extra virgin

olive

rca, 1996

Mood—Mellow, damp, and lovely.

Sample: "You're Not Alone"

Thoughts— Extra Virgin is another album that I purchased based solely on the radio single ("You're Not Alone"). After learning more about the band, I was actually pretty surprised that Ruth-Ann, whas a white girl from England. The album has a very soulful sound, and at the time I wasn't really familiar with what was going on with music in the UK.

Olive never picked up major standing in the United States, but their single hit hard with me, so of course I ran out and picked up the album immediately.

The album is decidedly low-key... the sort of thing that makes me think of driving at night. It is heavily electronic without taking on any of the heartlessness that electronic music often can.

Standouts include the opener "Miracle", which sets a downbeat, intense tone for the record, as well as "You're Not Alone" and "Outlaw", both of which have also garnered several excellent remixes.

Some songs take a back seat on the ablum. I'm never overly eager to hear the ballad "You Are Nothing", or anything else that ventures a bit to far into what I consider to be a mainstream pop sound.

Olive put out another album and has been silent since. Such is the way when music is created by "projects" rather than "bands". The founding members of Olive came from other acts, like Nightmares on Wax and Simply Red, so there never was any real glue keeping them together. I hold out hope for a third Olive album, but in the meantime, Ruth-Ann Boyle has a solo album, so that's something to pick up if you love her voice.

Recommended? Yes! A great listen.

Link—ruthann-music.com

Tracklist
1. Miracle
2. This Time
3. Safer Hands
4. Killing
5. You're Not Alone
6. Falling
7. Outlaw
8. Blood Red Tears
9. Curious
10. You Are Nothing
11. Muted
12. I Don't Think So