Mi scuso con i fans della band. Prima che Todd Terry, nell’anno in cui a calci in culo prendevo la maturità e cercavo invano di perdere la verginità, infilasse il suo remix di ‘Missing’ per ogni pertugio abitabile dei miei timpani, non avevo la più pallida idea di chi o che cosa fossero gli EBTG. O meglio: da già che bazziccavo i bassifondi del pop, il nome non giungeva cacofonico, ma per il resto era un grande boh (Jova, non ti sto citando ndr).

Sì, perché poi sono andato a ritroso. Ma con il contagocce. Nel senso: ho assaggiato qualcosa del pregresso, ma no. Non fa per me.

Anche perché, ragazzi, è una frattura scomposta pazzesca. Ho visto nel tempo artisti, gruppi, cambiare genere con gli anni, ma qui è come passare dal Quartetto Cetra ai 2 Unlimited.

Fatto sta che per me gli EBTG nascono con il succitato remix di ‘Missing’ (1995) e muoiono con ‘Temperamental’ (1999), passando per ‘Walking Wounded’ (1996).

Vale a dire: scansatevi chittarre, basso fatti sintetico, che qui si va di unz unz, scratches, ed un melange electro mica da ridere.

Ho detto ‘muoiono’, alludendo all’opera in questione, mica per dire. Perché dopo, antologie e riedizioni rimasterizzate a parte, non hanno più fatto nulla.

Hanno cresciuto i figli, e ci sta, assolutamente. Potessi prendere io un’aspettativa ad interim per la prole, aivoja.

Il limite, l’unico, di ‘Temperamental’ è proprio questo: la smania. ‘Cari fans, quel che è stato è stato. Elettronica, elettronica, elettronica. What else ?’. Che a chi vi scrive sta bene, ma ogni tanto bisogna rendere il lavoro eterogeneo, evadere, strizzare l’occhio al passato, camuffarsi. Loro non lo fanno. Il resto non si discute: la voce di lei è splendente, gentile, una carezza. Ben Watt, dal canto suo, si smazzetta il 90% del lavoro: testi, musiche, tastiere, sitetico: lo rivendica e non manca di farcelo sapere. E, a costo di tener fede alla matrice elettronica (ma va ?) piazza alla fine dell’album una collaborazione con Deep Dish che quasi sfora gli otto minuti*.

Spiccano, si fanno ben volere e regalano emozioni ‘Five Fathoms’, ‘Low Tide Of The Night’, ‘Hatfield 1980’ (la più bella in assoluto), ‘No Difference’ e ‘Future Of The Future’*.

Vi racconto questo, prima che arrivi @Lector a fare lo spiritoso. Auto nuova, mi serviva un cd che sparasse musica di livello, di spessore, per collaudare l’impianto stereo.

Scelgo ‘Temperamental’, ed in funzione di quello che mi racconta, vado a modulare e a settare i valori. Non so perché. Non lo saprei dire: è stato un attimo.

Se qualcuno dovesse incontrare Ben, mentre accompagna i figli a scuola, o all’Università che di anni ne son passati venti sant’Iddio, glielo dica. E’ poco, ma è fatto con il cuore.

Elenco tracce testi samples e video

01   Five Fathoms (06:24)

I walked the city late at night
Just everyone here, do the same
I wanna live the things I see
'cause every face, replace my name

Across the street, take a right
Pick up the pace, pass a fight
Did I grow up? Did you stay home?
I'm not inmune, I love this tune

I wanna love more, I just wanna love more
I wanna love more, I just wanna love more
I wanna love more, I just wanna love more
I wanna love more, I just wanna love more

I drive the city late at night
It's in my mouth, it's in my head
And the people filled the city
'Cause the city fills the people, oh yeah

Across the street, avoid the freeze
The city's warm by couple of degrees
The smell of food, the smell of rain
I'm not inmune, I love this tune

I wanna love more (there's a river in my head)
I just wanna love you more (there's a river in my head)
I wanna love you more (there's a river in my head)
I just wanna love you more (there's a river in my head)

Only way out is down
Only way up is down

I wanna love more, I just wanna love more
I wanna love more, I just wanna love more
I wanna love more, I just wanna love more
I wanna love more, I just wanna love more

02   Low Tide of the Night (04:45)

03   Blame (06:18)

04   Hatfield 1980 (05:12)

Suburbia, 1 am, you're walking home again
shopping bags and broken glass
I hate going through the underpass
I wish there was some other way around
but you got beaten up by the playground and it's no use
we'll have to go through the deserted shopping centre
pedestrian walkways I think they were meant to
make things better
but it's just emptier, and scary at nighttime.
Hatfield at that time.

This is the place I live
Where is everyone? Are we the only ones?
This is the place I live
And so does everyone, so does everyone.

Hatfield 1980
I'm seeing my first knife, my first ambulance ride
I hold your hand the whole way, crying.
Get home the next day, police have already been.
Well you can imagine the scene.

And if I'm going home, I better change my clothes,
I better change my clothes.
And if I'm going home, I better change my clothes,
I better change my clothes.

This is the place I live
where is everyone, are we the only ones?
This is the place I live
And so does everyone, so does everyone.

And when I'm looking back, I look for everyone
And when I fall down, I fall for anyone
When I'm looking back, I look for everyone
And when I fall down, I fall for anyone.

05   Temperamental (05:20)

06   Compression (07:11)

la la la la
dum de dum de

07   Downhill Racer (03:49)

From the top you can see so far into the distance
Look it's downhill all the way from here
Getting there is quicker like going you just slide
Shouldn't take more then a year

I could almost like you
Now it's nearly over
Now you've shown some weaknesses
Now you're looking older

And I heard what you said
And I recognise those feelings
I know how hard it is to watch you go
And all the effort that it took to get here in the first place
And all the effort not to let the effort show

And I could almost like you
Now you're falling over
Now you're feeling hopeless
Now you're looking over your shoulder

Who's gonna come and find you?
Who's coming up behind you?

If you can ride the backlash
There's still time for a comeback
You don't have to lie down and die
But Lazarus only did it the one time
He couldn't face another try

And I could almost like you
Now it's really over
Now you've shown some weakness
Now you're looking over your shoulder

Who's gonna come and find you?
And who's coming up behind you?

08   Lullaby of Clubland (05:30)

How much of yourself do you give away
After someone's left your life in disarray?
It still hurts
But it won't show
Because I'm too proud
So you're never ever gonna know.

I'm on the dark side of the street,
Not the light side of the street.

It's packed at 2am.
I've got no coat,
Are you on your own?
I'm into you.
When are you going home?
Get into me.

How much of the day can you sit around
Letting all your feelings drag underground?
I don't care and I do care
Because I want it
If I know that it's out there everywhere.

I'm on the dark side of the street,
Not the light side of the street.

It's packed at 2am.
I've got no coat,
Are you on your own?
I'm into you.
When are you going home?
Get into me.

I saw you standing at the bar,
Don't know your name or who you are.

It's packed at 2am.
I've got no coat,
Are you on your own?
I'm into you.
When are you going home?
Get into me.

09   No Difference (04:26)

You watch the phone
Like it was the TV
If you're all alone
Well, whose fault can that be
Your keys, your bag, the car
They're where they always are

And the light goes down
And all the lights.. come on
And they call to me
Oh come on come on
And you don't make, you don't make no difference to me

You look at me
say What you talking about?
Well me, I'm going out
with or without
I know I don't get far
And we're where we always are

The light goes down
And all the lights come on
And they call to me
Oh come on come on
And you don't make you don't make no difference to me

You don't make no difference to me
You don't make no difference to me

So you fix a drink
'Cause it's time to drown
And the clock speeds up
And then it slows right down
The life that we have missed
I think it still exists
How can you resist?

And the light goes down
And all the streetlights shine
And they call to me
ooh, be dead a long time
And it makes, it makes a difference to me.

And the light goes down
And all the lights come on
And they call to me
Oh come on Come on
You can make a difference to me
Come on make a difference to me
Come on make a difference to me

10   The Future of the Future (Stay Gold) (feat. Deep Dish) (07:52)

Carico i commenti...  con calma

Altre recensioni

Di  alia76

 EBTG, "TEMPERAMENTAL" (1999) ovvero come affrontare il Tunz-Tunz con classe.

 "Temperamental" è un disco che pochi altri avrebbero potuto realizzare senza risultare vanesi.