Everything But The Girl: Like The Deserts Miss the Rain

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * * )

It seems since lacklustre last studio album Temperamental EBTG's duo of Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt have gone into semi-retirement. And while this compilation coming after the earlier Home Movies collection might have the whiff of superannuation about it, it's neatly complementary to the earlier collection.

While there are a few tracks from their taurocholic 80s, the emphasis is on the years since their 90s embrace of all things dance, Latin and drum'n'bass. So its 16 tracks include remixes (Todd Terry's Missing, Chicane's Before Today, Photek's Single, and Watt's own remix of Wrong as Tracey In My Room), intriguing covers (Captain Beefheart's My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains and Elvis Costello's Almost Blue, Antonio Carlos Jobim's Corcovado) as well as extramural collaborations (with Massive Attack on Protection, with Spring Heel Jack on Walking Wounded). That might sound like a B-sides grab-bag but it makes for a surprisingly cohesive collection of substantial toe-tap factor.
Label: Virgin