RECORD REVIEWS MUSIC
I Killdoaer: lincontpronitsing War an Art Under The Dictatorship (It The Proletariat (Touch & Go) Killdozer don‘t so much play as grind their way from one end of a song to the other. Their masterpiece was I986’s ‘Hamburger Martyr‘, included here as a bonus track. which may have been a mistake since it shows how little they have inched forward since then. All the same. they can occasionally be pretty funny and the sleevenotes and design are brilliant. though the band's conversion to revolutionary communism seems a waste of precious energy. or an elaborate prank. Hats off to their assiduous research. but it doesn’t make this seventeen-tracker any easier to sit through. To be taken in small doses. (Alastair Mabbott)
I Juliet Roberts: Natural Thing (Cooltempo) Currently Number One on the Billboard Dance Charts with her latest offering ‘1 Want You’, Natural Thing will only go to strengthen Roberts’
burgeoning reputation as
one of the most important female singer/songwriters to emerge from Britain in
recent years. The forceful.
uplifting House singles ‘Caught In The Middle’ and ‘Free Love' have already made her Queen of Clubs. and the well- honed ballads ‘September’ and ‘Life Goes Around' should see her extend well beyond the reach of the overrated
r Gabrielle and the
overexposed Dina Carroll. Her classical training and years spent scouring the live scene with Working Week combine to produce an awesomely powerful voice that oozes every sentiment from gospel liberation (‘Save lt’) to beautiful poetic expressionism (‘Eyes Of A Child‘). Without doubt one of the best albums of the year so far for solid
3 soul nourishment. (Philip
Dorward)
I David Toop and Max Eastley: Buried Dreams (Beyond) ‘Media pundits
1 tagged them as the new 2 Pharoahs. but amongst
themselves they were the Nu-Bi-an Alchemists.’ David Toop. musician (recorded on Ends
I Obscure label in 1975)
turned writer (music critic -
for The Face) turned musician and Max
Eastley. ‘kinetic artist’. have produced the definitive 90s ambient concept album. Buried Dreams is accompanied by a stylish booklet containing twelve of
7 Toop’s short stories and
explanations of how the sounds were formulated. Eastley’s kinetic art and Toop's background of Yanomami Shamanistic chanting recordings meld a lateral soundtrack rather than a linear narrative. Forget the immediate gratification of vocals or even melody. this is a submerged and drifting invocation of another world. Self-indulgent global tourism, perhaps but nevertheless a great idea. (Bethan Cole)
I lotion: Full Isaac (Big Cat) This is great, in a husky, spangly, produced- by-Kurt-from-Ultra- Vivid-Scene kinda way.
l Just as Counting Crows’
; August And Everything
' After at first sounds like AN Other US AOR FM plod (and only later becomes a record that instils a rabid evangelical zeal — ‘you must hear this. you must’ - in all listeners). so Full Isaac is way more than the sum of its Buffalo Tom/Bob Mould/REM parts. Probably this is down to the fact that the first song, ‘Tear’, and the seventh song. ‘Around’ (check the cellosl), slowly mount a rock-out gradient. And even when they reach their peaks of spirited melancholy, Lotion’s subtlety and intrigue are more than enough to stave off aw-naw-not-more- nice-college-kids-with- guitars ennui. Long sentences and Lotion’s slow-buming magic are in this season. (Craig McLean)
I Bobby Wellins: IIornad (ilot IIouseVSpecial Relationship (IIEP) Glasgow-born saxophonist Bobby Wellins is one of the most distinctive British players of his generation (those who came up in the bop ferment of the 50s). His caustic tenor playing always reminds us that the saxophone is a reed as well as a brass instrument. and he builds his solos with a finely-judged economy which proves unequivocally that less can be much more. Nomad is an excellent new set with a fine rhythm trio led by Jonathan Gee. plus singer Claire Martin on three tracks. while the HEP set is culled from two earlier albums (1978/80) with trombonist Jimmy Knepper and fellow Scottish saxman Joe Temperley. Both recommended.
I Andy Sheppard: Special Delivery (Blue IIoteVTrevor Watts Moire Music Brunt Orchestra: A Wider Embrace (ECU)
More British musicians.
1 this time in two very
different approaches to
middle-sized bands. Sheppard‘s promised follow-up to Rhythm
Method with his electric ten-piece Big Co-Motion
is a predictably driving.
energetic one. but the reservations about this
band. and especially the rhythm section. remain.
Trevor Wath was
combining jazz with the ethnic music of Africa
long before it became a
fashionable gesture. and
this combination of two of
his earlier groups continues to work that
l vein in profitable (if now
slightly familiar) fashion. I Jessica Williams: In The Pocket (NEH/Rank Jones: Upon Reflection (Verve) Jessica Williams’s earlier HEP solo release was my record of last year. and this new tn'o set is every bit as impressive. intriguing tunes, gorgeously inventive pianism. and a thoroughly swinging rhythm section all add up to more essential listening from this undervalued American artist. Hank Jones. while better known. has always been a
little in the shade of brothers Elvin and Thad, but he is a long-standing favourite of mine. and this album of Thad‘s tunes
. (with Elvin on drums) will reveal why. A real rival to Tommy Flanagan‘s recent fine Thad tribute Let 's (enja). they duplicate only i one track. If you have the : cash. invest in both.
! I Bllly Eckstine: Everything I Have Is Yours (VervellBasie/Eckstine Incorporated (Roulette) Eckstine was the first singer to really absorb the new harmonic lessons of bebop into his singing. and his rich. flexible baritone sounds just fine here. The two-CD Verve compilation captures him in a variety of settings from the late 405—early 50s, in the wake of his own revolutionary big band. The Basie set dates from 1959, consists entirely of blues tunes. and remains one of Eckstine's best. Roulette simultaneously re-issue another essential package. combining two Sarah Vaughan albums as The Benny Carter Sessions. Every home should have them. (Kenny Mathieson)
SHE THINKS MAYFEST ISN’T FOR HER. BUT SHE LOVESHER COUNTRY.
U.S. COUNTRY MUSIC SEASON AT MAYFEST 1994 Vince Gill 0 Bob Paisley - Asleep At The Wheel 0 Don McCaIister - Jimmy LaFave - Iris DeMent - Stephen Bruton - Will Sexton 0 Alison Brown
WORLD MUSIC SEASON AT MAYFEST 1994
Youssou N’Dour - Khaled - Angelique Kidjo 0 Tony Bird - Talitha Mackenzie - Ravi - Busi Mhlongo 8. Nasa - Llan de Cubel
AND - Capercaillie 4- Nina Simone + Bjorn Again + Carol Laula + The Christians + Eleanor McEvoy + Eric Bogle + Fascinating Aida + Hank Wangford + Horse + Hue & Cry + The Humpff Family + Juliet Roberts + Love & Money + Mayfest Ceilidhs + Pele 4- Penguin Cafe Or- chestra 4- Richard Thompson + Walter Trout + Fiddle Puppets + Colin Blunstone + The Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band + The Fun Horns with Billy Jenkins + Wolfstone Unplugged AND MUCH MORE -
All events at The Beck’s Tent, Glasgow Green 8. The Ferry, Clyde Place.
INTERNATIONAL THEATRE AND DANCE
One World First: Buendia (Cuba), Footpaul Productions ( South Africa), Handspring Puppet Co. (South Africa), Ki Yr M'Bock (Ivory Coast), Marie Chouinard (Canada), The Necessary Stage (Singapore) and Topp Twins '1 New Zealand).
COMEDY: Fred MacAuIay + Rhona Cameron _+ Jeff Green 4- Donna McPhail + Jeremy Hardy + Jimeoin 4- Jo Brand 4- John Shuttleworth + Julian Clary 4- Mark Lamarr +
Topp Twins MAYFEST1994 FRI 29 APRIL - SAT 21 MAY
8TH}: HERALD
TICKETS: 041-227 5511
The List 8—21 April I994 29