ART S The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, December 10, 2002 - 9 BREAKING RECORDS REVIEWS OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY'S NEW RELEASES BABY A.K.A. THE #1 STUNNA BIRDMAN CASH MONEY/UNIVERSAL By Joel M. Hoard Daily Arts Writer Bryan "Baby" Williams, a.k.a. the #1 Stunna, made a name for himself by building New Orleans-based Cash Money Records from an upstart label into a small empire alongside his brother Ronald "Godfather" Williams. With a roster including Juvenile, Lil' Wayne and Baby's own Big Tymers, Cash Money helped to establish and define the dirty south sound. After a decade as a CEO and part-time rapper, Baby finally steps up to the mic for Birdman, his first solo record. Featuring a small army of producers including Cash Money regular Mannie Fresh, Jermaine Dupri, Timbaland, Swizz Beatz and the Neptunes, Birdman's beats are the highlight of the album, covering everything from laid back R&B to pounding drum-n-bass. Baby's list of guest artists is equally impressive, with Toni Braxton, Lil' Wayne, Cam'ron, 8ball, the Clipse and fellow CEO P. Diddy all lending a hand. Despite the plethora of guests, Baby still runs the show with his slick southern delivery. He shines on the Nep- tunes-produced "What Happened to that Boy" and his first single "Do That ..." featuring P. Diddy. PRE-TEEN SUPREME A 'SLICKER' DAVID IS JUST WELL BELOW 'AVERAGE' If there's any problem with Birdman, it's the subject mat- ter. Considering Baby drives a Bentley and has a set of plat- inum teeth that cost him a -cool $150,000, it's a bit difficult to take him seriously when he rhymes about livin' a thug's life in the ghetto. But nevertheless, Birdman is a strong solo debut for Baby. RATING: * ** C CRAIG DAVID SLICKER THAN YOUR AVERAGE ATLANTIC RECORDS By Niamh Slevin Daily Arts Writer Flashback to junior high school dances: gaudy Christmas lights hanging around a gym, principals hovering over eager young students, and raunchy, mind-numbing music blares in the background. This is quite possibly the only place Craig David's new album, Slicker Than Your Average, belongs. With its per- petually repeating beats and mun- dane rhythms, only such a pre-adolescent fan base could appre- ciate David's second effort. How can I make such crude state- ments against this up-and-coming British R&B star? Admittedly, it's difficult to comprehend the album's banality when the "hit single" boasts such clever lyrics as "I met this fly girl in a club / went by the name of Pecan Deluxe / This ice cream was high maintenance / When I took her out nearly cost me 20 bucks." However, upon even deeper inspection, it becomes more painful- ly obvious how trite and utterly ridiculous these songs can be. The titles themselves are an experiment in idiocy, such as "You Don't Miss Your Water 'Til the Well Runs Dry," "Eenie Meenie," and my personal favorite, "What's Your Flava?" In the wake of Eminem's come- back record, David hasn't failed to exploit his own "nobody appreci- ates me" lament. The first and title track plays into his previous run- down style with yet another recy- cled rhythm from his equally terrible follow-up tracks. Though the whiny loss of love routine is overdone throughout the album, the worst feature of Slicker is, without a doubt, the half-hearted attempt at self-pity running ram- pant here. "So why do imitators wanna bite my style? Eh? You neverhad a prolm a al whe wasrhavinghwomangouble.eSobm- SALIVA BACK INTO YOUR SYSTEM IsLAND By Alex Wolsky Daily Arts Writer Picking up a copy of Saliva's sophomore release, Back into Your System, you shouldn't expect any- thing spectacular. It seemed unfair to expect poetry from nu-metal, but this is devoid of all musical value. Although the musicianship was mediocre overall, it looked phenomenal next to the lyrical and vocal performance by lead singer Josey Scott. In fact, the album would've been much better if he were absent from the recording com- pletely. His attempt to become introspective on System provided the album with nothing but cliche love songs and rhymes that you'd be embarrassed to tell your own mother. And that's not because of profanity. However, upon deeper inspection the overarching prob- lem with the album is that in a time when rock music is in a defi- nite valley, Saliva just gives us more of the same with a new, hard to open package. They get trapped in a generation of bands that aren't rock enough to hang with the Hives; yet, they aren't heavy enough to match up with bands like Pan- tera. The band ulti- matelyvdoom themselves to used racks and reunion tours because it brought nothing new to the table of rock music. It seems at times that it's afraid of innovating with- in their genre and instead suc- cumb to imitating other artists for the sake of becoming mainstream. Trust me; there's nothing on their album that hasn't been done already by someone much better. The only highlight of the album is a song called "Rest in Pieces." Unfortunately, the only reason it stands out is because it was penned by a guest writer. Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue uses sim- ple and effec- tive writing for "Rest in Pieces," and Saliva responds with its most inspired per- formance on the album. Yet, this is hardly enough to save it from the pits of nu-metal hell. Let's make it as clear as possible to Josey Scott and friends: when a ghost writer comes up with the best song on your album, and it's Nikki Sixx and 2002, well that's a pretty good sign that your album is going to be sucking really hard. RATING: *. body fill me in. Didn't I serve my time?" This rather random combi- nation of his prior harsh critiques and his "woman troubles" only adds to his shallow appearance and terrible sound. While Slicker Than Your Average is good for a cheap laugh among schoolgirls, it certainly lacks any other redeeming quality. David would be lucky to grace the play list of the next pre-teen bash. RATING: * I OURS PRECIOUS DREAMWORKS By Graham Kelly Daily Arts Writer If you're wondering what it sounds like to be on a major label and not sell out, go get the new Ours album, Precious. It's the sound of five guys who still have their musical integri- ty intact, because no one could sell out and make music like this. Maybe we should thank Dreamworks, but more likely credit goes to Jimmy Gnecco, the mastermind behind Ours. It may take a few listens, maybe more, to get into< Precious. Yeah it's a little bit different, somehow not quite like the stuff you're hearing on the radio. That's the first tip off this is going to be worthwhile. Gnecco can't help but be compared to Jeff Buckley, a likening.that has been made since the release of the 2001 debut album Dis- torted Lullabies. So why not pick up a Buckley album and enjoy his soft croon? Because Gnecco and the boys have more attitude and play darker music. Buckley was not a happy-go-lucky chap, but Gnecco sounds like he never wears anything but black. And face it, it's really fun to sing as high as you can, "Alright, alright / my feet keep on taking me back, back, back to those places" on "Places." It's hard to say if this 12-track album is good. Gnec- co wails out lyrics in his highest falsetto (read: glass- shattering) and the band plays dark, gloomy music about, well, stuff. It's hard to say what Gnecco is singing about, and this despite lyrics being included in .the liner notes. The most straight-forward track is probably "In A Minute," but that was written by gui- tarist Dave Milone. And oh yeah, there's a cover of the Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale," darker and fuller sounding than the original, but otherwise Ours didn't alter much. Many songs are slow, with a driving drum beat and Gnecco crooning, screech- *ra'ing, singing, muttering. The music borders on goth, alternative rock and something that would scare your little sister. Vague? So is the sound of Ours. It's not happy, so don't expect to get any sort of pick-me-up feeling from these twelve tracks. The music is intense, some- times slow, rarely hard. Did I mention that the songs are catchy? But probably not right away. At first you might be extremely turned off by Gnecco's voice and the music which, at times, is almost boring, but only until the patterns and intri- cacies become evident. Suddenly you're bopping your head and singing along. Ours has a lot of passion, and it doesn't feel like it's been strained through the colander known as the record industry. If nothing else, grant them respect for that, and enjoy this rock album. RATING: * CC** RICHIE HAWTIN & SVEN VATH THE SOUND OF THE THIRD SEASON MUTE By Jeremy Kressmann Daily Arts Writer If you put two dance music wizards in a room and lock the door, what comes out? One of the wizards, known as Richie Hawtin, has long been acknowledged as one of dance music's most for- ward thinking artists, breaking boundaries with his final scratch production technique. x The other wizard, Sven. Vith, is the techno equivalent of Pink Floyd, having attempted a variety of techno "concept" albums. This past summer, the two collaborated on a mix album based on their residency at Ibiza's legendary Amnesia club. The disc plays like a storybook, including audio samples of the DJ's arrival at the airport in Spain, Hawtin and Vith at dinner with friends, some friendly ear- shattering techno, and finally a few chill out tracks to wind down the next day at the beach. Characterizing the typical sound of either Hawtin or Vaith is an amusing endeavor. The two tend to dabble in what might be described as "avant- garde" techno. For Hawtin, that often involves minimal, percussive, and dark tracks. Vith on the other hand, is all SHORT TAKEs over the place, dabbling in not only electro and ambient techno, but also some trance. What is really a shame about this particular mix is it utilizes very few of the elements that have made Hawtin so famous and well loved. His stark tracks are often charac- terized by nothing but the most basic rhythmical elements. On The Sound of the Third Season, many of the selected cuts sound more heavily produced and CENTAUR: IN StREAM; lean towards the electro MARTIANs Go HOME phenomenon that has been s'eeping electron- ica for the past year or Chmpai, flL:s Hum.swth.ir two. The head nod to Siamese Dreams briefly matera- Ghostly's Disco Nou- ize in 1995 with the spae-pop veau compilation with nUgget "Sars," but Legowelt's "Disco eventualy gv way to major lbe Rout" is certainly a nice apathy. Tw< years later, singer/ui-, addition for the Ann tarst Matt Taibot has launched a Arbor label's fans. new project Centaut takes the bis- While The Sound of tering, astral riffs of Hum and the Third Season might prove an amus- mixes them with psychedelic ing novelty for Richie Hawtin aficiona- flourishes of acostic guitar.and dos, druggy Ibiza globetrotters and harmonized vo"a"s. Even when the hard-core technoids, it has little replay keyboards seem fored, Talbn is value for anyone else. Check out Vith's able to ride a deep tenor and waves Sound of the Second Season for a far of distortion. He's on a trainto superior mix. Mars. ** * RATING: *** 4nrewM Gwe. THE ORIGINAL tinexie snce1999) $1.00 off our regular prices with this coupon Beck~ ryt.sea c ~aflge x< 1Z99 - 332 S. State - Inside and Downstairs at The Bivouac The Most Important Exam You'll Ever Take At U of M . ? Y { : HEADACHE RESEARCH The Michigan Head*Pain & Neurological Institute is conducting a research study evaluating investigational medication as a potential treatment for migraine. Participants must be 16 to 65 years old and experience 3 to 9 headaches per month. Study-related medical care and compensation for time and travel are provided. :: Qjob Et1ir, afl y dva2,man ~ 2 0fer re lei Quicken Loans and Rock Financial are"AII of the above."As the leading online provider of home loans, we're revolutionizing the mortgage industry with quick and easy home financing. We work hard. We play hard. And, we're looking for energetic, creative people to fill sales, operations, technology and marketing positions.With our advanced technology, mind-blowing benefits and perks, unlimited earning potential, empowering company philosophy, intensive and ongoing training, fast-paced, professional and exciting work environment, there's really no better place to work. ..............__ .............. .............. ............. ............. ..............