RECORD REVIEWS MUSIC
I The God Machine: Scenes From The Second Storey (Fiction) First off. this God Machine debut album is great value — 78 minutes. and not a one of them wasted. Next. he wamed — it's not a comfortable ride. The going is heavy. laborious even. but that just means a greater sense of achievement when they reach a plateau. ()f which there are many. requiring the biggest adjectives Roget 's can throw up. Some. though. can be
comprehended without the
aid of a philosophy degree. The Loopish terminal grind of "I‘emptation' and the helter skelter ire of ‘0ut’ and ‘Ego‘ should be devoured now. digested later when their heat is osmosed by the shock-absorbing tranquil passages. Finally. this is. of course. a double album. with all the attendant tremulous connotations. and one hundred or so words in the comer of a page is really
not the place to address its
colossal agenda. Just hear it.
(Fiona Shepherd)
I Toiling Midgets: Son
i (Hut) Never heard of them
i rneself ( ‘iirst release in nine years for the pioneers of the
l San Francisco Bay Area
i rock scene‘ is the relevant
i biographical information)
. but Mark liitzel's
! involvement means compulsive. convulsive . . .
. sorm'rhing is in store. As American Music Clubs
t frontrnan his thang is
wrought-out. emotionally-
! wrecked. parched-country
rumination. The use of the
iword ‘cathartic' is
, mandatory when discussing
iAMC. Toiling Midgets.
l meanwhile. is a good and
apt name. since Son is more
égraft than craft. ‘Clinging
! litre/Clams' is as as sweaty
and fevered as Nick Cave.
and most else alternates
crashing/meandering
tumults of cracked blues.
Iiitzel's gasp and moan is
the perfect finish. These
facts. of course. mean Son is
The God Machine
a compelling if not entirely comforting listen. (Craig McLean)
I Paul McCartney: 0" The Ground (Parlophone) Positivity in the face of adversity. War. recession. more war. environmental disaster. Whitney at Number ()ne — the world is spinning on a precarious axis and here to put things right is a new record from Paul McCartney. Yes. we can all stop worrying. because ‘Hope Of Deliverance’ sounds cheery in a naive. be-spectacled 50s rock‘n'roll kinda way and ‘Mistress And Maid‘ recalls the giddy fun-filled heights of ‘The Frog (‘horus‘ (without the frogs). Moreover. in recycling song-idea resources and sounding all natural and organic like. 01f The Ground is most ecologically sound. But then again. as AC/DC put it. rock‘n‘roll ain‘t noise pollution; this though. in its stale and moribund tiftysomething way. is. (Larry Madonna)
cherry
Q U A R T E T with Carlos Ward (sax). Bob Stewart (tuba) & Hamid Drake (percussion)
GLASGOW Thur 25 Feb City Hall 041 227 5511 EDINBURGH Fri 26 Feb Queen's Hall 031 668 2019 FOR DETAILS CAlnL 031 557 4446
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND”
From Boston U . S .A. —-
W
A Tribute To The
With Special Guests APPEARING AT THE VENUE, EDINBURGH 031 557 3073 Sunday 7th March 1993 Tickets £5 advance also available from Virgin, Ripping & The Cooler THE CATHOUSE, GLASGOW 041 248 6606 Monday 8th March 1993 Tickets £5
S'UND C H E C K directions in mm
JAMES CLAPPERTON / IANle XENAKIS
Scottish and Greek sound worlds overlap. Xenakis' complete piano opus + Clapperton‘s notes from heaven and hell. "A phenomenal/y dexterous pianist" (Financial Times). Thurs 4 March. 8pm. BBC Studios. Queen St. £5 (£3.50)
JOANNA MACGBEGOB
From Scarlatti to Satie. MacGregor's proved a new piano sensation. Tonight she ranges from James MacMilian to Erroll Garner. with Ligeti. Diango Bates and Messiaen also in the bag. 5 Tues 7 6 March. 8pm. Oueen's Hall. Clerk St. £6 - £7.50 (£4)
I Stan Tracey Octet: Portraits Plus (Blue Note) The signing of Stan to Blue Note has been one of the most cheering developments of the past few months. and this debut is a good one. No new directions. maybe. but a strong band of familiar collaborators (including Peter King. Guy Barker. Don Weller. Art Themen. and son Clark) produce a typically powerful performance on six Tracey originals. four of which are tributes to jazz masters Rollins. Ellington. Monk. and Gil Evans. Stan's angular inventiveness is as rewarding as ever. and Blue
Note also plan to re-issue some earlier classics from the Steam catalogue. (Kenny Mathieson).
I Martin Taylor: Artistry (Linnilsary Boyle: Triple Echo (Dancer Cl) 001) Two contrasting approaches to guitar. Taylor‘s solo set of jazz. standards is brimming over with breath-taking melodic invention and harmonic virtuosity. all delivered with the remarkable technical accomplishment we have come to expect. Gary Boyle takes a more fusion-tinged view of matters on this attractively flowing but occasionally rather bland (especially in the rhythm
l department) trio disc. Worth
a listen. but Taylor is the prime recommendation. (Kenny Mathieson)
I Peter Erskine: You Never Know (EON) This is the pick of three new and very different trio albums from ECM. and shades out John Abercrombie's While We 're Young and Arild Andersen‘s If You Look For Enough in large part as a consequence of John Taylor‘s superbly sensitive piano playing. Erskine and Palle Danielsson give him excellent. beautifully musical support. and ifall three may be a little pastoral for some tastes. devotees of the artists or the ECM sound can buy in safety.
y (Kenny Mathieson)
moscow ART rnto ? The Trio is Mikhail Alperin. Arkady Shilkloper and Sergei i Starostin. The art is French horn gymnastics. jazz inflected improvisations and Moldavian folk songs. Fri 12 March. 8. 30pm. Queen ‘5 Hall. Clerk St. £6 - £7. 50 (£4)
NICOLA HALL
‘Let it be known that this guitarist will become one of the greatest. Her playing is permeated by strong individuality and charismatic persona/ity’ (Classical Guitar). Scottish debut. Tues 23 March. 8pm. BBC Studios. Queen St. £5 (£3.50)
Tickets: Queen's Hall box-office 031 668 2019 For SOUND CHECK brochure call 031 557 4446
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The List 12—25 February l993 33