Third Eye Foundation You Guys Kill Me (Domino) fir
There's a highly dubious, not to mention downright spurious, critical dictum which runs like this: 'Thou must show appreciation, tolerance and unremitting adulation towards all manner of ambient/dance/electronica music. Failure to do so brands you a tasteless, tiny-minded philistine'. Well spank my Luddite ass and paint me silly, but You Guys Kill Me, which is ’ambient‘ to the point where it scarcely eXists, is a pile of lazy, artless, twrttering tedium that’d stretch the patient e of even the most undernanding gong-boffin. Minimalism gone mad, experimentation gone AWOL, laziness gone entropic. (PW)
SOUL
McAlmont
A Little Communication (Hut) «it
A surprisingly and, as it turns out, disappomtingly downbeat debut solo album from the honey-throated singer we’re more used to hearing whip up a melodramatic storm on big soundtrack pop like the IUSCIOUS ’Yes' or his camp version of 'Diamonds Are Forever'. On ; A Little Com/riuni'cati'on, McAlmont
return: to the slinkier sounds Of his
i first group, Thieves, and while some
‘ trat ks like the feline 'Happy Hour’ and the understated Earth, Wind And Fire- like lialladry of 'Who Loves You' are persuasively pretty in isolation, an entire album filled With lesser, similarly conceived material could get you thinking along Lionel Richie lines. A
Little Corrirriunicati'on aspires to be an ; alburn of sensual torch songs but
seems more Slllt€d to the coffee table than the candle-lit bedroom. (FS)
COUNTRY
Lyle Lovett Step inside This House (Curb/MCA)
Ler Lou'ett takes a different tack on
this riot-to-be-missed two CD set, side-
stepping his own material to delve into
a rich horde of songs by Texan
S()llf}\.‘-/fltCTS, including Guy Clark,
Townes Van Zandt, Robert Earl Keen,
the late Walter Hyatt, and Steven
FrornhoI/S ’Texas Trilogy' In contrast with his prewous Large Band, the
(it"(i';)il“/C?Iy relaxed picking from the
McAlmont: soft soul soap
slimmed-down core group (augmented by guests like Jerry Douglas and Sam Bush) gives the whole project an intimate acoustic feel and understated, rather melancholy overall mood. Lyle himself is in prime form throughout, slipping inside each song and taking possession in his own unique and unmistakable fashion. Strongly recommended. (KM)
CLASSICAL
Varese
The Complete Works (Decca)
1k 1' it it 3%
One would expect that a complete works package by one of the most influential composers of the 20th century w0uld be a monumental one. Not so, however — Edgard Varese's (not quite) complete output fits nicely onto this essential two-CD set, which includes reconstructions of some previously unrecorded fragments, as well as revised or original versions of more familiar pieces like Amer/ques and lntegra/es. Varese’s influence extended to figures as diverse as Charlie Parker and Frank Zappa as well as the avant-garde and electronic music movements, and the unique colours and textures of his sound- world are brilliantly recreated by Riccardo Chailly and either the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra or the ASKO Ensemble. (KM)
Bis
Eurodisco (Wiija) * it fir
After laying low on these shores for two years, the Teen C revolutionaries fire the first salvo from their forthcoming second album Social Dancing. Appropriately enough for these 805 fixated times, 'Eurodisco' sound like Duran Duran would s0und if
they started making records again. Smart move. (JT)
The Giros bettersticky EP (Skanky) s sk'
Melancholy Edinburgh four-piece who look towards the likes of Radiohead for that meaningful rock experience. So, they aim for the passion and the power but don't qune hit target. There’s some reasonable vocals but there’s also some unnecessary guitar sqwggling, especially on the second track. Could and probably WIII do better. (JT)
Cruyff
Down Your Line (Human Condition) “k at at
Edinburgh boys Cruyff were always a bit too meat and two veg rock for my tastes, but on this occasion it's humble pie for me. Less oomph and more thought has produced a nicely echoey, atmospheric tune. One to hum on maudlin Monday mornings. (JT)
The Stereophonics
The Bartender And The Thief (V2)
‘I( fit st
First new material since their last year’s debut album from the hard liVing, hard working trio from the valleys. Rough as a badger’s arse and more rocking than a knocking shop mattress on a Saturday night. Moshpit material. (JT)
record reviews MUSIC
3 Colours Red: sound angrier than they look
The Cherrypickers Sometimes EP (self) wk e
Slowburn and at times ObVIOllS rock from four Edinburgh lads. All the right ideas are there for some heartfelt intensity, but it doesn’t engage (JT)
3 Colours Red
P8f8IYS€EP(Creation) .
3 Colours Red are ANGR‘i" Sonieone's been telling them LIES! And they aren't happy, so they are going to shout about it in unison And guitars are gomg to grind. Much like the band's teeth. Inspiring, if that’s your cup of tea. ExcrUCiating otherWise. (JT)
Snowpony John Brown (radioactive) .3...
’I’m bound for hell’ chirps a cheerful woman while a summery song clatters along underneath. Messy in a polite way but then what do you expect from
STAR RATINGS s e Unmissable <~ s a v~ Very good w WOrth a shot w Below average s You’ve been warned ;
POP Robbie Williams
I've Been'Expecting You (Chrysalis) ease
Robbie and All Saints stunna Nicole. Robbie at T in the Park. Robbie on TFI Friday every other week. Robbie the all-round entertainer (turns to camera, pulls stupid face). Robbie no-need-to-add-the-surname. Those are your Robbie references of the past six months. You almost forget that this omnipresent celebrity status was made possible by one song. ‘Angels'. Unlike recent marketing triumphs such as Billie and B‘Witched, Robbie Williams can genuinely put it all down to the music. And hearing his superconfident second album only confirms this. He can do the cheeky
a band that comprises former My Bloody Valentine and Stereolab members? (JT)
Khaya Love And Whips (Koala) sir
Yet another one from Edinburgh Imagine Belle 8i Sebastian (rossed \‘-/ltIl a Dali picture. gentle, colourful, hugely tuneful and vnlfully surreal. it rather ‘I’.('-.'."'xI pig: sonr; about bezr‘ri told by
‘. .tir ex to tutti a new inairi \t’l'lt‘t‘Z'I“,
l
Knaya's 'Love And szps' Ii breath of J
fresh air arnong so much earnest plodding. lJTi
Gilded Lil
When lWas ‘i’oung (Bogque) 3t.
Stiuaz-Jlinri, dysfunt tional swamp thrash that sounds like the Cramps falling around the stage, trying to get it trt-'ietlier' after a three-day absinthe bender. Messy but not in a glorious
\‘./(i\'/‘ I)
REVIEWERS THIS ISSUE:
Rf‘flflf” Evans, Daniien Love, Kenny Llafbiesrnrz, Pan! Whitelaxz, Laurie fl‘ornas, lon.:than Trev!
Robbie Williams: jammy git
chappy routine for all he's worth - without the songs, it’ll get him as far as The National Lottery Live and no further. Thanks to the likes of 'Millenium’
he can sell out arenas too.
As Williams has claimed, I’ve Been Expecting You is Life Thru A Lens with some fine-tuning, boasting everything from brash pop with a guileless 70$ flavour to the sublime Saint Etienne-style pastiche of ‘Grace' to Neils Tennant and Harmon dropping in to add their vocals to the lush, dramatic ’No Regrets'. After this display, the Robster could credibly tackle almost any musical area, the jammy git. (Fiona Shepherd)
22 Oct 5 Nov l998 THE “ST 53