Vagn Holmboe Complete Chamber Concertos, Vol I (Dacapo) 1r sink 4:
Holmboe died last year, leaving a substantial and accessible legacy of compositions which many regard as the richest body of Danish music since Nielsen. His thirteen chamber concertos are not as well known as his symphonies or string quartets, but this new series should help set that to rights. Volume I contains the first three, crisply and sympathetically played by the Danish Radio Concert Orchestra under Hannu Koivula, and Danish soloists. (KM)
Nigel Clark Quintet
Worldwide Sound (Sienna) tar * ir
They had to set up their own label to do it, but Nigel Clark’s excellent jazz- fusion qurntet finally have their scintillating debut CD in the shops. This band has been one of the most impressive to emerge in the current decade on the Scottish scene, and if the odd cut verges uncomfortany close to outmoded 70s jazz-rock showiness, the majority is absorbing listening. The playing is great and the pace generally sizzling, with a sprinkling of Latin grooves and jazz ballads to cool down the funk. (KM)
Essence All Stars
Jackie's Blues Bag (Hip Bop Essence) 'k * *
The latest Essence All Stars project from the acoustic division of this fusion label pays tribute to the blues facet of altoist Jackie McLean’s music. Eight eminent new generation saxmen (including Joe Lovano, Branford Marsalis, Javon Jackson and Craig Handy) have their say on seven tunes from the Jackie Mac repertoire, supported by a swinging rhythm trio. The drums are a little intrusively mixed, but there are some fine blues going down. (KM)
Mark Chesnutt
Greatest Hits (MCA) ti: *
A set of Mark Chesnutt’s greatest hits in the UK would be a short album, but he has been making a big impact stateside. The singer has tapped into the authentic honky tonk roots of the music with much greater conviction (and humour) than most of the derivative hat acts cranked out by the
Nashville promotional machine, and this album is a good introduction to his work. (KM)
The Holmes Brothers Promised Land (Rounder) ***
The veteran New Jersey based trio recruit extra helpers on some tracks, but stick to what they do best, their trademark amalgam of blues, soul, gospel, and down-and-dirty funk, all rolled into one powerful, gritty package. The band's southern roots are always evident, but years of playing in New York bars has given their music a hard-driving urban edge. The combination is a killer, and this disc is an honest, no-frills reflection of it. (KM)
Cesaria Evora Cabo Verde (BMG) *irivk
Morna is often described as Cape Verde’s version of the blues, but it has a sinuous Latin sensuality running through it as well. Cesaria Evora is the greatest exponent of the music alive, and her belated ’discovery' in the late 805 (after three decades of singing) brought her to an international audience. Her voice and unaffected artistry is simply delicious, and this disc features a sampling of other more vivacious Cape Verdean idioms alongside the melancholic morna. Recommended. (KM)
Tarnation
Your Thoughts And Mine (4AD) * ‘k * ir
For them that like their burritos with lashings of both salsa and guacamole, this is the one. Paula Frazer sings the great spaghetti Western theme that never was, an essential mariachi trumpet helping her ascend to the peaks. Rarely have The Bad Seeds or Tindersticks sounded this good. (AM)
Bis
Sweet Shop Avengerz (Wiiija) it at What? Diminished returns setting in already? This is cut from the same cloth as ‘Fake DIY’ and reeks gently of self-parody. Those who read deeper meaning into all those warblings about Secret Vampires and Icky-Poo Air Raiderz may now be forced into questioning Bis's relevance to their lives. (AM)
ROBERT BURNS
Goldblade: this year's Sigue Sigue Sputnik
Blind
Radio Infectious (Evol) *** *
Extraordinarily well-produced for a ’local single', ’Radio Infectious' kicks off with a riff closely related to Black Sabbath's ‘Paranoid', but turns into an even more serious affair. Smouldering when it’s not bursting into flares of grungey glory, this one's also to be commended for its sound-bolstering keyboard part — even if it did take two of them to play it. (AM)
Idlewild
Queen Of The Troubled Teens (Human Condition) * at
So this is what the rest of Pixies did when Frank Black and Kim Deal went their own ways: moved to Edinburgh
record reviews MUSIC
and started making really nasty records. ’Pull out his eyes and apologise,’ they shriek over some rumbustious, and completely unapologetic, thrashing. Troubled indeed. (AM)
Goldblade
Strictly Hardcore (Ultimate) * **
Former Membrane John Robb unleashes his Glitter Band-meets-The Clash outfit for a second outing, hyped to the max on trash, flash and glam. Could be the recipe for the next U2. Or the Sigue Sigue Sputnik of the 90s. Um, this year's Rocket From The Crypt, anyone? (AM)
The Nicotines Mary Wana (Jealous) **
Well, it worked for Supergrass. Oxford trio announce their presence by utilising the bass-drums-guitar trio format to poptastic extremes on a song about smoking dope. Cheery, and some nice things happen during the chorus, but that’s about it. Mind you, I hated 'Caught By The Fuzz' too, if it’s any consolation. (AM)
REVIEWERS THIS ISSUE:
Jim Byers, Brian Donaldson, Alastair Mabbott, Kenny Mathieson, Fiona Shepherd.
STAR RATINGS ~ .' it it it * * Outstanding their Recommended * * it Worth a try it * So-so it Poor
.IO'IIIIIIOOID WORLD TO”. ‘997
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