MUSIC PREVIEW
ERIE-l
HEE— echoes of the likes of The Band or
Little Feat in both his singing and the
i SONNY LANDBETH songs themselves — it wouldn’t take - i ' South ~0l '40 (ZOO/Plai‘isl much imagination, for example, to Sliféi'és'iiiii’gmg in ’ Louisiana singer and ace guitarist hear the late Lowell George amid the
the mirrored surfaces of i
Sonny Landreth is best known for his slithering boogie of ‘Congo Square.’ the new releases
work with the likes of John Mayall and Lahdreth is his own man, though. llis John Haitt, but his second album for slide guitar work is particularly
this label has big bieakthiough attention-grabbing, but he is also a ' written all over it - or at least, it will dazzling ringer-picker, while the
MSW Ponies' thc mm] 1 ii the"? is any iUSlice- combination of both styles is ; 8mm" 0 Hm 19“- l “i5 ""15": meiges blues. Call!" afld positively lethal. The music has a ; giggling;{llrlztffiltllwigi1 i . more distanced country influences hard, driving edge andsense of . ti Starerossed' (l-‘ire i. full of ‘ across an atmospherlc set of Ms own underlying tensron which marks it out pensive guitars. throbbing songs (plus a killer cover of J3, from a lot of the more poppy . 3 with [Cll;l()ll {llltl l‘Clt‘ilSL‘ ll] Lenoir’s ‘Moio Boogie’)’ a" of which mainstream rock releases corn'ng
1‘ SW0 “mm km“ “l are soaked in the ambience of his from the States right now, Highly
M)“ W“ “"1"” “m” native state. There are occasional recommended. (Kenny Mathieson)
Keegan's voice seemineg filtering in from another : studio. It‘s the kind of song that would make most sense heard live. ( lotld and late at night in
Psyche and all manner of success is let loose. The trouble is that their key
Slang or Tu“ W CW” ‘ WET WET WET to success - straightforward pop for captured on disc beal's ) could-be lovers - is also then repeated listenings. .ltlst Picture This (Mercury) Achilles’ Heel. With the death of their
down the road l‘l‘om there. At the beginning of 1992’ the times The Pastels hate got ()ne when Hue & cry, Danny Wilson, wet “""F‘ 1",".(““m‘dla‘fll" ' Wet Wet and Deacon Blue were is in dire need.
l':\'3::;\i(;:“(")‘f breezing into the Top 20 already Sure, it’s well-produced and (Dmm'm)_ and i, mums i seemed like halcyon, far-off days. Only individually the boys from Clydebank
self-styled soul has followed their artistic merit, of which ‘Picture This’
like the uneasy [-Ceuh Ur one of those bands has commercially are extremely talented, but why is it
too many compromises. survived; thanks, I would suggest, to just so dull? They could perform
It‘s. by no means the one song. The importance of tracks like ‘All In My Mind‘ until the
radical overhaul one ‘Goodnight Girl’ can not be accountants come home, but it
will” "‘M C‘l’9C‘C‘l‘ bl” underestimated in saving WWW’s ' doesn’t really do them any favours. All
l” ""l “‘“f‘l‘ "‘ “'l‘ _ career, because it prefigured their ‘Picture This’ does is confirm WWW’s
iluiitlx' future. position with coffee-table mediocrity.
different-Shun. “ ' The Wets have developed an If they are happy then fine, but as long pmduccrg (that. range, astonishing knack of coming up with as their bank manager ‘grins like
and Alan Winstanley littVe instant pop classics. ‘Julia Says’ and u Pellow’, the song and tune sadly :1 peerless CV. but even ‘Love Is All Around’ engage Cupid and l remain the same. (Philip Donvard) they haven‘t been able to sprinkle enough tally dust on the tape ol‘ Bush's ,
‘livervthing Xen‘ Im_ easy line in any song, preferring to . (Trimiiiii/lliim'swlici- continually disrupt anything that 7 T." WHY “’Wim Pm" starts to sound like easy listening. WSW“ I mink ml“ is ‘1‘” Malkmus’s genius is as an arranger kind Oliisllllil. Kurt Cobain wowee zowee (Big cat) of startling noises, and the new V it“ U'véng [()(;“%rnalf$ Pavement’s thde album (excluding the eighteen-track album draws on a ! Engié'ss [33583111 mm. early singles compilation) could have wider range than its predecessors, ‘ the mark. As well as H been a POP maStefPiece- Main mail from the country twang of ‘Father to a : wrapping their naked Stephen Malkmus, whose sounds-in- Sister of Thought’ to the hardcore ( bodies in clingtilm. they the-head are made externally audible noise fragments on ‘Best Friends Arm’. : have ii Pcuchaui W by the band, has shown that he is This is Pavement’s most diverse ‘ “'“pl’mg ‘l"1~"-"‘"“' l” master of melody and the pop album yet, with the songs selected pm‘icmu“ mm“ “m sensibility. The indie-hits from the last from an intense three-week recording P,‘.?j,’r',",§.,:'j,"'{(:‘gij13;, DC album ‘Crooked Rain, Crooked Bain’ spree in Memphis, Tennessee. tordie Memes pi) mum} ,_ just kept coming, including the totally knows what the old-tlmers reminisclng Am‘und rogt (rm. might excellent ‘llange life’. on their verandas about the Sun days have been consitlered ‘ But no. ‘Wowee Zowee’ continues to made of it, but ‘Wowee Zowee’ is a challenging and profound explore Malkmus’s fascination with fine record which is sometimes for about a week. l‘ar the way discord and harmony sound difficult and perplexing though but" ‘0 “'f'” l,“ "13"” when they’re put together in close ultimately worth the effort. If you’re Cf’l',”"r'“‘¥ (C “y Slullg) PTOXiiiiitll- AS With lifeViOllS albums. going to buy one lo-fi record this year, we 0 a engo‘ m? “m Pavement have avoided taking the etc etc. (Eddie Gibb)
. underground band. much admired by those in
9.- " ii" i ” I i l a . divas. l l ‘ h . 3‘ . l ‘ x‘ finalist meii “Tattooe- VARIOUS ARTISTS l As a commercial sound. it is light ‘ e (
what they want to do and CREAM years ahead of Pete Tong’s uninspired don't need a marketing ; performance. The man who changed strategy to achieve it. This Cream has nothing to do with Eric l the nature or broadcasting house to WWW” “"C'll “'“hi” Clapton, but BVBFVthing to do With one I the nation could have done better than k‘S-‘mg d““‘““° 0’ of Britain’s most infamous clubs. i the 40 minutes or Eur-omen he has
Founded in 1992 in Liverppol, it plays untidny put together new. pemaps he I a nice tune on ‘(jreen “05' to some 0' “‘3 “'0'” s “"95‘ ms, 1 should have paid more attention at the .
Goddess' (Alias). easily ’0‘" of "Pom “I'd the" “homo ""5 Paul Oakenfold masterclass. Ignoring
digested and beguilineg comp'lat'on Wh'Ch does WP'lV "‘8 the Perfecto stuff and the supports for 3
sung by Jason Arbenz. club’s eclectic dance playlist. the likes of "2 "aka, as a DJ is i Novelty time: Scatman First to appear is Graeme Park, the '
utterly infallible. As for his protegé Justin Robertson, soon to inherit Oakenfold’s crown as the innovator, his clanging, banging live set is a joy
John‘s ‘Scziruizru‘ ( RCA) master of ‘handbag’ house. Personally, has been burning lt up all live a [at of respect for a man who
“V” hump“ and "W ” " sounds like a football stadium, and
our turn. Early
l impressions suggest it "at for nommg‘ was he glee“ fluted 0" to behold. This man Still plays ‘Voodoo holds no horrors we can't Pl tile Veal by .M'_XM39 '_ A 6'5“) Ray’. Cream Cheesy but devilishly L handle. But be careful. 'unk'e’ Palk’s "x '5 mating sexual delicious. (Philip Dorward)
44 The List 21 Apr-4 May 1995 I