All About Eve

Picture a gypsy girl, legs dangling off the back of her wagon trilling folk songs which speak to a pastoral, idyllic childhood, while a team of muscular, well trained electric guitars pull the wagon through a cool forest glade of luscious production, leaves still glistening and dripping with the very latest in digital reverberation.

That's what All About Eve sounded like in 1988 - and that's what it sounds like now, the only difference being it sounded pretty cool back then. Now, it's as dated as a Camelot on Ice. Come to think of it, it's rather a lot like Camelot on Ice.

All the same, it's pretty music, and in tracks like Wild Hearted Woman and Martha's Harbour, has a commendable air of ballsy pre GirlPower feminism about it.

They're all great tunes, for the most part, and the best get well and truly anthemic (most notably Shelter From The Rain which, with its foreboding synth pads, shimmering acoustics and snarling guitars rumbles collossally across the soundscape as if Punk Rock had never happened). And the quieter moments stand up, and if anything outdo the bombast: Julianne Regan's almost unaccompanied rendition of the traditional She Moves Through The Fair is truly beautiful (if a little blighted by over production and what little arrangement there is behind it).

So it's difficult to isolate what hasn't lasted about the sound. I think it may be that it's just too earnest. All About Eve takes itself just a bit too seriously, which - when one is singing about gypsies, secret gardens and a brightly shining lady in the moonlight, is a bit rich - and it inevitably sees the band sail a tack too close to Spinal Tap's Stonehenge for it to be taken seriously, at least not once you've emerged from puberty and/or the Nineteen Eighties.

Still, when you put it on the shelf with its contemporaries - Queensryche (note umlaut!), Poison, the Mission, the Sisters of Mercy - by no means is All About Eve a candidate for most embarassing record in the collection.

Pull the curtains, and no one will know you still listen to it.

Olly Buxton


More About ALL ABOUT EVE   December 8, 1999
S. Kelly (Marietta, GA USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Magical melodies and angelic vocals set in a timeless style. A beautifully "lyric oriented" album of floaty,soft tunes with style unlike anyone else. Take a listen for yourself and enjoy more about All About Eve.


Melodic and energetic!   December 22, 1998
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I've been listening to this CD and "Scarlet and Other Stories" for several years now, and I'm still enthralled by her balletic parade of music and voice. This music is a rare gem.


A highly recommended band!   December 11, 1998
Eric Schmitz (eschmitz@webbalah.net) (Bloomington, Indiana)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

All About Eve is pure soul-music for us "melancholy" types whose favorite season is the Autumn. I agree that Eve's second album, "Scarlet and Other Stories," is even better than this one. I have been known to purchase music "sound-unheard" (see also Lir's "Magico! Magico!"), and that's how it happened with "Scarlet." The ultra-visceral vocals of Julianne Regan and far-away, descanting guitar work of Tim Brecheno combine to produce a truly fantastic sound in all their work!

If you're the type who can "see" music as you listen, this album will definitely paint pictures in your mind, especially cuts like "Every Angel," "Like Emily" and "In The Meadow." If you like "orchestral" rock-n-roll with fantasy-laden female vocals and stellar guitar work, you should hear this album (and their others, too). I would say that Eve is similar in style to artists like Heart and Stevie Nicks, although Julianne and Stevie do not sound alike vocally. A better vocal comparison would be with Terri Nunn (Berlin) or Aimee Mann ('Til Tuesday).

I have also heard a medium-quality tape of Eve's import "Ultraviolet," but have been unable to find it on CD. Same enchanting sound, although the intentional distortion seems a bit gratuitous at times, and the vocals are somewhat buried. I would really like to hear a cleaner copy of that one, so I hope Amazon will pick it up soon.


Lovely album but their next one was even better   July 13, 1998
Joan May (CA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I really like this CD -- the interplay between Tim Brecheno's layered guitars and Julianne Regan's lovely vocals, and the melodic ethereal songs. And I love their next CD -- "Scarlet and Other Stories" much More -- Fantastic songs and a more Electric sound than this one. Again, Tim and Julianne really Shine together! I hope amazon.com will be offering "Scarlet and Other Stories" in addition to this fine CD. I'm also looking forward to the Imports from this band -- especially their Live show!