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!- AIT7ENTION STUDENTS Want to earn college credits while away from campus this summer? Call 764-5310 or 11 regarding two programs through the Extension Service: Summer Reading Program Available to students with 3.0 grade point averages Enrollment Deadline: May 9 Independent Study Available to any student No enrollment deadline w~ Campus Bike and Toy C~ 44n/4ai/pt I e shop 47ayi/ eared cad zpe ap e d . i" ce f933C 514 E. William St. (Next to Cottage Inn)j 662-0035 ON-ROAD/OFF-ROAD SPECIALISTS t ALL WORK GUARANTEED - OTHER SERVICES AVAILABLE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -o- Deluxe Tune-up Reg: $45.00 NOW: $36.00 1 Deluxe Overhaul _... . Reg: $125.00 NOW $99.99 Plus: get 10% off al l parts needed for the tune-up/overhaul. Get 10% off all other accessories purchased with the service package. Expires 5/15/94 - - -- -- - ---- - I5 I I z I .J 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. a . * a&z a , __-j , ar._*5 j .- I, i i ;