MUSIC
V ALBUMS
I The Big Dish: Satellites (East Ween/Mercury Rev: Yerselt is Steam (Mint Films) The Big Dish have been spiralling in ever decreasing circles since their highly acclaimed first LP. Swimmer. and their quest for the sublime has reached its natural conclusion on this. their third. Everything isin its place; not just in the pristine production. but in the structures. the arrangements. the moods — all sitting there looking pretty and providing atmosphere. A package so perfect it‘s practically worthless.
"The Big Dish‘s ideaof production is aural airbrushing. they should give Mercury Rev a wide berth. Strange things lurk in the mix as their songs alternately meander and race. via a volley: ofpower chords. into galloping crescendos. Everything comes together in ‘Frittering‘. a beautiful track almost worth dying for (oh. all right. wrenching a tendon will do). And ifthe final track is tedious in the extreme. as though the band can't bear to bring the album to aclose. there isenough elation spread throughout the rest to make the limitations of ‘classy pop‘ all too apparent. (Alastair Mabbott)
DAVliMclN'I‘YRl-L
I Kitchens 01 Distinction:
. Strange Free World (One 3 Littlelndian)What has
always excited about
Kitchens Of Distinction is the tidal sheen ofthe
sound.Theirthingisa
I total melange. rising and
fallingor just coasting. offering the outsider little hope of picking out and pinning down the different components at work. The appeal is the interlocking parts coming together to
- form a Bigger Picture.
Yet at times on Strange Free World this becomes a mite trying. Whetherit's Hugh Jones‘ production or Kitchens' continued studied desire to avoid too many choruses. tracks occasionally drift by in a flash of low-in-the-mix guitars and persistent snare. But only occasionally. Singles ‘Quick As Rainbows' and
‘Drive That Fast‘ are huge
enough to redress the balance. On these. KOD
display their epic tendencies.comingovcr
as a less bullish Goodbye Mr MacKenzie. And when things are sparser. and when Patrick‘s thin vocals take command. these high-points more than compensate for the anonymous tendencies of certain of the lesser tracks. Music ofquality and distinction. and how. (Craig McLean)
I DinosaurJr: Green Mind (WEA) No significant
Kitchens 01 Distinction
advances on their last album. Bug. except that]. Mascis plays virtually all of it this time. The crucial Dinosaur Jr attraction — Mascis‘s plaintive. languid voice against a mess of
. guitars — is still hypnotic.
and Green Mind. whilst not likely to set the heavens alight. provides enough evidence that their future is brighter
, thanthatofmanyofthe groups that tend to get
mentioned in the same breath. (Alastair Mabbott)
: I Carter The Unstoppable § Sex Machine: 30 Something - (Rough Trade) Even prior
to this. their second
album. Carter USM were
the darlings of all manner of kraaazy dudes in the media. J. King. Mr Odious with the diagonal mouth. Mark Goodier. sundry other faceless gits in radioland. and of course. the inkies — all the right movers'n'groovcrs just loved Fruit Bob and Jim Bat (or is thatJim Fruit and Bob Bat?) Loathe as we are to
admit it. all those turkeys
were right. Someone somewhere mentioned the Sex Pistols and the Pet Shop Boys. ranting energy pasted into a vast poparama. Throw in a liberal dose ofpunning stunts. samples from Red Dwarfand Alfie. and the scene is set. ‘Surfing USM' is the turbo-fired intro. racing guitars versus steaming keyboards. Thereafter. the ride heats up. in and out of a cynical ‘Shopper's Paradise‘. via a maudlin drunk and a victimist squaddie. ending up with a brutalised love note that's ‘Sealed With A Glasgow Kiss‘. Thrills. spills. and punches never pulled;30 Something is one long tonic for the style-weary troops. (Craig McLean) I Toyah: Ophelia's Shadow (EG) After her marriage to
Robert Fripp. it‘s not surprising to discover that Toyah has gone in for a style not dissimilar to (recent) King Crimson. but even fans of that group would be hard pressed to find these dry. arid soundscapes very lovable. Toyah‘s pulled right back on the overcooked theatrics. but. needless to say. still sings the same garbled rubbish she always has done. I could never understand who her audience was back in 1980. and I‘m none the wiser even now. (Alastair Mabbott)
I The Go-Go’s: Greatest (IRS) Jeez. but I‘d forgotten how bouncy they were. In the early 80s. The Go-Go‘s seemed to have come straight from high school to gather together everything there was to say about good-time. naive pop and tie it with a neat bow. Some of this album is dire (‘CooI Jerk'). some is sublime (‘Our Lips Are Sealed'). and there are glimpses of the rot that would set in to the solo work of Belinda Carlisle and Jane Wiedlin. but for the most part it‘s all thoroughly bitchin'. Even the sad songs sound jolly. (Alastair Mabbott)
I Soho: Goddess (Savage) ‘Hippychick‘ just doesn‘t prepare you for Goddess. Soho are certainly no one hit wonders. nor are they locked rigidly into the dance groove. Styles are reinvented; the Spectorisms of ‘Nuthin‘ On My Mind' fit snugly with soulful ballads (‘Out of My Mind' and ‘Another Year') and reggae-tinted dub of ‘Shake Your Thing‘. Not since Voice of the Beehive have two female singers delivered such a fine pop record with enough lyrical suss to warrant longevity. Sideswipes at the rave culture and toy boys sit
alongside celebrations of female power and detached social comment (‘God's Little Joke'). Goddess is simply one of 1991 ‘s first essential albums. (James llaliburton)
I Havana 3am: Havana 38m (IRS) How unfortunate for Paul Simonon that acertain advertisement should catapult The Clash‘s ‘Should [Stay Or Should I Go‘ back into the charts at precisely the moment that
‘ he seekstojustifyhis years of silence with a new
musical project. Because the two compare like a silk purse and a sow‘s car. And Havana 3am isn't the silk purse. It all sounds fine on paper — classic rock and roll flirts with latin. jazz and reggae. but in reality. . . ldon‘t meanto be disrespectful. but Paul. what happened? The Clash roots are not entirely effaced. but only in that this album sounds like an extended pantomime version of ‘Rock the Casbah' and other similar. foot-stomping. head-butting
understatements. Havana
3am fuse their chosen influences clumsily. The basis for this record is not Latin American but Mid-Atlantic— AOR posturing with ethnic eclectieisms strung carelessly around this
uninspiring core. Simonon ;
clearly wanted this to be the soundtrack to an 80s
a7 "5.- .~ _.~~ w-
3“‘.‘.-\..*‘ «9'23" .. ‘ ~
~. f5.»- [I \ I ‘_§‘
‘5 Havana 3am
s’i'
Wild Angels — it‘s not even fit for Rocky. (Fiona Shepherd)
I Goodbye Mr Mackenzie: Hammer And Tongsch) You can have any colour you like. so long asit‘s black — commonly attributed to Henry Ford. but it could equally be what Martin Metcalfe says to himself as he pulls personae out ofthe wardrobe. ln ‘Blacker Than Black‘. he‘s the
I spaghetti western loner in
control of his destiny. in
‘Bold John Barleycorn'. § he‘sanequallymean
dude. in ‘Diamonds'. he's greedy and insane. Then he announces he‘s off toa burning and would we like
to join him? Really? Can
we bring our daughter to the slaughter too?
That aside. there are songs of a high standard amongst the machismo. like the aforementioned ‘Diamonds‘. the uncommonly good ‘Now We Are Marricd‘ and the last track. ‘Tongue Tied'. where the Mackenzies. inhabited by the spirit of Bowie/Pop. draw the album to a close with all the majesty they can command. A slower grower than Good Deeds and Dirty Rags (and I‘m still not really convinced by most of the tracks). HammerAnd Tongs is the work of a group who. when they gun the throttle. can still deliver with great intensity. (Alastair Mabbott)
V BOOK NOW
ROCK
I GLASGOW BARROWLAND (041 226 4679) Jane‘s Addiction. 8 Mar; Jimmy Somerville. 11 Mar: The Big Dish. 13 Mar: The Pogues. 17 Mar; The Silencers. 19 Apr; Christy Moore. 4 May.
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL (041 332 3123)The Supremes. 15 Mar; Everly Brothers. 18 May.
I GLASGOW PAVILION (041 332 1846) Gary Numan. 17 Mar:Tanita Tikaram. 18 Mar; lnThe Midnight Hour. 2—6 Apr. I GLASGOW SECC (041 227 551 1) AC/DC. 20 Apr; Gloria Estefan. 23—24 Apr; Paul Simon. 31 May—1 Jun; Whitney Houston. 8Jun. lnspiral Carpets. 14Jun; Chris
Rea. 28 Nov.
I EDINBURGH OUEEN'S HALL(031668 2019) Paul Brady. 5 AprzThe Silencers. 13 Apr.
I EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE
(031 557 2590) Freddy Jackson. 10Mar; Deep Purple. 11 MarzTanita Tikaram. 17 Maerudas Priest. 28 Mar; Roy Chubby Brown. 29 Mar; Megadeath. 30 Mar;
Alexander O‘Neal. 5 Apr;
The Everly Brothers. 26 Apr.
JAZZ and FOLK
I EDINBURGH QUEEN'S
HALL(031668 2019)John
Rae Collective. 8 Mar; Tommy Smith. 15 Mar. I EDINBURGH USHER HALL(0312281155)
Edinburgh Highland Reel and Strathspey' Society. 9
Mar: Edinburgh Gaelic Choir. 23 Mar.
I GLASGOW CONCERT
HALL(041332 3123) Harry
Connick Jr. 17 May.
LIGHT
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL(041332 3123) Boxcar Willie. 9 Apr; Howard Keel. 29 Apr; Elaine Paige. 13—14 May. I GLASGOW PAVILION (041 332 1846) Freddie
Starr. 16— 18 Apr; Billie Jo
Spears. 28 Apr; A Slice of
Saturday Night. 27 May—1
Jun; Glen Campbell. 15 Jun.
I GLASGOW SECC (041 227 551 1 ) Tom Jones. 4 Apr; Shirley Bassey. 15 May.
I EDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE :
(031557 2590) Johnny Mathis. 6—7 Apr; A Slice )f Saturday Night. 3—8 Juanames Last. 11—12 Jun.
CLASSICAL
I GLASGOW CITY HALLS (041227 551 1 ) SC(). 27 Mar; SCO. 3 Apr; SCO. 26 Apr.
I GLASGOW CONCERT HALL(0~113323123) BBCSSO. 8 Mar; RSNO. 9 Mar; Moscow State SO. I 1 Mar; RSNO. 16Mar: BBCSSO. 22 Mar; RSNO. 23 Mar: BBCSSO. 5 Apr; RSNO. 6Apr;SC().10Apr;()s|o Phil. l2 Apr;RSN().13 Apr;SCO.17 Apr; RSNO. 18Apr; RPO. 19 Apr; RSNO. 20Apr: BBCSSO. 26 Apr; RSNO. 27 Apr; Concertgebouw Orch. 21 May; LA Phil. 25—26 May; Tokyo SO. 8 Oct; Leningrad Phil. 21 Nov.
I GLASGOW RSAMD (041 332 5057) Mozart From A toZ. 8—9 Mar; Midday Concert. 8 Mar; Friends
ofthe Samaritans Concert. 8 Mar; Junior Dept Concert. 9 Mar; (3C0. 10Mar;Choral Concert. 14 Mar; Midday Concert. 15 Mar: Leningrad Exchange Concert. 18 Mar;The Wallace Collection. 21 Mar; Midday Concert. 22 Mar; SEMC (Monteverdi). 22 Mar; Junior Dept Concert. 24 Mar.
I GLASGOW THEATRE ROYAL(041331 1234)
: Scottish ()pera: Falstaff.
16.20.27 Apr. 2. 22 May". The Barber ofSevi/le. 26. 30Apr.4.9.17.25 May;
‘ Regina.16. 18.21.23
May.
IEDINBURGH PLAYHOUSE ‘
(031557 2590) Scottish ()pera: La Bo/ieme. 19.22 Mar; Tide/lo. 20. 23 Mar; The (Turning Little Vixen. 21 Mar.
I EDINBURGH QUEEN'S
HALL(0316682019) Meadows (‘0. 10Mar; Auriol String Quartet. 11 March; Steve Martland. 18Mar; SEMC. 21 Mar; SCO. 30Mar; SCO.6 Apr: Scottish Ensemble. 14. 20 April; SCO. 27 Apr; RNCM Wind Ensemble. 29 April; SCO. 2 May; Meadows CO. 18 May;Sinfonia.16June. I EDINBURGH USHER HALL (031 228 1 155) RSNO. 8 Mar; George Watson's School Concert. 14 Mar;RSN().15 Mar; RSNO. 22 Mar; BBCSSO. 27 Mar; RSNO. 5 Apr; EYO.7 Apr; Grand Piano Classics. 10 Apr; SCO. 11 Apr; RSNO. 12 Apr; SCO. 18 Apr; RSNO. 19 Apr; Georgian State Symphony. 21. 23 Apr: RSNO 26 Apr; Kevoek Choir. 27 Apr; FRCLJ. 11 May.
The List a — 21 March 199133