Records

Rip It Up, Issue 144, 1 July 1989, Page 26

Records

SOULIISOUL Club Classics Vol 1 fen) © .

~ Soulll Soul's debut may be a great album but, let's face it, Club Classics Vol lis either avery brave oravery

arroganttitle. | suspect a bit of both Jazzie B (after reading various interviews and seeing the guy live

several times and seeing the guy live at the weekly Sunday dance sessions at CoventGardens’ Africa Centre afew years back) has the typical London bravado and self-aggrandisement.

After all he plans his own commercial empire, with record labels, shops and clubs, a dream representative of countless pop stars before him, and something | approach with scepticism. Butto the record itself. London, as any visitor over recent years will testify, has become one of the world's great melting pots. The punk revolution of the late 70s was the last great gasp of

white English pop music in its traditional form, and event that became intertwined with, first, reggae and then American soul. Club Classics represents the sounds of London now: breezy Caribbean reggae and soca, African rhythms and chants, traditional British pop attitudes and Afro-American

grooves and vocals, all forced together inthe multi racial world of all-night jams and pirate radio. Asonglike - ‘Happiness (Dub)’ has all of these in one. Vocals from Do’reen, very New York, Chicago house piano and African drum patterns. The three singles that preceded the album had a definite Caribbean

summery feel (ironic from a nation that knows virtually no good weather) but nevertheless came as a breath of fresh air after endless Acid House, and like the rest of this long player have an air of pure optimism and a surplus of gorgeous melody. Jazzie B and his partner, Nellee, have been smart enoughto pullin a variety of great

vocalists to complement their sounds, like Caron Wheeler (on ‘Keep On

Movin’ and the new single ‘Back To Life’), Rose Windross (on the first single ‘Fairplay’) and Do’reen (on the

afore-mentioned ‘Happiness (Dub)’ and the second single ‘Feel Free’), but onthe tracks that Jazzie sings himself (actually often more spoken than sung), it also works, often contrasting rather than complementing the groove. Club Classics they may or may not be, butitis a damn compelling disc that

equals almost anything else released this year, a record that befits the current British heat wave and looks likely to grow into our summer soundtrack for

the discerning, as the current sound of young Britain. L SIMON GRIGG ; SHELLEYAN ORPHAN : Century Flower (Rough Trade) Thisis a new British album froma band who remind me very much of the Gist or Everything But The Girl, although | have a hunch they'd rather think of themselves as the new Joni Mitchell. They use a lot of acoustic instruments; guitar, cello and other strings, cor anglais, oboe and so on. The arrangements are mostly very mellow, with only occasional electric guitar and full drum kit. : Ifind it all a bit restrained and over-sensitive for me, even thoughit's gotits good points; light skipping jazz rhythms and good textures, also some melodies. There are some nice classical touches too, and some of the very full and lush string parts work well. Bestsongs are the single ‘Shatter’ and the near-instrumental ‘Amanita Muscaria’. That last one is no coincidence, because it's vocals that are the weak spot on this record. Apart from them, everything would be fine. Nasal, affected, coy and cloying high voices (male and female) try to sing scattishjazz vocals and onlyend up sounding like cocktail bar singers.'m - sure the very sad and serious lyrics don'thelp. You'll hearthis in cafes. RICHARD JAMES GUY : Guy (Uptown/MCA) Swingbeat is definitely this year’s mainstream dance success. Somewhere in the midsts of time a genius came up with the idea of putting hip-hop beats under soul / funk stylings, thus creating another dance genre and a multi-million dollar industry as wel. Although it'snear impossible to pin down the inventor of astyle, it's pretty safe to say that producer/ artiste Teddy Riley and swingbeat are closely linked. Riley has worked with (take a deep breath) Kool Moe Dee, Billy Ocean, Wee Papa Girl Rappers, Keith Sweat, Heavy D, James Ingram; Johnny Depp and Bobby Brown to name a few, which is very happeningfora2oyearold. Now finally Riley’s own project, Guy, is available, and believe me ithas been worth the wait. Along with the Hall brothers (ex-gospel vocalists — these boys all have impeccable musical backgrounds) Riley has created one of the year’s finest funk moments. Guyis definitely one of the most “urban” albums I've heardinalong while. It has the feel of bigfunin the metropolis; getting dressed up in real expensive clothes, dancing all night, hanging out with class and feeling fine the next morning. It's the Gap Band, Cameo and Chicjomming with Cash Money and Marvelous. From tight funk through to lush ballads, Guy really does swing, and it's no throwaway. The arrangements and performances are, as we have come to expect from Riley, pure quality. A year old, maybe, but still as sharp as a pearl-handled switchblade. KIRK GEE

PHOEBE SNOW . Somethingßeal (Elektra) Phoebe Snow’s debutin 1974 was something of an event. Here was a young white girl who sang like a mature black woman. On songs like her own ‘Harpo’s Blues’ she blended blues, jazz andfolkin a way that made everyone predicta great future. There were several more albums during the 70s but none really moved muchbeyond where she'd started. By 1981 she’d all butabandoned the blues and jazz elements for straight ahead Rock Away. Andssince that album, nothing. - Until now. Yetto alarge extent, it's as if she never went away. The voice is unchanged and the song choice is much like it was: a predominance of other people’s but with four originals to balance. Of the latter herfitle track beautifully reclaims the relaxed jazz-folk fusion which firstmade ~ ~ everyone take notice. Touch Your Soul’ aches with bluesy feeling while on ‘Cardiac Arrest’ she rocks out as if she'd co-written it with Keith Richard.

The non-originals are all smart, mainstream pop-rock, the bestknown being Maurice White's ‘Best Of My Love’. With a band of often stellar sessioneers (Ricky Fataar, Tom Scott, - etc) Snow swoops and soars, delivering the set with well-controlled power. And if all that sounds like calculated AOR then so itis. Something Realisn’t about expanding anyone’s musical horizons; it's about re-establishing afine singer-songwriter who's been away for alongtime. Phoebe Snow has been through some rugged timesinher personal life since she last released an album. If's good to have her back. PETER THOMSON PUBLICIMAGELTD o : : (Virgin) The gnomes in Auckland who make this magazine have been sending me albums by this band for a few years now. The one | keptthe longest before selling was called Album. Selling free records s a privilege reserved for reviewers; and Album lasted aboutfour

weeks in my house before I drove it out. 9 came with a note attached that said “bonjourno” (Chad speaking through his ‘reader of ltalian lads’ mags’ hat), “here is something you might like to review” (no it's not), “produced by Stephen Hague!2” (so what?). Itfinished with the obligatory “can we have the review by Thursday” plea. (This s the thanks | get for doing my job. Shame on you, Paul—CT,) i

Ihaven't playedityet. It's atoss-up whetherto just sell it first and deny all knowledge of it arriving in the post, or to settle down into my favourite reviewing chair and spin the damn thing onthe deck afew times. Like afool, I chose the latter. Like on the new Pere Übu LP, Cloudland, Stephen Hague only gets to produce half an album; but unlike that record, his work here is marginally more palatable than what goes on the other side where Eric Thorngren takes over. Though Hague does provide one ortwo amazing moments of severe synth-swamping (notably on ‘Worry’), Godknows what we're s’posed to make of Thorngren’s arrangement of ‘Like That'! Lydonis areasonably talented jerk, but at his best he is feeding off a musically innovative collaborator — what made so much of Album listenable was the input of producer Bill Laswell. Continuing on with pompous old troopers like guitarist John McGeochis only gonna get him as far as the second side of this album, which in all honesty I'd call one of the most unlistenable 20 mins of music I've been subjected to ina long time. And | like Bongwater's

Double Bummer. Ithink I'll sell this one tomorrow. Maybe some lucky punk or Human League fan will get it for eight bucks and be happy. . :

PAUL McKESSAR

STRAY CATS Blast Off (EMI)

Rockabilly is a thing to cling to while riding the waves of the cultural seas. It signals the birth of the cool white boy. Before rockabilly, white people couldn’t dance and comb their hair at the same time. It’s the sound of the white working class lost in rapture, worshipping the altar of black rhythm as if the black deities felt sorry for their white brothers and gave them a gift. . We're talking about Johnny Todd's ‘Pink Cadillac’, Billy Lee Riley’s ‘Red Hot’ and Elvis, always Elvis. There’s no way to duplicate the spirit of these things, but of course some try. Like the Stray Cats. Backin 1983 the Cats sounded real good at the St James theatre, and each album had gems. Setzer’s guitar sounded ghostly — haunted by the ghostsofthepast. . - Now, after along break full of solo albums and celebrity marriages, the returnto rockabilly. And at certain times onthe new album they still sparkle. Like their cover of the Paine Brothers' ‘Gina’ andtheir own ‘Rockin’ All Over The Place’. I like that simple thrill foundin Setzer’s guitar. Or his vocals in ‘Bring It Back Again’. : However, the main dangerin recreationsis the fall into parody, which the Stray Cats do not escape. Like ‘Gene & Eddie’ which strings together the titles and guitar riffs of Vincent and Cochrane songs. There are better ways of honouring the masters than this. The band seemsto be trying too hard on tracks like ‘Everybody Needs Rockn’ Roll’and ‘Rockabilly World". It'sthe obviousness of the songs that disturbs me, and everything is just too nice, it lacks the lust of rockabilly. It'sjust a damn pity they don't rock like the way | know they can. g KERRY BUCHANAN ; TOMPETTY Full Moon Fever (MCA) . Way to hell back, Petty came out about the same time as another pretty boy, Dwight Twilley, and between them they were picked to be a duo mighty - - enough to pick up on the exquisite pop manufactured by the Byrds. : Meanwhile we're still waiting and Petty has rustled up his seventh studio LPin something like 13 : company-troubled years. He hit platinum with his third, Damn The Torpedos, and like any other writer who's made big money by tapping into - the spirit of rock n’ roll, affluence has made his musictoo safeand : predictable. The feelingof having . made it for Petty was reinforced by his tour with Dylan — a sort of divine confirmation of status from.a man long fallen from grace. And if that pairing was dubious then his collaborations with the Eurythmic’s Dave Stewart on Southern Accents were downright incongruous. _ This time Petty’s let the largely talentless Pillbury, Jeff Lynne, co-write about halfthe songs on Full Moon - Feverand produce it into the bargain. So unlike Stewart before him, Lynne's prescence and input are more than incidental, fattening Petty’s patented Southern LA transplanted rock n’ roll into a chugging FM scene thathas typified Lynne’s work with ELO. As far as songs go, Petty has turned up with his customary two or three good ones per album — this time a shade better than the rest of the originals but there are no ‘Refugee’s’ or ‘Rebels’ here. Anda faithful cover of the Byrds' ‘Feel A - Whole Lot Better’ is a whole lot better than anything else on Full Moon Fever, asign, along with his song partnership with Lynne, that Petty’s struggling for form. i Atbest Full Moon Feveris pleasant, comfortable rock n’ roll USA froma man who's been through the hoops but is now satisfied fo make music because he doesn'tknow what else to do. - Retirement fime. GEORGEKAY : TUCK & PATTI Tears Of Joy : (Windham Hill) There was no way | was going to like this. First there was Windham Hill's association with all that “new age” hokum. Then a quick scan of the tracklist showed that our duo had the temerity to record Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time'. And if that didn't make me wary the sleevenotes contain a creditto “Everyone we've ever loved orbeen loved by, passed through us during the recording of thisrecérd.” Oh puhleeez! Butthen | played the thing. And you know what? Patti has one terrific voice — light but soulful and with the range and control of a real jozz singer. Then there's her husband Tuck. He accompanies her on electric guitar, sounding full and busy yet completely ‘sympathetic. And that's it. No other. musos, not even an overdub. You think that could get restrictive over a whole album butit neverdoes, even when | “play it all again. Which | do. The choice of material has got alot to

do with it. There are some great songs here and they receive classy interpretations. (So classy in factthat I'm evenwon over by Time After Time’, something which never happened with Miles Davis's version.) And in amongst songs by the likes of Rodgers & Hart, Wendy Waldman and one Bob Dorough — didn't he used to work with that hippie/outrage bunch The Fugs backin the 6052 —there’s afew original numbers which don’tsound at all out of place. ’ Patti shows some similarities to Cleo Laine on a fast, swinging version of ‘Better Than Anything’ (but without indulging in those self-congratulatory pyrotechnics to which Ms Laine is sometime prone). There areafewa touches of Ella Fitzgerald in there too. Tuck gets to strut his stuff on a hot version of Wes Montgomery’s ‘Up And Atlt'. 5

Hate to admit this about a Windham Hill album but, like the Ocker in that fruit juice commercial confessed, “Awww, it'sgood!” PETER THOMSON NEILYOUNG . Eldorado : (Reprise) : No doubt about it, Neil is convinced that if he stands in the same place too long heis gonna rust.lmeangee whillikers, man, our favourite flake has covered everything from doo-wop to R&B over the last decade in an effort to keep us guessing— and it's worked. Eldoradois afive track, downunder-only treat and yup, he's gone backto the live Rust Never Sleeps sound just to prove that there's still metalin that ol’ heart. The first side comes outlike he's trying to catch up on lostenergy and ‘Cocaine Eyes' has a kick that would shatter masonry and if ‘Don’t Cry’ slows down the noise it's only calm before ‘Heavy Love’, solid crunch that reminds Dinosaur Jr that they're five generations down the track. The pressure drops on the second side but only for a while as Neil ambles through a version of ‘On Broadway’ — it almost works, but it sounds like filler compared fo the classic‘Montezuma'’ style pacing of the title song — leisurely guitar, castanets and a gradual build-up before whammy time, and aslab of feedback knocks you through the wall. Sounds like fun? 3 Yeah, itisfun and it's heavy, and mean and nasty and cruisy — typical Neil Young, if there's such a thing. GEORGEKAY . JUNKYARD e Junkyard : (WEA) While this is their first album, Junkyard have actually been around in Texas and the States for a while and it shows. Right from the hyper-energised ‘Blooze’ these boys kick ass all the way and David Roach’s vocals top it offin a mostunusual way especially on that track (you'd be inclined to think your stereo has found a new speed to play on). ' : They ain't forgetting their Southern upbringing either as tracks like ‘Hot Rod’ and Texas' testify. Closest comparison would Lynyrd Skynyrd but faster and with their own perilous edge to the songs more apt for the 90s. Earl Slick adds some tasty slide guitaring to ‘LongWay Home' and the straightfoward but loveable ballad ‘Simple Man'. Coolest though is ‘Hands Off which s full of emotion and played so well by the whole band. Junkyard sure ain'ttrash rock and have got something which will keep them above the other rubble. GEOFFDUNN WEE PAPA GIRL RAPPERS The Beat, The Rhyme, The Noise (Jive) British rap has always been sort of poor cousin to the American variety. Outside of a few notable exceptions, it's usually been a pale imitation of the - Stafeside product. But recently British rappers have started melding other influences into their music,

predominantly House, and are now scoring bigin the clubs and the shops.. The Wee Papa Girl Rappers have done very well for themselves out of this new breed of Anglo-rappers. They've had some successin both the UK and USA, and have pulled together anall-star productionteamonthis album with the likes of Adonis, Kevin Saunderson and of course the übiquitous Teddy Riley cropping up in the credits. , Personally, 'm not excited by this British hip / house, it's all a bit frantic and uniform sounding (‘Heat It Up’ being a prime example) butthe Wee Papa’s use a touch of reggae as well, which sounds great. They carry this ragamuffin style off nicely on tracks like ‘Wee Rule’ and ‘Faith’ and it givesthe - album a touch of variety, something that

alot of their contemporaries lack. The Papa’s have promise. KIRK GEE g SIMON PHILLIPS \ Protocol ‘ (Jayrem) , In June last year, drummer Simon Phillips held a drum clinic atthe Kingsgate Centre and astonished the audience with his perfected, powerful playing. For periods of 20-30 minutes he would demonstrate amazing fills, beats and rolls with great force control and ease, then stop for a chatto answer any questions without even having to catch his breath after such a physical display of musicianship. Phillips’ solo at the Mick Jagger concert here was definitely a highlight of that night and later this year he's due to do the Who

show. Also to his credit are the excellent recording sessions with Jeff Beck, 801, Michael Schenker, Pete Townshend and many more. Simon has naturally constructed this album totally around his drumming but he plays all the guitars, keyboards and otherinstruments as well. It would have been nice if Jan Hammer and other friends had been involved in the recording but Mr Phillips certainly gets agood all-round soind and most importantly his chops really shine through. The title track begins with soft percussion which builds brilliantly to a peak of timing changes and killer kick drumming. VB’ also has great emphasis onthe twin bass pedalsin the style that Simon pioneered last decade and well, justlisten to how he gets around that kit. Protocolnot only displaysthe - outstanding talent of this man but makes good listening even if you're nota drummer yourself. GEOFFDUNN - DRJOHN In A Sentimental Mood . (Warnerßros) - Macßebbanck, AKA Dr John has plotted a long quirky trail through the world of music, moving fromß&B - through psychedelic weirdness to New Orleanstraditionalism and back again, all without missing a beat. Now in 1989 he has taken yet anothertrack, this fime into the cocktail lounge.

. InA Sentimental Moodiis a cruise . though some lounge jazz classics like ‘Accentuate The Positive’ and ‘Love For Sale’. Don’t write this off as another cheesy cover album, though; the

versions are very straight but the skill and class with which they are rendered doesthem justice. In A Sentimental

Moodalso sports an excellent : ensemble with the likes of Rickie Lee Jones, Jeff Pocaro, Marcus Miller and Fathead Newman contributing, while the good doctor himself sounds like a blend of Frank Sinatra and Tom Waits. Thisis an ideal album for those nights of softlights and fine cigars; Dr John may not be breaking into new musical territory, but he’s doing a real nice job withthe old. . KIRK GEE L THEBO-WEEVILS : Where Particular People Congregate 4 (Mr Spaceman) & Remember vibrato guitars? Hammond Organs? Natural drum reverb? Sounds a bit 60s garage music to you? You bet. OK, now add to thata mid-80s dangerous edge, a post-modernist sense of humourand a bit of muscle and you end up nottoo far away from this Australian congregation known as the 80-Weevils. S Where Particular People Congregateis the place to find those strong but so obvious melody lines that come with the territory. Unfortunately, some of the energy which would probably come offlive s a little lost in the recording process, but the Weevils are coming out of the woodwork on the 21stand the 22nd of this month to play atthe Venue (top marksto Rob Schreider), so it would pay to put off the album until you've seen them. It would be a good reminder of what promises to be a great concert. e The second side leaves side one standing with it short, full-on songs; ‘She’s Far Out’ and ‘Working Man’ being far and away the most fun.

ANDREW DUBBER