10- The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, October 18, 1994

The Mighty Mighty
Bosstones
Question the Answers
Mercury Records
With each album, The Mighty
Mighty Bosstones explore their mu-
sic in a different way. On their debut,
'Devil's Night Out," there was lots of
punk and ska galore. "More Noise &
Other Disturbances" had a harder
edged approach to it, and their third
'Don't Know How to Party" was an
outstanding combination of every-
'thing the band had to offer.
The Bosstones latest release,
".Question the Answers," questions
4hether the bad boys in plaid still
,have the same oomph that made their
previous recordings so impressive and

inexhaustible. This time out, The
Bosstones have produced somewhat
of a goofier album than ever before.
"Question the Answers" is more of a
carefree and fun record, opposed to
their earlier teenage angst style al-
bums.
One of the major style changes is
the role of jazz in the band's music
these days. Many of the horn parts
have a jazzy feel to them, and there
are also a couple tracks that feature
piano and organ.
"Jump Through the Hoops" is one
of these, and also one of the best
tracks on the album. It starts of with a
mystical jazzy piano intro, then goes
into the trademarked ska-core
Bosstones sound, chock full of
screaming horns and a sing-a-long

chorus.
"Toxic Toast" is one of the lighter
and upbeat new style songs, and adds
a nice and poppy feeling to the album.
It is sweet and nice, but hopefully
won't ever be the type of song to
dominate a Bosstones record.
The Bosstones also cover them-
selves on "Dogs and Chaplains" which
is a remake of "Drunks and Children"
from "Devil's Night Out." The track
adds some new parts to the song that
gives it a live feel, but the original is
tighter and the remake seems to be
very unnecessary.
"Question the Answers" is a good
album, but not on the same level as
"Don't Know How to Party" and the
other preceding ones. Vocalist Dicky
Barrett's voice is more garbled and

strained than ever, most likely from
screaming at shows constantly for
years now, and isn't as powerful as it
used to be. The music is still potent,
but many of the songs lack hooks and
really fail to stick to the listener.
- Brian A. Gnatt
The Cramps
Flamejob
Giant/The Medicine Label
Those rockin' surfy fools the
Cramps are back yet again. Seems
like they should be in their '80s and
retired by now, but no, they continue
to exist. Never failing in bearing the
torch of sex, booze, cars and gener-
ally weird shit, Lux Interior and the
rest of the crew sally forth in yet

another reasonably good attempt at
some dark, sexy and less-than-seri-
ous music.
Let's hope it's less than serious.
Otherwise the hilariously self-destruc-
tive "Let's Get Fucked Up" with its
lyrics of "Tomorrow it will feel like
we was hit by a truck I But let's get
fucked up" isn't so hilarious. And the
beautifully evil yet subtle music com-
bined with the horribly cliched lyrics
of "Nest of the Cuckoo Bird" wouldnit
be as pleasing.
Still, songs like "Sado County
Auto Show" and "Naked Girl Falling
Down the Stairs" are apt to restore
one's faith in the humor of the record,
as do lyrics like "I've got my pants
around my ankles cuz of you."
Well, Lux's vox sound a little tired,
but hey, the Cramps are still steeped
in that sleazy sound of yesteryear, and
that's more than good enough.
-Ted Watts


Mw IV rr~lrv

I

RAISE YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS

Various Artists
Nativity in Black: A Tribute to*
Black Sabbath
Columbia
Ministry's Al Jourgensen declared
his appreciation of Black Sabbath with
the profound claim, "Black Sabbath:
More. addictive than heroin or pussy."
He should know; Ministry and every
other band in last 10 years have stolen
a riff or two from Ozzy's old band
some to a greater extent (Helmet and
Soundgarden) than others. Their seven
albums with the original line-up (be-
fore they embarrased themselves with
Dio as their vocalist) were master-
pieces of sludgy guitars, tribal drums
and the evilest bass lines ever re-
corded. Unfortunately most people
wrote off the band as a bastion of
Satanism (So? Actually untrue.) or as
Ozzy's old band, and quickly forgot*
about them.
So a tribute record wasn't just a
good thought, it was a necessity. Too
bad the influence of the band is lim-
ited to the 14 heavy metal bands in-
cluded here; too many of them are
content to recreate the originals with-
out adding their own touch. Getting
Therapy? to cover "Iron Man" would
have been a great idea if they hadn't
added Ozzy's vocals afterward; he's
already recorded a million versions
of the song, why make another?
Standouts likeBiohazard's take on
"After Forever" twist the source ma-
terial into their own image, turning
what was a protogrunge celebration
of God into a rap-tinged hardcore
anthem; who knew Sabbath could
sound so "street"?
It's easy to copy Sabbath if you've
already been doing it with your own
material; it's bands like Biohazard,
White Zombie, 1000 Homo DJs and
Type O Negative (who prove Sabbath
started Goth rock) that show on this
CD how influence can lead to some-
thing more original. It's an incredibly
hard and wonderful album, but it's
also lacking the spontaneity and
unpredictability that made Sabbath.
the only '70s band worth listening to.
- Kirk Miller
Boyz 1 Men
II
Motown Records
After the release of a hit debut LP,
"Cooleyhigharmony," as well as a
variety of slammin' singles like "End
of the Road" ("Boomerang"
Soundtrack) and "The Sequel" (MC@
Brains' "Brainstorm"), Alex
Vanderpool, Squirt, Slim and Bass -
the four members of Boyz H Men -
have returned with "II," hoping to
continue their contributions to the hip-
hop craze "Cooleyhigharmony"
helped revive.
It was always assumed that Boyz
H Men's next LP would be dope. "II"
proves the assumptions true - no,
doubt about it.
Following a formula very similar
to that found in the group's previous
recordings, the group still features
smooth R&B tunes ("I'll Make Love
to You"), sensuous ballads ("On
Bended Knees") and (semi-) hip-hop
tracks ("Thank You"). "Khalil (Inter-
lude)" proves Boyz II Men's contin-
ued mastery of a cappella.
"II" also sports a beautiful remake
of "Yesterday," by Paul McCartney
and John Lennon.
One striking fact about the mem-

bers of Boyz II Men in "II" is their
musical maturity. They have the same
"round-da-way" vibes, but "II"
chronicles their more experienced
approach to music which adds an
added streak of flava to their art.
"II" is too diverse to be ingested in*
one sitting. It's 13 cuts are meant to be
slowly savored. You will enjoy the
familiar Boyz II Men sound wrapped
in a new, exciting package.
- Eugene Bowen
Edie Brickell
Picture Perfect Morning
Geffen
It seems that the institution of
marriage has damaged yet another
artist's career. While Paul Simon may
be a good husband to proto-waif
folkette Edie Brickell, he does her a
disservice by producing and playing
on her latest, "Picture Perfect Morn-
ing."
While Brickell was never a revo-
lutionary talent, when she was with
the New Bohemians they crafted some
fine folk/pop singles and Brickell
became an icon for a generation of
young women eager to hear their own
innocence played back to them on
CD; Brickell's talent and persona was
fresh, ingenuous and artless.
Which brings us back to "Picture

IV