RECORD REVIEWS MUSIC
I Graham Fitltin: Hook, Mesh, Stub, Cud (Argo) Like that of Steve Martland. the music of this assertive young composer defies easy categorisation. It has the control and structure of classical composition at its core. but mixed in with the energy and rhythmic vitality of rock and jazz. and sometimes the harmonic language ofjazz as well. These four very distinct pieces (played by four equally different ensembles) are an excellent starting place to investigate this strong. colourful. readily accessible music. (Kenny Mathieson)
I John lurie National Orchestra: Men With Sticks (Made to Measure) Lurie floats soprano and alto sax over the percussion and drutns of Billy Martin and Calvin Weston. both of wltotn joined Lurie's Lounge Lizards for their Berlin concert in l‘)‘)l. This continues Lurie's gentle decline into the realms of the melodic. if not downright tuneful. with snatches of melody lilting out across the rhythmic landscape sculpted by Martin and Weston. ‘IfI Sleep The Plane Will liall‘ announces the first track. all half-an-hour of it. Despite the underlying hypnosis and trance of the rhythm. Lurie's spastic sax ensures the plane will stay soaring overhead. (Thom Dibdin)
I Sundial: Libertine (Beggars Banquet) Now here is an experiment that could have gone badly wrong. but hasn't. Putting grungey guitars and keyboard technology
man!
I Ronald Stevenson: Piano Concertos (Olympia) It is good to have this recording of Stevenson's two idiosyncratic. highly individual piano concertos. Although English-born. the composer has become an important part of Scottish musical life. and his work is consistently challenging. A virtuoso pianist himself. these powerful works reveal the obsessive influence of Busoni and. to a lesser extent. Shostakovitch. They are given a distinguished performance by soloist Murray McLachlan. and an acceptable one by Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra. (Kenny Mathieson)
I Shostaltovitch: Michaelangelo Suite (Decca); Symphony No 11 (Teldec) This suite of eleven orchestral songs based on poems by Michaelangelo is one of
; together is not exactly a
3 new idea. but here is an
intriguing result. Great
rhythm tracks and
ambient sounds support a
band that've been
overdosing heavily on
j Loop. It‘s impossible to deny. though. that they
i also seem to have
g managed to sneak Chapterhouse into the
studio. . . ! Very much a studio album. without
‘ enough outside stimulus.
' but adventurous nonetheless. A stoned. psychedelic vibe with rock wank and very funky rhythms. Sundial are huge in Italy — do they know something we don't'.’ (Ania Glowacz) I Circus lupus: Solid
' Brass (Dischord) The first time I heard Cosmic Psychos I felt like this — funk punk metal musical bed with belligerent vocals over the top. They call it slack-core. though slack it ain't. There's a real sense of urgency about it all. without being uptight. This album. only their second. flows in the tradition of Black Flag and Green Magnet School — intricate musical foundations that at first appear out of kiltcr with the angry lyrics and general hardcore ethos — yet it's what twists the sentiments into a feeling and a coherent whole. Punk rock roots with none of the dull nostalgic aftertaste. (Ania Glowacz) I lungtish: Rainbows From Atoms (Dischord) It's the quiet ones you've got to watch out for! Slipping in when we weren't looking. Lungfish are only two albums old. but it doesn't show. There‘s a quiet and confident maturity here. and that feeling of you-
the composer‘s greatest and most moving works. and it is sung with great poise and feeling by the veteran baritone Dietrich
Fischer-Dieskau, Vladimir
Ashkenazy conducts. and
accompanies the singer on
piano in the l’uur li'rscs 0] Captain Lelivai/kin. The Symphony No II is the latest in
Rostropovitch's cycle. and
is characteristically deliberate in pace. but well-shaped and deeply felt. despite some weaknesses in the National Symphony Orchestra. (Kenny Mathieson) I Birtwistle: Cawain's Journey (Collins)/ Harhison: Simple Daylight (Elektra) Sharply contrasting Compositional voices here. but both strong in their way. Englishman Birtwistle has made a spectacularly colourful suite from his opera. and it provides its own contrast with the dark. slow-moving 'l‘hc
Trimth Of'limc on this
i excellent disc. American
swear-you‘ve-heard-it- before-somewhere. without dredging up the past in the process. No nods in the direction of fads or image-
consciousness. this it the familiar hardcore beast (if
you like) that you can’t pin down. Apparently laid back. and maybe even a little lacklustre. the danger lurks in that Lunglish are closest to being an intensely controlled. contained litigazi. Beware these storytellers! They‘ve got things to say. (Ania Glowacz)
I Various: Full On Edition 2 (Deconstruction) Perhaps you‘re a trainspotter. into the latest innovative techno from Europe's trendiest labels. Let's say. for argument's sake. you like CI Bolland's bizarre ‘Mantra' (R&S). Van Basten‘s progressive ‘l.izard King‘ (Brute) or Alici‘s 303 madness ‘Theme ()f Roarr' (Direct Drive). Then again. maybe you‘re a nationalist. snapping up anything released or remixed by Gypsy. Rejuvenation or Strawberry Bazaar. Perhaps you're really on the ball. looking for the best manic hardcore emanating from Britain's smaller labels. acts like Sonar. X-Press 2 and Edge L‘l'.’ Is it me or is dance music becoming increasingly bigoted? Sing Hallelujah. then. for Full ()2: Iii/[aim 2. which offers in bite-sized and affordable portions seventeen of the best club tunes from the last four months. Alternatively. you could just buy l-"rcs/i Dance '93 and shoot yourself through the roof of the mouth. (Philip Dorward)
Ilarbison adopts much more tonally-centred idioms. but his is no less personal a voice. Dawn Upshaw sings the central work beautifully. while Sanford Sylvan is impressive in the setting of lines from William Carlos Williams
I ’atcrsmi. (Kenny Mathieson)
I Labeque Sisters: Concertos For Two Pianos (Philips) The pairing of the Mendelssohn and Bruch violin concertos is a staple of the catalogue. but the Labeque sisters have come up with an interesting variation on the theme. with Mendelssohn's early. sparkling. but little-played Concerto in Ii. and Bruch‘s late ()p 88a. Both works were originally written for sisters to play. but I doubt ifeither recipients did so with quite the Hair and zest which these two bring to the music. in partnership with the Philharmonia under Semyon Bychkov
t (Kenny Mathieson)
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The List 30 July—l2 August I993 29