To sen. MYSELF IN AN ADVERT
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I WE'VE GOT A PRODUCT and we want you to buy it department: Scottish acts with current releases demanding your attention include Del Amitri. whose debutA&M single is ‘Kiss This Thing Goodbye’: The Painted Word. who release theirthird single, ‘That's The Reason I‘m Alive’. on RCA and The Kevin McDermott Orchestra who have just released ‘Where We Were Meant To Be.‘ theirsecond single lorlsland Records. On the subject of Kevin. the videoforthe single wasfilmed in LA with Nigel Dick. who has been responsible for Guns 8. Roses‘ recent video output. In addition. the recent Transvision Vamp support act. Syndicate. release theiralbum. 'Keep‘ on14 August.
lWhich memberola major sponsoring company suggestedto a local promoterthathisgigs maybe enlivened by the presence of skydivers? Answers on a postcard with 20 used ringpullsto. ..
I Seven weeks afterits launch in Glasgow. news reaches us that the Demo Disco held regularly atThe Buck/Saints and Sinners is soonto spreadto venues in Edinburgh and Newcastle. Recent demo disco charts suggestthatmuch creditshould be given to Newcastle band Fish Turn Human. who have charted every week withoutthe help ofany oftheirfriends in the audience. A message to A&R men perhaps?
I Let grovelling commence to Kevin McDermott overa misunderstanding thatemerged inthe listings last issue. when we erroneouslyreportedthat his Calton Studios gig was sponsored by Tennents Livel. Although most Friday nightgigs atCalton Studios are indeed sponsored underthatscheme. a deal
. was made to suspend the arrangement
forthat evening to take account of
' Kevin‘s strong feelings on the subject
of sponsorship. Won't happen again. Kev.
ALBUM
I One 2 Many: Mirror (ASM). A Norwegian band. who have recently come close to success with the 45 ‘Downtown'. present a set of songs clearly aimed at the singles charts. With an ex-A-Ha arranger on board it is hard to ignore comparisons with the later. more mature, A—Ha sounds. whilethe singing throughout is ofa high standard, even ilthe overly-mechanised and often monotonous backing tracks do little to raise the completed works above mediocre standards. A better songwriterwould help. as only the singles ‘Downfown‘ and ‘Another Man' sound like hits, and a band as opposed to a lot of sophisticated recording
MUSIC LIST ROCK
machinery may be what is needed to turn the raw material on show in One 2 Many into a potent and commercially successful pop act. (JW)
I Highlanders: A Perfect Crime (Virgin). The Highlanders set their sights on the sharp black dance productions of the late Seventies and early Eighties. to which they pay tribute with precision and slickness. but the law of diminishing returns can be seen taking effect on the Glaswegian white funk and soul scene. as each release by a new aggregate of players covers already well-ploughed ground. ‘A Pertect Crime‘ contains no surprises
for anyone who has kept even half an earonlocaltalentfortheIastthree years. (Alastair Mabbott)
.11.
I ‘5.-
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I Philip Boa and the Voodoo Club: Hair (Polydor). Five producers. including Boa. were involved inthis. which perhaps reflectsthe difficulties in pinningthe group down. The acceptableface ofGerman weirdness. perhaps. in that although they often sound as though Boa would prefer an orchestra (schooled in Stravinsky) to play with. they excell in the sort of disturbed popabilly of ‘Container Love‘. Sometimes they push their wackiness in your face more than a lot of people would like. and run the risk of being attacked as self-indulgent. smug elitists. butjust as many will greet
i them with open arms because of it.
(AlastairMabbott)
I Material: Seven Souls (Virgin). New York producer and bassist Bill Laswell —the only mainstay in the Material assembly— is joined on this
compendium of ancient myth by guests
like Shankar for an intoxicating brew. predominantly Eastern in flavour. but
weaving African chants and crushing
metal riffs into a musical landscape
that knows no horizons. At times there
are triggers that set off memories of Laswell‘s production of PiL. but no one has ever tried to cram this much of the
world through a mincer and spew it out overtwosides.Attimesitsounds
overloaded. but the momentum set up by the opening ‘Ineffect' — a killer on
any big world dancefloor near you — carriesthe weight.
At the centre of it all there is William Burroughs. acting the part ofthe shaman; a grumpy. anti-authoritarian presence, who nonetheless holds it together. dropping in to dispense wisdom from his book ‘The Western Lands‘. itself rooted in ‘The Book of the Dead‘. His contribution saves the record from the fate of being no more than an album of exquisite instrumentals. ‘Can any soul survive the searing fireball of an atomic blast?‘ he asks. the Missourian drawl knitting together the terrors of the past and of the present with surgical precision. ‘lf human and animal souls are seen as electromagnetic force fields, such fields can be totally disrupted by a nuclear explosion. A mummy's nightmare.‘ Seek out this record. (Alastair Mabbott)
I Slint: Tweez (JenniferHartman). They‘re big on families. this lot. The sleeve presents a rundown of their genealogy. and all the songs are named after relations. Perhapsthey're just excited abouttheirlirst LP being produced by Big Black/Rapeman‘s Steve Albini. It certainly didn‘tdo the Pixies any harm. Like some other Albini productions it has an airol bittiness. but of spontanaiety and experimentation too. Slint, thankfully, don’t play at 200mph. but they do often get in the rut of fuzzed guitars at ponderous tempos. and the occasional resemblance to Big Black should be eradicated immediately. Still. atother timesthe guitarist picks involved. pellucid lines over a sympathetic rhythm section. making you wonder at the album this could have been and almost is. (Alastair Mabbott)
RADID CLYDE LIVE
CONCERTS SATURDAY 15
I Fairground Attraction (Clyde FM. 7pm) as recorded at their recent Mayfest gig — featuring some favourites from their album and some
SWI‘IIIIJ‘IW‘R I Steve Winwood (Clyde FM, 7pm). The man whose recent records have
had their drum sound mimicked byjust
abouteveryone!
PLAYLIST
Alastair Mabbott picks the Listen! fortnightly Hit List. 1. MATERIAL: Seven Souls (Virgin LP)
2. NUSRAT FATEH ALI KHAN:
Shaheh-Shah (Real World LP)
3. INDIAN GIVERS: Hat Check Girl (Virgin 45)
4. STEREO MC‘S: On 33 (Gee Street 45) 5. VARIOUS: SUB POP ROCK CITY (Glitterhouse LP)
6. TAD: God‘s Balls (Glitterhouse LP again)
7. VIVA SATURN: So Glad (World Service 12intrack)
8. WIRE: In Vivo (Mute 45)
9. YOUSSOU N‘DOUR:The Lion(Virgin LP again)
10. SARAH BERNHARD: Without You I‘m Nothing (Enigma LP).