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 . ........ - { ..' Catch A Great Fish With Just A Little Brad -rad f 1 A f- Engineering Computer Science Geosciences Applied Sciences INDIVIDUAL INITIATIVE Individual initiative has always played a major role in Schiumberger's growth and technological leadership. Today, Schlumberger employs 48,000 people in over 75 countries with annual revenues approaching $7 billion. 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