Back to Mine

Everything But the Girl | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 29, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Ultra Records
• ASIN: B00005JDC0
• Also Available in: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,605 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #34 in Music > Indie Music > Pop > Pop Rock
  • #41 in Music > Indie Music > Dance & DJ > Dance Pop
  • #84 in Music > Indie Music > Pop > Traditional & Vocal Pop

Track Listings

1. Friends and Enemies

2. All Alone (No One to Be With)

3. Bayou

4. Stars All Seem to Weep

5. Flow

6. Cascades of Color

7. Do It Now

8. Wonderful Life

9. To Cry About

10. Silent Treatment

11. Funky for You

12. Someday We'll All Be Free

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

In a market saturated by mix albums of every description, Ultra Records' Back to Mine series glows like a beacon in a fog of mediocrity. The idea is simple: artists are given a free rein to compile sets that are both intuitive and personal to their tastes, resulting in mixtures of postclub textures chiefly designed for horizontal dancing and chilled-out bonhomie. Latest recruits Everything but the Girl take to the format like ducks to water, displaying a musical pedigree that touches on house, hip-hop, and light drum & bass. Although most people have warmed to the group's shift into dance culture, what will surprise is their sublime choice of tune. Kicking off with the drum-machine jazz of DJ Cam's "Friends and Enemies," the moody hip-hop noir of Deadly Avenger's "Bayou," and their own production on Beth Orton's "Stars All Seem to Weep," the mood is stoner-paced but never drab. Follow this with a little stripped-back ambience courtesy of Carl Craig and a rousingly sanguine finale featuring Donny Hathaway's "Someday We'll All Be Free," and you have the makings of a fine night in. --Paul Tierney

Product Description

Everything But the Girl's contribution to the 'Back To Mine' series is a pure chill-out mix, perfect for late-night lounging. Low-key, atmospheric folk-pop by Beth Orton and Mary Margaret O'Hara bleeds into down-tempo electronica and hip-hop from DJ Cam, Model 500, and Dubtribe Sound System. As one might expect from the uber-cool Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn, the set is sophisticated, well sequenced, and perfectly modulated. Down-to-earth, soulful vibes emanate on the Roots's 'Silent Treatment', balancing out more abstract, ambient outings like Carl Craig's 'A Wonderful Life'. The set closes out on Donny Hathaway's 'Someday We'll All Be Free', which serves as a benediction, casting a bright, hopeful light over the entire listening experience. This collection is perfect for moody background, but--unlike many chill-out compilations--it also rewards concentrated listening. 2005.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is NOT a new EBTG album, it is a MIX they compiled..., July 17, 2001

By 

johnbundy (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Back to Mine (Audio CD)

From reading some of these reviews, it appears some people are confused about this release.. perhaps if the contibuting artists' names were placed alongside the tracks (like other compilations) there would not be this confusion...

This is the 6th release in a series called Back To Mine, in which artists and djs are approached and asked to compile a collection of after-hours/back from the clubs tracks... how this differs from other "chill-out" collections is that the artists selected dig deep into their record and cd collections, pulling out rare gems and fave tracks, as opposed to what's hot at the moment.

That said, this newest release of Back To Mine is one of the strongest... I thoroughly enjoyed the track selection and sequencing. Highlights include Deadly Avenger's "The Bayou", Dubtribe's deep house "Do It Now" and Donny Hathaway's beautiful closer "Someday We'll All Be Free". I would give this release 5 stars, but I find the Mary Margaret O'Hara track thoroughly annoying, and wonder why it was included.

The Back To Mine series is well worth checking out. Other standouts in the series being Global Underground DJs Dave Seaman & Nick Warren, as well as Groove Armada. Morcheeba has been picked do compile the next one, due later this summer.

Oh - for more upbeat vibes, check out EBTG's Ben Watt spinning deep house grooves on the amazing Lazy Dog compilation.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars worth the anticipation, May 29, 2001

By 

Patrick (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Back to Mine (Audio CD)

Similar to the other North American Back To Mine releases by Danny Tenaglia, Groove Armada and Faithless, EBTG's take on downtempo is a broad umbrella covering soulful house, funk, trip-hop, disco and R&B. It makes for an enjoyable home listen, and that's the point. What sets this mix apart from the others is the inclusion of a couple tracks by Detroit techno innovators Model 500 (Juan Atkins) and Carl Craig. In my opinion, the mix strays a bit near the end with The Roots - "Silent Treatment," a somewhat more raucous rap selection that doesn't quite feel right straddling the already-established mood. Also, I don't really care for the 70's style crooning of Donny Hathaway at the end of the CD, but I'm sure someone else's review will praise this, so as always, it all comes down to personal taste. Considering my own personal taste, this is a solid 4-star effort; this will definitely get plenty of listens alongside my other Back To Mines.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars back to mine - makes perfect sense, June 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Back to Mine (Audio CD)

for all of you who are confused about why something would be called an ebtg cd but isn't - the back to mine series is all about songs that well known bands would pick if you went over to their place. the interest behind it is discovering and listening to a band's influences, what catches their ear, etc. none of the back to mine cds are songs by that actual band.

now i know that i haven't broken down the track listing and talked about what i like/don't like, but i felt that i had to explain the purpose of these cds. ebtg are just the latest band in the whole series. check out other great ones by bands like faithless and groove armada.