(I Page 8 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 19, 1988 Records Continued from Page 7 Karyn White Karyn White Wamer Bros. Records In her second release, Karyn White attempts to probe for that soulful depth other commercial ef- forts usually don't aim for. But, alas, she falls short of making her LP provocative enough to the lis- Michigan Daily ARTS 763-0379 tener. Beat-wise, the album doesn't cut it with its faster numbers. They're not necessarily limp, but maybe lukewarm - White's voice in the high range just doesn't have the snap or weight to charge them with the energy they need. Songs like "The Way You Love Me" are probably better off heard on the dance floor in their 12-inch versions, then on the LP. However, in her lower range on the slower songs, White manages to express herself more impressively, though overall her style draws closer parallels to Jody Watley than to Anita Baker. White does succeed on makingwher music meaningful on "One Wish" and "Love Saw It." These two tracks hint at her greater potential, which one suspects, she has yet to fully realize. -Galen Yeo Thurs.- Sun. Oct. 20-23 Fri. Oct. 21 Fri. Oct. 21 Fri. Oct. 21 The University of Michigan SCHOOL OCF MUSIC Talk Radio by Eric Bogosian Presented by University Players, directed by R. Klautsch Tickets $7, call 764-0450 Trueblood, 8:00 p.m. Faculty Carillon Recital Margo Halsted, University Carillonneur Burton Memorial Tower, 7:00 p.m. FREE University Choir/Chamber Theodore Morrison/Jerry Blackstone, conductors James Kibbie, organist' Choral Works from the Renaissance to the present Hill Auditorium, 8:00 p.m. FREE Wind Ensemble H. Robert Reynolds, conductor Beethoven: Rondino Francaix: Sept Dances Strauss: Serenade for WInds, op. 7 Gounod: Petite Symphonie Hahn: Le Bal de Beatrice d'Este Rackham Auditorium, 8:00 p.m. Free Incorporated Thang Band Lifestyles of the Roach and Famous Warner Brothers Records It's great to see that the grandmaster of P-Funk, George Clinton, is back on vinyl. Since James Brown discovered repetition and Afro rhythms back in the mid- sixties, George Clinton has been the most original genius in Black music. Although this is an ITB record, Clinton is the creative director. The sleeve bears the same kind of car- toons found on all those Funkadelic albums, as well as the famous P- Funk dictionary of slang wisdom. In addition, king of the slapping bass and Clinton's old comrade, Bootsy Collins, plays and writes on this al- bum. It all bodes so well. But Lifestyles is disappointing. The proteges, ITB, are just too mainstream. There's a lack of meat in their funk. They also dress too conventionally. The singing sounds like it was recorded with helium gas - castrato pigeons. Maybe Clinton changed his writing style for this group of designer showroom dum- mies, but the tracks here are not as eccentric, left-field or interesting as the material on the Parlia- ment/Funkadelic and solo records. Phallic funk is fine when peppered with George's surrealistic edge and his ascerbic social commentary. Here, everything is about the body jacking or screwing: "Body Jackin'," "Still Tight," "What if the Girl Say Yes," and "44-22-38." The best track is "Jack of All Trades" which is re- markably similar to Was (Not Was)'s "Walk the Dinosaur." But there's that ranks with "Chocolate City," "One Nation Under a Groove," or classic workouts like "Tear the Roof Off the Sucker." This long player lies somewhere in between the unexplored new paths of hip hop and house jams and com- mercial radio tunes, stuck in a musi- cal limbo. It seems unsure of its identity, something Parliament and Funkadelic had no trouble with. P- Funk was always sharp, funny, tough, and proud. Let's hope George can get his act together for his next solo project. --Nabeel Zuberi WEEKEND MAGAZINE Fridays in The Daily 763-0379 Robert Cray Don't Be Afraid of the Dark Mercury Records Yet another album of classic sea chanties from the thinking man's nautical bard, Bob Cray. On this fine platter Bob continues his mastery of choosing the best elements of tradi- tional seafaring music without diluting its powerful and timeless powerful essence. Songs like "Barnacles Stick Around, Why Won't She?," "The Wreck of the Trump Princess," "The Gorton's Fisherman Is a Poseur," and "The Scrimshaw Song" are flat-out mon- sters and firmly establish Bob as America's preeminent political salty singer/ songwriter. HAH! But this isn't any dumber than the Nuevo soul retro blues tra- ditionalist guitar hero renaissance man labels that irresponsible pen jockeys have flung around while de- scribing Robert Cray. Truthfully, I think Don't Be Afraid of the Dark is the best soul album since Al Green's Live in Tokyo (Hi Records). This is hot Memphis Soul and by turns conjures up such greats as B.B. King, Magic Sam, Otis Redding, James Carr, and Booker T. and the MG's. Forget the labels. The only label for Robert Cray is "great." -Brian Berger the Mob sends us a new spin on on some more familiar artists. The no- frills guitar pop of Sinead O'Connor's "Jump in the River" fleshes out an undercurrent of violent sexual imagery. Debbie Harry blasts out of nowhere with a firestorming cover of The Castaways' "Liar Liar." The real coup, though, is Brian Eno's sobering, Hank Williams-like take on William Bell's "You Don't Miss Your Water," his first vocal performance in over a decade. A sim- ple pop ditty from the maker of Mu- sic for Films?" Bravo, Mr. Deinme! Maybe I'm ready for Flashdance after all. - Michael Paid Fischer Suicidal Tendencies Long Awaited New Album Epic Records You'dthink that semi-intelligent adults would would have something better to do than dictate where kids can and cannot skate. Unfortunately, this is not the case in Ann Arbor. Skating is, along with dusting and comix, one of the coolest u-ground activities to be involved in. Rolling down some sidewalk or parking lot doing ol- lies, grinds, etc, to the belligerent bewilderment of on- lookers, is... well, it's just a blast. And if a few op- pressive wimps get bent out of shape at the same time, well, that's cool too. Unless of course they call the Ann Arbor police on you, then you have to worry about some anal retentive pig blowing holes in you and your Alva mini with their big, bad semi-automatic. They need semis in Ann Arbor, but not New York City. Go figure. So anyway, Suicidal Tendencies is (will be "was") popular among skaters. I really can't tell you why, be- cause their boring, flatulent, and generic thrash by the numbers sucks. This music is formula and a bad for- mula at that. Whatever menace Suicidal Tendencies had in their "Skate or Die" days is totally absent now. Figure in the gang violence associated with Suicidal Tendencies shows, and you really have no reason to support this putrid aggro. If only the band members had a little more of the band's name in them... For hard hitting street music, I'll take hip hop kings like Eric B. and Rakim and Public Enemy or hot punkers like Naked Raygun and Ed Gein's Car. For a blast from the past, I'll go mod with the Who and the Jam or crank up the Ramones and Black Flag. There are a lot of great blasting records that you can skate to so don't waste your money on this piece of suicidal garbage. --Brian Berger For up-to-date program information on School of Music events call the 24-Hour Music Hotline, 763-4726 2 & 4 DRAWER LETTER SIZE FILES Full Suspension with Thumb Latches Your Choice of Black or Putty Various Artists Music from the film Married to the Mob Reprise Records Being a rock fan who nonetheless longs for the old days of actual film scores, I'm rarely thrilled by the prospect of yet another Cocktail-style pop-muzik soundtrack. But with his vinyl counterpart to Married to the Mob, avant-mensch director Jonathan Demme somehow revitalizes this rapidly-degrading format. Using source music (originating from on- screen sources such as a jukebox) as the vehicle to incorporate the kind of off-beat music that complements his quirky film view of pop culture, Demme manages to include the kind of new and unavailable tracks that make for a worthwhile record pur- chase - without engaging in all that movie-radio-MTV tie-in gimmickry. The hip tone is set by old stand- by groups, as in Tom Tom Club's wacky cut "Devil Does Your Dog Bite" and New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle." Some new blood is also added by such promising new acts such as peppy guitar twangers The Feelies ("Too Far Gone") and The Voodooist Corporation, whose. "Queen of Voodou" recalls edgy old Cocteau Twins. But at its best, though, Married to 2 Drawer File P2226TL/BLK P2226TL/PTY Full Suspension Full 26 1/2" Depth NOW ONLY $78.50 4 Drawer File P4426TL/BLK P4426TL/PTY Full Suspension Full 26 1/2" Depth NOW ONLY $119.50 4 4 You can be one! Work at Michigan Telefund and help raise money to support the University by calling Michigan Alumni. Gain valuable commu- nication skills Plug into the Univer- sity's alumni network Build your resume Flexible. evening hours $5.00-56.50 hour plus bonuses Be a Talking Head Now! Call 763-7420 or stop by 611 Church Street Suite 304 Exoerience That Pays VA1)))il Locks are optional #UPL LOCK KIT at $27.50 each. Because our prices are so attractive, we must charge $25.00 for delivery. I