North Marine Drive

For other uses, see North Marine Drive (disambiguation).

North Marine Drive
Studio album by Ben Watt
Released	February 1983
Recorded	16-20th September 1982, Alvic Studios
Genre	Folk rock, indie folk
Length	33:00
Label	Cherry Red
Producer	Ben Watt with Mike Gregovich

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

North Marine Drive is the debut album and only solo effort as a recording artist to date of Ben Watt. The album was released on Cherry Red in 1983, prior to Watt's success in Everything but the Girl, and reached number one in the UK Indie Chart the same year.^[2] The tone of the album is reflective and melancholic, reminiscent of some of the more stripped-down work of Everything but the Girl. Its sparse, mainly acoustic, instrumentation effectively highlights Watt's songwriting and vocal qualities. Jazz saxophonist Peter King who would go on to collaborate with Everything but the Girl contributes alto saxophone to several tracks.

Later CD reissues also feature 5 bonus tracks of Watt's collaboration with Robert Wyatt originally released as an EP in March 1982 (Summer Into Winter). A downloadable version available from Cherry Red adds a further 3 bonus tracks, originally released on the compilation album Our Brilliant Careers: Cherry Red Rarities 1981-1983.

The song "Some Things Don't Matter" first appeared on the Cherry Red showcase compilation Pillows & Prayers in 1982.

Track listing

1. "On Box Hill" (2:27)
2. "Some Things Don't Matter" (4:27)
3. "Lucky One" (2:33)
4. "Empty Bottles" (4:38)
5. "North Marine Drive" (2:18)
6. "Waiting Like Mad" (4:52)
7. "Thirst For Knowledge" (3:30)
8. "Long Time No Sea" (5:24)
9. "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" (Bob Dylan) (3:48)

CD reissue bonus tracks (Summer Into Winter, with Robert Wyatt)

10. "Walter and John" (4:07)
11. "Aquamarine" (4:12)
12. "Slipping Slowly" (2:53)
13. "Another Conversation With Myself" (1:24)
14. "A Girl in Winter" (3:50)

Digital download bonus tracks

15. "Can't"
16. "Tower Of Silence"
17. "Aubade"

Personnel

• Ben Watt – semi-acoustic and acoustic guitars, piano, vocals
• Peter King – alto saxopohone

Summer Into Winter

• Ben Watt – vocals, guitar
• Robert Wyatt – piano, vocals

References

1. ^ Allmusic review
2. ^ Cherry Red Records Download Shop