JN Entertainment
a softer number more in the style of
the smash hit "The Freshmen" than
the other rock-oriented singles from
the album.
Many radio programmers and
folks at the group's label, RCA,
thought the song would push the
Verve Pipe to even further heights,
perhaps even taking the already mil-
lion-selling Villains album to multi-
ple-platinum territory.
"A lot of people are saying that,"
drummer Donny Brown says, "but I
don't know that we want to leave ra-
dio programmers and MTV with the
position of two ballads. We'd like to
be known as a rock 'n' roll band,
which we are. We need to get off the
road and be thinking about the next
album now."
Brown says the group already has
a batch of new songs, including a few
— such as "Charlie in the Box" and
"-In Between" — that it's performing
during its shows. The Verve Pipe
wraps up its domestic tour in late
September, then heads to Australia
in October before hunkering down
to work on Villains' follow-up in No-
vember, with a release planned for
spring of 1998.
"I believe we'll be a little bit more
poppy than Villains," Brown says. "I
think we'll continue to rock, but we'll
also bring the harmonies and every-
thing we had on 'Pop Smear' (Vil-
lains' independently released
predecessor).
We'll probably do more harmonies
... and the keyboards and some of the
things you didn't hear as much on
(Villains). It's still all being worked
on right now."
band Sweet 75, say he and Nirvana
drummer (now Foo Fighters front-
man Dave Grohl) have started con-
templating material for a boxed set,
which will include alternate takes,
B-sides, more live material and oth-
er nuggets from the vaults.
`There's some stuff you won't find
on bootlegs or anywhere that's re-
ally hidden away, just songs we've
kept under wraps," Novoselic says.
"There's stuff that you probably
heard on bootleg, but you're going to
get it in 10 times better audio qual-
ity. ,
Novoselic says it may be two or
three years before the set comes out,
but the wait will allow he and Grohl
to take full advantage of the latest
technologies, perhaps even using
DVDs to present discs that have
sound, video and interactive compo-
nents.
Some doings in the world of movie
music ... Former Columbia Records
honcho Walter Yenikoff has
launched ReelSounds, a label that
will deal exclusively with soundtrack
albums. Its first release is The Ice
Storm, from a film starring Kevin
Kline, Sigourney Weaver and Joan
Allen, which will feature a new song
by David Bowie, "I Can't Read," as
well as songs by Traffic, Frank Zap-
pa, Free, Jim Croce and others.
Also on tap is The Myth of Fin-
gerprints, an instrumental album
which will feature selections by Bing
Crosby, Rufus Wainwright and the
Australian acoustic group My Friend
the Chocolate Cake ...
The soundtrack to Casablanca will
be released for the first time ever on
There are lots of boxed sets Oct. 14. The album will feature Max
planned for the fall, including pack- Steiner's score, dialogue from
ages on Simon & Garfunkel, Boz Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid
Scaggs and the long-anticipated col- Bergman, and the songs "As Time
lection of session tapes from the Goes By," "Knock on Wood" and
Beach Boys' legendary Pet Sounds "Dats What Noah Done," a song
which was axed from the film. Ted
album.
A Nirvana boxed set is in the off- Turner is a partner in the venture,
ing, too, but don't look for that one but there should still be some black
quite as quickly. Bassist Krist and white elements left on the pack-
Novoselic, now working with his new age. ❑
Recent Releases On CD
exception of "Fade In-Out," the album's
best tracks, they're curiously lacking in
dynamics, each dissolving into rambling
layers of guitar noise. Gallagher's
melodies remain potent, but the songs
lose their zest at a certain point, a prob-
lem Oasis avoided to this point.
The Power Station
Living in Fear
Guardian
® c) 1/2
This ad hoc supergroup convenes 12 years
after its last outing, hoping that some still
like it hot. Of course, principals Robert
Palmer and ex-Duran Duran guitarist Andy
Taylor's careers have cooled considerably
since the mid-'80s, but as a group — with
drummer Tony Thompson— they still gen-
erate some heat. Funk-tinged rock is still
the order of the day, though songs such as
"Scared" and "Life Forces" show welcome
restraint and nuance. Unfortunately, the
album blands out toward the end with a
succession of harder rockers, though the
trio's rendition of the Beatles' "Faralian" is
distinctive. Living in Fear also marks one
of the last projects by the late Chic partner
Bernard Edwards and is, not surprisingly,
dedicated to him.
Oasis
Be Here Now
Epic
Noel Gallagher remains one of the — if not
the best pop songwriters to emerge dur-
ing the mid-'90s, but on Oasis' third album
he lets his ambitions get the best of him. The
11 songs (and one reprise) on "Be Here Now"
weigh in at an average of around six min-
utes, quite a change from the tight, snappy
constructions of "Wonderwall," "Superson-
ic" and Oasis' other radio hits. And with the
—
Bagel Barometer
®
Coo
O
Oasis is expected to schedule some dates, but no details are set yet.
No Bagels
Outstanding
Very Good
Good
Fair
Awful
Genesis
Calling All Stations
Atlantic
().
And then there were two ... When Phil
Collins announced he was leaving Gen-
esis last year, it was deja vu for guitarist
Mike Rutherford and keyboardist Tony
Banks, who'd previously weathered the
departures of Peter Gabriel and Steve
Hackett. They probably figured this re-
placing members thing was old hat. Sadly,
that's not the case this time. New singer Ray
Wilson is a solid technician but has little
of Collins' personality; on "If That's What
You Need," for instance, Connors hits all the
notes but misses the palpable ache of lost
love that Collins nails so well. "One Man's
Fool" and the aggressive epic "Alien After-
noon" offer hints of hope for something bet-
ter in the future, but "Calling All Stations"
sounds more like a Genesis tribute band —
or Mike & the Mechanics — than the real
item. Exodus might have been a better
choice.
Fleetwood Mac
The Dance
Reprise
The Rumours lineup gets back together for
a full-scale multimedia event — MTV spe-
cial, album, home video, reunion tour. The
good news is it's not bad. The quintet is still
in fine form, from its rock-solid rhythm sec-
tion to Stevie Nicks' sultry (if huskier) vo-
cals and Lindsey Buckingham's facile guitar
work. The Dance is loaded with the expect-
ed hits, but the four new songs fit nicely,
meaning we might not cringe the inevitable
album of all-new material.