Song of the Day: 'These Early Days' by Everything but the Girl

Being the nostalgia queen that I am, seeing Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn "all grown up" certainly warms my heart. And this photo is especially sweet as I'm reading Tracey's "Bedsit Disco Queen" right now, revisiting the duo's wee years! 

Song of the Day: 'Central Reservation' by Beth Orton

How did I not know Ben Watt of Everything but the Girl produced this little gem from 1999?

Tracey Thorn Looks Back

The upcoming overview album of Tracey Thorn's solo career -- "SOLO: Songs and Collaborations 1982-2015" -- is due soon and while there's not much there I don't already own (it doesn't even have "Over the Rainbow"!), it did prompt something entirely unexpected. Hubby and former EBTG collaborator Ben Watt interviewed her ... and cross my heart it's charming and delightful and right HERE.

Ben Watt Brings Everything (but the Girl) to Joe's Pub

Went to see Ben Watt -- the less fair half of Everything But the Girl -- with my friend Allen on Thursday at Joe's Pub. Ben just released his first record since EBTG's 1999 sendoff, "Temperamental," and only his second solo album in total. To be honest, I really wasn't expecting much. The new release, "Hendra," is as sleepy as his one other solo release, 1983's "North Marine Drive," so I wasn't sure how it would come off live, especially with an audience likely full of rabid EBTG fans.

Well, much to our surprise, the show was a thrilling display of musicianship -- Suede guiatarist and "Hendra" collaborator Bernard Buter brings ou the best in Ben -- and emotion, with songs from the album that didn't really affect me much on my iPod taking on a new meaning when hearing the background on them. 

"Spring" and "Young Man's Game" were as thrilling as on the record, but "Matthew Arnold's Field" -- about scattering his father's ashes -- "Nathaniel" -- about a large tribute to a kid who had been killed in a car accident -- and "The Levels" -- written for the widow of Ben's half-sister, who very abruptly of lung cancer -- were just devastating live. (The introspective "Heart Is a Mirror" was somehow more effective live, too.) And that he threw in two songs from the early years -- including the stellar "North Marine Drive" title track -- and EBTG's favorites "The Road" and "25 December" made it a perfect night.

Bonus:

Adding icing to the cake was running into my friends Scooter LaForge and Johnny Rozsa, who were in the lobby waiting for the Penny Arcade show that followed. New York City -- there ain't a better small town in the world, kids. 

Song of the Day: 'Spring' by Ben Watt

As the ultimate Everything But the Girl fan, I must admit that I've been a bit slow to warm up to Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn's solo efforts. No doubt their musical marriage was a winning combination, with nothing they've done solo being anywhere as good as their group effort. But 15 years after the duo's last LP, I'm beginning to think they're serious about not recording together again, so I allowed myself to be a bit more open to Ben Watt's latest solo album. Coming a mere 31 years after his debut, "Hendra" may not be the album EBTG fans have been praying for from the XX chromosome, But with three incredibly good songs -- "Spring," "Nathaniel" and "Young Man's Game" -- and seven dcent ones, it's welcome return from a musical genius who has been spending close to two decades running a record lable and DJing instead of recording music. Ben plays Joe's Pub this week and you will see me there front-row center.

Hendra (Deluxe Version) - Ben Watt

Song of the Day: 'Hendra' by Ben Watt

I've really got to get Ben Watt's new album. Even though I'm not a huge fan of his first solo album -- or the Robert Wyatt EP -- I worship him enough via EBTG that I've got tickets to see him next month at Joe's Pub ... and I want to be prepared. (Buy via iTunes HERE.)

Hendra (Deluxe Version) - Ben Watt

Music Box: Everything but the Girl

When I thought about writing this post about Everything but the Girl, I was trying to figure out the right way to frame it. As regular readers know, Blondie has long held the No. 1 spot on list of favorites bands. But to say that omits a huge chapter of the book, a time when it seemed like nothing was real but The Girl. It began when Blondie split up in the early '80s. The Pretenders were my backup band, but after a thrilling post-tragedy return to form on "Learning to Crawl," the "band" became a revolving cast of characters that backed up Chrissie Hynde, and the music suffered from it.

It was around the same time this band -- albeit a modest duo -- went from being a group I liked (I'd discovered "Each and Every One" on Rock Over London when I was in high school) to being my "current" fave, catapulted to the top with the release of their epic "Baby, the Stars Shine Bright" in 1986, a stark collection of songs about love, loss, loneliness and betrayal. (You have not lived until you've heard "Sugar Finney (for Marilyn Monroe)," "Cross My Heart," or "Don't Let the Teardrops Rust Your Shining Heart") If the bossa nova and alt-country influences of their earlier albums made me a fan, this lushly orchestrated masterpiece put me under a complete spell that would literally go on for years. (I'm not going to lie, I was obsessed. In my defense, they made it awfully hard for a true fan not to be, what with their endless gatefold singles, rare b-sides and obscure collaborations.) When I finally got my first CD player in 1990 I quickly found imports of EBTG's first three albums at a record store at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Calif., not far from where I was living when I took my first post-college job at The Orange County Register. (I was only making $23,5000, so these $30 CDs -- 90 bucks total -- were a major expense, but one from which I would get my money's worth.) Because I worked nights and weekends (sound familiar? I pride myself on never having had to start work before noon in my life!), I was allowed to bring my "boom box" into the newsroom, and I would play those three CDs on repeat all night for the course of my shift. If my co-worker Mike minded, he never let on. And Lois definitely became a fan as I remember her going out and buying some of their albums on her own -- like she needed to hear them more often!

By then I'd gotten "Idlewild" and "The Language of Life," and would occasionally find myself living my life as if it were a musical set to EBTG songs. (Another Derek-induced heartache? I'd break into "Take Me": "Baby, baby, baby. I'm lonely can't you see? ... ) Seriously. It was that same year that the HUGE news came that the band was touring America. It was a moment I'd waited years for, so I rushed out to the mall to get tickets. (Remember when you had to go a box office at a department store?! I miss you, Dillard's.)

Mark, my best friend with whom I'd been crashing until I found a place of my own, kindly agreed to go along, and even drove us up to the Wiltern, a glorious Art Deco theater on Wilshire Boulevard in the Koreatown section of Los Angeles. (Mark and I would also end up seeing Pat Benatar on her "True Love" tour that summer at the Wiltern.) While I know I'm prone to hyperbole, I truly cannot remember being this excited at a concert before. Our seats were nowhere near the front, but I was certain Tracey was singing directly to me, and I just remember being so happy to finally have this event happen. (OK, some people have loftier goals -- jobs, marriage, children -- what can I say, I was beside myself.)

After I moved back East, I had a second chance to see them, this time at the equally gorgeous Lincoln Theatre, located on "Washington's black Broadway." (It served the city's black community when segregation kept them out of other venues,) This time, I had a more-than-willing co-conspirator in my co-worker Paula Bohan, and again I was beside myself with excitement. (When Tracey did one of the songs she'd recently recorded with Massive Attack, "Protection," I thought I'd die on the spot!) Truth for told though, at this point fans were lucky the band was even around as Ben Watt had nearly died after coming down with a rare life-threatening auto-immune disease (Churg-Strauss syndrome). But they were on the road again to promote "Amplified Heart," which was a beauty of a "comeback," and one that would propel them to international stardom as "dance" artists as a result of Todd Terry's inventive revisioning of the single "Missing." (That original version of that song and the rest of the album were actually very low-key and acoustic. Richard Thompson even contributed guitar.) While the new "direction" this dance exposure took them was something I enjoyed, it definitely ranks on the lower end of their work.

The band essentially called it quits after touring for "Tempermental" in 1999 (a show at the Hammerstein Ballroom that I missed because I went home for Thanksgiving that year). But somewhat ironically, that was THE SAME YEAR Blondie returned with "No Exit," their first album in 17 years. And instead, I saw them live FOR THE FIRST TIME ever, at Madison Square Garden with my friend Leah. Was it was the music gods not wanting my heart to have to decide between my two favorite bands? Perhaps. But even though EBTG dropped off the face of the earth when the new century rolled around, the Internet only fueled my obsessive collecting habits -- and THANKFULLY led to my FINALLY getting my hands on every known recording of theirs, including the Holy Grail of Ben and Tracey work, Tracey's collaboration with James McMillan covering "Over the Rainbow." (It's funny that these two would be such gifted songwriters yet many of my favorite recordings of theirs are covers, something they have an amazing knack at selecting and reworking.) It's been an emotional roller coaster over the years, corresponding with people all over the world. Meeting total strangers at their house (and mine) to rip bootleg and homemade CDs. (This was pre-YouSendIt, guys!) But when all was said and done, my friend Greg Jelinek and I produced the three albums of which I am most proud, "Kitchen Sink Treasures" Vol. 1 and 2, plus the odds and ends sister CD, "Live, Demos and Remixed." I would offer to share them with my fellow fans, but I understand that Ben Watt himself is none-too-pleased that I've even made them at all (well, OK, a couple of them maaaaaay have wound up on eBay years ago), but I will share the artwork Greg made as I absolutely love it. (Greg actually revised it HERE, but I prefer the original covers.) And Ben, if you're reading this PLEASE release something like this yourself. My vinyl transfers of "I Fall to Pieces," "Don't You Go" and many other obscure songs are just dying to be replaced by remastered versions for which I am willing to spend virtually any amount. (I've traveled the world tracking this stuff down, what's another 100 bucks?) We'd love a new Everything but the Girl album. But even if you don't put one out, you've got enough stuff to keep us satisfied for years to come. Please, don't leave me behind ...

Everything (including the kitchen sink)

Read all Music Box Posts HERE.