One of My Favorite Things - EBTG

I love all kinds of music. All it has to do is sound good and make me feel that it truly means something to the artist who created it. It could be jazz, blues, funk, punk, rock, country, gospel, and yes, even hip-hop. (In light, controlled doses, mind you).  But no matter how I start the day out musically, by sundown I always find myself  returning to the romantic stuff. So, go ahead. Sue me.

One day sometime back in the early 90's, I was browsing through a record store looking for something new, fresh, different, and meaningful to put into my new compact disc player. I still find it exhilarating to buy an album by an artist whom I've never heard before, with the hope of finding at least one gem of a song that I would fall in love with, to be played over and over until the end of time. When I came across an album entitled "Language of Life" by the UK-based duo, "Everything But The Girl," I knew I had hit the jackpot. This record is indeed one of my most favorite things.

"EBTG" consists of lead singer Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist and singer Ben Watt. Together they deliver this album with their own brand of pop-folk, sophisti-coffee shop, adult angst .  The lyrics are personal and sensitive, wistfully painting portraits of  new love, troubled love, and love lost - with a perfectly understated jazzy backdrop. Tracey Thorn sings with no pretentious exaggerations of  emotion, bringing an honesty to each song performance that cannot be denied.  But what truly sets this couple apart from sounding like just another wonderfully quaint, coffee shop act is that this album was recorded using some of the finest jazz musicians in the world.  For starters, Tommy Lipuma produced the album.  He has an endless list of credits for having produced some of the biggest jazz artists in the 70's and 80's.  (You might recall he produced many of George Benson's recordings, including the forever classic Breezin' album). Language of Life also features Omar Hakim on drums, John Pattitucci on bass, Michael Brecker and Kirk Whalum on tenor sax, Russell Ferrante and Joe Sample on piano, Jerry Hey on flugelhorn, and Michael Landau on guitar.

I'll take that lineup any day of the week to play on my record.

Sometimes in life, things just fall right into place and an incredibly wonderful thing results. I believe that the Language of Life album by Everything But The Girl is one of those things - one of my favorite things.
G.