The List: 13 Sep 1991 (33/84)

REVIEW MUSIC

V ALBUMS

I Various: RAK’s Greatest Hits(EMl) (‘omingacross that evocative sailing ship logo in a pile ofaged singles always unlocks mortifying pubescent memories. perhaps the most embarrassing ofall being that you‘d bought the record in question in the first place. Mickey Most's highly successful label pumped out a lot of crapov er the years. and the angel of nostalgia spent too much time dawdling with (iary (ilitter and Sweet to imbue RAK's otitptit with the kitsch appeal that would make it tolerable

Lulu's 'To Sir \Vtth

Love' and the Rod Stewart Jeff Beck (iroup‘s 'I've Been Drinking‘ are worthy old warhorses. but in this company Ilot (‘hoeolate are colossi. and are sensibly the only act allotted two tracks. ()nc might still retain affection for ‘Tiger I-"eet‘ or ‘Kids In America'. but it‘s unlikely that anyone really wants to add ‘The Bump‘. Racey ~s ‘l..ay Your Love On Me‘ or Adrian (iurvitz‘s ‘(‘lassic‘ to their collection.

(Alastair Mabbott)

I The Golden Palominos: Drunk With Passion (Venture) This album is the fifth in a distinguished line of corporate majesty from the lowest profile supergroup to end all supergroups. Again. Stipe and Mould are the prestige figures dominating status-wise with tracks that sound like. well. REM and IIUsker Dittittl-takes. scraps thrown from the royal table. (Actually the Mould track ‘Dying From The Inside ()ut' isan emotional maelstrom. but he probably wrote it in the bath or some similar aesthetically barren environment.) Nosueh pickings from Amanda Kramer. vocalist on five of the eight tracks. Iler resonant tones engage like a Natalie Merchant or a Ilope Sandoval -— obvious comparisons. but then she will insist on w riting within the accepted folk-rock melancholia parameters. Drunk B'I'r/I Possum doesn't push any boundaries, it doesn‘t aim to. What it does is simply and effectively remind that there is always fresh joy to be taken in familiar recipes. and that less is invariably more. (Fiona Shepherd)

I Dare: Blood From Stone l (A&M)Dare‘snewLP ) openswithathreatening | low keyboard note. then I hintsofthunderwhich j slide into a metal-pop anthem. It’ssorely temptingtoturnitoffat thatpoint--itseems I possible to predict every chord that will follow.

It isn‘t. not entirely. A year on the road and a change of producer have hardened Dare since their

debut. ()u! ()f The Silence.

They now smell faintly of Bon .lovi. complete with ‘w a-owowo's and ‘wo-ow-ow-owo’s. The new songs are pleasant. if unremarkable — an occasional fanfare or acoustic intro stands out among the clean-cut guitar work. btit it's all fairly safe.

That's Dare‘s problem: they don't. They just don‘t. ((iavin Inglis)

V SINGLES

I Stan: Desire (Cherry Red) ‘1)esire"s simplicity. its slightncss even. is its best quality. It has got Illul drum sound on it. but sounds more like a radio

or living-room record than .

a dance track. Now I come to think of it. the singer's voice has a strangely familiar(‘herry Red quality that gives rise to suspicions that he may have been supplying vocals for the label's records for years. waiting for the chance to make his own. Now he has. and it‘s not at all bad. (AM)

I CC Sager: Fats Hustles The Pros And Cons (Sacred Heart) The latest outing by the irrepressible Gareth (Head. Rip Rig 6: Panic) Sager is a swaggering performance over treny corrugated iron guitars

and a bassist who appears toberehearsingforthe

apocalypse. A weird comparison. but shall we say it sounds almost like The Pop (iroup playing ‘Bullet The Blue Sky"? Yes. we shall. addingonly that even ifyou hated everything I lead did after their first album. you might still find a place for this. (A M)

I The Field Mice: Missing The Moon (Sarah) Banks and banks of keyboards enshroud a song ofsorts. succeeding in summoning a trance-like atmosphere while embodying the wan summer's-day innocence normally associated with janeg guitars. Syd Barrett impressions and stand—up drummers. Indie dance isn‘t dead so long asThe Field Mice can continue producing stufflike this. (AM)

I The Cult: Wild Hearted Son (Beggar's Banquet) I Having finally honedtheir I craggy rock niche to satisfaction on the last I album Sonic Temple. from , here on The ('tilt are just

I I l l |

treading water. vinyl for vinyl‘s sake. rampant careerism to keep Ian and Billy in cowboy boots. It‘s obvious their well's run dry -— they‘re even ransaeking their own back catalogue for Red Indian imagery. Sad motives. especially because this is so postured it's almost daring. Just smacks too much of For A Few Dollars More and not enough of True (Iril. (IS)

I Hole: Teenage Whore (City Slang) Shamelessly autobiographical tract from the much-admired. LA-based ‘sonic deconstruction' girly troupe. Produced by Sonic Youth's Kim (iordon. it's slow-motion grunge metal. oddly redolent of Lydia Lunch in sentiment and early-80s Wayne (‘ounty in execution. and no less palatable for that. (I’Wl I)

I Sebadoh: Gimme Indie Rock (Homestead import) ‘Iirt’ukirt' down barriers like Sonic Youth lltt’_\‘g()l what they wanted Lllaybel could get what I want (00." There's some wacky soul out there who hasn't bought a single since ‘Take The Skinheads Bowling‘. He or she is now thankingthe gods for (ex-Dinosaur Jr) Lou Barlow‘s Sebadoh and this tribute (or epitaph?) Face it. if Vic Reeves had come up with the slogan ‘lust (iimmie Indie Rockl‘. you'd never stop bloody shouting it. would you? Release it in this country. someone! (AM)

I Two Way Street: Mrs Washington (MCA) Not entirely dissimilar to somethingThe Kevin McDermott ()rehestra might come tip with. actually. but inferior. You could walk into any studio north of the border and hear a band ploughing their way through some variant ofthis. llighly ignorable. except in the sense that it's a struggle not to take it off before the end. this is the 90s answer to pub rock. and it don‘t smell too good. (AM)

I Float: Dancing As Fast As I Can (Telepathy) Manic. frenetic. agitated. demented. berserk - how to describe this tousled heap of momentum‘.’ A juddering sub-industrial electro beat dominates throughout. falling over itself to reach the best unexpectedly deflated ending since '(iroove Is In The Ileart‘. Float are promoting this record as a triple .»\-side. but a cursory spin of the other tracks exposes an uncomfortable parity with INXS. Ignore them — the kids just want adrenalin. and this speeding train is their ticket to disco oblivion. Right. pop pickers? (FS)

SGML/IN]

THE

RAVE

ESCOTTISH

MUSIC SHOW

SECC. GLASGOW 215t/22nd SEPTEMBER

SATURDAY 215i 10am-6pm SUNDAY 22nd 10 am-Spm

THIS YEAR’S SHOW WILL BE THE LARGEST MUSIC EXHIBITION THAT SCOTLAND HAS EVER WITNESSED. OVER 120 STANDS FEATURING TOP INSTRUMENT MANUFACTURERS, DISTRIBUTORS, RETAILERS, RECORD COMPANIES, RECORDING STUDIOS AND MUSIC SERVICES.

Live Music Concerts in the ‘Coca-Cola’ Showcase Hall

Steve Lynch Crossland Roland Road Show World Wide Better Ways The Katz Outland Steve Alexander Low Life

The List: 13 Sep 1991 (Issue 158)