Temperamental (Everything but the Girl album)

Temperamental is the tenth and, to date, final studio album by British musical duo Everything but the Girl. It was released on 27 September 1999 by Atlantic Records in the United States and Virgin Records in Europe.

Temperamental
Studio album by
Everything but the Girl
Released27 September 1999 (1999-09-27)
Genre
Length56:47
Label
Producer
Everything but the Girl chronology
Walking Wounded
(1996)		 Temperamental
(1999)		 Like the Deserts Miss the Rain
(2003)
Singles from Temperamental
  1. "The Future of the Future (Stay Gold)"
    Released: 1998
  2. "Five Fathoms"
    Released: 1999
  3. "Blame"
    Released: 1999
  4. "Temperamental"
    Released: 2000
  5. "Lullaby of Clubland"
    Released: 2000
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Boston Phoenix[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[3]
Los Angeles Times[4]
NME1/10[5]
Pitchfork5.3/10[6]
Rolling Stone[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]
Spin9/10[9]
Uncut8/10[10]

By the end of 1999, Temperamental had sold 115,000 copies in the United States, according to Billboard.[11] It sold over 500,000 copies worldwide[12] and was met with success in the dance market. "The Future of the Future (Stay Gold)" (US Dance No. 1, UK #31), "Five Fathoms" (US Dance No. 1, UK 27), "Blame", "Temperamental" (US Dance 1, UK 72) and "Lullaby of Clubland" (US Dance #3) were released as singles from the album.[13][14]

Temperamental was reissued by Edsel Records as a two-disc deluxe set on 4 September 2015.[15]

Background

Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt recorded Temperamental in the immediate period following the birth of their twin daughters in 1998. Due to Thorn's preoccupation with motherhood, her level of involvement in the creation of the album was scaled back, with Watt taking on a more prominent role in writing lyrics and music.[16][17] Thorn recorded most of her vocals during late-night studio sessions, after the twins had gone to sleep.[16] In her autobiography Bedsit Disco Queen (2013), she remarked that "in a sense, [she] ended up being guest vocalist on someone else's album".[16]

Composition

According to AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Temperamental was a continuation of the musical direction pursued by Everything but the Girl on their previous album Walking Wounded (1996), merging electronica with elements of folk, jazz and pop.[1] He described the musical style of Temperamental as a minor refinement of that of Walking Wounded, eschewing its drum and bass and trip hop influences in favour of a more house-driven sound.[1] Salon writer Amanda Nowinski wrote that Temperamental retained drum and bass breakbeats but was mostly informed by "old-school" garage house,[18] while NME characterised the album as "a left-turn into deep house ambience and trip-hop grooves" that is "punctuated by vulnerable lyrics and vocal performances" from Tracey Thorn.[19] Michael White of The Quietus viewed it as "an aesthetic continuation of [Walking Wounded], synthesizing the most recent developments of clubland with the duo's intrinsic song-based approach".[20] Ben Watt incorporated production techniques that he had learned from his three years as a resident DJ at Bar Rumba and Notting Hill Arts Club into the album's songs, including cross-fading, back spinning, and filtering.[21] This reliance on dance music is notable on the album's first single, "The Future of the Future (Stay Gold)", that features Deep Dish and is composed upon a sample of the band's 1996 single "Stay Gold".

Stephen Thomas Erlewine observed that the songs on Temperamental "are essentially in the singer/songwriter vein" and described the album as a whole as "more of a meditative, reflective piece", while also observing a relative lack of pop hooks compared to Walking Wounded.[1] Michael White noted the contrast between the "swaggering urban rhythms" of the music and the deeply introspective nature of the lyrics.[20] "It's not as poppy as Walking Wounded," Tracey Thorn would later remark, while attributing the album's darker and less accessible nature to the circumstances surrounding its creation: "It's like going back to Amplified Heart: you can tell it's made by people who are in a stage of turmoil and change again."[17] Thorn, composing lyrics for Temperamental, found herself unable to articulate her feelings about motherhood and other significant changes occurring in her life at the time, and as a result she instead opted to write from a non-autobiographical standpoint.[17]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Five Fathoms"Ben Watt6:24
2."Low Tide of the Night"Watt4:45
3."Blame"
6:18
4."Hatfield 1980"
  • Watt
  • Thorn
5:12
5."Temperamental"Watt5:20
6."Compression"
  • Watt
  • Thorn
7:11
7."Downhill Racer"
  • Watt
  • Thorn
3:49
8."Lullaby of Clubland"Watt5:30
9."No Difference"
  • Watt
  • Thorn
4:26
10."The Future of the Future (Stay Gold)" (with Deep Dish)
7:52

2015 Edsel Records reissue
Disc 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Five Fathoms"Ben Watt6:24
2."Low Tide of the Night"Watt4:45
3."Blame"
6:18
4."Hatfield 1980"
  • Watt
  • Thorn
5:12
5."Temperamental"Watt5:20
6."Compression"
  • Watt
  • Thorn
7:11
7."Downhill Racer"
  • Watt
  • Thorn
3:49
8."Lullaby of Clubland"Watt5:30
9."No Difference"
  • Watt
  • Thorn
4:26
10."The Future of the Future (Stay Gold)" (with Deep Dish)
7:52
11."Firewall" (b-side)Watt5:26
12."Come In" (demo)Watt4:59
13."Temperamental" (live at The Forum, London, 1999)Watt6:02
Disc 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Five Fathoms" (Club 69 Future Club Mix)Ben Watt9:18
2."Five Fathoms" (Kevin Yost's Enlightenment Mix)Watt7:31
3."Temperamental" (Pull's Timewrap Mix)Watt6:03
4."Temperamental" (Hex Hector & Mac Quayle Revers Drum Dub)Watt5:51
5."Temperamental" (Wamdue Project Remix)Watt14:55
6."Blame" (Fabio Remix)
  • Watt
  • Thorn
6:54
7."Blame" (J Majik VIP Remix)
  • Watt
  • Thorn
6:02
8."Downhill Racer" (Kenny Dope Remix)
  • Watt
  • Thorn
3:31
9."Lullaby of a Clubland" (Markus Schulz Tribal Journey)Watt7:24
10."Lullaby of a Clubland" (Matty Heilbronn II Deep Club Mix)Watt7:38

Personnel

Credits for Temperamental adapted from liner notes.[22]

Everything but the Girl

  • Tracey Thorn – vocals
  • Ben Watt – bass, guitars, keyboards, strings, beats, scratching, sound editing and programming, mixing, production

Production

  • Andy Bradfield – mixing, vocal production on "The Future of the Future (Stay Gold)"
  • Ricky Graham – mixing (assistant)
  • Geoff Pesche – mastering
  • J Majik – additional production on "Blame"
  • Danny Jay – additional production on "Blame"
  • Deep Dish – mixing, programming, and production on "The Future of the Future (Stay Gold)"

Design

  • Dolphin Trax – design
  • CJ Field – artwork coordination
  • Graham Rounthwaite – cover illustration

Charts
Chart (1999) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[23] 3
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[24] 48
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[25] 29
French Albums (SNEP)[26] 18
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[27] 65
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[28] 17
Scottish Albums (OCC)[29] 45
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[30] 14
UK Albums (OCC)[31] 16
US Billboard 200[32] 65

References
  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Temperamental – Everything But the Girl". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  2. Freedberg, Michael (11 October 1999). "Everything But the Girl: Temperamental (Atlantic)". The Boston Phoenix. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  3. Scherman, Tony (4 October 1999). "Temperamental". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  4. Lechner, Ernesto (26 September 1999). "Everything but the Girl, 'Temperamental,' Atlantic". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  5. Whyte, Gill (12 October 1999). "Everything But The Girl – Temperamental". NME. Archived from the original on 9 March 2000. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  6. Schreiber, Ryan (28 September 1999). "Everything But the Girl: Temperamental". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  7. Sheffield, Rob (14 October 1999). "Everything But the Girl: Temperamental". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 24 April 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  8. 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.
  9. Walters, Barry (October 1999). "This New House". Spin. Vol. 15 no. 10. pp. 151–52. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
  10. Lewis, John (June 2020). "Everything But the Girl: Temperamental". Uncut. No. 277. p. 45.
  11. Paoletta, Michael (25 December 1999). "If Labels 'Believe' in Dance Acts, Success Will Follow". Billboard. Vol. 111 no. 52. p. 34. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  12. "About". EBTG.com. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  13. "Everything but the Girl Chart History Dance Club Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  14. "Everything But The Girl | full Official Chart History". Official Charts. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  15. "Deluxe Re-Issues of Walking Wounded and Temperamental out Sep 4". EBTG.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  16. Thorn, Tracey (2013). Bedsit Disco Queen: How I Grew Up and Tried to Be a Pop Star. Little, Brown Book Group. pp. 174–75. ISBN 978-1-40551-398-2.
  17. "Small Town Girl". Record Collector. No. 479. May 2018. p. 64. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  18. Nowinski, Amanda (28 September 1999). "Being Everything But the Girl". Salon. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  19. "This week's big vinyl releases to buy and pre-order". NME. 8 May 2020. Archived from the original on 21 May 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  20. White, Michael (23 September 2019). "20 Years On: How Everything But The Girl's Temperamental Helped Me Live Again". The Quietus. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  21. Smith, Dakota (30 September 1999). "Everything But The Girl Still Going Techno On New Album". MTV. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  22. Temperamental (liner notes). Everything but the Girl. Atlantic Records. 1999. 83214-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
  23. "Australiancharts.com – Everything but the Girl – Temperamental". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  24. "Ultratop.be – Everything but the Girl – Temperamental" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  25. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 7320". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  26. "Lescharts.com – Everything but the Girl – Temperamental". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  27. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  28. "Charts.nz – Everything but the Girl – Temperamental". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  29. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  30. "Swedishcharts.com – Everything but the Girl – Temperamental". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  31. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  32. "Everything but the Girl Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 March 2018.


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