10 -The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, June 1, 1999 FIREBALLS Continued from Page 9 the music that the combined energy %%as apt tc -st out of the intimate confines of the ' Woodwrd Aenue club. The soulful intensity that was the band's trademark in their Parka Kings days was fe t by a crowd who couldn't keep fro moving. From a slow blues ballad to a cover of the Ray Charles dance anthem. "Shake a Tail Feathe'r the Porters ripped through every song %sith It seemed unlikely that the Fireballs would-e able to reach the high enemCy level set by the Porters. but sith the help of hvperkinetic fronirnan John Bunkle. they lived up to their name. In a purple zoot suit, Bunkley danced up and dossn the stage like a whirlsvid and struck the audience with his deep grav e- ly soice. He was backed by an unrelent- ing rhythm section that kept the audi- ence giddy and a whimsical hom sec- tion that blared crowd-pleasing solos. With their wild stage show and gen- uinelv classic sound, the Fireballs can pull offmaking an impact in the waning swvinn revival. A 'Family Affair' at Ark By John Uhl Daily Arts Writer In 1970, by combining improsisa- tional elements of jazz with some of rock's electric grit and funk's rhsthm Miles Dasis's 'Bitches Brew' com- menced the development of a style of music called fusion that * sounded quite unlike any of its Christian ancestors. McBride Davis prodi- Tne a k gies such as aune 3rd-at e-s Wayne Shorter M c L a u g h Ii n went on to form groups like Weather Report and The Orchestra that provided fusion several years of musical innovation. Unfortunately pop's influence on the COUNSELORS WANTED Share a rewarding experience working with and mentoring high school students this summer in a dynamic fast-paced environment. We direct popular M. residential pre-college programs at 6 universities: U of Michigan Georgetown U U ofVernt Particpation in activities such as, whitewater rafting, camping, amusement parks, baseball games, ett Must be 21 by June 20th & hold a valid driver's license. Info @ 800-645-6611, staff@summerfun.com or www.summerfun. corn music soon began to eliminate the artistic discoveries. Formerly a raw clash betsveen contrary sty les, fusion became the undesirable spawn of easy listening music. Bassist Christian McBride's most recent recording, "A Family Affair,' is part of a growing trend in which jazz musicians draw upon various popular musics of the last few decades. Consider Davis's original fusion as simply a reaction to the perplexing new devlopments in popular music during the '60s. Since the dull admixtures of jazz and pop that have defined much fusion after Davis ignored interest- ing musical evolutions in favor of shallow mass appeal, the search for inspiration among this overlooked material makes sense. Thus, perhaps it is more appropriate to classify "A Family Affair" as a modern, and salid, variation of the original fusion experiments. Unlike many recent efforts, McBride doesn't simply convert pop into jazz (some haven't learned that certain tunes were just not meant to swing). Although McBride success- ftll emcnplos tas process throgh inging renditions of Sas e Wonder's "Summer Sof" and Sly Stone's "Family Affair," he also goes electric for several undiluted funk tracks. Guest appearances by R&B socal- ists Vesta and Will Downing and a version of Kool & the Gang's "Open Sesame" that mixes traditional jazz improvisation, some funk and the understated expansiseness of Weather Report's conception prove that McBride isn't simply a scholar- ly observer of the musical heritage he modifies. With so many bags from which to choose, who knows which ones McBride and his band will bring to The Ark. Free "Instinct" movie posters are available, first come, first served. Come by the Daily Tuesday afternoon. 420 Maynard St. itan~ei 1&evtAiqicee Aat'ei Wfhatj 1 Smo hcaw e made eJ. i 81.00 off Meal Size 1Smoothie or Fruit Shake1 i s.50off Snack Size I Smoothie or.1 I Fruit Shake-i Expires8/t3/99 1 522 E. Williams I Spacetime Continuum Double Fine Zone Astralwerks **I A small handful of ambitious artists over the past 15 years have attempted to create jazz with com- puters. Johan Sharp of Spacetime Continuum uses drums, synths. rhodes and a sampler to create his latest album of technologically pro- duced jazz sounds. Unlike the drum 'n' bass jazz of Roni Size ("New Forms") or the techno jazz of Underground Resistance (Hi-Tech Jazz"), Johan Sharp slows down the pace consider- ably, focusing on sonic textures and intimate moods for the I1 songs on "Double Fine Zone." Depending on how much the lis- tener cares for the sedate, shifting sounds of jazz, the album will either interest or bore. The resulting album soothes, calms and relaxes the mind of the lis- tener with its steady pace of mellow rhythms and beats. Sharp carefully arranges a variety of real drum beats for every son- makin it sound like an authentic jazz drummer while also making it sound nauch funkier and far too conplex for any human to play manually. In addition to the drums. Sharp utilizes many different synth sounds to surround the bass and drums of each song with a warm, subtle aura. Saxophonist Brian Iddenden also adds a bit of human soul to the tech- nology on a few songs. As a whole, the album sounds cre- ative and consistent but fails to int oke the sublime mood of great jazz. Jason Birhmeier Moby Play v2 Moby's body of work has proven to be very inconsistent. The man who released the excellent "Everything is Wrong" was also responsible for the patchy "Animal Rights" and "I Like to Score" releas- Fortunately for us, Moby has dis- covered a new found vigor and atti- tude for his latest release, "Play," ',hich brims with enjoyable and upbeat numbers. While "Everything is Wrong" and "Animal Rights" carried with them a definite air of melancholy and angst rspectively,'Pla" is a labor of love that finds Moby in a more playful mood. Opening number "Honey" sets the tone for this release. With its Ghee atmosphere and groovy drum an bass hook, the song is immediately infectious and danceable. For the most part, rest of the albuam follows in this vein. Groove and slick atatmospheric sound effects is the order of the day this time around and Moby does a damn good job of it. Being a loby release howeer,h does dip itto melancholy on a cou of numbers. "Why Does Ms Heart F-el So Bad." 'The Skv is Broken" and "MV Weakness" are sones that sworald comaafortablv fit on his moody "ECe thing is Wrong" release. Despite the tore sorber songs, the mood of the album still remains overvhelmingly cheery and finds our dance guru. as his albam title suggest. in a state of "Play." Ad/in Ros' Texas The Hush Universal Records I*** Similar to Blur and Sugar Ray, Texas is a music group that has had a dramat- ic surge of interest after completely turning away from a stele it previously established through a catalog of forme releases. Texas's once full bodied blues rock style peddled since its formation in the '0s was traded in 1997 for a more R&B approach with the "Black on Blonde" album. "The Hush" follows in similar spirit and delivers track after track of well produced pop numbers. The music is soothing and grooves and singe Sharleen Spiteri croons sexily abouF relationship highlights and dysfunc- tions. On this release, she sounds more comfortable and commanding in the new music style the group has adopted. On "Tell Me the Answer' for instance, she sings with the grace of a '70s R&B diva. Lead single and title track, "In Our Lifetime" is another standout track from "The Hush." With its head bop- ping dance beat, an almost chines sounding lead melody and Spiteri's sul- try singing, the song is a delicious slice of what good modem pop songs can deliver. Although the rest of the album is competent in maintaining the produc- tion values and the basic feel of the out- standing numbers, these lesser songs tend to sound like they are imitating the great ones. This unfortunately makes the rest of the album a pleasant but not amazing experience. x 4- dlin.Ro~sli