The Language of Life
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.
| The Language of Life | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 5 February 1990 | |||
| Recorded | 1989 | |||
| Studio | Schnee Studio, Sunset Sound, Ocean Way Recording, Los Angeles | |||
| Genre | Sophisti-pop · Blue-eyed soul | |||
| Length | 41:08 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Tommy LiPuma | |||
| Everything but the Girl chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Language of Life | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B−[3] |
| Rolling Stone | [4] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [5] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10[6] |
The Language of Life became Everything but the Girl's second album to surpass sales of 500,000 copies, but the album divided the group's British fanbase.[7] In 2012, group member Tracey Thorn described The Language of Life as "a slightly slick, kind of semi-jazzy, sophisticated record" and recalled that it "was a definite attempt to try and do something that had a character to it, but in retrospect when we were asked why we had taken that direction, we couldn't entirely say why".[8]
Background
Producer Tommy LiPuma had previously worked with artists like Miles Davis, Horace Silver, Randy Newman, and George Benson, and had contributed production to Aztec Camera's 1987 album Love. He had expressed an interest in producing Everything but the Girl, and Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt, feeling that they had lost their place within the UK music scene, contacted him and asked him if he wanted to hear some demos. He invited them to New York City, and then to Los Angeles, where they would eventually record The Language of Life.
Tracey Thorn performed lead vocals on the album, and Ben Watt played guitar and piano, as well as doing some singing. Song arrangements were written by Larry Williams and Jerry Hey. The band LiPuma put together included Omar Hakim on drums, John Patitucci on bass and Larry Williams on keyboards. LiPuma produced, in Thorn's words, "a fully realised, immaculately performed and produced modern American soul-pop record".[9]
The cover shot was by Nick Knight.[10]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Driving" | Ben Watt | 3:57 |
| 2. | "Get Back Together" | Watt | 3:55 |
| 3. | "Meet Me in the Morning" |
| 3:49 |
| 4. | "Me and Bobby D" |
| 4:09 |
| 5. | "The Language of Life" |
| 4:01 |
| 6. | "Take Me" | 4:08 | |
| 7. | "Imagining America" | Watt | 4:58 |
| 8. | "Letting Love Go" | Watt | 4:45 |
| 9. | "My Baby Don't Love Me" | Watt | 3:40 |
| 10. | "The Road" | Watt | 3:46 |
2013 Edsel Records reissue
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Driving" | Watt | 3:57 |
| 2. | "Get Back Together" | Watt | 3:55 |
| 3. | "Meet Me in the Morning" |
| 3:49 |
| 4. | "Me and Bobby D" |
| 4:09 |
| 5. | "The Language of Life" |
| 4:01 |
| 6. | "Take Me" |
| 4:08 |
| 7. | "Imagining America" | Watt | 4:58 |
| 8. | "Letting Love Go" | Watt | 4:45 |
| 9. | "My Baby Don't Love Me" | Watt | 3:40 |
| 10. | "The Road" | Watt | 3:46 |
| 11. | "Driving" (Masters at Work Racing Mix) | Watt | 5:42 |
| 12. | "Driving" (Underdog Vocal Remix) | Watt | 3:15 |
| 13. | "Take Me" (Clifton Mix) |
| 5:05 |
| 14. | "Take Me" (Clifton Mix instrumental) |
| 4:47 |
| 15. | "Take Me" (Lee Hamblin Remix) |
| 6:21 |
| 16. | "Take Me" (Lee Hamblin Love Mix) |
| 4:41 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Downtown Train" | Tom Waits | 3:08 |
| 2. | "Driving" (acoustic) | Watt | 2:27 |
| 3. | "Imagining America" (home demo) | Watt | 4:12 |
| 4. | "Driving" (home demo) | Watt | 3:38 |
| 5. | "The Road" (New York live demo) | Watt | 3:48 |
| 6. | "Meet Me in the Morning" (New York live demo) |
| 3:41 |
| 7. | "Will the Roof Fall In?" (home demo) | Watt | 4:46 |
| 8. | "Meet Me in the Morning" (live) |
| 3:59 |
| 9. | "The Road" (live) | Watt | 4:09 |
| 10. | "Driving" (live) | Watt | 4:26 |
| 11. | "Me and Bobby D" (live) |
| 4:44 |
| 12. | "Imagining America" (live) | Watt | 6:12 |
| 13. | "The Language of Life" (live) |
| 5:40 |
| 14. | "Letting Love Go" (Michael Brecker final solo and alternatives) | Watt | 1:46 |
| 15. | "Driving" (Michael Brecker final main solo and alternatives, rough mixes) | Watt | 1:58 |
| 16. | "Driving" (Michael Brecker final outro solo and alternative, rough mixes) | Watt | 2:33 |
| 17. | "The Road" (Stan Getz alternate whole take, rough mixes) | Watt | 3:51 |
Personnel
- Everything but the Girl
- Tracey Thorn – vocals
- Ben Watt – guitar, piano, vocals
- Additional musicians
- John Patitucci – bass
- Jerry Hey – flugelhorn, horn arrangements
- Larry Williams – piano, synthesisers
- Kirk Whalum – tenor saxophone
- Russell Ferrante – piano
- Lenny Castro – percussion
- Michael Landau – guitar
- Omar Hakim – drums
- Vinnie Colaiuta – drums
- Stan Getz – tenor saxophone
- Joe Sample – piano
- Michael Brecker – tenor saxophone
- Marc Russo – alto saxophone
- Technical
- Al Schmitt – engineering
- Bill Schnee – mixing
- Nick Knight – photography
Additionally, Rod Temperton, James McMillan, Geoff Travis, Damon Butcher, Steve Pearce, Cecil and Linda Womack and Archie Williams are thanked in the liner notes.
Charts
| Chart (1990) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] | 90 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[12] | 61 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[13] | 19 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[14] | 10 |
| US Billboard 200[15] | 77 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[16] | Gold | 100,000^ |
|
^shipments figures based on certification alone | ||
References
- Ruhlmann, William. "The Language of Life – Everything But the Girl". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
- Sandow, Greg (16 February 1990). "The Language of Life". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- Stenger, Wif (12 July 1990). "Everything But the Girl: The Language of Life". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 24 April 2008. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
- Sarig, Roni (2004). "Everything but the Girl". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 288–89. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- "About". EBTG.com. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
- Wade, Ian (19 June 2012). "From Eden With Love: Everything But The Girl Interviewed". The Quietus. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- Thorn, Tracey (2013). Bedsit Disco Queen. Virago Press. pp. 213–19. ISBN 1-8440-8868-5.
- The Language of Life (Media notes). Everything but the Girl. Blanco y Negro Records. 1990. 229246260-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
- "Australiancharts.com – Everything but the Girl – The Language of Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
- "Dutchcharts.nl – Everything but the Girl – The Language of Life" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
- "Charts.nz – Everything but the Girl – The Language of Life". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
- "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
- "Everything but the Girl Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
- "British album certifications – Everything but the Girl – The Language of Life". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 March 2018. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type The Language of Life in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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