Like the Deserts Miss the Rain

by

Everything but the Girl

Edit

I have always been puzzled by the record industry's approach to compilations. They study their ledger sheets, choose the biggest sellers of the last five or ten years, throw in an odd new track here and there and call it somebody's "Greatest Hits". Aren't those the songs everyone already bought? Isn't that why they are the biggest sellers? Why not give us a chance to listen to the works that were overlooked instead?

With "Like the Deserts Miss the Rain" Everything But the Girl has done just that. Sure, "Missing" their biggest selling single is here, but more because of its significance in their musical development than because of its sales history. It happened that way because all the tracks on this album were hand picked by the artists themselves with the criteria being a sense of achievement each track represents to them.

Few artists have explored the range of musical styles as this band. From the early jazz-flavored folksy songs to the robust tempos of the recent electronic club music, it is the things the have remained constant that make this album stand out; brilliantly composed melodies, sincere lyrics, and fantastic vocals.

Tracey Thorn's voice can evoke more emotion and meaning in 8 notes than many manage to put forth in an entire song! She also manages to pen a lyric with a wit worthy of Dorothy Parker, and that combination makes for very enjoyable and stimulating listening. She found her perfect compliment in Ben Watt just as Lennon found in McCartney, or Richard Rogers found in Lorenz Hart. The products of their collaboration are in keeping with their time, yet have a timeless quality.

Stand out tracks include "My Head is My Only House Unless It Rains", a rarely heard and magnificent cover of the Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band song, the independent anthem "Mine", and "Protection", a collaboration with Massive Attack which marked a shift in musical direction for the pair. This US release includes four bonus tracks on a second disc so don't cheat yourself by getting the import. This is an album you'll come back to again and again and it will always sound fresh.