The Michigan Daily - Monday, April 11, 1994 -13
RECORDS
Continued from page 10
waste his precious time talking about
theBlackcommunity (you know, stuff
he really doesn't give a fuck about),
and goes straight to deifying himself.
The simple fact is that this CD
lacks heart. Although this can prob-
ably be said for all of Schooly D's
previous works, it is particularly sad
to see him exploiting the most crucial,
yet the most unfairly criticized and
discriminated, spectrum of rap for
personal benefit.
Gangsta rap will not survive if
people like Schooly D enter this par-
ticular realm only in the name of self
interest. This is an internal attack on
gangsta rap more dangerous and dis-
quieting than the outside attacks which
employ censorship and so-called "De-
cency Laws." People like Schooly D
give those who wish to censor rap,
particularly gangsta rap, more valid-
ity in their claims.
"Welcome to America" is a piss-
poor CD. More disgustingly, it is a
slap in the face of all true rap artists
who dedicate themselves to perfect-
ing their art and their community.
- Eugene Bowen
Koko Taylor
Force of Nature
Alligator Records
If you have a grandmother who
refuses to let age limit her, then you
have a pretty good idea of the type of
woman Koko Taylor is. You will also
be sure to empathize with why I love
"Force of Nature" so.
I* Koko Taylor, at age 63, is a woman
straight from the Old School. The
deep, rough alto voice on this CD
projects a woman who will take no
stuff from anyone. The first song of
this collection, "Mother Nature," in
which she threatens the woman who
keeps trying to take her man, verifies
this fact. "Hound Dog" and "Don't
Put Your Hands on Me," Taylor's
*way of chastising men who cheat on
and beat women, do the same.
In all honesty, I must admit that
"Force of Nature" will most likely
have to grow on you. If I'd written
this review immediately after having
listened to this CD for the first time, I
probably would have blown it out of
the water. However, the more I lis-
tened to the great varieties of beats,
rhythm, and lyrics thatmake up "Force
*of Nature," the more I grew to like
and enjoy them.
Those with an affinity towards
traditional Black gospel hymns and/
or soul and funk will probably find
immediate enjoyment in many of the
tunes, like "Bad Case of Loving You,"
"Put the Pot On" and "Nothing Takes
the Place of You."
I would recommend buying this
*CD. And if you don't like it, no prob-
lem. Just give it to your grandmother.
I'm sure she's been dying to try out
the new Pines and tweeters she bought
for her Corvette.
- Eugene Bowen
Veracruz. The sones of Costa Chica
are especially beautiful, relying less
on chord momentum than intricate
melodies plucked by one guitarist.
On the Isthmus, the high-pitched
requinto guitar provides the lyrical
melodies within the multiple guitar
rhythms. In Veracruz, the harp, which
appears in several types ofsones, takes
an especially vibrant lead. As is the
nature of local musics, sones harp
playing is almost extinct today.
The third CD documents lively
Huasteca sones solely. Theirjumping
rhythms and soaring vocals accom-
pany festive occasions. Despite the
ruralness of these musical idioms,
these recordings don't suffer from
poor production. Their clarity and the
in-depth documentation in the com-
panion booklet make this an idea col-
lection for musicologists and casual
listeners alike.
- Chris Wyrod
Various Artists
Genuine Houserockin'
Music V
Alligator Records
My baby left me, so, since I'm all
alone, I'm drinking myself into an
early grave. If this is your perception
of the blues, you need a little "Genu-
ine Houserockin' Music" to set ya
straight. This compilation of 17 Alli-
gator Records artists will get your
foot a' tappin' and save your soul.
Okay, maybe that's going a bit too
far, but this fine collection from a
blues label with a history over 20
years in the making will give you that
desire you've been repressing to
wiggle out of your constrictive Easy-
Boy and shake your butt.
Listen to me brothers and sisters
when I say that the blues is perhaps
the most difficult style of music to
perform with genuine feeling, so credit
is due to all the performers on this
album. A few scorchers stand out
from the rest of the pack though.
Koko Taylor leads off with "Don't
Put Your Hands On Me." Taylor has
a voice that blazes with confidence
and authority while her backing horns
toot with crisp precision. Johnny
Heartsman's contribution, "Paint My
Mailbox Blue," is an outstanding song
that showcases his excellent organ
playing as well as his slick vocal
style.
The groove on William Clarke's
"Pawnshop Bound" will start your
head a' bobbin', while Lil' Ed And
The Blues Imperials will woo you
with their luscious ballad "Older
Woman." And on "While You're
Down There," Bob Margolin brings
to mind the Stray Cats rockabilly sense
with a sly blues voice.
Since all of the songs on this com-
pilation are available on other Alliga-
tor Records albums, "Genuine
Houserockin' Music V" serves as an
excellent introduction to the label's
performers as well as a lesson in the
various styles of the blues. So go on
out and buy a fifth of Jack Daniel's
and start rockin' the house.
- Matt Carlson
K7
Swingbattaswing
Tommy Boy Records
After listening to the first song,
"Come Baby Come," you may think
to yourself, " K7 got it goin' on."
However, the truth of the matter is
that this CD ain't all that. It's as if the
man put together a bunch of sounds in
order to make a full collection. Also,
there is no variety of topics on this
CD. Every song is about sex - fast
sex, slow sex, sex with foreigners, sex
with women named Lydia, sex in
motels ...
"Come baby come" is "alright"
(and I even get a gagging reflex say-
ing that). The beat is great for danc-
ing, but interest in a song that focuses
on begging women to come is doomed
to be short-lived. The rest of the CD is
also composed of stories either sung
or rapped (both of which K7 does
badly) about sex. It's as if he copied
porn stories out of Penthouse maga-
zines, put beats to them (one of which
sounds just like the theme music from
"Taxi"), gave them stupid titles like
"Hi De Ho," "Move It Like This" and
"Zunga Zeng," stuck the CDs in mu-
sic stores and sat back while the sexu-
ally deprived bought his music. (By
the way, what the hell is a Zunga
Zeng?)
To K7's credit, there is actually
one very good song on the CD, and it
actually doesn't refer to sex at all.
"With A Little Help From My
Friends" speaks of adolescence (in
that respect, maybe it does refer to
sex), a time of friendship, good times
and bad times -a time that will never
come again but will always be re-
membered. It is, in contrast to the rest
of "Swingbattaswing," a very beauti-
ful song.
- Eugene Bowen
Paul McCartney
Paul is Live
Capitol
While you're sitting around con-
templating whether the Beatles "re-
union" is a good idea or not, consider
z:XX;
Paul McCartney really should stop making live albums. His latest, "Paul is Live," is completely devoid of meaning.
this - no matter how bad it may be
(and it could be downright dreadful),
it can't be much worse than "Paul is
Live." On his fourth live album in as
many years ("Unplugged," "Tripping
the Live Fantastic" and "Tripping the
Live Fantastic - The Highlights"),
the Cute Beatle takes the low-key
route, peppering a laid-back program
of Fab Four favorites with mediocri-
ties and embarrassments from his lat-
est studio album, "Off the Ground."
At first, the gravest offense seems
to be a live version of "Biker Like An
Icon," the worst song of the decade
and a strong candidate for the worst
song McCartney has ever written. But
it soon becomes clear what makes
"Paul is Live" the worst album an ex-
Beatle has ever made. McCartney has
robbed his best material of any of its
meaning. On "Band on the Run," "Let
Me Roll It" was a viciously sarcastic
attack on Lennon, but here it's as
much of a love-fest as "All My Lov-
ing."
All of the Beatles numbers are
crowd-pleasing nostalgia, blandly
performed by a faceless band; "Paul
is Live" might as well have been
Beatlemania or 1964 Presents the
Beatles Live. Because the music is no
longer the point, for the fans or for
McCartney. What is the point is the
memory of the Beatles, when they
were the biggest, best band in the
world. "Paul is Live" is a pathetic
celebration of that memory, not the
amazingly inventive music they made
during that time.
From John Lennon to Elvis
Costello, McCartney has always per-
formed better with collaborators;
George and Ringo should kick some
sense into him. A Beatles reunion
could not possibly be as devoid of
meaning (or musical consequence) as
"Paul is Live." Unless, of course, they
decide to dub over one of Lennon's
old demos with new vocals and in-
struments. But all three of them have
enough sense to realize that would
cheapen their legacy, don't they?
Marc Bonilla
American Matador
Reprise
Instrumental guitar's popularity
peaked in the '80s with such standout
fretburners as Joe Satriani, Eric
Johnson and Yngwie Malmsteen.
There came a point in time when the
bag of tricks on the guitar was emp-
tied and people lost their enchant-
ment with the technical aspects of
guitar playing. Soon, the only artists
left standing were the ones who could
write good songs. Marc Bonilla has
an affinity for straight ahead, Satch-
style, rock, but he is no great
songwriter.
The tunes are filled with interest-
ing little hooks that shine through on
successive listenings. The guitar melo-
dies are very lyrical and yet spontane-
ous sounding. This is not a series of
jam sessions designed to highlight
Bonilla's technical prowess. At times,
though, he does go overboard with
the guitar wizardry ("Get Off the
Fence" and "Streetalk").
Bonilla does not use the heavily
overdriven sound that his guitar hero
counterparts rely on so heavily. In-
stead, he opts for a sound similar to
that which Jeff Beck achieved on
"Guitar Shop." When he keeps his
playing in check, he is at his best: The
best tunes are two covers, "I Am the
Walrus" and the vocal version of "A
Whiter Shade of Pale" (as opposed to
the unnecessary instrumental version),
as well as the astonishing title track.
Even these songs, however, are not
strong enough to convert the average
popular music fan.
- Gianluca Mor talti
R EAD A RTS DAILY!-
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Available to any student
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THE BRIARWOOD RUN.
APRIL 24,1994.
(ONLY A COUPLE WEEKS
AWAY.)
Taylor
Various Artists
Anthology of Mexican Sones
Corason
The expansion of "World Music"
into a marketable genre in the 1980s
paved over much of the regional tra-
ditions through out the world. Record
companies marketed "World Music"
as slicked up, watered down versions
of local musics, selling them as repre-
sentative of entire continents' musi-
cal creativity. Independent labels like
Corason have tried to fill this gap with
thorough documentation of the musi-
cal diversity that surrounds us.
This three-CD collection presents
the most comprehensive compilation
of one of Mexico's most beautiful
and widespread types of music: son.
Fusing Spanish and indigenous rep-
ertoires, sones take a variety of dis-
tinct forms in different regions of
Mexico.
The Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives
is looking for energetic, reliable, and highly
motivated students for its:
1994 King/Chavez/Parks
Career Exploration Summer
Institutes Program
M - through August 5,994
Program Description: Students hired will supervise
high school students from southeast Michigan who reside on
campus for one week visits, during which times these 10th
and 11th graders will attend workshops, presentations, mini-
lectures, field trips, etc. The emphasis is on the student
exploration of his or her career interest.
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