albums

Rip It Up, Issue 165, 1 April 1991, Page 24

albums

THEBYRDS (Columbia) ROGER McGUINN Back From Rio (Arista) Unquestionably the Byrds were one of the very greatest groups of the ‘6os (personally I'd place them second or third, after a couple of English outfits). For starters, they created one of the few truly original sounds in rock. Based on Jim (later Roger) McGuinn's ringing 12-string guitar and an exquisite blend of three lead vocalists, the Byrds, with ‘Mr Tambourine Man’, invented the concept of folk-rock. They not only influenced the Beatles but also inspired Bob Dylan — the songwriting source of their first hits — to go electric himself. Further innovation occurred when, in 1966, the Byrds ushered in the first era of psychedelic rock with the awesomely brilliant ‘Eight Miles High'. Two years later they were again in the vanguard of change when their album Sweetheart of the Rodeo popularised rock combined with country music.

Meanwhile, within and around these musical landmarks, the Byrds were releasing dozens of fracks of sublime beauty. Several of the singles and at least three albums remain among pop music’s greatest achievements of that or any other decade. Appropriately for a group of such immense stature, The Byrds CD set is as impressive-a retrospective as has seen release anywhere. It comprises 90 tracks over four discs and is

accompanied by an excellent 36-page booklet containing detailed notes, essays and photos. The tracks range from that first single in ‘65

through to four recorded in Nashville during a reunion last year. Included are several which, leaving aside the rare 1987 compilation Never Before, are seeing general release for the first time. While one or two may be

sub-standard (a studio jam on ‘Johnny B Goode’ for instance) the majority are well worth inclusion, with some even ranking among the group’s major

works. It might seem almost inconceivable that Younger Than Yesterday and Notorious Byrd Brothers, those masterful albums of ‘67 and ‘6B were released incomplete, yet here, restored in rightful context, are three album out-takes, each one a pure and glittering gem. McGuinn himself has been responsible for remastering all the old tracks with gorgeous results. Whereas some '6os groups have been cruelly exposed by the merciless clarity of CD sound, here the words are clearer, vocal harmonies and instrumental lines become more discernible, with the result that everything sounds even richer than before. :

Nearly all the omissions from this compilation are justifiable although purists will quibble over one or two. Why, for example, is the beautiful 1966 single ‘Set You Free This Time’ excluded? (Gene Clark has claimed that McGuinn never liked the song.) Also, we'd have preferred another track from Notorious at the expense of, say, one of last year's reunion tracks. These days it seems that the spirit of the Byrds lives on more appropriately in the work of such groups as R.E.M. or the LAs. But let's not be churlish. The Byrds set represents a veritable embarrassment of riches. It may set you broke but you'll be purchasing countless hours of

pleasure culled from the very pinnacles of popular music. As longtime Byrds flight controller, Roger McGuinn’s subsequent solo

work has, while erratic, always been worthy of attention. Back From Rio is his first album in well over a decade and suggests that his work remastering The Byrds set my have rekindled his creative fire. Several famous friends and acolytes have made contributions to the album including ex-Byrds Chris Hillman and David Crosby who lend vocal harmonies here and there. And with McGuinn’s distinctive

Rickenbacker and drawling vocals well to the fore it is hardly surprising that several tracks are strongly redolent of the Byrds. In fact such numbers as

‘Someone To Love’ and ‘The Time Has Come’ sound like more successful

updates than the few reunion tracks on the compilation set. Elsewhere, ‘Without Your Love' is a lovely acoustic ballad, and Tom Petty — who built a whole career on sounding like - McGuinn — helps repay his debt on a co-written rocking duet. By no means all of Return From Rio is as strong as these tracks, but they at least make Roger McGuinn’s return to recording very welcome. PETER THOMSON THE THROBS The Language of Thieves and Vagabonds : (Geffen) Looking at the Throbs, you would think that they had crawled out of a timewarp inhabited by sixties psychedelia lovers, but thankfully their music is somewhat better than their taste in attire. The obvious influences are mixed with an early Rolling Stones sauciness and what results is a drugged out mixture closer to the Black Crowes and Little Caesar than the Byrds. Strangely enough, their lyrical stance is similar to those hooded sweatshirt

hardcore bands, as the Throbs seem obsessed with the underground lifestyle and the backstreets of New York City. It is perhaps a pity that these heartfelt sentiments begin to wear thin by the eleventh song, and the record begins to overstay its welcome.

If it was somewhat shorter, or the songs showed more evidence of careful construction, then the Throbs might have come up with quite a winning debut record. As it stands they would do well to devote as much care to their songs as they do to the application of their eyeliner. LUKE CASEY

SCATTERBRAIN Here Comes Trouble (Virgin) 5

From the ashes of hardcore/metal crossover wizards Ludichrist rose Scatterbrain: twice as loud, twice as stupid, twice as obnoxious and twice as much fun. Here Comes Trouble could well be classed as yet another metal variant, idiotrock maybe? There’s strong elements of thrash and hardcore (much tighter than Ludichrist ever was though), a vague funkiness and lots of heads-down-go-wild happening. It isn't correct to class Scatterbrain purely as a fun band, despite what the singer may suggest. They've retained the twisted sharpness that made Ludichrist so cool.

The title track is outright serious rocking. ‘Hello Mom, Goodbye Freedom’ deals to censorship nicely while ‘l'm With Stupid’ is hardcore meets metal in a head on collision, more than enough to make Here Comes Trouble worthwhile on a

musical level. Scatterbrain certainly aren't trying to assess the human condition in a four minute pop song, but they have a lot of fun anyway. Here Comes Trouble is another genius moment for loud, annoying goofballs. | love it and so will you. There’s even a wonderful Smokin’ Bob Williams cover to cap the whole deal off. KIRK GEE 1

THE BULLETBOYS Freakshow

(Warners) ‘ The Bulletßoys seem to have had a somewhat unfair reputation as being a second rate Van Halen. But what with the departure from the rock arena of those ageing stars, the boys may have come up with the goods in Freakshow to take their place. The record is jam packed with Los Angeles style sleaziness, which is oozing from the vocals of Mr Pout, Bulletßoy's very own Marq Torien. The songs themselves are a feminists worst nightmare, with such blatant sexism as ‘Huge’ and ‘Do Me Raw’. However, one must attempt to laugh at the sheer idiocy of these lyrics. They are held together so well by the competence of the Bulletßoy’s musicianship that it would seem pious to condemn the whole album because of their chauvinism.

The artwork on this record is from

one David B. McMacken and is some of the best stylised human characterisation that | have seen for a long while. His screwball, distorted pictures truly reflect the debauched world of the Bulletßoys. Listen with an open mind and try very hard to forgive the Bulletßoys for their medieval attitudes. Find some redeeming qualities in their excellent - ‘cover of the Tom Waits’ song ‘Hang On St. Christopher.” LUKE CASEY HINDU LOVE GODS Hindu Love Gods (WEA) Bit late on this one but it's worth crowing about. Hindu Love Gods are Warren Zevon, plus R.EM. without Stipe. Superstars on holiday, doing things without pressure, or so they say. The philosophy here is that spontaneity and live-in-the-studio energy are the essence of good rock'n’roll and these deities sure prove that with a neat selection of R'n’B covers. ]

Robert Johnson gets treated well on ‘Walkin' Blues’ and ‘Travelin’ Riverside Blues’ but it's Zevon's lived-in drawl and Peter Buck’s chugging raunch that makes Muddy Waters’ ‘Mannish Boy’ the star of the show. Other good turns, surprisingly, is their beefy version of Prince’s ‘Raspberry Beret’ and Woody Guthrie’s 'Vigilante Man’ doesn'’t suffer too badly either. : So there’s grit in this here holiday breakfast. . GEORGE KAY

POWER OF DREAMS ; Immigrants, Emigrants and Me (Polydor) " Young, gifted and Irish, this Dublin trio is the latest in a crop of bands determined to seize the opportunity created by U2's mega-success and consequent promotion of Irish ' rock'n’roll. Much has been made of the fact that budding genius songwriter Craig Walker is only in his late teens, a veritable spring chicken in years but mature enough to fashion fourteen quick fire gems for the Power of Dreams’ first album.

They have a directness and simplicity that recalls the kinetics of the Undertones but that's where the similarities end. The snappy, tuneful guitar-propelled ‘The Joke’s On M¢e’, ‘Where Is The Love’ and ‘Mother’s Eyes’ owe more to the Edge than the O'Neills and on ballads as fine as ‘Had You Listened’ there's a sound more in common with the territory being

worked over by the likes of the House of Love than to the punk that fired the Undertones.

Sources aside, Immigrantsis a tour-de-force of simple, direct songwriting flair. Walker should be around for a while. GEORGE KAY TANGIER Stranded ; (Atco/Atlantic) Very little seems to be known about Tangier outside of their native America, but they deserve as much attention as many other pop-metal bands get while coming over as slightly more viable because of their relative obscurity. : : Their minimal four piece line-up is certainly capable of churning out some AOR classics such as You're Not The Loving Kind’ and ‘Caution To The Wind’ and still leaving space for some Cajun style blues on ‘Takes Just A Little Time'". Tangier seem to have all the cards for a winning career, just not the exposure to really put them in the big league. To those who love Warrant, Great White and Poison, you owe it to yourself to give Stranded a spin and tell all your friends. Sadly, | personally feel that any group with a drummer - called Bobby Bender is doomed to failure. LUKE CASEY SAIGON KICK Saigon Kick (Atlantic) Saigon Kick are an interesting find indeed. They sound like a crazy hybrid of Jane’s Addiction, Wonderstuff, Simple Minds and Faith No More with enough new twists to make them one of the more exciting groups to come out of America in the past year. They manage to flit elegantly from anthemic pop songs such as ‘Colours’

to full metal crunch on ‘What Do You Do, mocking that social small talk, all without any hint of contradiction. The core of the group seems to be one Jason Bieler, a man who has incorporated every facet of music from the sixties onwards into his band's repertoire. Check out the uncanny Beatles resemblance on the song ‘My Life’ for real proof. Along with Kings X, Saigon Kick stand as one of the few bands making quality rock music in a wash of production line groups. “No Clones Here" could be the catchphrase to identify this newer wave of American music. : LUKE CASEY :

TELSA Five Man Acoustical Jam

(Geffen) Unplugging from the Marshalls to perform an acuosfic setisnot something that hasn’t been done before (Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, G n'R etc) but o do a whole concert and album that way is unusual. Telsa’s first two albums are very electric so to hear them proving themselves in this context is very interesting, even if the novelty does wear a bit thin. ‘Modern Day Cowboy’ and ‘Signs’ are highlights, as are surprise covers of Beatles, Stones and Grateful Dead songs. Probably most suited to listening to on a lazy Sunday afternoon. GEOFF DUNN INTERNATIONAL COMPILATION (Mute) Over the last ten years Mute records have, through their own efforts and a Blast First distribution deal, put out more indispensible records than just about any other label. | mean, imagine what life would be like if the Birthday

Party, Laibach, Diamanda Galas and Big Black had never got the : international exposure they deserved. We should probably be thankful for the label’s big commercial fish like Depeche Mode, Erasure, because the money they bring in has allowed Daniel Miller to keep looking for really interesting groups.

What none of this explains, however, is why a label with such a rich back catalogue should put out a compilation half full of dross. It makes commercial sense that Depeche Mode, Erasure and Inspiral Carpets should appear, but why Blast First should be represented by the terminally lame Easy, why the least exciting songs available by Wire and the great Mark Stewart should be chosen, and why Ohi Ho Bang Bang were allowed into a recording studio at all is beyond me. Still, its difficult to go wrong with Nick Cave and Laibach, and Crime and the City Solution and A.C. Marias also shine. Apart from that there’s fairly characteristic material from Renegade Soundwave and Nitzer Ebb and something inconsequential from someone called Fortran 5. So perhaps this compilation might be an amusing diversion but there have been several hundred more important Mute releases. MATTHEW HYLAND 4

MYSTERY SLANG Venus Grove (Virgin) Mystery Slang'is the pseudonym for Latif Gardez, a native of London, who's been hanging around the back streets collecting sleaze for his shadowy Tom Waits/Doors inspired song stories, On the cover he strikes poses like some soulful big city shark and - although his music is high in pose ' content, night life melodramas like

‘Seven In A Ditch’, ‘The Dark Archer’ and the rumbling, menacing ‘Blind Joe’ evoke convincing enough sounds and rhythms of life under the stones. Nick Cave he ain't, even if he wants to be; but there’s signs here that Gardez could develop his own language.

GEORGE KAY