V ALBUMS ‘
I Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Into The Great Wide Open (MCA) (‘oming decked in folk art imagery and cloaked in llrt‘rlystimer/ting contentment and modest aspirations. hilt) ‘I-llt’ (irt'u! Wide Open sports its l-M-friendly ('l)-maturity with no shame. Darn right too: Tom Petty tnay consort with various chaps called Wilbury. and even let one oftltem - Iil.()founding lathechff Lynne -- co-producc. bttt cool kids should give the gtty a break. After all. the soothing poignancy ofthe single ‘I .earning to My" was. w ell. poignantly soothing.
lichoes of Pettys spiritual forebears. McCartney and .\fc(iuinn. abound in the happy melancholy. and it's in this charmed bag that the easy appeal of Into The (ireu! ll't’t/t' ()pt'n lies. ((‘raig Mclean)
I Miranda Sex Garden: Madra (Mute) Alter initially playing this record at .‘xirpm only to discoyet three w omen with very deepyoices. .thtll‘tl til the correct speed is a compelling collection. Recorded in ct lwodays at The l lcnry Wood I fall. it comprises 3-1Renaissancetnadrigals sung entirely ttnaccompanicd. For those used to the classicism of. say . Dead (’an Dance it isinstantly accessible. 1 low ever. itt these raving days. most will probably find it off-putting. ldcal background mttsie or for quiet tinte\when the multi-laycred y oeals can weave their relaxing spell. l'nlike their debut single. ‘(ittsh l't)t'llt My 'l’ears'. there are no remixes to disturb the timeless effect. (James I lalibttrton) I Benny Green Trio: Greens (Blue Note) Benny ( ireen established his credentials as a pianist to watch in one of the last editions ofArt Blakey's bop finishing school. the Jazz Messengers. Blue Note snapped him up in their trawl of the emerging names on the L'S scene. and this second trio album for the label maintains the momentum of his previous release. Lineage. The veneration of the bop tradition implied in the earlier title is as strong as
tracks
ever. but (ireen is developing in a satisfyineg original fashion within the broad parametersofthat
tradition. which he treats. as the best traditionalists
always have. as guidelines rather than barriers. I preferred the ntore established rhythm team oti the earlier set. btit this is another strongouting from a classy young musician. (Kenny .‘ylathicsonl
V SINGLES
ITongue OfAlba: ‘Cryln The Night‘ (Phobik) Meaty. beaty . big and brooding debut slab from the popular lidinburgh
neo-( iotlt rockers. ruggedly capturing the intensity of theirlive performance. Redolent of early Sisters. btrt in a positiy c way . artd boasting a truly devilish chorus-hook. Love it. (PWlll
IThe Wedding Present: Lovenest EP (RCA) 'I‘ltat Wedding Present l’ormula in full.
llAcottstic intro. rapidly segueing into thrashy twanging
3) David (iedge's terracing chant about some bird who's left hitn to go out with a geek with an embarrassing name like Key irt or'I'revot.
3) The occasional horribly loud power-chord borrowed front the ones Steye Albini wasn‘t using that day.
And that's it. ‘l'ltese four tracks contain most of the aboy c w htch w ill be a consolation to aficionados. and of no interest w hatsoey cr to anyone else. (If)
I BEFteaturing Lalah Hathaway: Family Affair (Ten) ‘l'his. the first fruits of the second instalment of limit (If Qltu/tlytlltrl [)1srt'nt‘limt is a gloriously updated version of the Sly Stone classic. Altnost certainly guaranteed to be one of the biggest hitsof the next few months.
w hile remaining trtte to the spirit of the original.
the l leavcn l7 boys'
prodttction places it firtttly in l‘)‘)l.(.lll) I The Frank and Walters:
. The Frank & Walters EP
(Setanta) The latest rising Sctana stars are wily buggers. Izach of the four notably ‘Walter‘s 'l'rip' initiallycornes across as the sound of jumped-up snots gamely thrashing away. harming
l nootte. But then. four times over. in comes a
mighty chorUs and ottt goes the listener‘s complacency. The Wedding Present with the dour-faced woe supplanted by gleeful sparkle. (('.‘yfcl.)
I Manic Street Preachers: Stay Beautiful (Columbia) Weaker than ‘Nfotown
l g
REVIEW MUSIC
.lunk'. tamer than ‘You Love has”. the naughty-boy Preachers' first major release will. methinks. dotheir reputation no harm. Forget their yapping about avoiding rock-cliches; this is as cliched as they come. liddic Attd The l lot Rods revisited. the Preachers aren‘t new. just newly
available. (PWl l)
I Kirsty MacColl: My Attair (Virgin) Weird. MaeColl goes liuro-l louse and then. erm. doesn't go much further. Sugary piano-riff. languid seally rhythm. and Kirsty chirping ‘Baa daa daa bap bapa daa daa . . .‘ad infinitum. Almost World Music for horn-fuelled extravagance. bttt an odd follow-up to Walking Down Madison. A ‘grower'. no doubt.
(PWl l)
I Black: Fly Up to the Moon (AGM) l‘act: play Black records too fast and hear (iert'y and the
Pace makers reborn! l'nfortunatcly. even with competent Sam Brown on back-up yodelling. at proper speed this is just another maudlin Black workout. Still lttrking in the considerable shadow of the classic Wonderful Life; ace plasticine-puppets video. though. (PWl i)
I The lmpossibles: The Drum (Fontana) Following their club hit Delphis. the gals rerun a Slap l lappy number made infamoUs by ['8 metal-reprobates Bongwater (wonder what they do in their spare time). Snappy. catchy and. for pure nonchalance. desery ittg of airplay. An Andy Weatherall remix adds danceability to the standard version‘s breezy sentiments. l-‘ab. (PWll)
love and money
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'l‘he List Zbluly — 8 August 199143