MUSIC
Orchestra of the Age 01 SNO. 30 Nov; sun, 7 Dec; on top form. at his best m I v 0 K N Enlightenment. 15 001; 3ND. 14 Dec; sco, 20 Dec; i when he can balance the ‘ SNO. 18 Oct; CGPO. 19 Oct; sun, 4 Jan;SNO_ 11.13“; I wide-screen with the . 3N0, 20 Oct; CGPO. 21 OCT; SNO. 18 Jan; SNO. 25Jan; 1 intimate and his love of r ; IGLASGOW SNO.27 001: London Phll. SNOJ Feb; 8N0, 8Feb; folk instrumentation with BARROWLAND (041 226 30 Oct; Leipzig I 8C0. 14 Feb; SNO. 15 Feb; ‘ his continuing use ofa - - 4579) Pfelab slum", 13 Gewandhaus Orch. 31 001-2 ' 3ND. 22 Feb; 8N0, 1 Mar; I rock line-up when it suits OCT; New Model Army.16 Nov;SNO.3NOV;SNO,10 : 8N0,8Mar;SNO,15Mar; 3 him. (Alastair Mabbott) - ; Oct; Northside. 19 Oct; Nov; Red Army Ensemble. g 3ND, 22 Mar; SNO. 5Apr; i I Lam? The Lasl ; Cocteau Twins. 25 Oct; The 11-13 Nov; BBCSSO. 14 sco, 11 Apf;SNO,12 Apr; Temptation oI Reid Charlatans. 30 Oct; The Nov; SCO. 15 Nov; SNO. 17 sco' 13 Apr; sun, 19 Apt; 3 (Alternative Tentacles) Reautitual IS)outh. 23 Nov; Nov; CGPO. 18 Nov; . SN0 26 Apr. i 10”“ Biilfw YOU will ; ames. BC. Moscow Festival Ballet, I know; Al Jourgensen‘s v IGLASGOW covcsnr $.20 Nov; Israel Phil.21 * V ALBUMS ' name will be familiartoo. i HALL (041 332 3123) Nov; sun. 22 Nov; SNO, 24 g - ifonly for the furore
i Runrig. 22—26 Oct; Chas &
Nov; Pops At Phil. 25 Nov;
surrounding The
3 Dave. 29 00': Val Doonican. eocsso. 25 Nov; suo,1 ' Revolting ('ocks‘ recent ? 4 Nov: The Shadows. 8 NOV- Dec; suo. 8 Dec; CGPO. 9 es shows. 'I‘hev‘ve g...
‘ I GLASGOW PAV'UON Dec; Grand Messe DDS . together with two guys (0413321846fi'kie ' Morts. 11 Dec; SNO. 13 Dec; called Paul Barker and
9 8'00k3'13 0“; Sham" SNO. 15 Dec; Orchestre De Jeff Ward to make an
! Stevens.150¢lzfiene Paris. 16-17 Dec; SCO.18
Sure enough. the world. or Britain at least. has been overcome with Pixies fever. Their eight-track debut. Come on Pilgrim. whilst being a neat ball of guitar confusion. gave little sign that within three years they would be headlining Reading as one of the top-selling American independent acts on this side of the pond. Even Surfer Rosa. their second LP and the one that really started the ball rolling for them. was for all its brilliance rhythmically jerky and sprouted dangerous jagged edges.
Doolittle. which entered the national charts at number eight. and the latest album. Bossanova. have shown the band getting progressively smoother (thanks to their choice of producer (iil Norton) and more conventionally tuneful — although this has come about not by moving closer to the modern mainstream but by delving into the archives ofsurf music. Jimi Hendrix. twenty years dead. said we'd never hear it again. but now that Pixie Black Francis is saying The Beach Boys are his favourite band. ifwe have to ingest some. then I suppose the best way is in tracks like ‘Cecilia Ann‘. the Surftones cover that opens Bossan 0 ea .
Pixies' music is still driven by the same manic energy. but harnessed into more structured bursts — even so. the first single to be taken off the album. ‘Velouria‘. was considered
the worst track. and made it by virtue
of having a chorus. But ifthe music has been more acceptable to the ear. Black Francis has used it as a
' platform for his more cosmic
concerns: UFOs. time travel. ‘surfer i sci-fi‘. as he told (iil Norton. Pqu
. Flash Gordon cyberpunk? What could come after this'.’ (Alastair
Mabbott)
I ’ixies play (he Barrow/and. Glasgow on .Wrm (8'.
ROCK 42 JAZZ 45 FOLK 48 CLASSICAL 49
LISTINGS
MUSIC
: Pltney. 19 Oct; Lulu. 22 Oct;
Sydney Devine, 24—26, 29 Oct; Rose Marie. 3 Nov; Joe Longthorne. 7-10 Nov;
L Charley Pride. 13—14 Nov;
The Show Collection, 11 Nov; Daniel O'Donnell,
\, 2 20—21 Nov; Gary Numan, 17
Mar.
I GLASGOW SECC (041 227 5511)The Christians. 3 Dec; Status Duo. 8 Dec; INXS, 10 Dec; Gary Glitter. 23—24 Dec.
I EDINBURGH lNGLISTON CENTRE (031 557 6969) Clash of the Titans. 12 Oct;
Blllyldol,150ec. IEDINBURGHPLAYHOUSE
(031 557 2590) Pretab Sprout. 12 Oct; Chas 8 Dave. 14—15 Oct; Shakin’ Stevens. 17 Oct; Barry White, 18 Oct; Brendan Shine. 19 Oct; Tangerine Dream. 31 Oct; Suzanne Vega. 2 Nov; The Shadows. 4 Nov; Motorhead. 19 Nov; Thunder. 22 Nov; George Benson. 23 Nov; The Beautiful South. 24 Nov; The Christians. 1 Dec.
I EDINBURGH OUEEN’S HALL (031 668 2019) Roy Harper. 13 Oct.
JAZZ & FOLK
I GLASGOW PAVILION (041 332 1846) Syd Lawrence Orchestra. 24 Nov.
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (041 332 3123) Count Basie Orchestra. 16 Oct; Stanley Jordan Trio. 20 Oct; Steve Coleman‘s Five Elements. 10 Nov; Scottish Fiddle Orchestra. 30 Nov. I GLASGOW RSAMD (041 332 5057) Rachaka. 8 Dec. I EDINBURGH OUEEN'S HALL (031 668 2019)Andy Sheppard/Keith Tippett. 12 Oct; Woody Guthrie Tribute. 14 Oct; Stanley Jordan Trio. 19 Oct; T.B.C. 26 Oct; Lillian Boutte. 2 Nov; Steve Coleman's Five Elements. 9 Nov; .
I EDINBURGH USHER HALL (031 2281155) Stephane Grappelli. 22 Oct.
CLASSICAL
I GLASGOW CITY HALLS (041 227 5511) Pops atthe Phil, 14 Oct; SCO. 190ct; SCO. 31 Oct; 800. 9 Nov; SCO. 21 Nov; Pops AtThe Phil. 25 Nov. 28 Dec:
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (041 332 3123) Bolshoi SO. 12 Oct; SNO. 13 Oct; Pops at Phil. 14 Oct;
Dec; BBCSSO. 21 Dec; SN0. 22 Dec; Pops At Phil. 28 Dec; I GLASGOW RSAMD (041 332 5057) Academy at Ancient Music. 12 Oct; 800 Chamber Ensemble, 19 Oct; Emmanuel Vardi. 26 Oct; Scottish Ensemble. 26 Oct; Concertlor Two Pianos. 27 Oct; Paragon Ensemble. 28 Oct; Radu Logo. 1 Nov; Sarah Walker/Malcolm Martineau. 2 Nov; Suzanne Stanzeleit/Gusztav Fenyo. 2 Nov; Academy CO. 8 Nov; Academy of Ancient Music, 9 Nov; Paragon Ensemble. 9—10 Nov; Ghetto, 13-17 Nov; Gordon Hunt/Philip Jenkins. 16 Nov; Balazs Szoltolay/Gusztav Fenyo. 16 Nov; Academy Orch. 20 Nov; John Turner. 23 Nov; Maier Bogdansky. 25 Nov; Giora Feidman, 25 Nov; Amadeus Trio. 26 Nov; Wind Band. 29 Nov; String Band. 30 Nov; Scottish Ensemble. 30 Nov; Carlos Bonnell. 6 Dec; SCO CE. 7 Dec; Lorenzo The Magniticent. 7 Dec; Carol Concert. 13 Dec; Peter Seivewright. 14 Dec; Junior Dept Concert. 15 Dec; Scottish Ensemble. 18—21 Dec: I GLASGOW THEATRE ROYAL (041 331 1234) Scottish Opera/ Les Troyens 30—31 Oct. 28 Nov; The Vanishing Bridegroom. 17, 20 Oct. 27. 29 Nov; Tosca. 19 Oct. 1.30 Nov; I EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE (031 557 2590) Scottish Opera/Tosca. 6. 8 Nov;The Trojans. 9. 10 Nov;The Vanishing Bridegroom. 7 Nov. I EDINBURGH OUEEN'S HALL (031 668 2019) 800. 18 Oct; SEMC. 20 Oct; Scottish Ensemble. 21 Oct; Meadows 00. 21 Oct; Scottish Ensemble. 27 oct; Edinburgh Concert Band. 28 Oct; Paragon Ensemble. 29 Oct; Paul Galbraith. 31 Oct; SCO. 3 Nov; lsobel Mieras. 7 Nov; SCO. 10 Nov;Yo-Yo Illa/Emmanuel Ax. 13 Nov; SCO. 17 Nov; New Budapest Ouartet, 19 Nov; Graham Scott. 21 Nov; 800. 22 Nov: Sinlonia. 25 Nov; Delme String Ouartet, 3 Dec: SCO. 15 Dec: I EDINBURGH USHER HALL(0312281155) SNO. 12 Oct; SNO. 190ct; SCO. 25 Oct; SNO. 26 Oct; SNO. 2 Nov; SNO. 9 Nov; SNO. 16 Nov; SNO. 23 Nov;
I Cocteau Twins: Heaven or Las Vegas (4AD) Trying to plot the progression ofa (‘octcau Twins album. let alone their career. is every bit as pointless as attempting todescribe their crafted sound. What is at first strikingabout Heaven or Las Vegas is its sparse arrangements relative to theirothcr albums. ‘lccblink l.uck‘ aside. this appears a collection of ponderous. understated ballads with more direct vocal lines. instead of the fussy layers previously favoured. ‘l-‘ifty-fifty (‘lown‘ for example sounds like a faraway cousin of Prince's ‘Thicves in the Temple'. The ('octcaus gladly entertain the delusion that you can actually hear some oftheir lyrics. before clouding this measured theory with the more predictable vocal acrobatics of ‘liotzepolitie'. lf I thought they had anyguiding motives. l'd say they delight in confusing. (Fiona Shepherd) I The Waterboys: Roomto Roam (Ensign) lt was'l‘he Waterbovs' pretension that marred fisherman 's Blues and its ensuing tour. both of which could make the uncons crted sigh. ‘lf they want to be a folk group. why don‘t they go ahead and do 11 instead of making concept albums about it‘." What made it so uncomfortable a fusion was that The Watcrboys seemed so keen not be seen as a rock band that they built up aeontrivcd image of which only rock bands are capable. ()n Room to Roam. we even have a version of 'The Raggle Taggle (iypsies' (as a riposte tocritics'.’) and a reel with a distracting. goofing- around voice-over. which is at least over quickly . Somehow. none of this detracts from a batch of excellent songs. From the simple and perfectly-
formed 'A Man is in l,ove'
to the elegaic ‘Sometbing
That is (ione'. Mike Scott l is a songwritingcraftsman
= album of bone-grinding
ferocity. injected with
Biafra‘sgallowshumour
and played with militaristic precision. Titles (remarkably restrained. I thought) include 'Mate Spawn rk I)ie' and ‘1)rug Raid at -lam'. and there's a cover of Napoleon Bonaparte's "They're ('oming to Take Me Away ' that loses somethingover its eight-and-a-halfminute length. lfyou‘vc everhad a fondness for anything the participants have done in the past. give it a try. (Alastair Mabbott)
I Kenny Wheeler: The Widow In The Window/Edward Vesala: Ode To The Death Ot Jazz (Both ECM) Retiring (‘anadian trumpeter Wheeler's characteristic and cherishablc exploration of fragile melancholy continues apace. while Finnish drummer Vesala‘s excellent ten-piece outfit Sound and Fury come up with another richly textured outpouring of incxpressibly piercing Scandinavian bleakncss. Superior misery soundtracks of the li('.\l school, ('l‘rcvorlohnstonl
I Harry Connick Jr: We Are In Love (CBS) Similar tohls When Harry Met Sally album in its lushly arranged homage to prime time Sinatra or Me! Tormc. 33 year-old crooner (‘onnick thistimc drops in his own songs amidst the standards to occasionally unflattering effect. Although he still has a tendency toskate along on top of a lyric leaving its emotional core untouched. the young smoothie still has enough easygoing charisman charm the nostalgic Slis-phile (this listener included). But will today's pop kids go for it'.’ (Trevor Johnston)
“ll be list 2S Sc itember ll ()ctober WW) I