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VINYL
James Brown's UNNH! Greatest Hits
CATCH OF THE DAY
Jackson's print legacy
James Brown's Greatest Hits
(Rhino)
Fans of the Godfather of Soul may
be asking themselves why this record
was made. After all, Polydor
released The Best of James Brown
in 1981, and "Living in America" not-
withstanding, JB has done nothing to
alter any collection of his finest since.
But while Greatest Hits is wading in-
to territory that has already been
covered, the Rhino release
distinguishes itself as ultimately the
more cohesive, and more aptly titled
of the two records.
While Best of will stand as a terrific
overview of JB's career through the
'70's, Greates Hits focuses on an awe
inspiring four years - 1964 through
1968 - during which James Brown
was innovating, and producing some
of the finest music to ever grace vinyl.
Both records are in agreement on
six songs, which makes for a consen-
sus top-six of sorts consisting of
"Papa's Got a Brand New Bag,"
"Cold Sweat (Part 1)," "It's a Man's
Man's Man's World," "There Was a
Time," "Try Me," and "Please,
'Please, Please."
While there are two songs that on
Best of that qualify as notable
omissions, ("Sex Machine" and "Say
it Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)")
their absence is more than made up
for by the presence, on Greatest Hits,
of songs like "Out of Sight" - a blood
brother to "Cold Sweat," with JB's
signature wavering horn section, and
a smattering of grunts and pops. The
live version of "I'll Go Crazy," on
Greatest Hits is a materpiece. One
gets the sense of an unbelievably
powerful moment, akin to the feeling
Stevie Wonder generates on "Finger-
tips, part 2." This cut is classic,
badass, vintage, HA! James Brown.
These, and the other three songs are
James Brown's Greatest Hits. Sure,
"Say it Loud," has social and political
significance, but itjust doesn't com-
pare to "I Can't Stand Myself (When
You Touch Me)," Sure, "Sex
Machine" is a lot of fun, but wouldn't
you rather hear "I Got the Feelin' ?".
Greatest Hits is the JB album to
pick if you have to pick just one. In
addition to living up to its billing, it
is thoroughly researched, well
packaged, and has great liner notes.
In addition, this record is a
challenge to your feet, a challenge to
your ears, a major-league dose of
UNNNH! the Hardest Working Man in
Show Business...HA! The Godfather
of Soul...Ladies and Gen-
tlemen...J*A*M*E*S* B*R*0*W*N!
John Logie
The Primitons - Primitons
(Throbbing Lobster)
Bright, fresh, and poppy and
produced by who else but Mitch
Easter. It aims straight for radio, for
the most part, and could be one of the
best acts to do so from a commercial
stand-point. "All My Friends" is
wonderfully cheery, "Seeing is
Believing" throws a nice hook, and
"You'll Never Know" is a clever
frolic along a happy guitar line. The
band does less well on "She Sleeps"
and "City People" - both of which
are unabashed yet well executed at-
tempts to mimic R.E.M. and could
drive a person crazy. The last song in
particular is real birdsy,too and you
wish they'd play something that
doesn't sound like you've heard it all
before. But nonetheless, these
Primitons are off to a pretty good
debut, and with a little more
originality, could probably score big.
The Nomads-She Pays the
Rent (Homestead)
Blitzkrieg?! No, it's the Nomads.
This three song EP absolutely ignites
on the turntable. The Nomads have
covered The Lyres' "She Pays the
Rent -replacing the garagey '60s
organ with a horn section, bringing up
the guitars, and adding a somewhat
punk style to the vocals. The effect is
great. "Little Red Ruby" is equally
firely but gets a little tiring. A little.
And on their own "Nitroglycerine
Shrieks" they bury underwater,
gurgly vocals with evil, noisy guitars
which will leave singe marks on your
speakers. Turn this baby up loud.
M ICHAEL JACKSON is out.
People who wear red leather
jackets or one white glove are out. But
long after the album Thriller can be
found fossilized in the discount section
($2.99 or less) of you.r local record
store, the gutsy, thought-provoking
media coverage of Jackson will
remain a milestone in journalistic
history - a lesson to all up and
coming journalists.
This description of Michael's kit-
chen (printed in Time Magazine's
Kilslu -Answer the
(Taang)
Imagine opening up your
and listening to what goes on ins
would probably sound somethi
Kilslug.
Kilslug are dirge all the
Almost. They can make ever
sound pretty dirgey. Much o
stuff has that rumbling basss
guitar lines, tinny drums, and
pan vocals. Rock 'n' Roll whi
been left to rot. It can get to yo
a while, but there's stuff in be
which is kind of-well-"lig
"Henderson's Rag" is ragtime
piano) like you've never he
before; completely twisted
crazed. "Tart Cart" is a blast, t
sloppy, out of tune, and mis-m
in syncopation, but it works. V
Larry Lifeless is just that, too
most passion you'll get out of th
is the half-crazed, homocidal"
it Rain" in which he plays a
sucking psychotic. Fun stuff.
Personally, I like Kilslug be
the numbers where they puta
more spirit in their grunge. Bu
sewer full of noize, this album
just fine. Taang Records, P.O.]
Auburndale, MA 02166.
-Beth F
The Chesterf
Kings-Stop! (Mirror)
Stones, Ramones, '60s clone
Chesterfield Kings share quali
all three, but somehow have ma
Call
1
sewer
side. It
ng like
way.
ything
f their
simple
dead-
ch has
u after
etween
;hter."
e (yes,
ard it
d and
oo. It's
atched
ocalist
o. The.
his guy
"Make
blood-
tter on
a little
it for a
n does
Box 51,
ertig
ield
s! The
ities of
anaged
Mike
Fisch
aboard the plane: "Michael fastened
his seatbelt and accepted a glass of
orange-juice from one of the 14 flight
attendants..."
The writer then goes on to mention
the airplane's "speed of 600 miles per
hour as it streaked toward Los
Angeles," and that the plane had 330
seats. That's the stuff I always leave
out, but I'm just learning.
Fully aware that any inquisitive
readers would wonder where the
Jackson family sat on the plane, the
reporter included these nuggets of in-
formation: "(Jackson's sister) Janet
sat across the aisle in windowseat A-.
13... (Brother) Jermaine occupied
seat B-14 next to his wife Hazel"(My
guess is that Hazel was B-13).
Unfortunately Jet probably did not
have enough space to provide the
seat numbers of Tito, Jackie, Marlon,
Randy, La Toya, and Maureen
Jackson but the quick-witted author
made the best of the situation and
wrote of the other family members:
"(they) went to their first class
seats."
J ACKSON'S eating habits were
as fascinating as his behavior on
the plane, and as noteworthy as the
upholstery in his living room. Stated
La Toya Jackson in McCalls
(February 1985) of brother Michael's
table manners: "Jermaine and
Michael like to throw food at the
table..." One must wonder what food-
stuffs the Jackson boys toss at each
other. Extremely thorough media
coverage will allow us to answer this
question. According to Life Magazine
(Sept. 84) "After a show Michael's
favorite is cheese enchiladas followed
by watermelon (for replacing
moisture)." Of course questions still
abound. What sort of hotsauce does
Michael like on his enchiladas? Or, if I
may be so bold, does he even use hot
sauce at all? Has he or Jermaine ever
been seriously injured during a food-
fight?
As you can probably tell I still want
to know more about Jackson and the
people who make up his world. Lots of
telephone calls landed me an inter-
view with Jackson's landscaper Carl
Cirelli.
Daily: Have you ever talked with
Michael Jackson personally?
Cirelli: I had a discussion with him
once. I asked him if I could go inside
until it stopped raining and he looked
right at me and said "Yeah."
In my nervousness I forgot to ask
Cirelli about Jackson's attitude
toward "well-trimmed" shrubs. If I
ever get a job with Newsweek you
won't catch me making that kind of
a mistake.
Ladies and Gentlemen . . . the GodJather of Soul . . . the iost intelligent nun in
North America ... and the inventor of the fluoridation process. . . J*A *M*E*S
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B*R *O*H *N!
to pull it all together and rise above,
making Stop! one of the more rocking
and listenable garage releases of late.
Maybe it has to do with a sense of
humor. From Stop! 's blatant rip-off of
the back cover of December's
Children to their guitarist's goofy
Rickenbacker with built in sike-a-
delik lights that flash as he plays, to
their hilarious tune, "My Canary is
Yellow" (directly descended from the
Monkee's "Gonna Buy Me a Dog"),
the Chesterfield Kings have maybe
reached the essence of what it means
to be a good garage band: be a
fucking good time or don't be a garage
band at all. Where a lot of others who
ape the garage sound get caught up in
the paisley and lovebeads aspect, the
C-Kings shuck off most of the fashion
aspect and get to the R&R core.
Notable tracks include the Byrdsoid
"I Cannot Find Her," evil R & B of
"Say You're Mine," and "She Told
Me Lies," with pervasively cheesy
organ. Don't look for enduring in-
tellectual merit on Stop!, you won't
find it. Great party record, though, so
if you're inclined that way-even in-
frequently-Stop! may well suit you.
Dream Academy-The
Dream Academy (Warner
Brothers)
This record is composed of largely
insubstantive progressive rock in a
pseudo-psychedelic wrapper. Dream
Academy claims their innovation is
bring classical influence and in-
strumentation to rock-actually
nothing new, if you remember ELO
and umpteen other 70's classicoids.
It's simply all been done before, and
generally in just as superfluous and
superficial a manner. The lead track
(and minor pop hit) "Life in a Nor-
thern Town" is by far the best, a
lovely Beatlesque tune that's in-
dicative of Dream Academy's poten-
tial when they allow themselves to
crawl out from under Dave Gilmour's
overblown production. Most of the
remainder of the tracks simply tread
water. Only notable exception is "The
Party," which indicates some genuine
lyric wit & subtlety as well as (for you
cultists) inauduble 12-string by Peter
Buck of R.E.M. Buck's endorsement,
though, is hardly enough to save the
Dream Academy from slipping into
pop pomposity.
March 19, 1984 cover story on Jackson
gave us a penetrating glimpse into the
superstar's world...
"It is gleaming: white tile floors,,
chrome and black ovens, stove and
appliances..." That's the kind of
writing that makes me proud to be a
journalist. It wasn't enough for this
inquisitive Time writer to discuss
Michael's music. She dug much
deeper than that. She asked the right
questions. In short, she cared.
And that, friends, is when the words
come alive - when the facts really
mean someting. She didn't stop af-"
ter learning about Jackson's applian-
ces. She wanted to know more. There
was the upholstery. She wrote of the
seat covers in Jackson's screening
room: "The 32 seats are upholstered
in red velvet..." and then later in the
piece she deftly noted the "hundreds
of flowers printed on the couches" in
Jackson's living-room.
Could she stop there? Surely not.
"The dining room is more of the
same: mahogany and gilt with rococo
flourishes," added the observant'
author. The gutsy journalist even took
on the task of describing Jackson's
shrubbery. Her educated remark on
the Jackson foliage: "it's well-
trimmed."
The way I see it, Newsweek's ar-
ticle on the superstar (July 16, 1984)
attempts to rationalize its lack of
meaty information about Jackson's
kitchen appliances, upholstery and
shrubbery by making this comment:
"The media dogfight over such pitiful
scraps (that is, useless information
about Jackson) is understandable.
Featuring Jackson is a sure-fire way
to get attention."
Thankfully toward the end of their
five page article about Jackson
Newsweek stops making excuses and
churns out some hard journalism - a
brief discussion of Jackson's trip into
a White House bathroom.
Surprisingly enough, Jet Magazine,
which has a much smaller circulation
than Time ormNewsweek, went to even
greater lengths to examine Jackson
and the Jackson family. A Jet writer
accompanied the Jacksons on a flight
to Los Angeles. Jet's reporter wrote of
Michael Jackson's strange behavior
_ _ _ U
n I
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Marti
Jones--Un-
sophisticated Time (A & M)
Marti Jones, formerly of Color Me
Gone, is apparently the Noo South's
official ascendant songbird. Endorsed
and produced by Don Dixon, Jones
warbles through covers of tunes by
Dixon's pals (includingPeter Holsap-
ple of the dB's, Richard Barone of the
Bongos, and Elvis Costello) as well as
BURGEI
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1985 Burger King Corporaton
4 Weekend-February 7, 1986
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