The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, January 24, 1996-9
*RECORDS
Continued from Page 5
her tubby hubby employed in "Warn-
ing,"a cutoffhishit debut album"Ready
to Die." At the very least, you should've
heard her first single off "Faith," the
upbeat "You Used to Love Me" by
now, though it's not nearly as good as
most of the other cuts on this album.
There are many lesser-known cuts on
"Faith" that deserve our attention. The
softly sung "You Don't Understand"
and "Don't be Afraid," rolling straight
off the balladeering tip, are foremost in
this category. Another must-hear cut is
"Reasons," a bonus track available on
the CD only, and I've fallen in love with
her straight-to-the-point "Thank You
Lord" interlude.
Faith's voice sounds so sweet it has
warped many guys minds into even
thinking she's fine. Luckily, I wasn't
overtaken by that spell. I hate to break
the hearts ofyoublind brothas out there
bemoaning "why would Faith's fine
ass marry that walking ham hock," but
Ms. Evans ain't all that. Quit lying to
yo'selves.
Nevertheless, "Faith" is an outstand-
ing release that has ushered in 1996 in
much the same way Blige's "My Life"
began 1995
- Eugene Bowen3W
Ornette Coleman and
Prime Time

Tone Dialing
Harmelodic/Verve
Ornette Coleman has been somewhat
of a mystery in the jazz world for about
the last 25 years. His albums like "The
Shape of Jazz to Come" and "Some-
thing Else" have been some ofthe most
Ocontroversial recordings in all of jazz.
Hailed by some as the heir to Bird's
messianic throne, damned by others as a
crank and the spoiled enfant terrible of
jazz intellectuals, Coleman's music has
always been powerful and driven. Driven
by what is another, less subjective matter.
Like it or not, he is a musician that is
almost impossible to ignore. Until now.
The poor musicianship on "Tone Dial-
ing" is matched only by its lack of depth
and feeling. Less intellectually, it sounds
like a techno record. Nearly all of the
tracks are over-produced, slick electronic
convulsions with a sax part stuck in: A
primeexamplebeingthefirsttrack,"Street
Blues," which is neither street nor blues.
"Search for Life" approaches listen-
able status, if you ignore the garbage
played behind it and concentrate on the
spoken word parts, a pseudo-hippie,
post Rodney King diatribe on the vir-
*tues of peace and brotherhood.
"When Will I See You Again" has
much promise. It opens with a beauti-
ful, minute-long bass intro that is then
ruined by the band's hamhanded at-
tempt to marry free jazz and combo
swing. Another bright spot on this lump
ofcoal is"Kathelin Gray," a very pretty
tune, but very new age, Windam Hill
sounding; It sure as hell ain't jazz.
Every other tune on the album is
*entirely forgettable. Produced in Eu-
rope, Coleman seems to be trying to
compress together his beloved, bound-
less, chordless, lunatic free jazz with
loose European technopop. It goes over
like a turd in a punch bowl. The music
consists mostly of aimless, hardly am-
bulatory melody lines that don't fit with
each other or anything else.
I'm sorry, Ornette. It sucks.
- James P. Miller
AMC Nas-D
Nas-D Style
Pandisc Records
Remember back in the day when bass-
booty music was so popular it seemed
that almost every other rapper was some
nobody with a name like MC Bass
Bomber, Count Freak 'Em Bass or DJ
Freestyle Bass Mixer Man? He'd be
draped in fake gold chains and accompa-
niedbyexactly threebig-breastedwomen,
one black, one whi te and one Asian (Equal
Opportunity employers, I guess). Every
song mentioned something about "bend
over, grab your ankles, let me see you
shake sumpin" and each cut had about
two dozen remixes.
Well those days seem to be, for the
most part, over. However, in southern
states like Georgia, Tennessee, etc., such
high-powered dance rap remains in high
Oemand. And from that area comes a
cache of DJ Somebodys MC
Whatchamacallits producing this mind-
less, crazed music - sort of the black-
music equivalent of heavy metal. This
is exactly the case with MC Nas-D and
"Nas-D Style." Seen on the cover wear-
ing lots of gold and an Atlanta Braves
jersey, MC Nas D fits the stereotypical
bill for a booty kingpen wannabe per-
"Nas-D Style" is no less stereotypi-
cal. It features the fast-paced, heart at-
Stack-inspiring music like "Get on the
Floor," "Shake It Nas-D Style" and
"Give It Up" that makes grandparents
wonder whatever happened to "real"
music. Another irony about various
U.+ r. fli ' W~ A C~r fT 1P 1C t.

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