The Michigan Daily - Friday, April 19, 1996 - 11
RECORDS
,tinued from Page 10
Various Artists
Smooth Grooves (Vols. 5-7)
Rhino Records
There are slow songs. Then there are
ballads. Then along comes an LP which
reminds us that every now and then,
&'m the R&B caldron comes some-
t ing that transcends these titles. Those
songs can only be called "Smooth
Grooves." Sadly, there aren't too many
smooth groovers out there right now,
but back in the day they were every-
where.
So last year, Rhino Records took us
back in the day, releasing the first four
volumes of "Smooth Grooves." Now,
realizing that there still wasn't enough
that S-G aura in the air, Rhino has
ased three more volumes. Like the
four CDs before them, these three re-
leases are jam packed with some of the
smoothest, most relaxing sounds of
yesteryear. Take a peek at what lies in
store:
Volume 5: "Devotion," Earth, Wind
& Fire; "Love Don't Love Nobody,"
Spinners; and "The Best Has Yet to
Come,"Grover Washington Jr. and Patti
Belle.
Volume 6: "Can't We Fall in Love
Again," Phyllis Hyman and Michael
Henderson; "Husband," Shirley
Murdock; "You, Me and He," Mtume;
and "Be My Girl," The Dramatics.
Volume 7: "Sukiyaki," A Taste of
Honey; "Thanks for My Child," Cheryl
Pepsii Riley; "I Miss You," Klymaxx;
and "Tears," Force MD's.
These "beyond ballads" are just a
taste of the sweet mixtures of both R&B
* jazzy influences found on these
LPs. While some of these song titles
may not ring a bell, when you begin to
play them, these long forgotten songs
will immediately jog your memory.
These are songs of love, love affairs,
loss of love, motherly love ... the list
goes on. You're gonna love it.
- Eugene Bowen
ush
ovef e
4 AD/Reprise
Arguably one of the most sonically
and physically beautiful bands ever to
come from England, Lush is back with
a,vengeance after taking most of last
year to record their new album,
"Lovelife." Their fourth full-length re-
ase, "Lovelife" marks abold step for-
Wrdmusically. Much ofthetrademark
swirliness of their sound is replaced by
astripped-down, punky feel that's remi-
niscent of Elastica's darker moments.
As the title suggests, "Lovelife" fo-
cuses on the ups and downs ofromance.
The songs run the gamut, from tough
and cheeky like "Ladykillers," which
tears into "super sexy misters" always
on the make, jaded on "I've Been Here
Before," poignant on the ballad
"Papasan" and tongue-in-cheek on
"Ciao," a hilarious duet between Lush's
Miki Berenyi and Pulp's Jarvis Cocker
that sends up the rivalry between ex-
lovers.
While it's not quite as brilliant an
album as 1994's "Split," "Lovelife" is
full ofbeautiful, well-written pop songs
like the '60s pop-influenced "500" as
well as fasternumbers like "Single Girl"
and "The Childcatcher." Lush is one of
the few groups from the shoegazing/
dreampop scene of the early '90s to
survive into the current Britpop cli-
mate; "Lovelife" is a testament to their
versatility and creativity.
- Heather Phares
Joe Henry
Trampoline
Mammoth
For most of the songs on this, his
seventh record, Joe Henry sets aside the
mandolins, drops the acoustic guitar,
and abandons the brand of twanging
folk-rock he perfected on 1992's"Short
Man's Room" and 1993's"Kindness of
the World" to get eclectic.
And the change suits Henry; his dis-
tinctively raspy, nasal vocals and imagis-
tic lyrics benefit from jazzy phrasing on
the moody, echoing opener"Bob & Ray"
and the dirge-like "Medicine." Soulful
femalebacking vocals andawickeddrum
beat contrast with the squalling, ricochet-
ingelectricguitar work ofPaige Hamilton
(yes, the guy from Helmet) on a funky
cover of Sly and the Family Stone's "Let
Me Have It All."
Henry also tries his hand at avant-
gardepop; a disembodied soprano voice
and a rush of strings add a sense of the
surreal to "Flower Girl."
The album's best song may be the
title track, with its wandering melody,
delayed, reverbed electric guitar, sharp
lyrics ("My mind has never been so
clear/still I stutter like an auctioneer")
and whispered chorus.
The record's final three songs most
resemble those on Henry's previous
albums. The lovely acoustic "Go With
God (Topless Shoeshine)," "Parade"
(featuring Bucky Baxter's gorgeous
pedal steel) and "I Was a Playboy"
could be lost tracks from "Short Man's
Room," despite the prominent strings
and horns on the latter track.
Gone are the lush textures and sweet
pop hooks of Henry's earlier work, but
it's no matter. With "Trampoline," Joe
Henry succeeds at something far more
important - keeping his music inter-
esting.
-Jennifer Buckley
Various Artists
Heavy Metal Hits of the '80s -
Volumes 1, 2, and 3
Rhino
You knew metal would come back in
style. The big hair, spandex and leather
may not be gracing MTV again quite
yet, but over the past five years since
metal was put on the back burner, it's
had a chance to start building up steam
again.
If disco could come back in style,
then pretty much any genre of music
can. Rhino Records latest three-disc
compilation, "Heavy Metal Hits of the
'80s" (each disc
sold separately), .
pays tribute to
many of the trashy
metal bands that'
had your booty#
rocking at yourj
junior high prom
a long, long time .
ago.
The best of the
three discs is
clearly "Volume
1," featuring the
Scorpions "Rock
You Like a Hurri-
cane," Poison's
"Talk Dirty to y
Me," and Twisted
Sister's teen-age
anthem "We're
not Gonna Take *
It." Quiet Riot's Cinderella Is the St
Slade cover,
"Cum On Feel the
Noize," rounds out the 14-track disc of
classic metal material.
"Volume 2" features some of metal's
first ladies Vixen ("Edge of A Broken
Heart") and also Lita Ford ("Gotta Let
Go"), along with Diamond David Lee
Roth with "Goin' Crazy," Winger's
"Seventeen," Europe's "The Final
Countdown" and Sam Kinison's rock-
ing rendition of the Troggs' classic,
"Wild Thing."
Cinderella's "Gypsy Road" is the
highlight of "Volume 3," which is sadly
filled with mostly cheesier than ched-
dar acts like Whitesnake ("Still of the
Night"), White Lion ("Wait") and Mr.
Big ("Addicted to that Rush"). Others
like Dangerous Toys' "Scared," Britny
Fox's "Girlschool" and the Bulletboys'
"Smooth Up In Ya" would have been
better left forgotten.
The biggest problem with "Heavy
Metal Hits ofthe'80s" is the lack of the
big metal acts of the decade. Yes, Poi-
son is here, but besides Judas Priest,
Motorhead and a
few others, most
ofthe compilation
is filledwiththose
terrible one-hit-
wonders that we
can't even re-
member. Missing
from the collec-
tion are Motley
Crue, AC/DC,
Guns N' Roses,
Metallica, Ozzy
Osbourne, and
even Warrant and
Tesla.
But if you've
been looking for
some ofthose lost
metal treasures,
or even the unof-
ficial soundtrack
pchild of metal. to "Beavis and
Butt - ha ead,"
"Heavy Metal
Hits of the '80s" probably has just
what you're looking for. Some of the
finer white trash tracks that only
Harpo's Concert Theater patrons
would recognize are here, like
W.A.S.P.'s "Blind In Texas," Ratt's
"Lay It Down," Dokken's "It's Not
Love" and Accept's "Balls to the
Wall." Others by Kingdom Come,
Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force,
Faster Pussycat and Krokus will have
you pulling out the hairspray and acid-
washed jeans for a wild ride down
memory lane.
-Brian A. Gnatt
Author Eb
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By Elizabeth Lucas "Marijuana is the most u
Daily Arts Writer and the most ridiculous
"I just spoke at Dan Quayle's alma she said. "You want to b
mater," essayist Barbara Ehrenreich told with the more addictive
a standing-room-only audience at Sha- just began to seem to me
man Drum on April 11. "1was expecting of keeping them illegal
there to be large plastic toys and blocks that has to stop. Marijua
you can't swallow, but nothey had class- most, because it's so hy
rooms and everything." This was only a probably our nation's larg
sample ofthe satirical social commentary In accordance with a ra
Ehrenreich provides in her writing. Ehrenreich also disaarcee
Ehrenreich's latest collection of es- rent anti-immigrant trend
says, "The Snarling Citizen," covers "It's scapegoating," she so
topics ranging from multiculturalism to a bill in the Senate that wo
feminism to the religious right. As she education tochildren who
commented in an interview with The try illegally. "There's a h
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ever. Ehrenreich earned degrees in bi- "The Snarling Citizen'
ology and chemistry. attention to these social i
As for writing, "I never thought of it, peated theme in the bo
really. I had become an antiwar activist indefinite boundary beta
in the '60s and then decided I didn't entertainment. Ehrenreic
want to be a research scientist, which is "I think journalism is in se
what I'd been educated for. I wanted to all goes to the increasing n
be more socially relevant. I ended up on news to be a profit ci
doing a lot of different things, but they means you don't have bp
all involved writing." have to have entertainit
Since then, Ehrenreich has written nine news, which means more
other books and numerous essays, all of In her book, Ehrenrei
which provide a viewpoint that's not of- Lorena Bobbitt, Gennife
ten expressed in contemporary culture. O.J. Simpson stories a
For example, Ehrenreich doesn't hesitate this phenomenon.
to define her political stance: "I never She discussed O.J. in
thought of myself as a liberal; I'm a thinkit'stotalitarian,theV
radical. Liberals are to the right of me - the attention of 250 mil
so talk about being out of tune." rectedto, basically,afrivo
Ehrenreich's writing may be out of individual. Thenightofth
tune with the current conservative trend it started being on all the
in politics, but it's certainly welcomed a minute, don't we get a
by the remaining liberals and radicals think there's somethingsi
of the world. Her views on feminism power of the media to dir
definitely provide a different perspec- millions of people's atte
tive, in a society that's frequently de- thing that is so irrelevant
fined as post-feminist. But, conveniently
"I think it's good that (post-femi- Ehrenreich's writing has
nism) means we accomplished some entertainment value, as
things in my generation, so that your Citizen"combines accur
generation doesn't have to do them all mentary with well-targe
over again - like that you can go into als and radicals will par
any occupation," she said. "You have her viewpoints, but El
different battles which you'll have to says can be appreciated
define for yourself, but I would tend to any political bent. Sim
call them still feminist." that, as Ehrenreich sai
Ehrenreich's stance on drug laws is responsible forpeople's
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"Hey baby, we are Accept. We like standing in lines and posing for photos. We've
been doing it since the mid-'80s. We have no lives."
I-
Do you want
to write for
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section? Just
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dike mother, like son
The apple doesn't fall very far from the tree. Musical theater senior Adam Hunter will graduate soon, and as his fond farewell
to his Ann Arbor days he's putting together an evening of show-stoppers - with his mother, Karl Howard. How apropos!
Adam Is about to embark on what's sure to be a long and prolific career, and Karl is an established veteran of Broadway,
films, dinner theater and TV. It sort of makes you want to sing! But Adam and Karl will be doing plenty of that, and it's sure
to be an unforgettable evening. Catch this duo at the Bird of Paradise on Sunday evening at 8 p.m., before they get their act
together and take it on the road.
0
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