RECORD REVIEWS MUSIC
V ALBUMS
I Ned's Atomic Dustbin: Are You Normal? (Furtive) Right. okay. it's been established that the Neds have only one song -- one which has lots of stoppy starty bits in it. We know they have but one lyrical voice- that ofthc world-weary adolescent cynic. Granted. Their pogoing Muppet persona is a trifle one-dimensional. This much is accepted. Slot them all together. though. and the result is not as creatively stunted as you might think. What's evident is that the Neds don‘t rock (like Nirvana). they pop (like The Wonder Stuff). And they don't pop in the accepted fashion either. Not sure who rattled Jonn's cage but he‘s heartily hacked off. Time and again he greets you with a goofy smile then slashes your face with his forked tongue. Wash your attitude boy. then your and your misanthropic mates are welcome to sup at my table. (Fiona Shepherd)
I Glue: Gravel (Feeble) (ilue are well worthy of your attention. for they are brave. very brave. One ofonly a handful of Glasgow bands more influenced by the sonic discord of Big Black than Big Star. their music isfar from accessible: a furiously splenetic breed of jazzcore. clean punk
‘ and dirty bass-heavy funk that‘s impressive more for
its tetchy bristling than for its potential hummability. They tackle the important issues like racism. bigotry.
greed and apathy with
pithy anger. they press up
records on their own
label. they sensibly
include lyric sheets and
they play a hyper-charged
live set so demanding that
they rarely make it past 30
minutes. Reward their
commendable return to
DIY ethics by contacting
them at 186 Kingsheath
Avenue. Glasgow G73
2DB. (Calvin Bush)
I Space Cowboys:
Locked'n'Loaded (Our
Choice) lt‘s records like
this that make me wish I
; lived the life ofa
penurious Mongolian
yak-keeper rather than
that of the overpaid
libertine journo-rake that
ldo. Not because it‘s
good. no sirree. In fact.
1 it's most wholesomer
i pleasing. lt'sjust that it‘s almost beyond
eclecticism. beyond
definition and. as you
might expect of Berliners
Z called Bismarck. Vamp
( and Bishop. irredeemably
beyond belief. Lessee—
‘space-funk groove-rap
piped through FAB 2 with
Ice-T and the Chili
f Peppers at the helm while The B-SZs dance down the aisle serving up pan- galactic gargle-blasters'.’ Phoo-ee. not even close.
God. I hate thisjob.
; First-class one-way to
Ulan Bator. please.
(Calvin Bush) I Tyrrel Corporation: North East Of Eden (Cooltempo) The problem with tackling politics both personal and worldly within the context of dance-oriented music is that the end result is usually either resolutely
L glib. cloyingly sentimental
or both. Though it's
occasionally a close-run
thing. Tyrrel Corporation used their lugubrious bitter-sweet pop-soul pacans to bear witness to the woes of apartheid and the criminal justice system. alcoholism and one-night stands and carefully avoid the pitfalls. Their roots lie as much in Motown. Northern Soul and even the elegiac golden-bowed strings of Bacharach and David as they do in the more contemporary sounds of house and garage. At its best (‘One Day'. ‘The Bottle'). it‘s great big heart-aching thinking person‘s stuff. filled with a capacity to cause emotional meltdown in all save the sternest. File under mellow-ncholy. (Calvin Bush)
I Maxi Priest: Fe Real (Ten) Would it be an insult to say that Maxi Priest is the Mick liucknall ofthe reggae world? I don‘t think so. but this one isn‘t for the headstrong full-on ragers. more a chance for the ZSs-and-over to groove Jamaican style. That‘s not to say Maxi's become boring; there are still plenty of upfront skanks. and after six albums it‘s evident that Maxi's confidence and maturity is growing. Not only that. but the sleeve credits of production. writing. music and backing vocals reads like a who‘s who of popular music; Simon Law. Sly Dunbar. Gwen Guthrie. Nu Colors. David Morales. etc. Beware of paler. harder-edged imitations; for sealed-in freshness. get the Max. (Philip Dorward)
V CLASSICAL’
I Lyell Cresswell: Orchestral Music 2 (Continuum)'l‘his second disc features three fine examples of the liditibtirgli-lmsed composer‘s music. with the impressive New Zealand Symphony ()rchestra. under conductor William Southgate. U.’ and Salm are linked by their very different use of musical material derived from
‘ hymns.andtheirequally
different but compelling use of the string section.
“ while Speak For Us. (ireat : Sea is vividly evocative of its subject in all its
changing facets. Recommended. (Kenny
Mathieson)
IDariulelhaud: ; OrchestraIWortts(Koch)
Milhaud's centenary inevitably brings a mini-flood of recordings. Capella Cracoviensis under Karl Anton Rickenbacker are not a
top-notch band. but their two discs feature decent versions of .S'audades (10 Brazil (with Le ( 'anardde Londres and Trails
Rag-C 'aprt'ces) and the (5 Petites .S'ymph ()n ies ( four of which are replicated on a polished disc by the Sinfonia of(‘hicago). llis ( 'larinel ( 'uncertr) is on
H mnma ge (1 Benny Goodman (with those of Hindemith and Copland). the dedicatee and first performer. (Kenny Mathieson)
I Smetana: String Quartets (Collins)The firstQuartet.
‘From My Life.‘ is autobiographical. and the Talich Quartet bring out its moods with a fine sensitivity. idiomatic feel. and emotionally effective understatement. They are
good. too. in the more
fraught and concentrated
E QuartetNoZ.written
! after he had gone deaf. and on Josef Suk‘s short
! ‘Meditation‘. Collins have also collected five existing discs ofBritish quartet music (Elgar. Walton.
Britten and Tippett) from the excellent Britten Quartet in a flimsy slip~case. (‘heap packaging. but great music. (Kenny Mathieson)
I Verdi: Luisa Miller(Sony Classical) Underneath this dashing story of love. political intrigue and deception lies one ofthc opera world's most sustained meditations on paternal relationships. so it‘s not surprising that Jan-l Iendrick Rootering and Vladimir (‘hernov as Walter and Miller stand out from a distinguished cast. Placido Domingo (Rodolpho) and Aprile Millo (Luisa) team up again after Sony‘s recording ofAt'da; she. in particular. is proving herself to be one ofthe best Verdi heroines around. Altogether a highly recommended addition to James Levine and the New York Met‘s ongoing. unmissable Verdi series. (Alan Morrison)
THE as”
BEAT 8
IN CONCERT
The magic of The Beatles from "She Loves You" to "Let It Be" spectacularly re-created live on stage.
Wed 18 Kirkcaldy, Adam Smith Theatre 0592 260498 SOLD OUT .
Thurs I9 Aberdeen, Music Hall 0224 61“ I22
Fri 20 Dundee, Whitehall Theatre
0382 202513
Irvine, Magnum Centre
0294 7838i ,
Sun 22 Glasgow, Kings Theatre CAT 227 55] 1
Mon 23 Edinburgh, Usher Hall 03I 228 I155
"The sound they make is impeccable . . ." DAILY MAIL "It's all there . . .the stances, the mannersims, the accents, the humour . . .and the gear" STAGE AND TELEVISION TODAY "Sheer technical perfection . . ." EVENING STANDARD
Sat2l
TICKETS FROM £6.50 ro £8.50 J
The List 61 I§.Nov-e_mber 1992 31