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==== ISSUE 47 ==== CONSUMABLE ======== [July 21, 1995]
Editor: Bob Gajarsky
Internet: gajarsky@pilot.njin.net
Sr. Contributors: Jeremy Ashcroft, Martin Bate, Al Crawford,
Dan Enright, Tim Kennedy, Reto Koradi,
David Landgren, Tim Mohr, Joe Silva, John Walker
Other Contributors: Dan Birchall, Lee Graham Bridges, Scott Byron, Kelley
Crowley, Tim Hulsizer, Daniel Kane, Sean Eric McGill,
P. Nina Ramos, Jamie Roberts, Linda Scott, Ali Sinclair,
Jon Steltenpohl, Courtney Muir Wallner,
Scott Williams, Britain Woodman
Technical Staff: Chris Candreva, Dave Pirmann, Damir Tiljak,
Jason Williams
Address all comments, subscriptions, etc. to gajarsky@pilot.njin.net
==================================================================
All articles in Consumable remain (C) copyright their author(s).
Permission for re-publication in any form other than within this
document must be obtained from the editor.
==================================================================
.------------.
| Contents |
`------------'
Interview: Luther Allison - Dan Enright
REVIEW: silverchair, _Frogstomp_ - Britain Woodman
REVIEW: Paul Weller, _Stanley Road_ - Tim Kennedy
REVIEW: Various Artists, _Are You Ready For This? Music from the Extreme
Games_ -Tim Mohr
REVIEW: Big Audio Dynamite, _F-Punk_ - Sean Eric McGill
REVIEW: _Wigstock, The Movie_ - Daniel Kane
CONCERT REVIEW: The Tea Party, Danforth Music Hall, Toronto - John Walker
REVIEW: Alison Moyet, _Singles_ - Bob Gajarsky
REVIEW: Dish, _Boneyard Beach_ - Reto Koradi
REVIEW: Urchins, _Yummy_ - Tim Mohr
REVIEW: Strangeloves, _I Want Candy: Best of the Strangeloves_ - Bob Gajarsky
NEWS: Dan Baird / Georgia Satellites, John Waite, Elektra WWW, Queensryche
TOUR DATES: Barenaked Ladies / Billy Bragg, Barkmarket, Daryll-Ann,
Drivin' & Cryin' / Yayhoos (Dan Baird + Others), Freedy Johnston
Kyuss, Huey Lewis & The News, Lordz of Brooklyn, Arnold McCuller/Lyle Lovett
Back Issues
---
Interview: Luther Allison
- Dan Enright
In 1969, a 30 year old blues guitarist from Chicago's West Side,
broke into the collected consciousness of American audiences with his
legendary performance at the Ann Arbor Blues Festival. But in spite of his
enormous impact and popularity, he found it necessary to leave America in
the '80s and become one of the many Blues expatriates living in Paris. He
spent almost 10 years performing and recording in Europe, before his
triumphant return to the States in 1990. He brought with him a recording,
that was eagerly snapped up by Chicago's renowned Alligator Records. I
recently had an opportunity to talk with him and asked what it was like
moving to Paris. I'd like to share "the ride" and his insights...
Luther: Well, I've had to deal with everything in my life...
leavin' the family, learnin' what not and what to do. I can respect a
person, doing what they do. I went from a champion... it became very hard
in the beginning, because I gave up everything in the States, to take
this chance. When I went there, I didn't go to stay. It happened like when
I got stranded in California. But this time I'm not going to panic,
because I ain't got no family to run back to. I'm going to stick it out.
And I did!
I knew Memphis Slim lived in Paris and I knew Champion Jack Dupree
was in Germany. These guys was my old friends, my buddies. They were going
to tell me what was going down, good or bad. If they tell me to get the
hell out from over there, then I would have to do that. 'Cause I would
believe that. They didn't, they said, "Welcome! You made a great move. Get
your things together, these people is for you... they're for us. The USA
is nice, it's home. But if you can't be there, get what you can now, then
go back home if possible." And I did that."
Now it looks a lot brighter. I have a lot of energy I don't waste
now, wonderin' and worryin', goin' here and doin' that, tryin' to see what
would happen. I'm very happy now. People really know about Luther Allison.
They know I'm never a fake. I was always hard workin'. I'm getting, "Wow,
we miss you now! I seen you 20 years ago, you haven't lost anything!"
"Well, you saw me 20 years ago, but I only been gone for 10..." That's my
answer back. "Where were you the other 10 years?"
When they say, "The blues is back..." I was in Europe, I heard
this stuff. At the same time, my son was in the States. My son played 3
years with Koko Taylor. I know what's goin' on in the USA. I don't have to
worry about reading the paper to find out who's who and what's happening,
or who's playing what. We played the same thing in Europe we played in the
States. When you have a repertoire like Luther Allison, you played like
Luther Allison! And many of the guys came to Europe and cliched the
situation , "Well, the people in Paris say, that's the Chicago Blues..." I
never believed in Chicago blues, because my thing didn' come from there.
My thing came from down south, in the cotton plantation. Many came that
route. We all went to Chicago - like I went to Paris, like I went to Los
Angeles.
I put an X on all this crazy stuff, put my feet forward, and say,
"I did a lot of great things in the States as far as music was concerned.
As far as helping other people is concerned and opening doors. I'm the one
that was able to take the chance. I'm the one the night club owners could
trust." In other words, my personality and respect carried me a long way.
It's like goin' back in time, "Blacks over here, whites over there." I
never had to worry about that. I played clubs of Chicago, west of Chicago,
the USA and I was hired because people had heard about Luther Allison's
respect.
I would teach my band, "This is what we do, an' this is what we
don't," and my musicians listened. I would tell my group, "I'm not into
drugs." You know, if we get drunk one night on the gig, because somebody
won't understand and we can't back out... "Oh! You're to good to drink
with me!?" I'd say, "We're goin' to handle this..." and many times I was
messed up. But there was not a job that could say that Luther Allison didn't
do his job.
I talk to a lot of young guys in the States, coming up. Girls and
guys. You might of heard of Marva Wright, I believe it is... we talk about
these things and look at the situation. You look at a woman, doin' her
trip, tryin' to be involved with blues - with the guitar for instance. You
did not see this so much when we were coming up. And now you see a lot of
this. I talk to the girls, I say, "You want to play the guitar? Sit down
and deal with it. What I want to do, is play music for somebody who
believe in me. I want to play in a place people want to hear me. I don't
want to be in some big beautiful place that nobody want me, because I play
the blues.
But to get back to "the blues is back"... people say, "Luther,
what do you think about the fact, the blues is back?" How can I say the
blues is back? I moved around to make sure ends meet. The blues always
been there with me. As far as I'm concerned, it always will be. In the
blues, it just takes so long for us to get recognized. This little stretch
brought on people like Robert Cray, Albert Collins returned, Gary Moore -
comin' into the other side, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush if he takes the chance...
Luther Allison's sittin' here, still waiting...
Luther Allison will be headlining a world class blues festival
in my northeastern Pennsylvania this summer. Held at the
Big Boulder Ski Resort (which lies nestled in the Pocono mountains) on the
last weekend of July, this world class event will be featuring 14
internationally acclaimed blues artists.
More information about the musicians and event can be found at the
Pocono Blues Festival's Home page: http://www.scranton.com/bluinfo.html or
sending an email request for the Saturday (July 29) or Sunday (July 30)
line-ups, with the date in the subject line, to: blues@lydian.scranton.com
---
REVIEW: silverchair, _Frogstomp_ (Epic)
- Britain Woodman
silverchair, a trio of teenagers from the Australian resort town of
Newcastle, owned alternative radio in Australia with a Pearl-Jammish power
ballad, "Tomorrow". Their first full-length release offers a few
surprises, though, and while it is derivative, it's also satisfying.
silverchair's previous incarnations won several amateur awards before
Australian TV chose "Tomorrow" as the winner of a demo contest whose prize was
a recording session in Sydney. Last winter Triple J, Australia's national
alternative radio network, helped make silverchair one of the biggest bands
down under, by putting a demo version of "Tomorrow" in heavy rotation. By
September of 1994 they'd signed with Murmur, a Sony affiliate. This spring,
"Tomorrow" became a U.S. alternative-radio hit, and silverchair's first
album, _Frogstomp,_ is now in stores on these shores.
In interviews, the band claim their influences are late-sixties bands
like Deep Purple and the Doors, but musically, _Frogstomp_ prays at the altar
of Seattle's Holy Trinity (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden). Frontman
Daniel Johns sounds like Eddie Vedder, especially on "Tomorrow", but on other
tracks he manages to get away from the obvious influence; other times he
seems to blend qualities of Vedder and Kurt Cobain. The songs themselves
reflect the angst expected of fifteen-year olds (the band members were all
fifteen when they recorded _Frogstomp_ last winter). One exception is a sort
of message song, "Pure Massacre;" Johns rails against "families... being
torn apart," but in a vague manner; he could be singing about Bosnia,
Ireland, or the U.S. Civil War.
The music is competently played. One of the band's favorite
tricks is to kick-start a song from a slow grunge shuffle into a punk tempo
for the end. This is carried over across the album, from the lead-off
track "Israel's Son" to "Faultline" to "Madman" to the final track,
"Findaway." This tendency should make for some intestesting pit action
when they tour. If you crave the Pearl Jam/Soundgarden sound, you'll
more-than-likely enjoy _Frogstomp._
---
REVIEW: Paul Weller, _Stanley Road_ (Go Discs)
- Tim Kennedy
It is a surprising revelation considering his seventies punk past but
Paul Weller's musical development has become parallel to that of the
Black Crowes. He draws from similar influences musically, although
being from Woking, with a more restrained delivery.
This set marks a slight move away from the Free, "Mr Big" influences
of Wild Wood and its live sister CD _Live Wood_. Though a little introvert
and the tunes not as catchy, nevertheless the songs are frequently
as sophisticated as any he's ever done and certainly this is a more
varied collection.
Stevie Winwood, a longstanding hero of Paul's, is playing keyboards
on a few of the songs here, PW always sang like a cross between
him and Paul Rodgers. Stevie's Traffic have long been noted by critics
as an influence on Weller's latter works.
"Changing Man" the opening track borrows the bass riff from "I Am The
Walrus". It is an unusual performance in that Weller puts on a
strangely gruff singing voice unlike ever before. He plays some
pretty good Paul Kossoff guitar. Paul sings here of his belief
in personal and artistic change. Indeed this is several steps away
from the style of anything he's previously done.
"Porcelain Gods" is track two, though downbeat, slow and a bit glum,
when it takes off it again sounds a bit like Free. Paul has been jokingly
described as a "moaning old get" by his friend Oasis guitarist Noel.
Here he bemoans his role as (as he sees it) fading figurehead of a
generation.
Paul has frequently mentioned his recent conversion to the joys of Neil
Young; amazingly he didn"t pick up on him until 1992's _Harvest Moon_.
"Walking On Glass Splinters" smoulders like Crazy Horse. It's a snarling
prowling guitar song which is the longest on the CD. The simulated
'stylus getting stuck" at the end is a rather cute nod to the olden days
of vinyl that this raucous song recalls. "Splinters" is the only non-
Weller composition on the record. "Whirlpool's End" on the second
side is also Neil Youngish in its theme and in its tune as well as
the crashing guitar. It recalls "I"ve Been Waiting" from the first Neil
Young solo LP. Another track which rocks out on this new collection
"Woodcutter's Son" must be the first Paul Weller song to start with a riff
since the 70s - T Rex's 20th Century Boy to be exact. A nice acoustic
slide emphasises the end of the chorus. It has an infectious Bo Diddley
beat a la Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away".
"You Do Something To Me" is a gentle ballad. It features a rather
nice Dave Gilmour-esque guitar solo, akin to some of the guitar work on _Live
Wood_. This is in the vein of Free's ballads.
"Time Passes" has a hook that reminds me of Bobby Womack's "Poet 1".
A nice slow ballad, it ends with a trippy swathe of psychedelic noises. This
is the kind of superior soul/t'n'b which the Style Council were capable of,
yet sadly rarely rose to accomplish. This one is an absolute treat and
worth the purchase price of the CD alone. The other vaguely souly number
"Broken Stones" has a tune recalling "Let's Just Kiss And Say Goodbye" by
seventies smooching soul kings the Manhattans though a rock song. It
doesn"t vary throughout and is a little pedestrian though pleasant
enough.
The psychedelic sounds fading after the end of "Time Passes" are
really the prelude to the next, and the one truly psychedelic song on this CD.
"Stanley Road" has a stomping 60's Move beat, with "Mellotron" mini moog
suggesting psychedelic Traffic paranoia despite the strident guitar
and keyboards. This song reflects upon Weller's childhood home street
in Woking in a weirdly wistful fashion. The cover design of the album
is by Peter Blake of Sgt Pepper fame, and the collage of images recalls
earlier times - old buses, Beatles toys, a photo of the suited Lennon,
Aretha, a poem, and hallowed icons such as the soccer player George Best.
The centre depicts a young boy-presumably the young Mr Weller with his
adult self photographed in the middle, as if held up by his young self.
Paul doesn"t entirely depart from the pattern of previous couple of
albums. "Out Of The Sinking" sounds a lot more like the Wild Wood set than
anything else here. It has a nice hook, and familiar Weller Traffic guitar
riffs, topped with a nice resounding chorus which is as good as say "Above The
Clouds" or "Can You Heal Us Holy Man" from the best of the past couple of
year's material. "Pink On White Walls" -a very puzzling title- is also Wild
Woodish with its jaunty melody and Traffic guitar. Both of these tracks hail
from the easier-to-listen-to second half.
"Wings of Speed" the final track has piano accompanying, angelic
choirs and Carleen Anderson in the background. Is this a hymn to amphetamine?
This song improves with further listens, and is somewhat moving.
Weller is still cutting it, this is without question. This is a
complex and highly varied album, and aesthetically satisfying if not
quite as immediate as some of the _Wild Wood_ set. There are enough classic
Weller songs here to make _Stanley Road_ well worth a visit. I wonder if the
fans have nicked the road sign yet?
---
REVIEW: Various Artists, _Are You Ready For This? Music
from the Extreme Games_ (Reprise)
-Tim Mohr
A new compilation has been released by, of all people, ESPN. The
record ties into their coverage of the Extreme Games and offers three
exclusive tracks alongside a grab-bag of songs taken from previously released
albums by the likes of Dinosaur, Jr., Babes In Toyland, and The Muffs.
As a musical compilation the collection is quite solid; as a
companion to, or inspiration for, the Extreme Games it is perhaps implausible.
Kicking off in a grunge rut, the collection starts with "Feel the
Pain" from Dinosaur, Jr., "Today Is A Good Day" from Mudhoney, and "Oh Yeah"
from Babes in Toyland, all of which come from the bands' most recent albums.
Two upbeat tracks from Poster Children and Throwing Muses follow:
"Hillbilly," from Throwing Muses, is an exclusive track that is a typically
antsy, driving tune from Kristin Hersh and company.
Following this, _Are You Ready For This_ veers in a strange
direction, over to the slow country rock of Wilco (comprised of most of Uncle
Tupelo), a 15 year old track from the B-52s, and an exclusive track from
Chris Isaak. It is difficult to imagine extreme contestants preparing for a
60 mph vertical bike ride with the goofy music of Chris Issak or the B-52s.
The compilation continues with an exclusive track from the now-
defunct Cult, "Red Eyed Troll" from the Muffs (though it could just as easily
be vintage Joan Jett), "Crackin Up" from Revolting Cocks, and "Human Animal"
from boring Biohazard. The deliberate, raw riffs provided by the Cult sound
like perfect sonic scenery for clips of extreme sports.
If this had been released as a sampler of alternative bands on Warner
subsidiaries it would be quite understandable (though they could spare us
from the second rate Wasted Youth or Suicidal Tendencies rip-off offered by
Biohazard). Oddly though, given the ESPN context, very few of the songs would
make good backdrops for ESPN2 videos of skateboarding, skysurfing, or frozen-
waterfall-climbing. Regardless, _Are You Ready For This_ is a decent
compilation of prominent American guitars.
---
REVIEW: Big Audio Dynamite, _F-Punk_ (Radioactive Records)
- Sean Eric McGill
I never really got into punk rock much. I knew who The Sex
Pistols where, and I was exposed to The Ramones from a guy in my freshman
civics class. But I did have MTV, and that's where I heard of The Clash.
Back when the network was little more than a clearance house for hard
rock videos, here were these three ugly British guys dancing around in an
oil field...right there in the middle of Quiet Riot and Krokus videos.
Needless to say, I was intrigued. And after buying up all The
Clash material I could find, I was more or less satisfied.
Then, in 1990, a friend gave me some of her unwanted CD's. One of
them was _Megatop Phoenix_ by Big Audio Dynamite. After looking through
the liner notes, I became aware that this was the latest band from Mick
Jones, the same guy I remembered dancing around in fatigues on MTV all
those years ago. Once again, I was intrigued. And after listening to the
album, I was still intrigued. But with _F-Punk_, the latest release from
Big Audio Dynamite, I'm no longer intrigued by the group. In fact, I'm
becoming pretty bored.
Jones (lead vocals, guitar), along with Nick Hawkins (guitar,
vocals), Gary Stonadge (bass, vocals), Chris Kavanagh (drums, vocals),
Mickey Custance (DJ, vocals) and Andre Shapps (keyboards) have put
together an album that fits no known category. Again. Big Audio Dynamite
has always been a mix of punk, techno, funk, and about three other
genres, and while that is interesting, unless it's done well, it wears
thin after a couple of listens.
Of course, I wasn't smart enough to only give it a couple of
listens and be done with it. I listened to it while driving, while
cleaning my house, etc. What was eluding me was the purpose behind the
album, if any. I felt that I was missing something, and even now, I still
feel that way. Only now, I accept it.
While I got some moderate pleasure from songs like "Push Those
Blues Away", other tracks like "It's A Jungle Out There" and "Vitamin C"
were doing less than nothing for me, aside from making me want to hear
something else. The "mystery cover song" is "Suffragette City" by David
Bowie, and I actually found myself longing for a previous
version done by L.A. Guns, which I've compared to various dental
operations.
But the one thing you notice if you're familiar with Big Audio
Dynamite (or B.A.D. or B.A.D. II) is that all of these songs sound like
all the other lesser songs from the previous albums. As the frequent name
changes suggest, what is lacking in this band is creativity. Perhaps by
incorporating so many different genres into their sound, Jones and his
band have lost a focus in their material.
There's nothing fresh on _F-Punk_ and nothing that even comes
close to being exciting. And considering that Jones was one of the
freshest and most exciting performers in rock at one time, that's a shame.
---
REVIEW: _Wigstock, The Movie_ (Sire)
- Daniel Kane
Wigstock, the annual celebration of music and transvestism, held in New
York and hosted by Lady Bunny, boasts a soundtrack with talent including the
magnificent RuPaul, Erasure, Crystal Waters, Dee-Lite and several more
specifically genred artists.
The collective work, recorded in 1994, categorizes vaguely, with artists
all along the spectrum of the presentation range. From a boisterous intro to
the ballad-like "What Makes a Man a Man" to Erasure's technosynthetic style
to Joey as Billie Holliday, the soundtrack should appeal fractionally or
wholly to most listeners. While a few of the campiest selections will likely
have the listener hoping that the impersonation compensates for the
performance, Lady Bunny's witty rationale--and the fact that the soundtrack
exceeds seventy minutes in length--help to convince the consumer to give a
listen or own a copy. _Wigstock_ is campy entertainment worth experiencing.
---
CONCERT REVIEW: The Tea Party, Danforth Music Hall, Toronto
June 24, 1995
- John Walker
There is an interesting kind of hypocrisy that goes with the
territory called "rock and roll." In other musical genres, young
artists are expected to learn from their antecedents, and to a
certain extent, to mimic their heroes' moves in the nascent stages of
their own careers, finally developing styles of their own. Early on,
Muddy Waters took his style from Robert Johnson, and the young Miles
Davis copied Louis Armstrong, although both artists went on to
eclipse their forebears artistically, extending their respective
genres, blues and jazz, beyond the parameters they inherited.
In rock and roll, however, this is only partly true: Green Day
can get away with mimicry of the most obvious kind (are they the
Ramones with English accents or The Clash with American accents?), and
that's OK, because punk has a certain critical "cool" which has yet to
abate. The Tea Party, however, hailing from Canada's version of The
Motor City (Windsor, Ontario) draw on two classic rock bands which
initially found enthusiastic audiences in Detroit, and whose influence
there has never really waned: specifically, The Doors and Led
Zeppelin, both mega-bands in the annals of "Detroit Rock City."
Because of this, the Tea Party has sometimes been critically panned--
especially by music critics from Toronto, a city whose most famous
recent "rock" export has been the execrable Barenaked Ladies--for
remaining true to their Motor City roots, and unfairly so, as they
show every sign of going beyond the territory staked out by their
musical forebears and creating a signature style of their own. This
concert showcased a band on the verge of becoming a powerhouse rock
unit to be reckoned with, the Tea Party conjuring up powerful echoes
of not only of greats from the classic rock past, but also inviting
comparison with more recent alternative hard rock peers like the great
God Machine.
The show opened with the Canadian hit, "The River," (from their
debut lp, _Splendor Solis_) which crashed along powerfully enough on
its bluesy wah-wah riffery and lyrics a little _too_ cliched for my
tastes (i.e. references to the River Styx--which brings to mind the
band Styx, which brings to mind "Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto" .....
ughh). The band themselves seemed to want to get this one out of the
way immediately (the crowd went nuts, of course), and then proceeded
to launch into a trilogy of very strong material from their new album
_The Edges of Twilight_.
"Sister Awake" progressed through a couple of Eastern sounding
phases (and a "Kashmir" vibe does indeed permeate the new album--a
good thing, in my book) and ended up crashing and thundering on
the strength of singer-guitarist Jeff Martin's insistent riffing and
drummer Jeff Burrows' powerhouse drumming (a very complimentary
and seldom made comparison to the greatest of all rock drummers, John
Bonham, is apposite here). "SEES-TAH!" bellowed Martin, evoking the
_basso profundo_ of "Roadhouse Blues" Jim Morrison in the song's
chorus, yet seemingly summoning his own, singular muse. Similarly
intoxicating were the following "Fire In The Head," another
guitar-charged number whose title sums up its effect quite nicely, and
the epic, multilayered "Walk with Me", which saw Martin improvising
the chorus from Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart", to this
critic's extreme approval.
At times, the Tea Party can seem almost _too_ ambitious, as if
they want to demonstrate everything they can do in the span of one
concert appearance, a forgivable fault that can be put down to
youthful over-enthusiasm. This was the case in the middle "raga-rock"
section of the show, replete with East Indian draperies and candles,
which momentarily arrested the quite sizable momentum the band had
built up with some delays and false starts. All it took, however, was
the opening bars of the first album's barn-burner, "Sun Going Down"
(which interpolates Robert Johnson's "Me and the Devil Blues") to get
things back up to speed. Martin shone here on acoustic slide guitar,
going back to _Zeppelin's_ roots for a greasy jam in which he
confronts ol' Satan himself and finds to his surprise that "he looked
a helluva lot like me." The rapturous audience on this second night
at the Danforth Music Hall was only too happy to follow Martin down
Lucifer's well-worn path, trod by other rock icons from Aleister
Crowley to one Jimmy Page.
The show hit its apex, however, with another of the strong _Splendor
Solis_ tunes, "Save Me", which is built around a percussive main
rhythm and an exploding chorus. The band extended this one with a
middle section based on a familiar drum pattern which soon revealed itself
to be "Hurt" from Nine Inch Nails _The Downward Spiral_. Judging from
the sing-along crowd reaction as Martin repeated the song's line
"You can have it all," I would say that there is a sizable cross-over of
NIN and Tea Party fans, dispelling the notion that the band merely attracts
those trying to (re)create a "classic rock" experience.
Of the encores, the ballad "Correspondences" improved upon the
_Edges_ version, with some _In Through The Out Door_ guitar licks
replacing the original's piano fills. Finally, "A Certain Slant of
Light," the band's signature tune, just missed falling flat because of
the extreme volume at which it was played, murking up the mix and
giving the impression that the band was tired of the song and trying
to get by on volume instead of emotion. Still, the punters went ape.
Overall, a very good show. Things only look bright for The Tea
Party as _The Edges of Twilight_ was released Stateside. Go get em, boys.
---
REVIEW: Alison Moyet, _Singles_ (Columbia)
- Bob Gajarsky
The soul/pop/dance/blues sound of Alison Moyet has been captured
on a greatest hits compilation, aptly titled _Singles_.
Moyet's powerful voice first hit the American shores as one half
of the Vince Clarke project, Yaz (or Yazoo, depending on your location).
American dancefloors quickly fell in love with "Situation", which
was originally slated to appear in the compilation but was scrapped
in favor of the later tune "Winter Kills". Two other songs from her
Yaz era are included on this compilation; "Only You" and "Nobody's
Diary". Neither song is typical of the high energy which Yaz (and
later, Erasure) generally produce, but they both highlight the strength
of Moyet's voice.
"Love Resurrection" and "Invisible", her biggest chart hit in
the States, are highlights of her first solo effort, _Alf_. These two
tracks give the best indication of how Moyet can play off a song -
the slow pace of "Invisible" contrasts with the dancability of "Love
Resurrection".
Moyet's songs never captured the fancy of American programmers,
even as she continued to churn out pop songs such as "Whispering Your
Name" and "Weak In The Presence of Beauty". More than a half dozen
UK top 10 hits testified to her staying power in Europe, but Moyet
was still unable to crack U.S. playlists.
For those who haven't heard Moyet, imagine Belinda Carlisle
with a more powerful voice and a better musical backing. Then go out and
see what American radio hasn't been embracing - and what you should.
Track listing: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Only You, Nobody's
Diary, Winter Kills, Love Resurrection, All Cried Out, Invisible,
That Ole Devil Called Love, Is This Love?, Weak In The Presence of Beauty,
Ordinary Girl, Love Letters, It Won't Be Long, Wishing You Were Here,
This House, Falling, Whispering Your Name, Getting Into Something,
Ode To Boy II, Solid Wood
---
REVIEW: Dish, _Boneyard Beach_ (Interscope)
- Reto Koradi
A female lead vocalist playing piano - the first associations are
obvious, but quite far from reality. _Boneyard Beach_ is the first full
length release of Dish, a four piece band based in Raleigh, N.C. Band
leader Dana Kletter had a classical piano education, and was formerly in a
band called Blackgirls. When she says: "Alternative music, especially,
tends to be about making things ugly-sounding. I have a different way of
thinking about that" this gives a good idea about what to expect.
The essential parts of most tracks are Kletter's beautiful, clean
voice and Bo Taylor's slowly whining guitar, the piano is only leading in
few tracks. Most songs are slow and melodic, the most catchy ones are
"How Could Anyone" and "January Song", which are potential singles. They
are contrasted by some rawer songs, like a punkish version of The Band's
"Tears of Rage".
There's no outstanding feature that would make this record a
milestone in musical history. But it has lots of quality, from the
songwriting to the performance. You could put it into the "easy listenable
alternative" category, some people prefer the terrible term "adult
contemporary". Looking at the chart success of comparable bands, this might
well sell many copies if it gets good marketing. It's certainly a good
deal more interesting than the Cranberries.
---
REVIEW: Urchins, _Yummy_ (Alley Cat Music)
-Tim Mohr
Straight outta New Brunswick, New Jersey come the Urchins, a clever
guitar-based quartet fronted by vocal charmer Karen Bradbury. _Yummy_ serves
up smart lyrics with a good sense of humor, catchy tunes, coherence, and a
Partridge Family cover. In short, _Yummy_ is very good, and Urchins have
performed with Frente! to boot.
Bradbury's voice and lyrics carry the band beyond the ordinary.
Vocally reminiscent of Echobelly, the Motels, early Debbie Harry, or Madder
Rose, she has a tendency to belt out songs, such as "The Enabler", with a
passion that brings Lone Justice/Maria McKee or even early Linda Ronstadt to
mind.
On "I'd Like to See You," Bradbury goes through a series of images of
her unfaithful lover being boiled in oil, thrown off a 50 story building,
and subjected to other such niceties. She explains, "You promised me the sun,
then you dicked me over to nail another one." An acoustic version of this
song closes _Yummy_ and showcases the vengeful but comically hyperbolic
lyrics. She manages to include profanity in several songs without coming
across as seeking hip semantic naturalism; that is, such forays sound
genuinely natural and are not intrusive.
Musically, the Urchins remain very straightforward, but don't suffer
from their rock traditionalism. Passages drenched in reverb recall Echo and
the Bunnymen, Chris Isaak, or Mazzy Star. The overall impression might be
described as a tastefully unproduced version of the Divinyls or Pretenders:
quite mainstream without the indie extremities of Th' Faith Healers or PJ
Harvey, without the molasses-inflected psychedelia of Mazzy Star. Sleeper is
a particularly good reference point, with the fiery (but not whining and self-
indulgent) lyrics distinguishing the Urchins from most other contemporary
bands.
---
REVIEW: Strangeloves, _I Want Candy: Best of the Strangeloves_
(Legacy/Epic)
- Bob Gajarsky
The Legacy label keeps up its reissue catalog with this
interesting item from the Strangeloves, _I Want Candy_.
The title cut, "I Want Candy", which took up most of the Strangeloves
brief glimpse of fame, is probably better known by today's rockers as done
by Britons Bow Wow Wow, during those "flashback 80's" lunches that
are all the rage. But, to this critic's ear, nearly all the songs which
appear here - covering 2 album's worth of materials, as well as some
singles - sound identical.
That's what simultaneously makes _I Want Candy_ good and
bad. "I Want Candy" sounds like their cover of "Willie and the Hand Jive",
which the trio then play with the words (but not the music) to produce
"No Jive". In the early 60's tradition of doing many covers, the Stones
"Satisfaction" gets identical treatment. Even their original of "Hang
On Sloopy" (later taken to #1 by their friends the McCoys) even
sounds - well, the same. The up side is that it does sound like a
garage band that you got for a party, who could play any song - in
the same "style" in which they were hired.
The Strangeloves' history didn't end in the 1960's. More than
ten years after their last recording, Richard Gottehrer teamed up with
Seymour Stein in the formation of Sire Records, later producing works
for Blondie and the Go Go's.
This one's interesting for a small listen, and it is nice to see
1960's artists getting reissued - Sony/Legacy deserves extra kudos for
going through the time and trouble - but if you've heard "I Want Candy",
you've probably got the idea for the album _I Want Candy_.
---
NEWS: Dan Baird, formerly of the Georgia Satellites, is working on his
second solo album, "Buffalo Nickle", to be released later this fall. His band
usually consists of former members of the Satellites from the early
eighties before they were popular. The two Ricks (Richards and Price) still
play around Atlanta from time to time as the Georgia Satellites and as The
Hellhounds. They generally play half covers and half originals.
WWW information on Baird can be found through American, at:
http://198.147.111.1/American_Artists/Dan_Baird/dan_baird_reviews.html
Coyote Records has recently announced that there will be a
co-distribution deal with Imago for John Waite's recent release, _Temple Bar_.
Elektra Records has jumped feet first into the World Wide Web.
The label has tried to simulate a person walking around the Elektra
offices, with work environments, audio and video clips, and the usual
artist information. Users can access the site at http://www.elektra.com
The Queensryche CD-ROM mentioned in the June 27 issue of
Consumable has now been delayed until sometime in October.
---
TOUR DATES
Barenaked Ladies / Billy Bragg
Aug. 1 San Luis Obispo, CA Cuesta College
Aug. 2 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
Aug. 4 Seattle, WA Under The Rail
Aug. 5 Smithers, BC Northern Lights Music Fest
Aug. 6 Vancouver, BC Vanier Park
Aug. 8 Grand Prairie, AB Canada Games Arena
Aug. 10 Edmonton, AB Edmonton Folk Festival
Aug. 11 Banff, AB Banff Convention Ctr.
Aug. 14 Brandon, MAN Centennial Stadium
Aug. 18 Winnipeg, MAN Sun Festival
Sept. 2 Memphis, TN Zima
Sept. 3 Toronto, ON Molson Amphitheatre
Sept. 5 Manchester, England Boardwalk
Sept. 6 Liverpool, England Lomax
Sept. 7 Northampton, England Roadmenders
Sept. 9 London, England Royal Festival Hall
Sept. 10 Portsmouth, England Wedgewood Room
Sept. 12 Bristol, England Fleece And Firkin
Sept. 13 Norwich, England Waterfront
Sept. 14 Newcastle, England Riverside
Sept. 16 Aberdeen, England Lemon Tree
Sept. 20 Leeds, England Irish Centre
Sept. 21 Cambridge, England Junction
Sept. 22 Sheffield, England University Ball
Sept. 23 Manchester, England University Ball
Sept. 25 Birmingham, England Foundary
Sept. 26 Glamorgan, England University Ball
Sept. 27 Brighton, England Concorde
Sept. 29 London, England Shepherd's Bush Empire
Barkmarket
July 21 Portland, ME Zoots
July 22 Boston, MA Rat
July 24 New York, NY CBGB's
July 24 Philadelphia, PA Nick's
July 25 Baltimore, MD Club Midnight
July 26 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
July 27 Richmond, VA Twisters
Daryll-Ann
Aug. 4 Balen, Minirock (B)
Aug. 5 Amsterdam, Arena (NL)
Aug. 22 Enschede, T.U. (NL)
Sept. 1 Amsterdam, Melkweg (NL)
Sept. 8 New York City, NY Mercury Lounge
Drivin' & Cryin' / Yayhoos (Dan Baird + Others)
July 21 Winston Salem, NC Ziggys
July 22 Raleigh, NC The Ritz
July 24 Panama City Beach, FL Spinnakers
July 26 Tuscaloosa, AL The Ivory Tusk
July 27 New Orleans, LA House of Blues
July 28 Pensacola, FL Bally High Beach Club
July 29 Memphis, TN 616
Freedy Johnston
Aug. 12 Port Chester, NY 7 Willow Street
Aug. 13 Schenectady, NY Music Haven Stage
Kyuss
July 22 Orlando, FL Orlando Arena
July 23 Tampa, FL Expo Hall
July 24 West Palm Beach, FL West Palm Beach Auditorium
Huey Lewis And The News
July 27-30 Stateline, NV Circus Maximus
Aug. 2 Chicago, IL Skyline Stage
Aug. 3 Clarkston, MI New Pine Knob Music Theatre
Aug. 4 Clearfield, PA County Fair
Aug. 5 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
Aug. 8 North Tonawanada, NY Melody Fair Theatre
Aug. 10 Wallingford, CT Oakdale Theatre
Aug. 11 Warwick, RI Warwick Music Theatre
Aug. 12 Hyannis, MA Cape Cod Melody
Aug. 13 Cohasset, MA South Shore Music Circus
Aug. 15 Devon, PA Valley Forge Music Fair
Aug. 16 Westbury, NY Westbury Music Fair
Aug. 17 Latham, NY Starlite Music Theatre
Aug. 18 Chautuqua, NY Chautuqua Institute
Aug. 20 Riverdale, NJ Suntan Lake
Aug. 21 Vienna, VA Wolf Trap
Sept. 8 Concord, CA Concord Pavillion
Sept. 9 Visalia, CA Visalia Convention Center
Sept. 10 San Diego, CA Street Scene
Lordz of Brooklyn
July 25 River Grove, IL Thirsty Whale
July 26 Columbus, OH Al Rosa Theatre
July 27 Detroit, MI St. Andrew's Hall
July 28 Toronto, ON Opera House
July 29 Montreal, QC Le Spectrum De Montreal
July 30 Boston, MA Axis
July 31 Burlington, VT Toast
Aug. 2 Albany, NY Bogie's
Aug. 3 New York, NY Tramps
Aug. 4 Northampton, NY Pearl Street
Aug. 5 Newark, NJ Studio One
Aug. 7 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Aug. 8 Wilmington, NC Mad Monk
Aug. 9 Atlanta, GA Masquerade
Aug. 11 Fort Lauderdale, FL Club Zoo
Aug. 12 Orlando, FL Fairbanks Inn
Aug. 13 Jacksonville, FL Shades
Aug. 15 Houston, TX Urban Art Bar
Aug. 16 Austin, TX Backroom
Aug. 17 Dallas, TX Galaxy Club
Aug. 19 Phoenix, AZ Nile Theatre
Aug. 22 Riverside, CA Showcase Theatre
Aug. 23 Los Angeles, CA Whiskey
Aug. 25 San Francisco, CA Trocadero
Arnold McCuller/Lyle Lovett
July 22 Memphis, TN Mud Island Amphitheatre
July 23 Pensacola, FL Bay Front Auditorium
July 24 Atlanta, GA Chastain Amphitheatre
July 26 Vienna, VA Wolftrap
July 27 New York, NY Radio City Music Hall
July 28 Boston, MA Harbor Lights
July 29 Wallingford, CT Oakdale Theatre
Aug. 2 Louisville, KY Kentucky Center For The Arts
Aug. 3 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
Aug. 4 Detroit, MI Fox Theatre
Aug. 6 Noblesville, IN Deer Creek Music Center
Aug. 7 Highland Park, IL Ravinia Festival
---
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===