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Cosmic Debris 1997 09
C O S M I K D E B R I S
S E P T E M B E R , 1 9 9 7 - I S S U E # 2 8
____________________________________________________________________________
- The Specialists -
DJ Johnson.................Editor
Shaun Dale.................Associate Editor
Wayne Burke................HTML
coLeSLaw...................Graphic Artist
Lauren Marshall............Administrative Assistant
Louise Johnson.............Administrative Assistant
Sarah Sterley..............Research Assistant
- The Cosmik Writers -
Jeff Apter, Ann Arbor, coLeSLAw, Robert Cummings, Shaun
Dale, Phil Dirt, DJ Johnson, Steven Leith, Steve Marshall,
Rusty Pipes, Paul Remington, John Sekerka and David Walley.
____________________________________________________________________________
SOUND CLIPS IN THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE OF COSMIK DEBRIS
There are 3 clips for the Hypnomen interview, two for the Del Amitri article,
and two for the Chuck Prophet interview, which is part of Tape Hiss. In
the review section, there are clips for the following:
The Bluerags
Connie Francis
Jimi Hendrix
Hildegard Of Bingen
The Hypnomen (Same 3 clips as in the interview)
Jackyl
Rickie Lee Jones (2 clips)
Korngold
Krenek
Edwin McCain
Mozart
Willie Nelson
Pollo Del Mar
Prokofiev (2 clips)
Eddi Reader
Tenderloin
u-Ziq
V/A: Good Time Jazz Story
And don't forget to listen to Audible Debris, our hour-long "radio" program
that is updated weekly. You'll hear a mix of music that is every bit as
eclectic as Cosmik Debris itself. All through October, we'll be mixing in
Halloween music in preparation for our Halloween Thingy, a special 2 hour
program that will run from October 27th until September 1st. We'll have
everything from scary surreal Sabbath to silly spooky Spike. Jones, that is.
So whether you play it for your Halloween party or you play it while hiding
from trick or treater's in your dark, dank condo, just be sure to play it.
The Halloween Thingy. Be there.
___________________________________________________________________________
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
BEWARE THE HYPNOMEN: From Helsinki, Finland comes this powerhouse instro
band with a sound that melds explosive garage with surreal surf.
DEL AMITRI: Jeff Apter hangs out with Justin Curry and even snoops through
his record collection.
TAPE HISS INTERVIEWS - CHUCK PROPHET / PELL MELL: A ormer Green On Red rocker
Chuck Prophet, and a 1992 interview with instro band Pell Mell from John
Sekerka's Tape Hiss archives.
PHIL OCHS, AMERICAN: Shaun Dale's look back at a great talent, and an
examination of Rhino's new 3-CD retrospective.
CONTEMPORARY JAZZ - The News Ain't ALL Bad: Some of it ain't jazz, but some
of it ain't bad, either. Shaun Dale attempts to sort out the confusion.
NUSRAT FATEH ALI KAHN - 1947-1997: Music suffers a terrible loss.
REVIEWS!: Another alluring assortment of aluminum and vinyl.
CLASSIC EXAMPLE: (By Robert Cummings.) Our brand new column that offers a
helping hand for those of you who know you LIKE classical music, but
don't know where to start in pursuit of education and a worthwhile CD
collection.
BETWEEN ZERO & ONE: (By Steven Leith.) Feeling like a pawn? Being kept in
line by the powers that be -- the powers that don't want YOU to be? If you
have the gumption to shed the chains, the Net might just be the key to that
lock.
PHIL'S GARAGE: (By Phil Dirt.) With apologies to Don McLean, Phil traces
events to the day the melody died.
WALLEY AT WITZEND: (By David Walley.) Man vs. technology? An age old battle
with a newly drawn front line. As the war rages on in the computer age,
David tries to decide between a white flag and The Bomb.
CLOSET PHILOSOPHY: (By Rusty Pipes.) Cosmik Debris' master of philosophy and
meditation takes in the beginning of the NFL season! Honest!
CONTACT US: A listing of Cosmik Debris' writers, techie and admin types,
including e-mail addresses and homepage URL's.
____________________________________________________________________________
BEWARE THE HYPNOMEN: Talkin' Instro-Noir with Pekka Laine
Interviewed by DJ Johnson
The music slides forth from the speakers like so much mud, nearly lost in a
chaotic reverb space, as if the band is a hundred feet away down an ancient
stone corridor. I find myself floating toward the source without regard to
the danger inherent in the sound. The sudden clarity of a guitar solo tears
me from my autopilot condition, and it is then that I realize the sounds have
surrounded me and pulled me into the dark and foreboding world of The Hypnomen.
This is no dream. This is simply the result of donning headphones and turning
on the blacklight as the new ten-incher, We Three Hypnomen, spins seductively
on.
Though a thousand bands have tried to create mystique with their music or
their actions, few have truly succeeded. On the massive scale, Led Zeppelin,
Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and Black Sabbath come to mind, all creators of
surreal soundscapes and wild imagery. Among indie bands, few have come close
to the shadowy alternate universe created by Helsinki, Finland's Hypnomen.
As they re-define "power trio," The Hypnomen--Pekka Laine (guitar, organ),
Esa Kuloniemi (guitar, bass), and Juha Litmanen (drums)--share a surprisingly
straight-forward philosophy about, and approach to, their music. Their
collective influences, both musical and celluloid, mesh perfectly to create
a dangerous sound that can only be defined as instro-noir. Elements that are
completely foreign to the garage and surf genres frequently pop up in the
middle of a Hypnomen track, but always through their unique filter that can
make soul mysterious and exotica foreboding.
Pekka Laine is a humble cat. He's quick to tell people that, of the three
Hypnomen, he has the least skill as a player. When asked about a particularly
hot guitar part he played, he says "thank you, but you know, Esa is one of
the best guitarists in Finland," or "yes, but with Juha playing such a great
beat, that part just came naturally." When his creative musical ideas are
probed and analyzed, he seems genuinely surprised that anyone noticed, let
alone took the time to try to figure out where the ideas came from. However,
once the conversation turns to subjects like the band's sound, the atmosphere
they create on their records, or music in general, Pekka has plenty to say.
* * *
Cosmik: A friend and I were just arguing about your music. He says you're a
surf band, and I say you're an instrumental punk band, even though I've
called you guys "mid-fi surf" before, so I can understand that confusion.
Labels suck, but they exist. What do you think your music is?
Pekka: We think of our music as instrumental rock'n'roll, primitive mood-music.
Surf is definitely one element, but only one among others.
Cosmik: If I listen to Jon and the Nightriders, or The Fathoms, I visualize
people riding killer waves on longboards, but when I hear The Hypnomen, I
picture monsters loose on helpless cities or alien spacecraft zipping along.
What kind of inspirations do you take for your tunes? What do YOU visualize?
Pekka: It varies a lot. It's often cinematic, weird surrealistic stuff, or
western images or film noir-style ideas. Generally speaking, it tends to be
a bit dark and twisted, but with humorous elements always lurking somewhere.
Cosmik: Over here in the United States, people equate instrumental music from
Helsinki, Finland with Laika and the Cosmonauts. You're from the same city,
but your music couldn't be any farther removed from what the Cosmonauts
play. Are there any other bands there that are in your category? Bands
that are a natural double-bill with The Hypnomen?
Pekka: Not really. There are bands that I like, such as Flamin' Sideburns,
Larry and The Lefthanded, The Ultra Bimboos, etcetera. These you could
describe as garage bands. Husky and the Sandmen are a quite decent surf
band. Laika and the Cosmonauts rules this town as far as we're concerned.
The perfect and most natural double-bill for us? It happened this June
on Friday the 13th. We opened up for Link Wray, who is without any doubt
our biggest influence. He is way above there in our book. This was
probably our biggest thrill thus far. We met our maker! We've also played
regular rock festivals this Summer alongside Finnish alt-indie acts and
it has worked out fine. Personally, I prefer garage oriented bands.
Cosmik: How do you define "garage oriented bands?" Or I guess the better
way to say it is "which style of garage band do you get into?"
Pekka: In Finland there never was a real garage revival scene like in the
States or Sweden. Most of these bands I mentioned have a strong punkish
homemade flavour. They're not retro-garage at all, but they use garage
style songs, fuzztone, Farfisa, etcetera. Flamin' Sideburns rock
especially hard, for my money. A bit like The Nomads, but less hard rock
more rock'n'roll with a Pacific Northwest-via-Finland flavour. I like all
kinds of garage-based styles, be it totally retro like Fortune & Maltese
or some wacko hybrid of different elements like Oblivions, Jon Spencer
and all the aftermath of the late great Gories. I wish there were more
bands of this sort in Finland. We are certainly doing our best to bring
the prehistoric-stone-age-straight-from-the-zoo element to Finnish pop
music.
Cosmik: Who does what in the band?
Pekka: Esa Kuloniemi plays bass and guitar and organ. Live, he plays most
bass parts. And we do stuff with two guitars and drums also. Juha Litmanen
plays drums. I play mostly guitar, and a few bass and organ parts, also. I
play most of my bass parts on a baritone guitar. Esa's wife, Aija, who is
an excellent musician, plays some organ parts on our records, and also
sometimes on live shows. She plays behind the mixer board so nobody can
tell where the organ sound is coming from. Our secret weapon.
Cosmik: Does she ever get sick of hiding and want to get some spotlight?
Pekka: No. She has so many other things to do, so this is only something
she occasionally participates in. She's helping us out on special
occasions to make them really special.
Cosmik: Do you ever try to do your own keyboard parts live?
Pekka: On CD I did those organ things as overdubs. I can't play organ at all.
It's totally two-finger Neanderthal stuff! Live, I play guitar 80 or 90
percent of the set. We don't try to do everything exactly like on the
record.
Cosmik: Yeah, but isn't "two-fingered Neanderthal stuff" exactly what rock
and roll is all about?
Pekka: I guess so. But some elementary knowledge about basics doesn't
hurt either. After finishing the CD we've done a couple of recordings
with the Farfisa, on both of which Esa's wife, Aija, handles the organ
parts. It's much better because she can really do it and add a lot more
to the overall sound. "Sound of The Silencer" [7 incher on Gas Records]
features her playing.
Cosmik: Tell us a little more about your bandmates. What do they bring to
the dance, in terms of sounds and styles?
Pekka: It's totally a group effort. A happy threesome! Our secret weapon is
this: I play most of the lead parts and I'm easily the worst player in
the band! Not kidding. This will keep all the unnecessary virtuoso-stuff
away. We concentrate one hundred percent on the song writing and the
ensemble playing and overall sound. I don't look at our stuff as
"lead guitar music," although there's guitar lead on almost every tune.
More like The Raymen or The Who circa 1965-66. You know, concentrated
power. I've been playing with Juha for over ten years. He's a really
good and versatile drummer, big fan of Sandy Nelson and New Orleans
groove kings like Earl Palmer and Charles "Hungry" Williams, plus all
the old blues, jazz and rock'n'roll people. He swings all the way. He
brings the soulful rock'n'roll backdrop to our sound.
Esa is one of the most respected guys on the Finnish roots-rock'n'roll
scene. Has been for over ten years. Fantastic guitar player, both
sophisticated and ultra raw. A real master of tone and style. And dig
this: he plays mostly bass in The Hypnomen. Why? Because he likes it
and it sounds good. He playes the most outrageous Hypnomen guitar parts
also, like on "Medication-a-go-go". Totally demented. He's a bit older
so he can bring a certain authenticity to the mix, because he's
experienced the shit we rave about like The Monkees and The Who first
time around. Song writing aside, I'd say we all contribute thirty three
and one third percent to the mix, and our live shows especially
illustrate that.
Cosmik: What is a typical Hypnomen show like?
Pekka: It's high energy, rockin' sinister fun! We start off with more surf
style material to get the crowd warmed up. We just try to play as hard
and intense as we can, no intermissions, no "hello, hope you're having a
great time" kind of babble. Just straight ahead, full speed, no breaks
action. It's pretty raw, I'd say. Mostly original tunes. Some covers,
like "Casbah," "I'm Branded," and "Please Please Me."
Cosmik: Wait, wait... "Please Please Me?" I can't begin to imagine what a
Hypnomen treatment of that tune would sound like. Have you recorded
that song?
Pekka: No, we haven't. I wish we came up with the idea. But Link Wray got
there first. His version is to be found in the "Missing Links" series on
Norton. We modelled our version after his, but it's a great live number.
People dig it, but they always look a little puzzled too. They can't
often make the right connection for some reason. We get a lot of comments
on that number like "Wow, I really like the way you guys do "Love Me Do!"
I guess it sounds a bit absurd as an instrumental.
Cosmik: The version on Missing Links, though, is about as faithful to the
original as an instrumental can be, isn't it? I can't picture Hypnomen
doing Merseybeat pop.
Pekka: Yes, but Link's version rocks! And we like that Mersey beat a lot.
The Kaisers is a big favorite of ours. We just take this stuff and smash
it against the wall. It's the fun music for us.
Cosmik: Do the people at your shows generally get off on tunes like that,
I mean besides the dorks who think it's "Love Me Do?"
Pekka: It's a guaranteed crowd pleaser. So is "Casbah." People recognize
that Arabian flavor and they go "SURF!" That's cool with us. We do a
punky version of "The 2000 Pound Bee," by The Ventures, with two guitars
and drums, and that usually gets them going too.
Cosmik: What is the typical Hypnomen FAN like?
Pekka: Beats me. We get a pretty mixed audience at our club dates. Some 50s
style rock'n'roll fans, mod types, regular geeks, punks and a few guitar
players with serious looks on their faces.
Cosmik: Do you see a lot of the guitar players in the crowd watching your
fingers, trying to cop a few riffs?
Pekka: Not so much that. But more like getting questions about our gear
after the shows. And quite a few comments on the sounds we're getting
that can't come from anybody but guitar players. You know like "Man,
I dig your tremolo!" That's the kind or groupies we get. But also the
circles are quite small so a lot of our friends that play in bands
check us out, and vice versa, of course.
Cosmik: Your sound is extremely mysterious and intriguing. Not quite lo-fi,
but not crystal clear sounding, either. Lots of reverb space. Are you
able to get that space around the whole band playing live?
Pekka: Not really. But we look at live shows from a different angle. There's
more emphasis on the raw, meaty side of our sound. So the sound isn't
as loaded with reverb as on record. Guitar tones, however, are totally
soaking wet. We trip out on the stage also, but in a more spontaneous,
primitive kind of way.
Cosmik: Part of the mysterioso thing is a certain heaviness in the sound, a
dark and sometimes almost frightening heaviness that really comes out in
songs like "Zipgun" and "Back In The Cage." Is there some heavy metal in
your backgrounds, or at least metal influences? For instance, I don't
hear a single Sabbath riff in your music, but some of it makes me feel
the same chills.
Pekka: We don't have any metal in our backgrounds, that's for sure. But you're
not the first one pointing to that direction. So what gives? My theory for
this is that it comes from the spontaneous nature in which we write and
play. We take a tune, play it as it comes, twist it around, and have fun
with it without holding anything back. A lot of instro bands seem to be
really concerned with the style and the sound they are playing with and
they often sound as if they were holding something back. This might
produce great and stylish music, but we don't operate normally like this.
We just let it loose and watch what happens. That's the punk influence in
our thing, which some people connect with metal. We didn't mean it that
way, but if that's where the music takes you, enjoy the ride.
Cosmik: What do you listen to when you're just listening for kicks?
Pekka: We are pretty serious music addicts, so this a tough one. We all have
backgrounds in playing blues and R&B, and we will always dig that stuff.
R.L. Burnside and T-Model Ford kick butt. Link Wray and good instrumental
stuff is always refreshing. Popular music from 1930s to 60s and 70s is our
main scope of interest. Rockabilly, Joe Meek, The Ventures, garage-punk,
60s pop, The Byrds, ska, rock steady, doo wop, Sun Ra, be bop, Sinatra,
jazz, Rocket from The Crypt, Honky Tonk music, Swamp pop, Oblivions,
Estrus Records, Crypt Records, sleazy listening... You get the picture.
It's bad. And getting worse every day.
Cosmik: Man, that's a cool list. When you say "sleazy listening," what
do you mean? Cocktail swank?
Pekka: Yes. Sort of. Las Vegas Grind, Jungle Exotica, instrumental R&B,
funky "almost-but-not-quite" jazz. Stuff like that.
Cosmik: Some of your music sounds like there might be shreds of exotica in
the forethought before it got blasted with attitude.
Pekka: Absolutely. This newly found interest in easy listening and exotica
is a great thing. A lot of good stuff is coming to daylight. I've been
into the "legit" mainstream side of lounge--Louis Prima, Sinatra, Martin,
jazz--for a long time. But exotica and Esquivel stuff is a later find.
Definitely inspiring music. Some exotica influences are apparent, like
the cha-cha percussion loop in "Bamboola" on Supersonico, some just pop
up when we write melodies and themes. There are quite a few Hypnomen
tunes that you could define as some sort of unholy mix of punkish
rock'n'roll and exotic mood music.
Cosmik: Man, you sure listen to a wide range of music. I always want to
know what influences go into someone's music, but in this case, knowing
you've got Sinatra and The Byrds going through your head at times, what
I really want to know is how you keep some influences out. Is it ever
hard to focus and keep it within certain parameters?
Pekka: Very important question. How much room do you allow yourself to have?
We are pretty freewheeling on this one. And not too analytical. We tend
to cross a lot of stylistical boundaries that shouldn't necessarily be
crossed. We goof around and end up sounding moronic. We might start with
a little ditty and go "hey, let's do this sort of Booker T. style." But
somewhere on the narrow path to hipness we take an obvious wrong turn and
the whole thing will sound more like Blue Cheer or Captain Beefheart in the
end. So what do you do? Usually we just say "fuck it, this is fun. We'll
keep it." But we NEVER mix influences in order to sound clever: "let's
put a little Cole Porter on this punk go-go thing." Never. It's got to be
natural. But if it works, why the hell not do it? Even though it's not
mentioned in the black bible of surf. We've tried out quite a few songs
that are less than apparent for an instro band: Sir Douglas Quintet, Bobby
Fuller pop songs, The Who... As a fan and listener I understand strict
instro-surf traditionalism totally, but it's not our thing as a band.
Cosmik: I think it's interesting, considering your affection for Link Wray,
that you mentioned the Fat Possum label blues guys, R.L. Burnside and
T. Model Ford. That's some raw blues, and Link, of course, made his
name on raw sounds. What attracts you to those sounds?
Pekka: Ok, now we're talking some of the best music in history. These guys
are the very essence of rock'n'roll, blues or whatever you want to call
it. Burnside and T-Model rock on the level of Howlin' Wolf, John Lee
Hooker, and Muddy. The best of them. And Link is in the same category.
He's the embodiment of the mystery of rock'n'roll, the great American,
primitive and mind-altering power: a guy picks up a guitar, plugs it in,
hits a chord through a crummy little amp... and it can change your life.
This sounds stupid and naive, but it's the truth. I believe it has
happened to everybody at some time. You hear the right sound, something
clicks and you see the light: "Yes, NOW I know!"
By the way, I find it somewhat puzzling that a lot of people in surf
circuits seem to find the blues as the ultimate boring uncool kind of
music. Maybe it's because of the guitar noodling-white-hippie-Clapton-crap
overdose in the media. But you should never judge a musical style on the
basis of its degenerate latter day disciples. Don't judge rockabilly by
listening to Stray Cats, but by Elvis Presley's version of "Mystery Train"
or by "One Hand Loose" by Charlie Feathers. Don't judge surf by Dick Dale's
Tribal Gathering albums, but by Fender IV's "Mar Gaya" or by Johnny
Barakat's rendition of "The Wedge." Drink your music straight with no
chaser.
Cosmik: Good advice. And don't judge garage rock by just any old band making
records. Go back and listen to Link Wray. Did you get to hang out with
Link when you gigged with him?
Pekka: Yes we did. It was the biggest thrill ever. His tour manager told
him we are huge fans of his and introduced us to him. Link told us he
wouldn't be able to catch our opening set later that night and then asked
us if we could play a private set for him after our soundcheck. Fucking
A! We played for him for 15-20 minutes and he was all excited. He hollered
and cheered when we kicked into "I'm Branded." His crappy Dutch back up
band, who looked like a bunch of heavy metal roadies in their sleeveless
denim shirts, sat there with their mouths open. Link's hearing isn't that
great, so he yelled at them "they are playing MY SONG!" He laughed his
heart out when he realized we had an organ player hiding behind the mixer.
"You guys are really sneaky!" We told him he's the reason we started this
whole damn thing and he looked to be genuinely flattered. He's probably
the most charismatic person I've ever met. It's impossible to even
describe how we felt about this whole thing. Later that evening he was in
great mood, raving after our set: "let's have a jam session, two bass
players, two drum kits and two guitars!" We were like "...are you sure?"
Esa joined him during his encores and they played a couple of Jimmy Reed
numbers together. Cool ending to an amazing night.
Cosmik: How do you top that?
Pekka: You tell me!
Cosmik: Pretty cool. I want to ask you about certain tunes on the Supersonico
album. Your bass tone on "Psycho From Ipanema" just blew me away. Pure bass,
smooth as glass. How did you record it? I've got a 50 cent bet down that
says Esa went direct to the board.
Pekka: Esa played a 1955 precision bass through a vintage VOX bass head and
15" cabinet and also directly to the board. The is a combination of those
two sources.
Cosmik: The Killer Riff award has to go to the A flat-A-B-C break in
"Brainwasher." That's incredibly powerful. Who came up with that?
Pekka: C'est moi.
Cosmik: Then you go straight from that punk-surf explosion to something
with a country blues influence ("Panorama Red") without losing the
trademark Hypnomen vibe. Now how the hell do you manage that one?
Pekka: Don't know. It's not something we analyze on a rational level. Pieces
just tend to fall to their places if you put your soul into it when you
do it. And it's basically us playing from one song to another with the
same gear, same fingers and same seriously limited personalities.
Cosmik: Thanks for reminding me... What about gear? This stuff doesn't
sound like Strats or Jags.
Pekka: Yummy yummy!! Gear question! OK. First the drums: 1958 Gretch, silver
sparkle, Zildjan and Paiste Cymbals mostly vintage. My main guitar is a
jazzmaster reissue... boring but good. I use 1958 Supro Dual Tone as a
backup. My reverb is custom made by a friend. It's basically a Fender
reverb build inside a 1950's Radio. Cool as hell. Same guy built my
baritone guitar, which is shaped like a long-horn Dan [EdNote: Refers to
the Longhorn Danelectro bass], but otherwise it's pretty Hot-Rod: no
spare parts. It's cool for both twang and bass mayhem. My amp is a 1968
Fender Super Reverb. Live, I use two vintage Super Reverbs. Esa's main
hypno axe is something else: a 1960's Hofner twin-neck guitar/bass.
Great--I repeat-GREAT--instrument! He uses a Supro Dualtone a lot, 1960
Strat occasionally, 1968 Silvertone Solid Body for low open tuning, swamp
grind and National Airline for a totally perfect Santo Farina-style slide
sound. Silvertones and Supros have great one-of-a-kind sounds we really
like. A Supro amp is on top of my want list right after a vintage
Jazzmaster. On the records, we used Hofner Beatle bass and 1955 Fender
Precision. Esa's amp of choice is a monster, loud as fuck 1959 Fender
Twin.
Cosmik: It sounds like you're using heavy strings.
Pekka: The usual 11 to 49 or 12 to 52, depending on the guitar.
Cosmik: Let me see if I can force an age-old controversy on you. You've
made a handful of 7-inch EP's, and you've made a CD. Aside from the
obvious commercial advantages of the CD format, which do you prefer?
For your band, and as a fan of other bands.
Pekka: Definitely vinyl. For pop music in general, the 45 is the greatest
format. Best sound, looks and greatest vibes. It's so perfect: couple of
songs, no filler, just the damn thing. And albums, too, of course. It
works on several levels: First the music and then the beautiful object -
the record, the sleeve art, the mere idea of a great record. CD is merely
a handy container for music. It's good from a collector's point of view.
"You can have all the outtakes too." Gee, that's great... It's pragmatic,
but totally devoid of any emotional value as an object. But we're totally
realistic about this. We live in the 90's and CD is the format. But not
because it's a supreme format by any objective standards. We definitely
get a kick if we get anything released on vinyl.
Cosmik: Do you know of a band from Norway called The Basement Brats?
Pekka: I've read about them in several fanzines, including Cosmik Debris.
Cosmik: One of our first interviews was with Ole Olsen, who was their singer
at the time. I remember him saying that they had the distinction of being
the last band to have a record pressed on vinyl in Norway, and that they
packed up the machinery right after the run and sent it to a national
museum, like some martyr of the digital revolution. Has there ever been
any worry about that happening in Finland, or are there too many bands
wanting to release vinyl?
Pekka: To my knowledge all the pressing plants have closed down. It's a
disgrace, like so many other things are nowadays. Most bands press
their vinyl in places like the Czech Republic. It's the cheapest way.
But the best place I know is a Swedish plant called Eldorado. They made
our latest 45 and 10". Both rock, as far as pressing goes.
Cosmik: What kind of press do you get at home?
Pekka: They've only noticed us recently. It's been really positive thus far.
Comparisons with Laika and the guys we could expect, so it doesn't
bother us. But it's totally unnecessary. However, the average rock
journalist has apparent difficulties figuring us out. But they don't
know shit about nothing anyway.
Cosmik: I'm living proof of that. "We think they're really loud, and anyways
not nearly as cool as The Artist Formerly Known As Prince." (Laughs) Give
us an example. What's the most baffling thing that's been written about
The Hypnomen thus far?
Pekka: Nothing spectacularly stupid. Just the common ignorance of
pop-critics raised on too much Morrissey and Michael Stipe. Usually,
they don't know squat about instrumental music, which you can expect.
The real problem is that they don't always listen. In our neck of
the woods, the instrumental music has been traditionally linked with
The Shadows. Later on critics have added Laika and Quentin Tarantino
to their set of concepts to describe instros. Now we are often described
with those terms: "this is the kind of cool mixture of Shadows and Laika
& The Cosmonauts that Quentin Tarantino might really DIG!" They like it
but don't get it. We are totally mad Laika fans, but those comparisons
are unsound.
Cosmik: I see Laika's music as intensely psychotic but happy. I see your
music, generally speaking, as darker and more foreboding, something like
instro noir.
Pekka: Good description. But we try hard not to be pompous or pathetic
about our sound. It's dark and serious, and yet humorous stuff. At least
the way we look at it.
Cosmik: I saw a Swedish interview in which you talked about something called
the Massa show. What exactly is that?
Pekka: Weirdest fucking thing we've ever been part of. It's a freaky quiz
show on Swedish cable TV. One of the producers of the show had bought
our 45s and he had really dug them a lot. So he contacted us and asked
us to be the house band for the spring '97 season. On the previous season
they had a popular Swedish metal band, Entombed, playing on the set.
They're like Sabbath on steroids, really fucking dark and depressing
but funny as hell, too. So they figured the way to go after that is to
get a Finnish bunch of musical wackos. We taped 17 episodes one week in
January in Stockholm. The show has Swedish pop and TV celebrities as
guests, and it's quite cheesy, but fun. We played live like a regular TV
band, but only our own kind of stuff. If somebody gave a right answer to
a question we would crank out some noise in the background. Before the
commercials we would do a little "Hava Nagilah" or "Casbah" or whatever.
"Back In The Cage" became the theme of the show. It was great fun.
Totally absurd.
Cosmik: Are you still involved in that?
Pekka: Nope. Our season in the cable tv sun is gone for the moment.
Wonder what they are doing next season? Probably hire a Russian band.
Cosmik: Has that done a lot for your popularity in Sweden?
Pekka: I don't know, really. Probably has done something. It's hard to say.
We're planning to play there more in the future because it's a great
country. Stockholm especially. The most important thing about this whole
operation was that we met a lot great people over there, made good friends
and we've been working with a bunch of folks ever since. We got our
website because of that and our EP/mini-album is a direct result of these
connections we made while filming Massa.
Cosmik: Speaking of the EP, can you give us a quick overview of the record
and tell us what we can expect?
Pekka: As we are doing this interview, the records are on their way to
Finland. I must say I'm really excited. We recorded and mixed six songs
for this record during one weekend in March. We were in better shape
as a band than during the Supersonico sessions, I think. It's the same
stuff, but more intense. Couple of pretty good tunes, our best ones yet,
I believe. And our most idiotic thing, also. It's called "We Three
Hypnomen," and it started out as a pretty decent garage-romp, but it
turned into a monster. We are going to hear a lot more "how much and what
sort of metal do have inside your heads?" It's so bad we named it as our
theme song. And Link Wray is saying a few words on the record, on a pagan
gospel tune called "Satan Took My Lung." I think you will like this a lot
if you liked the CD.
Cosmik: Have you ever seen Man Or Astro-Man live?
Pekka: Never. Closest they got to my neighborhood is Denmark. And that's
pretty far away.
Cosmik: Ever thought of doing a split EP with them? Seems like a natural.
Pekka: Why not? We are pretty far from their status, however. And we are
earthlings, too.
Cosmik: What do you like to do when you're not playing?
Pekka: The usual. We're all pretty busy doing all kinds of stuff in order to
survive. We're pretty square people off stage: we work, we don't do drugs,
we drink moderately, and I've got two kids and a Japanese car. But
seriously speaking, we listen to a lot of music, watch films--even
TV--read stuff, etcetera etcetera. Esa and I are both Radio DJs, also.
And we all play with other bands, too.
Cosmik: I may never get to Finland, so maybe you can tell me what life's
like there.
Pekka: Cold in the winter, nice in the summer, clean, safe, it can get pretty
boring. Really expensive, down to earth, not flaky at all, pretty
straight forward and traditional yet liberal and tolerant by Hollywood
standards. It's quite good. Scandinavia with a slight eastern flavour.
Cosmik: Do you have big plans for The Hypnomen, or are you just happy to
go where it goes?
Pekka: When we started out our only plan was to make music we like and to
get it released. But ever since the beginning things have worked out
better than expected. So we are going just where ever this thing takes
us. But, at least musically speaking, we are really ambitious and excited
about this band. I hope we can excite a few innocent bystanders on the way,
too.
* * *
BE SURE TO ENTER THE CONTEST! You could win a copy of Supersonico, the
brand new CD by The Hypnomen. Just drop an e-mail to moonbaby@serv.net
with your name, the e-mail address where you'd like to be notified if you
win, and some kind of indication that it's The Hypnomen CD you're trying
to win. (Because we sometimes have people entering contests we ran like...
months ago. Can you imagine?!) Good luck!
____________________________________________________________________________
DEL AMITRI: Regular Guys, Irregular Jobs
By Jeff Apter
Onstage in a muggy midtown New York nightclub, Del Amitri mainman Justin
Currie, with his close-skulled crop and leather duds, could be mistaken for
Bono. But whereas Bono maintains an ice-cool distance, Currie is a man of
the people. At one point, fielding a request from a yelling fan, he
confesses "I'm only pandering to you, 'cause I can't hear a thing you're
saying," as he, hirsute stringman Iain Harvie and their current
band-for-hire plied their trademark good-guy grins, pop smarts and animated
riffing. The Dels' set is punctuated by a brief unplugged sidetrack that
somehow ends in a "New York New York" singalong (which wasn't going to harm
their public image in the city that never sleeps).
A few days on, when I catch up with a chatty, straight-talking Currie in a
Chapel Hill hotel room, he explains his "give-'em-what-they-want" strategy.
"I'm not very big on this artistic integrity thing; when I go and see a
band I want to hear songs I know. We try and do the same. I also try to do
a geographically appropriate song at every gig. We'd done 'New York, New
York' and 'Streets of Philadelphia,' but in Boston we ran out of ideas.
Maybe we should have done the theme from Cheers."
And Currie would be right at home in the bar where everybody knows your
name, if our conversation, and Del Amitri's fifth long-player, is any
indication. "Some Other Sucker's Parade" is a typical hand-on-the-heart
affair, earnest and tuneful and pretension-free, swinging from the sweet
mid-period Beatles vibe of "Mother Nature's Writing" and "Make It Always Be
Too Late" to the cantankerous putdown of "High Times" and the southern rock
stomp of "Funny Way To Win." With Breeders' producer Mark Freegard at the
controls, the album was recorded in a blinding flash (eight weeks start to
finish) in Lincolnshire, England. "We just came off the road, wrote a bunch
of songs, went into the studio and recorded them as quickly as we could,"
Currie explains, simply. As their principal tunesmith, Currie adds a
playful, self-deprecating twist to tracks such as "Lucky Guy" and "What I
Think She Sees," as he wonders aloud why "the one girl I want / she wants
that one bit of geography I lack." He advises me, though, not to confuse
the singer with the song.
"I'm pretty happy, actually. You know, I've always warned people against
making judgments about writer's personalities from their songs," he points
out. "I've encountered people who write the most negative lyrics and
they're the sweetest people. I've been in relationships with women where
they've heard my songs before they meet me and I found that really
intimidating."
So while he might play down the autobiographical content of his songs,
relationships are a recurring theme on Sucker's Parade, as Currie ponders
life at the uncool end of the bar. And with "Not Where It's At" - where
the drollness of Squeeze meets the Byrds' classic jangle - Currie had a
master plan. "I wanted to write a song that would be like an anthem for
Del Amitri, for people who weren't cool but were pretty intelligent. Yet I
ended up writing a tongue-in-cheek love song."
Currie agrees that his frankness belies the standard perception of a pop
star. "I think it comes from being fundamentally honest, which I guess has
a lot to do with my upbringing in Scotland. In the great show business
scheme of things you're supposed to lie about yourself, but there's no
benefit in that; I refuse to."
"But you certainly wouldn't be a singer in a band if you didn't want to be
famous in some way," a typically straightforward Currie adds. "Yet I like
to see myself more as a regular guy with an irregular job."
Above and beyond ego and showbiz and public perceptions, however, Justin
Currie is a pop fan. I asked him to conduct a tour of his album collection,
stopping at the key letters. He quickly warmed to the task. "'B' is big -
Captain Beefheart, Bolan, Beatles, 'Surf's Up' - the only Beach Boys' album
I like. 'D' for Dr Feelgood and Dylan, 'P' for Public Image and a couple of
Police albums. 'R' for the Ramones."
"I also have a section for records that I have never gotten around to
taking back, or haven't heard since I was about 13. I have an album by
someone called Annette Peacock. I still have absolutely no idea who she is
or why I bought it," he added, with a mystified chuckle.
(C) Jeff Apter 1997
____________________________________________________________________________
THE TAPE HISS INTERVIEWS
By John Sekerka
[The following interviews are transcribed from John Sekerka's radio show,
Tape Hiss, which runs on CHUO FM in Ottawa, Canada. Each month, Cosmik
Debris will present a pair of Tape Hiss interviews. This month, we're
proud to present an interview with Chuck Prophet, formerly of Green On Red,
and from the Tape Hiss vaults, a 1992 interview with the tragically
under-heard instrumental band, Pell Mell.]
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
C H U C K P R O P H E T
Green On Red were one of the ground breaking pioneers of cow punk, the thing
that's all the rage nowadays with bands like Sun Volt and Wilco. A band born
a decade too early, they managed to lay down some criminally overlooked
albums. Guitarist Chuck Prophet has emerged from the ashes with a nice
collection of solo recordings, culminating in this year's earthy "Homemade
Blood". From a San Francisco studio , Chuck talked about the old days, the
new days, LSD trips, suburbia and dealing with the dictatorial producer, Steve
Berlin. We also had an argument over a classic album.
JOHN: What're you working on?
CHUCK: I'm just putzing around. I have to go to the studio and pay people to
hang out with me. My lifestyle: friends and making records are all
intertwined.
JOHN: Are you a musician seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day?
CHUCK: Yeah, but I don't take it to bed. It could change any day. I could be
down on Montgomery Street at six in the morning trying to sell flowers.
I've thought about it.
JOHN: Let's get to it: I quite like your new record, Homemade Blood.
Compared to Brother Aldo, which was a more gentle, countrified album, it
sounds like you just wanted to rock out.
CHUCK: Oh sure, sure. I was less interested in the process of making a record.
I just wanted to get five people together, keep it simple, kicking the
songs around, and trying to stick 'em to tape with as little fuss as
possible. You can hear people talking to each other on the record. The
last record I made was with Steve Berlin [Los Lobos], and it was a bit
involved. He couldn't resist the temptation to put his fingerprints on
anything and everything. He was running around with a flashlight, looking
at what he could tweak. I just got a little tired of the process, you
know? I like to ride. I like to get up and do something creative every
day, and I wanted this record to be more of a live situation. Not that
there wasn't a lot of blood on the floor after I beat up the songs.
JOHN: I hear ya. It sounds like you got a little dirty. The press likes to
pigeonhole you with a Rolling Stones sound, but what I hear is a bit of
Tom Petty and The Replacements. Do labels offend you?
CHUCK: Naw, I also bear a resemblance to Tom Petty. I blame my parents. I
don't mind. The Stones, The Replacements - they're just taking
traditional stuff that's laying around and turning it sideways. And
that's pretty much what I've always done.
JOHN: Do you know when you've nicked a riff, or does it sometimes come to
you later?
CHUCK: Ah, I just ignore it and hope it goes away. I heard Keith Richards
once held up an album for two months cuz he thought it [the nick] was
gonna come to him. I used to pole vault over those mouse turds, but now
I just walk through 'em. I don't care. By the time you beat up a song,
take it through changes, if it's still living and breathing by the time
you stick it to tape, usually it'll just go away. The initial riff or
whatever it was that sparked the place in the back of your mind that
made you think of sitting in the car with your Mom listening to Glenn
Campell. They just go. It's something in the subconscious editing process.
JOHN: How often do you write songs? Do they come to you, or do you tinker in
the studio until something evolves?
CHUCK: I collect stuff, and every once in a while I'm lucky enough to get up
in the morning and pull one out from the roots. Sometimes I gotta drag
someone along. I do a lot of co-writing. Other times, I've written out of
necessity, but those are never that good.
JOHN: Is there a difference making music in L.A. [Gun Club] and making music
in San Francisco?
CHUCK: There's music in the air in L.A., and I grew up in a time where music
was coming from every car. It was everywhere. I took that for granted. I
dunno if you get that everywhere. Living in San Francisco now - there's
an artistic thing in the air here that's left over. It's kinda cool. I
don't think they would have put up with The Grateful Dead in L.A. Some
people say music's all about geography - Jim Dickinson says the reason
that the grooves are so sticky and greasy in Memphis is because the air
just hangs heavier, all that humidity. There might be some truth to all
that stuff.
JOHN: Dickinson produced Green On Red didn't he?
CHUCK: Yeah, he's the guru of voodoo. I've seen him do so many things that
were invisible, just by being in the room. He's a real presence. We did
a live recording together in '94 which was bootlegged and is now on a
French label.
JOHN: What label is that?
CHUCK: Last Call. It's run by a fella who used to run New Rose, which was
famous for putting out records by people who were dead, half dead, on
the way up or on the way down.
JOHN: A great label. What is the official status of Green on Red anyway?
CHUCK: I dunno. We broke up every six months. We like to say that we went
on strike. We're still entertaining offers.
JOHN: So you keep in touch with Danny Stuart?
CHUCK: Yeah, I talk to him occasionally. He might leave a cryptic message
on my machine recommending some conspiracy book or another.
JOHN: Can you reveal who wrote what in Green On Red?
CHUCK: Most of the time Danny carried away the writing. I might bring in
something, a riff with words attached and we would run with it. Sometimes
I'd bring in something that was completely finished.
JOHN: So this lyrical side of you is a new thing?
CHUCK: Naw, I've always written songs. You know writing with Danny was great.
He's fearless. He'd put a lot of things in songs that normally wouldn't
be in songs. He had a song about a guy with an enormous foot who made his
living traveling in a minstrel show.
JOHN: I'm a big fan of Green On Red, especially "The Killer Inside Me"
record.
CHUCK: Well you're the only person who liked that record. We thought that it
was just miserable.
JOHN: I've read that. Why do you think it miserable?
CHUCK: Well it was miserable making it. We thought that we were so bad-ass,
so reactionary, and Danny had so much anti-establishment rhetoric. When
we tried to make a record that actually rocked, we couldn't rock to save
our lives. I don't know what it was. We were trying to make a ZZ Top
record or something. It was like the Kingston Trio trying to jam with
Robert Palmer. It just didn't work. It was really bombastic, cold and
overblown, and underneath it all were these tired, lackluster performances.
JOHN: But I love that record!
CHUCK: Maybe that's what makes it exciting, but I don't wanna listen to it.
JOHN: Really? The lead off track, "Clarksville," is a total killer.
CHUCK: Yeah? Maybe we should stop apologizing and start a rumour that it's
a masterpiece.... [pause] ...That record is a MASTERPIECE!
JOHN: Now you've got it. Were you guys fighting in the studio at the time?
CHUCK: Nobody cared enough to get that upset. We cut way too much stuff.
Half of it had a sense of humour, it was kinda playful, and the other
half was pretty bombastic. There were two records in there, and they
were fighting each other.
JOHN: You know the CD version also has the No Free Lunch EP on it, so there
are THREE records fighting it out!
CHUCK: There's also an Australian bootleg which we authorized, that has all
the outtakes. So if you're such a sucker for punishment...
JOHN: Why go from Green On Red to solo work?
CHUCK: Well, I kept writing and playing outta necessity, outta habit. Luckily
there was this bar called The Albion at the end of my street, and we could
take it over on Friday and Saturday nights. These songs just appeared, and
I thought I should get 'em outta my head and on tape. I thought I was outta
the music business. I was twenty-four years old, and I figured I got my
shot. I was naive, thinking that cassette would be publishing demos. The
tape got into the hands of some dude in England who decided it would make
a record, and that's what Brother Aldo was.
JOHN: Green On Red was always more popular with the British press. Is that
still the case?
CHUCK: I suppose. We just spent more time over there cuz we got signed to a
British label in '86 or something. They only see so far in front of their
faces, so we ended up on the cover of Melody Maker and Sounds. By the time
we were done over there, we were too tired to work back here.
JOHN: That was a great time for cow punk, back in L.A. with you, The Gun Club,
The Dream Syndicate, X .... Was that a close knit community?
CHUCK: We crossed paths, though we never shared a house or anything.
JOHN: Do you carry a guitar with you at all times?
CHUCK: Naw, not really. A friend of mine is like that though. He was doing
sixty days in county jail, so he made a guitar outta cardboard to keep
him company.
JOHN: How would he play it?
CHUCK: He just moved his hands, knowing how it would sound. I'm thinking of
making one - my neighbours would love it.
JOHN: Do you get written up and fawned over by guitar magazines?
CHUCK: Yeah, I get the obligatory piece with every record.
JOHN: How do you find that almost geeky worship? Is that a bit embarrassing?
CHUCK: It's kinda fun, cuz the rest of pop culture has become too intellectual.
It's great to talk about Russian guitar pedals for a change.
JOHN: For all the guitar geeks out there, could you outline your latest
gizmo?
CHUCK: Well, I'm really into this thing called an envelope follower. It plays
whatever you're playing an octave lower, and if you hit it harder - it's
touch sensitive - it bubbles like lava up an octave. It's really painful.
JOHN: Painful to hear or to play?
CHUCK: Painful for everybody in the room - when it explodes. It's really
cool.
JOHN: Let's get back to the new record. On the very catchy "Ooh Wee," you
mention being strung out on ritalin and colour TV at nine years old.
CHUCK: Wasn't everybody?
JOHN: Damn right. Growing up in L.A. in the early seventies must have been
pretty wild.
CHUCK: I was lucky enough to have an older sister who got into a lot of
trouble.
JOHN: Were all your experiences second hand then, or did you find trouble
yourself?
CHUCK: We don't have that kinda time.
JOHN: We don't? You must have one story you can sneak in here.
CHUCK: I was arrested and thrown in jail, peaking on two hits of LSD. But the
story itself is kinda boring unless you were there. There is a moral,
though: you gotta fix those parking brakes and things, else you get pulled
over.
JOHN: Listening to "Homemade Blood" I get a feeling that you write about
mid-America - some might call it suburban white trash - not condescendingly,
more as an observation of the lifestyle.
CHUCK: The last couple of records were influenced by my immediate surroundings.
Certain events led me back to living with my folks in the suburbs. There's
a photographer, Bill Owens, who took pictures of suburbia developments in
the seventies. I saw his pictures in a museum and I got into that. And
when I got back home everything had changed. The Dairy Queen was gone. I
found myself bumping into ghosts, and some ended up in my songs.
..tape hiss
[check out chuck's web site for access to his recordings, bootlegs and all]
P E L L M E L L
Pell Mell is a rock'n'roll oddity: a quintet that lives apart, on the outer
reaches of America, and plays guitar driven, instrumental music. They record
sporadically, but always with great results. After years doing time on the
SST label, better known as a pioneering punk outlet for Black Flag, The
Minutemen and The Meat Puppets, Pell Mell have been scooped up by Geffen.
Their last indie album, "Flow" is one of the best records released within
the last decade. It remained criminally ignored in most circles until
someone at Microsoft convinced the head honchos to use a track for one of
their fancy commercials. Soon thereafter Geffen came calling.
The following interview took place back in '92 just after the release of
"Flow," and before the band's fortunes changed. I managed to hunt down
David Spalding and Robert Beerman, who along with Greg Freeman and current
super producer and Pigeonhead member Steve Fisk, make up the quartet, for a
chaotic phoner. The two voices and thought patterns proved indistinguishable,
so their alternating and amalgamated answers are prefaced simply by "Pell
Mell."
John: Did you collectively decide at the beginning to be an instrumental
band?
Pell Mell: Back around 1980 when we formed the band in Portland, Oregon, we
auditioned singers but never found any we liked. As soon as lyrics were
put to the music it proved very distracting; like an abstract painting
being interrupted by a figure. So we thought, "well hell let's just play
the music." And we haven't looked back.
John: Your music is very lyrical. In a lot of instrumentals ya keep
waiting for the vocal to kick in, but I don't find that with Pell Mell.
Pell Mell: Thanks. That's exactly what we're all about. It's tough to make
an instrumental sound more than a backing track.
John: How do you write songs?
Pell Mell: It's different for each song. Sometimes it comes out of jams,
other times we have a pretty clear structure of what we want the song to
do. Then everyone re-interprets it and adds their own parts. We work
mostly by tape since we're all over the country it's kinda hard for us
to jam.
John: Is there some center point where you congregate, or is it all done
by correspondence?
Pell Mell: Once in a while we get together to jam and everyone already knows
the structure. It's strange when we get in a room, count out a song that
we've never played together and it's there. That eliminates a lot of down
time and personal strife.
John: Then I guess you don't have that Yoko Ono thing happening.
Pell Mell: Nope.
John: What exactly is Pell Mell - it's not a take off on cigarettes is it?
Pell Mell: Naw, it's a word. It means every which way at once, like "the guy
ran pell mell down the street." It's an adverb we randomly picked out of
the dictionary. It's the old story: we had a show coming up and we needed
a name. The cigarettes are Pall Mall, but the candy version was put out
in our honour. Mr. Topps of the Topps bubblegum company is a big fan.
John: Every time I spin your music folks think they know it but when I tell
them it's Pell Mell they say, "WHAT?"
Pell Mell: That means you have to be playing it more.
John: Gimme a brief history of the band.
Pell Mell: We started out in Portland, appeared on a Trap Sampler compilation
which Greg Sage of the Vipers put out. Then we released an EP and seemed
to reach our local limits playing Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. So we
moved to San Francisco in '84.
John: So you managed to avoid the record company crush in Seattle?
Pell Mell: Yeah. We were together for another two years and that's when we
recorded most of the material that's on the "Bumper Crop" album - they
were actually demos that we were shopping around. We came close with
several doomed record companies: Enigma, Rough Trade. We got frustrated.
San Francisco is a tough city to break in, and that's where we lost two
members and two more joined. Greg (Freeman) was in The Call and I (Dave
Spalding) was their guitar roadie. The Call had one big MTV hit.
John: Speaking of which, do you guys put out videos?
Pell Mell: In a word... no. We're pretty low maintenance - an audio
phenomena - being so far apart it's almost impossible to record let alone
think about putting together a video.
John: Maybe you could replicate the splicing techniques used in "Ebony and
Ivory" where Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney were actually on different
Continents for the shoot.
Pell Mell: Oh yeah, the part where they're on the keyboard. We could be
walkin' on a guitar neck or a map of the U.S.. Yeah, that's good.
John: The big craze in instrumental music these days seems to be more of a
kooky, surf oriented sound - you seem to be more serious in your work.
Have you ever had a pining to do some crazy surf tunes?
Pell Mell: We used to do "Baby Elephant Walk" and the MTV theme. We were
definitely influenced by surf in the early days. It was a good way to
bring people to gigs. We weren't so mysterious cuz we sounded a bit like
the Ventures. But the problem is that you can get pigeonholed, so we
drifted away from that.
John: Did you grow up listening to the Ventures and hoping... hoping...?
Pell Mell: Naw, it was always Duane Eddy with us - he had that twangy sound.
He also had a lot of slow, sad songs.
John: Have you ever thought of doing, or been approached to do, a soundtrack?
Pell Mell: We've thought about it, but we haven't been approached. We think
we'd be good at it. It's funny cuz a lot of reviews suggested a movie be
made to go along with the songs, but those are just powerless reviewers.
John: Maybe a modern day Fantasia. Is there anything new coming down the
pipes?
Pell Mell: We do have some material, but the great thing about our situation
is that we don't pin any hopes on it - we just record for fun when we have
enough material to warrant it. We're pretty particular, as I think everyone
should be. We don't have to tour, or support anything. ...gotta keep that
radical detachment.
John: Are live gigs infrequent?
Pell Mell: We used to play live all the time, and there's a possibility to do
so again, but the logistics are overwhelming cuz we're all so spread apart.
Actually we were invited to tour with the Breeders, but we couldn't manage
it.
John: So there's good response within the industry?
Pell Mell: Yeah. it's amazing. For a band that's not exactly together and
doesn't have a singer, we're doing well. We got nice little blurbs in NME
and Rolling Stone, of all places. We thought we'd get one or two mentions
in a friend's fanzine.
John: Well your last wish has just come true. I'd like to take this
interview and play it overtop of "Flow", and make it the official Pell
Mell vocal album.
Pell Mell: Great, you could put it all on one channel like a Beatles' album,
bootleg it and sell a copy to each member of the band, and maybe their
immediate families. ...hey wait a minute, I thought we were lyrical enough.
See there ya go, you're just like the rest: "when're you guys gonna get
serious, ...when're you gonna add singing, ...when're you gonna become a
real group?"
..Tape hiss
___________________________________________________________________________
PHIL OCHS, AMERICAN: A Review And Appreciation
by Shaun Dale
(PHIL OCHS: Farewells & Fantasies [Rhino])
It's been over 20 years since Phil Ochs' death in 1976 at 35. Six
posthumous releases over the following twenty years - "best of"
collections and live performances - kept the music and the legend alive.
Now we have "Farewells & Fantasies," a three disc retrospective bound
into a 97 page book. This collection is both definitive and overdue.
In part because he continued to express his well developed social
conscience both in his music and his daily life until its tragically
abrupt end, Ochs has been too often maligned as a singing tabloid. His
topical songs, which stand with the very best of the breed, are given
some due, while his more reflective personal music is generally
underrated. There are ample examples of each among the 53 tracks
gathered here and they give evidence of the seminal role Ochs played
not only in the topical folk scene, but in the development of the
field of the singer/songwriter as a force in American popular music.
Take, for instance, the previously unreleased "Morning," captured from a
WBAI-FM broadcast in 1966. This song will quickly give lie to any
notion that Ochs turned to song as personal reflection only as a play
for commercial success after the demand for his topical material had
diminished. On the other hand, the very last time I saw Phil was at a
Nixon impeachment rally in 1974. His political commitment - and his
knack for topical creativity - was evident in his anti-Nixon adaptation
of "Here's To The State of Mississippi." His appreciation for the
tradition from which he sprang was evident in the heartbreaking
rendition of "Last Night I Dreamed The Strangest Dream" that he
performed on that occasion.
The first disc of this collection, largely drawn from his first three
albums with the addition of a couple unreleased gems, is overwhelmingly
topical. "Topical" is too easy a tag for these songs, though. They
could be as specific and pointed as "Too Many Martyrs," Phil's hymn to
Medgar Evers, or as poetic and expansive as the classic "There But For
Fortune." They could be as funny as "Draft Dodger Rag" or as angry as
"Here's To The State Of Mississippi."
Disc One also contains Phil's musical adaptations of Edgar Allen Poe's
"The Bells" and Alfred Noyes' "The Highwayman." In his hands, these
poetic chestnuts take on the air of Child ballads. There was simply no
other artist who could produce such consistently strong topical content
and mix it up with skillful adaptations and personal statements with
the power of "When I'm Gone," one of my personal favorites.
The second disc offers more in a topical vein, but also begins to show
more of Phil Ochs' increasing efforts to share in song more of himself
than his politics. The topical material, featuring songs like "I Ain't
Marching Anymore" and "There Anybody Here?" is among his best,
extending, for the most part, beyond the immediacy of some of his
earlier songs and into more universal themes. Several cuts from the
1966 album "Phil Ochs In Concert" display Phil's
ironic humor,
particularly poignant alongside the serious subjects and vivid imagery
of songs like "Santo Domingo."
Phil Ochs' only musical comment on the 1968 Democratic Convention in
Chicago, where he was both a respected organizer and a featured
performer, is the haunting "William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park And
Escapes Unscathed." When you've heard this song, you'll know that Phil
didn't escape so cleanly. For him, everything that came before was
washed away in the streets of Chicago. Everything that would come after
would be shaped by the experience.
"Changes," the last cut included from the three albums Phil released on
Elektra, appears here, out of historical sequence but in perfect
symbolic sequence. Nothing about Phil Ochs' career would ever be the
same. The loss of John Kennedy had inspired him to write "Crucifixion,"
one of his finest efforts. The combined impact of the losses of Martin
Luther King and Robert Kennedy, the police riots in Chicago, the
election of Richard Nixon and the continued prosecution of the war in
Vietnam would inspire retreat from direct musical engagement. His songs
became increasingly introspective, presented on A&M in settings
increasingly complex. His personal activity would remain politically
engaged, appearing at benefits, organizing rallies, traveling the world
in search of movements in need of a troubadour. With his music, though,
he was convinced that he needed to make a more direct connection with
the working class. That would only be found by moving away from topical
folk, and playing more personal music in styles drawn from the early
country and rock artists that had inspired him as a younger man.
Disc 2 closes with two cuts from his 1969 album "Rehearsals For
Retirement." The album was noteworthy for containing his most ambitious
musical statements to date and for its cover, which featured a headstone
chronicling the death of Phil Ochs at Chicago in 1968. Along with "The
Doll House," the disc closes on the 13 minute "When In Rome," an epic
description of a failed revolution.
Disc 3 opens with "Pretty Smart On My Part," described as "Phil doing
Elvis doing Buddy Holly doing Bo Diddley doing the Everly Brothers..."
That about covers it. It's a country rock look at Phil's take on the
growing public madness in the United States. The disc continues with an
assortment of live rarities, some of the finest songs from his five A&M
albums and another unreleased treasure from 1966. There are wonderful
songs here - "Chords Of Fame," "Crucifixion," "Pleasures Of The Harbor,"
"Jim Dean Of Indiana," and "Outside Of a Small Circle Of Friends," the
last of which gave Phil his closest shot at a top 40 hit until the FCC
raised objections to his understandable notion that "...smoking
marijuana is more fun than drinking beer..." Meanwhile, Phil Ochs' life
was in increasing turmoil.
Phil would enter the studio to produce his last album of original music,
the ironically titled "Greatest Hits: 50 Phil Ochs Fans Can't Be Wrong,"
in 1970. Recorded with Van Dyke Parks in the producer's chair and an
all star band that included Clarence White, Ry Cooder, Tom Scott and
James Burton, he laid down the songs that he thought would finally break
through to the working class and bring him a measure of elusive
commercial success. While the audience of 1970 was less than
enthusiastic, today Phil's ability to write and perform authentic
Country and Western music like "Chords Of Fame" and "Gas Station Women"
is striking. One can imagine him appearing today on the Nashville
Network as an icon of a country music revival he just missed.
There's no reason to believe that when he wrote his ode to writer's
block, "No More Songs," that he knew that there would in fact be no more
Phil Ochs songs. Phil Ochs' life would be played out playing reprises of
his previous compositions and covers he admired. He would release one
more live album, "Gunfight At Carnegie Hall," but A&M restricted its
distribution to Canada. Meanwhile, he was descending into a personal
hell, seemingly revisiting the manic-depression that had afflicted his
father and bouts of paranoid schizophrenia that led to his living on the
streets of New York with an assumed persona. There were international
travels in search of new movements and a new muse. There were
infrequent appearances at venues like the Troubadour in L.A. By 1976 he
was living with his sister Sonny, occupying himself playing cards with
his nephews and sinking deeper in despair. In April of 1976, Phil Ochs,
who had been rehearsing for retirement since 1968, took his own life.
The facts of that life are chronicled in the book which houses these
discs. Phil's daughter Meegan provides an inspirational forward, along
with a biography by Mark Kemp, track by track song notes from Ben
Edmonds and copious illustrations from the Michael Ochs Archives, the
massive pop chronicle maintained by Phil's younger brother.
Altogether, this is a monumental tribute to a phenomenal man. Whatever
the source or result of Phil Ochs' decline, his accomplishments and
influence are undeniable and unmistakable. It is extraordinary to find
in one man the ability to make you laugh, cry, pound your fists in rage
and raise your voice in exaltation all in the space of a few songs.
Phil Ochs had that ability. I can think of no other who did. At the
same time, he had the courage and integrity required to shine a light
into some of the darkest corners of our society, and the determination
to set his shoulder to the wheel and push for peace and justice.
"There's no place in this world where I'll belong," he once wrote, "and
I won't know the right from the wrong, and you won't find me singing my
song when I'm gone, so I guess I'll have to sing it while I'm here."
Phil Ochs was right about many things in his life. He was wrong about
that. You'll find him singing his songs, 53 of them, on this
collection. And it belongs on your bookshelf and in your CD player.
Track List:
Disc One: What's That I Hear * The Bells * Morning * Bound For Glory *
The Highwayman * Power And The Glory * That's What I Want To Hear *
Links On The Chain * Love Me, I'm A Liberal * Too Many Martyrs * In The
Heat Of The Summer * Here's To The State Of Mississippi * I'm Going To
Say It Now * One More Parade * Draft Dodger Rag * I Ain't Marching
Anymore * We Seek No Wider War * Ringing Of Revolution * When I'm Gone *
Song Of My Returning * There But For Fortune
Disc Two: The War Is Over * I Ain't Marching Anymore (electric) * White
Boots Marching In A Yellow Land * Is There Anybody Here? * Santo Domingo
* Song Of A Soldier * Cops Of The World * Bracero * Canons of
Christianity * I Kill Therefore I Am * The Confession * William Butler
Yeats Visits Lincoln Park And Escapes Unscathed * A Toast To Those Who
Are Gone * Changes * The Doll House * When In Rome
Disc Three: Pretty Smart On My Part * The World Began In Eden And Ended
In Los Angeles * Tape From California * Chords Of Fame * Gas Station
Women * Miranda * Outside Of A Small Circle Of Friends * Cross My Heart
* Flower Lady * The Scorpion Departs But Never Returns * Pleasures Of
The Harbor * Jim Dean Of Indiana * Rehearsals For Retirement * Doesn't
Lenny Live Here Anymore * No More Songs * Crucifixion
___________________________________________________________________________
CONTEMPORARY JAZZ: The News Ain't ALL bad
By Shaun Dale
"Hey, Shaun, you're into jazz," my smiling colleague said, "you should
hear this new radio station."
Figuring that a commercial jazz station was a venture worthy of support,
I tuned in the signal he supplied. "Welcome to your Smooth Jazz
station," the nice announcer man said.
Over the airwaves came the aural equivelant of Seconal in the form of
a soprano saxophone wielded by that G person. Smooth? Yes. Jazz? No.
Such was my introduction a few years back to the world of "smooth" or
"contemporary" jazz. Of course, the idea of jazz players taking a more
pop oriented path to commercial success isn't new. Notable players -
including Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Stan Getz and many more - have
turned to pop or R&B sounds looking for a payday that their more
creative efforts never produced. In other cases, players from other
genres have played some credible jazz in an effort to show that they had
chops that extended beyond their chart successes. There are also
subsets of jazz, such as fusion, in which jazz players and players from
other musical worlds have produced music which, though genuinely jazz,
reflects the beat, instrumentation or other elements of pop, R&B, funk
and rock.
So what's the difference between those well established jumps across the
restrictions of musical genres and the new contemporary jazz trend? I
recently gathered up a dozen discs on or aimed at the contemporary jazz
charts in an effort to find an answer. I found several. And I found
some very credible music in the process.
One of the most obvious differences is the existence of the contemporary
jazz charts themselves. In times past, a George Benson might take a
shot at the pop charts looking for a boost in the royalty envelope, or a
Jeff Beck might look for a bit of newfound artistic credibility with a
fusion shot at the jazz charts. Today, a new generation of artists has
never considered either pop or mainstream jazz as a musical home. They
aim straight at the charts supported by the "smooth jazz" radio format.
Another difference is the path to the music undertaken by the players.
Rather than grinding out a career on the road, one smokey club after
another, building a rep that will pre-sell the relative handful of discs
that spells success in the traditional jazz market, the new smoothies
are likely to come from the studio, honing first call chops behind acts
of every stripe, or from the academy. Among the players on the stack of
contemporary jazz discs I waded through to research this piece you'll
find degrees from the University of Miami (Hiram Bullock), the San
Francisco Conservatory (George Duke), the Berklee College of Music (Eric
Marienthal, Walter Beasly), San Francisco State (Duke's MFA in
Composition), and Rutgers (Pete Belasco). Sounds more like a faculty
tea at the Alumni Club than a jam session at Birdland.
There are, of course, some representatives of the old school of
crossover on the scene. George Duke, Joe Sample and Earl Klugh, for
example, have undeniable and long established jazz chops. Of the dozen
discs at hand, five found a home on my jazz shelves, and this trio
produced three of them. (Others were filed with R&B or as instrumental
pop.)
So what is this music? Who's making it and what exactly are they
making?
Since the genre has been defined for so many ears by the sounds of the
best-selling output of Kenny G, I started out with four releases from
saxophonists. The soprano sax is a fully legitimate element of jazz
instrumentation - Trane established that once and for all years back -
and alto and tenor have been among the dominant leads in jazz for over
half a century. The sound of the saxophone has been bent and bled,
stretched and swung, in the effort to take jazz to ever higher horizons.
So what has happened to it in the hands of Walter Beasley, Paul Taylor,
Boney James and Eric Marienthal?
Walter Beasley's Shanachie release "Tonight We Love", is simply not a
jazz album. Beasley, and instructor at Berklee, may be able to play
jazz. Here he clearly chooses not to. What he has chosen to do is to
produce an album of well played instrumental pop music, highlighted by
covers of well known R&B standards. Some of those covers are
unfortunate, since they will inevitably be compared to the infinitely
more soulful originals. Note to Prof. Beasley - there is absolutely no
point in putting on Al Green's mantle by covering "Let's Stay Together"
if you're going to bleach all the sweat out of it first. Still, this is
a first class makeout album. A glowing fireplace, a bottle of wine and
the presence of the object of your affections may be the neccessary
elements for a genuine appreciation of this disc.
Paul Taylor's "Pleasure Seeker" (Countdown Records) takes a half step
closer to funkiness than Beasley's effort, and to his credit Taylor had
a hand in composing each of the tracks here. He doubles on soprano and
alto horns, backed by electric keys and programmed drums. And there, I
think, lies part of the problem. Drum programmers in the hip hop and
electronica worlds seem to have mastered the art of getting a reasonable
resemblence to funk out of their machinery. Drum programmers in the
contemporary jazz world haven't. Without funk, jazz music has got to
swing, and programmed drums don't swing. Not to my ears. Again, the
music is well played mid tempo pop. And I still haven't heard any jazz.
"Sweet Thing," Boney James' latest Warner chart topper, is dominated by
James' tenor, with a couple tracks featuring the ubiquitous soprano sax.
With a vocal assist from Al Jarreau on "I Still Dream," the music is
sweet, indeed. Sweetly played, sweetly sung and sweetly mid-tempo
throughout. But, as trombonist Steve Turre recently said when
describing the contemporary jazz scene, "...it don't swing, and it ain't
funky." And it ain't jazz, either. (Which I might have guessed when I
saw the credit line for "additional programming...")
So, three pitches, three balls. I don't want to go overboard here.
There's not a sour note on any of these three discs, and there is some
genuinely creative arranging and skillful playing on every one of them.
What there isn't is any music that fits into any legitimate description
of jazz. Growing up immersed in my father's taste for bop and West
Coast cool sounds and taking my own path through hard bop and fusion, I
have a fairly wide definition of jazz. Any genre that can contain Louis
Armstrong and Ornette Coleman is a big musical tent. There are certain
elements that should be present, though. Some jazz, especially on the
avant garde scene, doesn't swing, and sometimes the blues roots of the
music are buried deep enough to be considered absent. But without one
or both of those elements, jazz must be, in my view, music grounded in
improvisational performance. Which is why Eric Marienthal's "Easy
Street" (ie records) is the first one in the stack to move off the
instrumental pop stack and onto my jazz shelf.
Marienthal certainly reflects an affection for R&B on the disc, and even
shows touches of hip hop on tracks like "New Jack Saturday," but this
moves past the R&B and pop categories by virtue of the improvisational
feel that Marienthal imparts, with an able assist from producer Lee
Ritenour. Ritenour, who was playing "contemporary jazz" when there was
no "contemporary jazz," is a producer and player who understands where
the jazz half of the equation comes from, and gives the talent of Eric
Marienthal room to express itself.
Ritenour shows up again as the driving force behind "A Twist Of Jobim,"
a multi-artist tribute to the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim. The bossa
nova has been a vital element of the jazz repetiore since Charlie Byrd
and Stan Getz popularized it with the American jazz audience a quarter
of a century ago, and it's a perfect sound for the smooth jazz audience.
With players like Marienthal, Ritenour, Dave Grusin, Herbie Hancock and
the Yellowjackets on hand, the jazz manages to dominate the smooth,
which just comes with the compositional territory. With singers like
Oleta Adams, El DeBarge and Al Jarreau aboard, count on accessibility
that makes this one a genuine crossover hit. But put it on the jazz
shelf.
Ritenour is joined on the list by a pair of other guitarists, Earl Klugh
and Hiram Bullock. Klugh, whose credits include time with Yusef Lateef,
George Benson and Return To Forever, delivers up enough instrumental
mastery on "The Journey" (Warner Bros.) to merit space on anyone's jazz
shelf. He certainly made it to mine. Displaying the improvisational
dexterity that has made him the premier acoustic guitarist on today's
jazz circuit, I only wish that he might have varied the tempo along
with the wide range of rhythms he employs on these cuts.
Hiram Bullock calls "Carrasco" (Fantasy) his "Spanish" album, referring
to the range of Latin rhythms he uses on this, his eight solo effort
since 1983. Best known for his TV studio work (he's been a member of
Letterman's Late Night Band, the Saturday Night Live house band and
served as musical director of David Sanborn's Night Music unit), Bullock
can play most anything. Here he plays Latin tinged R&B, mostly. At
least, the disc earned a spot on my R&B shelf. It will doubtless earn a
spot on the contemporary jazz charts, and may well cross over to the R&B
and pop charts. It deserves to.
Keyboardist/composer/producer George Duke has racked up a long list of
accomplishments since his early fusion trio featuring Jean-Luc Ponty.
Along the way he served two terms with Frank Zappa and played with
Cannonball Adderly, Billy Cobham and Stanley Clarke, as well as
producing everyone from Miles Davis to Deniece Williams. "Is Love
Enough" (Warner Bros.) is Duke's 30th solo album and delivers everything
from authentic funk ("Kinda Low") to classic fusion ("Back In The Day").
He earns a slot on the jazz shelf in the process.
Another keyboardist with extensive credits, primarily as an A-list
session player, is Philippe Saisse, who contributes "NeXT Voyage" (Verve
Forecast) to the mix. Saisse has an impressive command of the studio
and a range of instruments from acoustic piano thru a range of
electronic keyboards and percussion. The sound drifts in the direction
of New Age sounds, despite the earnest efforts of DJ B-Wiz to funk
things up. Give the DJ an A for effort. Give the disc a spot on the
instrumental pop shelf.
Joe Sample, for years the driving force behind the Crusaders,
co-produced "Sample This" with George Duke. He uses the space to update
a collection of songs he originally recorded with the Crusaders and as a
solo artist. The material, drawn from 1970 to 1982, is variously bluesy
and funky. Sample's performances show the improvisational range that
kept the Crusaders on top of the commercial jazz scene long after they
stopped calling themselves the Jazz Crusaders and took their own shot at
chart success by incorporating elements of R&B. There's an undeniable
R&B sensibility at play on some of these cuts, as well, but this one
makes it to the jazz shelf just the same.
Pete Belasco displays considerable talent on keyboards, sax and flute on
his debut release, "Get It Together" (Verve Forecast). Described by the
label as "jazz tinged pop," I hear it as a pop tinged soul album.
Belasco's solid playing and impressive vocal range - he can deliver a
Mose Allison flavored blues vocal next to a Marvin Gaye styled upper
register soul moan - put him solidly on the R&B shelf. Well, maybe not
so solidly. This one will be off the shelf and into the player quite a
bit.
"What I originally set out to do," says trumpeter Chris Botti "...was to
make an instrumental pop record." Which is exactly what he did do.
Botti, whose best known gig was with Paul Simon - a great place to learn
about pop music - credits Brit poppers like Peter Gabriel and Roxy Music
as the influences for his sound on "Midnight Without You" (Verve
Forecast). The influences are undeniable and the category, instrumental
pop, is exactly where this one belongs. The Contemporary Jazz chart is
where it's ended up, though.
Which brings up the question, what difference does it make. Of these
dozen discs, all aimed toward the "contemporary jazz" market, five
should pass muster by any definition of jazz, save that of the hardcore
purist. Two more are solid R&B offerings. The other five are pop
music, pure and simple. Fine pop music, for the most part, but pop
music just the same. So what does it mean when they show up on charts
and radio stations that lay claim to the name of jazz?
As critic Francis Davis pointed out in an Atlantic Monthly piece last
year, "People who have nver really listened to jazz want it to go on
sounding the way they've been led to believe it should..." If you've
been led to believe that what Boney James or Chris Botti is doing is
jazz, you may never know what jazz actually is. Whatever the merits of
their music may be, it has the potential to rob the listener of the
opportunity to gain a genuine appreciation for the form.
The other downside of marketing pop as jazz is the impact it has on jazz
artists themselves. As Steve Turre points out, marketing instrumental
pop players as jazz players means yeilding prized slots on jazz festival
and jazz club stages to players who aren't doing jazz at all. There are
few enough venues for jazz artists. It is a loss to artist and listener
alike when someone like, say, Paul Taylor, snags a spot on a bill that
could have exposed an audience to Turre's Sanctified Shell band, and
given the jazz band a well deserved and far too scarce payday.
The Contemporary Jazz charts can't be overlooked. There's some fine
jazz music to be found there. We'll all be better off, though, when the
programmers start to label the pop and R&B they're marketing as jazz
correctly. The music will stand on its merits and find its market
without diluting the jazz scene and crippling the careers of the men and
women who commit to performing America's most original art form.
____________________________________________________________________________
NUSRAT FATEH ALI KAHN: 1947-1997
By Rusty Pipes
The Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan passed away last month. He was
perhaps the world's foremost qawwal. Starting at a very young age he learned
the art of qawwali, a demanding Sufi form of spiritual singing with lyrics
in Urdu. His talent lay in the fact that his pitch was always dead on, even
in this extended improvisational style. His concerts could last three to
five hours and he often took a half hour of singing before he really got
inspired. Westerners got to know Khan only after he had already recorded
some 100 albums, and had sold millions of copies. Usually his own work was
quite simple, with him singing and improvising on the lyrics of a Sufi poem
with tabla, harmonium and other traditional instruments as accompaniment.
The first Western recording Khan appeared on was the track "Passion," the
title cut for Peter Gabriel's 1989 soundtrack to Martin Scorcese's The Last
Temptation of Christ. After that he recorded many collaborations with Michael
Brook for Gabriel's Real World label, including last year's "Nightsong."
Michael Brooks found ways of putting Khan's work into a shorter non-traditional
context and once said that they ran out of tape so often that they would have
Nusrat sing over a tape loop to capture a long improvisation. These works
had the label "ethno-ambient" invented for them because they were so unique,
a hybrid of modern Western approaches and instruments, but driven by the
ancient devotional qawwali singing. The sound alone impressed deeply, evoking
images of the mullahs calling the faithful to prayer. Massive Attack once
sampled one of these pieces, "Mus Mus," for a dance mix. Khan said in an
interview that he didn't like the sampling because the original meaning of
the poetry was lost.
Khan's singing received more attention two years ago when Dave Robbins chose
Nusrat for parts of the Dead Man Walking soundtrack, making the unlikely
pairing with Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam on lyrics but also bringing him
together with Ry Cooder and others. The sublime music that ensued was the
emotional centerpiece in the film's final scene. The height of his exposure
came last year to viewers of the VH1 Honors Concert where he was joined by
Gabriel, Michael Stipe and many others.
Though Khan modified traditional styles quite a lot to participate in these
collaborations, his deep spirituality always shone through. One of his lyrics
from Dead Man Walking translates to "if we have come to this world, you should
love each other, without love it is nothing." He will be missed, but his work
will always be with us, calling us to our better selves.
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ARIA: Favorite Opera Arias. Eugenia Zukerman, Flute; Allan Vogel, Oboe;
Dennis Helmich, Piano. [DDD] 73:17 (DELOS DE 3209)
Reviewed by Robert Cummings
Unlike most reviews, this one ends up as a rather cut and dried affair. The
performances are excellent, beyond reasonable reproach; the sound provided
by Delos is vivid and sumptuous; and the copious notes are informative. The
only question of concern for the potential buyer is whether the concept of
the album will appeal. That is, do you like the idea of favorite opera arias
played on flute? We've had opera without words, opera transcribed and
elaborated on for piano (by Liszt and others), and we've even had opera
incorporated into the score of many, sometimes lesser films. Why not, some
might ask, have it on flute, then? And what better element of opera to
capture than the aria? Actually, not all material on this disc is derived
from arias, a good many being duets, with the oboe filling the role of the
second voice here. The piano, of course, assumes the orchestral part
throughout.
The opening selection, in fact, is a duet, Dome epais, le jasmin, from
Delibes' Lakme. The players convey its buoyant tranquillity with such an
earnest lightness, you're apt to think the transcription as valid an
enactment as the original operatic dressing itself. On Track 3 Zukerman and
company gently and hypnotically serve up Belle Nuit, o nuit d'amour from
Offenbach's Tales of Hoffman. The mood of this simple music is caught about
as well as you could expect in any osmotic incarnation. O mio babbino caro
from Gianni Schicchi is also well played, but then I'm a sucker for this
Puccini aria. To those not familiar with opera, you'll recognize the tune
from the Tott's Champagne TV commercial that ran regularly a few years back.
The following selection, Quando m'en vo' soletta from Puccini's La Boheme,
is one I well remember from my childhood in the 1950's when my sister sang
it at home many times. I never got sick of it. Here, it is rendered sweetly
and lovingly, almost, ALMOST making you forget its extremely popular
operatic origins.
The disc is chock full of delights, with three selections from Mozart's Die
Zauberflote and many from Puccini. Verdi is conspicuously absent, though.
I'll surmise that Zukerman either is not a fan of the great Italian composer
or feels his music adapts less well to her instrument. Whatever the case,
the disc still contains enough gems to attract those interested in this kind
of recital. Strongly recommended.
FRED ASTAIRE: Fred Astaire At M-G-M (Rhino)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
This could be a tribute to an all-star set of popular music composers -
Cole Porter, Harry Warren, George Gershwin and Irving Berlin are among
those on hand.
Or it could be devoted to any of the co-stars that appear - a cast
including Joan Crawford, George Murphy, Judy Garland, Ginger Rogers,
Oscar Levant and Red Skelton.
The songs themselves could be the feature - "Steppin' Out With My Baby,"
"Easter Parade," "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Loved You,"
"All Of You" "A Couple Of Swells" and "That's Entertainment" are among
the 39 tracks on this two CD set.
But as notable as all those components might be, the spotlight shines on
Fred Astaire, and he reflect the beam back to the lucky listener like a
perfectly cut diamond shining in the Sun.
While Astaire may not have been the most skillful performer on the M-G-M
roster - a strong case could be made that Gene Kelley was a superior
dancer, for instance, and Astaire's singing voice could be as reed thin
as his lithe dancer's body - he was without doubt the most stylish. And
an Astaire performance was all about style. His top hat, tails and
walking stick became instantly recognizable icons of movie musicals,
promising the viewer transport to a different and better world for a
couple of hours, and delivering on the promise every time.
He delivers here as well. Whether it's solo voice, a perfectly timed
duet or the percussive roll of his tap shoes over the orchestra, every
track carries an element of sophisticated joy that no other performer
could surpass. The collaboration between Rhino and Turner Classic
Movies has produced several outstanding packages so far. This one is of
the first rank. Peppered with outtakes and extended versions, along with
a full selection of Astaire classics, this one is essential for movie
musical buffs and popular music fans in general.
Track List:
Disc One: Heigh-ho, The Gang's All Here * Please Don't Monkey With
Broadway * I've Got My Eyes On You * Here's To The Girls * This Heart Of
Mine * If Swing Goes, I Go Too * Yolanda * Steppin' Out With My Baby *
It Only Happens When I Dance With You * A Couple Of Swells * Easter
Parade * You'd Be Hard To Replace * Shoes With Wings On * A Weekend In
The Country * They Can't Take That Away From Me * Manhattan Downbeat *
Where Did You Get That Girl? * So Long, Oo-Long, How Long You Gonna Be
Gone? * Nevertheless I'm In Love With You * Medley:My Sunny Tennessee/
Who's Sorry Now/So Long, Oo-Long/Thinking Of You/Three Little Words *
Disc Two: Every Night At Seven * How Could You Believe Me When I Said I
Loved You When You Know I've Been A Liar All My Life * You're All The
World To Me * I Left My Hat In Haiti * Bachelor Dinner Song * Oops! *
Seeing's Believing * Baby Doll * I Wanna Be A Dancin' Man * By Myself *
A Shine On Your Shoes * That's Entertainment * Got A Brand New Suit *
Triplets * I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan * Paris Loves Lovers *
All Of You * Fated To Be Mated * The Ritz Roll And Rock
BARTOK: Bluebeard's Castle, Op. 11. Anne Sophie von Otter (Judith); John
Tomlinson (Duke Bluebeard); Sandor Eles (Narrator); Berlin Philharmonic
Orchestra conducted by Bernard Haitink. Recorded live, February 1996, Berlin.
(EMI CLASSICS 7243 5 56162 27 [DDD] 62:56)
Reviewed by Robert Cummings
This is a rather lush take on Bartok's bloodcurdling opera that offers
excellent singing and fine orchestral contributions. Anne Sophie von Otter
may not possess the most ideal voice for this role (there should be a bit
more sweetness and color here), but she certainly sings with splendid
dramatic skills and with her usual vocal beauty, in the end winning you over
convincingly. She is without doubt one of the most talented operatic and
Lieder singers of the day, and I must confess to being one of the Swedish
mezzo's many fans. John Tomlinson is an effective Bluebeard, even if he is
a tad on the mellow side. Perhaps he is influenced by the less lurid approach
taken here by Haitink, who seems to aim as much toward a humanitarian Bartok
as toward that fellow with origins in Transylvania.
Overall, EMI's new entry in this fairly crowded field succeeds mainly
because of its consistency of approach and brilliant execution. The big
moments, the Fifth (track 6) and Seventh Doors (track 8), come across
powerfully and with great dramatic effect, even if you yearn for a bit more
rawness and brutality in the orchestral playing. Haitink is quite adroit in
his phrasing and shaping of the score, catching the work's mystery and sense
of doom, its twisted beauty and ineluctable tragedy. He grips you, takes you
on a grim tour of that diabolical castle, then lets you go, exhilarated,
perversely satisfied from your unsettling encounter with madness and menace.
But you also get the human side from his reading, the elements of emotion
and (demented) love.
As suggested above, there have been many Bluebeards over the years. But this
one can surely challenge almost any. EMI offers vivid sound, good notes, and
includes the full libretto in Hungarian and English. For fans of von Otter
this one is a must; for Bartok fanciers, it's definitely worth a try.
THE BEACH BOYS: Endless Summer/Spirit Of America (DCC Compact Classics)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
If you know anyone who loves to trash-talk the concept of 24k gold compact
discs, grab 'em, tie 'em up, slap some decent headphones on 'em and do a
little A/B comparison between these discs and their Capitol counterparts.
If that person still insists there is no difference, cut 'em loose. There's
nothing more you can do once they're reduced to lying. An A/B comparison
of almost any track will result in a clear win for the DCC release, as the
presence, punch, clarity and tonal coloring are obviously superior.
For a real thrill, do a comparison of "Don't Worry Baby," one of the greatest
pop songs ever written and one of the finest production jobs, as well. To hear
the clarity of the soul-melting harmony vocals on the gold disc is absolute
heaven. Listen to the hand claps in the final minute of "Catch A Wave." On
the Capitol disc, they sound like snaps. Firecrackers at a hundred paces.
On the DCC disc, they sound like handclaps, a combination of snap AND thud.
The same can be said of the tambourine in any number of songs. By God,
somebody's actually HITTIN' them thangs!
When Endless Summer was released in 1974, The Beach Boys had faded from
public consciousness. This greatest hits album sparked a revival that
continues, to some degree, to this day. In 1975, Capitol released Spirit
Of America, and again the public ate it up. Though these tunes were
generally not as well known as the songs on Endless Summer, most were
high quality Wilson-craft. "Drive In," "Do You Remember," "Dance Dance
Dance," "409," "When I Grow Up To Be A Man," and "Little Honda" are nearly
as indispensable as the tracks on Endless Summer, and Bobby Troup's farewell
to James Dean, "A Young Man Is Gone," is an a cappella masterpiece. In
A/B tests, Spirit Of America (gold) kicks the crap out of its aluminum
counterpart.
The DCC crew has done its usual stellar job with both of these packages,
leaving mono mixes mono, cleaning up murky sections and providing enhanced
liner notes on high quality paper. A-plus all around. (DCC Compact Classics:
1-800-301-MUSIC)
Track Lists:
(Endless Summer): Surfin' USA * Surfer Girl * Catch A Wave * The Warmth
Of The Sun * Surfin' Safari * Be True To Your School * Little Deuce Coupe *
In My Room * Shut Down * Fun Fun Fun * I Get Around * Girls On The Beach *
Wendy * Let Him Run Wild * Don't Worry Baby * California Girls * Girl Don't
Tell Me * Help Me, Rhonda * You're So Good To Me * All Summer Long * Good
Vibrations
(Spirit Of America): Dance, Dance, Dance * Break Away * A Young Man Is
Gone * 409 * The Little Girl I Once Knew * Spirit Of America * Little
Honda * Hushabye * Hawaii * Drive-In * Good To My Baby * Tell Me Why *
Do You Remember? * This Car Of Mine * Please Let Me Wonder * Why Do Fools
Fall In Love * Custom Machine * Barbara Ann * Salt Lake City * Don't Back
Down * When I Grow Up (To Be A Man) * Do You Wanna Dance? * Graduation
Day * Darlin' * I Can Hear Music
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 9. Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia and
Chorus conducted by Bela Drahos. Hasmik Papian, Soprano;
Ruxandra Donose, Mezzo-Soprano; Manfred Fink, Tenor; Claudio
Otelli, Bass-Baritone. NAXOS 8.553478 [DDD] 64:55
Reviewed by Robert Cummings
This is the capstone to Drahos's Beethoven Symphony cycle and, like his Fourth
and Seventh Symphonies which I reviewed a few months back, it is an impressive
effort all the way around. The Abaddo/Berlin Philharmonic on Sony was another
recent Beethoven Ninth that I found generally successful, though not among the
very best in a crowded field. This one from Naxos is at least as good as
Abaddo's and may even challenge my previous favorites, the first Bernstein/DG
and Harnoncourt/Teldec.
The first movement is delivered with muscle and great energy. Try the big
statement of the main theme in the development section, beginning at 7:54
(track one), where the Esterhazy ensemble renders the drama with a balance of
power and sensitivity, of grandeur and urgency. By comparison Harnoncourt and
Abaddo sound less febrile, almost suave, though still convincing in their own
ways. Drahos may well deliver the most compelling first movement in any recent
recording. Only Bernstein (from 1980), who is also powerful and dramatic here,
may be marginally preferable.
The second movement catches fire in much the same way, with Drahos deftly
capturing the humor and rich contrapuntal detail. Some, however, might desire
a greater lightness and flexibility in this scherzo, assessing it as a bit
heavy-handed. It is true that his orchestra comes on like gangbusters, with
potent fortes and crushing, but perhaps slightly stiff rhythms. In the end,
though, the playing is undeniably exciting, and you're left breathless
and exhilarated, waiting for the respite that follows in the Adagio.
Drahos serves up a brisk Adagio that neither slights the lyricism nor
shortchanges the mesmeric serenity. Still, some might prefer a backing off
from the throttle a bit to allow the music to breathe and to sing. Personally,
I think his tempos and phrasing work well. It is a recent trend to pace this
movement (and the whole symphony, for that matter) more briskly than conductors
from generations past. Compare, for example, these timings for both the
Adagio and the entire work:
Bernstein (DG)--17:49 71:04
Jochum (EMI)--16:29 67:45
Szell (Sony)--15:18 65:58
Abaddo (Sony)-- 14:01 66:00
Harnoncourt (Teldec)--13:34 66:44
Drahos (Naxos) --13:05 64:55
But these figures aren't the full story: the three deceased conductors,
Bernstein, Jochum, and Szell eliminated a repeat in the scherzo, thereby
shedding another two minutes or so from their totals. I could have swelled
this chart to include many others, but the trend would pretty much hold true:
fleetness and completeness are the order of the day in Beethoven.
But Drahos is not just fleet, he imparts weight and muscle, qualities most
evident in his reading of the finale. If his rhythms were a tad inflexible
in the scherzo, he redeems himself by inducing the chorus to sing with an
infectious, almost wild bounce where appropriate (try the passage beginning
at 12:54); and otherwise he derives such committed singing from all parties,
including the no-name quartet, you're apt to dismiss any criticism Verdi
and others made of the vocal writing as hollow carping. In the end, Drahos is
completely convincing, from movement to movement, note to note.
I may still favor the Bernstein marginally, but the more I hear Harnoncourt,
the more I'm likely to rank Drahos above him. I don't reach for Toscanini's
Ninth, dated mono sound not being my cup of tea, even if the performance
(from March/April 1952) is worth it. In sum, I would say Drahos can rival
almost anyone, and with absolutely splendid sound and fine orchestral and
vocal support, his is easily the best among the budget entries. You can't go
wrong with this purchase.
BIG BLUE HEARTS: Self titled (Geffen)
Reviewed by Jeff Apter
OK, so Chris Isaak could definitely talk to his legal people about this San
Fransiscan quartet (quoting their name, their stylings, and their
romantic/tragic disposition), but they still have class to spare. Led by
the devastating vocal swoon of David Fisher and the crying six-string of
Jamie Scott, Big Blue Hearts ponder the whys and wherefores of heartache:
from the perky pop of 'Story Of My Life' through to the out-and-out
sinister 'Dreaming Of A Woman' and the late-night desperation of 'Live
Without Your Love' (all frontrunners if David Lynch ever decides to make a
'Wild At Heart II'). Spare and tuneful, 'Big Blue Hearts' also brings to
mind the grandeur of Roy Orbison and the sweet harmonies of the Everly
Bros. So they mightn't win awards for originality, but their twangy, sultry
pop is stylish and heartfelt - and it's bound to make young female knees
tremble.
BLUE MOUNTAIN: Homegrown (Roadrunner)
Reviewed by Jeff Apter
There's no question that Blue Mountain are rootsy purists, right down to
the dirt clinging to their boots and their outlaw tales, but that doesn't
mean they're averse to the joys of cool, clear pop. If you didn't listen
too closely to the bittersweet strum of 'It Ain't Easy To Love A Liar' -
frustratingly close to the mark in matters of the heart - you'd swear the
song climbed straight off the charts. But Blue Mountain are way too earthy
and earnest to find a home on MTV: it's jeans, plaid shirts and gritty
Americana all the way for this Mississippi trio. The driving,
electric-jug-band surge of 'Bloody 98' or 'Black Dog' (listen up for some
barking cameos) typifies their ragged, organic style, as mandolin, banjo
and percussion shuffle along at a fair clip. And Cary Hudson's Dylanesque
howl really hits home on the quietly desperate 'Pretty Please,' a
late-night meditation with a 'Wild Horses' twang. Although this backporch
trio rely more on aggression than amplification to get their point across,
the wild-rocking 'Generic America' is an exception; this pissed-off
call-to-arms puts the boot into a land where 'shopping malls and prison
walls all look the same to me.'
THE BLUE RAGS:Rag-N-Roll (Sub Pop)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
Whoo hoo! The Blue Rags dig deep into the jug band repertoire to produce
this recorded party on plastic. You won't find any jugs or kazoos in
the mix, though. They stick to a straight lineup of piano, bass, drums
and duo guitars for this set of swing, standards and, yes, blues and
rags.
Honky tonk piano, that is, and hot-licks guitars. "Be My Salty Dog"
opens at a breakneck pace and the energy level is consistently high
throughout. Nine of the 13 cuts weigh in under three minutes, but these
boys pack a ton of music into the time allotted.
This express run through the American pop landscape ends up with George
Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm," and by the time they get there, you'll know
that for these guys the title is no boast - it's just a natural fact.
Track List: Be My Salty Dog * First Time (One More Time Tonight) *
Three Night's Experience * Bourgeois Blues * Sister Kate * Circus Song *
Billy Goodbye * Dr. Jazz * Bootlegger Blues * Freight Train * When I
Fall * Not Gonna Be Around Here * I Got Rhythm
THE BOMB BASSETS: Take A Trip With... (Lookout)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
There's no way to avoid having as much fun listening as they obviously had
playing this stuff. A few years of working as a unit has shaped these former
Sweet Baby and Mr. T Experience members into a great rock and roll band
equally adept at three-chord power soakers ("Take A Trip") and well structured
power pop ("Just Another Magic Moment," "All I Say Is 'Duh'"). The Bomb Bassets
have made one hell of an album here. The originals are hot and memorable, and
they even managed to strip Bruce Springsteen's "Girl Of My Dreams" down to a
gut level rocker without losing the brilliant vocal harmony arrangement.
(Yeah yeah, I know it was a "Bram Tchaikovsky song," but let's be honest.
Even when The Bomb Bassets give the song the ride of its life, the hook is
pure E-Street.) The cherry, however, is their cover of Swamp Dogg's funky
1970 classic, "Total Destruction To Your Mind," which The Bomb Bassets have
now made their very own. This one's well worth whatever they're charging.
PETER BROGGS: Rejoice (RAS)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
Peter Broggs inaugurated the RAS label sixteen years ago with his album
Rastafari Liveth. This new release reprises the title cut from that
album and surrounds it with a blend of old Broggs favorites and new
tracks that are destined to become classics in their own right. Add a
trio of Bob Marley's most Jah conscious compositions ("Cornerstone," "Jah
Almighty" and "Thank You Jah") and you have a fine collection of Jah
praise and vital riddims.
Backed by the Roots Radics band, with Dwight Pinkney (guitars) and
Flabba Holt (bass & percussion) leading the way in a unit which is a
solid peer of any reggae section you care to name, the songs roll by in
a traditional mode. There's no instrumental or studio theatrics here to
distract from Broggs' message of Jah love and world peace.
Peter Broggs has come a long way from his roots in west Jamaican
rasta poverty. His success in recording has made him a world renowned
artist with a more comfortable life in the States. That success,
though, owes much to the fact that he has never failed to remember where
he started from or the bredren and sistren he came up with. He's also
never failed to credit that success to Jah. "A true rastaman," he sings
"is a righteous man." Peter Broggs is a true rastaman. And this is a
righteous disc.
Track List: Jah Voice Is Calling * Rejoice * Africa Is Waiting * Jah
Almighty * Rastafari Liveth * World Peace Treaty * Jah Run Things *
True Rastaman * Thank You Jah * Praise Jah * Survival * Cornerstone *
International Farmer
DANIEL CARTIER: Avenue A (Rocket/Polygram)
Reviewed by Jeff Apter
With Jeff Buckley having taken an unfortunate and way-too-early curtain
call, the world is in need of a singer-songwriter with a big heart and an
epic flair. Enter Daniel Cartier, direct from the New York subway (his
debut was actually recorded in the Canal Street station). Cartier's second
long-player is top-heavy with mini melodramas, given flight by his emphatic
tenor and tempered by a slightly tainted romanticism. Recruiting producer
Fred Maher - venerable New Yorker and Matthew Sweet sidekick - sends a
clear signal as to what you should expect here: thoughtful, high-octane
pop/rock, melody-heavy, wank-lite. Drawing on his own lost days (months,
years) of substance overkill, Exeter native Cartier displays an astute eye
for human frailties: "Stumbling Home," especially, takes an insider's look
at the young and the wasted. Elsewhere, on a title track so autobiographical
it reads like a page from his diary, Cartier recalls how 'all day long down
in the subway / I was trying to get a message through.' Despite Avenue A's
few bum notes - Cartier's vocal aerobics are an acquired taste, an industrial
tinge cools some tracks - he manages to deliver his sanguine message loud
and clear.
CHOPIN: Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 35; Impromptus
1-3; Fantasie-Impromptu No. 4 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 66;
Berceuse in D-Flat; Op. 57; Barcarolle in F-Sharp, Op. 60;
Nocturne in B, Op. 9, No. 3; Scherzo No. 3 in C-Sharp Minor, Op.
39. Wilhelm Kempff, Piano. LONDON "The Classic Sound" 452
307-2 [ADD] 68:01
Reviewed by Robert Cummings
The name of Wilhelm Kempff is not usually included in the company of the
great Chopin pianists of the past and present. Artists such as Rubinstein,
Argerich, Moravec, Ohlsson, Cliburn and others are far more likely to be
mentioned as eminent interpreters of the great Polish composer's challenging
music. Kempff, who died in 1991 in his ninety-sixth year, was usually
associated with the composers of his own Germanic background. When he tackled
Chopin he often generated a stir. This release is a reissue of performances
from 1958 that will surely bolster his controversial reputation in this
repertory, a reputation of an outsider, an individualist who chose to go his
own way and eschew traditional approaches.
His way with Chopin is often understated and fairly lean, though in the
Sonata there are sufficient fireworks. Still, even here Kempff is relatively
restrained and couldn't be further from the more sumptuous and high-calorie
styles of interpretation. And he is certainly no perfectionist: mistakes
abound, and you're apt to wonder that another pianist might have done retakes;
but this was the 1950's when many older generation artists were still
accustomed to the one-take recording process, though surely Kempff here, in
the early stereo era, could have made a second or third cut. No doubt, when
he was satisfied he had communicated the spirit, if not exactly the letter,
of the score, he moved on to the next piece.
His funeral march is certainly a highlight in the sonata: grim and chilling
in the main theme and consoling yet appropriately icy in the alternate
material, he captures the mood and emotions as well as almost any pianist I've
heard. In the other pieces here Kempff is always interesting, always
provocative. If his Barcarolle sounds a bit insensitive, it is not without
a thought-provoking yield in its supplanting of elegance with playfulness,
of rich-toned intimacy with curt classicism; and if his Fantasie-Impromptu
strikes some as an indifferent run-through, his Berceuse, that follows, is
quite effective and enlightening.
A worthy reissue, then. But don't expect the expected from Kempff. Good
notes, and the sound is a bit hissy and shrill, though eminently listenable.
ORNETTE COLEMAN + JOACHIM KUHN: Colors (Harmolodic/Verve)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
Two of the principal players from two generations of free jazz, it seems
inevitable that Ornette Coleman and Joachim Kuhn would eventually hook
up. Each has played in settings ranging from intimate to orchestral,
yet each has particular talents that may be best expressed in a duo, as
they are here.
Within the confines of a duo, the structure and lyricism of free music
can sometimes be more accessible than in larger ensembles. That is
certainly the case in these eight Coleman compositions, recorded live at
the Liepziger Jazztage in August of 1996.
Coleman, of course, was on hand for the first wave of free jazz in the
late 50s and has become one of its best known expositors. Kuhn first
heard Coleman's early quartet work, such as "The Shape of Jazz to Come"
and "Free Jazz," as a teenager. Now, some thirty years later, he has
realized a longtime dream of playing beside and recording with the
master.
It's a masterful recording. Coleman's main axe, of course, is the alto
sax, but he adds flourishes of trumpet and violin work as well. Kuhn's
piano sets Coleman off wonderfully, providing a foundation that turns
into a cloud that rains down an attack that forms a stream that enters
an ocean of sound that pours from the bell of Ornette's horn. And so
on.
Those familiar with either or both of these players will naturally want
this one. Newcomers to free music, or to these artists, would be well
served to use this as a starting point.
Track List: Faxing * House Of Stained Glass * Refills * Story Writing *
Three Ways To One * Passion Cultures * Night Plans * Cyber Cyber
THE CRAMPS: Big Beat From Badsville (Epitaph)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
If you're blessed with the least bit of testosterone, the first thing
you'll notice about the new Cramps release is that after two decades
plus in the punk rock racket, Poison Ivy still looks as good as she
wants in a pair of lace stockings and stilletos. If estrogen is your
thing, turning the package over will reveal the slightly disturbing
reality that Lux Interior looks almost as good in spike heels as you do.
Open the box and you'll find 14 tracks of rockabilly madness Cramps
style. Yeah!
Ivy's guitar playing has never been better, Slim Chance and Harry
Drumdini seemed to have reached rhythm section nirvana and Lux, well,
he's a madman. I mean that in the nicest way, of course.
The material covers the standard range of sex, sleaze and scary
monsters. It was especially nice to get an update on the life and times
of America's punk rock sweetheart, the immortal Sheena (she's in a goth
gang these days) and if the Cramp Stomp isn't the next nationwide dance
craze, well, there's just no justice.
This disc is more fun than you deserve to have, unless you've been very
good indeed. The audio equivalent of two desserts and no veggies for
dinner, "Big Beat From Badsville" should be your very next musical
aquisition.
Track List: Cramp Stomp * God Monster * It Thing Hard-On * Like A Bad
Girl Should * Sheena's In A Goth Gang * Queen Of Pain * Monkey With Your
Tail * Devil Behind That Bush * Super Goo * Hypno Sex Ray * Burn
She-Devil, Burn * Wet Nightmare * Badass Bug * Haulass Hyena
DARLAHOOD: Big Fine Thing (Reprise)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
This disc has been kicking around for nearly a year, producing the radio
hit "Grow Your Own" and providing a base for the band's arduous van tour
of the U.S. If you've missed hearing it, you've missed hearing the best
New York City based band I've heard in twenty years. It's not too late
to fix that problem.
Darlahood is drummer Joe Magistro, bassist David Sellar and guitarist
Luke Janklow. Janklow is a self described "promiscuous listener" and it
shows in the range of sounds packed into the twelve songs here - a
dense, rhythmic mix of metal, psychedelia, hard rock and a little of the
old this and that.
Janklow's guitar style is centered on a hard driving rhythmic style
which is supported and surrounded by Magistro and Sellar, who help put
the power back in "power trio." This may be the best power trio debut
since an American lad joined up with a couple Brits in a band called the
Experience. Not that Janklow's a flash guitarist - he's more interested
in delivering the song than standing out. It's just that the songs are
so damn good and his playing fits them so damn well that he can't help
standing out.
Well, actually, he does take his turn. "RSVP" is about eight minutes of
wah-squack-scream-stomp-maximum R&R guitar assault on the senses. In
other words, it's just about perfect. When it drops into the 12 string
from another planet sound of "Hey Baby (Take Me With You)," well, you'll
just have to hear it to appreciate it.
Combine all of the above with batch of songs that reflect a sarcastic
sense of humor that never descends into a cynical whine, and "Big Fine
Thing" turns out to be the best album I missed last year. If you missed
it too, don't let any more time slip away.
Track List: Grow Your Own * 99% Bulletproof * Sister Dementia * Big
Fine Thing * Runaway Clocks * Watch Your Mouth * Do Nature Boy * Not
Again * New York City * I've Got Pictures * RSVP * Hey Baby (Take Me
With You)
AL DiMEOLA: This is Jazz 31 (Columbia / Legacy)
Reviewed by Steve Marshall
It was the mid-70's. The jazz scene was brimming with gifted young guitarists.
Pat Metheny, Steve Morse and Lee Ritenour are just a sampling of the talent
that was around. Al DiMeola began his career in 1974 as the guitarist for
Return to Forever. After a brief two-year stint in the band, he embarked on
a solo career. His solo records have touched on jazz, rock, and classical,
as well as several other styles. After leaving Columbia in the early 80's,
he began experimenting with the synclavier and seemed to steer away from the
electric guitar.
DiMeola's guitar prowess is presented here in a multitude of musical settings.
From the articulate "Ritmo de la Noche" to the tropical "African Night" to
the playful duet with Chick Corea, "Short Tales from the Black Forest" and
the live version of "Cruisin'," highlights abound on the CD. Legacy has done
a superb job with its This is Jazz series so far, and this disc doesn't
disappoint. Aside from a few glaring omissions (where's "Elegant Gypsy"?),
this is a great introduction to one of the world's finest guitarists.
TRACK LIST:
Race With Devil on Spanish Highway * Ritmo de la Noche * Short Tales of the
Black Forest * Nena (live) * Fantasia Suite for Two Guitars * African Night *
Cruisin' (live) * Spanish Eyes * Passion, Grace and Fire * Silent Story in
Her Eyes * Sarabande From Violin Sonata in B Major
THE ELECTRAS: Best of The Electras (Get Hip)
(also featuring The Scotsmen & The Victors)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
Side one of this Get Hip vinyl release is devoted to eight tracks
recorded by The Electras for Minneapolis' Scotty Records in 1966-67.
Aside from the Yardbirds' cover "I'm Not Talking", there are a couple
original tracks and a handful of songs written by their producer, Warren
Kendrick.
This is great stuff, classic Brit Invasion-inspired garage rock. If
these tracks had been recorded on either coast by a band with access to
the major label A&R scouts of the day, you'd be hearing them on oldies
stations across the nation to this day. Built around the guitar tag
team of Bill and Earl Bulinski and the driving vocals of Tim Elfving,
the band had a sound that will delight garage connoisseurs everywhere.
Side two opens with a pair of Kendrick compositions by the Scotsmen, an
apparent reference to the Scotty label. "Beer Bust Blues" is a novelty
rocker and "Scotch Mist" a snatch of surf inspired instro. The Victors,
who round out the album, are essentially the Scotsmen without Kendrick
and with a new vocalist. They turn in a set of quality covers from several
sources including the Young Rascals and the Yardbirds. An above average
cover band, their facility with these tunes outshines the originals they
produced under the Scotsmen tag.
This may be Get Hip's strongest offering of mid-west garage rock so far,
high praise considering the general quality of the material they've
released from IGL Records and other sources. If it's not, I want to hear
what's better, because I sure enjoyed this one.
Track List:
Side One: The Electras/Dirty Old Man * Soul Searchin' * This Week's
Children * Action Woman * I'm Not Talkin' * Pregnant Pig * 'Bout My Love *
Won't Take No For An Answer
Side Two: The Scotsmen/Beer Bust Blues * Scotch Mist * The Victors/
Midnight Hour * I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore * One More Time *
Mister You're A Better Man Than I * Little Girl
FISH: Sunsets on Empire (Viceroy/Lightyear)
Reviewed by Steve Marshall
For those of you who think this is the new CD by Phish, it's not. Fish is
the ex-lead singer/songwriter for Marillion. When Fish (whose real name is
Derek Dick) left the band in 1987, Marillion replaced him with a new lead
singer. To longtime fans, however, they were never the same. Fish was more
willing to take chances and forged ahead musically, while Marillion evolved
into little more than a Journey clone.
On his newest CD, Sunsets on Empire, Fish teamed up with a new collaborator
named Steve Wilson. Musically, the new album is a bit different than previous
ones. The lyrics are more politically charged, yet they still manage to
retain the cinematic imagery of his earlier work. Three of the songs--"The
Perception of Johnny Punter," "Jungle Ride" and "What Colour is
God?"--feature spoken word sections, which add to the depth and power of
the material.
Fish once said that if he were to leave the music business, he would probably
write plays or film scripts. Sunsets on Empire is basically just that--a
film script, with the musical score already in place. Highlights include
the excellent "Johnny Punter," "Goldfish and Clowns," "Tara" (inspired by
Fish's daughter), "Jungle Ride," and the first single "Brother 52" (also
included as a video on the CD-ROM portion of the disc). Sunsets on Empire
easily ranks along with Fish's best solo material, in some cases surpassing
his previous works.
BELA FLECK: Double Time (Rounder)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
While Bela Fleck has made a lot of wonderful music since this 1984
collection was originally issued, I can think of at least 13 reasons you
should slip into your local purveyor of aluminized product and snag the
new CD version right about now.
They are:
Bela Fleck + Mark O'Connor, David Grisman, Tony Rice, Edgar Meyer, Mark
Schatz, Jerry Douglas, Mike Marshall, John Hartford, Darol Anger, Pat
Flynn, Ricky Skaggs and Sam Bush.
These 13 duets (two with Marshall, one apiece for the rest) show at
least that many facets of the shining jewel that Bela Fleck, the most
creative 5-string banjo player on the scene then and now, is. This one
really is too good to miss.
Track List:
Spunk (w/Mark O'Connor, fiddle) * Black Forest (w/David Grisman,
mandolin) * Double Play (w/Tony Rice, guitar) * Lowdown (w/Edgar
Meyer, bass) * The Bullfrog Shuffle (w/Mark Schatz, nylon string
banjo) * Another Morning (Jerry Douglas, dobro) * Light Speed (w/Mike
Marshall, octave mandolin) * Sweet Rolls (w/John Hartford, banjo) *
Ladies & Gentleman (w/Darol Anger, cello) * Right As Rain (w/Pat Flynn,
guitar) * Far Away (w/Mike Marshall, mandolin) * Ready To Go (w/Ricky
Skaggs, fiddle) * The Fast Lane (Sam Bush, mandolin)
T-MODEL FORD: Pee Wee Get My Gun (Fat Possum)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
Ah. The Delta blues. The mean, low down, dirty Delta blues. Played by
a gen-u-wine Delta bluesman. A mean, low down, dirty Delta bluesman.
"I was a-sure-enough dangerous man," T-Model says of his younger days,
misspent and spent in part on a Mississippi chain gang. He plays the
blues like that to this day, at approximately 75 (T-Model is no more
sure of his age than he is of the number of times he's gone to jail).
Joined by Spam, his drummer/companion for nearly a decade, and by Frank
Frost (keyboards) and Sam Carr (drums) on a pair of tracks, Ford is
as basic a model as the motor car he's named for. A driving rhythm on
the electric guitar is backed by the simplest drum kit - he'll only
allow Spam the use of a snare and bass drum - and a voice that carries
with it every mile he's plowed behind a mule, every day he spent on the
chain gang, every hour he worked in the saw mill and every night he's
spent pounding the blues in a Greenville, Mississippi juke joint. Fat
Possum's Bruce Watson lured him into studios for most all the tracks
except "Can't Be Touched," which T-Model recorded at home. You can put
the man in the studio, though, but you can't take the field out of the
man. The sound is as rough and pure as a Smithsonian field recording,
no matter what environment it was recorded in. It's the nat'chul
blues, nothing but, and all of that.
"Nobody get's me down," T-Model sings, and while no one may *knock* him
down, or *keep* him down, T-Model Ford, or at least T-Model's blues have
been gotten down on disc. And you should get down to wherever you get
such things and get them.
Track List: Cut You Loose * T-Model Theme Song * Been A Long Time *
Turkey And The Rabbit * Can't Be Touched * Nobody Gets Me Down * I'm
Insane * Where You Been * Feels So Bad * Sugar Farm * Let Me In
THE
FOUR TOPS: Keepers Of The Castle - Their Best 1972-1978 (MCA)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
At the end of 1971, The Four Tops bolted from Motown Records after 11 years
as one of Berry Gordy's most successful acts. Their first album for ABC's
Dunhill Records was Keeper Of The Castle. This collection borrows the title
and a few tracks from that great R&B/soul record while covering the full span
of their association with ABC. 1972 to 1978 was a successful period for
The Four Tops, but this isn't the body of work you probably associate with
the group. Their Motown output, mostly written and produced by the team
of Holland-Dozier-Holland, was incredibly memorable and is still played
daily on classic rock stations all over the world. It would be a shame to
simply dismiss their post-Motown period, however, and this collection should
convince you of that. "Ain't No Woman Like The One I've Got," "Are You Man
Enough," "Save It For A Rainy Day," "Love Music," "Sweet Understanding,"
"One Chain Don't Make No Prisoner" and, to be honest, nearly everything else
here could be held up as prime examples of 70s R&B. If you just have The
Four Tops Anthology collection, you're only getting half of the story.
CONNIE FRANCIS: Where The Boys Are (Rhino)
Reviewed by John Sekerka
The time is pre-fab four sixties, and music stars are being shuffled in front
of the camera as Hollywood discovers a new audience: the teenager. While
Frankie and Annette are kicking up sand on the beach, and Elvis is wooing
puppy-eyed maidens with song, a stern, starchy, petite brunette college
co-ed is cavorting in Fort Lauderdale. Hot on the heels of her tear-jerking
smash 'Who's Sorry Now,' Connie Francis made a difficult transition to film,
but her awkward and stoic performance seemed to capture the imagination of
North American youth, as 300,000 of them descended upon Fort Lauderdale to
live out their wildest dreams. 'Where the Boys Are' was a landmark smash,
spawning countless sequels and imitations, but it clearly stands on it's own
as Connie Francis' springboard.
This collection of soundtrack material, spanning three other movies,
showcases Francis' wallowing vocal in her trademark weepy ballad style,
but also features some raucous uptempo numbers as well as steamy jazz
pieces, - both sides in evidence on dramatically different takes of
"Looking For Love," one a great rockin' doo-woppy version, the other a
smoky nightclub take. This certainly is a historic timepiece that hearkens
back to a very short era (the British invasion would see to that), but one
that is worth searching out.
As a treat the good folks at Rhino have included four bonus demo cuts
featuring Francis backed only by a piano. On the beginning of "Let's Have
a Party," Connie prods her piano player "pick it up Stan" - you can tell
that the girl just wanted to rock, and it sounds oh so fresh without all
that lush orchestration.
JIMI HENDRIX: South Saturn Delta (MCA/Experience Hendrix)
Reviewed by Steve Marshall
There's big news brewing for Hendrix fans. A new album, South Saturn Delta,
hits the stores on October 7th. Consisting of tracks from his entire career,
the new album is sure to thrill fans both old and new. Several songs are
previously unreleased, and all but one of them are making their domestic CD
debut. Liner notes weren't firmed up at press time, so I can't be as specific
about things (musician credits, etc.) as I would like. In most cases, though,
the music speaks for itself.
The CD starts with "Look Over Yonder," a blistering tune with some fierce
soloing from Hendrix. "Little Wing" sounds like an instrumental version of
"Angel." The liner notes explain the similarity, but you can decide for
yourself. Bottom line: it's cool. On "Here He Comes," you can really hear
his true musical genius at work. Recorded live in the studio (take one, no
less), this track absolutely SMOKES! One of the best cuts on the CD.
"Message to the Universe" is a cool, embryonic version of "Message to Love."
"Tax Free," "Midnight" and "Bleeding Heart" are the same as the versions on
War Heroes. The sound quality on "Midnight" is much better than it was on
the Voodoo Soup CD, but they edited the intro. "All Along the Watchtower" is
only slightly different. Now it has a countdown intro, and the effects are
gone from the solo.
Another highlight on South Saturn Delta is "Sweet Angel." This early version
of "Angel" is an entertaining look at the song in progress, and features
Hendrix on all the instruments. The only drawbacks are that the track fades
up into the first verse, and there are some minor dropouts past the
three-minute mark. "Pali Gap" is one of Jimi's best-loved songs among
diehard fans. The intro, missing from the Voodoo Soup CD, has been restored,
and although they faded the ending to mask the tape hiss, the song sounds
better than ever.
Last, but certainly not least, is the solo version of "Midnight Lightning."
Just Jimi and his acoustic, this one is over all too soon. Overall, South
Saturn Delta is a better album than the last 'new' release, First Rays of
the New Rising Sun. While aimed mainly at his existing fan base, those with
just a casual interest in Hendrix's music are sure to enjoy it too.
HILDEGARD OF BINGEN (and anonymous composers): Chants for the Feast of St.
Ursula. The Anonymous 4 (Ruth Cunningham, Marsha Genensky, Susan Hellauer,
Johanna Maria Rose). HARMONIA MUNDI HMU 907200 [DDD] 72:07
Reviewed by Robert Cummings
This album is entitled "11,000 Virgins" and has been heavily hyped by Harmonia
Mundi. And with good reason: the Anonymous 4 have not only garnered high
praise for their performances of Medieval and religious music, but at least
two of their recordings, Miracles of Sant'iago and On Yoolis Night, have hit
the charts, attracting the so-called "crossover" segment among potential
buyers. The group's successes are not difficult to understand: their
beautiful, mostly unison singing produces a sound that combines a sweet
mellowness with a kind of mesmeric serenity. If you like the many chant discs
flooding the market and have not yet heard this quartet, you'll no doubt take
to their disarming simplicity of approach in this challenging corner of the
vocal repertory. If you already know their work, you'll probably need no
coaxing to purchase this CD.
The disc's title refers to the fifth century legend of St. Ursula and the
11,000 virgins who, returning from a religious pilgrimage, were said to be
slaughtered in Cologne by Attila the Hun when they refused to submit to
concubinage. Actually, there may well have been only a handful of virgins
accompanying Ursula, exaggeration that often accompanies legend accounting
for the possibly inflated number. In any event, the martyrdom of these
innocent women moved composers, writers, and clergy to extol them for many
centuries to come.
Hildegard (1098-1179) wrote several chants inspired by this legend. Seven of
the eighteen selections here are hers; the remainder are from anonymous
sources, identified in the album booklet listings usually by location, edition
and a time. The first track, for example, contains an Antiphon (Auctori vite
psalmis) and Invitatory (Venite exsultemus domino) that are attributed to
"Karlsruhe LX (13th c.)." The music on the disc spans the twelfth, thirteenth
and fourteenth centuries, though there's little stylistic dissimilarity
throughout the eighteen pieces. Those by the mystic nun and canonized saint,
Hildegard of Bingen will, of course, draw the most attention. It is one of the
ironies of our age that nine centuries after her birth she has become a cult
figure (surely not by her design), with a worldwide popularity surpassing that
of many talented artists who have taken great pains to advance their careers
and fame.
To cite just a few examples of the impressive artistry here, try Hildegard's
Symphonia virginum: O dulcissime amator (track 2), where this quartet finds
a perfect balance between religious ecstasy and seductive vocalism, between
reverential solemnity and sonorous beauty. This is truly a compelling
performance of an inspired chant, perhaps the best music on the disc. Jesu
corona virginum (track 3), attributed to the Ahrweil Antiphoner (13th c.),
sounds like the precursor to Pange Lingua (Sing, my tongue), traditionally
sung on Holy Thursday in the Roman Catholic Church. Whatever the case, the
Anonymous 4 deliver it serenely and sweetly. Try also Hildegard's Cum vox
sanguine (track 14), where the group convey a sense of hope and spirituality
with soothing yet incisive vocalism.
Not only is everything here beyond reproach, but nothing is less than utterly
compelling. Excellent sound too, and full texts. Incidentally, I reviewed this
CD from an advance copy, and I'm told it will actually go on sale beginning
September 9. Highly recommended.
ROBYN HITCHCOCK: Uncorrected Personality Traits
The Robyn Hitchcock Collection' (Rhino)
Reviewed by Jeff Apter
Don't confuse the sweet, strange Robyn Hitchcock with the 'Weird' Al
Yankovics of the world: Hitchcock's so-called 'wackiness' is strictly his
own perception of the troubled world outside his window. He doesn't search
for peculiarity, it somehow finds him. And this cosmic British tunesmith
has a steady hand with melody, not just malady; he was jangle-popping well
before REM Rickenbackered their way into the mainstream. The 20 tracks of
'Uncorrected Personality Traits' pulls together highlights from his 15
years and nine albums of post-Soft Boys waywardness: "Acid Bird"'s trippy
dementia, the noirish intrigue of "Raymond Chandler Evening," the
mantra-like title track, numerous psychotic singalongs - headed by the
irresistible "The Man With the Lightbulb Head" and the dreamy delight that
is "Airscape." "City Of Shame" takes a harder, rocking turn, while the
haunting cinematic instrumentals "Nocturne" and "Heart Full Of Leaves"
suggest Hitchcock should, like a certain portly namesake, be dabbling in
film. As for the cult of Robyn Hitchcock, Uncorrected's liner notes offer
useful insights into the allure of the man: as Carl from Pittsburgh tells
us, "never have death, decay and emotional dysfunction been so catchy."
JOHN LEE HOOKER: His Best Chess Sides (MCA/Chess)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
The liner notes open with a Keith Richards quote that sums it all up quite
simply: "You're not going to mistake John Lee Hooker for anybody else."
And there's a lot of irony in that statement, too, because during the 50s
and 60s, Hooker was infamous for slipping the bonds of his recording
contracts by changing his name and recording sides for other labels. This
was probably less an attempt to fool anyone than a simple matter of "yeah,
well prove it!"
These tracks are culled from Hooker's Chess output, ranging from 1950 to
1966. There is so much John Lee Hooker available that it's sometimes hard
to sort it all out, and it's certainly inaccurate to say his Chess sides
are all that matters, but each and every track here comes with a long list
of reasons for recommendation. Hooker himself is incredible on every tune,
whether weaving his endless boogie ("Leave My Wife Alone," "Walkin' The
Boogie," "Mad Man Blues") or nursing a bad case of loneliness ("The
Waterfront"), yet his supporting cast is nearly as brilliant. Lafayette
Leake's piano work on "Let's Go Out Tonight" infuses the tune with a playful
spirit and more than a little "wow" factor. Eddie Kirkland and Eddie Burns
played their asses off on several tracks. The liners credit no sidemen for
most of the tracks, but it's probably safe to assume Chess warriors like
Willie Dixon (bass) and Fred Below (drums) were involved.
As part of MCA's Chess Records 50th anniversary series, this CD enjoys
classy packaging and enough PR push to sell a lot of units. That translates
to future editions, and I'm all for it. The sound is quite good, as well,
thanks in part to a fine digital remastering job by Erick Labson.
Hard to believe 30 years have passed, especially when we turn on our TVs and
see the great John Lee Hooker, guitar growling and foot a'stomping, selling
soft drinks. The 80 year old's similarity to the Energizer Bunny isn't
lost on the aforementioned Mr. Richards. "I think I'm getting on, but this
guy gives you hope."
TRACK LIST:
Mad Man Blues * Louise * Ground Hog Blues * High Priced Woman * Leave My
Wife Along * Sugar Mama * Walkin' The Blues (alternate) * Bluebird * Please
Don't Go * Blues For Big Town * Worried Life Blues * I'm In The Mood * Let's
Go Out Tonight * The Waterfront * One Bourbon, One Scotch, & One Beer
THE HYPNOMEN: Supersonico (Stupido Twins Records)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
Up until a few days ago, this was the newest release by Helsinki, Finland's
instromaniacs known as The Hypnomen. Supersonico is the band's CD debut,
which in itself may start a few arguments. If ever there was a band with a
sound made for vinyl, it's The Hypnomen. Yes, some of the warmth is lost.
Yes, it's over-bright in places. Yes, it's still The Hypnomen, and that
means great instro-rock that lives somewhere between surf and psychosis.
Though most of these tracks were recorded last year (and three of them are
at least three years old), Supersonico reveals a maturing band with a sound
that had already begun to gel. Interesting themes were being explored, like
the western sound of "Death Came From Durango" that has been continued on
their new 10" EP, We Three Hypnomen (see review in this issue). The best
moments, though, happen when they go for the knockout. "Brainwasher" has a
hook that would impress Joe Frasier, and "Psycho From Ipanema" is
blast-furnace intense. There's your key word: "intense." Like nuclear
dreams and wicked roller coaster rides, The Hypnomen's music is Goddamned
intense. Supersonico contains 15 radioactive servings. (Stupido Twins
Records: PO Box 301, 00121 Helsinki, Finland. E-Mail stupido@cute.fi)
THE HYPNOMEN: We Three Hypnomen (Suave Recordings)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
This is the latest Hypnomen release, a 10" EP hot off the press and ready to
fly. With their mid-fi instrumental mayhem in full ferocity, it's best to
wear shades while listening to this one.
After a relatively weak opening track ("We Three Hypnomen"), which
almost seems like a muscle-flex or a quick stretch before running, the
festivities begin in earnest with "Saroonie," one of their finest tunes to
date. From there on in it's classic Hypnomania, a twisted, surreal sound
that only this trio from Helsinki, Finland, know how to make. "Shawnee"
rides off into the wild west with all the twists in place; like Death Valley
on acid. The first two tracks on side two, "Vigilante Rider" and "Fuego
Malo," fly off in their own directions, but there's still a thread of the
old west in each. A western trilogy? Maybe!
This EP goes out with a bang. "Satan Took My Lung" percolates, expands,
melts and finally explodes. Pekka Laine's guitar tone near the end of
the track just... well, it HURTS! There's grit, and then there's jagged,
toothed, spiked, mean spirited, razor sharp tone. And this ain't grit!
Survivors will join me in anxiously awaiting the next Hypnomen release.
(Suave Recordings: PO Box 4257, S-102 66 Stockholm, Sweden. Visit their
website at http://www.cabal.se/suave/hypnomen, and be sure to read the
interview with Pekka Laine in this issue of Cosmik Debris.)
JACKYL: Cut The Crap (Epic)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
"Who are all these goobers who say
what's cool, what's not cool?
What's hip, what's not hip?
Yeah, I might be a one hit wonder, I might not.
But then again it might only take me one hit
to knock your teeth down your Goddamned throat!"
Do you get the impression somebody's tired of being put down by the press?
Jackyl's an easy target because they never changed with the times, choosing
to stick to their 80s metal guns and thumb their noses at the alternative
germ that infected so many of their contemporaries. The target becomes
tougher to resist when you factor in their habit of channeling Guns N' Roses
and riffing for all their worth. Oh, and critics love to bitch about bands
recording with bigger stars to bolster their sales. In this case, the star
is AC/DC's Brian Johnson, who trades shrieks with Jesse Dupree on "Locked And
Loaded." If all of these negatives sound as good to you as they do to me,
read on.
Cut The Crap contains a few dreadful clunkers, but the hottest tracks are
as good as, and probably better than, anything in the metal bins these days.
The title track, in particular, kicks like Everclear, with a rapid fire
rhythm and a cleverly integrated chainsaw solo. Yeah, a chainsaw! It's
been done before, usually badly, but Dupree nails it. (The liners inform
us that "Jesse Dupree uses Jansered chainsaws." Thanks, liners.)
The list of cons is so long that I should hate this album, but I can't. Even
when they mug AC/DC by saying "can I stick my lovin' into you" in "Push Pull."
It's a power thing. A wall of guitars thing. Moves the feet. Funny thing
about feet: they don't seem to know when they're supposed to hate something.
Perhaps a line from "Push Pull" says it best: "Standing in a pile of shit,
I come out smelling like a rose." But hey, it's really good shit.
ETTA JAMES: Her Best (MCA/Chess)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
I have to admit up front that there are few singers in the world who can
melt away my cares like Etta James can, but since we're talking about a
collection of her hit recordings, critical discrimination isn't an issue.
There's no debate about the quality of the songs, and there sure as hell
ain't no debate about the delivery.
This collection, part of the Chess Records 50th Anniversary series on MCA,
looks like class, feels like class, and sounds like class. The presentation
of the Chess series is quite fine all the way down the line, and from the
handful of discs that I've heard thus far, I can recommend a buying frenzy.
Begin with Etta. Her growling, bluesy voice was made for the material she
performed before her Chess years, when she prowled the stage and kicked
out hard edged blues like few before her. Amazing, then, that she could
change directions in mid-career and make some of the most beautiful and
emotional soul and pop records of the 60s, including timeless masterpieces
like "Sunday Kind Of Love," "I'd Rather Go Blind," "Stop The Wedding," and
her signature piece, "At Last." Her Best has all of that, plus a handful
of her rowdier tunes like "Tell Mama," "Two Sides To Every Story," and
"In The Basement, Part One," her duet with Sugar Pie DeSanto.
The sound quality is generally very good, thanks partly to the high standards
of the original producers, Ralph Bass and Billy Davis, and thanks in part to
Erick Labson's skillful digital remastering job. The liner notes include a
short bio and a fairly informative track listing that includes producers,
approximate recording dates and, where ever possible, a list of musicians.
All in all, a very nice job by MCA.
If you've never built a fire and kicked back with a glass of wine and an
Etta James record, you've missed an essential experience. Her Best is a
wonderful collection that can help you make up for lost time.
RICKIE LEE JONES: Ghostyhead (Reprise)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
Being a Rickie Lee Jones fan has never been boring. For those who only
know Jones for one record, "Chuck E.'s In Love," an album like Ghostyhead
might be overwhelmingly confusing. Without the seemingly random sequence
of musical events of Jones' entire career to guide you, this new direction
would make no sense. But just as Joe Jackson's fans have learned while
following him from power pop to big band to classical, Rickie Lee's fans
know that the key is in active listening. She doesn't produce fluff. If
Rickie recorded it, there's something worthwhile there. (Those who would
counter that statement with "Pop Pop" simply missed the point of that sweet
and simple album.)
The 1997 version of Rickie Lee Jones is into hip-hop. After a few years
of listening and filtering that genre into her own musical backyard, she's
again done something worthwhile and unique. Where others mirror, Rickie
creates and adds to the vocabulary of the genre. Don't expect typical
hip-hop phrasing or bravado. The music is still very much within Rickie's
sound, and she is still a storyteller first and foremost, as well as a
creator of fascinating characters.
Rickie's co-conspirator on Ghostyhead is Rick Boston, formerly of Low Pop
Suicide, so it shouldn't be a surprise that the computer gets equal billing
with the guitar or piano. And yet there was a lot of bitching from the
music press when the album was first released. They needn't worry. This
is all about texture and perspective. As long as Rickie Lee Jones continues
to seek fresh sources of each, the music will take care of itself.
THE JOYKILLER: Three (Epitaph)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
The appropriately titled third release from The Joykiller is an
unqualified genre smashing success musically. With Jack Grisham of the
fabled SoCal punkers T.S.O.L. and Gun Club bassist Billy Persons in the
lineup, this is a band with punk rock street cred to spare. The
addition of Ronnie King on keyboards (the lineup is filled out by Sean
Greaves on guitar and drummer Billy Blaze Price) provides sonic
possibilities that reach way past your run of the mill thrash band,
though, and the songs have a tough pop structure that puts The Joykiller
in a league of its own.
The "pop-punk" tag is just too easy. There's more here than that. The
songs have a no compromise attitude that's enhanced by solid
musicianship and outstanding vocal performances by Grisham. The band's
last release, "Static," put them at the top of Flipside Magazine's '96
reader's poll for Best Band and at number two for Best CD/LP. "Three"
should produce a clean sweep in '97.
There are a few cuts that use language that is absolutely necessary in
context and absolutely impossible on the radio. There are at least ten
others that should be in heavy rotation on every station with the least
pretension of being a rock outlet. If you don't hear music from this
disc everywhere over the next few months, well, that will tell you
everything you need to know about how lame and corrupt contemporary rock
radio really is.
Do your bit. Buy this disc. Buy one for a friend. Push it onto the
sales charts. Call the biggest station in town and request your
favorite cut every damn day till they play it. Pull it into the airplay
charts. Buy copies for Christmas presents. Give one away every day of
Chanakuh. Really. This one is too good to go unnoticed.
Have I made myself perfectly clear? Are you sure? OK, then, you have
your assignment. Me, I'm going to hit replay again.
Track List: What It's Worth * She's Something Else * The Doorway *
Ordinary * Another Girl * Love You Now * Your Girlfriend * Supervision *
Know It All * Promises * Anyone But You * Sex Attack * Record Collection
* Make Love To You * Once More
K'S CHOICE: Paradise In Me (550 Music/Epic)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
The Flemish Pop Invasion has landed!
Well, maybe not quite. But if Belgium is hiding a few more bands as
talented as K's Choice, well, just maybe...
Armed with a radio and MTV hit ("Not An Addict") and the considerable
songwriting talents of singer Sarah Bettens and her brother Gert, who
also contributes vocals along with guitar and keyboards, this is a band
that can serve up an aching love song next to a song of social import
and season the mix with the hard pop of "Old Woman" or the lighthearted
singalong "Something's Wrong." Played over everything from scorching
guitar licks to a string quartet, the sound could be all over the map,
but my bet is they'll be all over the charts instead.
The wide ranging components of the sound are held together by songs
featuring lyrics that range from catchy to mysterious and a voice
(Sarah's) that puts them at the head of the "girl-power" pack.
Besides, my ultimate test is pretty simple. I look for at least one
song that makes me say "I wish I wrote that." It's here. I'll let you
figure out which one...
Track List: Not An Addict * A Sound That Only You Can Hear * White Kite
Fauna * Mr. Freeze * Song For Catherine * To This Day * Iron Flower *
Wait * Paradise In Me * My Record Company * Only Dreaming * Dad * Old
Woman * Something's Wrong
JIMMY KING & THE KING JAMES VERSION BAND
Soldier For The Blues (Bullseye Blues)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
A veteran of Albert King's road band (King passed along the family name)
and his family act, the Gales Brothers Band, Jimmy King's third Bullseye
release is a solid scorcher.
Producer Willie Mitchell penned the opening cut, "Living In The Danger
Zone," and King serves notice of his serious intentions right out of the
box. With wicked guitar fills reminiscent of his mentor, Albert, and
his late contemporary, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and a strong, to the point
vocal delivery, Jimmy King pays tribute to the tradition while carving
out his own spot to stand on.
King also demonstrates some fine writing skills on originals such as
"Life Is Hard" and "You Ain't Bullet Proof." On "We'll Be Together
Again" he shows an appealing ability to drop into a smoother R&B groove
that may provide an avenue to more commercial appeal than his tougher
blues style might provide. If that became a route to the blues for some
new listeners so much the better.
Solid songs, singing and playing add up to a new release that's
appealing in every aspect. That's the gospel truth.
Track List: Living In The Danger Zone * Drawers * I'm Doing Fine * Life
Is Hard * I Don't Need Nobody That Don't Need Me * We'll Be Together
Again * Soldier For The Blues * You Ain't Bullet Proof * It Takes A
Whole Lot Of Money * Don't Wanna Go Home * It Ain't The Same No Mo * I
Got Sick One Day
KORNGOLD: Symphony in F-Sharp; Einfache Lieder, Op. 9;
Mariettas Lied (from Die Tote Stadt). The Philadelphia Orchestra
conducted by Granz Welser-Most; Barbara Hendricks, Soprano.
EMI CDC 7243 5 56169 2 0 [DDD] 63:00
Reviewed by Robert Cummings
The Symphony in F-Sharp is said by many to be Korngold's greatest work.
Detractors, and their number is not small, would comment, "Yes, and Edward
Bulwer Lytton's greatest work was The Last Days of Pompeii." But Korngold,
arch-conservative that he was, could be a composer of great substance. It
may well be true that his father, the noted music critic Julius Korngold,
impeded his son's development by his insistence upon the traditional, the
tried-and-true, the beaten path. Who knows? Whatever the case, this symphony,
from 1952, is a great achievement, even if it arrived on the scene quite out
of fashion, a throwback to a previous era. Had it appeared fifty years
earlier, it would unquestionably have been greeted as a milestone, another
step forward, a masterpiece. Should the time of its composition actually
matter? Those who listen to music for its influence and its fashionableness
would say yes. Many in this dubious camp look to Stravinsky and Schoenberg
as their heroes. It is an irony that Stravinsky couldn't write a catchy
tune to save his life, and that Schoenberg stopped writing conventional
melodies when he turned to his serial technique. Korngold, of course, was
one of this century's greatest tunesmiths. And this muscular, beautiful
symphony is proof of that, if proof were ever needed.
The Symphony opens with music that seems prescient of one of the dances from
Bernstein's West Side Story: xylophone and piano, accompanied by staccato
chords from the orchestra, announce a rhythmic figure, over which a clarinet
delivers the main theme, a dour-sounding melody that leaps upward, then
tumbles downward. Those who know Korngold from his film scores and violin
concerto may be taken aback by the tougher expressive language here, by the
more modern-sounding idiom. This first movement, on the whole, bears a
relationship to Korngold's other music much like the Fourth Piano Concerto
does to Rachmaninov's. Still, it's hardly challenging stuff for 1950's.
The ensuing movements are a bit more mellow. The Scherzo is lively and
good-natured, and features an heroic theme on horn (track 2; 1:35) that is
far removed from Korngold's Vienna, but not far from his adopted Hollywood.
The exotic, sentimental character of the slow middle section wouldn't be out
of place in one of his film scores. The Adagio is lushly romantic and features
a very Rachmaninovian second subject that begins on the piccolo
(track 3; 4:06), intensifying the emotional temperament. The finale's main
theme and orchestration invoke Strauss, especially the Strauss of Till
Eulenspiegel. Material from earlier movements is recalled here and the work
ends triumphantly.
Nearly twenty-five years ago Rudolf Kempe recorded this work for RCA, as did Sir
Edward Downes for Chandos recently. I have not heard either performance but
can safely assess that this reading by Welser-Most is absolutely convincing,
catching the mystery and drama of the opening movement so well, capturing the
beauty and emotional outpourings of the Adagio, and delivering the fast
movements with humor and grace, insight and flexibility. The Philadelphia
Orchestra plays with its usual commitment and is undeniably superior to
Downes's BBC Philharmonic and Kempe's Munich Philharmonic.
In the four songs from Sechs Einfache Lieder (Nos. 2 and 5 are eliminated
here), Barbara Hendricks sings sweetly, rendering these creations, the
product of the teenaged Korngold, with grace and simplicity. She delivers
the popular aria, "Gluck, das mir verlieb" (Mariettas Lied) from Die Tote
Stadt, with poignance, though her wobble distracts the ear a bit. Still, it's
a moving performance. Good notes and fine sound from EMI make this disc quite
attractive.
KRENEK: Symphony No. 2. Gewandhausorchester Leipzig conducted by Lothar
Zagrosek. LONDON 452 479-2 [DDD] 64:30
Reviewed by Robert Cummings
This recording is part of London's "Entartete Musik" series, which features
music suppressed by the Nazis or written by composers who lived in exile from
them. This symphony came from Krenek's pen in 1922, just a decade before
Hitler rose to power. Atonal and dedicated to his wife-to-be Anna Mahler,
daughter of the composer, it is a massive work that can be described as
relatively easy to listen to, but very difficult to understand. In fact, you
could play passages of this symphony for friends and they might not even
notice its atonality. Neither, however, would they notice the presence of
recognizable melodies or even a hint of humor. Most importantly, they
wouldn't likely perceive a graspable structure after a full hearing. But the
work is quite structurally cohesive, contains themes, and lacks humor by
design, not by musical deficiency.
The first movement begins quietly on the celesta, but gradually works up
tension and produces many climactic moments amidst almost continual churning
and restive gloom and militaristic stomping. Near the end of the movement,
quiet returns in a brief lyrical episode. The scherzo is hardly lighter, but
is at least a bit brighter, if more than a bit grotesque. Mahler and
foreshadowings of Shostakovich come to mind here, and there are even echoes
of Vaughn Williams, specifically of his Fourth and Sixth Symphonies to come.
The finale begins darkly, almost listlessly and remains for a time suspended
in a morbid haze, just above the seemingly ubiquitous undercurrent of tension.
At 6:06 (track 3), the music hesitantly, tentatively begins to reach toward
something, something perhaps optimistic, hopeful. As the ending of this long
movement (twenty-seven minutes) approaches, a titanic struggle begins, as if
the suggested life-affirmation is in crisis, and the symphony ends amidst
dire crashes and ambiguity.
Lothar Zagrosek has recorded this work once before, with the ORF Symphony
Orchestra for Amadeo in the mid-1980's. That effort was not received well
in all quarters. The performance came in under an hour, and so one can
conclude that Zagrosek's more expansive reading here is the product of a
rethinking of the score. The renowned Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra plays
with commitment and impressive skill throughout, and I can't imagine a
performance surpassing this one in any substantial way. The label cpo
released a recording of this work a year or so ago with Takao Ukigaya and
the Radio-Philharmonie Hanover des NDR. I have not heard it, and although
it was well received, I would be surprised if Ukigaya's second-tier
orchestra could equal the Leipzig in this work. And his total timing of
57:28 seems a bit brisk. Anyway, this London recording is widely available,
features superb sound, and offers very informative notes (some by the
composer himself, in a reprint from the 1940's). If you're an adventurous
listener, this Krenek work may prove extremely rewarding to you. It is one
of those pieces that can grow on you, listening after listening.
LAMB: Lamb (Mercury)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
Louise Rhodes (vocals) and Andrew Barlow (engineer, etc.) are Lamb, from
Manchester (England, England...). The duo produce a sound that they
describe as "future be-bop," which will do as well as any description
for a sound, or set of sounds, that defy description.
Elements of jazz, whether be-bop or trip-hop, techno, hip-hop, new-age
ethereal space music and much more are encoded into the ones and zeros
assembled on this bit of plastic and aluminum. Rhodes has roots in folk
and soul, but she's branched out well beyond those roots. She has, and
fully exploits, an impressive range, both sonically and in her phrasing.
That range is put to a considerable test by Barlow's backing, which
ranges from basic drum and bass stomps to free jazz romps, with
consistently intriguing and persistently surprising stops along the way.
There are spots here to satisfy aficionados of several styles, but the
overall impact puts them into that corner of the avant garde that defies
characterization. I'm hesitant to say just what they're doing here.
I'm happy to say that they do it very well.
Track List: Lusty * God Bless * Cotton Wool * Trans Fatty Acid * Zero *
Merge * Cold * Closer * Gorechi * Feela
ZIGGY MARLEY & THE MELODY MAKERS: Fallen Is Babylon (Elektra)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
Recorded in the Marley Music Studio which occupies the sight of the
Tuff Gong studio where their fabled father cut so many historic sides,
the Marley siblings (Ziggy, brother Stephen, sisters Cedella and Sharon)
revisit the sound and spirit of reggae Marley-style.
Ziggy and Stephen penned the dozen originals that accompany a cover of
"People Get Ready," which was quoted by Bob Marley in his song "One
Love." Two versions of "People" appear, one a straight ahead reggae-fied
version and the other given a touch of hip-hop remix with Stephen in the
DJ chair. The Melody Makers do a bit of quoting themselves, invoking
their father's "Lively Up Yourself" on the brothers' "Born To Be
Lively."
Strong vocals, political awareness, Jah consciousness and traditional
riddims add up to a satisfying if not groundbreaking reggae album.
Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers inherited a tradition well worth
preserving and they do it full justice with this disc of accessible,
authentic reggae.
Track List: Fallen Is Babylon * Everyone Wants To Be * People Get Ready
* Postman * Brotherly Sisterly Love * Born To Be Lively * Long Winter *
I Remember * Day By Day * Five Days A Year * Notice * Diamond City * Jah
Bless * People Get Ready (R.H. Factor Reggae Vocal Mix)
MATCHBOX 20: Yourself Or Someone Like You (Lava/Atlantic)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
This one's been out there long enough to produce a couple of bona-fide
hits with "Long Day" and "Push," so it's another case where you may be
ahead of me. If you're not, this is a great place to catch up.
Big guitar sounds, solid rhythm section, strong songs whose pop hooks
are balanced with biting vocals - if there's a formula for chart success
this Florida based band has certainly found it, and it's paying off.
The two songs that have broken out so far could easily be joined by any
of the ten others on the disc.
Lead vocalist Rob Thomas is the principal songwriter and that, combined
with his evocative singing and frontman status, makes it tempting to lay
the success at his doorstep. Guitarists Kyle Cook (lead) and Adam
Gaynor (rhythm) nest the words in a mix of penetrating electric blasts
and acoustic cushions that are essential to the sound, though. Of
course, great rock guitars are made possible by great rock rhythm
sections and Brian Yale (bass) and Paul Doucette (drums) provide a solid
bottom for everything else to play on top of.
If you've heard the singles and wondered if these guys are consistently
that good, well, they are. If you haven't turned on the radio for a few
months, don't wait. Just go get this one.
Track List: Real World * Long Day * 3 AM * Push * Girl Like That * Back
* Good * Damn * Argue * Kody * Busted * Shame * Hang
EDWIN McCAIN: Misguided Roses (Lava/Atlantic)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
Edwin McCain would just as soon you overlook his status as a Friend of
Hootie. Sure, touring with his South Carolina Blowfish buddies was a
breakthrough experience, exposure-wise. But McCain has opening act
credits with the Allmans and Bob Weir's Rat Dog, too. Coming from the
same southeast circuit that has produced acts like the Blowfish and Dave
Matthews has an undeniable influence on the McCain sound, but Edwin
feels quite comfortable standing on his own and on this, his second
major label offering, he stands tall.
McCain's four piece road band is joined by a gaggle of instrumental and
vocal support, primarily from co-producers Matt Rollings and Kenny
Greenberg, but this is still the Edwin McCain show. All the tracks
are self penned by McCain and the sound is dominated by his voice,
replete with the twists and accents of Southern-fried, blue-eyed soul.
He's reaching for a little harder, more electric sound than his previous
work has featured, but most of the songs still sound like they were
written buy a guy playing a solo acoustic guitar. That personal voice
is one of McCain's major strengths, and it's a credit to his vision and
the band's talents that that voice doesn't get lost in the harder mix.
A veteran of the Hilton Head/St. Croix/Vail resort circuit, where he
honed his chops playing upwards of 300 dates a year, Edwin McCain has
earned his shot, and he's shooting straight. Strong personal lyrics, a
distinctive soulful voice and hummable, hooky melodies add up to one of
the top offerings in the Americana fold this year.
Track List: See The Sky Again * Grind Me In The Gears * Cleveland Park *
I'll Be * How Strange It Seems * The Rhythm Of Life * Punish Me *
Darwin's Children * Take Me * (I've Got To) Stop Thinkin' 'Bout That *
What Matters * Holy City * Through The Floor
THELONIUS MONK: This is Jazz 5 (Columbia/Legacy)
Reviewed by Steve Marshall
Thelonius Sphere Monk was one of the most influential jazz pianists of the
modern era. He arrived on the scene in the 40's, amidst the bebop movement.
However, his unique style of playing set him apart from the rest. To many,
his playing sounded wrong or primitive. His response to that sentiment was
that an artist needed to play what he heard. The public would have to catch
up to him. Judging by the tracks on this compilation, they did just that.
Most are now considered standards, covered by a wide variety of artists
ranging from Charlie Parker and Miles Davis to Phish and the Red Hot Chili
Peppers. Looking back, you can hear just how natural and unforced the music
actually was.
Legacy has done an excellent job with this series (now 31 titles strong).
These ten tracks showcase Monk's material for Columbia in a variety of
settings (both live and in the studio)--solo, quartet, and with a full
horn section. Connoisseurs of Monk's timeless music will no doubt find
faults of one kind or another, but for the person just discovering his
music, the disc is sublime.
TRACK LIST:
'Round Midnight (solo) * Well You Needn't (live, quartet) * Bemsha Swing
(live, quartet) * Ruby, My Dear (solo) * Straight, No Chaser (live, full
horn section) * Blue Monk (live, full horn section) * Rhythm-A-Ning (live,
quartet) * Monk's Dream (live, quartet) * Misterioso (live, quartet) *
Epistrophy (live, full horn section)
MOZART: Requiem, K. 626; Kyrie, K. 341. Chapelle Royale,
Collegium Vocale, Orchestre des Champs Elysees conducted by
Philippe Herreweghe. Sibylla Rubens, soprano; Annette Markert,
alto; Ian Bostridge, tenor; Hanno Muller-Brachmann, Baritone.
HARMONIA MUNDI HMC 901620 [DDD] 53:57
Reviewed by Robert Cummings
You remember the scenes of the dying Mozart in the popular film Amadeus, how
the scheming and diabolical F. Murray Abraham's Antonio Salieri drove his
sickly rival to an early grave by anonymously commissioning, then personally
prodding, him to complete a Requiem. It certainly made for great theater,
great drama--and for great fiction! Salieri's role in Mozart's death was a
complete fabrication, though he did go insane in later life, claiming to have
poisoned Mozart. That assertion has been rightly dismissed as a pathetic
fantasy of the unfortunate fellow's demented mind. But this Requiem was the
work the 35-year-old Mozart was composing at the time of his death. Too bad
he didn't live a few days longer to finish it, since we've had to rely on
lesser hands to realize its completion. The common wisdom has been that the
version by Franz Xaver Sussmayr is the best. This is the one we have here
from Harmonia Mundi, though there are minor changes in the scoring to rectify
some of Sussmayr's orchestrational ineptitudes. In the end, what you get is
about 90-95% Mozart and the rest Sussmayr. Even such a relative hack as
Sussmayr couldn't attenuate the overall effect of such powerful music.
This is a fairly brisk reading by Herreweghe, but it never actually sounds
rushed. Even the fugues near the beginning and at the close, which move along
at a good clip, come across as urgent and profound, rather than hasty and
business-like. Essential detail abounds and accents are well articulated
throughout the performance. The quartet of singers is excellent and the
choral work splendid. Sibylla Rubens may not possess the most ravishing
voice, but she's dramatic and better than many big-name singers. Ian
Bostridge is also quite excellent. Try the Tuba mirum (track 4) where Rubens
and Bostridge are outstanding, or the Recordare (track 6), which features
fine singing by the entire quartet.
Not to be overlooked are the contributions of the Orchestre des Champs
Elysees, whose string section deserves special praise for its silken, feathery
tone (track 6) and slashing attacks (Confutatis; track 7). The K. 341 Kyrie
is a substantial bonus here where the artistry remains on the same high level.
The sound provided by Harmonia Mundi for these live performances
(Montreux, October 9 & 10, 1996) is superb and the notes are informative.
Full texts are supplied for both works. Highest recommendations.
WILLIE NELSON: A Classic & Unreleased Collection (Rhino)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
This is a little confusing, so stay with me here...
In 1993, this collection of unreleased recordings was being sold on The
Shopping Network. Apparently, sales were brisk. In 1995, it was to be
re-released through Rhino Records, but Willie and his legal people had some
concerns about this or that. Can't get into that cuz I jus' don't know the
details. Suffice to say the project ended up in deep freeze. Two years
later, all the details are ironed out and it looks like we're good to go.
Willie's fans will scarf this up like barbecued beans and ice cold beer. The
set opens with a recorded message, from the man himself, introducing the first
two tracks, which just happen to be both sides of his very first demo 45.
Recorded in 1957, "No Place For Me" and "Lumberjack" didn't make Willie a
star, but "No Place For Me" demonstrated his budding songwriting talent, and
that 45 has become the rarest of the rare for collectors of his music. This
obviously doesn't replace the thrill of finding the single in some Salvation
Army store, but most of us are just damned happy to finally hear the music.
The original plan was for Willie to write songs for other artists to record.
In 1961, Willie began making demo records for a publishing house called
Pamper. Tracks 4 through 15 of disc one are devoted to this period of his
career, and though a great many of his Pamper recordings have been released
on small labels or bootlegged outright, these 12 tracks are less common. The
quality of this music, as well as that of the recordings themselves, is first
rate. Willie was ready long before the music business-folk knew it. The
Pamper material is, in itself, reason for giving this set an enthusiastic
review.
Disc one continues after a giant leap forward to 1973 and Willie's move to
Atlantic Records. The 6 tracks here are previously unreleased tunes from
the marathon 5-day recording session that produced the landmark album
Shotgun Willie. Disc two begins with more from the same sessions before
moving on to unreleased material from the Phases And Stages sessions,
unreleased live recordings from a 1974 concert at the Texas Opry House,
and four (unreleased?) yes, unreleased tunes from Sugar Moon. The final
disc is made up of songs from entire albums that went unreleased, including
Willie Sings Hank Williams. The Williams tracks are quite unusual in that
Willie played in Hank's tempos, sang in Hank's keys and even affected Hank's
vocal timing, leaving us to wonder just why Willie wanted to do this in the
first place. (Remember David Lee Roth's mirror-image version of "California
Girls?" Why bother?) Perhaps that's what eventually scrapped the project.
All in all, Classic & Unreleased is a very enjoyable collection, though the
title is a bit confusing. It's ALL unreleased, so how can it be classic?
Well, that's a marketing question, I guess.
TRACKS:
Disc One: Introduction by Willie * No Place For Me * Lumberjack * Why Are
You Picking On Me? * The Shelter Of Your Arms * Moment Isn't Very Long *
Any Old Arms Won't Do * December Day * Healing Hands Of Time * Things To
Remember * The Face Of A Fighter * Suffering In Silence * Who Do I Know In
Dallas * Slow Down Old World * I Hope So * I Gotta Have Something I Ain't
Got * I'm So Ashamed * My Cricket And Me * Both Ends Of The Candle * Slow
Down Old World * Under The Double Eagle
Disc Two: So Much To Do * (How Will I Know) I'm Falling In Love Again *
Bloody Mary Morning * No Love Around * After The Fire Is Gone * Whiskey
River * Me And Paul * Medley: Funny How Time Slips Away, Crazy, Night Life *
Stay All Night (Stay A Little Longer) * Walkin' * Bloody Mary Morning/Take
Me Back To Tulsa * The Party's Over * Truck Drivin' Man * She Still Thinks
I Care * Good Hearted Woman * Sister's Coming Home * Sugar Moon * I'm A Fool
To Care * Rosetta * I'll Sail My Ship Alone
Disc Three: I'll Take What I Can Get * If It's Wrong To Love You * Struttin
With Some Barbecue * I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter *
Till The End Of The World * I'll Keep On Loving You * It Should Be Easier
Now * Will You Remember Mine? * Who'll Buy My Memories * Jimmy's Road * I'm
So Lonesome I Could Cry * A House Is Not A Home * My Bucket's Got A Hole In
It * Why Don't You Love Me? * Mind Your Own Business * They'll Never Take Her
Love From Me * Move It On Over * Why Should We Try Anymore * My Son Calls
Another Man Daddy * I Saw The Light
LEE "SCRATCH" PERRY: Upsetter In Dub (Heartbeat)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
We seem to be in the middle of a Scratch flurry. First there was Island's
box set, Arkology, and then the new techno record with Dieter Meier of Yello.
Upsetter In Dub collects mid-to-late 70s tracks from Perry's Black Ark Studio
that were made specifically for the Jamaican dub market, which means they were
B-sides to popular reggae singles. In 1970s Jamaica, the B-side was usually
the dub version of the A-side. All in all a pretty cool system. By today's
dub standards it's pretty raw, meaning Perry relied more on the faders and
less on effects. "Better Reach," for example, is nearly three minutes of two
chords and almost no effects, and yet Scratch and his musicians make it work.
How? Never under estimate the power of the groove. Lee Perry never has and
never will, and when the groove is there--even a little one--there aren't
many better at exposing every bit of it. I wouldn't recommend this disc as
an introduction, but as a document of one short stretch of Perry's career--and
as a document containing music that isn't on every other collection-- it's
well worth seeking out.
THE PHANTOM SURFERS: The Exciting Sounds Of Model Road Racing! (Lookout)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
If you haven't cruised south of the slot to slip a track eater into the
chute for a hairy run down the chute, well, then, you'll just have to
join the rest of the bench racers in a quick review of the handy slot
car glossary on the back of the new release from America's Number 1
masked surf band. Then you can find out exactly what I'm talking about
here...
Of course, all that doesn't matter if what you're after is the sounds.
There are sounds aplenty here. Track sounds, calls for the turn
marshall, the whir of RP-600's under the guidance of a heavy thumb...
oops, there I go with that glossary stuff again.
Of course, what you're really after is the music. The Phantom Surfers
do their best to bring the excitement of the slot car hobby to life with
on-site sounds from Hobby Hut Raceways in San Francisco, but they're at
their best, and give the greatest service to their automotive avocation,
when they tune up and crank out the mid-fi surf and hot rod related
model car music. From "Everybody Up" to "Final Lap," the P. Surfers
supply a heady dose of "Rheostat Rock" that will motivate you right over
to the hobby store to pick up your own ready to run so that you too can
run for tin...
Geez, there I go again. Look, just buy it. It's good. Then you can
not only hear for yourself, you can use the glossary to translate this
review! And when you figure it out, drop me an e-mail and let me know
what I'm talking about...
Track List: Introduction * Everybody Up * Death Of A Rookie * Schlock
Slot * Slotter On 10th Avenue * Crossover Tragedy * Rheostat Rock *
Pacific Shores * A Slot Car Named Desire * Turn Marshal * Stumps Of
Mystery * Endurance Rally * Final Lap
POLLO DEL MAR: The Ocean Is Not For Cowards (POP Records)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
Bout time! How long have we surf freaks been waiting for a full-length
release from Pollo Del Mar? Let's just say my 4-song EP is shot all to
hell from over-use. Now it can rest in peace while I play this incredible
CD to death.
Pollo Del Mar's music is more than just entertaining: it's fascinating.
Break it down and see what you find. Even their most traditional sounding
tunes have something unusual in the mix. While guitarists Ferenc Dobronyi
and Jono Jones are gracefully splashing around in the reverb, Chris Thomas'
rockin' drumming and the jazzy fretless bass work of Jefferson Turner make
a powerful fusion and an instantly recognizable sound. The real show,
however, begins when they leave tradition behind and ride the waves less
traveled. These are four of the finest musicians around, and when they
cut loose, it's something to hear. The sound is mysterious, dark, deep
and turbulent, yet there's another element... Call it "dark optimism."
Only The Insect Surfers, GT Stringer, and The Galaxy Trio brew similarly
intoxicating sounds.
The 14 tunes on The Ocean Is Not For Cowards run the spectrum from trad
to jazzy fusion to stormy psych. Songs like "Snow Crash" and "Insecticide"
beg for a new genre tag. Not just surf, but Tsunami Music. After a long,
long wait, the big wave has finally hit the beach. (Pop Records: PO Box
7087, Corte Madera, CA 94976)
PROKOFIEV: Complete Music for Solo Piano
Volume 1: Sonatas: No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 1; No. 2 in D Minor,
Op. 14; No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 28; No. 4 in C Minor, Op. 29.
Frederic Chiu, Piano. HARMONIA MUNDI HMU 907197 [DDD]
52:21
Volume 2: Sonatas: No. 5 in C Major, Op. 38/135; No. 6 in A
Major, Op. 82; No. 7 in B-Flat Major, Op. 83. Frederic Chiu,
Piano. HARMONIA MUNDI HMU 907198 [DDD] 59:47
Volume 6: Six Pieces, Op. 52; Sonatinas, Op. 54, Nos. 1 & 2;
Three Pieces, Op. 59. Frederic Chiu, Piano. HARMONIA MUNDI
HMU 907189 [DDD] 64:33
Volume 7: Tales of an Old Grandmother, Op. 31; Juvenilia:
Presto; Allegro in D Minor; Lento; Tarantella; Allegretto; Tempo
di Marcia; Scherzo; Music for Children, Op. 65; Ten Pieces, Op.
12. Frederic Chiu, Piano. HARMONIA MUNDI HMU 907190
[DDD] 67:54
Reviewed by Robert Cummings
Frederic Chiu, in this interesting sampling from his ongoing Prokofiev cycle,
goes into direct competition with Boris Berman, who has done all the solo
piano music for Chandos. Oleg Marshev (Danacord) has recorded (or is still
recording as I write this) all the music, minus the transcriptions. Sandor
has done the same, now available in a rerelease on Vox. In addition, there
have been more than a dozen cycles of late of the nine Prokofiev sonatas,
including those by Bronfman (Sony), Raekallio (Ondine), Ovchinikov (EMI),
Nissman (Newport Classics), Lill (ASV), Akl (Thesis), and McLachlan (Olympia).
And others, like those of Gavrilov (DG) and Glemser (Naxos), are in progress.
There are also numerous pianists who have scored successes in individual
sonatas and the other piano music, such as Pollini, the late Richter,
Cliburn, Pogorelich, Andjaparidze and Kissin. How does the young,
American-born, Paris-based Frederic Chiu fare against this formidable
competition in such exceedingly difficult repertory? On the whole, he rises
to the top to challenge Raekallio, Bronfman, Berman, Glemser, and others.
Certain pianists, like Berman and Nissman, employ a modis operandi in
Prokofiev interpretation that involves rounding the edges and softening the
hard surfaces. (In Berman's case it generally works.) Chiu, on the other
hand, is only too eager to highlight the conflicts, to point up the bitter
ironies, to stress the harmonic pungencies, and to seek out the darker,
deeper recesses of Prokofiev's multi-faceted psyche. Try his icy, powerful
opening to the Sixth Sonata (Vol. 2; track 4). Only Cliburn (RCA) is grimmer
here, but even he doesn't quite convey the elements of terror as well as
Chiu, especially in the brutal but powerfully symbolic ending (track 7).
Also, take note of Chiu's rendering of the second movement of the Seventh
(track 9), where he phrases the beautifully decadent main theme ravishingly,
hypnotically, then takes you into a frightening netherworld. His playing
here is unsurpassed in its insight and vivid atmosphere. Too bad his finale
is marred by a brief patch of curious dynamics--a sudden softening near the
end before rebounding to full volume (track 10, 3:03). Still, his Seventh is
a formidable one. Chiu's reading of the Sixth Sonata is easily among the
best I've heard, equaling Cliburn's and surpassing that of Kissin (Sony and
RCA) and Pogorelich (DG). And his account of the Fifth contends for top
honors with those by Berman and Bronfman, but I do wish he had toned down
his slightly curt manner in the middle movement that has the effect of
overdoing the sort of free-spirited decadence.
In the first four sonatas Chiu is also compelling. His readings of the
Second and Fourth vie with the best. Try the Second's third movement
(Vol. 1; track 4), where his slow tempo not only doesn't impede the dark
musical trajectory, but in fact enhances it, drawing out the gloom and
sadness in an almost Debussyan way. The great Andante to the Fourth (track 8)
is played with a cleverly-nuanced light touch to impart mystery, with
explosive but never fulsome power to convey the violent outbursts, and with
deft sensitivity to communicate the unabashed innocence of the alternate
theme. All four works on this disc, in fact, are exceedingly well played.
Chiu performs the music in the other two volumes convincingly, as well.
Volume 6 features that splendid pair of Sonatinas. Berman and Sandor offer
excellent performances in their respective surveys, but Chiu possesses
marginally superior articulation and seems to find a bit more depth
here--more depth than even he realizes is there, if I read his slightly
disparaging album notes on these two works correctly. Among the six
transcriptions that comprise Op. 52, No. 5 (track 5) is rendered with
uncommon insight and subtle voicing that make this piece sound as native to
the piano as to its string quartet origins. And No. 6 is performed with such
virtuosic panache and brazen glitter as to infuse a more modernist spirit
into the piece, a transcription of the good-natured Scherzo from the Op. 5/48
Sinfonietta. One misfire on this disc is the Sonatine Pastorale, whose stiff
phrasing and slow tempo at the outset make the work sound more nocturnally
"urban" than brightly "pastoral." On the whole, though, this disc is
revelatory, probing Prokofiev's music where others often tend to gloss.
Volume 7, recorded less than a year ago, features works, as a blurb on the
back cover states, that "stem from, or are related to, childhood..." In some
cases the connection with youth is rather tenuous: in Op. 12, none of the
music is about childhood, but some of the ten pieces are based on compositions
Prokofiev wrote when he was very young (he began composing at five years of
age!), and in Op. 31 we find music depicting an old grandmother--as seen
through the eyes of a grandchild. The Op. 12 collection, if mostly sardonic
and lighthearted, is fairly substantial, and Chiu delivers each of the ten
pieces with his usual deft skills. Try the opening March (track 20), where
he captures that delicious impudence and caustic Prokofievian humor so well.
Sandor, Berman and others have done these pieces convincingly, but the recent
Naxos disc featuring Eteri Andjaparidze offers Chiu his strongest challenge.
To me, both versions are indispensable to the Prokofiev enthusiast. Chiu plays
the Music for Children with a winning charm, and makes just about the best
case possible for the less than compelling Tales of An Old Grandmother.
In sum, this series offers impressive playing by a young pianist with ideas.
If I remember correctly, Chiu entered the Cliburn competition some years ago
and failed to make the finals. If his playing there was on this level, I'd
say the jury committed a grievous blunder. Harmonia Mundi offers excellent
sound, and very intelligent notes by the pianist. Highest recommendations.
EDDI READER: Candyfloss And Medicine (Reprise)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
You've probably heard Eddi Reader. She's worked with everyone from
Thomas Dolby and the Eurythmics to Gang of Four and the Trash Can
Sinatras. What you may not have heard are her two previous solo
outings. Candyfloss And Medicine is a grand opportunity to correct
that unfortunate gap in your musical experience.
This collection of 11 new songs (plus the traditional Scottish ballad
"I Loved A Lad"), written in various combinations by Reader, Teddy
Borowieki (last seen working with k.d. lang) and T.C. Sinatra Bob
Hewerdine, is damn near perfect sunny Sunday afternoon music. Mainly
mid-tempo, featuring jazzy vocal inflections reminiscent of Joni or
Rickie Lee, the tunes are enriched with instrumental accents that
include dulcimers, concertinas, fiddles and mandolins along with
the standard mix of pop instrumentation.
From "Glasgow Star," a reminiscence of Reader's busking days in her
native Scotland to the somber finish of "Darkhouse," Reader reveals a
combination of well-schooled talent and original vision that deserves a
spot in your personal playlist.
Track List:
Glasgow Star * Candyfloss * Rebel Angel * Sugar On The Pill
* Semi Precious * Medicine * If You Got A Minute, Baby * Lazy Heart *
Shall I Be Mother * Butterfly Jar * I Loved A Lad * Darkhouse
RETURN TO FOREVER: This is Jazz 12 (Columbia / Legacy)
Reviewed by Steve Marshall
Return to Forever was one of the hottest fusion bands in the 70's--the
brainchild of keyboardist Chick Corea. After two years, his band turned the
jazz world on its ear. He recruited guitarist Al Di Meola, Stanley Clarke
on bass, and Lenny White on drums, and they became an almost instant
sensation on the jazz scene.
1976's Romantic Warrior album was one of the quartet's most successful
endeavors. Unfortunately, the album always had terrible sound quality. The
music was great; the sound quality wasn't. Now, thanks to Legacy's digital
remastering, the two tracks that are included on This is Jazz 12 sound better
than ever. The CD also includes the title track from Musicmagic album & two
cuts from the live album.
TRACK LIST:
The Romantic Warrior * Sorcerer * Musicmagic * So Long Mickey Mouse (live) *
On Green Dolphin Street (live)
JIMMY ROGERS: The Complete Chess Recordings (MCA/Chess)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
Jimmy Rogers' early career was dominated by his work as the second guitar
in Muddy Water's early band, but he was (and is) a notable player,
singer and composer in his own right. Any doubts about his skills in
any department will be quickly dispelled by the 51 tracks on this two
disc collection of his Chess records output as a leader. Recorded
between 1950 and 1959, all but two of the cuts here are Rogers
originals. Ten are previously unreleased and their release is more
than enough reason to search this one out. There are at least 41 other
good reasons as well.
If Rogers' personal talents weren't enough (and they most emphatically
are), his stature in the Chicago blues scene brought some of the finest
available players into the Chess studios for the Jimmy Rogers sessions.
His Waters' bandmates - including Muddy and Little Walter - were on
hand, of course, along with bassmen Big Crawford and Willie Dixon,
pianists Eddie Ware and Otis Spann and legendary guitarist Mighty Joe
Young. That's just a taste of the talent you'll find spread among these
tracks.
Disc One opens with "That's All Right" and "Luedella," Rogers' double
sided 1950 single which gave him his first taste of solo success. Those
and other numbers gained enough popularity to convince Muddy to give up
the spotlight at his own shows when the
crowds started clamoring for
some of Jimmy Rogers' personal hits.
The Rogers style is distinctive from the Waters style. There's a lot
more Mississippi in a Muddy Waters track. In fact, Rogers had a major
role in shaping the sound of Chicago city blues as played by Muddy
Waters. His own work shines with a sophistication that is only a
reflection in Muddy's performances. From the popular hits that open
Disc One to the unreleased treasures that close Disc Two, this set is
historically important and musically rewarding. For anyone with a
strong interest in the blues, and especially in the development of urban
blues, this is essential.
Track List:
Disc One: That's All Right * Luedella * Goin' Away Baby * Today, Today
Blues * I Used To Have A Woman * The World's In A Tangle * She Loves
Another Man * Money, Marbles, And Chalk * Hard Working Man * Chance To
Love * My Little Machine * Back Door Friend * Crying Shame * Mistreated
Baby * The Last Time * What's The Matter * Out On The Road * Left Me
Alone With A Broken Heart * Act Like You Love Me * Blues All Day Long
(Blues Leave Me Alone) * Chicago Bound * Sloppy Drunk * You're The One
(first version) * You're The One * If It Ain't Me (Who Are You Thinking
Of)
Disc Two: Walking By Myself * I Can't Believe * One Kiss * What Have I
Done * My Baby Don't Love Me No More * Trace Of You * Don't You Know My
Baby * Don't Turn Me Down * Looka Here (unrel.) * This Has Never Been *
Rock This House * My Last Meal * You Don't Know * Can't Keep From
Worrying * Ludella (alt.) * Act Like You Love Me (alt.) * What Have I
Done (alt.) * My Baby Don't Love Me No More (alt.) * Trace Of You
(alt.) * Don't You Know My Baby (alt.) * Don't Turn Me Down (alt.) *
This Has Never Been (alt.) * Rock This House (alt.) * My Last Meal (alt)
* You Don't Know (alt.) * Can't Keep From Worrying (alt.)
TODD RUNDGREN: The Very Best Of Todd Rundgren (Rhino)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
With over thirty albums in his various incarnations as a solo artist and
bandleader, the idea of reducing Todd Rundgren's output to a single disc
of "The Very Best..." defies credulity. It becomes somewhat less
daunting when the notion is put through a filter or two, and that's what
Rhino has done to compile this 16 track retrospective.
Rather than the very best of everything, they've concentrated on the
best of Rundgren's pop output. This means that out of the 16 cuts
offered, only three come from Rundgren's work with Utopia and a dozen
were released before 1980.
Which is fine with me. Hard to argue with selections like "We Gotta Get
You A Woman," "I Saw The Light" and "Hello It's Me," all top 20 hits
from the early seventies. They were, in fact, Todd Rundgren's peak as
far as chart success is concerned. In fact, considering his tenure in
the business and his considerable repute as an innovator both as an
artist and a producer his only top 10 song was "Hello, It's Me," which
made it to number 5 on the Billboard "Hot 100" back in 1973.
Of course, there have been some tough times for pop songs over the last
quarter century, and Rundgren's pop explorations haven't always
coincided with the marketplace's taste for the style. His eclecticism
hasn't always been helpful, either. Many pop enthusiasts think of his
post "Hello" work as being a touch too avant and many of those drawn to
his more adventurous work have tended to overlook the value of his
contribution to the pop repertoire.
If you fall into either of those camps, this collection of single hits
(and misses) and selected album cuts will take you to school. Whatever
his other merits, Todd Rundgren is a significant, even seminal, figure
in the development of pop music over the last three decades, and this
is a well deserved look at his contributions to the genre.
Track List: We Gotta Get You A Woman * Be Nice To Me * I Saw The Light *
Hello It's Me * Couldn't I Just Tell You * Just One Victory * A Dream
Goes On Forever * Real Man * Love Of The Common Man * Love Is The Answer
(with Utopia) * Love In Action (with Utopia) * Can We Still Be Friends *
The Very Last Time (with Utopia) * Bang The Drum All Day * Something To
Fall Back On * The Want Of A Nail (with Bobby Womack)
ERIC SERRA: The Fifth Element Soundtrack (Virgin)
Reviewed by Rusty Pipes
I was well entertained by the quirky sci-fi comic book character of Luc
Beeson's movie when I saw it last May, in spite of the fact that it had Bruce
Willis in it, this time wielding ray guns. I've had my doubts about Bruce
for awhile now but I'll forgive his blockbuster shoot-em-ups as long as he
makes things like this and Twelve Monkeys. I had no reservations at all about
the soundtrack; I loved it. Especially because I thought I heard a new Peter
Gabriel song in it. DAAAANT!!! (The Penalty Buzzer goes off!) Wrong, but no
problem. This recording may herald the arrival of a Big New Talent, Eric
Serra.
The track that first piqued my interest, "Little Light of Love," does indeed
sound like Gabriel, or even Seal as many of my friends have guessed. It has a
complex, polyrhythmic alternative pop sweetness that's very appealing. It
spent about an hour on repeat the other day and I still love it.
"Little Light" is definitely the standout here, but the CD is mostly orchestral
atmosphere pieces, also written by Serra and performed by the London Symphony
Orchestra. The general tone of the music is dark and moody which was entirely
appropriate to the film; mildly reminiscent of Vangelis's Blade Runner
soundtrack but with strings. But unlike Blade Runner, there's a straightforward
classical piece on the CD, opera in particular, with Inva Mulla Tchako as the
alien Blue Diva singing a beautiful rendition of "Lucia Di Lammermoor." The
vacationers from different planets were certainly impressed and you will be
too. It added a lot of class to what could easily have been just a forgettable
sci-fi roller coaster ride.
There's lots of other interesting sounds hidden among the orchestral tracks
too, flashes of everything from reggae to techno-pop. Pure classical fans
will blanche when "Lucia" segues into "The Diva Dance" featuring Tchako's
slightly more-than-human vocals (and no words!) in a futuristic dance mix,
but I think it was one of the highlights of the film and the other big reason
I sought out the CD. Lifted as-is from the film is "Ruby Rap" which could
probably make it in a club environment, featuring the hilarious Chris Tucker
as Ruby, the interstellar pop star. The bonus track "Aknot! Wot?" also
features Chris plus other scraps and pieces from the soundtrack sessions in
the same neo-dance style.
Serra handles all these musical genres well, but these are sidelights in the
mostly orchestral framework and that may not be enough to interest the average
listener. Take heart. The liner notes say "Little Light of Love" is performed
by R.X.R.A. with words, music & vocals by Eric and mentions there's an album
in the works called "The X-Plorians." It will include "Little Light," and I
trust many more interesting tracks in the same alternative pop mode. You've
been warned. Look for it.
Track List:
Little Light of Love * Mondoshawan * Timecrash * Korben Dallas * Koolen *
Akta * Leeloo * Five Millenia Later * Plavalaguna * Ruby Rap * Heat *
Badaboom * Mangalores * Lucia Di Lammermoor * The Diva Dance * Leeloominai *
A Bomb in the Hotel * Mina Hinoo * No Cash No Trash * Radio Waves * Human
Nature * Pictures of War * Lakta Ligunai * Protect Life * Little Light of
Love (End Titles Version) * Aknot! Wot? (Bonus Track)
SEVEN MARY THREE: RockCrown (Atlantic)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
"RockCrown" serves notice that the considerable success of Seven Mary
Three's major label debut, "American Standard," hasn't spoiled the band.
Hasn't cheered them up much, either.
"RockCrown" takes off pretty much where "American Standard" left off,
with 15 new guitar driven doses of edgy rock with melodic accents.
Written in motel rooms and vans during an 18 month road marathon, the
songs often reflect what band member Jason Ross describes as the
"vulturous boredom" that accompanied them on the trip. Amazingly, that
reflection never results in boring songs. Instead, the band's range
and depth of expression has expanded, and the time on the road has
allowed them to shift from a formulaic alt. band toward an appealing
Americana direction.
Which is not to say that old fans will be left behind. The elements
that made "American Standard" go platinum are still present. The
changes are not expressed so much as being different than as being
somehow more. Interestingly, every comment I've seen on the new album
has pointed at a different list of highlight tracks. For me the
standouts are "Needle Can't Burn (What The Needle Can't Find)," "Times
Like These" and "Player Piano." You'll probably find your own
favorites, but you'll almost surely find some.
The only thing that might improve these guys now is a little time away
from clubs and studios, a chance to revive their bodies, revitalize
their minds and just maybe brighten their dispositions a touch.
Then again, maybe not. This is mighty good. Why mess with success.
Seven Mary Three is on the road again. Here's hoping this tour produces
another set of songs as fine as the last one did.
Track List: Lucky * RockCrown * Needle Can't Burn (What The Needle Can't
Find) * Honey Of Generation * Home Stretch * People Like New * Make Up
Your Mind * Gone Away * Times Like These * I Could Be Wrong * What Angry
Blue? * Houdini's Angels * This Evening's Great Excuse * Player Piano *
Oven
SLOPPY SECONDS: 3 titles (Get Hip)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
A 3-pak o' punk 7-inchers from Indiana's Sloppy Seconds. "Come Back
Tracy/Leavin' On A Jet Plane" is a reissue with reportedly improved
sound quality (hell, I didn't know it was an issue with balls-out
punk rock) and a couple of very enticing pics of porn queen Traci Lords.
(Now THAT is an issue with balls-out punks!) "I Don't Wanna Be A
Homosexual/Serious" is also a reissue, also claiming improved sonics,
and also loud and snotty. "Serious," by the way, is an Alice Cooper
tune. ...Just thought you should know. The real attraction here is
the brand new 7-incher, "Where Eagles Dare/The Horror Of Party Beach,"
not because they are necessarily better than the others, but because
1) "Party Beach" is just in time for Halloween, and 2) Where Eagles Dare
is a cover of a classic Misfits tune, featuring ex-Misfit Bobby Steele
on guitar. On the back cover there is a message from Mr. Steele that
reads "This is how I wanted the guitar to sound on the Misfits version."
There ya have it. (Get Hip: PO Box 666, Canonsburg, PA 15233 USA)
SUBCIRCUS: Carousel (Dreamworks)
Reviewed by Jeff Apter
The fickle British press have dubbed it the 'new seriousness' movement,
which (I guess) means bands such as Radiohead and Subcircus take their
songcraft seriously. Hence the underlying sense of drama and erudition at
the core of 'Carousel' (either that or frontman Peter Bradley Jr is a
ponderous poser, 'cause the message behind his lyrics eludes me, big time).
Regardless, this four-piece - comprising two Danes and two Poms - pound out
a swirling, testy pop-rock soundscape, fusing the primadonna-ishness of
Bowie circa "Ziggy Stardust" to a widescreen vision (their philosophy seems
to be 'why use one guitar when 25 are handy?'). On stand-outs such as
"86'd", a relatively straight-up guitar toon is bent out of shape by
unsettling noises lurking just beneath the surface, as a simple melody gets
friendly with avant-rock waywardness. Perfect for those who like their pop
served with just a little pretension.
SURREAL: Self titled (Lavender Records)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
In an era of wholesale alterna-cloning, Matthew Turbak writes songs that are
built on intoxicating textures and cradled in dream-like atmospheres.
Psychedelia? Yeah, there are definitely some elements of that, but factor
in the decidedly solid approach of drummer Pete Glaze and bassist Neel Daniel,
as well as Turbak's ability to create simple song structures without slipping
into cliche, and you have something altogether different. While the atmosphere
is indeed surreal, these aren't 10 minute/one chord drone fests. And though
the basic structures are straight forward and simple, it's the combined textures
of Turbak's guitar and producer/keyboardist John Nordstrom II's Hammond B3
that really paints the picture.
It'll be interesting to follow this band's progress. Although this is just
a small label debut, the most powerful songs ("Feel The Sun," "Ricochet,"
and "Coming Down The River") could muscle their way onto a lot of college
and community station playlists with a little bit of PR push. From there
it's just a matter of whether the finicky CD-buying public, accustomed to
being spoonfed musical snack crackers like Bloatie and the Whofish, can
get behind music that is about passion, texture and power. (Visit their
website at http://www.surrealonline.com)
TENDERLOIN: Tenderloin (Time Bomb)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
Tenderloin opens with a riff straight out of the current hair band
revival, but a quick glance at the band's picture reveals that this
isn't another group breaking out the spandex for a second shot at
the big time.
Instead you get a varied group of a dozen original tunes that sound like
barroom boogie meets the HORDE tour. Round it out with a vintage ZZ Top
cover ("Precious And Grace") and you've got one fine rock album. I can't
say from experience, but I don't think I'm too far out on a limb in saying
this is a band you probably want to see live. You also want to hear this
CD.
The line up is basic, Taz Bentley (drums), John Cutler (bass) and
guitarist Kirk St. James back up Ernie Locke's vocals and harp. The
sound they get from that lineup shows just how much a band with a rock
and roll heart can get from a few people with their amps on 10. You'll
want headphones or friendly neighbors to get the most out of this one.
Track List: So Cold * Fat Side Up * Lights Out * Bourbon * Amemba Me *
Crazy Love * Pawn Shop * Alligator * B, B & B * Waiting * Cracker Box *
Leather Jesus * Precious And Grace
THE TONICS: Looking For The Good Times [Lance Rock Records]
Reviewed by John Sekerka
A stalled party on yer hands? Good news friends, cuz we've just the tonic,
er Tonics. Take a mighty gulp of this offering and you'll be lamp-shade
dancing till the cops start banging down the door. A swank dose of sexy
sixties-style garage rippers with a touch of modern day hipness is the order
of the day. Somethin' akin to a rough edged Fleshtones record, if'n you know
what I mean. I especially like the cool breezy instro interludes a la Davie
Allen's Arrows. Which brings me to the big bridge: member that ultra fab
"Angel Dust" vinyl set a few generations back? The one with the supa picture
vinyl slabs? Ol' Davie Allan was all over those babies, and the inkster
responsible for the eye-poppin' graphics was a fella who goes by the name
of Savage Pencil. And wouldn't ya know it, but it's Mr. Pencil hisself who's
colouring adorns the pretty pictures that come with the music. Need I say
more? Okay, there's some slinky cooing from the ladies in the band. There,
now go.
u-ZIQ: Lunatic Harness (Astralwerks)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
While the heart of the electronica scene lies in dance rhythms, and
there are certainly plenty of those here, Mike Paradinas has created
something that stretches out and surpasses pedestrian drum and bass
records. A startling and intriguing array of sources are used to build
a densely layered pastiche of sound that could be called "rhythm n' mood"
music. Jazz, dub, funk and some elements that seem to be drawn from a
galaxy far away are all present, and all held together by driving drum
programming that sounds exactly as mechanical as it must and as human as
it should. The net effect is music with tangible textures and palpable
colors.
There are pleasant moments to spare, but much of this music is
demanding. It takes rapid turns at critical moments and then lulls you
into temporary complacency, only to twist your mind with the next twist
of a dial. There's far too much here to describe, but I heartily
recommend this disc and a good set of headphones for the next time you
feel up to 70 minutes of musical adventure.
Track List: Brace Yourself Jason * Hasty Boom Alert * Mushroom Compost *
Blainville * Lunatic Harness * Approaching Menace * My Little Beautiful
* Secret Stair Pt. 1 * Secret Stair Pt. 2 * Wannabe * Catkin And Teasel
* London * Midwinter Log
VARIOUS ARTISTS: 8 Track Flashback - The One-Hit Wonders (Rhino)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
Another comp with VH1's seal of approval, and another "buy it if you need
'em" track list. Though I snort and sneer, I'd probably sneak into a store
and buy this one because it has not one, not two, but three of my guilty
pleasure 70s tunes that I haven't got on CD. Is it okay to like a song with
a line as cheesy as "skinned our hearts and skinned our knees"? Probably
not, but don't get too judgmental while all those Partridge Family LPs are
tucked away in your collection, bub. Cheesy, yes, but if you like stinky
cheese, "Precious And Few," "Venus," "In The Summertime," and even "Brandy
(You're A Fine Girl)" might just hit the spot. For my credibility's sake,
I'd like to tell you I have no time for stinky cheese 70s music. I'd LIKE
to tell you that. Oh well. Pass the crackers, please.
Track List:
Play That Funky Music (Wild Cherry) * Venus (Shocking Blue) * Seasons In The
Sun (Terry Jacks) * Afternoon Delight (Starland Vocal Band) * Precious And
Few (Climax) * Put Your Hand In The Hand (Ocean) * Rock Your Baby (George
McCrae) * In The Summertime (Mungo Jerry) * Brandy (You're A Fine Girl)
(Looking Glass) * Turn The Beat Around (Vickie Sue Robinson) * Knock On Wood
(Amii Stewart) * Rock And Roll Part 2 (Gary Glitter) * Ring My Bell (Anita
Ward) * I Love The Nightlife (Disco Round) (Alicia Bridges) * Don't Leave
Me This Way (Thelma Houston) * Rock On (David Essex)
VARIOUS ARTISTS: The Best of IGL Garage Rock (Get Hip)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
Get Hip, in cooperation here with ARF! ARF! Productions, continues
their vinyl resurrection of the Iowa Great Lakes catalog with this
collection of 17 garage classics from the great midwest.
Teen pop angst, pre-metal garage thrash and hints of impending
psychedelia - it's all here. There's a ton of fun on this album (and
it's nice to get this stuff on an actual *album*), with a few standout
tracks that take it beyond the level of a campy trip down memory lane.
Billy Rat & The Finks take a fuzz-laden, mid-tempo turn at "Little
Queenie" that can make you rethink the whole subject of Chuck Berry
covers there's a harp player on the Yeti Blues Band's version of Nick
Graventies' "Born In Chicago" I'd like to hear again. There's plenty
more to check out here, and most tracks won't hang you up for more than
two and a half minutes or so.
Pick it up, put it on and find your own favorites. Hey, just the names
of the bands are worth the price of admission...
Track List: DeeJay & The Runaways/Jenny Jenny; The Gorilla * The
Continental Coets/I Don't Love You No More * Dark Knights/Dark Knight *
The Torres/Play Your Games * Dale & The Devonaires/Take A Look At A Fool
* Tommy Tucker & The Esquires/Don't Tell Me Lies * Billy Rat & The
Finks/Little Queenie; All American Boy * The Noblemen/Things Aren't The
Same; Night Rider * Koats Of Male/Life's Matter; Swinebarn No.3 * Yeti
Blues Band/Born In Chicago * The Senders/Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear
White * Dynamic Dischords/Passageway To Your Heart * Fifth Generation/
Purple Haze
VARIOUS ARTISTS: Billboard Top Album Hits
1981; 1982; 1983; 1984 (Rhino)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
Though released as four single discs, these are enough of a kind to
consider as a set. Compiled by chart wiz Joel Whitburn, each disc
presents ten cuts from the Billboard Album Rock Tracks charts of the
respective year (the chart has since been renamed "Mainstream Rock").
Whatcha got here is your basic "classic rock" radio station in a bunch
of plastic boxes. No particular surprises, just a bunch of songs you've
heard in the car for the last decade or so. You know, the ones that
make you bob your head and drive just a leetle bit faster. The ones
that make the guy in the next car at that stoplight wonder what you're
screaming about when you're just singing along. The ones you don't want
your alt.everything friends to know are among your very favorites.
There's a reason these songs got heavy rotation in those bygone days
(and a good many of them get pretty fair airplay right where you are
sitting now). There's some good music here - the best work of some
otherwise undistinguished bands and the best known work of some damn
good ones. Priced to cost you about what a collection of comparable 45s
would have when these were new tunes, there's a reasonable bang for your
buck on these discs, along with the smiles that go with some nice
memories.
Track Lists:
1981: Foreigner/Waiting For A Girl Like You * .38 Special/Hold On
Loosely * The Moody Blues/The Voice * Blue Oyster Cult/Burnin' For You *
Pat Benatar/Fire And Ice * ELO/Hold On Tight * Gary U.S. Bonds/This
Little Girl * Jefferson Starship/Find Your Way Back * Joe Walsh/A Life
Of Illusion * Billy Squier/The Stroke
1982: The Cars/Shake It Up * Asia/Heat Of The Moment * Tommy Tutone/
867-5309/Jenny * Fleetwood Mac/Hold Me * Scorpions/No One Like You *
REO Speedwagon/Keep The Fire Burnin' * Billy Squier/Everybody Wants You
* .38 Special/Caught Up In You * Eddie Money/Think I'm In Love *
Loverboy/Working For The Weekend
1983: Pretenders/Back On The Chain Gang * Golden Earring/Twilight Zone *
The Fixx/One Thing Leads To Another * INXS/The One Thing * Asia/Don't
Cry * Loverboy/Hot Girls In Love * The Tubes/She's A Beauty * .38
Special/If I'd Been The One * Pat Benatar/Love Is A Battlefield *
Triumph/All The Way
1984: Pat Benatar/We Belong * Tony Carey/A Fine Fine Day * The Cars/You
Might Think * Scandal (featuring Patty Smyth)/The Warrior * Night Ranger/
Sister Christian * Billy Squier/Rock Me Tonite * The Pretenders/Middle
Of The Road * The Fixx/Are We Ourselves * Dwight Twilley/Girls * Yes/
Leave It
VARIOUS ARTISTS: Chess Blues Piano Greats (MCA/Chess)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
Chess Records built its reputation on guitar blues from artists like
Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy, and guitar rockers including Bo
Diddley and Chuck Berry. That reputation was supported, though, by
powerful piano session work from men like Otis Spann and Lafayette Leake
and early R&B hits from pianomen Eddie Boyd and Willie Mabon.
Those are the four names that appear on these two discs as Chess Records
"Blues Piano Greats." The set is an intriguing look at artists and
styles that were largely overlooked in the '60s blues revival which was
driven by British blues guitarists such as Eric Clapton, John Mayall and
Jimmy Page and their American counterparts like Michael Bloomfield and
John Hammond.
Disc One opens with 20 cuts from Eddie Boyd. Listening to Boyd, and to
the big saxophone sound that often accompanies him, it's clear that his
music points in a straight line to the Memphis soul sounds typified by
the Booker T.'s and King Curtis' more than to the electric blues revival
sounds mentioned. While his music, including his dynamic vocal approach
as well as his piano, is absolutely the blues, it's a blues that will
appeal to fans of R&B more than to those who find their pleasure in the
blues-rock field.
Otis Spann, who closes Disc One with four tracks featuring his vocals
and piano, was rarely heard as a leader. Best known as the pianoman for
Muddy Waters (Spann claimed to be Muddy's half-brother), he appears with
a variety of sidemen here, including B.B. King on "It Must Have Been The
Devil" and the instrumental, "Five Spot." Those two cuts appeared as a
1954 single. One of the remaining Spann cuts, "I'm In Love With You
Baby," gets its first U.S. release on this set. "I'm Leaving You" was
previously only available on the box set "Chess Blues."
Disc Two opens with another long (18 song) set from Willie Mabon. Mabon
was a gifted lyricist, whose original songs reflect a facility with
language well above the typical blues songwriter. His melodies and
arrangements show a high level of sophistication as well, and indeed
Mabon prided himself on being a well rounded entertainer who could
perform blues, R&B, pop, jazz or whatever the audience might call for.
These Chess sides are blues, though, all blues, though a sophisticated
and personal brand of blues.
The last three songs on this set belong to the enigmatic Lafayette
Leake, described as the "mystery man" of Chess Records. Little is known
of his life, or where he gained his facility with his instrument. Leake
could read music and was known for his ability to walk into the studio
and produce great blues backup to order. With his considerable talent,
it is easy to imagine that a considerable solo career could have been in
the offing. He was offered the opportunity to record his own album many
times, but refused because he had no desire to do the requisite touring
to support an album. He's represented here by one track laid down in
the Chess studios in 1957 and two captured live at the Montreaux
Festival in 1972.
This set is a fine introduction to styles and artists that have too long
and too often been overlooked. If you're an aficionado familiar with
these players and their songs, this is a great opportunity to get their
most popular work and some wonderful rarities all in one place.
Track List:
Disc One:
Eddie Boyd: 24 Hours * Got Lonesome Here * I Got The Blues * I Began To
Sing The Blues * Rosa Lee Swing * Blues For Baby * Hard Time Gettin'
Started * Third Degree * Just A Fool * Rattin' And Running Around * Hush
Baby, Don't You Cry * Instrumental (Take 2) * Picture In The Frame *
Nothing But Trouble * Got Me Seein' Double * What's The Matter Baby? *
Life Gets To Be A Burden * Hotel Blues * Come On Home * Five Long Years
Otis Spann: It Must Have Been The Devil * Five Spot * I'm Leaving You *
I'm In Love With You Baby
Disc Two:
Willie Mabon: I Don't Know * Worry Blues * I'm Mad * Got To Have It *
Monday Woman * I Got To Go * Life Could Be Miserable * Late Again *
Willie's Blues * Say Man * Poison Ivy * Wow! I Feel So Good * The
Seventh Son * Lucinda * Someday You Will Have To Pay * He Lied * Knock
On Wood * I Love My Baby
Lafayette Leake: Slow Leake * Wrinkles * Swiss Boogie
VARIOUS ARTISTS: Future - A Journey
Through the Electronic Underground (Virgin)
Reviewed by Jeff Apter
Electronic music - or 'electronica,' as it's been imaginatively dubbed -
may be the hot tip for the future of pop, but its sales haven't quite
matched its hype: recent albums by The Chemical Bros (who contribute to
'Future') and The Prodigy have started with a bang and then sold with a
whimper. Business aside, electronica is a strange meeting place of
human-created rock and computer-generated roll, with sidetrips into dub,
reggae, ambiance, jazz - whatever works, really. The only constants are the
diversity of styles and the anonymity of the creators: the most God-like
star of electronica could stroll into any Hard Rock Cafe without reaching
for hat, shades or a mask. The two CDs of 'Future' are a useful starting
point for curious electronica spotters, with soothing grooves from FSOL,
The Grid and Hal (featuring swoon-worthy vocals from one Gillian Anderson),
alongside more urgent beats from Fluke, and sterling efforts from old
stagers Brian Eno, Massive Attack and Harold Budd. Just don't expect any
genuine emotion here: ever tried to get friendly with a computer?
VARIOUS ARTISTS: Give 'Em The Boot (Hellcat)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
Epitaph Records' Brett Gurewitz and Tim Armstrong of Epitaph stalwarts
Rancid have been partners in some pretty fine musical notions over time.
Few could be considered finer than their new joint venture, Hellcat
Records. Dedicated to putting out the best of the bands that tread the
line between the punk and ska scenes, they've signed up eight fine bands
as the core of the new label's roster. Hepcat, The Pietasters, The
Gadjits, The Slackers, Dropkick Murphy's, Choking Victim, US Bombs and
F-Minus are the favored octet, and they're all on hand on this comp disc
that serves as the Hellcat kickoff.
In fact, if the new label is a good idea, the kickoff comp is a *great*
idea. 20 tracks, including an unreleased Rancid side, a new live side
from the legendary Skatalites, Rancid's Epitaph stablemates Voodoo Glow
Skulls and more are on hand to celebrate the Hellcat rollout in style -
hard core style, dance hall style, high style of every description.
And, hold your hat and open your wallet, the whole shebang can be yours
for, count 'em, four hundred and ninety nine cents list! Yep, twenty
songs, five bucks, great fun. I can't wait to hear the full releases
from the the Hellcat bands, but this will help fill the time admirably.
There's not much more to say that the track list couldn't say better,
so...
Track List: Rancid/The Brothels * The Slackers/Watch This * Hepcat/Can't
Wait * The Pietasters/New Breed * The Business/Spirit Of The Streets *
Voodoo Glow Skulls/Los Hombres No Lloran * Dropkick Murphy's/Barroom
Heroes * Skinnerbox/Does He Love You * The Upbeat/17 @ 17 * The Stubborn
Allstars/Open Season * The Gadjits/Beautiful Girl * Union 13/Roots
Radicals * US Bombs/Jaks * Swingin' Utters/Fifteenth and T * The
Skatalites/Latin Goes Ska * The Silencers/Policeman * Pressure Point/
Heart Like A Lion * Choking Victim/Infested * F-Minus/No Time * The Dave
Hillyard Rocksteady 7/Playtime
VARIOUS ARTISTS: Good Time Jazz Story (Fantasy)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
Legend has it that Good Time Jazz Records was started by Lester Koenig the
day he saw The Firehouse Five Plus Two perform at a 1949 New Year's party.
Koenig, knocked out by what he heard, approached bandleader (and famous
Disney animator) Ward Kimball and said "Will you record for me?" When
Kimball asked what label he was with, he replied "None, but if you record
for me, I'll have one." This is your first clue regarding Koenig's motives.
Like many of the best independent labels today, Good Time Jazz was a labor
of love. To Mr. Koenig, the music was everything.
As 1949 dawned, the mainstream of jazz was in a state of transition from
swing to bop, and the traditional jazz of the early part of the century
was all but forgotten. Koenig's fledgling label helped spearhead a great
revival that lasted a decade or more. Along with The Firehouse Five Plus
Two, Good Time Jazz became home to outstanding talents like Kid Ory, Lucky
Roberts, Burt Bales, The Silver Leaf Jazz Band, Turk Murphy, The Banjo Kings,
Bob Scobey, Bay City Jazz Band, and Bunk Johnson, and even the late Jelly
Roll Morton's music was reissued on the label. The four CDs that comprise
this box set offer a little bit of nearly everyone who recorded for Good
Time Jazz in its 20 year existence, and in some cases there are five or six
tracks by a particular artist.
The music ranges from ragtime to blues, covering mileage from New Orleans to
Los Angeles to San Francisco and back in just over five hours, during which
time you'll certainly find some new favorites. If Pete Daily's "Clarinet
Marmalade" doesn't get ya, you can't be got. Firehouse Five Plus Two's
uniquely diverse repertoire, well served here with a whopping nine tracks,
will make believers out of everyone. And then there's Jesse Fuller. A
folk and blues singer with a wonderful storyteller's delivery, Fuller was a
one man band in the classic sense, operating cymbals, drums and various
horns while simultaneously playing guitar and singing. Amazing as his
presentation techniques were, he was more than just a roadside oddity. His
delivery was riveting, and his playing skillful. As with most of the great
talents in this collection, Fuller is worth discovering. His music, and
most of the recorded output of all of these artists, is available today
through Fantasy.
The set comes with a 60-page booklet that contains a detailed and annotated
track listing, a history of the label (written by legendary jazz critic
Floyd Levin, who was indeed part of this story himself), a discography,
producer's notes, and a center-spread montage of Good Time Jazz's typically
eye-popping album covers. Clearly, a lot went into the making of this box.
Finding this set was, for me, a wonderful bit of serendipity involving an
incorrectly entered release date in a wholesaler's database. It kicked the
title out as a brand new release and I went after it, not knowing it was
actually released in 1995. I had managed to miss it the first time around.
As a trad latebloomer--meaning I discovered this form of jazz through Woody
Allen's Sleeper soundtrack and not through hard nosed research--I'd been a
little frustrated by several less than exciting purchases as I pursued
knowledge of the form. If you're in the same boat now, I recommend this set
wholeheartedly. It may collect the output of only one label, but Good Time
Jazz was one hell of a label.
VARIOUS ARTISTS: Psychedelic Club Trax (Hypnotic Records)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
There was a time when the term "psychedelic" applied to music meant
that you'd spend some time lying down watching the colored lights shine
either on the wall or inside your eyelids while you gazed in amazement.
The eleven tracks here assembled serve notice that today's psychedelia
is as likely to move your butt as your brain. Compiled by Thomas Elers,
this compilation of trance/dance treasures is full of high energy synth
jams for the ravers with just the right dose of mental maneuvering to
provide satisfaction to those of us who are better described as aging
hippies than as club kids.
In fact, this is a fine introduction to the whole electronica scene for
folks who haven't quite got it yet. It's not comprehensive, by any
means. There's a lot of sounds and schools in electronic music these
days. It is accessible, though, without being compromised.
Though it's tagged as psychedelic, this music neither requires nor
particularly inspires the use of drugs. More accurately, this music
*is* drugs, of a sort. Played loud in a roomful of sweaty bodies, it
will provide the platform for physical and mental escape as effectively
as any chemical concoction. Played loud through headphones with closed
eyes, it will just as readily transport you out of your mundane space
into another mental place.
Played anyway you can through anything you have at any volume you can
get away with, you'll be treated to a worthy glimpse of some of today's
more creative dance and trance sounds.
Track List: Asbraasia/Whirlpool-Kaos * X-Plore/Xemini * Donut Junkie/
Blue * Recipe/Capture * Aerial Servant/Clockwork 2 * Latex Empire/
Acidchiled * Amtraxx/Morphis * Bloque/Legoland * Monostalker/Stereoids *
Mayflyer/Signal 1 * Hval/Teint
VARIOUS ARTISTS: Take It Off! Striptease Classics (Rhino)
Reviewed by John Sekerka
Hey politically correctors: stripping is back! Well, in Hollywood anyway.
But that don't matter, you can still swing like a sixties bachelor thanks to
this handy dandy compilation. If this sounds at all familiar, then you must
know of Ann Corio's double vinyl whammy from a bygone era: How To Strip For
Your Husband, volumes one and two. Perhaps you own those records, and if so,
then they are probably all scratched up. Good news is here, because Take It
Off! collects the best of those nudie discs in fab digital format for play
on your spanking new hi-fi. Sonny Lester (who?) and his Orchestra slink their
way through such naughty classics as "Bumps & Grinds," "Big Millie From
Philly" and "How Mable Get Sable Cha Cha Cha." Of course the standards
("Lament," "The Stripper") are included as well. A heaping helping of brass,
a lot of sax, a sensuous beat, and slinky rhythms is all it takes. You're
ready for some squeaky clean, primo titillation. This package comes complete
with wonderful liner notes, racy pics and a very moving (literally) cover.
Yowsa!
MUDDY WATERS: His Best, 1956 to 1964 (MCA/Chess)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale
This disc, part of MCA's series celebrating the 50th anniversary of
Chess Records, documents a time during which the label was becoming
better known as the home of rockers Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley than
bluesmen like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. If the influence of blues
in general was on the wane, both at the label and on the charts, it was
hard to find evidence of any such slide in the fortunes of Muddy Waters.
Though the outstanding band, with Jimmy Rogers and Little Walter, which
had played with Muddy through the early 50's was on the rocks, Willie
Dixon and Otis Spann were still on hand and new players, including James
Cotton, Walter Horton and Buddy Guy, would begin to appear on Waters'
sessions, producing some of his most memorable material.
This was the era of "Forty Days And Forty Nights," "Got My Mojo Working,"
"You Shook Me" and "Good Morning, Little School Girl." These and many
more of the 20 tracks assembled on this collection are now standards of
the blues repertoire, passed down from player to player with reverential
acknowledgment to the master, Mr. Waters. This was also the era during
which Muddy Waters became an international star, traveling for the first
time to England and setting the stage for the coming blues revival,
which would see the rock crowds acknowledging their blues roots and
rescuing the careers of many of the roots players. It would be hard to
overestimate the positive impact Muddy Waters had in that respect.
Muddy Waters was no doubt the king of Chicago Blues, but he never lost
touch with his Delta roots, which gave his influence during the blues
revival of the early sixties double impact. It also gives the songs
collected here a healthy dose of Mississippi emotion, which separated
Muddy from many of the big city flash players.
This is a welcome set, a heaping helping of the real deal. Serious
collectors will have most of these cuts in some format, but this is a
great compilation of a great period in Muddy Waters' career for the
collector and novice alike.
Track List: All Aboard * Forty Days And Forty Nights * Just To Be With
You * Don't Go No Farther * Diamonds At Your Feet * I Love The Life I
Live, I Live The Life I Love * Rock Me * Got My Mojo Working * She's
Nineteen Years Old * Close To You * Walkin' Thru The Park * She's Into
Something * I Feel So Good * You Shook Me * You Need Love * My Love
Strikes Like Lightning * My Home Is In The Delta * Good Morning, Little
School Girl * The Same Thing * You Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had
___________________________________________________________________________
CLASSIC EXAMPLE
By Robert Cummings
The biggest question among those with a burgeoning interest in classical
music is: "what do I buy?" You're confronted by a world of concertos and
symphonies and ballets and cantatas, and composers with funny names. One
day you hear a piece by Mozart and like it, but don't know if you will like
others by him. Worse, you shrug and say you don't know the stylistic
differences between Bach and Chopin, or between Beethoven and Tchaikovsky.
Frankly, you're afraid to plunk down fifteen dollars on a gamble that you'll
like a certain symphony by Dvorak. And, learning that it's pronounced
`duh-vor-zhock' only intimidates you further.
Indeed. The world of classical music can be confusing for those on the
outside looking in, as well as for those who've just entered the lobby.
Inside there is a quite lavish banquet of smorgasbord-style dishes. And
when you move through the line to make your choices of those
delicious-looking concoctions, you certainly want to know what to put on
your plate. "Hmmm," you say feeling brave, "I'll have a Mahler symphony,
some Chopin and Debussy preludes, and maybe a Beethoven quartet, with a
side order of a Bruckner symphony. For dessert, let's see, how about some
Liszt and Borodin?" Then you sample them to learn you don't care for that
melancholic Mahler or for the brassy Bruckner; and you tire easily of
dreamy Debussy, and Borodin bores you. There, just three out of seven!
You've wasted sixty hard-earned dollars on those four bad choices.
While no one can guaranty whose music you'll like and whose you'll dislike,
it's good to be armed with some basic information before any purchase. One
easy course of action to follow is this: before buying any recording, check
the composer's vital dates, usually listed on the back cover of the jacket.
Most composers will fall into one of the categories below. I've listed some
of the most prominent ones next to their musical period. (The dates are
arguable, of course, and some composers have written in several styles.)
Baroque 1600-1750 (Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Telemann)
Classical 1750-1820 (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert)
Romantic 1820-1850 (Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Brahms)
Post-Romantic 1850-1900's (Brahms, Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov)
Impressionist 1900-1940 (Debussy, Ravel, Dukas, Roussel)
NeoClassical 1920- (Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Bartok, Hindemith)
Eclectic 1920- (Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Britten)
Twelve Tone (Serial) 1920- (Schoenberg, Berg, Webern)
Modern, Including Electronic/Computer 1950- (Cage, Boulez, Austin, Waschka)
Admittedly, this categorization involved many generalizations, simplifications
and omissions. I didn't cover Medieval and Renaissance music, for example,
and I couldn't list every major composer (Berlioz, Verdi, Puccini, Dvorak,
Sibelius, etc.). Now I will take a moment to describe the styles of each of
these periods and make some basic recommendations.
Baroque - Think of smaller ensembles and of the harpsichord and recorder (a
kind of early flute), and imagine music that is lively and delicate, regal
and elegant. Remember the theme to William F. Buckley's Firing Line (played
on a synthesizer, no less)? It's from the finale of Bach's Brandenburg
Concerto No. 2. Also, when you think Baroque, you think of big religious
oratorios, like Handel's Messiah.
Classical - Here, the music becomes a bit more sophisticated, growing away
from the smaller ensembles and toward the orchestra (Haydn wrote over 100
symphonies!) The orchestral music is lively and string-dominated, a bit more
restrained, and at times darker. Musical development grows in the symphony
and sonata via the innovations of Beethoven. Try Mozart's Symphony No. 40,
or Haydn's "London" Symphonies.
Romantic - Now melody becomes more emotional, while generally maintaining a
songful or heroic character. The orchestra grows in size and instruments
modernize to produce grandiose and sonorous washes of sound. Hear the
Beethoven 9th Symphony, the Chopin Ballades, or the Mendelssohn Symphony No.
4 (Italian).
Post-Romantic - The orchestra becomes massive in some scores, and the
emotionalism grows in intensity to include heart-on-sleeve romantic outpourings
and feelings of depression and gloom. If you're enamored of love themes or
sad melodies, music from this period will appeal to you. Try that powerhouse
of emotion and fate, the Tchaikovsky 6th Symphony, or that grandiose choral
symphony, the Mahler 8th, or Rachmaninov's tuneful 2nd Piano Concerto.
Impressionist - The music here is intimate and descriptive. Often in the
works of the iconic impressionist, Debussy, one finds a hazy, ethereal
quality where, for instance, a stream of water is depicted in delicate,
subtle running notes on the piano. Often you see the picture or sense the
feeling the music is describing. Try the Debussy Preludes or Ravel's Daphnis
and Chloe.
NeoClassical - Music looks backward here in this style, utilizing elements
from the classical period in a modern context. Stravinsky is most closely
associated with this style, even though Prokofiev and Busoni wrote works
in this vein before he did. Try Stravinsky's Symphony in C and Symphony in
Three Movements. But be forewarned, these two works, though quite compelling,
don't contain catchy tunes.
Eclectic - Composers falling into this category really are unclassifiable.
Prokofiev, probably the ultimate eclectic, could be called a
Post-Romantic/Nationalistic/NeoClassical/Modernist composer. And maybe more.
Eclectics tended to compose music on a large scale in a generally modern yet
tuneful vein. Hear the passionate and pungent Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet or
the Shostakovich Symphony No. 8.
Twelve-Tone - Avoid these works if you think musical discord, dissonance and
absence of recognizable melody would be alien to your tastes. From my
experience, I've found few who like Schoenberg, the major exponent here. I'm
one, though. If you're adventurous, try his piano concerto.
Modern, Including Electronic/Computer - No recommendations in the final
category. I guaranty that few initiates will want to venture into this avant
garde area, one which includes sounds that many say are not music but chaos.
Perhaps I'll write more about it in a later column.
There you have it. You're all set to go out into that cruel world and spend
a few dollars on some classical CDs. Henceforth, this column will appear
monthly and be devoted to a different composer each time. I'll make some
recommendations of outstanding recordings after examining stylistic traits
and compositions. And you'll have the pleasure of spending your money and
cursing me if you get burned. Tune in next month for Prokofiev.
SOUND CLIP CREDITS
(Ed.Note: The only way to get the full benefit of Classic Example is to go
to our website at http://www.cosmik.com and take advantage of the sound
clips that serve as examples. All you need is a Real Audio Player, which
you can get for free at http://www.real.com. A 28.8 baud modem is ideal,
but with the Perfect Play feature of the player, it is possible to listen
in with a 14.4 baud modem.)
1) Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 (Finale; track 6); Christopher
Hogwood/Academy of Ancient Music/L'OISEAU LYRE
2) Mozart: Symphony No. 40 (First Movement; track 1); Abaddo/Berlin
Philharmonic/DG
3) Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (Finale; track 4); Drahos/ Nicolaus Esterhazy
Sinfonia/NAXOS
4) Tchaikovsky: Symphony 6 (First Movement; track 1); Maazel/Cleveland
Orchestra/SONY
5) Debussy: Preludes Book I (The Maid with the Flaxen Hair; track 8);
Thibaudet/LONDON
6) Stravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements (First Movement; track 5);
Shao/New Zealand Symphony/NAXOS
7) Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet (Dance of the Knights; track 13);
Gergiev/Kirov Orchestra/PHILIPS
8) Schoenberg: Piano Concerto (track 7); Pollini/Abaddo/Berlin Philharmonic
Orchestra/DG
____________________________________________________________________________
BETWEEN ZERO & ONE
By Steven Leith
WORKERS OF THE WORLD SURF THE NET
YOU HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT YOUR CHAINS
Thats right. The real chains that shackle the worker of the post modern
era are chains on the mind. What do we believe, who do we trust and what
do we need? All this and more are mental constructs that the government,
media, and corporations erect for us.
Without their guiding influence we might be tempted to seek the underlying
reasons for their actions or, God forbid, question what they tell us.
As long as job skills replace knowledge, the chains are safely in place.
You see, job skills are needed in the post modern corporate world, but when
skills stray too far from what is needed to produce goods and services you
might get real understanding.
Enter the Net. The modern worker is being forced to add Net use to their
kit of job skills. But there is a dark side to this particular skill. It
can lead to honest to goodness thinking for yourself. It can even lead to
a glimpse over the fence that separates the employed from that ugly societal
fringe the RAC (Radical Artist Conspiracy).
If you spend time on the Net you know that you must use common sense to
separate the wheat from the chaff. It is a skill that is not required of
the average citizen who soaks up TV advertising as if it were documentary
evidence. Another chilling aspect of the Net is that information can find
its way to your computer without corporate medias stamp of approval.
So, we have a catch 22. The post modern worker needs job skills that are
Net skills, but they sure dont need to be exposed to ideas and concepts
that call into question the very system their labor supports.
Whats our rulers to do? The first thing is to make sure that the same
tired voices are heard over the Net, just as they drone on over the airways.
They must expend capital to train the worker that the only source for
information on the Net are the same organs of propaganda that exist in the
non-cyber world. MSNBC, CNN-online, New York Times online, are all perfect
examples of how you can drown out the alternative voices that beset the Net.
The floodgates are open. The worker is going to be inundated with
information from the major media concerns. Baffle them with info-glut and
they wont have the time or patience to examine the issues, or the very
society their labor is creating.
Another useful technique is to raise the price of admission so fewer voices
can be heard. It was done very successfully in the first half of this
century when the airways were sold to the highest bidder and it will happen
again in the last half.
We are being told that prices have to go up for Internet use otherwise no
one will get to use the Net. The free ride is over they tell us. They dont
even bother to support their claims because the real reason that prices are
going to go through the roof is to weed out the undesirable elements of Net
society.
As we stand on the threshold of a new millennium we are also granted a new
weapon to forge our freedom anew. Freedom is hard work whether it is
defending your person or your mind. That is why most people chose the
comfort of their chains. You have the key to your chains. Do you dare
turn the key?
_________________________________________________________________________
PHIL'S GARAGE
By Phil Dirt
HOW WE GOT HERE (where are we going?)
Ive always been more interested in the turning points in musical
evolution than in the Billboard charts. It seems to me that what matters
in retrospect is not how many people doted on a release, but rather
which technical and creative developments enabled it to occur. I take
the sort of view of rock history that James Burke took with his history
and technology series, Connections.
As a result, my opinion of the value of an artists contribution often
varies widely from the generally accepted view. One major case in point
has been my long-held view that the caldron of Liverpool from which came
the Beatles held more vital and significant bands than they were, and
dozens of others of equal musical value, all covering the same American
R&B classics.
For instance, The Big Three were among the most popular on the local
scene, and were arguably the original power trio, with John Gustafson,
Johnny Hutchinson, and Brian Griffiths. With only three players, they
needed to have a big sound and fill every nook and cranny, which they
did. They were real rockers in the rumble and play meaning of the word.
John Lennon once auditioned for the band. He was turned down because he
was reportedly viewed widely as a sissy. Their full bodied approach to
R&B got people moving instantly.
Another British example was Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, who recorded the
original "Shakin All Over" in 1960, and whose guitarist, Mick Green,
originated the power trio signature guitar concept of playing the lead
and rhythm parts simultaneously on a single guitar. Incidentally, Big
Three bassist Johnny Gustafson was a latter day member of the Pirates.
In the early eighties, I came back to KFJC for the purpose of producing
a rock history series to demonstrate these relationships. It was called
"Waves." Intended to be a short series, It ended up being 132 half hour
episodes, aired twice weekly. The by-line was "a personal view of
change," a line curiously used by James Burke some years later in his
series.
"Waves" looked only at the musical triggers, the innovators and
innovations. It focused on those little left turns off the beaten path
that would later result in whole genres or the success of others. Bands
like Blue Cheer were heavily investigated musically, along with their
family tree roots and branches which included Randy Holdens band, the
Other Half, Paul Whaleys East Bay band, the Oxford Circle, Leigh
Stephens and his Red Weather and Silver Metre, and Berkeleys Mint
Tattoo. After all, between them, they invented loud and ugly, and
certainly the subsequent rise of Metal and Punk were in large part
dependent on these precursors. They defined the power trio.
Some years back, I was reminded of the other trigger, the more subtle
influence of social condition. I was preparing for a massive 13 hour all
inclusive Yardbirds special. I interviewed Jim McCarty about how the
Yardbirds came into being. During the course of our conversation, he
talked about something that struck home in a way nothing else had.
Funny, it was something Id never thought about quite in that way
before. It was the Cuban Crisis.
I grew up as a pre-teen in the late fifties, when I first came under the
influence of rock. I remember going to school and drilling what to do in
the event of the Russians dropping atomic bombs on us. It was on TV too,
with those dreadful public service spots about duck and cover.
I vividly remember my first nuclear nightmare. I was on a country road not
far from my home. Suddenly, the sky turned bright orange and red and yellow,
and I knew I was going to die. I woke up screaming. It was the only color
dream I had as a child. I was terrified. I was only ten years old.
I re-dreamt the exact same dream sequence during the Cuban crisis, when
JFK called the Russians bluff.
Jim McCarty related coming home from school that day convinced it was to
be his last, and he was not alone. From that day forward there was a
pervasive "live for today, for tomorrow we may die" mentality that
overtook them, and many other people around the world. It was mostly
unspoken, too horrible to say aloud or even admit to ones self, but it
was there.
Its funny, but in large part, it would seem that the death of melody in
pop music came to pass under the same mushroom cloud.
From this bleak view came the generational feeling of no future, and
the impatience that prevented investing and waiting. It was followed by
continuing governmental lying and law-breaking, which only further
alienated the now insecure from the powers that be, breeding a feeling
of having no control and no safety.
The failed experiments with social order of the sixties and the "dont
worry be happy denial seventies" spawned the "hate everything eighties"
and the "lost early nineties."
What is curious to me is that there seems to be some sort of lifting of
the fog happening. Ive found myself in the last few years able to talk
about the nuclear nightmares, able to look at the darkest corners of my
inner self. Concurrent with this is the rise of instrumental surf, and
the prevailing comment from many of the new and old practitioners that
they were tired of playing music they didnt really like to small angry
groups of people who either showed them the deference they showed a fly
across the street, or showed their approval with venom of some sort.
Something in the social fabric brought a significant number of guitarists
to play surf when they were playing alone for themselves, just because it
was fun. On telling bandmates, they discovered they werent alone.
People are laughing and dancing when they play, and the bands are having
real fun playing infectious music with actual melodies. No one has to
listen to half baked political or social rhetoric being screamed at them
by someone whos career as a dishwasher is punctuated by occasional
performances on stage. Joy has returned to the music. Depression seems
to be on the way out.
The question is, is there a general shift to a lighter time finally at
hand? I certainly hope so.
Surfs Up!
___________________________________________________________________________
WALLEY AT WITZEND
By David Walley
BAD DAY AT INTERNET: HARD COPY
"The present is more frightening than any imaginable future I might dream
up. If Marshall McLuhan were alive today he'd have a nervous breakdown."
- William Gibson
Nothing to be done. I tried to ignore that idea, "David, be reasonable, you
haven't tried everything", and I resumed the struggle. By the time you read
this essay, everything I'm talking about in terms of computer technology
will be obsolete or nearly so. The word-processing program which is more
than adequate for my needs (I only use maybe 15% of its capabilities at
most) will have undergone two or three new permutations and revisions which
ultimately I will be coerced into buying. The operating system, the traffic
cop which monitors this and other programs in my computer's hard drive, will
likewise have undergone more upgrades and refinements. Finally and most
essentially, to keep the whole system "on the square" for peak operating
efficiency because I'll have replaced the above, not only will I absolutely
need a new microprocessor, the accelerator of this information vehicle, but
also more RAM (Random Access Memory) which runs the immediate program within
the new and improved operating environment. In the computer age as in none
other, the consumer/product circle remains unbroken.
By the time you read this essay, (and this is a brilliant consumerist
marvel), even the hard drive which contained this essay, the present
operating system and my other programs, which has more than enough capacity
for any future projects I might do with enough resident memory left over to
store the collected works of Leo Tolstoy, will also have to be enlarged
yet again. Why? It's the nature of the op sys beast, its bureaucratic
imperative, its DNA as it were. Coupled to its insatiable appetite, every
subsequent upgrade will like a voracious killer shark gobble larger and
larger portions of my system's resident memory in the name of "progress,
speed, and efficiency". And all for me and my work which is funny because
the operating system itself doesn't make me any more creative than I
already am. In truth, I'm the operating system; in the end it's not the
tools which make the man but the quality of the work he produces with them.
At least that's what I've always assumed up until now. A nifty-looking
typeface or a laser print job may make my manuscript look terrific but it
won't change my concepts. It's just like in the music business: A mediocre
rock and roll band can go into the best studio with the best producer in
the world and still make mediocre music. Oh, it might sound great but it
will still be mediocre, a simple awful truth regardless of what the record
company PR says to the contrary. Apparently that doesn't hold true in the
Information Age, moreso it's beside the point, and I'd better get used to it.
Only after I've written does the computer's word-processing function
really help. It is the editing, the shifting of blocks of text and the ease
of re-writing that makes me the proverbial happy hacker/writer. But though
ostensibly time-saving, paradoxically I have to be more vigilant in
copy-editing because a whole different set of systemic errors occur.
Besides the usual mis-keys, there's the danger of word repetition which
happens because I didn't completely cut off the tail of the word skein I'd
just edited down or inserted. There are of course the downright usage
mistakes like substituting "there" for "their", errors that spell checkers
blithely ignore and so do I if jammed for time. The program makes errors
because, I suppose, it can, or I let it, or some combination of the two;
every program has its quirks, again having nothing to do with my writing
(save for my dyslexic typing errors) but everything to do with the system I
choose to write with. On the other hand, because re-writing is a
comparative snap, word-processing makes me more nit-picky, more prone to
re-writing. It's so easy to be seduced, too easy. Indeed this feature has
been an inestimable boon to my marriage, especially when I show my work to
my only wife and she makes "a small suggestion or two" when I'm expecting
to be patted on my shaggy head as a reward for a job well done, a bonus
writers' spouses have been supposed to bestow since time immemorial. In the
old days when I was still pounding away on my trusty IBM Selectric II, I
used to go ballistic when she pointed out a busted tense, a run-on
sentence, a misspelling, the normal stuff. And I'd start screaming at her
for pointing it out, for marking up my pristine copy though I was more
ticked off with myself because I knew she was right. Of course she was
right, but I'd just done it and it took a while to do the "no mistakes"
final draft she sees at the end of the day. Hah! These days, I just sprint
out to the studio, put the manuscript up on screen, and key in the corrections
while the program automatically re-formats and re-paginates the manuscript. Then
I hit the print command GIJANG!, and a few minutes later out spews the
corrected copy from my printer like clean pressed laundry and I'm back in
our bedroom. "Is this any better dear?" I ask breathlessly, well-pleased
with myself. Of course it is, but that's no longer the point really.
My ambivalence toward the marvels of the new information technology, and
the mindset it has spawned, has less to do with the dialogue I have with my
wife, and more to do with my attempts to come to grips with my peculiarly
American response to the electronic culture, which has made these
domestic
scenes possible. According to cultural historian Warren Susman in Culture
as History (1984) not only does this new technology or its peculiarly
American attitude toward the new technology shape my experience, but it also
has implications for my future, implications which I have every right to
examine and question. From Susman's historical perspective, my continuing
dialogue with, and/or diatribe against, the current mystery trend is
symptomatic of an ongoing series of discussions which have bubbled under
the surface of American life since the 1840's. These discussions predate by
more than 150 years the current cyber-babble about the implications of the
Internet, Virtual Reality and the like. Back then, thinking Americans were
concerned about how steam power and the telegraph, that century's
information delivery system, was transforming life. At that time there was a
sense of unease in the air which accompanied those changes, an almost
palpable fear of modern civilization which was in part articulated by
writers like Nathanial Hawthorne, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson,
William Dean Howells, Henry Adams and others. In 1881, this unease was
given a name, American Nervousness, the title of a best-selling book
written by an American physician, George Beard. Considering today's
wide-spread use of mood altering drugs, decaffeinated Prozac and the like,
to medicate our present century's ills, the title was visionary and
prophetic. For Beard, the difference between the "ancient" past and modern
times came down to the influence of five elements: the transformatory
nature of steam power, the periodical press, the telegraph, the sciences,
and the mental power of women. (Feminism has always been a part of the
American scene). In the 1890's, Beard's findings were further amplified and
validated in research done by sociologists, philosophers, and
educationalists at the University of Chicago, who discerned another
debilitating impact of the new technologies on American society, viz. the
gradual disappearance of face-to-face communications, the glue which held
the American family together.
Forty years later their findings were further enhanced and refined by
Edward Sapir in The Encyclopedia of Social Sciences (1930). He articulated
a subsequent effect: because communications themselves could no longer be
kept within desirable bounds so also literary and artistic values were in
danger of being degraded and trivialized. Ask anybody who has ever received
an e-mail message or delved into the electronically infinite cyber-babble
of the Internet, or the World Wide Web it birthed. Indeed it is a raucous,
anarchic wild Westworld frontier populated by a whole host of self-created
cyber good and bad guys, black hats, cowboys, Indians and the dance of the
just plain folks. For Sapir and the rest of us who are also struggling to
find some middle position, some accommodation to this brave new world,
the question comes down to whether the obvious increase of overt communication
is not being constantly corrected...by the creation of new obstacles to
communication. The fear of being too easily understood, in many cases, may
be more aptly defined as the fear of being understood by too many--so many,
indeed, as to endanger the psychological reality of the image of the enlarged
self confronting the not-self.
Since Sapir's day this creation of and conflict with the media "not-self"
has been a preeminent subtext for numerous cyberpunk science fiction novels
and movies which feature computer technology prominently among them.
Brainstorm 1983, Videodrome, Blade Runner, Lawnmower Man, or most recently
Strange Days. The introduction of Virtual Reality to the evolution of
computer communications technology, the idea that one can not only create
but also inhabit discarnate spaces in a computer-generated world, raises
the ante some though in no way diminishes the force of Sapir's observations
sixty years ago. It's not just those of us who've opted to permanently move
into the cutting-edgeland ozone of the Internet who will be or have been
affected, either; we all are. And in truth, our perceptions and expectations
of promise, "the GE All-Electric kitchen" so to speak, which life in the
computer lane is supposed to herald, have soured as a result. From the
collective perspective created by movies, advertising, books,and art over the
25 years at least, our future will be a dark and ominous place. It will be
(and perhaps is already turning into), an industrially polluted, predatory
wasteland, inhabited by damaged alienated souls, those happy few already out
in cyberspace, who are manipulating it for good or ill, notwithstanding. The
future of business, (my modest enterprise as a writer included), is already
here, and though the paper-less office boogie steps are complex, we all
know them and they go something like this:
Of course you have to buy the what.sys and the service contract along with
a mess of specialty products and then you plug everything into everything
else to make a seamless unit you hope. You had all this before with office
#1, (the "paper" office?) whose systems were discrete, separate though
still technologically inter-connected (you were the interface technology).
Your office consisted of a desk, a phone, typewriters, file cabinets, but
just one additional set of whatever you were shuffling. With the INFORMATION
SYSTEM on which your office now depends, you need two or more sets of the
same stuff you had before. OK, they say it's better that you can shift it
digitally and electronically all over creation, to Sri Lanka and back in a
few nanoseconds if you choose. For that matter you can even park it all on a
hard drive there to save office space. It can be compact enough to carry
around with you, or you can have it attached like a polyp. William Gibson's
computer jockey anti-heroes can literally "jack themselves" in to the
information matrix if they choose. You can wake up in the morning with it, or
use it to sexually stimulate yourself at night--no muss, no fuss, (just massive
phone bills). Eventually you must have a hard copy of some sort, something
physically in hand so at least you can remember whatever it was you said or
ordered or did the night before if you're at all conscientious.
You just can't have it as backup on the hard drive either, because if you
have it on your hard drive, you (your data, and by inference and extension
your life) are at risk because something mechanical/electrical could happen
to the drive like a freak magnetic storm, a power surge or outage--and of
course you must buy a protection unit for that eventuality, if you're
paranoid enough or just being conscientious about your work once again. Of
course too, the system which runs the drive can crash and frequently does in
real life for any sort of stupid reason---nothing to be done unless you
back it all up.
However, the technology of diskettes with which you "back it all up" is
not as advanced as that of hard drives. The diskettes are just as much or more
prone to deterioration. (Presently the CD-ROM appears to be the solution
but when that technology filters down to the man on the street, and however
entropy is temporarily overcome, though having more capacity it will be
just as cantankerous, and prone to more intricate defects. Anyway once
you've converted everything over, something new will appear which will be
"better" and which you will buy, and so on, and so on, ad infinitum). Again if
you're conscientious (or creatively paranoid enough) your back-up diskettes
must be replaced at regular intervals. You're now buying and collecting and
keeping track of the duplicates, themselves prone to errors of transmission,
instead of merely storing that carbon copy in the stand-up files.
Even if you have your data on a diskette, you'll need a another what.sys
which is programmed for your diskette to be able to read and recover it,
fine. What if you don't have a compatible program or the place where you
want the data to appear isn't programmed the same way, which happens to
businesses more than you might think. What happens if the power cuts out in
mid-transmission, what then? The more you get into the technology of this
mindset, the more apparent it becomes that you're dangerously dependent, at
the mercy of the technology that runs the what.sys onto which you've
transferred your data, your life. So much for the liberating influences of
the paper-less office you were told would save your bacon.
Not just using, but even having a computer unalterably changes you. And
because it's yours, after a while you start acting like a teenager who's
just cobbled together a hot car. You become obsessed with the need to brag
about it because it's so cool and fast, etc., and men more than women are
prone to this kind of behavior. It's high school all over again or still:
same rules, different things--my dog's better than your dog. Suddenly you're
seventeen years old again hanging out in the parking lot before school
watching the people come and go, talking about cars and trying to appear
cool. You used to chat about the weather, the battle of the sexes, sports,
or politics, isn't everything going to hell in a hand basket? Now your
small talk becomes larded with liberal amounts of techno-babble which,
though it shows your coolness quotient to the boys, is guaranteed to put
almost everyone including your significant other to sleep. The competitive
juices which contribute to driving you crazy doing business in this
environment start churning too, unless you're one of those individuals (or
network administrators of one of those companies), who just has to have
everything the moment it can be had. If not, you're always playing
conversational catch-up, and feeling inadequate because you don't have
whatever you're supposed to have that they all have when your associates and
colleagues rabbet on about their "increased productivity, lower cost,
higher benefit-ratios, etc.". The sort of thing businessmen like to talk
about when alone instead of sports (which everyone has given up on anyway).
Even if you don't have it all, in defense you learn the jargon much as young
men did in back in the Fifties who didn't know a Lake pipe from a lifter,
but learned so that the hoods who did wouldn't kick the shit out of them,
and they'd blend into the woodwork. This being still the case, either you
learn to zip it and moderate your enthusiasms, or you run out of friends.
Or you seek the company of other hackers who, I suppose in reality, bore
themselves silly even in their protected environment. Thus your life
changes by fits and starts and imperceptibly it begins to dawn on you--that
boon you have sought seems less and less to be a boon when everything else
is factored in. Everyone gets to the same page eventually, for no matter how
plugged-in you are to the new world order, still there comes a point in
time when you realize that no matter how many megs of RAM you're running, how
fast your modem, capacious your hard drive, or how many type fonts are
loaded up and ready to go, you've still got to have a hard copy, just like
you always had. And not only one, electronic forgeries being a growth
industry these days. Instead of the simplicity and good design you were
promised you have wandered into the systems hell of infinite duplication
instead.
But come, let's go, let us proceed down this particular garden path. Let's
say you've already re-thought your "business environment", are familiar
with the quirks of "information management", and are ready to get out there
on the electronic dance floor. To your chagrin, you find that things have
gotten gnarly out there in the Zone while you were tooling up, or
re-tooling to maintain your edge. Now you have to deal with the Internet
and the World Wide Web which the vendors have touted as the answer for
everything. Sure it's easy to ship data and graphics, buy and sell too, but
what happens when you send something to somebody over your trusty modem and
what they get isn't what you sent or is not there for him to see because
there's a defect in his office system file manager or in yours, and your
data's corrupted? That you won't find out about until much later because it
looks so nice and neat and official (it's laser printed naturally).
Or worst case scenario, you learn the iron law of technology: the bigger,
the faster, the more complex it is, the greater its capacity for mayhem. In
short, that technology only amplifies and encourages human fallibility, and
its use becomes the excuse why things don't work smoothly. A friend of mine
related a sterling example of that thinking when he was in charge of producing
a glass CD-ROM containing highly complex actuarial figures for a Fortune
500 insurance conglomerate. The client's Los Angeles representative from
whence the data originated, which he was responsible for arranging on the CD,
an expensive and tedious undertaking, never bothered to informe him that
what she was sending was incomplete. It was only at the eleventh hour after
he had already made the defective CD that he discovered this. After producing
more than a few useless CD-ROMs (which the client paid for anyway but not
the point), he asked Ms. Elay why she never bothered to check the tapes for
data errors before she downloaded them to him. "If I'd known you were
going to check, I would have told you," was her response. Go figure, but
this is exactly what happens when people mindlessly abdicate their
responsibilities to machines and systems, in the mistaken belief machines
can think for themselves, when they are just being compliant doing only what
they're programmed to, no more no less.
Then you add in the hacker merry pranksters hanging out on the cyberspace
"corner" who are there just to mess with you and your data because it's fun
to break into somebody's house just to look in their bureaus. Oh it's
nothing personal, they do it to everybody, it's part of the code, the
initiation; that's just swell isn't it? At least in the old days you had a
pretty good hunch who was messing with you and why, but now you have to
worry about all those electronic bad guys who are playing out the
hyper-card version of "Bad Day at Internet" with your precious data, your
life. In this new business environment, you're at the mercy of people you
don't know. People you can't even see, people you never had to deal with
before. But OK you're a masochist and you're up for it, you've put in that
delegated phone line and are ready for the free lunch at Cafe Internet.
Having learned the protocols after being ritually singed by the flame
artists out there on the Net, you're ready to rumble. Only then do you run
into the biggest obstacle, for now you encounter lawyer sharks swimming out
there armed with Power Books looking for ways to exploit the First
Amendment, meaning their right to load up your singular space with
advertisements for goods and services you really want or need. And they want
a piece of your action too, which you thought was free.
You have to admire the lawyers for this, the way they've dealt themselves
into your game and are busily occupied with exploiting that good feeling
which free exchanges of ideas engenders. In the Sixties they used to say
that the streets belonged to the people, in the Nineties, it's the Net that
belongs to the people but that is under assault by the telecom giants who
want it all because in America there is no such thing as innovation without
commercial exploitation (taxation without representation?). Reach out and
touch someone? Right. Here's my credit card number.
Sooner or later that brings in the feds to police it (as if they have any
control now), and we all go back to high school where there's always a kid
in every class who brings down the heat on everyone's cool scene. Say some
people have a few beers after the game, there's always one who not only has
a few more beers to blottos-ville, but then gets into his car and mows down
the cheerleading squad or a group of nuns and you all get the heat and
you're grounded forever. Every cyber chat room or bulletin board has someone,
a trash-talking smarm, a scam artist selling snake oil, or apprentice
terrorist-in-training who abuses the protocols for which eventually everyone
pays and a little more freedom is given up for collective security.
So the paper-less office has its sorcerer's apprentice, and while
promising yet another "free" frontier it imposes a stiff admission price,
just another dealer option which leads to specialization and fragmentation.
Instead of opening up the possibilities of the human spirit, it paradoxically
limits them, and in the process, we've become prisoner of forces whose
complexity far outstrips our ability to comprehend them and their consequences.
It leads us to a kind of technological anhedonia described 100 years ago by
William James, in The Varieties of Religious Experience, as one of many types
of depression characterized by "mere passive joylessness and dreariness,
discouragement, dejection, lack of taste and zest and spring." Post that
on the paper-less office bulletin board we say.
Can you blame me if I'm not entirely comfortable with the situation on a
general level? On a personal level, it's making me crazy that I've allowed
myself to be suckered into this incrementally expensive technological dance.
In truth I probably only have myself to blame for being a victim of this
contemporary disorder, the computer inadequataphobia syndrome, a fear
exacerbated by my own feverish perusings of the computer trade magazines, that
I will be missing out on "something big" if I don't upgrade and take
advantage of "what's next". On the other hand, it could easily have a great
deal to do with spending protracted periods of time with my computer guru,
Dan the Software Man, who, after a few years around me, has become quite
the adept at orchestrating my eccentricities, fears and phobias about my
place in the Information Age. Maybe it's because of his skillful feeding of
my anxieties that I think it's inevitable, that the needs of the system
come first, its needs, not necessarily mine. Despite this reasoning I'm not
convinced. This technological break dance I'm engaged in has virtually
nothing to do with me or my work.
I've been meditating on this idea ever since Dan came over to my studio
recently to perform another upgrade miracle on my "system", which to me is
nothing more than a super typewriter/filing cabinet. The previous upgrade
to the Windows program he "just had to install" a few months back was still
primarily being used to play solitaire but no matter. This new installation,
he patiently explained, this modem to wire me up to the wonderful world of
e-mail and the Internet like the Windows program which preceded it, was for
"my own good". He was saying all this with a gleam in his eye as he was
deftly and professionally dismantling my electronic helpmate before my eyes
and laying it out on my desk like the proverbial patient etherized upon a
table: its driver cards and hard drive exposed, its dust cover upended.
Apparently the real reason he was being Dr. Kildare, Albert Schweitzer and
Mother Theresa combined boiled down to the fact that he was tired of playing
telephone tag with me, and if I had an online e-mail address he could get
me any time he wanted. Anyway when I got over feeling crazy because he was
loading yet another program on my hard drive that I probably wouldn't use,
I'd thank him in the end for being connected to the World Wide Web. He was
certain of that.
But who am I kidding, it's not my system after all, it's his. And even
now I am of a few minds about that since I'm still examining the implications
of having a computer or the computer having me, the improvement in
inter-spousal relationships notwithstanding. It has taken me all this time
to figure out that when Dan started me down the path to computing
self-sufficiency and converted another computer-phobe to the cause, that he
was really on a mission from You Know Who for my soul's salvation. Though
he might think that, and I might let him, there's a part of me which remains
skeptical, which stands apart watching the whole process, and my place in it,
unfold. Dan should have figured out that if I was a true believer in the new
world order, when he did come by for one of our sessions I'd buy everything
he had in his briefcase, all the good drugs, the hip programs which are touted
to keep me high, happy, productive and addicted. I don't hold it against him
that he tries so hard to sell me whatever is the current fancy, for if nothing
else, I represent a challenge to his salesman's ego. I guess I do because
in fact, I'm rather fond of him so I'll allow him his delusion that it's his
system and that I use it with his sufferance. And well I should since he set
me up and has performed all my previous upgrades, and services my machine
when it acts up, which ironically enough only seems to happen just before
he's upgraded me. The whole process is similar to what happens just when
you're thinking about investing in a new car; the old one catches on and
starts to act up, subtly reinforcing your decision.
Grow up ferchrissakes he tells me. It's not the Fifties or some other
comparatively ancient time when one could (and some did) build one's own
hi-fi or ham radio set, (or steam engines or electric generators) from the
components; no one even bothers to look under the hood of one's car either
'cause it's become so complicated with all their associated anti-pollution
devices appended. For that matter who can know what goes on behind the
dashboard stuffed with microchips. Nevertheless the rationale for how it's
all cobbled together is invariant: as night follows day, the least important
"bell and whistle" display you thought was neat on the dash seems to
incorporate the weakest link in the performance chain of command for the
efficient running of your car. And when it blows, so does everything else.
Those hardy hack-it-yourself-ers, those self-styled sports of the culture
who on principal "don't read the manual" for macho reasons of hacker amor
propre, actually spend more money and more time when waiting on-line for
the phone techie to get to them and still they'll have to go out and buy
whatever it is they'll need in the end. It's the same lesson those who buy
deep-cut discount computers and software from Uncle Steve's Discount Store
out in mall-land learn when they eschew patronage of their neighborhood
store whose prices may not be as "competitive" in the short run. In the
long run, the local guy ultimately is a better deal because he'll support
whatever you purchase and even throw in the batteries for free. When you
bring back your sweet deal to Uncle Steve's it's possible that the discount
package you bought is no longer in stock so no one remembers how it was
supposed to work, or the salesmen that you bought it from is long gone. If
not so, the service department is pathetically understaffed and overworked
and it will be weeks before they get to you since their warranty only
covers their store and you'll have to take a number. The final indignity
could be that Uncle Steve is now Uncle Janos, and the store's folded which
leaves you, the thrifty consumer, up the proverbial creek. In the end you
may wind up junking that system altogether and buying another one, but
that's another mystery entirely, an entirely disposable one at that. Better
to have Mike the Mechanic, or Dan the Software Man who, for $35 to $50 an
hour or fractions thereof (not including parts replacement), he'll pull out
the bad whozis, substitute another, reconfigure the what.sys and in under
fifteen minutes (if you're that lucky) have you back up crunching numbers,
words, playing Myst, poker or solitaire.
Before this kind of technology became so indispensable, interchangeable,
and commonplace, someone, somewhere at the point of manufacture, should have
gone over it, if only for the sake of manufacturing integrity, a term which
is harder and harder to define. In the era of multinational corporations
every component comes from somewhere else and since manufacturing standards
vary as do materials, ultimately fixing the blame when something goes down
is almost pointless. So whether the defect was structural or conceptual
means little in this consumer culture because we all know there's going to
be an upgrade soon which will fix the problem, and that will be on the
shelves next week or month rest assured. And we will buy it.
We might think we're being modern and progressive but in reality our
attitudes are more similar to our 17th and 18th century forbearers who also
"... confused the assurance of the bigger and better with the purely
directional conception of 'further'". Though we pride ourselves on being
progressive pragmatic post-historical post-modernists, we are being naive,
says the historian Huizinga, when we hold to our belief that" ...every new
discovery or refinement of existing means must contain the promise of
higher value or greater happiness." Additionally we also ignore another
basic truth of the Internet Age which has been pointed out by essayist and
academic David Ehrenfeld, that as a larger percentage of people become
involved with manipulating information for the most part of a trivial
nature, and all in the name of increasing everyone's efficiency, fewer people
are left to concern themselves with the real goods and services needed for
carrying on life... (and) there is a limit to what can be accomplished by
increasing the designs and processes, and efficiency may have unexpected and
undesirable effects...(which include) disrupting lives of people and
communities and--less obvious--making it easier for us to do the wrong thing.
Our century has been slow to grasp the truth that the efficiency of an action
has absolutely nothing to do with its rightness or wrongness.
Despite these misgivings and subconscious rumblings, I genuinely am fond
of Dan, and though he's endlessly amusing to hang with, it still bugs me that
whatever he installs never takes on the first go-round. His reasons are
instructive in light of Ehrenfeld's observations too: the processor's
defective, the software's defective, the installation environment (my studio)
isn't static-free, the electricity's not pure enough, the phone line has too
much static on it and so on. Sometimes in mid-surgery he'll have to go back
to the office for the specialized connector or driver card that's sitting on
his desk and come back a few hours later, that's OK isn't it? (do I have a
choice, Dan?) It's only a modem ferchrissakes he was mumbling to himself that
evening, how could it be defective just out of the box? Well, it's no biggie
he observed, chump change, he'd installed lots. Besides going on-line was a
snap, any idiot knew, he griped as he tried this and that alternative strategy
while re-booting the computer which groaned and blinked uncomprehendingly.
He was getting mad at me too because I(!!) had now made him late for his next
appointment, did I miss something here? It was then I asked THAT QUESTION
which all civilians tend to ask in situations like this: if this was so easy,
why was it so hard for him of all people to install it. Dan hates that
question, all those guys do, can you blame them? On the other hand, maybe
it's me who's causing this Vortex of the Damned to exist-that's what Dan
thinks when he's here. Or maybe it could be the combination of the three of
us: me, Dan the Software Man and my gray box and I shouldn't be in the room
when he installs anything in it because the computer knows and has it out for
me, or him, or possibly is just being post-modern for the halibut. Strangely
enough, none of this happens when he's gone, mind, only when it's time for
another upgrade, so perhaps it's the computer's fault because it doesn't like
being a victim of progress either. And how am I going to deal with a world
whose current wisdom maintains that you're only as good or productive as your
last upgrade just like out in Hollywood with movies?
Why is that, I wonder?
Indeed this is what Dan and I argue about constantly even as he's
downloading another program I just "have to have" as he waxes eloquent on
the possibilities of the paper-less office and I try to explain what I
mean, but I'm just too tired and let him install it anyway.
Nothing to be done.
_____________________________________________________________________________
CLOSET PHILOSOPHY
With Rusty Pipes
CELEBRATION, SURPRISE AND BOREDOM
It's September and that means that The Celebration Season has started.
Make no mistake, America is in a state of constant celebration, it's just
that we REALLY get into it for the next four months. In ancient times there
may have been only two or three times a year that the people would come
together en masse for a public spectacle. Now, starting with Labor Day, we
will have a public holiday every three or four weeks until the end of the
year. There's even more if you count special holidays like Yom Kippur,
Columbus Day, Halloween and Veterans Day that, while not everyone gets the
day off, there will be some sort of partying or an event to attend for a
sizable portion of the population. And the month of October is the one month
that all four major professional sports--football, baseball, basketball and
hockey--are active.
Have you ever been to a major league sporting event? I like to go for the
game, of course, but it's always fascinating to me just for the festival
atmosphere. You get everything from tailgate parties to fireworks and
everyone is in a celebratory mood, decked out with team logos, anticipating
special things to amaze and cherish. I love the crowd. I like the little
noises the crowd makes even more than the big roars sometimes, especially
when something happens that makes an emotional "Oooh" shiver through all
at the same time.
I don't bind myself to any one team (okay, sentimental favorite is Cincinnati
because I grew up there) but I do love to watch any NFL game and will happily
spend whole Sundays all through the fall watching these combination
sumo-wrestling-match-times-eleven and army-of-conquest pageants. I marvel at
the athletes doing what they do quicker than the speed of thought. Have you
ever considered what a quarterback must do to place a ball into a receiver's
hands 40 yards away, the third receiver he looked at because the first two
were covered, ignoring the 350-pounder about to smash him flat and doing it
all inside of three seconds? Can you imagine programming some sort of android
to do the same? Just throwing the ball accurately without all the distractions
would be a programmer's nightmare. A tiny fraction of degree error, a
millisecond late and the ball goes incomplete. Athletes are wondrous.
I'll admit that football is ritual violence, but better the ritual than the
real thing. But why am I so fascinated by it? TV dramas try to generate
interest each week but you always know how it will come out; there are
certain grooves that the show must run in. The hero will be there next week,
guaranteed. But with sports I don't know how it will come out. I watch it to
be surprised. Surprise. The common thread running through all good
entertainment, sports, music, books and art is a shot of surprise. We crave
it. Maybe the essence of the whole human character is to seek out new things
so we get that eureka-tweak, the touch of newness that keeps things
interesting.
Of course Boredom is to be avoided at all costs in this modern world. But
the funny thing about boredom is that, unless it's created under duress like
solitary confinement, it only happens when things are going right. Boredom
doesn't happen until most all your needs are met. Boredom is a product of
luxury. And we have lots of boredom going around this country lately.
Human consciousness is rather like a radar system. Its design was originally
honed by survival needs to pick out any threat that appears from a background
of stimuli. It's designed to see what sticks out: problems, new things,
SURPRISES. Aldous Huxley, in The Doors of Perception, called the brain a
reducing valve. (Trivia point--that's the book The Doors took their name
from and it's well worth checking out.) It takes all the incoming stimuli
and reduces them, filtering out the myriad points of "unimportant" information
so it can concentrate on the matter at hand. Boredom occurs when all the
current stimuli are running at roughly the same level and nothing stands out.
The trouble is when the basic needs are met, consciousness still looks for
things to concentrate on, settling on the biggest problem of the moment and
magnifying it. This is why lacking a pair the latest Nikes can seem like
such a HUGE PROBLEM.
Call it ennui, call it whatever you like, we have so much of every conceivable
diversion that a kind of numbness is created. This can manifest itself in the
middle of a howling, 120 decibel punk rock concert or on a lazy Saturday
afternoon after lunch. It happens any time there are no surprises. Or none
we want to perceive. Babies don't have this problem. To them everything is
new. But swimming in a sea of Happy Meal toys and Saturday morning cartoons,
kids quickly learn how to be bored.
Sometimes we do the wrong things just to have the surprise of a moment's
pleasure, knowing later we will have a problem to confront. Perhaps we place
these obstacles in our paths just so the radarscope has something to fixate
upon. On a societal scale we often create problems just to give ourselves a
challenge, to get some focus, to put some meaning into our lives. For some
it's a fixation on the Book of Revelations. For others it's a fixation on
ethnic strife or hordes of immigrants. Then there's fixation on acquiring
wealth. For others still, it's getting the next fix. "Where's that surprise?
Where's that new thing? Give me something to think about because I can't
stand it here when nothing's happening!" we all seem to say. There's plenty
happening though.
Everything is clamoring at such a high level that we can't even enjoy our
luxurious boredom. Every week is some group's commemorative National
Something-or-Other Awareness Week. We make these holidays, sporting events,
movie premieres, tent revivals and more to keep up the interest, to make a
special sort of surprise to look forward to. I'm told there are now only
five days left out of the year that do not have some sort of major league
sporting event taking place somewhere in the country. I suppose those are
the truly special days now, but nobody notices them.
We need to recalibrate the radarscope. The thing to do is retreat.
Take the time to just sit and do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING once in awhile. Maybe
once a week to start. Just sit, even if it's not perfectly quiet, close your
eyes, breathe deeply and do nothing. Stay there maybe five, ten even twenty
minutes. When you open your eyes again you may see things that will surprise
you.
Thanks for reading, and until next month the Closet is closed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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