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Consumable Online Issue 116
==== ISSUE 116 ==== CONSUMABLE ======== [July 24, 1997]
Editor: Bob Gajarsky
Internet: gajarsky@email.njin.net
Sr. Correspondents: Jeremy Ashcroft, Tim Kennedy, Reto Koradi, David
Landgren, Sean Eric McGill, Tim Mohr, Al Muzer,
Jamie Roberts, Joe Silva, John Walker
Correspondents: Daniel Aloi, Tracey Bleile, Lee Graham Bridges,
Scott Byron, Patrick Carmosino, Janet Herman, Bill
Holmes, Eric Hsu, Tim Hulsizer, Jiji Johnson,
Stephen Lin, Scott Miller, P. Nina Ramos, Linda Scott,
Scott Slonaker, Simon Speichert, Jon
Steltenpohl, Simon West, Lang Whitaker
Technical Staff: Chris Candreva, Dave Pirmann
Address all comments, subscriptions, etc. to gajarsky@email.njin.net
==================================================================
All articles in Consumable remain (C) copyright their author(s).
Permission for re-publication in any form must be obtained from the
editor.
==================================================================
.------------.
| Contents |
`------------'
INTERVIEW: XTC's Andy Partridge (part 2) - Joe Silva
REVIEW: Sarah McLachlan, _Surfacing_ - Lang Whitaker
REVIEW: Faith No More, _Album Of The Year_ - Reto Koradi
REVIEW: Neil Young, _Year Of The Horse_ - Tim Kennedy
REVIEW: Primus, _Brown Album_ - Simon Speichert
REVIEW: Brian Howe, _Tangled In Blue_ - Linda Scott
REVIEW: Paul Carrack, _Blue Views_ - Jiji Johnson
REVIEW: Barely Pink, _Number One Fan_ - Scott Slonaker
REVIEW: Cujo, _Adventures In Foam_ - Tim Hulsizer
REVIEW: Manbreak, _Come And See_ - Bob Gajarsky
NEWS: Cause and Effect, Jane's Addiction, Megadeth
TOUR DATES: Baboon, Backsliders, Boston, Brad / Verbow, The Clarks,
Cravin' Melon, Furthur Festival (incl. Black Crowes and many more),
G3 (Joe Satriani / Steve Vai / Kenny Wayne Shepherd), Government
Mule / Sweet Vine, Guttermouth, Irving Plaza, Lollapalooza (Tool /
Prodigy/Korn/many more), Lunachicks, Megadeth, Moxy Fruvous,
Radiohead, Rye Coalition, Sister Hazel / Cowboy Mouth, Size 14,
Supergrass, Supertramp, Vallejo, Verve Pipe / Tonic / K's Choice,
Warped Tour Dates , World Party, Young Dubliners
Back Issues of Consumable
---
INTERVIEW: XTC's Andy Partridge (part 2)
- Joe Silva
CO: From the last time I talked to you, I remember one time you
had told me that you had sort of called up a friend of yours and he came
and carted most of your music way. Are you buying new stuff?
AP: The only stuff I've bought in the last year has been mostly
music from either the twenties or the thirties. I've been buying kind
of syncopated jazz stuff or really old Duke Ellington kind of thing. I
recently bought an entire box set of Robert Johnson. So, nothing that's
been recorded after 1940. I don't know why, I guess it's cuz I can't
figure out how they do that stuff. I know how they do all that pop
stuff. Being school of pop Merlin, I know how they do that kind of
thing. But, I can't figure out how or why they do syncopated jazz or
really crusty old blues stuff. I find that stuff really magical
CO: There are bits of country music, that even now that I'm
graying and getting into my thirties, I can appreciate.
AP: I wish I was thirty. No, I don't actually. I'm alright with it.
CO: When you're young and you're sitting down to music or
whatever. I don't think you really have time for an extensive vocabulary.
AP: Yeah, it's part of the thing of youth, you have to be
narrow-minded.
CO: You had once mentioned something about a bubblegum LP and
now I hear you're interested in a sort of bootleg project.
AP: We just started that actually. There's so many bootlegs of
us out there and I know people want to hear that stuff,but I feel really
bad that people are buying CD's that are taken from tenth generation
cassettes. And so I thought it would be good fun to take a bunch of
the best of the stuff that we never recorded and just get together in
my garden shed and record it. And it would be good-ish quality,
because it's only home equipment but it would be reasonable enough
quality, and people can get to hear reasonable enough recordings of
those songs. So, I don't think we'd be beating the bootleggers or
whatever but, it would give people a choice if they saw two of the
disks there they can have a better recorded one and get something the
band was really involved in rather than having a demo of something
stolen off of a record company's desk or producer's whatever in the
past and being copied and copied and copied. I'd much rather let
people get better quality recordings.
CO: There's been tons of stuff that's filtered out. Does
that bother you at all?
AP: If I think about the moral side of it, I get very upset
because we had a shitty album deal. I mean we were getting a pittance
and to think that with those bootlegs, we're not even getting a
pittance. So, that side of it upsets me but, I can't feel upset if
people are getting enjoyment out of it. That kind of counterbalances
the money you'll never see. So, that sort of weighs it out.
CO: You don't mind, as it were, showing people your notes.
AP: Not so much notes...I don't think you can go down music
street and it be a narrow road. It's a really wide, kind of huge
vista. It's a wide avenue. You can get in all the things that you
ever wanted to do with music. I mean. who knows, in a few years time,
we may be doing some syncopated jazz. I don't know. But, this big
wide avenue, for me, takes in noisy kinda pop stuff, it takes in
jazz-tinged stuff, kinda ballad stuff, it takes in psychedelic music;
it takes in dub music, it takes in ambient...or ambulance (chuckles)
music. It takes in a whole load of stuff that I feel is completely
bonified in me. It's the real McCoy because I just don't have one
facet. I think everybody in whatever chosen artform-musician or a
writer or a film maker, everyone has at least two faces. Why not get
joy out of at least a dozen? So those are all musical styles I feel
completely at ease working with. There are a lot that I haven't got
into that I would feel completely at ease working with. Bubblegum
music, I think I have a huge debt to bubblegum music.
CO: Could you name an artist, like just off the top of your head?
AP: Oh. just all things like a band named the Equals in
England. I don't know if you ever got to hear them. They were
originally two white guys and three black guys and the one black
fellow that stood in the middle painted half his body white so there
were two and a half of each color in the band. They played these
really banal, kind of giddy and exciting youth club kind of things.
They had some really huge hits in England but I guess they didn't come
over the Atlantic. They were like bubblegum ska. They were very
direct. As soon as you put an Equals record, there was an instant
party. People like the Equals.. Oh, who was who did that "Yummy
Yummy"? The Ohio Express? Lemon Pipers, although they were sort of
at the psychedelic end of bubble gum. "Mellow Yellow" meets a Quick
Joey Small or "Mony Mony" meets almost anything by the early Troggs.
You know, it transcends or descends below all expectations and thus it
comes out in another dimension somewhere. It goes faster than the
speed of light ale and bursts through into the banal zone. I have a
huge debt to bubblegum music. I love it.
CO: When you guys finally ink something, is it kind of an
anxiety about which style to use?
AP: No, and I think this has lost us some deals, I've been
really pig-headed about what we want to do. I want to do two disks
because of all the material that's been written, the batch that came
out after _Nonsuch_ was mainly acoustic and orchestral. Sort of
orc-oustic and because we couldn't work, I guess I sort of got that
out of my system and then the later stuff, I wanted to hear really
noisy electric guitars going. The music has gravitated almost to
two different camps. Instead of smashing then all together like on
_Nonsuch_, I think it might be more edible if we corral one type to
one disk and the other to another disk. But the thought of doing two
disks has been filling labels with horror.
CO: Nobody, especially in America, wants to put all their eggs
in one basket.
AP: Well, I know I won't write anything else until I get this
stuff out of the way. It's like a blockage. I've got to get it out.
I've finished off 36 songs, which isn't a great amount in four years
so I've got to get them out of the way. I think that in that mass,
in the four album mass, I think there are two really good albums. And
they've got to come out or else we won't be able to move on.
CO: So, you and the Czech Orchestra on the A disk...
AP: Yeah, there you go and on the next one, us just making a
bit of a row.
CO: Since you brought it up, what do you think about _Nonsuch_
these days?
AP: I haven't heard it for a while, for a couple of years. But,
I'm immensely proud of some of the stuff on there, stuff like "Rook"
and "Humble Daisy", "Books are Burning". I'm just really proud of a
lot of that material on there. But, it was one of our worst selling
records, I guess it just didn't click with people. I think it was too
long. Yeah, I think it could of done with being trimmed out.
CO: _Oranges and Lemons_ was not short.
AP: No, I don't think I was aware of that one being too long
but now I'm much more tuned in to the length of albums. Anything over
forty minutes starts to feel too long. Yeah, I think _Oranges and
Lemons_ was too long but I certainly think _Nonsuch_ was too long and
that's part of the reason that I'd like to make the listening
experience on the next thing we do to guide your ears a bit more
thoroughly through it.
CO: Paul Bailey (manager) said something about putting a box
set together with Geffen.
AP: Yeah, Virgin's final fling contractually, and I shiver in
my loon pants at the thought of it, will be a box set. They are gonna
get the diving suit on and get the scraper out and go down to that
barrel and see what there is. It fills me with trepidation, I don't
know what they're gonna do. There's nothing really noteworthy apart
from the official stuff we put out. But they've got a whole load of
live tapes from way back when and they've got access to some BBC
sessions that have never come out. I'm not sitting here thinking
"Oh my God, I can't wait til that comes out", cause I don't. I don't
think it's A-class material.
CO: Will Geffen do that in the U.S. as well?
AP: I don't know but we can't stop Virgin. It's one of those
things so they could let us go. We had to agree that they could exploit
us some more in our absence until they let us go.
CO: So, what do you think of _Upsy Daisy_? Is it sort of for
corralling the sweet bits of your stuff?
AP: It's not our suggestion for running order or choice of
tracks or anything. I mean this is really Geffen and thankfully, they
listened to a couple of our suggestions and put on a few album tracks.
I think "Seagull Screaming" is on there and "Chalkhills and Children".
I just think that maybe other bands will pick this up and maybe they've
heard "Mayor of Simpleton" they'll go back and listen to some of the
other albums.
CO: Yeah, you could tell this a kind of package type thing.
I'm surprised they didn't push it closer to Christmas.
AP: Yeah, I think they wanted to but they didn't want to pay
anything for it. We at least got a little bit of an advance out of
them.
CO: Well that's good you got something for it. Did you wind
up assembling the _Rag and Bone_ collection?
AP: Yeah, people kept saying "Why can't we get whatever on
CD?" and I thought, "There's a whole load of stuff laying around
that's kind of B-side or giveaways or obscure things that you could
only get on vinyl and so it would be a bit of fun to gather all these
together on one disk." And that's the best photo session we've done
(laughs...cover art featured metal sculpture versions of the band).
It's the most like us though, it really captured us! I made those up
on the floor of the photography studio. Yeah this guys got a load of
wreckage on his farm and I told him to bring some of it in. I told
him, "I want some handle bars and I want just anything that you can
bring in from this collection of wrecks on your farm." He brought
in a trailer load of stuff and I sort of threw it around on the floor
until it sort of looked like us and I went " There you go, that's the
photo session."
CO: How did Dave and Colin like it?
AP: I think they afforded themselves a smirk. Captured our
complexions perfectly.
CO: The producer issue, now that you're getting ready to do
this, are you ready to work with someone again? Now that you're free,
can you just say "That's it. Just leave us alone."
AP: Hmmm...That's really tricky because to do really well you
have to sort of take off your overseeer's head and put on your
performing head. And it's tough to keep changing heads. It's much
better to have someone you can trust to oversee the birth of this
baby. We'll do the pushing and they'll do the greasing and the
pulling and there you go, it's born. We've been talking to a few
people. Actually, interestingly enough, we've been asking the Dust
Brothers, are they or is he interested. And, we've got some
interesting noises coming back but, we'll see. We'd bicker
terribly. If I was instructing everybody what too do, I'd end up
with no band.
CO: Well, I've heard Chris Hughes possibly...
AP: I think he's gonna work out to be just too damn expensive.
You wouldn't believe what some of these people are charging.
CO: You would think it would be more of a labor of love. Your
productions are pretty complex at times. You'd figure that somebody
would want to do it just for the nature of being involved in it.
Like I was talking to Adrian Belew and I sort of tossed it out to
see what he would say and he went "Oh, I'd love to do that. They
wouldn't have to pay me a dime." and he was just really excited
about the possibility.
AP: Actually, funnily enough, he was one of the names I
contemplated. He recently sent me a couple of albums that he did,
including _Op Zop Too Wah_.
CO: Did you like that?
AP: Yeah it was okay but I really liked _Mr. Musichead_. I
really like the track "1967." I didn't like the other thing he sent
(_The Guitar As Orchestra_.) It might have been good as an effects
demo disk.
CO: I've think it more or less coincides with the fact that
he just built a studio in his home basement and he was having way too
much fun before his wife could bring him out to help her have this
baby they have.
AP: I considered him. I don't know what kind of producer
he'd be. And I almost fear for inflicting this on him actually.
We can be a bit demanding. Not too difficult but exacting.
CO: But you wonder is it smarter to go with somebody you'd
tend to gravitate to more musically since you guys have similar
appreciations as opposed to going to the Dust Brothers that aren't
necessarily up your alley by reflex. Because they are doing dance
records and stuff.
AP: Yeah, but I sort of like the kind of skewed sensibility
of some of their things. I think it might suit the more electric
material we have. I don't know what the hell they'd do with the
more orchestral stuff.
CO: Well, could you split it and have two producers for the
two disks?
AP: I don't know, maybe that might be too expensive.
Producers are shockingly dear for what a lot of them do, which is
not much. I know because I've been a producer and sometimes you do a
lot and sometimes you don't depending on how much the musician or act
puts in that end. Sometimes it's best if you just stand back. That's
what gets it born best. And a lot of producers, probably with us, have
to stand back.
CO: You know it's interesting though because with all your
records you have a good assortment of people.
AP: I always wanted to find someone we could stick with but
I never really did. You'd find one and think,"Well, he's great at
getting the sounds but we need someone to act more like an arranger,
editor type person." And then you'd find an arranger type editor
person and they might be really bad at engineering or grasping what
was going on there. Or you'd meet somebody who had a great vibe with
them and they were completely out to lunch if you wanted to talk
music; they didn't know what the hell you were talking about. And
it's kind of the impossible thing, finding all the requirements in
one person.
CO: But, even something like the Paul Fox stuff and the track
on the _Testimonial Dinner_ tribute album. Both of them carry forth who
you guys are. They are obviously done by very different people at
different levels.
AP: Well, the thing about _Testimonial Dinner_, the uncoolest
thing I could think of was to be on your own tribute album, so I said
"Look, can we be on it?" I'm really interested in the uncool. I
thought it was the most beautifully crap uncool thing, to be honest
with you. There wasn't any money. David Yazbeck sort of pulled the
whole thing together. It's his baby really. He rang up bands or
they approached him to do this and there wasn't any money to actually
cut it so we just got this little local demo studio above this motor
bike repair place and it was really dismal and stinky up there and we
imported as much of our own gear in there as they had to get the
session done. It sounds kind of demo-y,a little. It sounds a little small.
CO: And when you talk about sticking with producers, you guys
certainly haven't been able to do that with drummers.
AP: Well, initially, the orchestral stuff, I didn't really see
needing a drummer. It's almost like a percussionist may be able to do
it but a drummer is just to heavy handed. They're essential for the big
noisy guitar thing that we're doing. It would be pointless taking on
a person full time because we're not the Monkees. We don't need sort
of a balance to our personalities or anything like that. It's great
to pick up people as you go along.
CO: But, you don't feel the need for a fourth wheel perspective
on this thing?
AP: Oh. I was going to say yes but I suppose the answer's no.
If they're a great player, that's inspirational. They might say "What
if we do this?" and suddenly we get into an area we haven't seen. But,
that's not something we can plan on. It never seems to work like that.
CO: But, what about somebody if you say "We need a fourth
person and we really need input" Once you open that door, it might be
scary. It could change the output of things.
AP: I suppose if somebody was given more input, it would take
us back to more of the balance of Terry Chambers to who a lot of the
material was built around what he could do with the drums. It was
written with his playing in mind...or written with what he was going
to do with it. You know, he was going to have this sort of voodoo-y
industrial rumble as he got going and they couldn't be songs that that
was going to steamroller over and kill. In fact, before he left we were
rehearsing the _Mummer_ record with him and he was having such trouble
grasping some of that material.
CO: You mean conceptually?
AP: Just because it wasn't the classic steamrolling stuff that
he'd been used to drumming on. It was just a lighter, airier feel to
it like on "Love On A Farmboy's Wages," and "Ladybird." You see he
would have been home with "Funk Pop A Roll" and possibly "Human
Alchemy," but the lighter stuff he was visibly having trouble with.
He actually complained to me "This fucking stuff is too fucking weird.
I can't play this." in his fluent Trogg.
CO: And then he went off.
AP: That was it. The drumsticks went down, out the door. The
door was shutting and his cymbals were literally still swinging on
their stands.
CO: No looking back.
AP: Absolutely. It was final. He never even rang up someone
and even ask someone to drop his kit off or anything.
The first part of this interview appeared in the July 15 issue of
Consumable Online.
---
REVIEW: Sarah McLachlan, _Surfacing_ (Arista)
- Lang Whitaker
Naked. Bare. Honest.
All of these are phrases that can be used to describe the
power and brutal soul of Sarah McLachlan. On her new, long-awaited
release entitled _Surfacing_, McLachlan strips back a few more
layers of her already exposed person to make herself even more
available to us.
After her first two albums struggled to find their feet,
McLachlan struck gold with 1994's _Fumbling Toward Ecstasy_. The
mature, layered sound that McLachlan and producer Pierre Marchand
mined on _Ecstasy_, is now heard widely (somebody please tell Paula
Cole that the cowboys have all gone to listen to the song "Plenty"
off of _Ecstasy_ ) on the radio. Three years since the explosion of
_Ecstasy_, McLachlan's zealous fans have been salivating for more.
_Surfacing_ is more than a bone thrown to the masses; it
marks a maturation and progression of the artist - from an album
polished and shined to a blinding gleam (_Ecstasy_) to an album
stripped down to the bare essentials, as lean and mean as a 3-time
Nascar champ. _Surfacing_ finds McLachlan and Marchand scratching
about close to MTV Unplugged territory, as song after song on
_Surfacing_ reveals acoustic guitars, basses, and pianos.
The first single off of _Surfacing_ is also the first of
the ten tracks. "Building a Mystery" is a buoyant yet weary tale
of a man who can't quite get his life together. Even being one of
the more energetic tracks on the disc, "Mystery" still contrains
its energy, hardly rising louder than speaking tones. Vying with
"Mystery" for speediest rhythm rights is the song "Sweet Surrender",
which is probably closer to _Ecstasy_'s style than anything else on
_Surfacing_. Building off of a squealing electric guitar loop (that
coincidentally sounds a heck of a lot like the new Oasis single,
"D'You Know What I Mean"), "Surrender" drives forward with a
toe-tapping tempo. "Black & White" has a dry hip-hop drum line
under it, but the rest of the track is mainly synth swells and
random electric guitar pops.
"Adia" is an apologetic ballad that has a Beatle-esque
sound to it. "Adia" is a prime example of the jump McLachlan has
made from _Ecstasy_ to _Surfacing_, shoving the melody and
instrumentation right into the listener's face. Similarly, on
"Angel" McLachlan sings accompanied only by her piano and Barenaked
Ladies' Jim Creeggan on upright bass. "Angel", partly inspired by the
heroin inflicted death of Smashing Pumpkins' keyboardist Jonathan
Melvoin, speaks from the point of view of an addict needing relief.
Other songs worth noting are "I Love You", a beautiful torch
song about her devotion for somebody, possibly her newlywed husband,
her drummer Ashwin Sood. "Full of Grace" starts off like an animated
Disney theme before being overrun by harmonies and bongo drums. The
final track, "Last Dance", is an instrumental waltz that features a
saw carrying the melody.
_Surfacing_ also contains an enhanced CD portion that
provides a multimedia overview of McLachlan's career. This
presentation is by far the best enhanced CD I've ever seen, not only
in terms of design simplicity and elegance but also because of its
lightning quick speed and smooth play. The videos on the presentation
were as sleek as VHS, and they start and stop on a dime (no waiting
around for them to load and quit). The only maddening thing about it
was that you can't control the video output - it is either on or off,
so if you want to rewind a part or fast forward to a clip, you're out
of luck. The ECD contains footage of McLachlan laying guitar parts for
"Mystery", and it also includes some shots of McLachlan screwing up,
which was a pleasant surprise - realizing that she's human also.
_Surfacing_ is one of those albums that you enjoy the first
time you listen to it, and then find yourself liking more and more
as you continue listening to it. Like watching a child grow, watching
an artist mature leaves the listener with a pleasant and satisfying
taste ringing in your ears. Hopefully McLachlan will continue to
satisfy us all for a while.
---
REVIEW: Faith No More, _Album Of The Year_ (Warner)
- Reto Koradi
It looks like arrogance to call a record _Album Of The Year_. Or is
it provocation? Confidence? In fact it turns out that it might just be the
truth; Faith No More's latest album will at the very least be a strong
contender for the title.
After exploring various styles and possibilities with the excellent
1995 release _King For A Day, Fool For A Lifetime_, this new album shows
Faith No More in more focused shape, concentrating and improving on
their strong points. One of them is their ability to mix melodic tunes with
their usually hard sound, showcased in the ultimate power rock ballad
"Ashes To Ashes". Equally impressive is how they manage to produce loud
and aggressive tracks without ever making them sound like senseless noise.
Even tough tracks like "Collision" and "Got That Feeling" have
interesting sound textures that make them appealing also to listeners who
would normally prefer a softer style. This can partly be attributed to
producer Roli Mosimann, who achieved the same with the Young Gods 12
years ago. Also worth noting is the excellent sound; unlike many other
rock albums, this is a pleasure to be listened to on a good stereo,
with the volume turned up.
_Album Of The Year_ confirms Faith No More as one of the
essential rock bands of this decade, it is a must for any fan of the
genre. And for those who are normally not that much into hard sound,
but like to pick out the pearls of each style, it is an excellent
investment.
---
REVIEW: Neil Young, _Year Of The Horse_ (Reprise)
- Tim Kennedy
There may be some people who ask why there is a need for Neil
Young to bring out another live album. He's certainly done some
excellent such records in the past - _Live Rust_ was a classic,
reconciling Woodstock with the punk era back in the late 70's.
Ten years on _Weld_ was an astounding sonic tour de force, though
it had several songs which had appeared over a decade earlier
on _Live Rust_. This album showed most young grunge bands up for
the part-time punks they were.
This set is two CDs of music, but comparatively few songs - the
tracks are instead extremely lengthy, and occasionally tortuously
so. The soloing continues for long after the song has resolved
itself, and the result is a jam session.
If you are the kind of person who assiduously collects Neil/Horse
bootlegs, then this will be perfect for you. The less-than-
slavish admirer may wonder to themselves why a new set of songs
was not a more appropriate release. Many Young fanatics might
have hoped for a live set from the legendary Booker T/MGs tour
of a few years back.
It isn't that Neil has run out of ideas - his last couple of
albums have been great ones - but it is hard to discern what is
behind this latest release from a man more inscrutable than
any rock figure of his generation. Neil doesn't so much
bestride the rock world like a colossus as stalk it.
At any rate this is a more interesting proposition than a live
album from any other artist...
---
REVIEW: Primus, _Brown Album_ (Interscope)
- Simon Speichert
This album sucks. Not in the normal way, however, but in the
Primus way, which is good. This might be confusing, but, hey, that's
Primus. This album sucks because it's quite different from previous Primus
albums, and I'll tell you why.
Bassist/vocalist Les Claypool's lyrics have always been wacked
out, with songs about strange characters like Tommy the Cat, Sathington
Willoughby and Wynona and the big brown beaver. With the _Brown Album_,
there is no sign of those surreal characters going away, with tales about
Arnie, Renegade, and the afore-mentioned Sathington Willoughby. But the
lyrics are not the only selling point of Primus.
Their music is definitely what sets Primus apart from the
mainstream, and, in fact, from themselves. The _Brown Album_ changes
Primus' sound somewhat radically, with warm analog-sounding instruments.
The music is also sounding a little more wacked out than usual. I mean, I
love Primus, but on some songs, it's pretty much one riff repeated over
and over, and, to be honest, that doesn't do it for me. Many of the
songs sound like they should have been on Les' solo album
(actually, some do sound like songs off Claypool's solo album). I myself
would like to see a return to classic Primus, with notable song parts and
rhythm guitar, like "Tommy the Cat" or "John the Fisherman".
Not that this album is all bad, though. It has a few tracks that
might actually beat out the popularity of "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver", the
hit from the last album. Those tracks are the first single, "Shake Hands
With Beef", "Golden Boy", "Bob's Party Time Lounge", and the
speed-metallish "Coddingtown".
A special note for all you vinyl freaks: the _Brown Album_ is
being released in limited quantities on double vinyl, to preserve the
record's all-analog sound.
So, for fans like me, who love classic Primus, this album is
awkward to listen to at first, but Les, Ler and new drummer Brain have
chalked up another fantastic album. It's really brown.
---
REVIEW: Brian Howe, _Tangled In Blue_ (Touchwood Records)
- Linda Scott
Brian Howe, best known as the replacement for Paul Rodgers in
supergroup Bad Company, has moved on to a solo career. As lead singer
for Bad Company, Howe made a substantial contribution to two of their
multiplatinum albums, _Dangerous Age_ and _Holy Water_. _Holy Water_
was released in 1990, and Howe left the band not long after, so it's
taken a while to determine his musical direction.
Instead of fronting a band, Howe has decided to go it alone.
_Tangled In Blue_ is his first solo album, and it's a departure from
hard rocking Bad Company. This is a lovely 10-track set of blue-eyed
ballads. Putting aside the Bad Company influence, Howe's songs are
more like those of Don Henley and Bryan Adams. All songs are
co-written by Brian Howe, and for a first venture into this genre, the
lyrics are mellow, emotional and ring true without being maudlin. The
songs are about emotions, mostly love and its problems. There
are sure to be at least a couple here that hit home for each listener.
The ones that do tend to be painful; Howe understands the meaning of
"good lovin' gone bad".
Brian Howe says he wants to move into the adult contemporary
arena and stay awhile. To that end he has written "Tangled In Blue"
which reflects love's conflicts and pains and sets the tone for the
entire album. It's curious that this one is at the middle of the
album and not first. Another favorite is "I Remember You", recalling
past loves and wondering where they are. With lovely ballads
like these, Brian Howe no longer wants to rock you out of the stadium. It
seems he wants to ease you into a bedroom - where (honestly) most of the
album was recorded. He has the music and the voice. Romantics can use a
singer/songwriter like this.
---
REVIEW: Paul Carrack, _Blue Views_ (Ark 21)
- Jiji Johnson
Happily, no matter how seemingly lackluster or trite love
songs *can* become, Paul Carrack's subtly soulful vocals - in
_Blue Views_ and elsewhere - reveal unfailing honesty, warmth, and
a fullness that transcend any less than appealing generic concerns.
Paul Carrack may as well be appointed Professor Emeritus
for SONGWRITING 101 workshops nationwide. Carrack has written for
and worked with Pop notables like The Smiths, Elvis Costello,
Madness, Nick Lowe, Roxy Music, Diana Ross (!), ad infinitum.
His steady stream of hits in which *his* spotlight shines
began with his stint in the band Ace ("How Long" [...Has This Been
Going On]), and hit a running stride in his often overlooked fourth
solo record _One Good Reason_(Chrysalis), which gained him Top 10
billing. Brilliant popsters Squeeze showcased Carrack's stellar
vocals in yet another hit, "Tempted," and Mike & the Mechanics
("The Living Years") added more good stuff to an already monumental
body of work.
Carrack, back on the beat solo style, keeps the sometimes
muddy tempo of _Blue Views_ afloat with clever melodies, his by now
renowned brandy liqueur vocals, and an always haunting extended "blue
note" tonality and way of weaving progressions that metamorphose
nicely into definite "mood music." His revamping of "How Long" only
reveals its modernity in slight production value shifts, and it
carries with it all the emotionality as it did the first time around.
"Love Will Keep Us Alive," his heartbreakingly sweet tome
first penned for the Eagles, is written and stuctured so well, it
leaves you unaware the band might actually have sung it a mite
sweeter. These two more familiar tunes above provide a strong base
for the niche Carrack's working on, groove, by groove, to get us into
his own original *hits.* On that front, Carrack has a way to go yet,
as they give us only all we expect comfortably, but don't seem to
*dance* as well as the former two.
_Blue Views_ is the lover you've had in your life for as far
back as you can remember: the grooves fit, their very presence calms
the soul, and you're glad, at least, that you can sit and rest a
while...that they'll be here to stay. The rest comes later.
---
REVIEW: Barely Pink, _Number One Fan_ (Big Deal)
- Scott Slonaker
Big Star. The 1970s Cheap Trick. The Knack. Do the following
cause you to raise an eyebrow in interest?
Yep, Barely Pink's debut full-length album is power-pop all right.
From track one, the celebratory "City of Stars", these four
Floridians waste no time getting right to the heart of the section
of the musical pantheon that marks Alex Chilton, the Trick, and
the Fab Four as its deities. (Modern reference points to the
band's sound might be Matthew Sweet, the Odds, and, in particular,
Super Deluxe.) Barely Pink seems to revel in, rather than avoid,
the fact that they are, in essence, a pop band. Singer Brian
Merrill's smooth, harmonious voice is the perfect sheen upon the
band's jumpy wall of hooks and frequent ooh-ah backing vocals.
The band's primary subject matter, is, of course, love, and
refreshingly enough, seems to be at least somehat optimistic about
the prospects. Songs like "I'm So Electric", "Baby A.M." and "New
Sweet Infection" moon relentlessly over the female subject (bringing
T. Rex to mind in the process). "Face Down" apologizes for the
narrator's curmudgeonly ways, but soon returns to a similar tack.
The Big Star cards are laid right on the table with "It's Okay", a
chiming and elegant (if slightly treacly) ballad that wouldn't have
sounded too out of place next to "September Gurls" on the _Radio City_
album.
However, things change up slightly on the second half of _Number
One Fan_. The "underwater" vocals of "Big Mistake" are reminiscent of
similar trickery seen with _Dear 23_-era Posies. "I Do What My TV
Tells Me" definitely draws its inspiration from the teenage
mock-paranoia of early Cheap Trick (_Dream Police_, etc.). And the
record's closing track, "Let Me Drink in Peace", has a more roadhouse-y,
Rolling Stones-ish vibe.
In a perfect world, smooth, crisp and fun acts like Barely Pink
would be all over Top 40 radio. (Many of these songs would actually be
bookended on the airwaves quite nicely by "MMMBop" and "One Headlight".)
Fans of the power-pop genre should waste no time in procuring a copy of
_Number One Fun_. And while the record's persistent sweetness may cause
eventual tooth decay with other listeners, there's no denying the band's
talent and songwriting ability. It's nice to see Florida redeeming
itself for Marilyn Manson.
---
REVIEW: Cujo, _Adventures In Foam_ (Shadow)
- Tim Hulsizer
Slowly but surely, as electronic music filters into the
headphones of America, drum'n'bass and jungle also appear to be making
inroads amongst the populace. The genre itself can be broken down still
further, from the spaced-out, club-ready beats of LTJ Bukem's crowd, to
the more experimental side of things, represented by Plug and
Squarepusher, among others. It is this latter group of musicians we are
here to discuss today, as the new album by Cujo surely fits somewhere in
there.
Cujo does things down and dirty, mixing up dark, clinical beats
with eerie samples to produce one riveting, powerful album. The basic
idea here is jungle, done more in the Squarepusher vain, with staccato
rythms and plucked, jazzy basslines. Also along for the ride is some
hip hop entertainment, but more on that later. Tunes like "Traffic", "The
Light", and "Paris Streatham" are guaranteed to make you sit up and take
notice. Cujo is no slouch when it comes to mixing, keeping things
interesting by avoiding cliched loops or samples.
The samples that are here generally call to mind a feeling that
is furthered by the tune itself. In "Fat Ass Joint", our willing and
able DJ guide throws in a murky sample of a guy who wishes to smoke the
item of the title. Meanwhile, there are a couple of tracks that call to
mind alien sightings. One, appropriately titled "The Sighting", has a
terrific sample of some redneck saying, "It's a UFO beaming back atcha!"
Highly entertaining.
Mixed in with the machine gun beats, you also find some nice hip
hop numbers. "Cat People" and "Break Charmer", as well as the
aforementioned "Sighting", are all breakbeat extravaganzas that could
easily be backing up a hip hop artist somewhere. This is in sync with a
lot of other Shadow output (see also London Funk Allstars, Funki Porcini,
etc. for more instrumental hip hop).
Rounding out Cujo's album are a few tracks that break off into
other styles entirely. "The Brazilianaire" has a nice shuffle pace to
it, while "The Sequal" (sic) is more of a fast jazz tune with a lot of
real instrumentation to it. The last cut on the album, "Cruzer", mixes
up hip hop and insane electronic fills before sliding into one last bit
of jungle defiance. Stay tuned a few minutes more for a "hidden" track,
a one-and-a-half minute spacey sort of whale song. All in all, a cool
album with plenty to hook you. Definitely worth the money.
---
REVIEW: Manbreak, _Come And See_ (Almo)
- Bob Gajarsky
Five years ago, an English band combined hip hop, rock and
rap with socio-political rantings released a wittily titled debut
album, _Lenin & McCarthy_. The 25th of May, fronted by the charismatic
Steve Swindelli, unfortunately didn't make much of an impact on the
music scene, but their legacy still makes an occasional appearance in
my disc player.
Fast forward to 1997, and Swindelli (with no first name) has
returned as the leader of Manbreak. The group's name comes from a
secret military program of the 1950s and 1960s where the British
government exposed some of its soldiers to low-level chemical weapons,
and then let them loose on an assault course to test their performance.
And, just like with his previous band, Swindelli offers a few musical
assaults of his own.
The leadoff track, "Ready Or Not", offers a good cross-section of
what Manbreak is all about. Searing guitars (taken from the book of Jimmy
Page) combine with Swindelli's passionate vocals, as he asks the listener
what they want out of life.
Those who mourn music without meaning need look no further than
this disc. "Kop Karma" is, according to Swindelli, 'How our taxes pay
for us to get beaten up by the police - Rodney King will testify
to that.' "Cut Ups" was inspired by a story in the Socialist Worker (note
the political slant?) of a policeman, who attemps to talk a woman out of
committing suicide from a high ledge, joining her on a jump to death.
Rather than advocating violence (as he's previously done), Swindelli
implores the listener to look inside themselves to seek the answers.
Sure, pop sounds creep into Swindelli's work; witness the
Lennon-esque ballad "God's Never Heard of You" or "Future Days", whose musical
chorus owes a debt to "Paperback Writer" - turned up to 7 on the stereo.
"News Of The World" keeps up a frantic pace while delivering the necessary
hooks, and "City Life" is Genesis' "Turn It On Again" if Mike Rutherford
could ever turn *his* guitar up. But more than anything, Manbreak's
_Come And See_ provides a cross-section of the last 20 years of rock,
rap and politics.
---
NEWS: > Cause and Effect's latest release, _Innermost Station_,
is due to be independently released on August 26. Originally
scheduled as a 6 song EP, it has been extended to a full length,
9 track album.
> Three fourths of the original Jane's Addiction - Perry
Farrell, Stephen Perkins, and David Navarro - are reforming, along
with Flea, to tour later this year. An as yet untitled CD will be
released in October comprised of live tracks from Jane's 1989-1990
tour, live tracks from Lollapalooza 1991, previous unreleased studio
tracks, demos, and at least one new song - "Kettle Whistle".
> Megadeth will be hosting an online chat at 6:30 EST on
July 24 at their web site, located at http://hollywoodandvine.com/megadeth
---
TOUR DATES (Please confirm with site before travelling):
Baboon
Jul. 25 Little Rock, AR Vino's
Jul. 26 Denton, TX Rick' s Place
Backsliders
Jul. 24 Lubbock, TX Stubb's BBQ
Jul. 25 Dallas, TX Sons of Hermann Hall
Jul. 26 Austin, TX Continental Club
Jul. 30 New Orleans, LA House of Blues
Jul. 31 Jackson, MI W.C. Don's
Boston
Jul. 24 Bristow, VA Nissan Pavillion
Jul. 25 Virginia Beach, VA Va. Beach Amp.
Jul. 26 Raleigh, NC Walnut Creek
Jul. 27 Charlotte, NC Blockbuster Pavillion
Jul. 29 Atlanta, GA Chastain Park
Brad / Verbow
Jul. 24 Houston, TX Numbers
Jul. 26 Phoenix, AZ Gibson's
Jul. 28 Los Angeles, CA Troubadour
Jul. 29 San Francisco, CA Slim's
The Clarks
Jul. 27 Dunbar, PA Fayette County Fair
Jul. 31 Middlesex, PA JW's Other Place
Cravin' Melon
Jul. 31 Clemson SC Tiger Town Tavern
Aug. 1 Charlotte, NC Amos'
Furthur Festival (incl. Black Crowes and many more)
Jul. 25 Minneapolis, MN River's Edge
Jul. 27 Denver, CO Fiddler's Green
Jul. 29 Park City, UT Wolf Mountain
Jul. 31 Portland, OR Portland Meadows
G3 (Joe Satriani / Steve Vai / Kenny Wayne Shepherd)
Jul. 25 Vancouver, BC Plaza of Nations
Jul. 26 George, WA Gorge Amphitheatre
Jul. 27 Portland, OR River Queen
Jul. 29 Las Vegas, NV Joint
Jul. 30 Phoenix, AZ Desert Sky Pavillion
Government Mule / Sweet Vine
Jul. 24 Atlanta, GA Roxy Theater
Jul. 25 Birmingham, ALA Five Points South
Jul. 26 Charlotte, NC World Mardi Gras
Jul. 29 Charlottesville, VA Trax
Jul. 30 Baltimore, MD 8X10
Jul. 31 Washington, DC Bayou
Guttermouth
Jul. 25 Brisbane, AU Crash & Burn
Jul. 26 Byron Bay, AU Great Northern
Jul. 27 Newcastle, AU Bar on the Bill
Irving Plaza (New York concert hall; http://www.irvingplaza.com)
Jul. 24 Brian Setzer Orchestra
Lollapalooza (Tool/Prodigy/Korn/many more)
Jul. 25 Chicago, IL World Amp.
Jul. 26 Grand Rapids, MI Val Du Lakes
Jul. 27 East Troy, WI Alpine Valley
Jul. 29 Kansas City, KS Sandstone
Jul. 30 St. Louis, MO Riverport
Jul. 31 Nashville, TN Starwood
Lunachicks
Jul. 25 Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's
Jul. 26 Philadelphia, PA Pontiac Grill
Megadeth
Jul. 24-25 Las Vegas, NV The Joint
Jul. 26 San Francisco, CA Warfield
Jul. 28 Portland, OR Armory
Jul. 29 Seattle, WA Mercer Arena
Jul. 31 Salt Lake City, UT Salt Air
Moxy Fruvous
Jul. 25 Syracuse, NY Styleen's
Jul. 26-27 Hillsdale, NY Falcon Ridge Folk Festival
Jul. 29 Pontiac, MI Seventh House
Jul. 30 Chicago, IL House of Blues
Jul. 31 Indianapolis, IN Second Story
Radiohead
Jul. 26 Los Angeles, CA Wiltern
Jul. 27 San Francisco, CA Warfield
Rye Coalition
July 29 Pittsburgh, PA Oakland St House
July 30 Pocono, PA Knight Of Columbus Hall
Sister Hazel / Cowboy Mouth
Jul. 24 Richmond, VA Flood Zone
Jul. 26 Washington, DC 9:30 Club (evening)
Jul. 27 Wilmington, NC The Forum
Jul. 29 Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues
Jul. 30 Chapel Hill, NC Cats Cradle
Jul. 31 Winston Salem, NC Ziggy's
Size 14
Jul. 24 Philadelphia, PA Pontiac Bar And Grill
Jul. 26 Washington, DC East of Maui Skate Park
Jul. 27 Washington, DC Black Cat
Jul. 31 Charlotte, NC Tremont Music Hall
Supergrass
Jul. 24 San Francisco, CA Fillmore
Jul. 25 Los Angeles, CA Palace (w/Dandy Warhols)
Jul. 27 Detroit, MI Mill St.
Jul. 28 Toronto, ON PM
Jul. 29 New York, NY Supper Club
Jul. 30 Providence, RI Lupo's
Supertramp
Jul. 25 Ottawa, ON Correl Center
Jul. 26 Toronto, ON Molson Amphitheatre
Jul. 29 Clarkston, MI Pine Knob
Jul. 30 St. Louis, MO Riverport Amp.
Jul. 31 Milwaukee, WI Marcus Amp.
Vallejo
Jul. 26 Sacramento, CA KRXQ Festival
Verve Pipe / Tonic / K's Choice
Jul. 24 Denver, CO Ogden Theatre
Jul. 27 Kansas City, MO Beaumont Club
Jul. 28 Davenport, IA Col Ballroom
Jul. 29 St. Louis, MO American Theatre
Warped Tour Dates (Reel Big Fish, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Social
Distortion, Sick Of It All, Less Than Jake, many more)
Jul. 24 Pittsburgh, PA Ic Light Amphitheatre
Jul. 25 New York, NY Randall's Island
Jul. 26 Asbury Park, NJ Atlantic Park
Jul. 27 Washington, DC Rfk Stadium
Jul. 29 Northampton, MA Three County Fairgrounds
Jul. 30 Philadelphia, PA Corestates Center
World Party
Jul. 25 Atlanta, GA Roxy
Jul. 26 Nashville, TN 328 Performance Hall
Jul. 28 Vancouver, BC EMD Convention
Young Dubliners
Jul. 25 Redlands, CA Pharaoh's Lost Kindom Water Park
Jul. 26 Hollywood, CA House of Blues
---
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