Records
ELECT PONIC BADMARSH 8: SHRI
Signs (Oi itcastei 0...
Finished 'x/ith the task of proving what true wonder there lies iii the Bollywood soundtrack to a [NU/IOU“) y ignorant audience. Outcaste return to fight the cause for modern British Asian music. Attempting to follow in the footsteps of the Mercury norriinated Nitin Sawhney. the label have a fitting second generation in Badmarsh & Shri. The DJ! percussionist partnership follow less the oc(_;asionally over— sophisticated template of Sawhney's Beyond Skin and more the stoned splendour of Massive Attack's Protection. Obvrously they are on to a bit of a loser by taking a lead from a release of such popular majesty — and thereby comparing themselves wrth it — but Signs is no feeble effort. From the ominous clatter of the title track. augmented by vocals from UK Apache. to the
sturdy bass rumble of The Last Mile'. Signs has the .‘ielly' to be appreciated as more than itiSi the technically proficient effort even its critics must admit it is. (T rm Abrahamsi
H iii) T RONIC DELERIUM Poem (Nettwerk) 0..
Hmm. Crappy medieval artwork? Warbling chOirs’? Poem is disturbingly reminiscent of ]()SS-Sile wavrng ambient chancers Enigma until you hit track three. which sounds more like Savage Garden. Strangely enough, this eclecticism is the sewing grace of an album that is occasionally intoXicating in its richness. Delerium bothered the charts last year With 'Silence'. and
this album shows a taste for poptastic hooks as weii as mystical Claptrap. Gently rolling melodies and rhythmic percussion combine Wliii occaSIonal trance flourishes to enhance the vocals supplied by a range of guests and make this appealing. if hardly essential late night listening. (James Smart)
FOLK ROCK
TIM BUCKLEY Morning Glory — The Tim Buckley Anthology (Warner) O...
The Dream Belongs To Me (Manifesto) I...
For the uninitiated Tim was the father of Jeff and he had a voice that could strip walls. but his music has been largely ignored mainly because
it is a hit of a stretch for the tax; modern listener — languishing as it does in nirtualiy undecoxered corners of axantgarde folk. rock and Jazz. His music liiO‘.C‘S one in mysterious and heartbleeding 1. :3. Morning Glory is an adeguate anthology but if you're a fan. you Will be an obsessive. and the ommissions WIH infuriate: if you’re new to Buckley this is a great place to start.
Much better though is The Dream Belongs To Me — a collection of rare and unreleased material. This is stunning — we Witness Buckley reaching those remarkable falsetto highs and white man soul grunts in alternative takes of classics like ‘Happy Time'. ‘Bumn Fly’ and ‘Sefronia' as well as guirky one-offs like 'Danang‘ and ‘Freeway Dixieland Rocketship Blues'. That this man once walked the earth is amazing. that such a pure record of his unreleased work has surVived is serendipity. (Paul Dale)
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COUNTRY
THE RAPHAELS Supernatural :Track Pecordi .00
BLUE RODEO The Days In Between (Blue Podeoi 0... TIM MCGRAW Set The Circus Down (Curb London: 0
Big Country were probably more sinned against than sinners. Stuart Adamson’s battle my walls. benchaiit for ohvrous sentiment and nasty synth riffs were very much a product of their time. Now their illustrious frontmaii has got all restlesst native down in NashVille With a country album. Along With Marcus Hummon —- a gramniy—Winning C&W wordsmith — Adamson now goes under the guise of The Raphaels. The first two tracks here are stellar gold; ‘Supernatural' and 'Simple Man' sOund like Desire period Dylan but With Emmylou Harris in charge of the house band. Things are pretty bland then until the good-ole-boys roadhouse fun of MQXICc’in Trout.
Bette' stiil is Blue Rodeos r‘...' In album, one that \‘till "to doubt t‘e touted in Uncut maga.':ne as wt anetiie' altcountn classic \\ith sh nods to Grant Sana. Mark Eit.'el and the might\ producer Danie; Lanozs. whose hingtxax Studio this was recorded in, things are kept \ei‘» pleasant. The brilliant production of liina Shoemaker turns simple tunes like 'Beggiiig To Let Me In" and 'Someboih Waits into haunting roots\ melodies.
Finally. and very much least is Tim Mct-‘iraw; if only he were the bastard offspring of Ali McCiax'.’ and Garth Brooks We could riiavbe forgive him. This is the kind of l ain’t-no Wimp-weer)ing in-the-Wilderiless MOP detritus that has kept the Grand Ole Opry the provrnce of retarded rednecks for decades. With song titles like 'lhe Cowboy In Me' and Crown Men Don't Cry' you just know Ole Gram Parsons would be spinning in his coffin if it hadn't been stolen by
“Ambitious but always aEcessible.v.‘. exquisite. It’s class with a heart " 5/5 Uncut aka the complete and deftly wondrous
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108 THE LIST 2-1 May—7 J'dl‘. 200