Good year for N.Z. recordings

Press, 30 December 1982, Page 8

Good year for N.Z. recordings

By-NEVIN TOPP A glance over the best-of-year pages for the last three years seems to show that 1982 was a better year for pop music. One of the main reasons for this has been the higher quality and quantity of New Zealand artists’ recordings, in spite of the poor economy which depressed the entertainment scene.

The number of artists prepared to go on independent labels is gratifying — and the work put in by bands against the hopeless odds of touring was tremendous. A predicted boom in 1983 will need a lot of communication for this to be achieved, plus an improvement in economic expectations.

Last year I complained about the state of daytime commercial radio in Christchurch. There has been little change since then. The music is inoffensive and bland, the programming slick and superficial. The exceptions again were Radio U, the University of Canterbury station and after-midnight — ZM.

Perhaps by the introduc-

tion of album tracks onto daytime radio, people would hear to a wider cross-section of music, and it would make radio more interesting. There are more songs on the Dexys album than “Come On Eileen.” An area in which this page has been under pressure has been the belief that it should publicise events because of the cost of bringing the artist to the South Island. The first criteria of the newspaper is to be informative and newsworthy — this also applies to this page. It has no particular barrow to push, nor does it represent any interests. Its independence is vital for credibility. To this end, for example, not all reviews are from one area — • they sometimes come from folk, jazz, blues, humour, and rock music. Variety is important to retain interest.

Variety was the keyword in the album releases this year, and the quality was much higher. The album of the year was Kevin Rowland and Dexys Midnight Runners’ “Too-Rye-Ay,” a superb collection of Celtic influenced rock songs. Interestingly, it

contained a cover of Van Morrison’s "Jackie Wilson Said,” and the man himself put out a great album, “Beautiful Vision.” There was not much to choose from between these „two and “Imperial Bedroom,” by Elvis Costello and the Attractions.

My favourites: Best albums: Kevin Rowlands and Dexys Midnight runners, “Too-Rye-Ay” David Byrne, “The Songs from the Production of the Catherine Wheel,” Bruce Cockburn, “Inner City Front” Laurie Anderson, “Big Science”; Joe Jackson, “Night and Day,” Van Morrison, “Beautiful Vision,” Elvis Costello and the Attractions, “Imperial Bedroom”; Joe Cocker, “Sheffield Steel”; Peter. Gabriel, “Peter Gabriel”; Kate Bush, “The Dreaming”. Among other albums I rated highly were “Avalon,” by Roxy Music, Marshall Crenshaw’s self-titled album, “Dr' Heckle and Mr Jive,” Pigbag, and D.D. Smash’s “Cool Bananas.”

Worst album: Again not as many as last year, but Led Zeppelin’s “Coda” was a doozy, and Supertramp persisted with “Famous Last

Words.” Hopefully, it is. Best N.Z. album: The competition was even more fierce, but “Cool Bananas” from D. D. Smash. Split Enz made an impression with “Time and Tide.” The blues albums from Midge Marsden and the Willie Dayson Blues Band were a milestone, but they both need to work a lot more before bringing out the definitive cut. Best concert: Joe Cocker proved that not only could he bring out the most consistent album of the year, but he could also deliver the goods on stage, in spite of an inferior backing band. The Clash was worthwhile, as were the Icehouse and the Men at Work shows. Forgett-. able concerts were Cold Chisel Ultravox, and Cliff Richard. I did not attend the John Cooper Clarke show and feel ashamed.

Best rock film: No prizes. Best film soundtrack: “Dance Craze.”

Best single or individual track: Although “Come on Eileen” from Dexy’s Midnight Runners, was the best single, the best individual track was “Big Blue Plymouth” from David Byrne’s

“The Catherine Wheel.” Best live album: None stood but. “Last Date” by Emmy Lou Harris was probably the most consistent, and also the best countryoriented album. Not so memorable was “Concert in Central Park” from Simon and Garfunkel, and the money and the bag with “Still Life” by the Rolling Stones.

Best compilation album: “The Name of this band is Talking Heads,” by Talking Heads. Adequate as history, but would it be better to buy all the albums.

Best group: Dexys Midnight Runners.

Best male artist: Elvis Costello.

Best female artist: Kate Bush.

Most promising artists: The Fun Boy Three ,and Bananarama, Marshall Crenshaw.

Best N.Z. band: D. D. Smash, after the unhappy demise of The Clean. Best humorous album: Captain Sensible “Women and Captains First.”