Records

Rip It Up, Issue 145, 1 August 1989, Page 27

Records

SWING OUT SISTER Kaleidoscope World (Mercury) Thisband’s 1987 album /t's Better To Travelwas an honest and well-written gem that boasted not one cover version and a long playing time. Composer - keyboardist Andy Connell was fresh from leaving A Certain Ratio and was both keen and able to redress

the indulgences that had relegated ACRto 10years of cult status; Swing Out Sister were upbeat, unashamed pop. Their only fault was smiling too much, and a casual observer could be

forgiven for thinking that there wasn't much forethought behind Corinne Drewery'sgrin. : Kaleidoscope Worldis the second album from the band and while it holds tightto their populist philosophy, it's a leap far beyond anything we could rightly expect from a boy with a piano and a girl with a haircut. Connell and Drewery (a duo since the departure of drummer Martin Jackson) have adopted the musical style of Burt

Bacharach and the Fifth Dimension, and itfits them like a glove. Kaleidoscope contains some of the most buoyant, carefree and intelligent pop songs written by white folks since Scritti Politti. Hyperbole2 Nope. Check out the lopsided fizz of ‘Tainted’ and the giddy optimism of ‘Waiting Game'. Note how ‘Forever Blue’ boldly jack-knifesintoa jazz number(Green Gartside turned the same trick with ‘Rock A Boy Blue’ and ‘Faithless’). 'You On My Mind’ curls into a Mary Quant soundtrack and ‘This Heart's For Hire' is the Tijuana Brass single that got away. Productionis unmistakeably 80s but arrangements on ‘Forever Blue’ and ‘Precious Words’ are by orchestra man Jimmy Webb — who liked what he heard enough to take time off recording sessions with Frank Sinatra to work with Swing Out Sister.

The technical flair must have 3 encouraged Ms Drewery to polish her talents, too; her singing hits all the notes, and holds them. Connell (sharing nearly all credits with Corinne) shows off on two instrumentals; ‘Coney Island Man’ (CD only), and the title track, a Harry Palmer, east-meets-west essay. But the. stylistic change is more than cosmetic; the songs are solid, and the arrangements vigorous. The change in tack has distanced SOS from the vapid _English charts, and focussed their sense

offun. In fact, Kaleidoscope Worldis the - most fun on vinyl since Wham's The Greatest. Stack it next to Stranded and The Fabulous Shirley Bassey. : Wunnerful stuff, just wunnerful. CHADTAYLOR ALYSON WILLIAMS Raw (CBS) Check outthe cover. There's Ms Williams real bold in the leopard skin pill-box hat and gloves, set against the squalor of the city mess and destruction. Like a classic 70s soul album cover, it'sa combination of ghetto awareness and silky soul forgetfulness. This is a masterful thing, it shouts and shimmys. When she talks about “My loveis so raw”, you can feel it. There is no artifice; soul musicis raw, the raw reality of life. Butit's also life on a grand scale, where emotion is king. One review | read mentioned the “lapse into soul cliches” which | take to mean the exaggeration of emotion, placing love and sentimentality above everything in much the same way that country music does. It'sthat element that gives both styles their strength, the opening up of the heart shows its honesty.

Side one is the slow ballad showcase which burns like the sun in the sky, six tracks of soft sophistication for lovers everywhere. My favourite would be ‘Masquerade’, but it's hard picking

favourites when each one is a standout. She's being promoted as an Anita Bakerfor B-Boys, and like Ms Baker’s fine Rapturealbum it makesno concessions, no tricks involved: Just very fine soul ballads. Butthen flip it over and the funk starts to flow. ‘Sleep Talk’ with the James Brown ‘Funky Drummer’ beat is just amazing, as is ‘On The Rocks’ with this vocal change in the middle that just chills. She’s on Def Jam, and their best soul release ever (stable mate Chuck Stanley appears in a duet). Producers Vincent Bell and Alvin Moody should take credit, also Shocklee and Sadler, who add the hip hop. Mosttrackson side two have a hip-hop edge to them, and Ms Williams rapsin a nasty Millie Jackson way, she’s real cool. , Ms Williams has been a classy | backing vocalist for nearly everybody, even the Gang of Four. But now she’s numero uno, is she ready for star time orwhat?

Also liked the way they printed Max Ehrmann’s classic kitsch guide to better living, Desiderata, on the inside sleeve, containing this uplifting instruction: “With all its sham, drudgery and broken

dreams/ Itis still a beautiful world.” Well, I think this album proves that very thing. : KERRY BUCHANAN i MAVIS STAPLES Time Waits For No-One (Paisley Park) ; ARETHA FRANKLIN v Through The Storm (Arista) Mavis Staples and Aretha Franklin have alotin common. They both rate as classic soulsters, both come froma gospel background and both have used convenient superstars on their current LPs, although the results are quitedifferent. : Mavis has worked with Prince, who doesn’t so much interpret her style as let M:s Staples interpret his. The songs all bearthat unmistakeable Prince feel: choppy guitars, lofs of little vocal

embellishments and rhythms that are all 70sfunk. The end results are rather. nice. Mavis's smokey vocals are pure class. The likes of ‘lnteresting’, which would well have been written for Sheena Easton and her lingerie, are given areal kick, while Time Waits For No-One’, well, Mavis was born o sing ballads like this. : Aretha, however, goes for amore mainstream mode. There are definite hints of swing-beat, a real bug FM sound and a plethora of guest stars. Some are not so hot— Elton John is just plain dull while Siedah Garretisn't given enough room to move, but at times it all comes together. James Brownisin fine form, dustin’ and bustin’ (before the dust got him sent up the river) while Whitney Houston indulges inalittle duel onltlsn’t, It Wasn't, It Ain't Ever Never Gonna Be’ which features some great vocal stylings despite the

dumb “ad-libs”. Of the two albums here, | would personally put my money on Time Waits For No-One. Mavis Staples seemsto have confidence and style that Aretha lacks (do we really need ‘Think ‘B9'2) thoughit'sgoodtoseeacoupleof - living legends prove they are very much alive and kicking. KIRK GEE ; SLICKRICK : o The Great Adventures of Slick Rick ] (Def Jam ‘ Thisis astrange one. Here's the slickster on the cover looking like some high school pimp with the diamond in the tooth to match the rock on his finger, with this real intense, friendly smile. When he starts rapping he sounds fresh,in a Dana Dane style, and maybe even Fresh Prince isin there as well. Like the storyline of The Moment | Feared'; lots of things like getting all your gold chains ripped off,andsex problems. But the slick one can give you aword of advice on that score with the less than delicate ‘Treat Her Like A Prostitute’ and ‘Lick The Balls’. Produced by Hank Schockless and Eric Sadler, so you know i's going to sound good. Like ‘Mona Lisa’ witha version of 'Walk On By’ sneaking through the mix, and the very weird ‘lndian Girl" (an adult story) with Ricky Walters, Mr Slick Rick himself, in control ofthe mixingdesk.. e Not atraditional hip-hop album, it uses things not normally found in the genre. Like his voice, and unusual changesin tempo like The Rulers Back’ with some psycho knights of the round table stuff. This boy isasloose as a - goose. ' : Tracks that found favour overseas are the ballads ‘Teenage Love’ and ‘Hey Young World'. Butto me, the slickster is better when he gets dumb and dirty like ‘lndian Girl’, ‘Let's Get Crazy' and of course the socially irresponsible ‘Treat Her Like A Prostitute’. : KERRY BUCHANAN JAMESINGRAM e It’'s Real : (Warner Bros) The last few weeks have definitely been full of the unexpected. Leeza's looking pregnant, Akeem'’s dancing has gotworse, and the new James Ingram LPis seriously fine. - Actually, the quality of I's Realisn't all that unexpected. James Ingramhas = always had a wonderful voice but it alwaysseemstobelostinaseaof =~

blandness. For this project, though, he is supported by animpressive array of producers. With the help of Gene Griffin, Gerald Levert, Mark Gordon and Bernard Taylor, it’s hard to go wrong. Griffin particularly makes his presence felt with the dance material {the album has a “hard” and “soft” side). ‘lt's Real’ and ‘Love Come Down’ are classic slices of swingbeat, toughand infectious with “hit" written allover them. Butballads are definitely James” territory, and it's here he really shines. From the opening grandeur of ‘A Natural Man’ where James manages to re-work Aretha without sounding ridiculous; you know the man is in total control. Although he’s definitely a contender for the Barry White Award for services to orchestration, Mr Ingram never descendsinto schmaltz. Tight production and some superb vocals keep this album tough. James Ingram has one of the best jackets I've seen lately, and one of the best soul albums I've heard lately —a combination worth checking out. : KIRK GEE INDIGO GIRLS Indigo Girls (Epic).~ =~ Anyone who cites Joni Mitchell as a maijor influence and car boast REM and Hothouse Flowers as session musos ontheir debut album on a major label have got to be worth checking out. Being a major fan of ull three myself, Indigo Girls seemed t-,0 good to be true Futhermore, they're an acoustic, university circuit, female duc from Atlanta, Georgia. | mean how cred can one band be2 Add to that the fact that it's all produced by Scott Litt and you've gotthe recipe for jangly dynamite. You wantto hear about more cookie points¢ The inner sleeve gives contact addresses and phone numbers for Amnesty International, Greenpeace, Codlition forthe Homeless and People for Ethical Treatment of Animals. The firsttrack, ‘Closer to Fine’is one ofthe most worthy singles ina long time and the understated, spiritual lyrics and clever cross-melodies of the rest of the album make it well worth widening your record collection by anotherfew millimeters.

ANDREW DUBBER