RECORD REVIEWS MUSIC
I Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Soup (Polydor) Just what the world needs — another Jimi Hendrix compilation. So you would think. But the controller of Hendrix’s estate. Alan Douglas. has actually gone for more than just the quick-buck option here. roping together unreleased tracks with highlights from the posthumous releases C ry OfLave. War Heroes, Rainbow Bridge and Crash Landing to provide a convincing retort to those who argue that Hendrix was in irreversible decline in the months before his death. As if ‘Angel‘ and ‘Roomful Of Mirrors‘ (both included here) weren't proof enough on their own. (Alastair
Mabbott)
King Crimson: TNRAK Discipline/Virgin) After a reasonably lengthy lay- off. it‘s business as usual in the King Crimson camp. Joined by Stick player Trey Gunn and drummer Pat Mastelotto. the line-up that made the great 80s trilogy of Discipline. Beat and Three OfA Perfect Pair get right down to the serious business of harsh. angular riffs. awkward time signatures and high- forehead funk. There are a few where they ease back and let a wistful, reflective Adrian Belew up to the mike. and the band make a feature of the Mellotron‘s eerie tones. but Rab Fripp‘s jagged. spidery incursions suggest that. nudging 50. he nevertheless harbours a
desire somewhere deep down to make ears bleed. (Alastair Mabbott)
I Blumteld: l’Etat et
(Moi (Big Cat) Don‘t be
embarrassed about skipping over the five- and-a-half-minute short story in German — I did. In fact. if the thought of an album sung almost entirely in German turns you off. avoid this like the plague. But there‘s no getting around the fact that Blumfeld have a terrific sound. whether they're clattering and spitting like The Fall. coming on like a German Blue Aeroplanes or using their guitars to summon up chiming harmonies that sound for all the world like a more disciplined Pavement. Sporadically splendid.
(Alastair Mabbott)
t
Hendrix: ‘convincing retort’
I James Machllan: Seven Last Words From The Cross (Catalyst) A plethora of Scottish discs this issue. MacMillan's third for this label is dominated by his powerful and often very beautiful setting of the Seven Last Words. a commission from the BBC. The idioms are less violent than in some of his works. but the emotional temperature and sincerity of the music remain equally high. and its impact every bit as dramatic. The disc is completed by the shorter but still substantial Cantos Sagrados. Recommended. I Peter Maxwell Davies: Symphony No 5 (Collins) Max is Scottish only by adoption. but he has been as significant in our musical life as any native. His taut, highly coloured Swnphany Na 5 , which had its premiere only last August. continues this label‘s excellent survey of his works. It is accompanied by three shorter pieces. C rass Lane
Fair and Chat Mass (which provided the musical kernel developed in the symphony). and the earlier Five Klee Pictures. I Judith Weir: Blond Eckbert (Collins) Another quick transition to disc for one of the most individual of Scottish composers. This enigmatic opera. set in the dark. fantastic world of German Romanticism. becomes even more opaque when detached from its striking visual dimension. but the sparse. oblique. emotionally detached music is unmistakably hers. Both the performances. with Sian Edwards a sure-footed conductor. and the live recording are excellent. I John McLeod: Visions From The North (VMM) This is a welcome disc of McLeod's meticulously crafted. highly graphic music. lt contains two orchestral works. the evocative The Gaksrad Ship and A Dramatic Landscape. and two with voice added. featuring Jane Manning in The Whispered Name and
Rattnund Gilvan in Leider der Jugend. Worth seeking out.
I Bowallen Consort: Notes of Noy, Notes ot Joy (Temple) The gentle. beguiling combination of Robert Phillips‘s lute and William Taylor‘s small harp lie at the heart of this enjoyable collection. on which they are alsojoined by singers Mhairi Lawson and Paul Rendall in settings of early Scottish
songs. To modern ears. they sound more folk-like than classical, but that distinction post-dates the music itself.
I Pierre Boulez: Pll Selon PII (Erato) Finally. in the spirit of the Auld Alliance, an excellent 4- CD box from France‘s leading senior composer. Boulez‘s rigorous works are not easy. but for anyone interested in the develOpment of post-war composition. they are essential listening. This impressive survey leads with his biggest work to date. PIi Selan Pli. and finds space for orchestral. vocal and chamber works. (Kenny Mathieson)
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The List 19 May-l Jun 1995 39