singles

Rip It Up, Issue 171, 1 October 1991, Page 33

singles

PRINCE AND THE NPG ? GettOff (Paisley Park) 12" vinyl Ah yes, pornography, the use of art to sexually excite one. One of his best paeans to the sexual act, good ; grinding beat and salacious vocals to match. Set against a Dyke and the Blazers refrain of 'Let a woman be a woman, let a man be a man' and James Brown getting his 'lickin' stick' in readiness. Surely Prince's funkiest outing for eons. St Etienne Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Warner Brothers) 12" The Andy Weatherall remix of a track that's been released at least twice before, but who cares with something as sublime as this. The classic Neil Young weepie interpreted as an alternative dance groove, sounds strange but it works. The lead vocals come from Moira Lambert of New Zealand's Dead Famous People. VANESSA WILLIAMS Running Back To You (Poly dor) Ms Vanessa looking very provocative in that plastic outfit on the cover, in many ways the best thing about this single. In that it's typical dance floor fodder, mainstream American style. But the DNA mix has , certain attractions, like that old fashioned 4/4 on the hi-hat, more disco than house. However the club mix is a more Italian approach with some nifty breaks. Would have been better with a breathy spoken bit. YASMIN 'fWanna Dance (Liberation) 12" Danish dance music is not exactly a well known beast but Ms Yasmin and her producers Soulshock and Cutfather (Queen Latifah, Sybil, Jungle Brothers) are up with the big boys here. Pleasant jiggler with no pretentions, her voice has a nice soul tinge and the beats flow well. Best cuts are the CJ Mackintosh re-mix and the 'Smooth and silkly mix edit'. ORCHESTRA JB Come Alive / 1b ■ J ‘ (Liberation) 12" ; "I wanna taste you and play a tambourine". Drugs can do horrible things to people, like you're going to a 'rave' like, and you get confused over how many halcion and ribena cocktails you've taken and come out with lines like the above. I kinda like this one because it's real dumb, lots of ambient stuff, speeches, bad rap and harmonica. You have to laugh, don't you. THE SHAMEN Move Any Mountain (Liberation) 12" A collective always at the forefront of the English alternative dance scene, one of the first to turn ambient sounds into a dance contest, and mix traditional rock elements with a more progressive rhythmic sense. Unfortunately this might be the last from them, with the tragic demise of mainman Colin Angus. Whatever, - here's four mixes, some designed for house fans like Paul Oakenfold's mix, some a bit 'acid', and then the traditional Shamen mix up style. Interesting as always. ICET Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous(Sire) 12" The Ice in a mean mood, as in the hard life of a star on tour, having to do interviews and meet fans and stuff. He sounds pissed off, but ends with a dedication to his fans, saying he < ; ; wouldn't trade it for a million bucks. Well, maybe, nice beat anyhow, I like the 'Mission Impossible' sample and the slip into the Rakim bit. Not really

top form for the Iceman. Better, is the prison drama of The Tower' on the flipside. . DAMIAN DAME Exclusivity (LA Face) 12" LA Reid and Babyface have always been the acceptable side of swingbeat to me. I prefer their work to, say, Teddy Riley but that's just personal. Here they keep the beat on a gentle sway, with Mr Damion and his girlfriend in a soulful mood. Nothing startling, but subtle, that's why I like them. SIMPLY RED Something Got Me Started (East/West) 12" Being a fan of black music for years, I find things like this unpalatable. Ifs the constant references to Mick Hucknall being a 'great soul singer 7 that annoy the hell out of me. Yeah, ifs a nice mix from Paul Oakenfold but why spoil it by having the red headed one sing over the top of it. Yeah, I might be a mean spirited arsehole, but I got my convictions and I'm sticking to them. JIMMY BARNES I Gotcha . (Mushroom) 12"/Cassingle Well, I'll take Jimbo over Mickey baby any day, here he gets down and : dirty with Joe Tex's groin roller and ifs not bad. Maybe a bit high tech in the mix, but I still like it. From the forthcoming collection of soul covers, Jimbo's alright with me. . PM DAWN Set Adrift On Memory Bliss (Gee Street) 12"/ CD Single Yeah, I've already mentioned this one but ifs finally out and you should at least listen to it. The catch is the dreaded Spandau Ballet track, True', which in its syrupy simplicity stands naked against one of hip hop's * greatest beats, The Roach Clip' or the Eric B & Rakim thing. The lyrics might be a bit drippy but smart all the same, "reality used to be a friend of mine". I can relate to that | KERRY BUCHANAN