RYKODISC GOES TO TEN: The little giant of an independent record label celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, issuing a promotional-only compilation called Medium Rare, featuring rarities and non-album tracks from Ryko artists. Among them, Jimi Hendrix, Sugar, Richard Thompson, John Cale, David Bowie vs. 808 State, and NRBQ. The label scored a coup this summer by gaining the rights to re-release most of Elvis Costello's back catalog.
LOST IN THE SUPER MARKET: Epic's releasing a new Clash compilation called Super Black Market Clash, based on the similarly-titled 10-inch record that came out in 1980. This 77-minute disc will feature most of the original Black Market Clash and many more b-sides that've never made it to CD. Out September 7.
UPCOMING NEW RELEASES: John Hiatt, Squeeze, Stevie Nicks, Kate Bush, John Prine (a Christmas disc), The Cure (live), Rickie Lee Jones, Melissa Etheridge, Teenage Fanclub, Crowded House, 10,000 Maniacs (Unplugged), Heart, Belinda Carlisle, Pet Shop Boys, Elvis Costello, The Beatles (nothing new, just the 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 "red" and "blue" albums, on CD for the first time).
OKAY, LET'S GIVE IT TO 'EM, RIGHT NOW: Rock critic Dave Marsh has penned a book chronicling "Louie, Louie," the song that just won't die. The jacket and subtitle promise "the actual dirty lyrics," which made me think I was gonna get the actual, real lyrics. Psych. Louie Louie also sports an obviously over-long subtitle ("The History and Mythology of the World's Most Famous Rock 'n' Roll Song; Including the Full Details of Its Torture and Persecution at the Hands of the Kingsmen, J. Edgar Hoover's FBI, and a Cast of Millions; and Introducing, for the First Time Anywhere, the Actual Dirty Lyrics.") Phew. From Hyperion.
JOHN COLTRANE
The Last Giant: The Anthology
(Rhino/Atlantic)
I'll get this out of the way: Don't know much about jazz. But I've been hearing about John Coltrane for so many years, people telling me I ought to catch the 'Trane, but never suggesting from which track to start. Up comes Rhino's new anthology, which spans from '46 to '67 and gives you previously unreleased stuff as well as classic cuts, and doesn't cost much, either. It's summer - I give it a try. I like it. I'm not sure if it's the musicianship, the undeniable grooves, or the fact that I'm getting older and seeking new things to knock me out. The Last Giant is full of KOs and the sweet, melancholy tenor sax of legend. It's not lounge music, it's not R&B; I've really never heard anything like it. I'm sorry I waited this long.
ORIGINAL CAST RECORDING
The Who's Tommy
(BMG Classics)
The Who's Tommy is a polished, Broadway-excellent reproduction of the original. The cast is accomplished and energetic, and legendary producer George Martin succeeds in the difficult task of harnessing the larger-than-life energy of the live performance. However, you have to like the idea of a rock opera to enjoy one. Though the melodies and the message stand the test of time, the sophistication and spit-and-polish of this version loses something with the shine. Drawing upon, rather than coming from, a rock sensibility, the performances are derivative and lack the soul of the original. The rawness, the frayed-at-the-ends delivery of the heavier tunes are deliberate and studied. Suited far better to the balding ponytail crowd than to the Lollapaloozer, this is rock for grown-ups with reserved seats. Though the production, arrangement and execution are all magnificent, rock does not need such magnificence to stand proudly on its own.
CARLENE CARTER
Little Love Letters
(Giant)
Carter's second in a spate of great country rockers, Little Love Letters is the kind of record you can really dig, even if country's too corny for you. The twang level's high, I'll admit, but so are the hooks 'n' melodies. Carlene's got a voice much like her mama's (June Carter Cash), but she wraps it around songs like "Wastin' Time With You" and "Every Little Thing," which are as much power pop as they are country. Producer/boyfriend Howie Epstein (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) corrals a great sound into LLL's 14 tracks. He's got something she needs. I say, if you find someone/something you like, stick with it. I hope they stick to each other like glue.
GINA ARNOLD
Route 666: On the Road to Nirvana
(St. Martin's Press)
Hot on the heels of a pair of recent punk-inspired tomes, Arnold's book, Route 666, links together the different American punk rock scenes that spawned today's grunge superstars. From Seattle to San Francisco, Los Angeles, over through to Minneapolis and Washington, D.C., the book spins tales about college radio, networks like Op, Sub Pop, and many more. It's an easy read and an informative one, too. And it just may be your same story. As I read it I found more parallels to my own life than in any other book I've read, including Jon Savage's great England's Dreaming. I must say, though, that Gina needs to abandon beginning sentences with "Presently ..." It distracted me from what is otherwise a pretty good book.
GAVIN BRYARS
Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet
(Point Music)
At first it's enchanting. Then it's irritating. Then it's completely maddening. Then it's soothing. And then it's sublime. Jesus' Blood ... is a "minimalist" piece by the man who once wrote and recorded The Sinking of the Titanic, an hour-long listen to the band who went down with the ship and supposedly never stopped playing. This time, Bryars has taken a snippet of a homeless man's song, put it in a never-ending loop, and composed music to go with it. The man's refrain stays the same as the music grows in strength and volume, transforming from a small quartet to a full orchestra. Eventually another tramp joins in - Tom Waits - and finally, it ends, 75 minutes later. The effect is hypnotic and tranquilizing. If you're not paying much attention to it, it'll drive you crazy, but if you get sucked in, forget about it. You're sunk.
MEDDAPHYSICAL
Flow
(Belltown)
Somewhere between metal and rap lies Meddaphysical, Seattle's happenin' four-man electrical band. The band plies their way through ten tunes on Flow, put out by Seattle's up-and-coming Belltown Records. Playing an aggressive mutation of rap and rock, like on "Posse" and "Drive By Music," Meddaphysical shows that the gulf between the two genres has always been tentative. Like Ice-T's Body Count, they assert a don't fuck with me attitude that makes their live performances captivating without making you feel captive. The CD states their case well, though some may find it a bit clean sounding. Nevertheless, Flow and Meddaphysical's live shows has gained them a solid rep and should bring them and their label the props they deserve.
ROGER NUSIC
Hello Lovers, Roger Nusic Here For You Only
(Rainforest)
Roger Nusic is Peter Pan! A full-blown rock hero. To many this CD will be intolerable - too bad. Seventeen songs by some fuck in a cape may not turn your crank, but they should. The real gems here are "Electric Boy," "Can I Come In and See You" (featuring a hilarious spoken word intro ala Purple Rain), and the lovely "Bring Me a Star." "We Are the Lost Children" will drive you up a wall but that's the beauty of a rare bird such as Roger Nusic, so unaffected by his surroundings. Do yourself a favor when you're about to reach for that politically correct P.J. Harvey opus: choose Roger Nusic, who in a perfect world would be a huge star, but for now, a freak.
MUD 'N' MIX: Two of Seattle's finest are getting together for a cut on an upcoming soundtrack. Grungers Mudhoney and rapper Sir Mix-A-Lot are doing a song for Judgment Night called "Freak Mama." The soundtrack features other rock 'n' rap pairings and should be out by now.
[Home]
[This Issue's Directory]
[WFP Index]
[WFP Back Issues]
[E-Mail WFP]
Contents on this page were published in the September , 1993 edition of the Washington Free
Press.
WFP, 1463 E. Republican #178, Seattle, WA -USA, 98112. -- WAfreepress@gmail.com
Copyright © 1993 WFP Collective, Inc.