Records

Rip It Up, Issue 92, 1 March 1985, Page 20

Records

Malcolm McLaren Fans Charisma Find a gimmick and the world will beat a path to your door. If not, at least you might make a hit record or two. The king of gimmicks has.struck again and it’s not half bad, either. You’ve got to hand it to McLaren, whether you personally .admire him or not. The guy’s a shrewd manipulator, a skillful trendspotter and has one helluva nerve. From square dancing and scratching, to Afro beat and skipping ropes, and now grand opera. All talk of exploitation aside, Fans is a thoroughly enjoyable record, as was its predecessor, Duck Rock. McLaren, assisted this time by Robbie Kilgore, Stephen Hague and Walter Turbitt, has grafted snatches of operatic arias onto contemporary rhythms and melodies. He’s not the first person to update the classics, but nobody has done it quite like this before. For authenticity, McLaren has also used genuine operatic singers for the classical segments. You’ll have already gauged the success of the move with the 'Madam Butterfly’ track (and as for that video clip...!). It’s an uncanny tapestry of sound. The way the classical and the modern idioms fit together is pure inspiration. The sailor’s narrative that links them is repeated in a more bitter refrain at the end of the record in ‘Death of a Butterfly’. The images of Nagasaki become glaringly uncomfortable. You can draw your own meaning. Puccini is the dominating classical influence, the exception being the grafting of Bizet's ‘Carmen’ onto a funky street beat. The flashy aria fits just fine. The other standout track has to be ’The Boy’s Chorus’, which has something of the riff from ’Let It All Hang Out! School’s out for Malcy and he’s planning mischief. Hilarious. In the end you can’t help but grin at the man’s wit and irrerverence. He’s probably laughing at all of us on the way to the bank. No chance of Messrs Puccini or Bizet coming forward to claim their royalties, eh Mai? Duncan Campbell Cocteau Twins Treasure Virgin I couldn’t think of a more appropriate title than this album’s. This is a rivetting beautiful collection of songs. The Cocteau Twins have always had that something, they’ve always been unique, but on their two previous albums they hadn’t quite captured (or discovered) what it was that made them unique ... their own sound. Treasure blazes with what was only touched upon in the best moments of Garlands or Head Over Heels. Only ‘Wax and Wane’ and ‘Sugar Hiccup’ from those early albums bear any resemblance to pieces from the new album. One aspects which sets Treasure apart from the other albums is the hovering way in which Elizabeth Fraser uses her voice as an instrument. Lt is almost operatic on side two’s first track, ‘Amelia’.

The soothing, lullaby quality is not present in every song, however; ‘Cicely’ is almost noisy enough to be irritating, but any sound verging on cacophony is soon softened with a mere breath of Liz’s vocals. And the other members? Well there’s Robin Guthrie on guitar; whose playing can range from the acoustic strumming of songs like ‘lvo’ to the wrenching urgency of ‘Persephone’ so rapidly you’d swear he was schizophrenic. There’s also Simon Raymonde, the Cocteaus’ most recent recruit. His robust yet haunting bass provides the vertebrae in all the songs but stands out in tracks like ‘Lorelei’ for the mere fact that he holds everything together. A drum machine provides the rhythms. And then there’s Liz. So there you have it. The album of ’BS. Vicky Bogle Hunters and Collectors The Way To Go Out ... White Label I’ve never been a fan of live recordings after all, there ain’t nothing like the real thing is there? The Way To Go Out' is one out of the box though. There’s new material here Throw Your Arms Around Me’, ‘I Couldn't Give It To You’ and you can hear that Hunters and Collectors are very much a live band; professional and very compelling. Throw Your Arms Around Me’ is one of their best songs (‘‘Shed your skin and let’s get started’’ gets the Line Of the Year prize so far) and is indicative of the straighter rock path the band is taking; BUT there are still the quirks/changes/spaces in the songs that make them unpredictable and ultimately unique. If you saw Hunters and Collectors, or bought the last album, most of the songs here will be familiar The Slab) ‘I Believe’, ‘Carry Me) ‘Follow Me No More' and you’ll know, also, what a wonderful set of tonsils Mark Seymour has. Melbourne’s venue sounds as hot as Mainstreet was that Tuesday so hot that The Way to Go Out is worth it even if you didn’t see them. Fiona Rae Sylvester M-1015 Chrysalis If Little Richard sang disco-funk, he would sound like Sylvester. Behind the electroflash and synth bass is a great gospel voice, one that just cuts through and soars. But the first thing that hits you is the mighty overall sound of this thing there is no stopping a sound like this. M-1015 is the best disco-funk record since Chic's Greatest Hits: from the epic electro sound of ‘Rock the Box’, through various influences of 70s disco in the Moroder-like ‘Sex’ and Take Me to Heaven' and the Northern Soul stomp of ‘Lovin’ Is Really My Game! This is such sweet soul music for the 80s and beyond such production, such songs, such a voice! Sylvester takes us to heaven aboard the funk train and I dont want to get off. “If you want to be c 001... keep the music jamming ... Rock the Box." Kerry Buchanan