RECORD REVIEWS MUSIC
I Al Stewart: Furious last Words (Permanent) Glasgow-bom. Boumemouth-bred Stewart is a good bloke. The vocal prototype for Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant (compare his ‘Running Man' with PSB’s ‘Rent’). Stewart’s epic. semi-camp, semi- acoustic style has earned him a rather smaller place in folk-rock history than might be expected. Famous Last Words is dedicated to the memory of his friend and keyboard player Peter Wood. and as fine a tribute as anyone could hope to earn. lt's classic Al Stewart: driving guitar work. rolling phrases. significant. spiritual. storytelling eve- of-apocalypse lyrics. Stewart gets his Caledonian credentials in with a mention of Scottish heather in the first song. and everything that follows is as good as. if not better than. anything he‘s come up with to date. A combination of prophetic epitaph and voyage of discovery combining ghostly preoccupations. zoological whimsy and shiny production for a satisfying listen. (Ellie Buchanan)
I Robert Hunter: Sentinel (Hykodisc) Known to a generation of acid-eaters as The Grateful Dead‘s lyricist. Hunter’s first spoken-word release tumbles rhythmically across the earlobes as the patter of his husky sibilants washes out
innocuous ideas in patterns which are more prose than poetry. You can practically hear that Garcia guitar solo limbering up behind the shorter. cliche-laden. pieces like ‘Gingerbread Man‘. That there are 23 pieces here will probably appeal to the psychic warriors of the acieed- generation. lf so. they are likely to take to the longer. dream-drenched and mystical works such as ‘Sentinal’ itself and the thought-provoking ‘Jaaz
' £3’. A strange. yet
compelling release. (Thom Dibdin)
I Various: Sacred Sources 1 — live Forever (Cuts And Crace/Polydor) An avid collector of tapes of anything that he thinks has heart and soul. Carlos Santana compiled this collection of unissued live performances by Jimi Hendrix. Marvin Gaye. Bob Marley. Stevie Ray Vaughan and John Coltrane with permission from their respective
estates. The connection is that all the tracks were recorded on the artists' last tours — their last not necessarily being their best. The calibre of the artists. of course. means that even the bootleg- quality tracks are of interest. You can take that much for granted. but epiphanies are in short supply here. Until. that is. you get to Stevie Ray Vaughan’s sole contribution.
Never having been properly acquainted with SRV beyond his guitar solos on Bowie's Let '5' Dance. 1 was unprepared for the white bluesman‘s stately nine-minute epic 'Riviera Paradise‘. A gorgeous. ballady instrumental. it shows a man at the height of his powers. and suggests that the ‘new Hendrix‘ tag might have been closer to the mark than most of us realised at the time. This album is essential just for this one track. Don‘t be put off by the tacky sleeve. (Alastair Mabbott) " 0 .‘.
W
I Beethoven: Cello Sonatas, 0p 69 & 102 (08) An earlier disc with the first two sonatas performed by the pairing of pianist Martha Argerich (a very welcome visitor to the next Edinburgh Festival) and cellist Mischa Maisky is now followed by Beethoven’s remaining three forays into the form. the shapely Op 69 and the two late masterpieces of Op 102. Nos 1 and 2. Argen'ch is typically and exhilaratingly bold in her readings. but Maisky is again a good foil. If the music is occasionally overdriven. it is more than compensated for by both their prowess and their commitment to it.
I Bruckner: Symphony Ho 4, ‘The Romantic’ (TBIUBC) I find Daniel Barenboim an infuriatineg inconsistent conductor. and often a rather self-regarding one. He indulges the latter vice here. but there is much to like in this latest
; contribution to his ; Bruckner cycle. It lacks
both the gravitas and the luminescence of versions
1 by the likes of Karl Bohm
or Karajan. and takes
occasional liberties with
the score (he uses the
l878/80 version), but he 2 has a firm grip on the
unfolding structure of the work. and the Berlin
Philharmonic play beautifully for him. It is not. however. for those who like their Bruckner played in textbook style. I Arvo Part: Berliner Messe (Koch); Alan Hovhaness: Mount St Helens Symphony (DelosVSymphonies Ho 46 & 39 (Koch) Cult material here. which is not to demean the achievements of either composer. Part's lustrous Berliner Messe (also recently released with the Te Deum on ECM) is performed by a fine Oregon choir. and accompanied by Lou Harrison's Mass To St Anthony. The two Hovhaness discs offer four symphonies. including the dramatic Mount St Helens from the
Seattle Symphony on the Delos disc. and To The Green Mountains with Korean forces on the Koch. All are lucid. accessible. and worth
Q hearing.
I How london Consort
Elizabethan and
Jacobean Consort Music/Musica Da Camera: Albinoni & Pachelbel (linn) Two early music collections from Linn. The estimable New London Consort and soloists Catherine Bott and Michael George offer sprightly. cleanly-phrased performances of music of the late 16th and early 17th century. which should please anyone interested in that period. Musica da Camera. under the direction of the excellent Robert King. move forward to the late- l7th—early- l 8th century. and into more familiar territory. with Albinoni‘s Adagio and Pachelbel’s Canon set alongside works by Bach. Corelli. Vivaldi and Handel. Again. impeccably played and very enjoyable. (Kenny Mathieson)
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The List [4—27 January I994 35