The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 3, 1995 - 9
RECORDS
Sontinued from page 8
ther than genocide / when it's just
plain murder anyway / your mother
goes anyway / your cover's blown /
well this really takes the biscuit / this
country's autistic."
Denzil is able to keep the majority
of "Pub" interesting, experimenting
with other styles of music, and spits
some new flavor into their brand of
Wed Coat pop.
- Brian A. Gnatt
Various Artists
"I Like It Like That"
Soundtrack
Columbia Records
A newly-developing trend is tak-
ing hold of America - the growing
sense of camaraderie between Black
nd Latino communities. The "I Like
'Ot ike That" soundtrack exemplifies
this fact. This 12-cut release features
a variety of tastes from across the
Black and Latino musical boards.
The Puerto-Rican flavored title
track features a cache of well-known
artlsts from SheilaE. to Grover Wash-
ington, Jr. The unmistakable lyrics
and beats of Cypress Hill come out in
"Latin Lingo." K7 performs his only
iitv":ong ever, "Come Baby Come,"
andC&C Music Factory adds some
highly West Coast flava to the
soundtrack in "Forever," which is
actually a slow song.
The Latin American sounds of
Jerry Rivera ("Eres Tu") and Marc
Anthony ("Si Tu No Te Fueras") defi-
nitely add some of that salsa flava.
Yiu may not understand a word of
W hat they're saying, but come on,
ow many people understand half of
whatCypress Hill raps? Thedancehall
sounds of Shabbakan in "Brinquen
Salten" definitely add something to-
tally different and unexpected to this
CD The almost-ballad "Try A Little
Tenderness," by the Barrio Boyzz,
will also titillate your eardrums.
For a CD with only 12 cuts, the "I
ike It Like That" soundtrack packs a
4allop.
- Eugene Bowen
System 7: Fire +
Water
777
Astralwerks
Steve Hillage, of the Orb fame,
has revamped one of his past projects
nd :has created an album that is a
panegyric to his musical vision and
his ability to be equally adept at a
more dance-oriented style of music as
well as Ambient music. The first six
songs are all purely within the Trance-
dance mode while the last six songs
are Ambient bliss.
Hillage collaborates with many well
known "electronic luminaries" such as
Laurent Gamier, the Drum Club and
)etroit's own Derrick May and Carl
Craig. The advance sampler did not list
where these other coproducer's /
producer's lent their skills, but it is
pretty obvious to those familiar with the
music. Hillage premiered much of this
music in Detroit in late 1994 at "Three
Floors of Fun" at St. Andrews Hall and
it is refreshing to hear this music in a
more personal setting. What sounded
*_tn e at St. Andrews takes on a harder
eel in the home environment.
"Alpha Wave (gliss mix)" is a
very up-tempo dance track that would
never be heard from the Orb, yet
Hillage has created a personal sound
that does not sound forced. The Am-
bient side of the album is only ham-
pered by the occasional guitar track
which sounds woefully out of place
on this electronically inspired album.
I Not a classic by any means, this
album is still interesting to Orb and
non-Orb fans alike. The collaborators
are first rate, and the album provides
an insight into the vision of a "elec-
tronic luminary:" Steve Hillage.
- Ben Ewy
God Lives Underwater
God Lives Underwater EP
nion/American
God Lives Underwater? Why?So
he doesn't have to hear crap like this?
It's sort of a mutated cross be-
tween rock, dance, techno and lots of
lousy computer effects. Remember
Billy Idol's "Cyberpunk" album from
a few years ago? Samejunk, different
hue.'
If this is the future of music then
afraid, be very afraid. In cyberspace
o one can hear you scream.
- Kirk Miller
The Razzles
Booger
Earthtone
Let the games begin. Release the
A&R men in their great search to find
"the next Offspring." Bring forth the
hordes of no-talent indie bands all
vying for the title of "The Next Green
Day." It's happened with every
"breakthrough sound" in the past and
it's bound to happen now. Yep, for
the next year or so, the public can
expect to be bombarded with horrible
pop-punk bands. Of course, there are
worse things to be bombarded with.
We could have another go at the glam-
rock era.
Anyway, the Razzles are amongst
the first wave of small-time punk rock-
ers going for the big time. Their debut
album, Booger, is an unimpressive
collection of throwaway love songs,
overflowing with pop hooks and
simple harmonies. Each song screams
"LISTEN TO US, WE'RE ACCES-
SIBLE PUNK," but in reality, these
guys are total clods when it comes to
writing good pop songs.
The boring arrangements and gen-
eral lack of energy are the keys to the
album's downfall. Each song starts
out sounding like it might have some
energy, and then goes out like a light,
bogging down with repetitive lyrics
and stupid guitar solos. Time and time
again, bands like the Ramones, the
Descendents, Nirvana and even Green
Day have proven that musical com-
plexity isn't necessarily important in
creating good rock songs, but the
Razzles can't even begin to compare
to the excitement and energy level of
these bands. From the Ramones rip-
off opener "Lotta" to the whiny closer
"Time," the band fails to include a
single exciting riff.
The album was produced by Robbie
Goo of the Goo Goo Dolls (did I men-
tion wannabe bands?), contains only
eight dull songs (gotta get that product
out there quick!) and, most revealingly,
is called "Booger." Need I say more?
- Mark Carlson
Johnny Socko
Bovaquarium
Mulberry Street
The ska sensation Johnny Socko's
latest release "Bovaquarium" is an
excellent experience with the fun
sounds of feel good music and
funktified ska.
With the revitalization of ska,
"Bovaquarium" shows the talent and
all around coolness associated with
the style of music. "Bovaquarium"
combines great funk, soul and even
jazz to produce an exciting album.
From the upbeat "Joe Bob's
Chicken Lounge" to others like "(Do
the) Post-Modernist Ska," Socko ex-
plores the wide variety of their musi-
cal tastes. Others like "Uvula Mainte-
nance" and "I Like Cows" show the
deliberately funny side of the band.
On "I Like Cows," vocalist Mike
Wiltrout sings "I like cows, but not to
eat them / I like cows, I like to greet
them / cows are fun, you shouldn't
put them on a hamburger bun / or on
the grill in your backyard / or on the
grill of your car / I like cows."
Johnny Socko's carefree attack at
their music makes it utterly great. It
also makes the listener very hungry.
- Brian A. Gnatt
Mecca Normal
Sitting on Snaps
Matador
Jean Smith's voice. David Lester's
guitar. A bit of piano accompaniment
here or there. And that's it. That's
MeccaNormal, and "Sitting on Snaps"
is about as strange as it gets.
MeccaNormal's abnormality rests
not only on unusually spare instru-
mentation but also on Smith's bi-
zarrely hypnotic, gurgling alto and
her defiant, fiercely poetic lyrics. "I'll
pay you what I want to owe you / I
expect you to give me what I want,"
she sings on "Gravity Believes."
What Mecca Normal wants on this,
their seventh LP, is to challenge their
listeners' perceptions of power and
greed ("Something to Be Said," "Va-
cant Night Sky") while meditating on
flowers, colors and leaves ("Beppo's
Room," "Only Heat"). Nature runs
through this album like a river, liter-
ally. Clouds, comets, crows, oceans,
rain and stars all appear in Smith's
lyrics on "Snaps," lending the whole
effort a primitive, minimalist air.
Smith's voice clearly reflects this
primitivity, and whether or not you
can handle her is wholly a matter of
personal taste. She's political, fierce,
and strange, and so is Mecca Normal's
music. "Snap the honeycomb of doubt
/ Waxy laughter breaks your knees,"
Smith advises on "Frozen Rain." In a
typically odd way, here Smith an-
nounces this record's intention - to
lull its listeners to attention and an-
ger.
-Jennifer Buckley
Kevin Salem
Soma City
Roadrunner
On his first solo album, Kevin
Salem, occasional sideman to Freedy
Johnston and Yo La Tengo and mem-
ber of Dumptruck, breaks free in a
glorious blaze of fierce guitars, gutsy
vocals and brilliant songcraft, creat-
ing a link between Tom Petty and
Sugar, between Neil Young and the
Replacements. Spontaneous rockers
like "Amnesia" and "Will" mingle
with the furious, burning ballads "Shot
Down," "Ruin You" and "Diviner"
and the hard pop of "Forever Gone"
and "Deeper Hole." Through it all
runs Salem's wrenching vocals and
brilliant guitar-work. His solos shake
and rattle with the intensity of Dr.
Young, restraining themselves to build
tension before exploding in feedback
and beautiful noise. "Soma City" is
one incredible debut from a man who
has been off to the side of the spot-
light for too long.
- Dirk Schulze
Chante Moore
A Love Supreme
Silas Records
R&B, like every other type of
music, has its good and bad perform-
ers. But, once every blue moon, along
comes an artist whose eloquence and
musical perfection go beyond even
our wildest expectations. Case in
point: Chant6 Moore.
Chante Moore exudes class. Ev-
erything about her, from her excep-
tionally picturesque facial features to
her sophomore CD "A Love Supreme"
to the accent mark above the "e" in
her name, points to her provocative
excellence.
Listening to Moore's sexy, beck-
Chanteuse Chants Moore sings just as good as she looks.
oning voice in the CD's intro, as she
speaks to the accompaniment of single
violin, it is hard not to fall immedi-
ately with her, and that voice. That
voice - the sweet, seductive-sound-
ing words which pass through her
firm, full lips - remains constant
throughout the other 14 cuts of "A
Love Supreme." It is as if she is stand-
ing before you, singing only to you.
She wants you; she needs you. No one
else will do besides you ...
Listen to cuts like "My Special
Perfect One," "I Want to Thank You"
and "Thou Shalt Not." Feel the inevi-
table tingling sensation that Moore's
voice will wrap you in. Her voice is a
lyrical baby oil. It pours forth lavishly
from her lips and covers your naked
ears, glowing in the moonlight. It
surrounds you with warm feelings of
inner ecstasy.
In "A Love Supreme," Moore does
not subscribe to the usual treatment of
sexuality and sensuality that too many
See RECORDS, Page 10
work 0
BRITAIN & IRELAND
student exchange employment program
campus presentation
speakers from London & Dublin
Monday, March 6,1995
5:30 pm
International Center
& display/info table 10:00am - 4:00pm
Student Union
I
visit sponsored by the
CUnivesity of Michian
r ° uN9c International Cent er
(313)764-9310
usit
CIEE
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