10 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, November 14, 1995 RECORDS Continued from page 10 Replicants Replicants Zoo Entertainment A recent trend in modern rock music has been the cover album. Established artists like Annie Lennox, Elvis Costello and Duran Duran decide to take a break from writing original material, and pay homage to their influences. Such al- bums are also really handy if you've run out of ideas, or need to fulfill a record contract. Whatever the incen- tive, these should've-been-b-sides col- lections are generally tolerated when the artist in question has been putting out quality material for a while. So when Replicants come out with a cover album, one question comes to mind: Who the hell are Replicants? Groundbreaking artists, they're not. Groups like Bush and Better Than Ezra are content to ape Nirvana and Pearl Jam behind the pretense of somewhat- original songs; Replicants feel the need to urinate all over classic rock tunes, instead. Does anyone really need to hear a Cobain-wannabe wail on the Cars' "Just What I Needed", or a sub-Silverchair rendition of Neil Young's once-beauti- ful "Cinnamon Girl"? Did John Lennon's "How Do You Sleep?" de- serve an industrial-schlock makeover? What twisted individual thinks this stuff up? Admittedly, the song selection is de- cent; covers of Bowie's "The Bellway Brothers" and Floyd's "Ibiza Bar" are riper material than, say, "Changes" and "Comfortably Numb". But the relative obscurity of the victims doesn't lessen the crime being committed by these The artists formerly known as U2 have made a complex and challenging album in "Passengers: Soundtracks I." U 7' s; "k 9. ,z sorry vandals of quality music. "Replicants" is perhaps the least nec- essary album of all time. Be very afraid. - Dave Snyder U2 Passengers: Original Soundtracks I Island Records Different is good. But then, you might expect thafrom a band that last stampeded the r&k and roll tour circuit with their immense, hi- tech set nearly three years ago. V2's avant-garde "Passengers: Original Soundtracks I," is certainly not typical, if they ever were. "People who are expecting aU2 al- bum are going to be disappointed,"lead singer Bono said in an NME inter'iew Oct. 21. "Some people won't be into it, that's for sure ... I think it's really im- portant to keep things interesting for yourself." The surreal album,recorded with their longtime producer and fellow iusian Brian Eno, consists largely of sound effect-laced instrumentals. Layefs of tones blend to form something only appreciable by listening closely..Whet makes the album even more interesting is that every cut on it is on loan to a different movie, creating an interna- tional indie-film pageant of sorts. "Miss Sarajevo," a classic, throaty Bono ballad and duet with famous op- era man Luciano Pavarotti, will be the. first single Nov.20. The pair performed it Sept. 12 in the Italian's TV special for. a Bosnian children's charity. Bono's always-inquisitive lyrics are nearly whispered before Pavarotti takes over the bridge on "Miss Sarajevo."(A U.S. documentary by the same name;about a beauty contest in the war-tom land, is directed by Bill Carter.) "Slug," "Your Blue Room" and "Al- ways Forever Now" are similarly slow tracks - virtually the only songs to remind you of"Achtung Baby's"softer moments. The sole remotely upbeat rock cut showcasing all of U2's talents, yet with few lyrics, proves to be "Thene From Let's Go Native." Mainly U2 and Eno wrote, performed and produced as the Passengers, though Japanese artist Holi and Howie B and five others collaborate. Even U2bassist Adam Clayton and guitarist The Edge lend their voices forechoorbacl ground snippets on a few songs. Howie B joins a poetic tribute to Elvis Presley in Bono's rap-like "Elvis Ate America," a commentary on the social phenomena the King's fans cre- ated: "Elvis, white trash/ Elvis, the Memphis hash." Liner notes describe each piece's (14 in all) film in detail, including both actual and possibly fictional produ- tions. Obscure foreign films like "Be- yond the Clouds" - a proposed Italian project of directors Michelangelo Antonioni and U2 veteran Wim Wenders - are highlighted. It is refreshing to see a band of U2's proportions take a chance and produce something they really want, though it may not appeal to general audiences. Some people will enjoy Eno's latest underground sound experiment, some- thing to listen to while in an introspec- tive, altered state of consciousness. But if you're waiting for "a real rock and roll U2 album," they're in the stu- dio now for a spring release and pos- sible summer tour. Until then, "Oigi- nal Soundtracks I" could give a diehard fan something to hold onto. - Elan A. Stavros Leo Kottke Live Hightone Chances are, if you're a fan of folk music, you've heard of guitar virtuoso Leo Kottke. Then again, chances are, if you aren't a fan of folk music, you have no idea who Leo Kottke is. Prior to hearing "Live," you could count me as one of the latter. Now that I've heard Leo Kottke, I can understand all of the hype:' Leo Kottke is a great performer, not only as a guitarist, but as an intriguing and entertaining personality. Often, with a live album, you'll get a band playing all of their album stuff, but just worse, and with alot of amplified crowd noise. "Live", on the other hand, portrays Kottke in his own element, without overproduction, playing his own/dique brand of folk guitar. Whereas tracks like "William Powell" and "Airproofing" show off Kottke'sbril- liant left-hand technique, other tracks, like "Jack Gets Up" demonstrate Kottke's equally brilliant poetid lyri- cism. Kottke has an innate story'telling ability as well. Twice on the album ho takes time-out to give the audience a laugh, once sharing a hilarious story about his father's hand-to-hand cornhbt manual. If Kottke has one major flaw, it's-his monotony. On "Live" Kottke seems to divide hisnerformanceintothirds.nta - You are not mooch But when a hole in your pocket renders you changeless, you relu cta ntly call the folks ColleCt. You dial 1 800 CALL ATT. Your pangs of guilt zinimal. are Know the Code. 1 800 CALL ATT Thats Your kTue Choice."