Brilliant. Sensual. Sexual. Hypnotizing. Mesmerizing. Emotional. Gentle. Graceful. Uplifting. Breathtaking.

A few adjectives for a night and now CD, that defied adjectives and pleaded for new ones to be created to fully describe what happened at an intimate show by All About Eve.

For those of you who don’t know, All About Eve is back. Splitting up in 1993, they have each taken on different projects (jules et jim, Mice, Julianne’s work with This Burning Effigy, etc.). Opening for Mission on their tour in 2000, All About Eve was back. Marty Wilson-Piper, Andy Cousin and the amazing songbird, Julianne Regan reunited not just for those shows, but to test the waters and see if anyone still listened, or even cared.

Since then, AAE have been for the most part, touring non-stop. Acoustic shows, electric shows and combos of the both, all through the UK have proven to them that they were indeed always listened to and never ever forgotten. In fact, people were always praying silently that they would reunite. The fans still cared.

But as I unwrapped my Union Chapel CD, I was nervous. I had been at this show. I sat in the pew and rocked and danced and dreamed. It had been a magical show. The band had taken time to put tea candles completely around the stage and as had been their trademark, fairy lights around the mike stands. With the stained glass, the gorgeous senseof history and spirituality the venue was perfect. As Julianne herself has said, “All I can say is that I was stood in the vortex of a twinkly, sparkly spangled spiraling sonic smoky delicately thrashy twilight midnight dreamworld. All I know is that, for me, and for my lovely fellow Eves, that night was special. I personally felt that it made the Royal Albert Hall look like a bingo hall.”

So could they capture it on CD? Could they somehow make me feel like I did that night? And perhaps more importantly – could it make someone who wasn’t there feel what we all did?

The answer is a resounding yes.

Starting with the beautiful and whispering "Lady Moonlight", the album immediately wraps you in a warm feeling, touching you gently and relaxing you. You are at ease. Marty slowly and seductively strums out his guitar. It touches you on the shoulder, bades you a sweet hello. And this mood, this feeling, something of a tangible sigh continues though the next tracks of "Freeze, Wishing the Hours Away", and the poignant and melancholy ballad of "Martha’s Harbour".

And then it rocks…Marty gets the chance to play loud and hard in "Wild Hearted Woman" and "In the Clouds". The album just continues taking you on an emotional and amazing trip through all of the music that makes All About Eve a band that can leave, and come back years later and pick up with you again. Their music is timeless…because clear beautiful vocals, poignant, insightful lyrics and amazing musicians is something that never can lose its place among those who appreciate what music is about.

Surprises of the evening and the CD included "Forever", one of Marty’s songs, and Julianne made this song enrapture. As well as "You Bring Your Love To Me", another of Marty’s songs, this one another love song which Julianne’s vocals give a special touch.

December is not just the beautiful song which reminds all what it is like to be alone near the holidays, but it is haunting. The echo from the venue, the sweetness of Julianne’s voice, the subtlety of the guitars, cutting out to allow acapello from Julianne…..her sigh…her leaving the notes to just hang in the air…..”taking our breath away”.

The reworkings of the songs make them find new life, new energy and new places within our hearts. I went back to my collection of AAE thinking that they would somehow not be as much anymore after this…but that was wrong. These versions gave fresh spins on old masterpieces and there is enough room for both in my world and heart.

This limited edition 2 CD album (once these are sold out a one CD version will be available) includes on the second CD, "Scarlet", "Never Promise Anyone Forever", and one of my all-time favourites, "Farewell Mr. Sorrow".

Do you remember walking out
The day it rained forever
And you were wondering
If I held dreams of wedding rings
Well, farewell Mr. Sorrow

Who doesn’t have someone that song relates to?

I can go on. And on. "Shelter From The Rain" makes softness powerful. The “lightening strikes again”.  And what I have always felt is an anthem for those always left of center in the world, "What Kind of Fool".  Those single notes being played, you can hear on the album how the crowd went wild. And the final track, as you hear thecrowd roaring (believe it was a lot louder that night), "Outshine The Sun", which I had not been familiar with, is a lovely tune which made the whole audience as well as the listener, rock contentedly to themselves.

The one thing this CD is missing is the banter between the three. Always witty, always on mark, the three just make you feel like you are sitting in their living room and you are all just joking about. Julianne plays mother or older sister role, “tut tutting” the more raucous behaviour of Andy and most certainly, Marty. (He is a fiendish little devil).

Have the Eve’s lost anything over the years? No. This CD proves it. Marty is still a breathtakingly amazing guitarist and ham (unfortunately, the 15 minute version of "Every Angel", which they did foran encore did not make the album – a complete shame as Marty really out did himself). Andy still is the base of strength and subtle power in the group and Julianne’s voice still has the haunting strength and pull that makes it one of the most touching and memorable voices in the goth and music world. Ironically, Julianne was terrified that night as she had been ill with throat problems and was fearful that she could not sing. This did not seem evident the night and certainly not on the CD.

This is the third of the live CDs they have released inthe last year and a half and are working on new material for an entirely new album. (Join in my dance of happy joy please.) All About Eve are back (did Isay that already?) They should have never left in the first place, but we are all the more happy just to have them again.

Track List:
1.Lady Moonlight
2.Freeze
3.Wishing The Hours Away
4.Martha’s Harbour
5.Wild Hearted Woman
6.In The Clouds
7.Miss World
8.Are You Lonely
9.Interval
10.December
11.Forever
12.More That The Blues
13.You Bring Your Love To Me
14.Shelter From the Rain
15.What Kind Of Fool
16.Outshine The Sun

Bonus CD Tracks:
1.Scarlet
2.Never Promise Anyone Forever
3.Farewell Mr. Sorrow

All About Eve are:
            Julianne Regan – vocals
            Andy Cousin – Bass and acoustic guitars
            Marty Wilson-Piper – Electric and acoustic guitars

Appearing on this album:
            Rik Carter – Keyboards, acoustic guitar and bass
            Del Hood - drums

Official All About EveWebsite:
http://www.julianneregan.net
 

Though there are an impressive and promising number of newer bands on the scene right now that have riveted my attention, my deepest and most passionate love of Gothic Music is rooted in the past.  A few summer’s ago, after stumbling across an And Also The Trees CD in a used bin, I have been attempting to assemble and investigate all those special gems from the mid 80’s ‘high period’ of Gothic Rock, that fell through the cracks.  Sure, we all have Dawnrazor and Floodland and Tinderbox, (I hope) but there were a number of lesser-mentioned bands that deserve the same, if not more recognition for their contributions to the development of the genre.  Along my search, I stumbled across a few mp3s of very early All About Eve, a band I knew very little about other than Julianne Regan’s connections with The Mission UK and Marty from The Church had served as a guitarist for the band for a number of years.  Other than that, they were pretty much new to me.

The two Mp3’s in question were “D Is For Desire” and “Don’t Follow Me, March Hare,” both of which were shaded with an early Cocteaus and Banshees vibe, but there was definitely a crackling spark of power and muscle that set All About Eve on a plateau all their own. The tracks were from around ’85 or ’86, and were recorded as b-sides a few years before the band inked a deal with Polygram records and recorded their debut self-titled release.  So my immediate reaction, like many Goths of my generation, was, “where can I buy the CD?”   Of course, the songs were not available on CD.  I finally acquired a copy of the band’s debut album, and as much as I liked it, it was a bit more polished and some in the kindest possible way, a bit sugar coated for my tastes (it has long since grown on me ;P)  But it definitely lacked the raw Post Punk punch of the material I had heard via the mp3’s.

I did some more digging and found there were a few more songs from the period prior to the release of their first album, but had no luck finding the tracks online.  So I basically gave up and just burned what I had to a mixed CD.

Lo and behold, a few issues ago, one of my peers at StarVox ran an interview with Ms. Regan and I discovered that All About Eve are alive and well, and had recorded some new material and had embarked on a small tour.  After being directed to the band’s website, my heart skipped a beat when I saw advertised Return To Eden – a collection of the band’s early pre-Polygram singles and B sides!   Finally, after many years, these tracks were made available again and for the first time, on an official band approved release.

When I finally had the disc in my hands, my anticipation was bursting and I sat and listened to the first five songs in absolute astonished bliss.  The wait was definitely worth it!  Following the two aforementioned tracks was “Suppertime,” a song that had previously been available on a rare magazine compilation entitled “Gunfire & Pianos.” It certainly didn’t deserve to be lost in obscurity.  Despite some admittedly quirky lyrics, the music is outstanding, with the gorgeous jangle of overdriven guitars, interlocking bass lines and shuffling, snapping drum work that defines the Gothic Rock sound.   Despite the brooding Post Punk sensibility, there is as well a foreshadowing of All About Eve’s mastery of catchy pop hooks and memorable melodies.

The driving gloom of “End Of The Day” follows, perhaps my favourite of all the first  five tracks on the album.  A thick bass line rumbles above deep mid paced drums, accented by eerie pinch harmonics and Julianne’s nwavering alto.  The song crescendos into a spiral of stark psychedelic guitar wizardry and continues to blast along at full force until the song draws to a magnificent close.  I love it.  “Love Leads Nowhere” is weighed with an even deeper melancholy, falling somewhere between early U2 and the manic Death Rock of the legendary Skeletal Family and Xmal Deutschland. The track is the perfect blend of dark mood and melody, and is another rarely heard masterpiece.

I remember reading in one of Mick Mercer’s books that at one of All About Eve’s concerts, they had played in front of a banner that read “Goth RIP.”  While probably the first five tracks on this compilation are the only tracks in the band’s discography that could be comfortably and unanimously tagged as Goth,’ they were masterpieces in their own right.  They really didn’t need to continue on in the same style, as they had already perfected it.

All About Eve really didn’t develop or become comfortable with their own sound until on the debut release, where they really began to come into their own.  A decidedly more uplifting, melodic, and accessible sound, they may be one of the most overlooked 80s alternative/pop outfits.  There was substance to their music from the beginning and probably always will be, and it is a shame they didn’t achieve more widespread success.

Whatever the case, I loose sight of my purpose here.  While All About Eve were never a straight up ‘Goth’ band, I cannot recommend this release enough to fans of vintage Goth Rock and Post Punk music.   In addition to the early unavailable 12” b sides, a wealth of demo tracks and alternate versions of material recorded for the first album makes up the rest of this 70 minute compilation.   Classic tracks like “In The Clouds,” “Shelter From The Rain,” “Every Angel” and “Flowers In Our Hair” appear in earlier, rawer and perhaps more aggressive forms here.   The latter, “Flowers In Our Hair” appears in both its demo and extended forms, both of which are anthematic and powerfully animated gems of uplifting melancholia.  That track had always been my favourite from the debut release, but these versions are twice as good.

“Our Summer,” the band’s second single and a track, which unfortunately did not appear on the debut album, is probably one of my all time favourite All About Eve songs.  Two versions appear here, the 7” single mix as well as an extended mix.  I honestly can’t pinpoint it exactly, but the song is animated with such genuine sweetness and uplifting melodic power that I can’t help but feel ‘good’ every time I hear this song.  Of course, you might be thinking “how very UN-Goth of you” but despite the rumours and reports that I am always a crabby forlorn Grinch, I have my frequent spells where I do not want to bring an end to Christmas and I enjoy a good pop tune.  Unlike much of the over produced and sappy drivel that defined mainstream 80s radio, THIS is what a nostalgic walk through summer fields should sound like, and “Our Summer” stands as one of my all time favourite songs.

I could gush about this disc for hours (and I am aware that IS what I am doing), it is just so splendid and perfect in every way.  While not my usual blend of oppressive Death Rock or Doom, this is one of the most fantastic collections of vintage Goth Rock material available today.  If you have ever at all been curious about All About Eve, then this is the CD for you to begin your love affair with this band.   If you are a longtime fan, then there is A LOT here to be thankful for to complete the band’s ‘pre-discography.’   Honestly, buy this now.  It is available directly from Julianne and the band at their website below.   You won’t regret it.

Track List:
1.) D Is For Desire
2.) Don’t Follow Me, March Hare
3.) Suppertime
4.) End Of The Day
5.) Love Leads Nowhere
6.) In The Clouds (first version)
7.) Appletree Man (demo)
8.) Shelter From The Rain (b-side)
9.) Every Angel (demo)
10.) In The Meadow (demo)
11.) Our Summer (single)
12.) Lady Moonlight (b-side)
13.) Our Summer (extended mix)
14.) Flowers In Our Hair (single)
15.) Paradise (b-side)
16.) Devil Woman (b-side)
17.) Flowers In Our Hair (extended mix)

All About Eve was:
Tim Bricheno (Guitars)
Andy Cousin (Bass)
Julianne Regan (Voice, Keyboards)
James Richard Jackson (Bass)
Manuela Zwingmann (Drums)

All About Eve/Julianne Regan – Official Site:
http://www.allabouteve.net