SAM BAPUNK Bloco Vomit
Never Mind The Bossa Nova (X Creature Productions) tar
Nine out of ten people would dismiss these twelve cover versions of punk/new wave standards ('Jilted John', 'Pretty Vacant', 'Roadrunner' etc) as utter shite. Little more than ropey re-writes of twenty-year-old songs performed badly by people old enough to know better, this album boasts one gimmick: an alleged slight samba influence. But then let's not be too po-faced. Bloco Vomit have an evident and obvious sense of humour, it’s iust that the only one to share it will be the pissed-up punk lag who has still to be told that the punk wars are over. Guaranteed to be a huge hit at this summer's Punks’ Picnic, God bless ’em. (JT)
COU NTRY
Dale Watson
The Truckin' Sessions (CSC) fr it it * Dale Watson puts the pedal to the metal on a set of brand new, self- composed, they-don't-make-‘em-like- that-anymore trucking songs. The sleeve photo is straight out of the Merle Haggard collection, and the down-home vocal style is the offspring of Haggard, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Buck Owens, reincarnated in a wiry little Texan with a big, smoky, dark-toned voice and a tight-knit, driving band. Watson probably needs to be heard live to get the full impact, but this will do nicely meantime. (KM)
JAZZ Tina May
Change of Sky/Jazz Piquant (33 Records) ar * 1k */* 1r 3?
Two new albums featuring singer Tina May, the first a wonderful duet session with pianist Nikki Iles which mixes contemporary songs With a couple of great standards, and the second featuring mainly French lyrics — doubtless released to coincide with a certain media interest in France right now — With saxophonist Tony Coe, and various combinations of guitar, piano and violin accompaniment. The duo album is my preference, but both are nicely timed reminders of just what an assured and sophisticated performer May now is (catch her at Graffiti in the Fringe). (KM)
CONTEMPORARY Philip Glass S mphony No 2 (Nonesuch) ink-tr lass seems to be writing a series of conventionally numbered symphonies which are distinct from his Bowie-Eno symphonic cycle (comprising Low and Heroes so far, with Lodger in the works). This one dates from 1994, in a period when he was much preoccupied with polytonality in his work, and while very typical in many respects, it has a rather dark, brooding undertone (and even echoes of Shostakovitch) that are a little unusual for this composer. The Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra, featuring the Rascher Quartet, is breezier, with an energised, jazz-like feel at times. A gentle 'lnterlude' from Orphee completes a substantial disc. (KM)
FOLK House Band October Song (Green Linnet) it it * e
Another eclectic mixture from a team comprising Ged Foley (ex-Battlefield, now also with Patrick Street) on guitar, mandolin and vocals; Roger Wilson on fiddle, guitar and vocals; John Skelton’s flute, whistle, bombarde and bagpipes; and Chris Parkinson’s melodeon and harmonica. A selection of well-played American, Irish, Scots, Breton, Greek, Romanian and Quebecois tunes, some well-known and some rarities, are fitted round the songs, which include a limp vocal version of Cyril Tawney’s ’Grey Funnel Line‘ (by Foley), another version of the ’Johnny Faa’ ballad, and even Robin Williamson’s ’October Song‘ from the Incredible String Band days (both efficiently sung by Wilson). A might passionless, the album takes no risks musically but is bound to have something for everyone. (NC)
Natalie MacMaster
My Roots Are Showing (Greentrax)
1k it it it
The sleeve credits a Kimberly Gautreau as 'Cover Photo Make Up Artist/Stylist', and in the picture Natalie, in an off- the-shoulder gown, with her eyes closed, communes with her musical family tree. Whether or not the Canadian fiddle star’s hair comes out of a bottle, her music is certainly authentic, coming from the old tradition centred on emigrant Scots fiddle and pipe styles, evolved in contact with Irish and other North American accents — set on top of rolling, roistering piano, built up in endless kitchen sessions and honed in the much loved and frequented dance halls of Cape Breton Island. It’s all very, very good stuff, but unsurprisingly, contains few surprises. (NC)
Elise MacLellan
Kiss On The Wind (Lochshore) ****
If you know Savourna Stevenson’s way with the contemporary clarsach, the neo-celtic small harp, or whatever you want to call it, you’ll be in familiar territory. Not that Elise (who from a young age was a pupil of Savourna) performs with the same panache as her mentor, but the swing, the modal harmony and the riff-based melody are all there. Adventurous chromaticism isn’t, but that's no bad thing. A fine cast of studio musos, including Wendy Weatherby on cello, Fraser Spiers on harmonica, Chaz Stewart on electric guitar, and Stevie Lawrence on lots of things with frets and a bass without, add colour and contrast — but for all that, MacLellan’s compositions (With titles like 'Spindrift', ’Soonhope', 'Echoes Of A Broken Heart’ and the title track), although pleasant, and well performed, remain airin inconsequential. (NC)
mm:- The Most
I Stole Your Man/Bodysnatcher (Cooler) * 1t 1t 1r
Apologies to The Most for the tardy review of this single which has been available since the middle of May. It‘s
record reviews MUSIC
HIP HOP Beastie Boys Hello Nag
Grand Royal) * ‘k * * 1k
‘ "-1 x‘ I" 4'. w The Beastie Boys: chills 'n‘ thrills
Messrs MCA, Adam and Mike D have come a long, long way from their early days as a hardcore punk band. The rich diversity of sounds on Hello Nasty is a measure of just how far they have travelled. Check off their uniquely wide-ranging rag bag of influences - old skool. new skool. latino. dub and funky chill — they all come wrapped in the Beasties characteristic rogue
‘factor.
Fundamentally, it’s the trio's innate ability to blur previously distinct barriers that makes them the class act they are and. true to form, their .5. genre-bustin' techniques are given the customary free reign here. For the record, Hello Nasty catches the three amigos cooking up their latest jumbo bucket of groove gumbo in the company of regular sldeklcks Money Mark and percussionist Eric Bobo while getting by with a little help from Mix Master Mike as well as guest rhymers Biz Markie and dub legend Lee
’Scratch’ Perry.
As with previous chapters in what has become one of the most intriguing scenarios to have come out of the rock and hip hop fusion. Hello Nasty is the sound of a band with no qualms about following their own star. And for that much we‘re all still in their debt. (LT)
worth backtracking to mention this pithy 7-inch, particularly the rough- edged girl gang garage pop of ’I Stole Your Man' which Suggests that The Most could soon be leaders of the pack. (FS)
Smackvan
Generating/Coast To Coast (Sano)
* it it it
Intriguing double A-side from Smackvan, the artists formerly known as The Passkeepers. The soundtrack quality and mournful accented vocals are still there on the sparse, broody 'Coast To Coast' and the menacing advance of the more textured ’Generating'. There’s only one Smackvan — if only they were more prolific. What's with the Tangerine Dream keyboards though? (FS)
Speed Good Luck Charm (Good Cop Bad
Cop) it e w This British take on The Walkabouts’
country-tinged balladry features Monica Queen, erstwhile vocalist with Thrum, who helped out Belle & Sebastian on ’Lazy Line Painter Jane', doing the community-spirited thing again. ’Good Luck Charm' is a sweet, simple, melancholic anible which recalls the freshfaced pop of 80s dreamers like Jasmine Minks and Pale Fountains. (FS)
Blueseed
Special Care And Spare Change EP (Ultimate) Hm
New psychedelic crew on the block with The 800 Radleys' Martin Carr on production duties. Pulp the essence of
the major Britpop bands — melodies of Cast, attitude of Oasis, trainspotting of Ocean Colour Scene — and you have the strangely quaffable sound of Blueseed. Sounds better than Embrace anyway. (FS)
Macrocosmica
Space Geek (God Bless) it fir 1k Glaswegian noiseniks on a Washington DC trip with economical, insistent riffs providing the main thrust of the argument. They almost blow their cover with traces of vocal melody creeping in, but then it's back to a juddering noisefest and general protracted guitar mangling to secure their hardcore credentials. (ES)
The High Fidelity
Luv Dup (Plastique) ~k * 1r
Spangly seasonal outing from Sean Dickson and his sonic playmates which may not have you waxing down your surfboard but certainly owes a lot to the celestial moments on Pet Sounds. Dickson keeps things at a purposeful pace before heading into ’Son Of A Preacherman’ steals for b-side ’Lazy 8'. Cool, like the Scottish summer. (FS)
REVIEWERS THIS ISSUE:
Norman Chalmers, Brian Donaldson, Rodger Evans, Kenny Mathieson, Peter Ross, Fiona Shepherd, Lawrie Thomas, Jonathan Trew
STAR RATINGS at t e i at Unmissable t it it it Very good it * ir Wort a shot it * Below average * You've been warned
25 Jun-9 Jul 1998 THE U81"?