MUSIC
Prince‘s Paisley Park Records with The Cinderella Theory. Prince. more than most. could identify with Clinton‘s perplexing individuality. and treated him with a fair degree of
reverence.
The show Clinton brings to the Barrowland couldn‘t possibly match the scale of the extravagant ‘Mothership‘ spectacular that played a week at Hammersmith Odeon in 1979. but it will be something special. It just doesn‘t do to underestimate the brain of a man whose head can support several hairstyles at once.
George Clinton plays the Barrowland, Glasgow on Thurs 5.
V CLASSICAL
Stories of Jonny
V. I, [w '9! a" , 9 I.” O _ .iz-f ‘..‘.l "j" I It may have been the operatic sensation oi the 1920s, but Ernst Krenek’s ‘Jonny spielt aui’ (‘Jonny Strikes up the Band’) has had to wait until now lor Its lirst pertormances In Scotland. In spite at (or maybe because at) press comment at the time that ‘lt Is vulgar, proiane, speed-mad, sexy, soulless, spooiing, brassy, hard’, it played to packed houses, and Its great popularity throughout Europe resulted In over 400 perlormances in one year alone and translation of the libretto into over twenty dilierent languages. Hoping that history will repeat itsell, as far as the packed houses go anyway, is a new opera company, Music
Theatre Scotland, who make their debut with ‘Jonny' at the Tron Theatre. Their aim is to develop an alternative operatic repertoire, with particular emphasis on giving Scottish premieres oi works like ‘Jonny’ and operas by Scottish-based composers. As Musical Director Peter Shand lnlorms me, "We want to produce the sort oI thing that the major companies wouldn’t consider, and to pertorm in some at the smaller-scale venues, like the Tron. It’s a healthy thing to have an alternative prolessional company to Scottish Opera, not as competition, but to complement what they do. And hopeiully there's a demand lor it.’ ‘Jonny’ was written at a time oi great tension in Europe. The Nazi party was on the rise and, musically, composers were trying to come to terms with the atonallty ol Schoenberg and the Second Viennese School. Krenek’s aim was to take opera to as large a contemporary audience as possible and the result Is a luslon ol classical and jazz idioms in a remarkable work centred on Jonny, a black jazz bandleader, which is, says Shand, ‘very listenable’. (Carol Main) Jonny Strikes Up the Band is at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow on 3,4,6 and 7 July.
-&:~:'~
"I. ~51“
Nightshilt Records have just released an album oi noisy, punky guitar excellence. The album in question is ‘Skinnydlpplng’, and the band responsible is The Matter Babies, an Edinburgh tour-piece iamillar on the city’s indie circuit. Formed only 18 months ago, the band have undergone various line-up changes to discover ‘the vital spark’ of today‘s line-up: Ellln Walilike, Dog Bite, Millicentand Crumb. ‘II was a joke, really,’ laughs guitarist Dog Bite (or Simon, as his parents would know him better) when asked about the names, ‘and they just stuck.’
Getting a record deal, it seems, was just as simple. Not lorthem the soul-destroying task ol sending endless demosto cynical AGB departments only to receive the standard ‘Thanks, but no thanks’ lor their etlorts. A demo tape to Brian
ofha
Guthrie (now head at Nightshilt) when he was at Fast Forward Distribution resulted in a gig at Basin Street.
And the rest, as they say, is history. The band are not content, however, to sit back and sell a handlul ol copies to lriends and lamily. Next on the agenda are some European dates, possibly lunded by a loan lrom the newly-Iormed musicians co-operative, Eastern Bloc.
‘The goals start changing as you develop,’ says Simon. ‘My initial goal was to get some product out. Now we’ve done that, we're looking towards selling out the lirst pressing ol1000 and having a second pressing, which might generate some Interest Irom other bigger companies.’ (James Hallburton)
The Matter Babies play Basin Street, Edinburgh on Sat 30 and The Venue, Edinburgh on Wed 11.
WHEE-
mish-mash of samples of dialogue and the theme tune from the series. but it does reveal Lady Penelope's confession of herpenchanr for being securely tied up. FAB? Almost. (AM)
I Faith Over Beacon: Believing in Me (BIg Cat) They‘re from C roydon and they sport a terrible name, which isn't a good start. But ‘Belicving in Me' works magic. The boys in the band know their place and let the singer‘s voice enshroud us. Beautifully. Nick Drake is a mighty legend to tackle. and their : version of his ‘Northern i Sky'doesn’tquitemakeit, E but as a declaration of intent it‘s courageous and perfect. And while swathes 0f fuzz guitar shatter the stillness and mounting discomfort of ’Fallen‘, Faith Over i Reason still manage to hold hoary rock tradition E at arm‘s len th. (AM) ! I Tackhead: angerous i Sex (88K) Tackhead‘s . major label debut — and the first fully to exploit the vocal talents of Bernard I Fowler — while being I decidedlycommercial.is . hardly what could be I called mainstream. Solid andcharacteristically funky. it features the additional bonus ofa cameo appearance from The Fall‘s Mark E Smith on the B-side. (Jill I An Emotional Fish: Celebrate (East/West) Supposedly supporting Prince just now, this lot are the latest hot thing (we are told) from lreland. ‘Celebrate'. though. while initially a rousing rocker of frightening proportions, suggests that An Emotional Fish will become vast. lumbering. boring rock'n‘roll heavyweights with a repellent beer-gut to match. ((‘Mcl-) I The Pollen: River at Lile (Danceleria) Gothic doom 5 meets Andean peaks. 1 ‘Riverofl.ife‘beckons with all the grim foreboding of hollow cheekbones, then lifts itselfout of the shadows with some Incantation-like pipes. Black leather and llama-wool shawls: a winning combination. (CMcL)
ROCK 43 JAZZ 47 FOLK 48 CLASSICAL 56
LISTINGS
MUSIC
The List 29 June - 12 July 1990 39