Records

Rip It Up, Issue 81, 1 April 1984, Page 24

Records

Duncan Campbell

The Smiths Rough Trade - So, another legend in the making. On the strength of three singles, 'Hand In Glove', This Charming Man' and What Difference Does It Make', Manchester's the Smiths have already attracted the same groundswell of hope and support that turned the likes of Joy Division into a virtual deity and consequent self-parody. But the current rock'n'roll vacuum needs a band with leadership qualities and the Smiths seem to have been elected by the press and "in touch" public as the band most suitable to plug that gap.

With the self-confessed celibate and non-drinking Morrissey out front the band has a vocalist/ lyricist with the essential honesty and fanaticism to engender respect and even worship in those looking for a new religion.

On The Smiths, their first album, this charming man sings of lust, guilt, child murders and more lust with a plaintive, doleful mourn that becomes plain weary on Reel Around The Fountain' (not the way to begin an album, fellas) and The Hand That Rocks The Cradle' and real maudlin on 'I Don't Owe You Anything'. The band's true talent is guitarist Johnny Marr. He believes in the beauty of simplicity and he gets that clean crystalline guitar sound that has chimed through the best pop songs from the Byrds to early Echo and the Bunnymen. When he gets the tune right and hits stride as in 'Still 111', 'You've Got Everything Now' and 'Hand In Glove', then the Smiths look like having a future.

But the real strokes of brilliance occur when Morrissey and Marr hit empathy. 'What Difference Does It Make?' is the best uptempo Smiths because Marr is

pushing Morrissey, and 'Suffer Little Children' is brilliant because there’s a tragedy in the song that transcends self-pity and Marr keeps it delicate, sensitive and simple.

Advice: let the Smiths grow without the burden of unrealistic devotion. If Morrissey is one of rock'n'roll's great individuals let him prove it, don't be so damned accepting. The truth is that The Smiths is a disappointingly good album from a potentially exceptional band. George Kay Van Morrison Live At the Grand Opera House Belfast Mercury Arguably, since Into the Music Van Morrison has entertained his most creative period since his Astral Weeks/Moondance heyday. With his adoption of Christianity and his consequent and inevitable return to Ireland and Gaelic soul, his music has refound the direction and passion missing from much of his 70s output. As part of the homecoming it's appropriate that this album should be recorded in Belfast, Morrison's birthplace and departure point for America after he left Them in 1967. So, in a way, he has turned full circle. Anyway, ‘ with his recent studio lineup virtually complete on stage he showcases the fruits of his recent birthplace. Beautiful Vision, being his best album since Moondance, gets most attention and Van and the band make no mistakes on "Dweller of the Threshold', 'She Gives Me Religion' and 'Northern Muse'.' Dipping into Inarticulate Speech of the Heart, and 'Rave On John Donne', warm metaphysical ravings, is the hub of Side Two and It's All in the Game' from Into the Music reminds you that the 70s did end well for him. Van Morrison turns 40 next year, so he's been too long and honest in the game to offer you a bum live album. This record boasts no surprises (except for Pee Wee Ellis' amazing sax) it just features an on-form Irish soul singer who is still one of the best around. George Kay

Various Artists Slash: The Early Sessions Slash/ Time Listen in you guys American music is where it's at. Forget Britain, forget Europe, forget Australia the US of A beats em all. It's a great place cos were talking diverse, were talking expansive. Hell, we're talking independents like Slash Records. Slash has released an album of seminal recordings of bands like LA's nihilistic Germs, the Gun Club, Blasters and NZ visitors Violent Femmes. What you get, 'ol buddies, is a little bit of hillbilly, country, pace 'n' power, yer greasy rhythm and blues and whatever else mushroomed within the meretricious beauty of fair California. These songs are hatched from hearts in constant, turbulent riot, humorous, nostalgic, dirge, splattered. And hey, it features 'White Girl', X’s best ever moment, and the most darling song of all, the Dream Syndicate's Tell Me When It's Over'. Damn fine. S.J. Townshend Hoodoo Gurus Stoneage Romeos Big Time One of my biggest musical jolts so far this year has been listening to the Hoodoo Gurus' 83 s 'My Girl' for the first time, „ . headphones, in a state bordering on comatose. I babbled inanely about it for days afterwards, playing it to anyone I could drag into the house.

Thus, great joy at getting to review this. Until I heard it. While My Girl' is a great rip-off of 60s pop cliches 'Hang On Sloopy' bassline (as used on 'Swimming Pool' and other pop rip-off classics), massed harmonies, false ending, etc, the rest of the album steals from less fruitful areas. The opener '(Let's All) Turn On' gives a list of rock signposts, "Shake Some Action, Psychotic Reaction, No Satisfaction ...,' etc, then goes on to point out 'That's what I like." Judging by the rest of the album they also liked the Byrds, the Saints, Tobacco Road', Iggy (70s), the Cramps, Duran Duran (!), Gary Glitter, Osibisa, the Sweet and the Turtles. As a party

record played real loud or as a "spot the influence" game; this record is almost perfect - an 8.5, say. As a bunch of original music to be carefully listened to, considered and maybe even educated by, it's about 3.5. 'My Girl' is fucking good. Their 1982 single 'Leilani' (also included here) is a Glitterstomp Hawaiian jungle movie and 'I Want You Back' is an R.E.M. soundalike that also has the Saints and the Byrds shining through its poppy haze. These three are good songs .

There's a version of their Cramps' take-off 'Dig It Up' on a 2JJJ FM live LP from Oz that cuts the studio version on this album to shreds, so I suspect they could be devastating live. Oh yeah, guess I should mention they're a Sydney band, that's Australia and that could be the problem. Great cover, though.

Chris Knox Fear The Record Slash/Bigtime The Barracudas Mean Time Slash/Bigtime The first of long-awaited local releases of the Slash product via Australian label, Bigtime, features two diverse bands. Fear are the hard-line punk end of the deal. They come complete with UK Subs and Exploited stun attacks, the difference being Fear have a sense of humour. They appear with gas masks on the reverse sleeve, they write songs with titles like "New York's Alright If You Like Saxophones', they do a ham blues on 'Beef Baloney' and their version of 'We Got To Get Out of This Place' is the worst ever recorded. They're the redeeming features the rest is garbage. Don't take them seriously. Britain's Barracudas have gradually garnered a small but loyal circle of friends, NMEs Barney Hoskyns being the most influential. The band has undergone numerous lineup changes since their surf satire, Drop Out With the Barracudas, but the most important is the addition of another guitarist in Chris Wilson. Together with kingpin Robin Wills

he's given the band a more garageByrds sound, a feel and approach that really pays dividends on a trio of songs on Side Two 'You've .Come A Long Way', 'Ballad Of A Liar' and 'When I'm Gone'. Elsewhere 'Dead Skin' and 'I Ain't No Miracle Worker' make the grade. Until the release of the first two X albums, the first Gun Club and Rank and File albums should see you through. George Kay Various Artists Songs From Banana Dominion Jayrem It's a typically wet, cold and miserable Christchurch Sunday, and I'm trying to keep warm. The Songs From Banana Dominion aren't really helping. Only Netherworld Dancing Toys' Trusted Ones' manages to brighten things up a little but their recording career won't reach a peak until they record the perfect 'Can We Get Away With It'. The Pelicans, Sonya Waters and Diatribe all deal in remarkably similar merchandise which is more than a little concerning.

It's getting colder (and older) as I reach for another jersey only to find two old mates, Hammond and Midge, pinching ideas from the right places (unlike the previous threesome) and it feels a little warmer. But wait! The coldest band around, the Body Electric, really dampen proceedings with their moist drizzle. Turn on the heater, quick ... and here it is! 'I Am the Need' sings Julian Hansen and Terror of Tinytown are the cause. A ray of sunshine. Another terrifying threesome: Snooze along to 'Sierra Leone', marvel at the superior intelligence of something as wise and talented as the Narcs as they 'Look the Other Way' ('cos there's No Turning Back, so Stay Away, etc, etc). Then hum along to the one song that you have actually heard on the radio, DD Smash's 'Devil You Know' (we sure do).

Wait a moment ... it's stopped raining, guys are swimming, guys are sailing. All because two of the best pop bands around, the Mockers and the Dance Exponents, tie up the loose ends admirably

with 'Cleopatra' and Airway Spies'respectively. On reflection, a patchy sort of compilation, but when is someone going to find the real music? Alister Cain Thompson Twins Into The Gap Arista What is "disposable" pop music? Basically, music which is only as good as its current chart position, and which is easily forgotten. Asked for an example, the average cynic would start with Duran Duran and probably finish with the Thompson Twins. But disposable music simply reflects our disposable 1980 s lifestyle. Made to the highest specifications, using the latest technology, and with a certain built-in obsolescence. The thing is, you can guarantee it. will be succeeded by something better, and the Thompson Twins are obviously at a creative peak.

Into The Gap is a huge advance f on last year's Quick Step and Side Kick. The melodies are stronger, the electronic disco machine more subdued. Where its predecessor found its greatest success on the dance floor, Into the Gap is solidly aimed at the radio station, and succeeds admirably. The songs on this album sound excellent on both AM and FM, and, that's no mean feat. Tom Bailey and fellow producer Alex Sadkin mesh a multitude of synthesiser tracks and build layer upon layer of vocal harmonies, creating an almost symphonic effect. Nowhere better is this displayed than on the two singles, 'Hold Me Now' and 'Doctor Doctor', both deserving hits.

There's plenty of variety elsewhere too. "You Take Me Up' is a spry work song, with catchy harp refrain and call-and-response vocals. "Day After Day' and 'Sister of Mercy' are both musical soap operas. Alannah Currie is responsible for the lyrics, and has a nicely judged sense of drama and pathos. The Thompson Twins are craftspeople in a very competitive section of the music market. Disposable pop it may be, but it's no less artistically valid for that.