The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 15, 1995 - 9
* RECORDS
Continued from page 8
background behind the soloing of the
two main acts. All of the songs on this
album are wonderful and a great trib-
ute to not only to the music of Duke
Ellington, but to the talents of all of
the featured musicians. The only com-
plaint with the album is the somewhat
cheesy title, but do not let that dis-
suade you from experiencing this
wonderful record.
- Ben Ewy
Planet Hate
Mother Are You Mad?
Energy Records
This sounds familiar. I think
Wrathchild America (remember
them? O.K., probably not, but they
used toplay Detroit every other week)
did the same blend of technically-
proficient thrash, random bits of funk,
topical yet slightly humorous lyrics
and testosterone-drenched, I've-
smoked-too-long vocal chanting four
years ago. Which isn't bad, it's just
not very original.
Planet Hate are a relatively new
thrash foursome that received a men-
A tion in "Entertainment Weekly" for
their clever t-shirts. Had this trans-
lated into something on record, I'd be
more excited. Instead, we have tracks
such as "Dead Is Dead," which has an
almost Gregorian chant chorus fol-
lowed by generic chunka-chunka gui-
tar lines and a distorted industrial-
style vocal working over a single bass
line. The effort for variety is nice, but
it's not terribly unique to mix several
different styles in one big lump.
On a brighter side, this is the only
metal band ever to do a song about the
Brady Bunch ("The Pressure's on
Greg.") Even Pantera and Testament
can't make a claim like that.
- Kirk Miller
Take 6
Join the Band
Reprise Records
I have finally found ultimate proof
that God is the hippest cat ever. Take
6 - a six-man "choir" whose music
defies gospel music as usual -- was
created especially by Him to revital-
ize musical worship.
They began doing the Lord's work
in 1989 with the release of their self-
titled debut CD. Five years and two
CDs later, Take 6 has returned with
* the release of their fourth album, "Join
the Band." This release is even more
spectacular than their previous re-
leases (all great in their own right)
because it takes them, and gospel
music as a whole, farther than either
of them have ever gone before.
The results are nothing less than
heavenly.
These six brothas' voices match
perfectly with one another, and in
"Join the Band," they present various
types of Black music -R&B, jazz,
acapella (of which the group is prob-
ably best-known for) and rap (Take 6
doesn't rap, but guest Queen Latifah
kicks a few rhymes in "Harmony").
Ray Charles makes an appearance
in "My Friend." You'd never think in
a million years that Take 6's jazzy
vocs would work well with Charles'
hyper Southern drawl. Listen to this
song, and think again. Stevie Wonder
pops his head, and his harmonica, in
"Why I Feel This Way."
But, don't think that non-Take
6'ers are stealing the show from these
guys. They sing on their own, and the
results are no less spectacular.
You can't ask for two more uplift-
ing songs than "It's Gonna Rain" and
"Biggest Part of Me," and "Lullaby"
is perfect for kids, and the kid at heart.
Take 6's fresh voices add a new
dimension to worship and praise. They
take their love of God to another level.
I am convinced that they are angels
descended from above to serve a di-
vine purpose. You'll find yourself
snapping your fingers, humming the
songs to yourself and doing those
little half-dances when no one else is
around. In the end, you'll have alighter
heart, and you'll have learned a little
more about the Big Man Upstairs.
- Eugene Bowen
Dr. Dre & Ed Lover
Back Up Off Me
Relativity
No, they didn't just use the fame
brought by hosting "Yo!?MTV Raps" to
put out an album. Dr. Dre was actually
the member of a group called Original
Concept which many consider to be
ground breaking in the late '80s. In
many ways though, this is a bit of a
novelty album. With production cour-
tesy of Erick Sermon, Marley Marl and
the 45 King and others, and guest rap-
pers ranging from Lords of the Under-
ground to Keith Murray, the album has
just about every style but a unique one.
. However, the point seems to be to
bring together a lot of influences, and
this is done successfully. The title track
is by far the outstanding effort, with a
really nice old school flavor with high
impact chanting. The other various
styles are all done well although there
are two wasted tracks - one on a love
song and another on shout-outs; not a
good sign on an album that is only 10
tracks short to begin with. So it is what
it is: Nothing special but a gathering of
styles done pretty nicely.
- Dustin Howes
Andy Statman
Andy 's Ramble
Rounder
The ability to play any instrument
with blinding speed and precision,
while impressive, is rarely very inter-
esting. What makes for true music is
emotion, the amount of feeling that an
artist can communicate through his
instrument. Andy Statman, while cer-
tainly able to cut loose and fly across
his mandolin like a man possessed, is
also an extremely emotive player. His
playing throughout his latest release,
"Andy's Ramble," is loose and in-
credibly lyrical. The trills and short
runs he offers on "Oceanic Waltz" are
nothing short of beautiful while "The
Land Epic Waltz" is dense and som-
ber. Most of the record is based in the
sounds of bluegrass, heavily influ-
enced by early mandolin master Bill
Monroe. The title track and "Avenue
'L' Breakdown" are pure, driving
bluegrass instrumentals while the
Scottish rhythm of "The Open Sea"
remind just how much bluegrass owes
to Celtic music. Statman's backing
band is just as talented, making
"Andy's Ramble" one of the finest
instrumental bluegrass records in
some time.
- Dirk Schulze
Sarah Chang
The Philadelphia Or.
chestra, dir. Wolfgang
Sawallisch
Works by Paganini and Saint-
Saens
EMI Classical
At age 13, Sarah Chang has per-
formed with every major orchestra in
the world, has played Carnegie Hall a
few times, has been the recipient of
numerous international awards and
has been featured on television pro-
grams worldwide. Her first album
(Chang records exclusively for EMI)
entitled "Debut" was recorded when
she was nine and became an instant
classical best-seller.
Yes, it's amazing, but also a little
frightening. Nevertheless, her second
release is appropriately a collection
of pieces by two composers who were
also famous child prodigies, Niccolo
Paganini and Camille Saint-Saens.
Paganini's "First Violin Concerto"
is a virtuoso vehicle filled with novel
bowing techniques and various pyro-
technics for the instrument, all of
which Chang executes with taste and
skill. The Adagio shows a great lyri-
cal depth that indicates Chang's tal-
ent isn't simply limited to displays of
speed and dexterity.
The Spanish flavored "Havanaise"
by Saint-Saens is beautifully rendered
with Chang's rich tone matched by
the lush accompaniment of the Phila-
delphia Orchestra. Also in a Spanish
idiom is the "Introduction and Rondo
capriccioso for Violin and Orches-
tra." Again, it is performed with a
beauty and intelligence that is quite
outstanding. Upon listening to Chang,
one can't help but wonder, where
does it all come from?
- Brian Wise
Scott Hamilton
Organic Duke
Concord Records
The tenor sax-organ duo is one
that is steeped in history and tradi-
tion. Unfortunately, this classic com-
bination has been left by the wayside
in recent years, which makes Scott
Hamilton's "Organic Duke" a wel-
come album for jazz enthusiasts.
This album is not notable only for
its unique instrumentation.
Hamilton's thick, rich tenor tone won-
derfully compliment the classic sound
of Mike LeDonne's Hammond or-
gan. Hamilton is a tenor virtuoso and
his lyrical style pays homage to this
album of all Duke Ellington tunes.
The songs on the album range from
lyrical ballads, to the up-tempo
"Rockin' in Rhythm." On each song,
Hamilton and LeDonne combine their
respective tones and styles to create a
lush, musical texture.
Dennis Irwin on bass and Chuck
Riggs on drums make up an extremely
solid rhythm section that knows when
to shine and when to fall into the
background behind the soloing of the
two main acts. All of the songs on this
album are wonderful and a great trib-
ute to not only to the music of Duke
Ellington, but to the talents of all of
the featured musicians. The only com-
plaint with the album is the somewhat
cheesy title, but do not let that dis-
suade you from experiencing this
wonderful record.
-- Ben Ewy
Sha-key
A Headndddas Journey To
Adidi Skizm
imago
Get ready for real hip-hop's come-
back. Beginning with Sha-key, this
crew calls themselves the Boom Po-
etic, Vibe Khameleonz and lots of
other names all you have to remem-
ber is this stuff is on. Hooking up
solid break beats from hip-hop's fresh-
est crates, this album does not have a
weakness.
The only problems might come
for listeners who shy away from cer-
tain brands of hip-hop - i.e. rock
influenced ("Blunted Blitz") or jazz
influenced ("Sha-Theme") -because
it has a little bit of everything. But this
is no artsy, experimental album, it
deeper than deep in rap's heritage.
The most obvious reflection is the
presence of Rozell the Godfather of
Noise - the freshest beat boxer in
years, perhaps ever. He is on three
tracks, doing scratching, horns, bass
and of course beats. But don't forget
the flow, Sha-key has the confidence
to pull off almost anything on the mic,
she is solid and at times innovative.
So in case you didn't get it by now,
you can't lose with this album. Check
it out.
- Dustin Howes
Dis N' Dat
Bumpin'
Epic Records
A long line of "party rappers"
have descended from the legacy of
95 South. One of the group's DJs,
C.C. Lemonhead, released a CD
earlier this year as did the group
Little Ko-Chees. Now, along comes
Dis N' Dat, a female duo that seeks
to continue where their homies left
off.
Their homies should have stopped
while they were ahead.
"Bumpin"' is not totally hit. It's
just that rap has become supersatu-
rated with the ditzy party themes 2
Live Crew popularized. We need no
more rappers like that, especially a
duo whose 10-cut CD is so predict-
able it's not worth spending the 15
bucks to listen to the same stuff you
expect to hear over and over again.
"Bumpin"' features lame songs
like "Whoot, Here It Is" (a tired
version of 95 South's "Whoot, There
It Is"), "Catlin' Cleotis" (please
don't tell me that parents still name
their sons that) and "Yeah, Just Hit
Me" (if it'll make you stop rapping
this crap...).
If "Bumpin"' had been released
in a more timely manner (like two or
three years ago when this stuff was
actually popular), then Dis N' Dat
would have gotten mad props. But,
now isn't two years ago, and I can
only hope that these two women
aren't injured too seriously when
"Bumpin"' gets bumped and they
get the boot.
- Eugene Bowen
Take 6 takin' five on the film fiam.
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