Editorial Reviews
Amplified Heart
Music Review:
Music Review
Music: Dream Dance, Vol. 30 [Import]
New Year's Day Concert in Vienna
No Skits, Vol. 1 [Explicit Lyrics]
Amazon.com essential recording
Amplified Heart marked a number of changes in Everything but the Girl's career, the most obvious of which was their sudden popularity when a Todd Terry remix of "Missing" became a dance-floor hit. But before the album was even recorded, Ben Watt--who with Tracy Thorn is EBTG--was hospitalized for a life-threatening intestinal disorder (see his book, Patient: The True Story of a Rare Illness, for a full account). His recovery invigorates Amplified Heart, making the love songs that much more passionate, the relationship songs that much more tender, and "25th December"--the one song in which Watt sings lead--that much more heartbreaking. Thorn's captivating vocals are the focus on the rest of the album, and she's as smooth as ever; combined with the focus that she and Watt share here, it makes for EBTG's best album. --Randy Silver
Amazon.com
Mired in an easy-listening rut since Baby, The Stars Shine Bright (1986), Everything But the Girl's return to self-production is a plus and might account for "Amplified Heart" being their most striking and listenable album in eons. --Jeff Bateman