mo' better beats

Rip It Up, Issue 230, 1 October 1996, Page 27

mo' better beats

NEW EDITION Home Again (MCA) /' Well, kiss my ass — it’s finally here. The new album from a. reunited New Edition has been long promised but never seemed likely to eventuate. My guess is the first three years were spent sorting out the record company lawyers, and the second three years sorting out the individual egos. New Edition were a black teen supergroup in the mid-80s, but as they got older frictions developed and one by one they all went solo, starting with Bobby Brown. What we get here is just that; a mix of Bobby Brown, Bell Biv Devoe (BBD), Ralph Tresvant and Johnny Gill (who replaced Brown before NE finally split) songs/performances. The group do make an effort to be a group, as evidenced by their debut single, and I guess the real question is, what’s the result? The answer is easy: this is shit hot. With so many egos involved this album had to be spot on — perhaps that’s why

it took so long to finally arrive — but the results are worth it. Funk, soul, hip hop, R&8... you’ll love it. LOUISE Undivided Love (EMI) Louise used to be “that white chick” in Eternal, a very fine four-piece from the UK (actually there’s a bit of skin tone there, so it ain’t like she’s from the Aryan Nation). As Barry Manilow said in the classic ‘Copacabana’, ‘just who shot who’ isn’t clear, but Eternal found the US success they were looking for as a black threepiece and Louise is still getting hits in the UK as a solo artist. On the evidence here the split was a wise move: Louise delivers a fine slice of white-girl pop, but it ain’t black. This song comes as part of a ‘2 CD Set’, with each sold separately. One set features the album version, plus two other songs from the Naked album, whilst the other is ‘Dance Mixes’, with Louise given some needed dancefloor strength from the likes of producers Tin Tin Out, T-Empo, and the übiquitous Studio 54. ANNIE CRUMMER U Soul Me (Warners) Ah, what can one say about the beautiful Annie Crummer that we haven’t said already? New Zealand audiences know all about Annie and the beautiful music she makes (as in beautiful Pacific soul, not that mush they play on i9B). This haunting track is from her new album The Seventh Wave, which has been produced with the foreign (ie. US) market in mind. The album version plays it straight down the middle, but

echo chamber. What they’ve come out with (apart from the headache) is something very tasty indeed. The mixing between tracks is kept refreshingly simple, and with Alex’s help they have tastefully layered the whole thing in dub effects..lncluding sublime ambience, bottomless dub (Statik Sound. System), breathtaking drum ’n’ bass (Tango, Aquasky), and lashings of trip-hop type gear in . between (Herbalizer, James Bong), this is a moving journey to bass heaven. Absolutely essential cruising gear for them sunny Saturdays afternoons, y’all. VARIOUS ARTISTS The Freestyle Files (K 7 This is a very classy double CD of futuristic electronics, music that’s out there on the cutting edge. Rejecting the sometimes monotonous ‘four to the floor’ approach of techno, this is instead about deep . trip-hoppery (Nightmares . on Wax, Funki Porcini, Howie B), lounge electronica (Jimi Tenor, Sabres), and smooth drum ’n’ breakz (Alex Reece, Kid Loops, Photek): There’s not really a weak cut here, but the cool bits are Photek’s ultra-chilled blunt-hop classic ‘lnto the 90s’, the old skool elec-tro-phunk of Jedi Knight’s ‘May the Funk Be With You’, the mad jazz jungle pile up of Plug 3’s ‘Versatile Crib Funk’, and, the anthem that is ‘Pulp Fiction’ by Alex Reece. With a running time of 140 minutes this is over two hours worth of pristine electronic escapism, top value off the.top shelf. ANDY PICKERING

the song really kicks ass when Graces’s Anthony loasa jumps into the producer’s seat for two remixes: the ‘US Pop Mix’ and the ‘UK Beat Mix’. A pity the ‘Rap Mix’ didn’t get the true remix treatment, it’s really just the album mix with a rap break from 3 the Hard Way’s Chris Mai’ai. QUINCY JONES Stomp (Warners) This is a dance classic, par excellence — the original, I mean, the one by the Brothers Johnson — and only Quincy Jones could get away with doing, a cover of it. It’s just so damn funky, sho’ ’nuff. It’s kinda sad a lot of people who dig this song won’t know the original but, hey, like I said: tty§ is sooo funky. BUSTA RHYMES It’s a Party (Elektra) Whoo-hah, Busta’s in the houuuse! Riding high in rap charts around the world, Busta can do no wrong, and he ain’t about to start here. As the title implies this is just your basic party rap, but with Zhane joining in on vocal duties who’s going to complain? Both mixes are the ‘clean’ versions (one produced by Easy Mo Bee, the other by Ummah), but again who’s going to complain, with Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest also joining in. NENEH CHERRY Woman (Virgin) Neneh has props for Africa and if she wants to wait forever before kicking out a new album, we just have to wait. From 'her album Man, this is a Portishead/Tricky inspired beauty! Not sure who produced (I think Neneh herself was heavily involved), but it’s pure ambient genius, with Neneh’s distinctive vocal lovingly layered over the top. T-BOZ Touch Myself (BMG) >"■' I guess I’m not the only one madly in love with the babes from TLC. Bankruptcy for the band has meant they now all have to perform solo, with T-Boz first off the block and cashing in on her babe appeal by singing about masturbation. Yes, that’s right, mas-tur-bay-shun\ See, that’s the problem with music videos these days, you’re

so busy watching you’re not listening. TLC have always, in their own small way, tried to lay out a few positive messages to their fans, and this time T-Boz is preaching the value of learning how to pleasure yourself —• although she does admit to still liking a man now and then. VARIOUS ARTISTS The Great White Hype (Sony) From the soundtrack to the new Reginald Hudlin movie starring Samuel L Jackson, Jeff Goldblum, and Damon Wayans, this is quite an oblique collection. Bone Thugs ’N’ Harmony deliver with ‘Shoot ’Em Up’, as does Method Man with ‘Bring the Pain’, but some of the tracks are a little mediocre. Still, Ghostface Killa/RZA kicks ass with ‘Who’s the Champion?’, and how can you not love the Biz when he teams up with Lou Rawls for Tve Got You Under My Skin’? More good than bad, this album is worth checking out. PAULINE HENRY Do Over (Sony) This is a collection of covers, all produced in a well-smooth Brit R&B style. This could give Henry an ever broader mainstream success, but at the cost of acquiring an easy listening tag. I’m being too harsh — it’s excellent. Younger fans won’t get it, but that should be compensated for by a new older audience. This is ideal for weekend living in your inner-city apartment. Some of the treatments are a smidge

bland, although others really stand out: Diana Ross’ ‘Love Hangover’ and Stephanie Mills’ ‘Never Knew Love Like This’ among them. She also kicks on Gladys Knight’s ‘Save the Overtime for Me’, and pulls finger for a rearrangement of M’tume’s ‘Sugar Free’. A good album to play over dinner, or while you’re doing other things — the production is up tempo and you know all the words.

NICK D’ANGELO