ALL ABOUT EVE
A-side: Scarlet
B-Side: Our Summer (live)
(Mercury 1985)
I'm partial to a bit of All About Eve, so this won't be the last time you see them appear on this blog. I've often wondered why All About Eve got labelled as Goth, certainly they don't pose the same sense of theatre and pomp as many of their Goth contemporaries, and musically they are not as bombastic as many of he Goth bands are prone to be. It might be the people they they hung about with there was a lot of involvement with the Mission, and the guitarist did end up leaving to join Sisters of Mercy. I can only conclude that there is a spectrum of Goth and All About Eve fall into the mellow, folky end.
Scarlet in particular definitely has the feel of a folk song. With it's muted acoustic guitar, and string session backing giving a melancholy tone to the song. There's a touch of flamenco style guitar thrown in there partway through, that adds an extra touch of he exotic to the song. Julianne Regan's voice sounds tremulous and vulnerable which cocoons you in the warmth of the melody.
On the flip side of he record is a live version of Our Summer, a song that comes from their earlier days. This is slightly more rocky than Scarlet - it's certainly more upbeat, and forceful, and dare I say it more joyful. However as with so much of All About Eve it still feels autumnal - there are few bands that I find can evoke such a specific feeling in me - their music feels like a translation of the red, browns and yellows of leaves that are about to fall on a day that is sunny, but cool and crisp.
Next time The C-Word!
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