RECORD REVIEWS MUSIC
I Billy Idol: Cyberpunk (CIII'VSRIlS) Ageing punk flicks through a copy of Neuromanr‘er and gamishes his basic metal sound with 'futuristic‘ touches in the mistaken belief that he's at the cutting edge of the New Age/cyberculture interface. The saddest record of this. or perhaps any. year. Diamond Dogs has a lot to live down. (Alastair Mabbott)
I Fishbone: Give A Monkey A Brain And Re’ll Swear ile’s The Center ill The Universe (Columbia) in the course of this. Fishbone cover all the bases. from reggae to bluesy funk and jazzy R&B. but it‘s the lurching heavy metal of the opening tracks that. rather than just coming across as one facet ofthe band. defines them. The subsequent genre-hopping shows, as well as versatility. a desperate desire not to be trapped in a thrash ghetto. though we‘re given enough
reason to suspect that‘s where they feel most comfortable. Even when they dissolve into free- forrn freakout. there's an air ofcalculation hanging over it all. For all their excursions into other territories. they've come up with a ruthlessly efficient 90s rock album. Nothing more. nothing less. (Alastair Mabbott)
I CS 3: Hand (in The Torch (Blue llote) If jazz is renowned as musical wanking. is rap not its modem day equivalent? Thankfully. Hand On The 'lim‘h only employs the
jazz and rap in a musical
sense. US 3 have been
allowed unlimited access
to sacred Blue Note Recording vaults. Behold a myriad of inspired samples all interjected
with the cool. freestyle ‘ speech of British-bom
rapper Tukka Yoot. While
i musically the rap is ‘ polished and jazz samples f swing. the modern
melodies which link them together are very lacklustre indeed; only ‘Riddim‘. ‘Cantaloop’ and ‘Eleven Long Years‘ cut the thrust of the
dancefioor. Like wanking.
this is enjoyable. until too much causes pain and you realise that it wasn't such a good idea after all. Pass the Savlon. (Philip Dorward)
I Black: Are We Having Fun Yet? (Chaos Reigns) Ho ho. the irony. Ever the
sardonic cad. Black
returns from the been-
dropped wilderness.
complete with snippily- L titled album and record
label. Happily. Black isn’t
as black as we might have expected. given his generally moumful disposition. Now on his own label. under his own
2 terms. to his own agenda.
etc. etc. Black's fourth album brims with his trademark slowburning torch-song angst — wearying ennui. however.
; is staved off both by the
; still-incisive sweep of his domestic drama. and a
newfound swing and strut. 5 Being dropped. being
unburdened. is probably
the best thing that‘s ; happened to our lad. That.
and getting married. (Craig McLean)
I Various: Peace Together (Island) ls the world ready for that Curve/Ian Dury combination? On the strength of their contribution to these songs chosen ‘for their specific relevance to Northern lreland and the trauma of confrontation’. if it ain‘t. it ought to be. 'What A Waste?‘ Never! Here are moments of pure wonderment. Lou Reed giving U2 a helping vocal cord on a live version of ‘Satellite Of Love'. Carter USM’s spine-tingling rendition of ‘Peace In Our Times'. Liam O‘Maonlai teaming up with Rolf Harris for a. yes. poignant version of ‘Two Little Boys’. Therapy? slipping
the ‘Alternative Ulster' riff into ‘lnvisible Sun’.
Sinead O'Connor with Billy Bragg and Andy
! White on White‘s ‘Religious Persuasion'.
Beside the good-cause handle. there‘s a bundle of reasons to get a load of this. (Thom Dibdin)
I Tony Coe: Some Other Autumn (REP Records) In a civilised society. Tony Coe would be recognised as a national treasure; in our degenerater commercial one. he often seems more of a well-kept secret. The cognoscenri will leap on this re-issue with glee. however. and so should you. it captures the saxophonist in vintage. idiosyncratic voice at Ronnie Scott’s back in 1971. and reveals a musical intelligence which still burns just as brightly. lfany further recommendation were needed. the band features Phil Seaman on drums alongside Dave Green on bass and pianist Bn'an Lemon. Highly recommended. (Kenny Mathieson)
I Wadada Lee Smith: Kultore Jan/Hal Russell lle Ensemble: The llal Russell Story (ECM) As more and more jazz players play more and more notes at faster and faster tempos to less and
' less effect. the great
trumpet master (and singer and multi-
‘ instrumentalist) Leo
Smith moves the other way in this solo set. charting a spiritual
journey through the jazz - experience in a spare. ; haunting. evocative. often
abstract. and utterly compelling fashion. Essential listening. as is the very different. fiery. searching group music on the late Hal Russell's last
3 studio session. which is
mostly taken up by the eponymous eighteen-part musical distillation of his colourful life in jazz. (Kenny Mathieson)
I Stephen Scott: Amlnah’s Dream (VerveVMarcus Roberts: If i Could Be With You
' (8M8 llovus) There is a
rich stream of piano recordings from exciting young players flowing across the Atlantic at the moment. Stephen Scott has a rhythm section of Ron Carter and Elvin Jones to work with. but is not out of his depth in such company. His conception is broadly straight-ahead. but never
; predictable. and the
addition of a horn section ‘ on four tracks also varies the menu. One to hear.
. and to watch. Marcus
Roberts is a more familiar name. and offers another dynamically two-handed revision of early jazz
i history on this
. accomplished set. (Kenny . Mathieson)
'- I Ella Fitzgerald: First
= Lady of Song (VerveVJohn Pinarelli: llaturallHBm llovus) The fully
satisfactory anthology is only a dream. but this
; attractively-packaged Ella retrospect (it comes in a
handsome three-CD version of the old 78rpm album design) is full of gems culled from the Verve years. from out-
_ and-out jazz to the more
I
mainstream offerings of the Songbook ilk. Self- recommending if you have the cash; if not. you could do worse than invest in Pizzarelli’s delightfully swinging. Nat King Cole-ish set. Okay. so it’s a regressive shot at the Harry Connick market - who cares when it sounds this good? (Kenny Mathieson)
i g 421-}
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The List 16—29 July 1993 31