Eden | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 4 June 1984 | |||
Recorded | January 1984 | |||
Studio | Power Plant (London) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 33:40 | |||
Label | Blanco y Negro | |||
Producer | Robin Millar | |||
Everything but the Girl chronology | ||||
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Singles from Eden | ||||
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Eden is the debut studio album by the British musical duo Everything but the Girl. It was released on 4 June 1984, by Blanco y Negro Records. The album contains the single "Each and Every One", which peaked at number 28 on the UK Singles Chart. [4] The cover design was by lead singer Tracey Thorn's former colleague in Marine Girls, Jane Fox.
Eden was the first professional recording by EBTG with a bigger company and a proper producer, Robin Millar, who was parallelly producing Sade's Diamond Life . Though it was finished in the autumn of 1983, it wasn't released until June 1984, due to contractual obligations between the band and Cherry Red Records.
By the time Eden was finally released, EBTG felt it didn't represent their current sound and interests and did very little promotion to it. "Each and Every One", the only single, became a UK Top 40 single that surpassed the band's expectations and previous efforts.
In the time between recording and releasing Eden, Thorn and Watt opened themselves to new influences, mostly The Smiths, with whom they became close. "Never Could Have Been Worse" (the b-side to "Each and Every One") showed this influence in sound and lyrics. This was part of the band's following two singles. [5]
"Mine" was released only four weeks after Eden, and marked a departure from the album's themes and sound, with Thorn singing about a single mother and gender politics involved in surnames. It reached No. 58 in the UK Singles Chart. "Native Land", which featured Smith's Johnny Marr in harmonica, only reached to No. 73. [5] Although these weren't included in Eden, they did make the US only album Everything but the Girl .
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [6] |
Clash | 8/10 [7] |
Mojo | [8] |
Number One | 4/5 [9] |
Pitchfork | 7.0/10 [10] |
Record Collector | [11] |
Record Mirror | [12] |
Smash Hits | 8/10 [13] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10 [14] |
Uncut | 8/10 [15] |
Eden was met with critical acclaim and NME ranked it number 20 among the "Albums of the Year" for 1984. [16]
By 2012, Eden had sold around 500,000 copies. [17] Eden was reissued in 2012 as a remastered two-disc deluxe set by Edsel Records.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Each and Every One" | 2:45 | |
2. | "Bittersweet" | Thorn | 2:49 |
3. | "Tender Blue" | Watt | 3:02 |
4. | "Another Bridge" |
| 2:11 |
5. | "The Spice of Life" | Thorn | 3:29 |
6. | "The Dustbowl" | Thorn | 1:37 |
7. | "Crabwalk" | Watt | 3:25 |
8. | "Even So" | Thorn | 2:31 |
9. | "Frost and Fire" |
| 3:11 |
10. | "Fascination" | Thorn | 3:20 |
11. | "I Must Confess" | Watt | 3:10 |
12. | "Soft Touch" | Watt | 2:01 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Laugh You Out the House" |
| 1:49 |
2. | "Never Could Have Been Worse" | Watt | 2:45 |
3. | "Mine" | Thorn | 3:22 |
4. | "Gun Cupboard Love" | Thorn | 3:01 |
5. | "Easy as Sin" | Watt | 2:58 |
6. | "Native Land" |
| 3:08 |
7. | "Riverbed Dry" |
| 2:45 |
8. | "Don't You Go" |
| 3:28 |
9. | "Each and Every One" (home demo, 1983) |
| 2:52 |
10. | "Bittersweet" (home demo, 1983) | Thorn | 3:05 |
11. | "Even So" (home demo, 1983) | Thorn | 1:52 |
12. | "Frost and Fire" (home demo, 1983) |
| 2:13 |
13. | "Soft Touch" (home demo, 1983) | Watt | 1:49 |
14. | "Another Bridge" (BBC session recording, 1984) |
| 2:19 |
15. | "Easy as Sin" (BBC session recording, 1984) | Watt | 3:14 |
16. | "Riverbed Dry" (BBC session recording, 1984) |
| 2:44 |
17. | "Never Could Have Been Worse" (BBC session recording, 1984) | Watt | 2:44 |
Everything but the Girl
Additional musicians
Technical
Chart (1984) | Peak position |
---|---|
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [18] | 3 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [19] | 28 |
UK Albums (OCC) [20] | 14 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Netherlands (NVPI) [21] | Gold | 50,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [22] | Gold | 100,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Tracey Thorn is an English singer and songwriter. She is best known as a member of the duo Everything but the Girl, active from 1982 to 2000, and again from 2022. She was in the band Marine Girls from 1980 to 1983. Since 2007 she has been active as a solo artist; and as a writer of books and essays.
Everything but the Girl are an English musical duo formed in Kingston upon Hull in 1982, consisting of lead singer, songwriter, composer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer, producer and singer Ben Watt. The group's early works have been categorized as sophisti-pop with jazz influences before undergoing an electronic music turn following the worldwide success of the 1994 hit single "Missing", remixed by Todd Terry.
Walking Wounded is the ninth studio album by English musical duo Everything but the Girl. It was released on 6 May 1996 and issued by Virgin Records and Atlantic Records. The album saw the duo adopting a more electronica-based style, following the success of the remixed version of "Missing" from their previous album, Amplified Heart (1994).
Café Bleu is the official debut album released by the English band the Style Council. It was released on 16 March 1984, on Polydor Records, produced by Paul Weller with Peter Wilson. It followed four non-album singles in the UK, the first three of which were released outside the UK as the album Introducing The Style Council in North America, Australasia, Japan and some European countries. The album was mainly recorded at Solid Bond Studios except for the strings which were recorded at CBS.
Benjamin Brian Thomas Watt is a British musician, singer, songwriter, author, DJ, and radio presenter, best known as a member of the duo Everything but the Girl.
"Missing" is a song by English musical duo Everything but the Girl, taken from their eighth studio album, Amplified Heart (1994). It was written by the two band members, Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt, and was produced by Watt and John Coxon. It was taken as the second single off the album on 8 August 1994 by Blanco y Negro Records in the United Kingdom and by Atlantic Records in the United States. It initially did not achieve much success until it was remixed by Todd Terry and re-released in 1995, resulting in worldwide success, peaking at or near the top of the charts in many countries. The release of the remixed version of "Missing" gave an indication of the band's future experimentation with more electronic dance music on subsequent albums.
Temperamental is the tenth studio album by English musical duo Everything but the Girl. It was released on 27 September 1999 and issued by Virgin Records and Atlantic Records. It was the last Everything but the Girl album before they entered a two-decade hiatus.
"I Don't Want to Talk About It" is a song written by American guitarist Danny Whitten. It was first recorded by American rock band Crazy Horse and issued as the final track on side one of their 1971 eponymous album. It was Whitten's signature tune, but gained more fame via its numerous cover versions, especially that by Rod Stewart. Cash Box magazine has described it as "a magnificent ballad outing."
Idlewild is the fourth studio album by British musical duo Everything but the Girl. It was released on 29 February 1988 by Blanco y Negro Records and Sire Records.
Marine Girls were an English post-punk group from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The group was formed in 1980, by two sixth form schoolfriends; Tracey Thorn and Gina Hartman. Originally, Thorn just played guitar and Hartman was the lead vocalist and percussionist. Thorn overcame her shyness and started singing too by the time they started making records. They were later joined by Jane Fox on bass and her younger sister, Alice, on joint vocals and percussion.
Love Not Money is the second studio album by British band Everything but the Girl, which consisted of Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt. It was produced by Robin Millar, recorded at Powerplant Studios in London and was released in the UK on 15 April 1985 by Blanco y Negro Records. It spent nine weeks on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number 10. In the United States, Sire Records issued the album with two additional tracks.
Baby, the Stars Shine Bright is the third studio album by British musical duo Everything but the Girl. It was released on 25 August 1986 by Blanco y Negro Records. The album was reissued in 2012 as a remastered two-disc deluxe set by Edsel Records.
The Language of Life is the fifth studio album by British musical duo Everything but the Girl. It was released on 5 February 1990 by Atlantic Records and Blanco y Negro Records.
Worldwide is the sixth album by Everything but the Girl, released on 1 October 1991.
"Protection" is a collaboration between English trip hop collective Massive Attack and Tracey Thorn from English duo Everything but the Girl. The song appears on Massive Attack's second studio album, Protection (1994). Released as a single on 9 January 1995 by Wild Bunch and Circa, "Protection" reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart, staying on the chart for four weeks, and also peaked at number 27 in New Zealand. Michel Gondry directed the accompanying music video. The song was also included on Everything but the Girl's compilation The Best of and Like the Deserts Miss the Rain.
Colours is the debut studio album by English drum and bass producer Adam F. It was released on 3 November 1997 through Positiva Records. The album features collaborations with Tracey Thorn, Grooverider, MC Conrad and Ronny Jordan. The first single from the album, "Circles", was initially released in 1995, but did not chart until its re-release in 1997, when it entered the UK Singles Chart and peaked at number 20. Other singles from the album included "Metropolis" / "Mother Earth", "F-Jam", and "Music In My Mind". Upon release, the album reached number 47 on the UK Albums Chart.
"Wrong" is a song written and recorded by English musical duo Everything but the Girl. It was released on 17 June 1996 as the second single from their ninth album, Walking Wounded (1996). The song topped the US Billboard Dance Club Play chart, reached number two in Italy, and entered the top 10 in Canada, Hungary and the United Kingdom.
Everything but the Girl is a compilation album by British musical duo Everything but the Girl. It was released in 1984 in the US and Canada by Sire Records, serving as the band's debut album in those countries. It contains six tracks from their United Kingdom debut Eden, two UK singles and four B-sides.
"Each and Every One" is the second single by the British music duo Everything but the Girl, that reached #28 in the UK charts in May 1984. It was the only single from the album Eden and the USA album Everything but the Girl.
Fuse is the eleventh studio album by British duo Everything but the Girl, released on 21 April 2023 through Buzzin' Fly and Virgin Records. It is their first studio album in almost 24 years following Temperamental (1999). The album was preceded by the single "Nothing Left to Lose" on 10 January 2023, followed by "Caution to the Wind", "Run a Red Light", and "No One Knows We're Dancing", in February, March, and April respectively.