their life trying to sound deep and profound when really they’re really just describing problems only upper-middle class white people in the 80s had the time or money to think about.

bit dreary, some nice music but don't like the vocals

I don't wanna talk about it

Boring. The soft pop sound is just blehhh for me. Nothing stands out and I didn't want to listen to any more. Not sure why this album is on the list. Others that I didn't like I can see significance in. Not with this one.

First half is OK but a bit boring and unoriginal. I don't want to talk about it is the only song I would characterise as "good". By the second half every song just seems to blend together and drag on. Don't really understand why this is a "must listen before you die".

Fine background stuff, better love songs than all 69 of the other love song album

Not very exciting music

Funky songs, not my type

Pretty chill, decent as background music. Didn't feel like anything too special.

Fine but not my style

Boy did I not like this. Skeezy sax and pretty boring.

Apron Strings its strong and confusing closer, Idlewild delivers croon and croon and that's about it. Every track is well-rounded and the effort comes of well; It's just interesting to note Thorn's voice so complete already with only a hint of instrumentals to come backing it. An absolutely lovely companion listen, you can convince yourself it's cheekier in fact but only as long as it spins.

I hated how she sings

This is a really nice album. Tracey Thorn has a lovely voice, the songs are very gentle and overall a good piece of work.

When I was a kid in the late 80’s I remember being on an elevator and it seemed like the ride was taking forever. I’m pretty sure this was the album was playing over the speaker. That’s the review.

having knowing nothing about this group or any of their songs I was expecting nothing good, but I was pleasantly surprised. makes great use of the 80's sounds, a nice variety of music, almost like city pop in some places.

Very nice! Like Sade crossed with the Pretenders

Easy listening uplifting 80s

I got excited for a moment because I thought the great BAND Idlewild was assigned. Turned out this was the kind of music I was relentlessly subjected to back when I worked at Rite Aid.

Not my style at all, but I rather enjoyed at least one run through. The occasionally-tasty jazz bass player and Tracey Thorn's lovely delivery really save this for me. I enjoy the lyrics too - unusually direct and literal at times. I especially like these : "I write these words to make them true: 'I've drowned my torch and so should you'"

Stinky

Honestly pretty boring lol This is what I’d expect to hear in a small clothing store targeted to women above 50

Its like if Smooth FM was an album. I love her voice and i can appreciate the songwriting, but its pretty boring for the most part. Didnt despise listening to it but

Standouts: The Night I Heard Caruso Sing, I Don't Wanna Talk About It, Shadow on a Harvest Moon, Apron Strings. Some of the songs are just "too 80s" sounding and it really hurts to hear it now. 3/5

Idlewild is a collection of some very nice tracks. Too bad they are all the same.

This is like a meal made from great produce only to be undercooked and seasoned with air and false hopes. The songs are like attending a high school dance. Everyone pretends to be rather unique and interesting. But just below the surface everyone is either the same amount of pretentious, boring or insecure - or a combination. Also, did I mention the horrible lyrics?

This was awful. I have no idea how this made the list

Best song - Blue Moon Rose

Pop ñoño. Ni fu ni fa.

Pues muy bonico. Sobre todo la primera canción. I Don't Want to Talk About It.

It took me a few songs to get into this album. The lead singer's Cher-like voice and the very 80's-pop tracking felt almost like an imitation of the times for a while. But I think it started to almost click for me close to halfway through the album, maybe due to some nostalgic soft-rock-esque saxophone. It's not great and it's VERY 80's, but I wouldn't hesitate to listen to if it came on in the background. Highlight: Goodbye Sunday Lowlight: These Early Days Surprise Hit: Apron Strings

This kind of soft pop is not really my cup of tea

Pure 80s pop. Not my thing, but if that’s what you’re looking for, this’ll get ya done just fine.

I dunno man. Lovely voice, some charming lyrics. Still sounds boring MoR to me 😥

Cheesy, indulgent, and honestly just kinda boring.

Love her voice and some songs hit but most fall short.

The lyrics are echoes of The Smiths who had a way of expressing quotidian British maudlinism. The sophistipop backing tracks would have chased me off but I almost appreciate how carefully they are crafted. I listened through the album almost twice and the tunes started to blend together to form what sounds like an hour long ending credits song for an ITV-produced family drama series from 1988 taking place in a town with a name like Grimsby or Sowerby Bridge. I can't find much to love or hate here. Three stars, I guess.

Gentle and pretty storytelling pop. Sparse arrangements with percussion played by a drum machine. No choruses or memorable hooks. Verges on easy listening, but a nice and pleasing album nonetheless. Rating: 3/5 Playlist track: Love Is Here Where I Live Date listened: 16/10/23

helevete vade terist

Not my cup of tea at all. Could not wait for it to be over. Very basic instrumentation and country singing, reminds me of Mary Chapin Carpenter.

This was wonderful. This is a band I definitely missed out on in the 80s and I am so happy to hear them now. Certainly a playlist add!

No. Just terrible. If I was 42 in 1988 and never heard anything except dentist office or elevator music, I would still hate this album. I am 4 albums in and 2 were pure shit. Not thinking I'll make it to the tenth album at this rate.

The first mental picture that came to mind upon listening to this album was a middle aged woman driving her kids to gymnastics class. I am not a middle aged woman. If this is on the 1001 albums list, I can’t imagine how bad the 1002nd album must be.

The idiot who compiled this list sure loves sophisticrap.

Accidentally listened to deluxe version. Definitely an album that has influenced lots of others. Nothing really stood out as something I'd want to listen to again.

Indy singer songwriter music isn’t my thing, but at least this group can sing and made original contributions to the genre.

Why this Everything But the Girl album?! It's my least favorite and I think the least interesting. I still love the vocals, but the instrumentation and production are pretty terrible (and this from someone who actually likes some synthy muzak sounds) and the songs lackluster. SIGH! For all of those who hear this and can't understand why, please check out their later music. 3/5

I couldn't make it through five tracks: this album is the epitome of boring white people music. I literally can't separate it from being stuck in a chair, my mouth agape, having my teeth cleaned as this crap coos from the speaker softly. Just awful

Glossy 80s pop with a heavy dose of smooth jazz. Chimey slowed-down Johnny Marr-wannabe guitars and some bright synth sounds combined with a busy neo-soul bass and Kenny G saxophone. It sort of works? The songs are all lush and slow artifice with a chorus-pedal sound saturating the album. No real distinctions between the songs, it's a mood album that's calm relaxed and upbeat- but that's another word for boring. The sound of the milk aisle in the early 90s.

Pop lànguid i hipnòtic amb una veu i arranjaments de qualitat i una molt bona versió de 'I Don't Want to Talk (About It)'

Tracey Thorn has a gorgeous voice. The cover of I Don’t Want To… is lovely The rest is utterly insipid though

Me gustó el sonido, las intervenciones del saxo, la voz súper calma, todo suena armonioso, no sé si destaque como para una lista como está, pero no tendría problema en volver a escucharlo

Lovely

First album i couldn’t listen all the way through. if this is a genre someone likes, that’s fine, but there’s absolutely no reason this belongs on a general “must listen to” list. If I’m being generous, maybe I can hear some ideas that the XX use today, but i didn’t like this at all.

this one was a bit middle of the road for me. the production was clean and nice sounding, but overall i felt like the album just doesn't fit my vibe. i found it a bit dull. sort of reminded me of sitting in the waiting room of a therapist's office. not bad but definitely felt like background music to me. ultimately, it's not something i hated, but definitely something i would not ever seek out on my own.

Beautiful and gorgeous and a great invitation to plough into the back catalog. Perfect.

This is the musical equivalent of cheap lukewarm tea forgotten on a window sill for 3 days.

This was aural wall paper

Why is this on the list?

The album cover, where the band look washed-out and dull, says it all.

Snoozefest 2023

This was really hard to get through, even worse than I had imagined it would be. Mumbling/ whiny singing, bland tunes, smooth/ cheesy sounds, horrible keyboards, saxo-fail, and jazz-lite noises thrown into a vat and blended together to come up with a dozen incredibly samey tracks that meander on and merge together into over 45 minutes of awfulness. This is the sort of music I would expect to hear when put on hold ringing a company who don't want me to wait on hold. It's almost like it's designed to offend. God the keyboards are an atrocity, a lot of work must have gone into making them sound so bad, they really are so very bad. They actually sound like something you might get out of a Christmas cracker. It's not even an excuse that this is from the 1980s, as I've heard better keyboards from albums made two decades earlier than this. This has been one of the few times I've found myself looking forward to adverts on Spotify as some relief from the horror of this album. What a worthless chore this was. Definitely 1-star, almost worth more for the sheer relief of getting to the end.

It’s alright.Nice vocals but not particularly memorable.

Not my thing. Just not a fan of the style or the writing.

Didn't expect I'll like this, but I found it an easy listen, it's poppy and fresh sounding. The music is a bit dated (so 80's!) and generally I'm not a fan of drum machines and synth, so it's probably not something I'll listen to often, but it was pleasant and an enjoyable background music.

It's mostly forgettable 80s pop, really. It's not, like, terrible, but not especially interesting either.

Love Tracey Thorn's featurings on Massive Attack's *Protection*. That title-track from the Bristol trip-hop collective is a wonder (equalling later masterpice "Teardrops" with Liz Fraser). And Thorn has a lot to do with how good that song is. That's the only truly positive thing I'll ever say about Everything But The Girl. This act is too damn bland for chrissake, whatever their style du jour is (jazzy sophistipop--as in here--or eurodance, or electropop, etc.). I've recently given three stars to a Pet Shop Boys album, so I can still keep an open mind, I guess. But there's a limit. Pretty sure the music critics who have consistently and inexplicably praised Everything But The Girl for decades once received free blowjobs paid through the A&R department of the band's label. I'm a music critic as well now, for crying out loud! Why can't I receive free blowjobs??? OK, gross and puerile, I admit it. A *little* more seriously, now: I'm *not* saying that the songwriting, performances and arrangements on this record are not "competent". They are, generally speaking (even if Tracey Thorn's intonations are a little weird or forced on a couple of those tracks). The real issue is this, though: bad taste is just bad taste sometimes, period. And it's always hard to forgive bad taste, even when you hail from the dreadful eighties--where you were admittedly surrounded by it everywhere, and it was almost as if you had no choice but to surrend your soul to at least *some* of it. In other words, trying to be "objective", open-minded and benevolent about certain music styles would be a blatant lie from me. Everyone sincere enough about music who's worth their salt knows you can't fully change a leopard's spots. Just as you can't turn pumpkins into golden carriages, except in fairy tales. Or except in labels' A&R departments, selling their "products" and pretending they're so relevant on a purely artistic level. It's those free blowjobs again, remember? They're as potent as magic spells. In all seriousness now, though, I *swear*: current popular opinion is *not* always right, but you can still take it into account to separate the whiff from the chaff once in a while. And here popular opinion is quite clear. Only 15 people or so wrote a 5-star review about this record on this app. Worse, those short and very general reviews do not suggest that any of those supposedly happy reviewers were yet dead-set on defending this album to save it from the sea of negativity it's currently drowning in. I would personally do that to try to save Robert Wyatt's *Rock Bottom*, as far as I'm concerned--even to the extent of making a fool of myself. But that's definitely not how far those folks would go. You just *feel* it in their reviews. They simply liked the record, they don't care about the rest. Good for them. But they should know how bad the global score for this thing is, at least. Not that such shenanigans matter all that much, I'm gonna concede that as well. For instance, the fact that *Idlewild* has such a low score compared to the 3.29 one of Sade's *Diamond Life*--every bit its equal when it comes to cheesefest fodder--remains a total mystery to me... It's true that what makes an album popular or unpopular is a very elusive thing sometimes. And your personal definitions of "good taste" and "bad taste" will rarely explain such mysteries away. I'll grant that to the few fans of Everything But The Girl who might bump into this review one day. In the meantime... 1/5 for the purposes of this list of "essential" albums, which translates to a 6/10 grade for more general purposes (5+1). Next, please. Number of albums left to review: 454 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 255 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 130 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 163 (including this one)

This was the equivalent of the music in a dentist’s office.

Sounds nice, although it's a bit sappy and dated.

Snozefest

sweet opening intro guitars. alanis-esque deep vocals.

Holy Marbles that was awful. Thank Heaven on High for that only being 45 minutes long because I don't think I could take a minute longer of that.

Mediocre tunes, mediocre voice, mediocre lyrics. Doesn't even include their best song.

poppy...very poppy, but interesting

This was, without a doubt, the worst album on here so far. I'd rather listen to the Smiths.

Kind of boring

Literally the only thing one can do is yawn. Holy hell this is dull.

Meh

I enjoyed this trip back to an 80s wine bar but I got a little bored towards the end and reckoned I could leave early and get back home the catch The Word on TV.

80s pop but the kind I find a little boring, the show 'Keeping Up Appearances' comes to mind listening to this

I liked the relaxed folk vibe, but no song stood out for me; it all blended into mushy nothing.

Didn't give it too much of a chance admittedly. Felt uninspiring

Bored the balls off me.

There’s some real charming stuff on here. Tracey Thorn’s voice is great. The 80s production takes away from it a bit

Rien d’interessant. Très pop monotone. 4/10

Very mellow/easy listening... Literally what I think my mum would have listened to in the 80s

Tried, but couldn't do it. Just bad pop music. Cliche Hammond organ and drum machine.

Made it through a couple of songs, but this managed to be both melodramatic and boring at the same time. Production was decent.

Nice voice - but a bit too smooth for me

Fine

The Definition of easy listening, nice but that's about it

Very 80s. Michael Jackson's 'The Girl is Mine' vibes throughout the entire album. It was ok. A little too downtempo and unmemorable for me. Fave tracks: I don't Want to Talk About It, Oxford Street

I found this album to be pretty unremarkable. Very strong 80s sound with lots of drum machines, soft vocals and plucky guitars. Fav Tracks: The Night I Heard Caruso Sing, Apron Strings

I'm sure there's over 1000 more essential albums than this. This is the musical equivalent of color by numbers. Everything by the book. The result is not really bad, but it's not exciting in any way. Favorite song: blue moon rose

Not certain why this was in any way considered a "1001 album". It's not *bad*, but it is bland, somewhat repetitive, and fairly trite. It's well put together, but it's just not particularly noteworthy.

So so boring 2/5

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There are definitely worse albums on this list, but I don't think there are any that are less important. A total snooze fest. 1/5

Vapid, bland, offensively shite music.

Tracy Thorn has an amazing voice. The album is OK.

2/12, 17%

It was gentle and very pretty sounding! I think the length was good, honestly no complaints. However I felt like something was missing- this had potential to be really interesting but it just wasn’t. Her voice was good, maybe it was the music?

Light, very melodic, nice, and just a bit too-80s-jazzy-pop a lot of times. This is exactly the kind of safe album you can put on at either a chill party or dinner gathering and nobody will be offended or question the choice or maybe even remember the exact artist or songs. Not a bad thing; it's quite handy to have a few "bridge album" choices for those indecisive moments before you break out the late night live Iron Maiden discs to weed out the true friends... 6/10 3 stars.

Really like their jazzy 1st album, Tracey's solo album Distant Shore and the two songs they did with Massive Attack. Her voice one of the most beautiful in pop music. But this album really too sweet and boring for me. Have to give 2 stars

Sophisti-pop = probably played on shitty retail store speakers or in the lobby of a medical office?

I assume that this album plays on repeat in suburban British dentist offices, and I will continue to assume that until I am definitely proven otherwise.

I'm beginning to wonder who chose these albums to listen to before you die. I didn't expect to like every album but hoped to at least get an idea of why people liked different genres or thought particular artists were the best thing in the world. There are some albums that have done this to me but then there are albums like this. I didn't listen to this back in the day and I can't imagine I would ever listen to this album by choice again. It isn't bad (unlike some albums by my favourite artists) but it is just so dull.

They have better albums. This one didn't really stand out to me.

Oh dear. This was terrible. The crystalline production is probably the only good thing about it, but the songs, the voices, the arrangements, I hated it.

I liked it more than I thought I would

The first couple of songs sounded very demo-y to me. But I think that was kind of the sound they were going for. Once I got past the sparseness, the lack of production if you will, it wasn't bad. But I still felt the production values were significantly... lacking. I think probably my favorite song was "The Night I Heard Caruso Sing," but still the sparseness bothered me a lot. I kept thinking "they were going to take another pass at these songs, right? This is not the finished product...?"

Good vocals, because what else would you expect with Tracey Thorn. Ben Watt also provides some nice vocals on The Night I heard Caruso Sing. It feels like typical 80's fare musically - synth and drumtracks, thought some nice piano or guitar (Real instruments) from time to time. This album was nice; not sure how to better describe it. Enjoyable but not overly memorable. I'm not going to run out and listen to more of these two, but I didn't mind my time with this album.

The good: Tracey Thorne has a nice voice. The bad: Elevator Music. Zzzzz. Didn't need to hear this. The only track I really liked was the first one, the Crazy Horse cover "I Don't Want to Talk About It." It had a real nice vibe. The rest was boring adult contemporary music/cheesy 80s pop. Next.

With the first notes of this album I thought that this was a curious opener to an album. Slow processed guitar and a typical 80's ballad with some cheesy lyrics. Then the synth like violins started swelling up in the background and it all turned to kitsch. Unfortunately the album went downhill after that. What an atrocity.

Pop tranquilo y sosegado con una buena voz femenina. Temas no muy conocidos. Estilo muy ochentero.

À la fraîche

un peu déçue mais je crois qu'ils ont glow up après???

Good background tunes.

I know of these guys and have maybe heard two songs, and I also know they've recently reunited for a new album. This was very smooth late 80s stuff, fine for a casual listen.

I liked their very early stuff (pared down arrangements with guitar and Tracy's voice) but then they decided to get into smooth 80s sophistipop and added jazzy instruments and arrangements they lost me. Weirdly enough they reinvented themselves again into an electro dance band. Sheesh, some people are never happy...

Quite enjoyable. Never head of them before

It's okay. Didn't hate it, in fact it's kinda pleasant to listen to in the background, but there is absolutely nothing that stands out, no place for this in the best albums ever.

Kinda bland and forgettable though I love their voices. Forgive me.

Its fine, not my type of music at all but its consistently decent

Easy listening background music. Nice vocals and piano, sax but maybe if it was arranged differently it could have been memorable story telling.

Amazing. Classic.

There is a reason why people do not make music like this anymore.

Not enjoyable to me

Not for me

Trevligt litet album

This is the classic Everything But The Girl. Serene beauty

Väldigt, väldigt, väldigt tråkigt

Ich habe mich gelangweilt durch 5 Songs durchgeskippt und dann abgebrochen. Niemand muss auch nur eine Platte von Everything But The Girl gehört haben. Bitte gerne nie wieder.

Melancholisch, seicht, Sängerin

That was an adorable album. Nice and gentle but still interesting. I liked it a lot.

Muziek voor zachtjes op de achtergrond in een hotel bar vol hitsige heren in pak, op zoek naar een avontuurtje tijdens hun zakenreisje.

Easy listening op zondagochtend.

Dit is wel heeeeeeeeel traaaaaaaaag en best wel saaaaaaaai.

Goed aan te horen, maar bepaald niet enerverend.

Can listen to this all day, and works in multiple setting. Tracey Thorn’s voice is a thing of beauty, fluid and strong, just ideal for ballads and mid-tempo cuts. A few near-classics of this genre. So many lovely organic touches – combo of guitar, organ and bongos on “Lonesome for a Place,” sax on “Tears All Over Town” – that suggest they didn’t have to all light-dancey-trancey in the future. Will return to this to more regular rotation in the future. If it’s not quite one for the ages, it’s perfect lazy summer afternoons, peaceful Sunday mornings, springtime cocktail hours, etc. etc. 3.65 > 4

More like IdleMILD, amirite? Jeeze, what a boring album. I had to double-check the release date on this one because it for sure felt like it was from the mid-60s. And not in a cool "throwback" way. More like a, "we forgot everything the last 20 years of music has taught us" way. So soft. So boring. So many saxophone solos. This did not merit inclusion on the list. Hard pass.

I don't have to do this

No thanks, this is not my thing. "Sophisti-pop" might be a tough sell for me.

Not an interesting record musically or lyrically, all songs blend together and sound the same, honestly. It's very middle-of-the-road pop music which isn't my cup of tea.

It was good for a listen I liked the re-issue better, with the Danny Whitten song ‘I don’t want to talk about it’ included better

It's pretty fine

I like it, it's charming in its own quiet way

Some interesting bits, might be worth another listen

There wasn’t anything remarkable about this album, but also nothing regrettable. It was just very forgettable. Her voice was very soft and soothing and I enjoyed that. I would probably play this when I need some background music that is not distracting.

Bland 80s schmaltz at its finest. I will say this for this album: I didn't care for it, but it I was in a pissy mood when I started listening, and it's hard to feel anything while listening to this.

One of the best albums I’ve ever heard.

Eh it was just there. It wasn't awful. A 2 is generous

Good, sophisticated 198ps wine bar pop music. I like Tracy Thorns voice - sounds like she's bored but it works well. A high 3.

Only album I've given up on so far, trite and boring. Why is this on the list.

Sometimes sounds like Sade.

mech, porosty, wodorosty

i’m a sucker for 80s music so I liked this album. It’s 80s slow pop rock. The song “The night I heard Caruso sing” is a great song. It’s about a feeling I have had a lot- the desire to have a child but also seeing how dark/horrible the world is and not wanting to bring someone into this.

Aggressively boring

I liked the first song but ultimately it just sounds like cheesy 80s crap. Even though it's not my least favourite album so far, it is probably the album I think "why is this on this list?" The most. The majority of the good reviews seem to be "ah I remember listening to this when I was young" non seem to explain to me why it's important or not just cheesy crap

1/5 why on earth is this even on this list at all

Echt geen klap aan dit. Allemaal langzaam, allemaal hetzelfde, maar ook niet bijzonder mooi of rakend ofzo. Het is niet vreselijk, maar het heeft ook gewoon helemaal niks, dus ik twijfel hard tussen 1 en 2 sterren. Laten we het maar het voordeel van de twijfel geven dan.

I feel like I missed something. It just seemed like easy listening soft rock crap

Amazing that the Walking Wounded album they dropped in '96 was apparently this same group in the 80's. Completely different sound in that it was an excellent album with strong lyrics, top synth for the era, excellent rhythms. This one, which I had never heard, was a tough listen and fell flat on all the things that did better later. Could not figure out why this album was selected over Walking Wounded.

Smooth jazzzzzzz blows and so does this album. Homegirl has a great voice, but I feel like it's 1987, I'm stuck at a yacht club dinner and the most exiting thing are the clams.

There's a girl right there! She's on the cover! And then she sings! On almost all the songs! Everything Including the Girl? This is apparently "sophisti-pop." Sophisti-pop blends elements of jazz, soul, and pop, using electronic keyboards, synthesizers and polished arrangements. And saxophone, Wikipedia! Corny ass saxophone! It's described as mellow, romantic, and atmospheric - the romantic atmosphere of 80s may have seems misty and mysterious, but that mist was just a cloud of hairspray. This is also the same genre and corner of British history that gave us Blue Nile, which I look back on unfondly. Gotta make sure I get this review in and go back and review Roxy Music so sophisti-pop can replace rock and roll (somehow?) on my 1001 summary list of least favorite genres... and, oh! We listened to an Everything But the Girl album from '96... but I never wrote the review. Did I like it? At least more than this one? Now I have to go back and listen to it, I guess. And I've just remembered that they did "and I miss you like the deserts miss the rain," which is a banger, so I guess sophisti-pop's not all bad?

I love Tracey Thorn's voice but I very much dislike the smooth jazz vibe. Her voice is the only reason this is getting two stars instead of 1.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz… …I apologise for the copious zeds, but holy moly 1001 list this is some boring shite. British 1001 bias albumified right here. There is no planet, no time, no universe in which this is interesting.

What a relief! After what feels like weeks of rubbish, at last a lovely noise. No-one could possibly not like this, it's just so inoffensive. Slightly jazz-tinged, no standout tracks, they are all of an equal high quality. Marvellous saturday-morning music.

What a difference from their later work! This album was a major disappointment and it's hard to imagine that it was ever popular. It sounds like elevator music. By far, the highlight is Tracey Thorn's beautiful voice.

Just quite dull. Can't really believe they made a whole album of these songs and who thinks it merits listening to before I die?

meh

decent-ish

I thought I knew this voice. Though not really my cup of tea

This was peaceful and soft, sounds like it should be in a studio ghibli film

It’s a good album, easy listening. Nothing groundbreaking though. What I will say however it is VERY strange to listen to ‘Walking Wounded’ and THEN ‘Idlewild’.

It hit all of my expectations, which are low.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... wake me up when they do something interesting.

It was ok

This was a find for me. Never listened to this band before, and I absolutely loved it.

So the band name is EXTREMELY misleading cuz there def is a girl in the band and she sings most of the songs like wtf (shes even on the cover SMH my head). Album was pretty cool, too. 7/10

Was not expecting soft jazz

Dentist office background music. I don't hate it, but I also don't like it.

I didn't exactly dislike this - in fact, there are some elements that appeal. Arrangements are light but quietly elegant. Tracey Thorn has an expressive voice. And when you tune in, the songwriting is sharp; pat subjects are eschewed for miniature soap operas. The problem overall is that I didn't tune in enough. Idlewild proved to be the definition of background noise. Entirely pleasant, quite hip in places and coolly understated - but it hardly grabs the listener by the lapels, and the songs are not sticky enough for anything to stand out.

This sounds like 10,000 Maniacs minus several thousand maniacs. Also, I don't really like 10,000 Maniacs. Utterly bored by this.

- reminds me of someone, can’t place my finger on - very non-offensive. Nice background music

Really didnt like this at all. Probably the most time I’ve spent wishing for an album to end on this list! I’m not even sure what I dont like about it, it’s so inoffensive and bland. Maybe thats it. The only memorable thing about it was the longing for it to end. Either way it all sounded the same and I didn’t like that sound.

Contains a lot of the things I love about 90s rock. Reminded me of placebo, pixies and can't ignore comparisons to early Biffy, with exactly the right level of polish on the production. Will definitely listen again. ...is my review for Jack's recommendation of 100 Broken Windows by Idlewild. Idlewild the album by Everything but the Girl is Heart FM anti-music, offensively devoid of ideas or even differences between songs. No.

I thought the cover of I Don't Want to Talk About It was the best song on the album. Everything sounded near exactly the same, I barely noticed where one track stopped and the next started. Saying that, it was inoffensive easy background listening.

Didn't like this at all, found it to be very boring.

I'd pretty much written this off before I listened to it.... It was better than I expected but still not really my thing at all. Most of it I didn't really like but she has a great voice and I quite liked the stripped back songs. Can't see myself going back to it but I thought "these early days" and "apron strings" were the best tracks.... Likely because I have small children and they've made me soft!

Whoever included this in the book clearly hates music. Think Sade, but really bad. I’m struggling to get through it. Send help. Possibly the worst thing I’ve heard on this list, and that is saying a lot.

Enjoyable. Happy tunes. Leading lady looks like James Acaster, which I approve of.

Nice start to the day. Some good ones.

I really could have gone my whole life without hearing this and it would not have been worse. This sounds like unbuttered toast tastes to me.

There's nothing about it that I don't like, but there's also nothing about it that I love.

Not offensive, probably would score it worse if this wasn't a during work listen. Which resulted in it being quite nice. Solid 6.5/10.

Good album :) 3

There’s something here but I don’t necessarily get it yet. Production feels too of its time

70s band that helped give rise to so-called "soft-rock".

I'm not the target audience for this one. I get what it's trying to do, but it's just boring whining to my ears. I'm sorry bootleg Poly Styrene and bootleg Morrissey, may you live a happy life together.

Pop. Aburrido.

I listened to this - thought it was boring and shit. Trying to remember an interesting observation but I simply couldn't think of one.

Far too "easy listening" for me

I enjoyed this way more than I expected

It wasn't bad, but I didn't even notice when the album looped back to the beginning because all the songs sounded the same.

This was inoffensive, pleasant at times. More horn than I wanted to hear, the strings were enjoyable though. Nothing overly exciting here, it’s not a 2 though so I’ll give it 3 stars

Yawn. Lyrics felt a lot like Tracy Chapman but with a less interesting voice. I briefly got excited by a song until I realized that the album had ended and it was actually a style council song, a much better band.

More range and variety than their other works. That is not necessarily a good thing. TT's vocals still shine and this elevates it a notch. The earnest themes still permeate. Pleasant enough but not Eden.

I can't really fault anything about the execution here, the singing and musicianship are solid. But it's just too soft-rock for my tastes.

Kind of the beginning of the end of them for me.

Don't like it

Pleasant but the songs aren't strong enough really to deserve Tracey Thorn's lovely voice - the best one on here by far is a cover. Sounds a bit like later Aztec Camera in parts

Ugh - starts bad and gets less interesting. I'm too young to have suffered this crap at dinner parties - what was wrong with just having Sade on all the time?!

This was nice. A bit easy listening-ish for me but I enjoyed it. The lead singer has a nice voice, kind of kd lang-like. 3 stars.

Twas nice to listen to in the moment December 19, 2022

An album that didn't get its fair shine at its release, "Idlewild" deserves a bit more time and consideration. With smooth vocals and more modern beats, it is a sign of music that would come and be even more popular coming from other artists.

C’est doux mais un peu fade… 3

Couldn’t finish it. Nothing bad per say but I got tired of it

No good songs on the entire album

I literally can't for the life of me figure out why this is on this list. I am not sure it's good or relevant at all in any way. It's pleasant for sure, but get this out of here!

This isn't in my original copy of the book which means someone thought that the original 1,001 albums you need to listen to before you die was incomplete without this album. How many flights of stairs do you need to fall down to elicit the brain damage requisite to think that the original list could only be improved by this album? This is probably the most insulting example of the books author(s) cramming their Brit-Pop of the 80s and 90s down our throats when even the Wikipedia entry for this album cites "Three songs were released as singles but failed to make a big impact." What about this album is a must-listen? I can think many reasons to never listen to this album again. 2/5.

Simply put, it is elegant, it is graceful, it is enjoyable for the most part. Didn’t like The Night I Heard Caruso, but everything else was great. 4/5

Pleasant but nothing interesting

It's just too much

Uninspiring background music. Prefer to never listen again. 1/5

smooth jazz - thought they were electronica.....

Tender and romantic

Nije spektakularno a nije ni loše

lagano - u nekim trenutcima baš onako lijepo, a u nekim dosadno. trojka should do the trick. wannabe morrissey on the right tho.

Booooring. Ok the mix was nice and the vocals nice, but man I was bored. I described it to my wife as "stuck shopping with grandma at Dillard's" music. Sorry but wouldn't listen again.

I thought this was an album by the band Idlewild at first, but alas. The music does nothing for me. Some of the lyrics at least have a bit of individuality to them, albeit in a super inoffensive way. The only song I recognised was a cover and apparently not even on the original release. 1.5

Not a lot compelling here. Some very earnest lyrics, but not in a charming way. The music is barely above easy listening. And somehow she seems to be both over singing and barely awake at the same time. As remarkable as that is, I can’t imagine why this was put on the list.

meh

fine

Not for me

Voice is really nice. Album bit the samey but I think 4 stars is fair

No word of a lie, this album sounded like one long continuous song. I literally could not distinguish one track from the next. Make a cohesive album, sure. But give it some goddamn variety for chrissake.

Melodic and listenable…akin to Indigo Gorls in the realm of pop-folk vibe.

Really, incredibly boring. I was looking forward to it after the previous album i heard of theirs via this project.

A few good songs but not a huge fan of this music

тоже ничего не запомнилось

Fine, but all the songs just blended togther

Hadn't really listened to more than a song or two, though Natalie used to (not so much this album, apparently). I'd have to say, on first listen, it all sounds very nice, very grown up, classy arrangements & playing/singing etc...but nothing to hook me in.

I fell in love with Tracey & Ben via their debut EBTG album, Eden. Idlewild is their 4th album and one of their best. My original vinyl has 11 tracks, all penned by the couple. My cd of the album, however, contains an extra track, which opens the record. It’s their cover of the Crazy Horse classic, I Don’t Want To Talk About It, which had charted for Rod Stewart in 1977. The EBTG version is to die for. Tracey Thorn has a voice made to sing about broken hearts. The album hangs together so well. Sophisticated, to say the least, it’s a great listen.

This does nothing for me. Gentle, almost soporific. I don't find the tunes particularly memorable. Playing is tasteful. The drum machines give me the irrits; this needed either a good drummer or use of sampled loops (as they did on subsequent albums) to give it a bit more swing. I do own a copy of this record, but I note that I have put on consignment for sale at Scratches Records, Newtown (head on down! say hi to Lorenz for me!). I know that I listened to it before I sent it out for sale, but cannot remember a thing about it. Listening to it today re-affirms my decision. Inessential for me.

Seems unfair to give this 2 stars because it’s ‘not my thing’. It doesn’t really stand out from a thousand other talented female leads. Lyrics are intelligent but the music is just filler.

Not much to this album that was memorable. The music was meh ok. They halve decent voices but nothing exciting comes from this album.

This is boring 80s love ballads.

While nothing extraordinary, I would say that the sound is very nice and mature for its genre, if a bit too chill throughout.

Totally ok

More bland lounge music. These guys would be nothing without Todd Terry.

Just not for me

Pretty and earnest, but a little too acoustic for me. Goodbye Sunday is a hit though!

No thank you

Not terrible, kind of like early bill Joel and Irish dido teamed up with the power of drum machines and synthesizers. Nu wave at its middlest.

boring, empty, repetitive

I had a HARD time getting through this album. I have heard at least one song from Everything But the Girl - one of their singles from the 90s. I'm feeling less generous these days. It's harder to say that something is "okay". The tracks on Idlewild were uniform, and had too much of an "easy listening" style, getting into muzak territory. I don't know why this album is on the list. The sound was very late 80s. I would be very surprised if they were not playing an electronic keyboard trying to sound like a piano. Plus there was saxophone. I was bored.

Just not the same energy I have today. Descent but nothing special.

Found myself caught up in the first track cover of 'I don't want to talk about it'. Loved the presentation throughout.

This is very boring. I wonder if they tried to make it sound like that, cause they did a great job.

I feel asleep and ruined a keyboard with drool trying to listening to this.. Painful.

I’m going to put this out there: I like this album. As with others, it could be nostalgia and a connection with a specific time in my life, but for whatever reason I like it. It’s occasionally a bit cheesy, twee, and dated sounding, but some of the lyrics are quite good. And they do have much better records.

This is some dentist office music. lifeless.

I have no idea why something like this is on this list. It's just flat out boring, there's nothing in the insturmentals or lyrics that make you say *Hey* You have to listen to this before you die.

Lots of love songs but nice arpeggio melodic guitars

Appallingly bad

3.5/5 a bit boring but pleasant in the background

This is music to get romantic with. Like Led Zepplin IV in Fast Times but better

"Idlewild" is the fourth studio album from Kingston upon Hull duo Everything But The Girl. The musical style is in the pop, jazz-pop and sophisti-pop categories. That sounds about right. Acoustic instruments, synthesizers and a drum machine are used. The songs deal with daily and family life and are sung more in the short story format. No real choruses here. The music is mellow, easy listening and, I guess, nice pop. They're well-constructed and Tracey Thorn has a nice voice. This was fine for me with what they're trying to do. The album (actually reissued album) begins with their biggest song (on the album) "I Don't Want to to Talk About It." It is a cover ballad song orginally written and orginal recorded by Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten in 1971. It's also my favorite song on the album...nice acoustic guitar, strings'synth, soothing. The next three songs were also released as singles: "Love Is Here Where I Live" - drum machine and polished pop, "These Early Days" - nice pop melody and about child raising and "I Always Was Your Girl" - great soulful singing and a sax. The rest of the album continues with the solid pop-oriented songs. Everything But The Girl would hit it bigger in the US about six years later with "Missing." If you're up for more mellow, chill and pop music, this is a perfect album for you.

I felt like I was going to hate it. The first couple of songs melded a bit where I could not distinguish them apart. Felt a bit dated but midway through the album I started enjoy it a bit.

Breezy, inoffensive sophisticated pop from one of the 80s more understated yet substantial bands. Crazy to think that, within a couple of years, they'd be instrumental in the rise of emotive dance music but we've all got to have a head start somewhere. This could have a bit more variety but, overall, not a bad thing. Favorites: I Don't Want to Talk About, Love is Here Where I Live, These Early Days, Oxford Street, The Night I Heard Caruso Sing, Goodbye Sunday, Shadow on a Harvest Moon, Lonesome for a Place I Know.

From before they hit the US!

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.

Very pretty, and almost nauseatingly smooth? Sounds like it was recorded directly to laserdisc.

What is this? Soul? R&B? Pop? - Whatever it is, I like it. I only knew Everything But The Girld by name before, so this album is quite a discovery for me. It's a very laid back affair, the arrangements are top notch and not too rooted in the 80s. The singer has a great voice, and the songs are very good too. What's not to like? 4.5/5