RECORD REVIEWS MUSIE
Diamanda Galas: possibly relates to Gruella lie Ville
ALBUMS
I Iliamanda Galas: Schreix live/Selim 21 (Mute) Classically trained manipulator of vocal extremities. kindred spirit of Nick Cave and collaborator of Barry Adamson. Diamanda Galas' new work tnelds texts by Job and Thomas Aquinas to unleash the roost confrontational! y raw and naked of noises. Literally a cry for help. this album sounds like a
I Backwater: Angels Are Cool (Food) Four scrappy irish tinkers enter the studio and intuitively lay down twelve dog-cared tracks. one of which revels in the very excellent title ‘You Gave Me Life And I Messed It Up.‘ Similarly someone gave them indie pop and
I they messed it up.
knowing you can both have ftm and end up with
a more interesting end
result ifyou treat songs
E like jigsaw puzzles. While I there's some linear garage ; moments here.
possessed diva swivelling ; , the wmnmg entries have
on the end of a red-hot poker whilst reciting selected excerpts from The Iirort'isl. The pressure never really lets up. and the overall effect is of all your Halloweens come at once. Whether trick or treat though is in the bloodied ear of the beholder. (Neil Cooper)
reminiscent of H‘tisker Do.
the lop-sided volatility of
The Fall. Yet another
favourable sign of barking I
guitar activity from across the water. (Fiona
-I Shepherd)
i
I ‘I’he Confusions: Everyone’s Invited (Glearspot) Top tunes. crystal-clear sparkling
sounds and a sense of déja-vu. The Confusion’s are produced by Peter Svensson of The Cardigans. and it shows. It’s not that their music is identical — there are some delicate. melancholic pauses for thought in the tried and trusted bounce- pop scheme. but the very texture of their sound is so shallow and saccharine that your teeth start to hurt if you listen for too long. The Confusions know their way around a good song. and I can imagine on a lazy sunny day with the world‘s ills put to right their candy pop would be the perfect soundtrack. As it is. this album mainly sounds sweet. but ephemeral. (Phil Miller)
I ileneh Cherry: Man (llut Recordings) Alternating children and albums for the past decade. Neneh Cherry is the hippest earth mother in town. Family and gender have always been at the top of her agenda. and never more so than with an album dedicated to her late stepfather. the jazz trumpeter Don Cherry. and featuring a single called Woman. Much of the sound revisits the laid-back dance crossover of her earlier hit Mane/tild which was a forerunner oftrip-hop. As singer with 80s Bristol funk guerrillas Rip. Rig and Panic this makes sense. and though Man is nowhere near the cutting edge it's still a chilled and enticing brew of grooves and songs. (Eddie Gibb)
COUNTRY
I George Jones: I lived To Tell It All (MBA) The old master is still the boss cat. Nobody does the crying-in-my-beer honky- tonk classics quite like George. and when he sings them. you know he‘s been there. all the way down. The voice is still in great nick. and this album is made with a care and attention which was not always evident in his darker. hard-drinking days. He has a nice line in tongue-in-cheek send-ups too. both of himself. and. in ‘Billy 8 Bad’. of the modern generation of manufactured country singers.
I Suzy Bogguss: Give Me Some Wheels (Capitol) it's been three years since her last album. but Suzy Bogguss has bounced back with a fine slice of sassy. tightly-produced modern country. The driving title song sets up the vibrant mood of the album. but that upbeat feel is balanced by a couple of poignant ballads. as well as her own ‘She Said. He Heard‘. a classic country tale of emotional
misunderstandings. lfit’s classic country style you are after. though. check
i out fourteen-year old
LeAnn Rimes's distinctly Cline-inspired approach on her debut albutn. Blue
(Curb/Hit).
I Vince Gill: High lonesome Sound (MGA) After his recent ballad- dominated releases. the raunchy. down-home blues feel of the opening cut is a surprise. It proves to be a declaration of intent for an album which sets out to get closer to the more open feel of his live sets. and remind us that he is a killer guitar player. His grittiest album for sotne time. it features his sweet. high tenor in a variety of settings. including two versions of the title track. a bluegrass one with Alison Krauss and Union Station. and an electric band one.
I Jerry Douglas and Peter llowan: Yonder (Sugar Hill) Two masters get together for a session rooted in the early rural music traditions that gave birth to country and bluegrass. Rowan's laconic but emotive vocals are a perfect complement for Douglas’s
i
immaculate dobro. in a set which oozes class. both on traditional material. and Rowan‘s own tunes. it’s been a good summer for this roots label, and you could do worse than
invest in Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen‘s Bakersfield Bound. Tim O'Brien’s string band Dylan collection Red 0n Blonde. or Robert Earl Keen's No 2 Live Dinner. I Wanted! The Outlaws (RCA); Gowpunits (Vinyl Junkie) The Outlaws compilation was the first million selling country album in 1976. and drew in a lot of rock fans to a previously despised genre. it sounds a little creaky in places now. and the filler tracks padding out the anniversary CD issue are no great shakes. but Willie and Waylon are in good form on the one new cut. Steve Earle‘s ‘Nowhere Road'. C owpunks. Vinyl Junkie's successor to their brilliant Country compilation. is a tasty selection from the outer reaches of country (and beyond). taking in Townes Van Zandt through to Lambchop and Sparklehorse. (Kenny M athieson)
Genaclde ll’s New Life 4 The Hunted (lntemal Records) is quite a remarkable record that slips into ‘dance’ music territory by virtue of touching base in hip hop. trip hop. reggae. dub. house and jungle. it’s also got some dark. heavy shit from London producers Koa Bonez and Chilli Phats. Soul II Soul singer Rose Windross guests on the laidback and funky ‘Distant Voices’ before reappean'ng on the more uptempo acid-house breakbeat track ‘Biacker Shade’. She also pops up on an almost unrtcognisable slo-mo electro-jungle version of the Chilli Peppers’ ‘Under The Bridge’. Other highlights include the straight-up hip hop track ‘Basic Killer lnstinct'. recorded at the Wu Tang Clan studios in New York featuring rapper Cappadona and ‘Just As Rough’. a mellower piece featuring rap from West lndian Eek-A-Mouse. The recent single. ‘Waistline Firecracker‘ is perhaps the most powerful cut on this remarkable album which successfully fuses British. American and Jamaican influences in a variety of musical styles.
0.! Shadow's
Entroducing (Mo Wax) is typical cutting edge stuff from an artist (and a label) way ahead of his peers. As you’d expect from Shadow. it’s crammed full 0f mad scratching. samples and general turntable wizardry. Don‘t be put off by previous downbeat. trip hoppy Mo Wax releases. this record is very much hip hop. The American’s debut long player harks back to a time when hip hop was all about what a DJ could do with two decks. a mixer and a boxful of someone else's records. Key cuts are the current single ‘Midnight in A Perfect World‘ and the dope ‘Changeling’. Where he occasionally dips into slightly self-indulgent territory and slows down to a vinyl crawl. he manages to pull out a number of heavy cuts including ‘The Number Song’ which makes The Chemical Brothers look like novices. Buy it.
Tickets: £18.50 Credit Cards Tel: 0131 557 6868 (£1 per ticket booking fee) Available from Just The
Ticket. Virgin. Ripping and all usual TOCTA outlets
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lamb dry thelr washing
Spring lleel Jack's Versions (Island) is a dub- dazed remix package of their album 68 Million Sluules. Not surprisingly. it‘s a million miles away from the dancefloors of drum ‘n' bass clubs but that‘s the point. What we get is breakbeats slowed down to a flutter. crazy
samples and dreamy
chords that reveal a new and intriguing dimension to the Jackster‘s music. Sophisticated background vibes. nice in a flotation tank i'd imagine.
lamb’s cannily-titled
Lamb (Fontana) is an excellent example of the current trend for dreamy vocal drum ’n’ bass. Taking off where Portishead started off. Lamb (like Nicolette. Olive. Morcheeba. etc) are exploring new strands of the trip hoppy. ethereal. soulful jungle genre. None of the tracks stand out as instantly memorable but as a collection it works well. (Jim Byers)
, " ."*'-THE"‘EXGESS., ‘ MODERATIDN rouge.
PLUS SDEClAf. cussrs
GLASGOW BAnnowLAIuD ‘ SUNDAY 17TH NOVEMBER
[subject to 70p per ticket booking fee).
SGUEEZE ‘EXCESS MODERATION’ RELEASED 4TH NOVEMBER
and
arm
Saturday 2nd November City Halls Glasgow 0141 227 5511
Sunday 3rd November Queen's Hall Edinburgh 0131 668 2019
is m‘usica al am ra
A unique and laminating exploration into the Moorish, Indian gvpsv, fly/antine and Sepharrlir iniluenres on the development of ilatnenro. An ext‘iting ensemble romprising ilanienro guitar. onri (Aral) lute), tabla, (intalmka, (laiinet and soprano saxophone.
8.00pm
8.00pm
. .0 multicultt
The List 4- l7 Oct l996 41