82-92 Essence & Rare

AMG Review of 82-92 Essence & Rare

Stewart Mason
All Music Guide

On this 1998 compilation, the emphasis is on the rare rather than the essence; this makes 82-92 Essence & Rare wonderful for committed fans who no longer have to search for obscure, out-of-print European 12" singles, but it's less helpful for newcomers. The highest points of Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt's first decade together are touched on (the glorious 1984 ossa nova single "Each and Every One," 1988's wistful reminiscence "Oxford Street"), but many excellent songs from this period are either missing or here in altered versions, like the acoustic takes of 1986's "Come on Home" (under-produced, skeletal) or 1990's "Driving" (actually better than the too-slick original). Of the obscurities, the highlights tend to be the covers, including a magnificent reading of Elvis Costello's cocktail-hour classic "Almost Blue" and a similarly mournful take on Danny Whitten's "I Don't Want to Talk About It" that shreds Rod Stewart's better-known version. There isn't much fat on this collection, but newbies are advised to start with one of the more comprehensive anthologies, like 2001's Home Movies.