Love Not Money

Last updated

Love Not Money
EBTG - LNM.jpeg
Studio album by
Everything but the Girl
Released15 April 1985 (1985-04-15)
Recorded Power Plant (London)
Genre Jangle pop [1]
Length35:48
Label
Producer Robin Millar
Everything but the Girl chronology
Everything but the Girl
(1984)		Love Not Money
(1985)		 Baby, the Stars Shine Bright
(1986)
Singles from Love Not Money
  1. "When All's Well"
    Released: 1985
  2. "Angel"
    Released: 1985

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 [2] 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.

Contents

Love Not Money is Everything but the Girl’s "most overtly politicised" album. Besides Thorn and Watt, notable performers on the album include June Miles-Kingston, Phil Moxham, Neil Scott and B.J. Cole. The tracks "When All's Well" and "Angel" were released as singles in the UK. Love Not Money was reissued in 2012 as a remastered two-disc deluxe set by Edsel Records.

Themes

The band's Tracey Thorn told CMJ New Music Monthly her partner and bandmate Ben Watt had been buying guitars and wanted to make an electric-guitar-based album. [1] Love Not Money's songs cover subjects such as social stratification, sexism, and the sectarian conflict and terrorism in Northern Ireland. [3] "Ugly Little Dreams" is dedicated to American actor Frances Farmer. [4] Thorn said, "It's our most overtly politicised set of lyrics—some good, some a bit crass". [1]

Chart performance

Love Not Money spent nine weeks on the UK Albums Chart. It debuted and peaked at number 10 on 27 April 1985 and slowly declined, falling to number 69 on 22 June, its final week on the chart. [5]

Singles

In the UK, two tracks from Love Not Money were released as singles. "When All's Well" entered the UK Singles Chart on 23 March 1985 at number 88; it peaked at number 77 the following week, its last week on the chart. [6] "Angel" charted on 8 June 1985 at number 97 and peaked at number 93 the following week then left the chart. [6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Pitchfork 5.8/10 [7]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Record Mirror 3/5 [9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Sounds Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 5/10 [12]
Uncut 7/10 [13]
Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn as photographed in the 1990s. Everything but the Girl.jpg
Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn as photographed in the 1990s.

Reviewing the 2012 reissue, Jess Harvell of Pitchfork called Love Not Money "a near-total reinvention [of Everything but the Girl] and a complete stylistic mish-mash". [7] She said its guitars are covered with "about nine pounds of agreeably dated glitz" and compared their sound with that of Icicle Works' music. [7] Harvell also said, "it's the most soporific and studiously 'serious' album EBTG ever made, and parts of it are a real drag"; that the title track "Love Not Money" "plays the dreaminess of 80s soft-focus indie against the stark [political] reality that so much 80s pop was rushing to avoid"; and called "Sean" and its tin flute instrumentation "Celtic kitsch" that is "so ham-fisted you'll cringe". [7]

Also reviewing the reissue, the BBC's Ian Wade compared the album with the music of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions and The Smiths, and wrote that "it sounded a desire for EBTG to be heard above the bigger crowds [Everything but the Girl] were beginning to play to". [14]

In 2015, Emily Barker of NME rated Love Not Money in 16th place on her list of "50 Albums Released In 1985 That Still Sound Great Today", saying it "confirmed the duo as one of our nation's little treasures ..." [15]

Track listing

Original UK release
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."When All's Well" Ben Watt 3:03
2."Ugly Little Dreams" Tracey Thorn 2:54
3."Shoot Me Down"
  • Thorn
  • Watt
4:13
4."Are You Trying to Be Funny?"
  • Thorn
  • Watt
3:18
5."Sean"Watt3:32
6."Ballad of the Times"Watt3:29
7."Anytown"Watt3:27
8."This Love (Not for Sale)"
  • Thorn
  • Watt
3:07
9."Trouble and Strife"
  • Thorn
  • Watt
3:08
10."Angel"
  • Thorn
  • Watt
5:37

[2]

Original US release
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."When All's Well"Watt3:03
2."Heaven Help Me"
  • Thorn
  • Watt
3:20
3."Are You Trying to Be Funny?"
  • Thorn
  • Watt
3:18
4."Ugly Little Dreams"Thorn2:54
5."Shoot Me Down"
  • Thorn
  • Watt
4:13
6."Sean"Watt3:32
7."Ballad of the Times"Watt3:29
8."Kid" Chrissie Hynde 3:46
9."Anytown"Watt3:27
10."This Love (Not for Sale)"
  • Thorn
  • Watt
3:07
11."Trouble and Strife"
  • Thorn
  • Watt
3:08
12."Angel"
  • Thorn
  • Watt
5:37

[16]

2012 Edsel Records reissue

Disc 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."When All's Well"Watt3:03
2."Ugly Little Dreams"Thorn2:54
3."Shoot Me Down"
  • Thorn
  • Watt
4:13
4."Are You Trying to Be Funny?"
  • Thorn
  • Watt
3:18
5."Sean"Watt3:32
6."Ballad of the Times"Watt3:29
7."Anytown"Watt3:27
8."This Love (Not for Sale)"
  • Thorn
  • Watt
3:07
9."Trouble and Strife"
  • Thorn
  • Watt
3:08
10."Angel"
  • Thorn
  • Watt
5:37
Disc 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Heaven Help Me"
  • Thorn
  • Watt
3:24
2."Kid"Hynde3:50
3."Pigeons in the Attic Room"
  • Thorn
  • Watt
1:45
4."Charmless Callous Ways"
  • Thorn
  • Watt
1:55
5."Easy as Sin" (Version)Watt4:16
6."Angel" (home demo, 1984)
  • Thorn
  • Watt
5:11
7."Ugly Little Dreams" (home demo, 1984)Thorn2:52
8."Are You Trying to Be Funny?" (home demo, 1984)
  • Thorn
  • Watt
3:07
9."This Love (Not for Sale)" (BBC session recording, 1984–85)
  • Thorn
  • Watt
2:50
10."Ballad of the Times" (BBC session recording, 1984–85)Watt2:47
11."Are You Trying to Be Funny?" (BBC session recording, 1984–85)
  • Thorn
  • Watt
3:15

[17]

Personnel

Everything but the Girl
Additional musicians
Technical
Thanked

Charts

Chart (1985)Peak
position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [18] 51
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [19] 26
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [20] 38
UK Albums (OCC) [21] 10

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [22] Gold100,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Young Marble Giants</span> Welsh post-punk band

Young Marble Giants were a Welsh post-punk band formed in Cardiff, Wales, in 1978. Their music was based around the vocals of Alison Statton along with the minimalist instrumentation of brothers Philip and Stuart Moxham. Their early sound was a sharp contrast with the more aggressive punk rock that dominated the underground at the time. Young Marble Giants released just one studio album, Colossal Youth, in 1980. They also released two EPs and recorded a John Peel session.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tracey Thorn</span> British singer (born 1962)

Tracey Thorn is an English singer, songwriter, and author. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everything but the Girl</span> English musical duo

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.

<i>Walking Wounded</i> 1996 studio album by Everything but the Girl

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).

<i>Amplified Heart</i> 1994 studio album by Everything but the Girl

Amplified Heart is the eighth studio album by English musical duo Everything but the Girl. It was released on 13 June 1994 by Blanco y Negro Records in the U.K. and on 19 July 1994 by Atlantic Records in the United States and Canada. The album was recorded and mixed in London from winter 1993 to 1994.

<i>Eden</i> (Everything but the Girl album) 1984 studio album by Everything but the Girl

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. The cover design was by lead singer Tracey Thorn's former colleague in Marine Girls, Jane Fox.

<i>Temperamental</i> (Everything but the Girl album) 1999 studio album by Everything but the Girl

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."

<i>Idlewild</i> (Everything but the Girl album) 1988 studio album by Everything but the Girl

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.

<i>Baby, the Stars Shine Bright</i> (album) 1986 studio album by Everything but the Girl

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.

<i>The Language of Life</i> 1990 studio album by Everything but the Girl

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.

<i>Worldwide</i> (Everything but the Girl album) 1991 studio album by Everything but the Girl

Worldwide is the sixth album by Everything but the Girl, released on 1 October 1991.

<i>Acoustic</i> (Everything but the Girl album) 1992 studio album by Everything but the Girl

Acoustic is an album by Everything but the Girl, released in North America on 2 June 1992. It consists of Everything but the Girl's covers of six songs by other artists as well as two live recordings and four re-recordings of songs from the duo's repertoire. In the United Kingdom, the duo had released the Covers EP for Blanco y Negro, which had peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles chart dated 7 March 1992, with this release expanded into a full album for its release abroad.

<i>Home Movies</i> (album) 1993 greatest hits album by Everything but the Girl

Home Movies is a compilation album by Everything but the Girl featuring songs from seven of their first eight studio albums as well as two newly recorded songs, a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "The Only Living Boy in New York" and the band's own "I Didn't Know I Was Looking for Love". The album was released in 1993 and reached number 5 on the UK Albums Chart.

<i>The Best of Everything but the Girl</i> 1996 greatest hits album by Everything but the Girl

The Best of Everything but the Girl is a compilation album by English musical duo Everything but the Girl, released in 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protection (Massive Attack song)</span> 1995 single by Massive Attack

"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.

<i>Everything but the Girl</i> (album) 1984 compilation album by Everything but the Girl

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Each and Every One</span> 1984 single by Everything but the Girl

"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.

<i>Fuse</i> (Everything but the Girl album) 2023 studio album by 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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 White, Michael (August 2001). "Everything But the Marine Girls". CMJ New Music Monthly . New York. p. 36. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Love not Money (album cover). Blanco y Negro Records / WEA Records. 1985.
  3. 1 2 Ruhlmann, William. "Love Not Money – Everything But the Girl". AllMusic . Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  4. ↑ O'Brien, Lucy (10 August 2015). "From the archive, 10 August 1988: Profile – Tracey Thorn, Everything But The Girl". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  5. ↑ "love not money; full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  6. 1 2 "EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL; Full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Harvell, Jess (9 July 2012). "Everything But the Girl: Reissues". Pitchfork . Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  8. ↑ Rogers, Jude (July 2012). "Everything but the Girl: Eden / Love Not Money / Baby, the Stars Shine Bright / Idlewild". Q . No. 312.
  9. ↑ Reid, Jim (20 April 1985). "Everything but the Girl: Love Not Money". Record Mirror . p. 16.
  10. ↑ Sarig, Roni (2004). "Everything but the Girl". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp.  288–289. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  11. ↑ Murphy, Kevin (20 April 1985). "Prickly pair". Sounds . p. 24.
  12. ↑ Crist, Renée (1995). "Everything but the Girl". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 136–137. ISBN   0-679-75574-8.
  13. ↑ Richards, Sam (July 2012). "Everything but the Girl". Uncut . No. 182. p. 98.
  14. ↑ Wade, Ian (2012). "Everything but the Girl Eden / Love Not Money / Baby, the Stars Shine Bright / Idlewild Review". British Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  15. ↑ Barker, Emily (13 February 2015). "50 Albums Released In 1985 That Still Sound Great Today". NME . Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  16. ↑ "Love Not Money (U.S. Version) by Everything But The Girl on Amazon Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  17. ↑ "Love Not Money (Deluxe Edition) by Everything But The Girl on Amazon Music". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  18. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  19. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Everything but the Girl – Love Not Money" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  20. ↑ "Charts.nz – Everything but the Girl – Love Not Money". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  21. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
  22. ↑ "British album certifications – Everything but the Girl – Love Not Money". British Phonographic Industry. 12 May 1988. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.