The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 13, 1994 - 9
*RECORDS
Continued from page 8
African country of Mali, Salif Keita is
theproductof many musical traditions.
In this retrospective, spanning over a
decade, music from the Middle East,
Cuba, France and Mali are welded
masterfully by Keita's urgent, wailing
voice. From raw, live tracks with or-
gans and bongos to tracks produced on
;a 48-track mixer the powerful voice of
Keita is a coherent factor. The least
produced track, "Mandjou" (a modern
African classic dedicated to Guinea's
President Sekou Toure) is the most
natural sounding, but many of the other
heavily produced tracks also flow with-
outhindranceby technology. Theopen-
ing track forinstance, "Sina,"ispower-
1ul in its mix of unabashedly synthe-
sized sounds and the raw vocals of
Keita.Othertracks are hurt by overpro-
duction. Someofthecorny synth sounds
deaden the impact of Salif's talent,
inspiring a yearning for an a cappella
expression. For the most.part though,
the voice of Salif is dominant, express-
ing areflective sadness and demanding
cry which ensures the attention of the
listener.
- Dustin Howes
The Magnetic Fields
The Charm of the Highway
Strip
Merge Records
As the title of this album would
suggest, the Magnetic Fields are ob-
sessed with the road and the romantic
travelers upon it. "The Charm of the
& ighway Strip" is a collection of songs
about roads, trains and wanderers; the
band's sound is somewhere between
folk, country, and art. Synthesizers and
keyboards are used to great effect,
heightening the surreal, David Lynch-
esque appeal of the songs. "Lonely
Highway" "Born on a Train" "Two
Charactersin Search ofaCountry Song"
and "Dust Bowl" epitomize the Fields'
aunting, accessible, dreamy musings;
'The Charm of the Highway Strip" is
road music with a twist.
- Heather Phares
Van Morrison
A Night in San Francisco
Polydor Records
Van Morrison is a special breed of
musician."A Night in San Francisco,"
recorded atthe Masonic Auditorium, is
living testament to his vocal genius.
is two-CD, 22-cut collection con-
tains a variety of songs, from ballads
("Tupelo Honey"), to blues ("I'veBeen
Working"), to funk ("Good Morning
Little School Girl) and jazz
("Moodance").
But, Morrison doesn't deserve sole
credit for producing this CD; credit
goes to a dozen or so other vocalists
-md musicians as well. "A Night in San
'rancisco" is the kind of disc that once
it starts to play, you'll never want to
shut off your CD player again.
- Eugene Bowen
Rusted Root
When I Woke
Mercury
Israel! Judaism!
Study it. Build it Hike it.
Livnot ULehibanot *w
"To Build and To Be Built"
-L
A lot of bands lack the rhythmic
intricacies ofjazzor Latin genres. Sure
they have a driving rhythm, but does
anyone care beyond that? The lyrics
and guitar are most important. Rusted
Root went south and came back up to
Pittsburgh with music that demands a
place for rhythm. The congas, djmbe
and talking drum will knock yoursocks
off and make you wonder why you ever
cared about that old melody thing.
But the melodies aren't too shabby
either. Accessible to anyone who likes
a Talking Heads, Gypsy King-ish kind
of band, - this is a mainstream intro-
duction to how great rhythm can make
you feel. If anyone gets hip to it, this
could be a intravenous injection of life
for parties everywhere. If no one does,
you'll have to invite over some folks or
dance alone at home. Either way, you'll
move if you pick it up.
-Dustin Howes
Barkmarket
Lardroom EP
American
Barkmarket is a fine, loud, metal-
lic-scented band. Fronted by Dave
Sardy, producer of the upcoming Red
Hot Chili Peppers' album, this band
has been overlooked for too long. With
a pocketful of albums to their credit, no
one seems to know who they are.
Well, now there's a new EP so
people had damned-well better figure
out who they are. "Lardroom" is but
five songs long, yet it can give the
listenera good general overview of that
Barkmarket sound. Guitar that grates
in a spiffy manner upon the nerves as
well as screamingly beautiful vocals
courtesy of Sardy are genuinely pleas-
ing musical pop tarts.
On the other hand, about 60 percent
of the songs sound pretty much the
same. With one particularly psychotic
exception, the tunes are relatively re-
dundant, which is puzzling for an EP
that could have showcased the band's
abilities, as their albums have.
Nevertheless, it would be yourgood
fortune to find a loved one had bought
this musical thingee for you. Heck, you
could even buy it for yourself.
- Ted Watts
Terence Blanchard
The Billy Holiday Songbook
Sony Music
Terence Blanchard has taken time
out from his prolific career to create an
album that is a brilliant testimony to
both his and Billie Holiday's genius.
Blanchard has created an album that
does justice to one of jazz finest per-
formers.
Blanchard's solos on this album
capture the beauty of Lady Day's voice.
The solos are equal parts playful, re-
morseful and approachable, as was
Billie Holiday. Although his solos are
modern, they do not detract from the
music that Holiday rightfully made her
own. He seems more concerned with
reviving her spirit than forwarding his
own.
Jeanie Bryson has taken on an in-
credible task, that of singing the music
that Billie Holiday made famous. Even
though Holiday is incomparable,
Bryson is inspiring in her own regard.
As with Blanchard, she keeps many of
the qualities of Holiday's music while
still retaining her own identity. Al-
though she does agreat job on all of the
songs, Bryson seems to have captured
Holiday's essence on the Gershwin
tune "Nice Work if you Can Get it."
Blanchard's skill as an arranger is
obvious on this album. All of the com-
positions are focused and highlight both
the music and the soloists.
"The Billie Holiday Songbook" is
an incredibly polished album that
achieves all of its goals. Listeners are
satisfied by the musicians' skills, yet
desire to hear more of this incredible
music from the mother of the blues,
Billie Holiday.
-Ben Ewy
Various Artists
Lament
Real World
In early Irish mythology, there are
only two true emotions: sorrow and
joy. Anything elseis simply either sleep
or oblivion. "Lament" is an attempt on
the part of a variety of musicians to
translate sorrow into music. In this
case, the sorrow is felt for those who
have died due to violence in Northern
Ireland. It would be all too easy for an
album like this to slip into maudlin
sentimentality, but "Lament" largely
avoids this problem, owing to the
strength of the musicians represented.
Michael O'Suilleabhain's slow and
deliberate piano piece is one of the
most moving tracks on the record and
it accomplishes this distinction even
after following the sad fiddle air "An
Droighnein Donn" performed by
Paddy Glackin. While not all of the
instruments of traditional Irish music
are represented here, most are, includ-
ing uillean pipes, fiddle, bodhrnn, harp
and whistle. Each piece is performed
solo by the musician, adding to the bare
spirit of loss and grief. One need not
have lost a relative or friend to the
violence in Northern Ireland to feel this
pain; it speaks to a human condition
more basic than geography and more
profound than politics.
- Dirk Schulze
Rollerskate Skinny
Shoulder Voices
Beggar's Banquet
Rollerskate Skinny have good genes
and good friends in the music business:
their guitarist Jimi Shields is Kevin
(My Bloody Valentine) Shields' little
brother, and David Baker (ex-Mercury
See RECORDS, Page 10
Stereolab snapped and crackled with pop on Sunday night at St. Andrews.
Moog music for moderns
By HEATHER PHARES
This concert was definitely a show
for the audio / visual squad. An amal-
gamation of Moogs, farfisas, monitors,
guitars and other assorted keyboards
Stereolab with
Outrageous Cherry
and Labradford
St. Andrews Hall
September 11, 1994
the likes of which has only been seen in
techs' dreams converged on the stage
around 8:30.
Then a bunch of local musicians
(amongst them Warren Defever of His
Name Is Alive) proceeded to bang on
said keyboards and twist the knobs of
said monitors in an ear-splitting at-
tempt to out-avant the avant-garde. In-
tentionally dissonant and inaccessible,
the racket lasted nearly half an hour
without letting up.
Though there were interesting bits
amongst the din (like when the "band"
sounded like a giant video game), the
noisejam seemed not to have any struc-
ture or climax to start from or build up
to. Just as enigmatically (preten-
tiously?) as the set started, one by one
the performers left the stage to wild
applause.
Next up was Labradford, an equally
cryptic but more melodic outfit that
mixed jangly surf and menacing slo-
core stylings. Each of their songs
sounded similar enough to let the mind
wander beyond perfomers onstage,
whose I-don't-give-a-shit demeanor
matched their frosty sounding music.
On the whole, Labradford were chilly,
sleepy and pretty, though not a
particulary inspiring opening band.
But Outrageous Cherry was the
complete antithesis of the previous two
bands' lethal levels of cool. Friendly
and energetic, they seemed happy to be
a band playing songs for a receptive
audience.
Their sound hovered somewhere
between classic bubble-gum pop and
the more rockin' side of the Velvet
Underground (adding to the VU vibe
was the attractive and talented female
drummer, who was unfortunately and
disgustingly ogled by a few men in the
crowd. Grow up, guys). Songs like
"Jane" made heads bob and feet tap,
and their sound was uncompromised
by the fact that Outrageous Cherry are
first and foremost a pop band.
Finally, Stereolab took the stage
after what seemed like days of waiting.
The crowd exploded as Latita Sadier,
Mary Hansen, Tim Gane and the rest of
the "groop" tore into "Three-Dee
Melodie." The set list, though small,
was packed with hits like "French
Disko," "John Cage Bubblegum," and
"Ping Pong."
The band was its usual excellent
self at this performance; the only com-
plaint one could have with their set was
that at a slim 13 songs, it was much too
short. Live and on disc, Stereolab con-
tinue to be trailblazers on the pop fron-
tier.
I
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11
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