RECORD REVIEWS MUSIC
I loop Guru: Amrita (Horth SouthVHitln Sawhney: Migration (Outcaste) Last year's Loop (iuru album. Duniya. was otte of the best of tlte year. an exotic blertd of influences front dattce attd ethnic music. Here. however, he's stretching tlte formula too lltlll. lhe multiplicity ot the samples -— tltose darmted Bulgarian women again. tor the thousandth time all amounts to very little iii the end. and tlte tracks sound thrown together with minimum effort. The (Sum badly ttecds a featured singer. like l)untya's Sttssan. and to take a more imaginative tack than pcppering workaday backing tracks witlt predictable samples.
Nitin Sawltttey's is the first release on a label dedicated to British .-\siatt talent. attd is a far more intrtguirtg arid origittal case of cultural mix ttlttl tttitlc‘ll. lls weirdest moment comes whert Sawltttey. wlto plays most of the ittstrumettts herein. overlays a very classical- sotmdittg piano piece atop the tabla-driven backing track. lilsewltere. he's doing similar things w itlt Spanish guitars attd whatever else comes to hand. Seek it ottt. (Alastair Mabbott)
I Dirty Three: Dirty Three (Big Cat) lf Nick Cave ever gets around to writing a screenplay. arid surely it's only a matter of tittte. his Aussie tttuckers the Dirty Three will no doubt he called on to provide the soundtrack. lt
would be a teturtt favour after the band's tounder Warren lillis ltelpcd ottt on the Bad Seeds' [mt Low In attd is involved itt Saint Nick's much talked about ‘murder ballads’ project. The other two —« Jittt White attd Mick Turner — have equally cool ()1. rock credentials wlticlt include the Black- liyed Susans. the Moodists artd Robert liorster.
And their music'.’ Well the Dirty Three are surely the scu/ziest instrumental hand doing Doors-style riff-o-ramas to release an albuttt this year. This record howls attd prowls (but never sings) the blues on violin attd guitar. evoking the dusty. wide- open spaces of its country of origin. A perfect tltrec— card trick. (Eddie Gibb) I Eusebe: Tales trom Mama’s Yard (Collective)
39::
Loop Guru: ‘predlctable samples’
littsebe provide a summer soundtrack for sitting out sipping a cold one or cruising around west London iii an open-topped
Jeep. So why. pray. was this
album released just as the
chill of autumn blows away
the longest summer since records (or at least CDs) began‘.’ Makes no sense. This artfully packaged release swings itt the territory between Arrested Development attd Soul ll Soul iii the days before Jazzy B souled ottt totally.
Saybe's easy-going raps are
tempered by his sister Fatcat's house-tinged
vocals. adding variety to the basic blunted hip-hop beats.
The litisebe sound is jazzy attd cool. but their songs merge together into one
endless groove which lacks an edge. Check them out on
the next door neighbour's
boottt-box when the stttt next shines. (liddie Gibb)
I Date Watson: Cheatin’ Heart Attack (Hightone) ("lassic ‘they don‘t make them like this any more' honky-tonk to put the Nashville production line to shame front this Texas singer attd guitarist. He‘s been singing for a while. but this is his first album. and as he sings on the biting ‘Nashville Rash'. he‘s way too country for country these days. He ltas a rough-edged. expressive voice and fine songs. attd if his sound owes a lot to the Bakersfield-Austin axis (especially Haggard and Jennings). he's ttobody's clone. The real deal. and very highly recommended.
I Heather Myles: Untamed (Demon) Another excellertt. punchy album from a singer firmly on the rootsy side of country. but she hasn't got quite the same sense of defined identity as Watson — not yet. anyway. The album shifts ground from a classic country mode (as in ‘When You Walked Out On Me') to a more pop-orientated direction (check. for
example. 'Attd It Hurts). but since she's damned good at botlt. maybe that doesn't really matter.
I Randy Travis: Forever And Ever (Warner Bros) The
sclttttaltz-onteter shoots clean off the dial on ‘No Place like Home'. but this is an otherwise solid
‘best of" compilation front
this leadittg mainstream country star. His rich. deep. dark baritone is lteard across a nicely varied spread of material. frottt the lopirtg honky-
tonk of Deeper Than The
Holler" to the relaxed
jazz-tinged swing of
‘Honky Tottk Moon'. while his ballads are
simply immaculate. A ftne introduction to an i important contemporary country voice.
I Shania Twain: The Woman In Me (Mercury) Sophisticated country-pop from this Canadian singer
{ with a big voice and the
kind of video-friendly looks which Nashville is lapping up these days. This album. her second. is already a major hit in the USA. and reveals the influence of her working partnership with her husband. rock producer Mutt Lattge. in its
ntetrortomic druttt tracks
attd lavish. upfrortt veneer.
I Janette Sommers: Heart Of A Mother (JSH) The self-produced debut album front this Scottish singer turns out to be a solid achievement. although there is nothing here to suggest that she might tttake areal impact beyond the British scene (although I'd be happy if she proved tne wrong). Originals by Sommers attd guitarist Bob Henderson stand alongside well- chosen cover versions. including
a couple of songs by Mary
Chapin Carpenter. and Martina McBride‘s huge US hit ‘lndependence Day'.
I Cathryn Craig: Porch Songs (Goldrush) More Scottish connections as this Nashville-based singer sees her debut album become the first release on a new Perth-
based label. Fine stuff it is
too. recorded in highly natural. unforced fashion on the porch of her house. with some fine picking from Gary Hall and Mark Wilkinson to complement her sweet. relaxed. expressive singing. Worth checking out. (Kenny Mathieson)
AFRICAN ll EA” C "11116 E
& TUFFHEAD’S DUB CLINIC Sunday lst October -
Aberdeen Lemon Tree Mon. 2nd - Edinburgh Venue
plus INAURA Sept 28 - Edinburgh Venue
Welcome to Mama
g; :1. _ Tue. 3rd - Glasgow Garage
HAWKWIND
Plus Guests. Thur. 12th Oct.
Oct 8 - Aberdeen Lemon Tree Glasgow Barrowlands
QC' 9 ' Edinburgh Venue Lydia Lunch 8. Exene Cervenka 0Ct lo ‘ Glasgow SUb ClUb Nov 2 - Edinbur h Venue
Saturday 14th October Ias o ow Barrowlands
REPUBLICA, MEGALON, JOl SOUND SYSTEM
Monday 61h November - Glasgow Barrowlands
11th October Edinburgh Queens Hall
18th October Glasgow Royal Concert Hall 0141-227 5511
yn cullins
23rd October Glasgow Pavilion 0141-332 1846
24th October Edinburgh Queens Hall 0131-668 2019
Gmmusm
The List 8-21 Sept I995 39