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==== ISSUE 114 ==== CONSUMABLE ======== [July 9, 1997]
Editor: Bob Gajarsky
Internet: gajarsky@email.njin.net
Sr. Correspondents: Jeremy Ashcroft, Reto Koradi, David Landgren,
Sean Eric McGill, Tim Mohr, Al Muzer, Jamie
Roberts, Joe Silva, John Walker
Correspondents: Daniel Aloi, Tracey Bleile, Lee Graham Bridges,
Scott Byron, Patrick Carmosino, Janet Herman,
Bill Holmes, Eric Hsu, Tim Hulsizer, Stephen
Lin, Scott Miller, P. Nina Ramos, Linda Scott,
Scott Slonaker, Simon Speichert, Jon
Steltenpohl, Simon West, Lang Whitaker
Technical Staff: Chris Candreva, Dave Pirmann
Address all comments, subscriptions, etc. to gajarsky@email.njin.net
==================================================================
All articles in Consumable remain (C) copyright their author(s).
Permission for re-publication in any form must be obtained from the
editor.
==================================================================
.------------.
| Contents |
`------------'
ANNOUNCEMENT: Changes with Consumable
INTERVIEW: Pennywise - Al Muzer
REVIEW: Cheap Trick, _Cheap Trick_ - Bill Holmes
REVIEW: Charlatans UK, _Tellin Stories_ - Tim Kennedy
REVIEW: The Caulfields, _L_ - Bill Holmes
REVIEW: Ben Harper, _The Will To Live_ - Lang Whitaker
REVIEW: Toad The Wet Sprocket, _Coil_ - Bob Gajarsky
REVIEW: Supertramp, _Some Things Never Change_ - Reto Koradi
REVIEW: Patrick Prins, _Movin' Melodies - The Album_ / Various
Artists, _Anthems_ - Jon Steltenpohl
REVIEW: Mark Eitzel, _West_ - Reto Koradi
REVIEW: Friends Of Dean Martinez, _Retrograde_ - Tracey Bleile
REVIEW: matchbox 20, _Yourself Or Someone Like You_ - Linda Scott
REVIEW: Meridian Arts Ensemble, _Anxiety of Influence_ / _Smart Went
Crazy_, Margaret Leng Tan, _The Art of the Toy Piano_ - Jon Steltenpohl
REVIEW: Walt Mink, _Colussus_ - Scott A. Miller
REVIEW: The Vents, _Venus Again_ - Linda Scott
ERRATA
NEWS: Fluf
TOUR DATES: Backsliders, Boston, Brad / Verbow, Candy Machine, Clarks,
Cowboy Mouth, Dots Will Echo, Furthur Festival (incl. Black Crowes
and many more), G3 (Joe Satriani / Steve Vai / Kenny Wayne Shepherd),
Government Mule / Sweet Vine, Rickie Lee Jones, Junkster,
Lollapalooza (Tool/Prodigy/Korn/more), Michelle Malone,
Mindset, Walt Mink, Moxy Fruvous , My Life With The Thrill Kill
Kult / Radio Iodine, Sister Hazel, Thin Lizard Dawn, Vallejo, Verve
Pipe / Tonic / K's Choice, Warped (Reel Big Fish, Mighty
Mighty Bosstones, Social Distortion, Sick Of It All, Less Than Jake),
The Why Store
Back Issues of Consumable
---
ANNOUNCEMENT: With the four year anniversary of Consumable Online
fast approaching, there are some changes coming to Consumable.
Keep your eye peeled here during the next few weeks, but for
now, we've set up an automatic subscription service for
Consumable. Effective immediately, to subscribe to Consumable,
send an e-mail message to consumable-request@westnet.com with the
body of the message stating "subscribe consumable". To unsubscribe,
send a message to the same address stating "unsubscribe consumable".
---
INTERVIEW: Pennywise
- Al Muzer
More punk than you - the four members of Pennywise have spent
the last nine years doing, pretty much, whatever the hell they wanted to.
Formed in 1988 with Hermosa Beach, Calif. (also the birthplace
of pioneers such as the Descendents, Black Flag and The Circle Jerks)
skate punks Byron McMackin on drums, Fletcher Dragge on guitar, Jim
Lindberg on vocals and Jason Thirsk on bass - Pennywise has taken
the slow, but steady, route on their way to becoming one of punk's
biggest, if least flashiest, success stories.
"What a lot of people don't seem to realize," begins Lindberg
with a mixture of pride and defiance, "is that we've been around for
eight years now and our latest record sold more than the last - which
sold more than the one before that, which sold more than the one
before that. If you're playing music, that's all, really, you can
hope for, you know? That you're constantly moving forward."
"We've always made a concerted effort to not become
overexposed," he adds, "to the point of actually turning down things
that would've increased our standing and made money for us. I really
think it's every band's responsibility to do what their fans want
them to - and," Lindberg laughs, "I think our fans have made it very
clear that they don't want us on the radio or MTV and they don't want
to see us in big, glossy magazines doing the whole 'sell out' thing.
They feel that it cheapens the message of a band like Pennywise and,
in many ways, I agree with them. Our fans are the most important
thing [to us] and, as long as they're happy, we're happy."
"At the other end of the spectrum," he says hesitantly, as
if ashamed to be harboring such thoughts, "you sometimes kind'a find
yourself thinking, 'well, why don't we get the respect we deserve?'
You know, when you see other bands that don't sell as many records as
you do, that don't play to crowds as big as yours - getting all types
of press coverage."
"At the same time, if we went back two, or three, or four
years and looked at the Billboard Top 200," Lindberg adds, "I bet
you wouldn't recognize many of the names. I think that longevity is
more important for a band than having one big hit and your ugly mug
splashed across magazines and newspapers everywhere - only to become
a 'has been' the very next month."
While peer (sort'a) groups such as Green Day, Rancid and
the Offspring have struggled, and failed miserably, to achieve
anything remotely resembling the success of their respective mega-hit
efforts; Pennywise has continued to build on their fanatical following
thanks to four solid albums for Epitaph Records (including the
recently released _Full Circle_), thousands of intense live
performances on stages across the globe (including the last two
Warped Tours), some serious band integrity (the group turned down a
slot on the 1995 Lollapalooza main stage because ticket prices were
too high while Fletcher once threw up all over a KROQ FM radio host
during a broadcast), a tragedy (the 1996 death of Thirsk) and an
unrelenting, "blinders on" conviction that Pennywise music is
Pennywise music and you just don't fuck with what ain't broken.
"I think a lot of our success has to do not only with us
playing the music that our fans expect from us," Lindberg offers.
"But, at the same time, by us trying to grow as musicians and
become better with each new album. While the fans notice the change
in the band, they're still, like, 'Okay, but they haven't strayed so
far that they've totally alienated me.' The fans kind'a wanna know
what they're gonna get when they shell out the money for your album."
"With Pennywise, they wanna know that they're gonna get 14
really fast songs," he laughs, "with a lot of screaming and a
positive message in there. If we were to, all of a sudden, just
bust out and play some techno music, you know, or 'let's boogie
down tonight', something not consistent with what we're doing,"
Lindberg explains. "If we were to just write some song for the radio
so we could pad our wallets, well, you know, I think that's really
talking down to your audience - and there's been a lot of bands
who've done that recently."
Featuring 14 blasts of their, by now, standard
louder-harder-faster-straighter-edge skate punk roar with Jim's "get
off yer ass and fix it yourself!" slogan/lyrics driving a positive
message home; certain parts of _Full Circle_, such as the hyper-pop
hook in "What If I," the bouncy tempo of "Every Time," the churning
riff of "Did You Really" or the beautiful piano piece that closes
the disc, are new additions to the Pennywise sound and show a band
willing to open up and experiment even as they mourn the untimely
death of a founding member and close friend.
More or less replaced by bassist Randy Bradbury on most of
1993s _Unknown Road_, parts of '95s _About Time_ and all of _Full
Circle_, while his musical contribution to Pennywise had greatly
diminished over the years since the group's 1991 self-titled debut,
Jason Thirsk was still a brother for life - so his 1996 suicide
after years of escalating drug use hit his friends especially hard.
"This was a really tough year for us," reflects Lindberg.
"You learn a lot about mortality and life and death when something
like this happens to you. A lot of the songs on this record reflect
our state of mind in the aftermath of everything that's happened
this year. You know, sometimes, death isn't a reality until it
really knocks you down, steps on your neck and pisses down your
throat - these songs are our way of trying to appreciate life by
understanding that, well, it's gonna end some day."
' "Destiny", "Final Day", "Did You Really" and "Every Time"
were all written after Jason's death," he adds, "and are about what
we were going through as we tried to deal with it. You know, I wouldn't
ever want anyone to think that we were trying to capitalize on a
tragedy, but, I really don't think you can be honest as an artist or
a musician if you don't speak about what's going on in your life.
Besides, the situation was definitely something that had to be addressed."
"This was an incredibly difficult album, mostly on an emotional
level, for us to make," Lindberg says of the studio sessions for _Full
Circle_. "I think we reached a new level of intensity in that we only
did one or two takes of every song and we totally put our hearts into
everything. We played the songs on pure emotion, instead of trying to
get a certain guitar part or a vocal to sound totally precise."
"We really wanted to capture the energy, intensity and emotion
that was there when we wrote them," he says as he recalls songs
written in tribute to his late bassist and friend. "We worked really
hard to make Full Circle sound exactly like we wanted it to sound,
and I think we actually came pretty close to recreating what we heard
in our heads."
"As for the lyrics," Lindberg offers, "I like for there to
be a point to the song as opposed to a song made just for the sake
of the music. Now, when something like that's done well, it sounds
cool. But, half the time, you can tell that the band was just trying
to write something for people to sing along to when it came on the radio."
"Pennywise lyrics are, sort of, like two friends talking to
each other about various situations," Lindberg says as he explains
the band's occasionally didactic messages. "They're also interpersonal
in the sense that, on a lot of these songs, we're also talking to
ourselves."
"Singing 'You do this and you do that,' " he concludes, "well
that's also how you talk to yourself. You know, that's you telling
yourself not to waste time, not to take for granted or miss out on
the opportunities waiting out there for you."
"Those are the sort of things I have to constantly keep reminding
myself not to do," Lindberg says sadly, "and, like anything worth doing,
they're the sort of things that take practice and need repeating."
---
REVIEW: Cheap Trick, _Cheap Trick_ (Red Ant Records)
- Bill Holmes
Unlike most bands from the 1970's who fell apart but came
back for the money; Cheap Trick has been grinding it out for twenty
years. A slight bump in the road saw a revolving door for bass
players for a few years, but with 12-string thumper Tom Petersson
back in the fold, the original Tricksters are once more intact.
Everything else has changed, however - the band's long time
management has been jettisoned, a new label selected, and
symbolically, a second self-titled record signaling a new phase in
their career.
Those old enough to remember the remarkable start this band
had - four power pop classics spit out at a pace only Elvis Costello
could keep up with - probably grew "comfortable" with the band's mid
period. Like many acts of the time, as radio changed, so did their
window of opportunity. If there ever was a pinkie ring era in rock,
it was then, with rock and roll still young enough not to recognize
the trappings of styling to the movement du jour rather than just
blasting at your own level come hell or high water. The result was
a string of spotty records that featured a few sparks of brilliance,
many exercises in producer's whimsy, and worst of all for the band,
songs written by hired guns. Unfortunately, one of these was "The
Flame", a song perfectly suited to Robin Zander's majestic voice,
but ammunition for the nay-sayers that more outside material would
be the way to go. For many, this is the biggest hit they ever had,
their radio legacy. To a band that prides itself on its writing as
much as its performance, that's a sore spot.
When you're swimming in career quicksand it's tough to make
a move, but whatever got under the band's skin recently may have
been the best thing that ever could have happened to them. _Cheap
Trick_ is easily the best record the band has made in fifteen years
or more, and it's because they are doing what they want the way they
want to do it. It's hard to imagine that the mid-80s version would
dare include a confessional weeper like "Shelter" on a record, but
here it works beautifully. The out and out rockers like "Baby No
More", "Anytime" and especially the incandescent "Wrong All Along"
kick ass like anything from their prime.
Robin Zander has one of the greatest voices in rock and roll,
able to scream or glide from note to note with equal ease, and he
sounds as good now as ever. Two of his vocal showcases are also
prime hit single candidates - "Carnival Game" and the Beatle-esque
stunner "Say Goodbye". Rick Nielsen's imaginative guitar playing is
fresh, and the rhythm section of Carlos and Petersson is solid.
While the drawn out "You Let A Lot Of People Down" does absolutely
nothing for my ears, I could mix the rest of this record with the
first four records in my CD changer and be a happy guy. I'd just
hope that the closer would still be "It All Comes Back To You", the
Lennon-ish ballad that send you off with a smile.
It would have been very easy for Cheap Trick to roll over and
die. With their box set release and list of tribute comments from
bands twenty years their junior, they could have played the old fart
circuit for years, picking up the checks like Journey and Boston do.
Instead, they've unplugged the life support system and are back to
kick our ass all over again. Watch out, younger bands, the old dog
learned something after all.
---
REVIEW: Charlatans UK, _Tellin Stories_ (MCA)
- Tim Kennedy
The Charlatans and I go back a long way. This is not an
unbiased review, because after about 8 years of disillusionment
with rock music, I went to see their awe-inspiring live show in
March '90. Then they were a total 1967 freakout, with oil light
backdrop, and a sound that was like Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd,
but with a dancefloor sensibility that was obviously missing from
the work of El Syd.
They dared to do long instrumentals, and created uplifting,
yet at times threatening soundscapes. It's hard to believe an eerie
atmospheric nine minute number like "Sproston Green" was actually
about a young lady from a little farming village in the rural north
west of England.
I saw them two months before I saw the Stone Roses show at
Spike Island, Merseyside. Live, at that time, the Roses weren't in
the same league. Not only could Tim Burgess sing, but the classic
Hammond sound made this band truly special.
To the music fan who never saw them then as I did but who
heard the records, this sounds no doubt like hyperbole. Yet they
really were that good. I actually think the best recording of the
band was a John Peel session they did at the time - featuring
notably "Polar Bear", "Then", and "The Only One I Know".
And now we have this album, which is the truly gifted Rob
Collins' epitaph- Rob having met the reaper after a car crash some
months ago.
Now the Charlies have gone bluesy, just like their forefathers
of '67 did after all the acid wore off. The voice sounds odd in the
context of those dirty guitars, like a child as ever. And therein may
lie one reason for their survival seven years on - Tim still looks
younger than most of the audience.
The only keyboard tracks they have used is that which remains
from Rob's last work, so a lot of it sounds like there is something
missing. Most eerie of all is the use of recordings of Rob as a
child which feature on "Rob's Theme" - a superfly instrumental which
he contributed during sessions for the album.
This album features elements of their old sound - the building
crescendo of sound, often based on minimal chord-changes, but giving
a feel which is warm, and generous. The lyrics are no longer
childish ("I want to bomb your submarine" and "have you seen my
Polar Bear?" blessed the early set). Now Tim frequently relies on
fairly hackneyed good-time cliches from the sixties. But they were
never a serious lyric band anyway. The band they obviously take
their cue from now is not the Strawberry Alarm Clock, but The
Stones. Dylan crops up in the lyrics a lot - one of the songs is
even entitled "You're A Big Girl Now". Another song recalls Free.
This album is best listened to loud and in your
car, or even better at a club where you can have
a good dance. It is moving and it will move you.
---
REVIEW: The Caulfields, _L_ (A&M)
- Bill Holmes
Let's get the tired old phrases out of the way - no
references to "sophomore efforts" or having "their whole life to
write their first record and only two years to write their second."
Instead, lets focus on this record as a fifteen track document by a
band that has something to say and the pop chops to say it impressively.
Those familiar with _Whirligig_ will be impressed by the
continuity of _L_; newbies will be thrilled to hear a band that
combines the pop sensibilities and lyrical charm of bands like the
Posies and Squeeze with the rhythmic pulse of contemporaries like
Better Than Ezra or The Odds. A rock-standard four piece by nature,
they're not afraid to throw in the odd instrument; horns enhance a
couple of tracks and a theramin adds a spooky effect to "Waiting To
Cry". Many of the songs feature a strong dual vocal, yet nothing is
lost when John Faye's emotional vocals fly solo.
Don't be thrown by odd song titles like "The Kitchen Debate"
or "President Of Nothing". Although the subject matter tackles some
heady themes - incompatibility, family tensions and severed
relationships - this isn't _Berlin_ by any means. Drawing from the
roller coaster ride of the past couple of years, lyricist John Faye's
poignant and witty insights into relationships are framed by everything
from mid-tempo strolls to chunky power pop rockers. "Beard Of Bees"
(now there's a pop title for you!) is a standout with its punchy
guitar riffs, and "Book Of Your Life" could find a home wherever
the Gin Blossoms are welcome.
The standout track is probably the abovementioned rocker
"The Kitchen Debate" or the heartfelt wistful "Once Upon A Time", a
song Faye calls "a dysfunctional fairy tale". Actually I could list
good things about every track on the CD with the exception of "All I
Want Is Out". Pretty impressive when fifty-two out of fifty-five
minutes of music gets a thumbs-up. Don't be surprised to see this
record on a lot of year-end lists.
Oh, and the record's title? Apparently enough people
misspelled the group's name as "Caufields" that they thought they'd
supply the missing letter. Sense of humor intact, The Caulfields have
kicked anonymity's ass. Where _Whirligig_ was a fun record with tongue
in cheek humor, _L_ serves notice that there is major league song
writing going on here.
---
REVIEW: Ben Harper, _The Will To Live_ (Virgin)
- Lang Whitaker
Quick - name the only artist who has opened for Dave Matthews
Band, the Rolling Stones, and Pearl Jam, all in the last two years.
Don't know? Yup, it's Ben Harper. You'd think after such high profile
gigs, Harper would finally be coming into his own commercially. To
his credit, with his newest release _The Will to Live_, Harper shows
that the commercial is secondary to the heart:
"It's the next step. It's like crawling to walking to running
to flying. Those are tough steps from one to the next." Harper says.
"I could have made an entire rock record or an entire ballad record
or an entire soul record, but that's not my life. My life is different
movements, it's different rhythms in my heart and in my mind."
Harper's 1994 debut, the classic _Welcome to the Cruel World_,
and his sophomore release, 1995's _Fight for Your Mind_, established
Harper as the unique artist he is - an amazing amalgam of blues, soul,
folk, rock, funk, and country. As far as I know, Ben Harper is one of
the few artists fronting a band who plays entire shows without standing
up, a testament to Harper's musicianship. He is able to coax a wide
range of tones and emotions from his Weissenborn lap / slide guitars
regardless of their open-tuning limitations.
The new album, _The Will To Live_, never strays far from
Harper's past. Two or three of the cuts take a new direction, but
generally _Will_ walks in Harper's previous footsteps.
The song "Mama's Trippin'" is a definite departure for Harper.
Utilizing a wah-wah and a horn section, the song evokes memories of
Marvin Gaye or Ray Charles. The opening guitar riff also is eerily
reminiscent of "Fly Like an Eagle", Steve Miller's opus. "Glory &
Consequence" is another new foray for Harper, with it's two distinctly
differing rhythmic parts.
Save these two songs, the album is vintage Harper. Harper's
longtime collaborator and producer J. P. Plunier pulls a few production
tricks that kind of spin the songs a little differently than in the
past. The opener, "Faded", except for its flanging vocals, could
easily be off of _Fight_, with it's grinding guitars and hard-hitting
rhythm. "Homeless Child" is a Delta blues romp that sounds like it's
lifted straight off of vinyl. "Roses From My Friends" starts off with
a sea of backtracked Weissenborns, with another Weissenborn being
played normally over them.
The most beautiful track is easily "I Shall Not Walk Alone",
an elegaic ballad that describes how the writer's faith will never
leave him lonely. This is a song that will make your girlfriend cry.
Harper's backing band, The Innocent Criminals, has been reworked
from the last tour. Gone are the young drummer Oliver and percussion
master Leon Mobley. Harper has replaced the both of them with Dean
Butterworth, who makes the transition seamless. Juan Nelson remains
on the bass, driving this train forward.
Unfortunately, it appears Harper's lyrical abilities have not
matured much in the past few years. His reliance on standard catch
phrases and maxims to carry his verses was understandable on his first
few efforts, but begins to grow tiresome. Harper wrote much of _Will_
on the road while touring in support of _Fight_, and this manifests
itself in the shallowness of the lyrics. At times it sounds like Ben
has an 80-word vocabulary, and he just keeps regurgitating the same
words over and over. I swear the word "mama" is on every song he sings.
The lyric deficiency would be enough to sour me from this album,
were it not for Harper's voice. His angelic voice has a range that
dwells in a high and fragile falsetto. At times he reminds me of a
young Smokey Robinson, and more often his voice recalls Bob Marley's
ragamuffin tones. At times Harper's voice approaches perfection.
Harper tries to cure the world's hunger and prejudice problems
with every song. Talk about ambition. If you've ever heard and liked
a Harper album before, this is a must have. If you never heard Harper
before, give him a try - maybe he'll help you find _The Will to Live_.
---
REVIEW: Toad The Wet Sprocket, _Coil_ (Columbia)
- Bob Gajarsky
Cursed with a name they'd rather not discuss, Toad the Wet Sprocket
have returned to the music scene with their sixth album, _Coil_.
The name - taken from an obscure Monty Python skit - has
become synonymous with solid hooks and thoughtful writings. While
their first two records (_Bread and Circus_ and _Pale_) sold only
to a small core group of fans, the breakthrough smash "All I Want"
helped propel _Fear_ to a larger audience.
As one of the bands that have helped define the Adult
Alternative radio format (by their own records and those who have
followed with a similar sound, such as Hootie), it would be expected
that Toad would have achieved a more mainstream status. Still,
although _Fear_ marked a departure from their first two discs, the
band has never had an album sell millions of copies and ironically,
have retained more integrity among their fans.
The straight-ahead formula which Toad has employed on their last
two 'new' discs, _Dulcinea_ and _Fear_, continues unabated with _Coil_;
a definite line between simple, but addictive 'quiet' rock and softer,
more intimate songs. And just as those two discs took repeated spins
to grow on this critic, it look several times listening to _Coil_
before realising that this is just as strong a record as those
previous two issues.
As is their wont, Toad express themselves with incisive,
meaninful lyrics as well as in their sounds. The rocking "Whatever I
Fear" is a tale which shows not only that you can go home again, but
that you don't have to leave to 'grow up', while the chorus for
"Amnesia" is based on the Rev. Martin Niemoller quote from World War 2,
"I Didn't Speak Up".
The hidden gem of this disc could be "Crazy Life", which swaps
the usual lead vocals of Glen Phillips for those of guitarist Todd
Nichols. From a musical standpoint, this combines R.E.M.'s "Drive"
with the more poignant songs of Brian Wilson, and could become a monster
hit with a little bit of luck.
In conclusion, _Coil_ won't necessarily bring any more fans
into the Toad camp, but it will make the group's afficionados happy.
And from the attitude which the band's members have expressed in
the past, that's just fine with them.
---
REVIEW: Supertramp, _Some Things Never Change_ (Oxygen/SilverCab)
- Reto Koradi
Supertramp? The Supertramp that we were crazy about when going
to school, many years ago? Yes, it's them. And the album title is
program: _Some Things Never Change_. Well, one thing did change:
Roger Hodgson lived up to the '82 album title, _Famous Last Words_,
and continued solo, with decreasing success. Part of his role is now
taken over by Mark Hart, formerly of Crowded House.
Old fans will feel immediately familiar with this album. Most
songs are carried by bouncing keyboard lines, fresh sounding horns
set the accents, and Rick Davies' trademark vocals are easy to pick
out among thousands. The songs range from tasteful ballads like
"Live To Love You" and "And The Light" to the bluesy "Help Me Down
That Road", and of course there are the shamelessly good pop songs
like "You Win, I Lose" and "C'est What?" that one expects from
Supertramp.
From a technical point of view, thanks to modern recording
equipment, Supertramp sound better than ever. Everything is
carefully crafted, perfectly played, and right at its place. With
70 minutes, the album can get somewhat lengthy at places and the
listener's attention tends to slip away during some of the more
atmospheric parts. But _Some Things Never Change_ is a nearly
perfect pop album. The only problem for Supertramp is that hardly
anybody wants to hear perfect pop music nowadays, what got the masses
excited 20 years ago now revokes mostly feelings of nostalgia. But an
occasional bit of nostalgia can never hurt, and many hyped bands of
today could learn from some of the qualities present on this album.
---
REVIEW: Patrick Prins, _Movin' Melodies - The Album_ / Various
Artists, _Anthems_ (AM: PM / A&M Records, UK)
- Jon Steltenpohl
"Finally," I say to myself, "some music I can dance to." As a
guy stuck in the midwest of the United States, getting to decent dance
clubs on a regular basis is nearly impossible. One can only hear the
phrases "I got the power" and "Get ready for this" so many times
before they explode, and don't even start me on the latest crop of
MTV techno darlings...
But now, in my very own hands, there are two pieces of gold.
These two import compilations include some of the best dance tracks
I've heard in the clubs, and they are certainly the best complete
albums I've heard outside of a club. Most importantly, they're
mixed together track to track for no interruption party playing.
Patrick Prins emerges from the Netherlands with a definitive
1993 to 1996 retrospective of 18 of his best tracks collectively
titled _Movin' Melodies - The Album_. There is a definite progression
of technology and skill that starts with the slightly mechanical and
synthesized sound of 1993's "Looking for 3-D" to the flowing smoothness
of 1996's "Don't Hold Back". 1993's "P.A.R.T.Y." starts out like a
hyper Technotronic song and then, after 2 minutes, ends abruptly with
a big Gong Show "gong" and then breaks in a rollicking jam. "Le Voie
Le Soleil" has a classical music feel to it with piano breaks and
synthesized strings.
"Bailando Guitarra" and "La Luna" will be familiar to even a
casual club fan. "Bailando Guitarra" is heavy on voice samples with
a diva singing "I need release" and a guy saying "Kick the groove"
over and over again. "La Luna" has the familiar tag "To the beat
of the drum, BANG, To the beat of the drum, BANG-BANG." "Silence
is a Rhythm Too" layers multiple screams of "silence!" over a bubbling
bass rhythm that actually gives live to the typical "thump-thump"
beat of modern house music.
The two most recent tracks from October 1996, "Rollerblade"
and "Don't Hold Back", are the best on the album. "Rollerblade" is
the only track to employ a diva and a melody, and "Don't Hold Back"
is not only danceable, but the mixing and production are perfect.
AM:PM's compilation, _Anthems_, features some of the best
tracks from this UK label's catalog. Unlike Patrick Prins'
synthetic sound, these tracks are focused strictly on their divas.
"Saturday" by East 57th St. and "Nobody's Business" by H2O featuring
Billie are the standout tracks on this album. They alone are worth
the price of the album, and they are guaranteed to get your feet
moving and your arms raised. After listening to "Saturday", you
won't spend a single weekend at home again.
"Can I Get a Witness" by Ann Nesby, with help from Jimmy
Jam and Terry Lewis, combines funk and dance to perfection. Future
Force's "Puttin' A Rush" does the same with R&B rhythms. (Both
tracks make this U.S. listener think that our post "New Jack" style
of R&B is a complete waste of time.) Other memorable tracks on the
_Anthems_ compilation include a remix of The Police's "Voices Inside
My Head", Sarah Washington's "Heaven", Future Force's "What You
Want", and Alcatraz's seductive "Give Me Love".
AM:PM has released two excellent compilation albums that are
definitely guaranteed to keep your party going until dawn. Unlike
many of the weak compliations in the "techno" sections of the music
stores, you can play either Patric Prins' _Movin' Melodies - The
Album_ or the _Anthems_ compilation straight through without skipping
a single track. Plus, since they are designed for the home listener,
they are both mixed into a continuous 70+ minute groove. _Anthems_
is slightly more engaging and melody based, but both albums are
excellent choices for reproducing the club experience without ever
leaving your own home.
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REVIEW: Mark Eitzel, _West_ (Warner)
- Reto Koradi
An interesting couple, without any doubt: Mr. American Music
Club, Mark Eitzel, meets his REMness Peter Buck. The fact that they
managed to write 11 songs within 3 days indicates already that the
chemistry between the two was right. And there is no need to worry
for AMC fans that the influence of a big name would suddenly make
Mark Eitzel write songs about happiness.
_West_ is certainly the least suitable album to create a party
atmosphere, and listening to it too frequently might be harmful for your
mental state. But for these sad moments where you really need to let
yourself fall for a while, it is hard to beat. Eitzel puts melancholy
into lyrics and music like few others, and reaches a deepness that can
send shivers down your spine. Just when you think to hear an optimistic
twist in a line like "I'm gonna move myself ahead", this is shortly
followed by "and I don't know how". Some of the lyrics are also mysterious
in a fascinating way, and leave room for interpretation, like the chorus
of "Three Inches Of Wall", one of the highlight tracks on the album:
"there is a song in the next room, that I can't quite hear, and only
three inches of wall, separates me from my fear".
Peter Buck plays his part in this fruitful partnership perfectly.
His guitar work is excellently done, but he always stays far enough in
the background to make it mainly showcase Eitzel's capabilities. Only
rarely, like in the intro of "In Your Life", can one clearly identify REM
sounds. The simple production done by Eitzel and Buck themselves
perfectly fits with the music.
You can place bets that _West_ will not enter any major charts;
this is not music for the masses. But those that are not afraid of
darkness should put it right beside their Red House Painters and Tom
Waits albums. There can be beauty in sadness, and Mark Eitzel captures
these emotions in an outstanding way.
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REVIEW: Friends Of Dean Martinez, _Retrograde_ (Sub Pop)
- Tracey Bleile
For those of you hipsters who enjoy good music that will
outlive the five-minute hype surrounding the revitalization of
lounge last year...Yes, swingers, the mysterious Southwestern
supergroup making beautiful noise, Friends Of Dean Martinez, has
slipped us a sweet little mickey with their further explorations
of backdrop sounds that belong right in the front in _Retrograde_.
It reminds me of the one and only shot of tequila I ever did, smooth
and golden, with an immediate potent effect. Needless to say, I
enjoy this release much more. No hangover.
Starting with the core members of Bill Elm, Van Christian
and Joey Burns, who have graced the line-ups of high-caliber bands
hailing from Arizona (Giant Sand, Naked Prey), Elm then calls upon
his many Friends from the region to add their own talents. The
guesting Friends as always, read like a who's-who of the region - Tom
Larkins (Naked Prey, Gila Bend) on percussion and drums, Chris Cacavas
(Green On Red) tickling his many kinds of ivories, John Convertino
(drums and vibes - also of Giant Sand) and Woody Jackson (ex-Useless
Playboys, guitar, clarinet) to name just a few. _Retrograde_ offers
up a whole new slew of gorgeous instrumentals that rely as much on
steel guitar, violin, and saxophone (played with emotion and style
by Ralph Carney of Tom Waits' band) as they do the vibes and goofy
percussion sounds to produce a feel of something classier than your
average lounge. It's the kind of band that belongs in the best
little nightclub you know, a band that gets heard as much as it gets
taken for granted as the perfect backdrop to a night out in the desert.
The sad and plaintive feel of many of the songs (even the
effects drawn out by moog and keyboards only point up the campfire
mood) is based around Elm's voice-like stylings with steel guitar
and the willingness to use any appropriate instrument, including
harmonicas and cellos to achieve this atmospheric feel - check out
the great train-coming-on intro of "Westbound #11", and the growl of
a big car disappearing into the desert night on the title track. But
it can also turn sprightly and swinging in an instant, owing to the
vibes backing up the high-twangy end of Elm's playing, setting a new
standard for a jazz standard, as in "Monte Carlo", and a smooth
key-drenched cover of the Beach Boys' "The Warmth of The Sun" - a
subject these Arizona natives (although Bill Elm now resides in L.A.)
probably feel awfully close to.
It's always a great thing when a side project can be completely
different from what you normally produce as a musician and yet still
be so rooted in where you come from, musically and geographically.
_Retrograde_ gets my wholehearted vote for the disc that gets plopped
on at the end of a particularly great evening spent hanging out, and
the after-dinner drinks have been poured. Savor them both slowly and
with great enjoyment.
Further details on the band and the track listing can be found
at Sub Pop Records' website, http://www.subpop.com
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REVIEW: matchbox 20, _Yourself Or Someone Like You_ (Lava/Atlantic)
- Linda Scott
This album was a big surprise. The sleeve artwork is goofy; a
fat man in a silly cap with ear warmers is looking in a window. You might
think this is another silly teenage new-punk band. But put it in your cd
player, and you have some lovely music. The surprise is that this is a