10 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, March 28, 1995 New record keeps the Faith alive By Ted Watts Daily Weekend Editor Faith No More's fourth album, "Angel Dust," was released less than three years ago and the band finished a successful tour of this country about two years ago. America has seen little of them since. Much has changed in the interim. Guitarist Jim Martin left the band, being replaced for the recording of the new album "King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime" by Mr. Bungle guitar- ist Trey "Scummy" Spruance. Spruance was too intimidated by the group's touring schedule, however, and left the band, being replaced by bean Menta. For the near future, : keyboardist Roddy Bottum plans to ;record an album with his new Abba- -esque band Star 69 and singer Mike Patton is planning another Mr. Bungle album. 1 But for now there's "King For a Day, Fool for a Lifetime." Faith No More's previous albums have all cap- tured their evolutions. 1985's "We Care A Lot" showcased their simple beginnings and 1987's "Introduce Yourself' was a progression along the same lines. "The Real Thing" saw the light of day in '89 and was the first album recorded with Patton. It was a softer, more commercial album than the previous two. It also spawned the hit "Epic" and eventually made the band into a platinum record holder. "Angel Dust" was released in 1992 and was the band's most experimen- Rtmt Faith No More King for a Day, Fool for a Lifetime Slash/Reprise Fortunately, the song retains more of the screaming and less of the Bon Jovi vocals, although the guitar remains in the same vein and doesn't dispel that harrowing feeling of cheese. "Evidence" does dispel the feel- ing. Opening all funky, it's almost a Barry White song. The bass is strong and very '70s (actually going wacka wacka), the keyboards are doing a string thing in addition to a piano thing, the drums are quiet and jazzy and the vocals are crooning. No Poi- son album here. The album moves along at a prop- erly varied pace. "Evidence" is fol- lowed by "The Gentle Art Of Making Enemies," a song dichotomous in its soft and hard musical sections and with fine lines like "I deserve a reward/ Cuz I'm the best fuck that you ever had / Man if I tighten up my horn / You may never see the light again." This in turn is followed by "Star A.D.," a song that sounds designed for a roller rink. The eclectic character of songs is retained throughout the rest of the album. The first single, "Digging the Grave," is very reminiscint of "The Real Thing" in its sound. "Take This Bottle" sounds like a Guns N' Roses ballad parody. And "Just A Man" has tal album, filled with vastly different songs of extremely high quality. "Get Out," the first song on "King," opens with amonotonously simple drum beat and an almost Metallica-style gui- tarriffthatstandoutlikeaparasitic twin jutting from someone's chest. Patton's vocals go sweetly high on the opening lyrics "What if there's no more fun to have / And all I've got is what I've had / What if I have forgotten how/ Cut my license and get out now," followed im- mediately by him screaming "Get out right now!" The first impression is that the album is going to be nastily metal. a gospel/reggae cast to it, which is just fine for the closing song of such a zimzamzabulous record. The worst thing about the album is that too many of the songs begin like each other. About a third of the songs begin with similarly structured (and kind of hack) guitar parts. While not the same, they are much more similar than Faith No More has prepared their fans to listen for. It also seems to have lost some of the many levels of sound that made "Angel Dust" such a lushly beautiful and intriguing album. Nevertheless, Faith No More has made an interesting album with "King For A Day, Fool For A Lifetime." They eat from a large buffet of styles4 and vomit them back out in a tasty melange. Dig in! Gorecki proves his musical worth Composer's concert shows why he became popular I' By Brian Wise Daily Arts Writer When Henryk Gorecki's Third Symphony topped classical sales charts and soared to number six on the British pop charts, critics were left simultaneously shaking their heads in -astonishment and praising it nonethe- less. The "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs," as it is subtitled, is a solemn, meditative piece, consisting of an hour's worth of slow movements with RLVMW Contemporary Directions Ensemble Rackham Auditorium March 24, 1995 soprano solo - hardly the stuff pop idols are made of. This poses some interesting ques- tions. Is this the beginning of a mass- audience breakthrough for contem- porary music? Or is the classical tra- dition becoming debauched by trendy record labels (in this case Elektra Nonesuch) and the same marketing ploys that have packaged Gregorian chant as a form of new age mind therapy. Mr. Gorecki (pronounced go- RET-skee), in fact, has never sought out mainstream approval. He was a chief leader of the Polish avant garde BUCKSHOT Continued from page 9 ing it on the sax. When called upon, rapper Unknown Soldier showcased an ability to make his words clever or thought-provoking, especially on "Breakfast at Denny's," an ode to the restaurant that refused service to a group of African-American secret movement that emerged during the post-Stalin cultural thaw of the 1950s. By the 1970s, he began to express his deep religious beliefs and a passion- ate commitment to the folk culture of Poland, in a simple yet monumental style. Only in recent years has his music became known to a larger audi- ence, along with an entire school of Eastern European composers collec- tively known as "mystical minimalists." A large and enthusiastic audience was on hand Friday night at Rackham Auditorium when the University's Contemporary Directions ensemble, directed by H. Robert Reynolds pre- sented a sampling of the composer's music. This was part of the University's ongoing program cel- ebrating Polish music, and the con- cert was attended by none other than Gorecki himself. I am always a bit skeptical of neat and convenient labels, yet "mystical minimalism" seemed a fitting descrip- tion for the String Quartet No.2 which opened the program. While clearly it could never be mistaken as the work of American minimalists such as Philip Glass or Steve Reich, the fluc- tuating, stark motives built on minute intervals were constructed in repeti- tive schemes akin to minimalism. Perhaps what it lacked was a sense of profound culmination that made the Third Symphony the epic that it is. While expertly-played in this perfor- mance, the unhurried String Quartet really commands a listener with an unfailing concentration or an abnor- mally low metabolism. The "Quarttetino" for two flutes, oboe and violin, is a youthful work of Gorecki's that bares allegiance to the neoclassical style of Stravinsky. With a breezy, lilting musical language and amotoric rhythmic drive in the presto, it served to dispel the common belief that he is only capable of expressing spiritual quietude. In fact, Gorecki is a composer of often wild extremes, as demonstrated by the broad palate of "Little Re- quiem for a Polka." For a chamber ensemble of 13 instruments and pi- ano, it was composed in 1993 for the Schoenberg Ensemble. The work was alternately liturgical, austere and folk- influenced, with polka polyrhythms placed alongside long stretches of static harmonies and ethereal bell chimes. The CDE mastered the vari- ous nuances and gave a disciplined account of this difficult piece. Gorecki seemed pleased. In a hurried world battered sense- less by a continual flow of informa- tion, via 500 channels and interac- tive cyberspace (supply your own buzz words), the formal elegance and mystic atmospheres of Gorecki's music strike a soothing chord in many a listener. With that in mind, it shouldn't be overlooked that there is much more to this com- poser than new age bromides and feel good ambiance. Slash has become one with pinball on his new solo album. RECORDS Continued from page 9 the queen, mistress, goddess of gos- pel, the late, great Mahalia Jackson. The song, "I Found the Answer," one of Jackson's greatest, is above de- scription using words of any human dialect. "To A Higher Place" is a testa- ment of Hawkins' superior singing talents, the beauty of Black gospel and the power of God. - Eugene Bowen Sleeper Smart Arista Hot on the heels of Elastica's phe- nomenal debut comes Sleeper, the latest British female-fronted band. Like Elastica, Sleeper combines New Wave sounds with a tough feminine perspective. However, Sleeper dif- fers in two important areas: Sleeper frontwoman Louise Gener is a right- winger, and Sleeper, as a band, doesn't have the songs to compete with Elastica. The opening track of the band's debut, "Smart," is "Inbetweener." A tough, raunchy rocker, it's catchy and clever enough to remain intriguing on repeated service agents. Soldier was constantly on the same plane lyrically as the musicians were musically; he ener- gized the band each time he took the mic. Branford Marsalis should be commended for bringing together a group filled with talent from top to bottom, then making their finished product so entertaining. It was clear that everyone at Industry was hav- ing fun, starting with the musicians. One would hope that this (in the words of the Unknown Soldier) "Little bit 'a hip hop, little bit 'a jazz" will find its own niche in the days to come. It's difficult to think of a kind of music around today that is so fresh and exciting. Hats off to Buckshot LeFonque. listenings. From there on, however, it's mostly downhill. While "Swal- low" and "Delicious" are still pretty cool, the rest of the album is simply uninteresting. Listen to the first few tracks, then use the rest of the album like a sleeping pill. That's "Smart." - Heather Phares slash's Snakepit It's Five O'Clock Somewhere Geffen By now, there have been more Guns N' Roses side-projects than al- bums of original Guns material. With Axl Rose throwing guitarist Gilby Clarke out of the band and adding one of his long-time friends to the group as he's trying to pursue a more Nine Inch Nails direction, it's no wonder that Slash decided to form a band of his own to pass the time. As Slash himself has admitted, it's better than dancing with Mr. Brownstone -- but not by much, if "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" is any indication. Like most side-projects, the songs on "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" sound like afterthoughts. The record sounds like a loose, informal jam ses- sion between friends at a local bar. Since Slash is a bonafide rock star, he got to jam in a studio and release it for all of us to enjoy instead of confining it to a handful of people at the tavern. So, Slash and his friends got to- gether at the studio, drank a few beers, played a couple of riffs, downed some Jack Daniel's, let the tape roll and jammed. And jam they did, turning in a long, nearly 70-minute record. For- tunately, Slash's friends - Alice in Chains bassist Mike Inez and Gilby Clarke, Matt Sorum and Dizzy Reed of Guns N' Roses - are damn good musicians, which means most of the record works at a musical level. In particular, Slash is in prime form - his solos are alternately fluid and tense, biting and soaring; the album reaffirms the fact that he is one of the best lead guitarists of the past decade. No matterhow well Slash plays, it doesn't erase the fact that the songs on "Five O'Clock" are nonexistent. The riffs don't sink in, the lyrics are inane and the melodies are transpar- ent. Even worse, Eric Dover's appallingly histrionic vocals domi- nate the mix, which makes the lack of passable songs all the more apparent. That lack of song is what ulti- mately makes "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" just another example of rock 'n' roll indulgence. At least it keeps Slash off the streets ... - Tom Erlewine Po' Boy Swing Lite And Sweet Royalty "Hey, is this the new Faith No More album?" "No, it's a band called Po' Boy Swing. Can't you read?" "Po' Boy Swing? Sounds like some crappy '80s pop metal band trying to be rootsy." "Look, Idon't name the bands ..." "OK, but you have to admit they sound exactly like Faith No More. The soulful yet slightly sarcastic vo- cals, the pseudo-funk-meets-prog- metal rhythm section-" "Hey, what is this, Rock Criticism 101? It has a lot of energy." "What the hell does thatmean? Even doing a faithful cover of 'When I Need Love' is a rip. of FNM's superior ver- sion of the Commodores' 'Easy."' "Then again, the rap in 'Swing Your Thing' reminds of a thrashier Beastie Boys." "Yeah, just what the world needs, another rock group with band rhym- ing and too much love of the '70s." "Check out the 'Twin Peaks'-y feel of 'Peace of Mind' or the loungy feel of the first and last tracks. I think this is a band that owesjust as much to vintage Cheap Trick and good pop rock as Faith No More." "Look, noonecares whatyou think, rock critic boy. Go out and get a life and make some friends before it's too late. Live a little and go get the new Faith No More if you want to hear a band that sounds likeFaithNo More. While we're at it, why are you talking to yourself? Do you honestly think anyone believes this is a real conversation between two consenting adults? Would anyone waste their time talking about the new record by Pork Rind Binge -" "That's Po' Boy Swing -" "Whatever. I'm out of here." "Look, who said you have to origi- nal to be good? Hello?Anyone there?" - KirkMiller I ~; "- .-- Please return by beet restaurants/bars for.. , offe__ March 31,to ,r .i ___ ____ pizza the Daily at 420 Maynard, 48109. 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