==== ISSUE 47 ==== CONSUMABLE ======== [July 21, 1995] Editor: Bob Gajarsky Internet: gajarsky@pilot.njin.net Sr. Contributors: Jeremy Ashcroft, Martin Bate, Al Crawford, Dan Enright, Tim Kennedy, Reto Koradi, David Landgren, Tim Mohr, Joe Silva, John Walker Other Contributors: Dan Birchall, Lee Graham Bridges, Scott Byron, Kelley Crowley, Tim Hulsizer, Daniel Kane, Sean Eric McGill, P. Nina Ramos, Jamie Roberts, Linda Scott, Ali Sinclair, Jon Steltenpohl, Courtney Muir Wallner, Scott Williams, Britain Woodman Technical Staff: Chris Candreva, Dave Pirmann, Damir Tiljak, Jason Williams Address all comments, subscriptions, etc. to gajarsky@pilot.njin.net ================================================================== All articles in Consumable remain (C) copyright their author(s). Permission for re-publication in any form other than within this document must be obtained from the editor. ================================================================== .------------. | Contents | `------------' Interview: Luther Allison - Dan Enright REVIEW: silverchair, _Frogstomp_ - Britain Woodman REVIEW: Paul Weller, _Stanley Road_ - Tim Kennedy REVIEW: Various Artists, _Are You Ready For This? Music from the Extreme Games_ -Tim Mohr REVIEW: Big Audio Dynamite, _F-Punk_ - Sean Eric McGill REVIEW: _Wigstock, The Movie_ - Daniel Kane CONCERT REVIEW: The Tea Party, Danforth Music Hall, Toronto - John Walker REVIEW: Alison Moyet, _Singles_ - Bob Gajarsky REVIEW: Dish, _Boneyard Beach_ - Reto Koradi REVIEW: Urchins, _Yummy_ - Tim Mohr REVIEW: Strangeloves, _I Want Candy: Best of the Strangeloves_ - Bob Gajarsky NEWS: Dan Baird / Georgia Satellites, John Waite, Elektra WWW, Queensryche TOUR DATES: Barenaked Ladies / Billy Bragg, Barkmarket, Daryll-Ann, Drivin' & Cryin' / Yayhoos (Dan Baird + Others), Freedy Johnston Kyuss, Huey Lewis & The News, Lordz of Brooklyn, Arnold McCuller/Lyle Lovett Back Issues --- Interview: Luther Allison - Dan Enright In 1969, a 30 year old blues guitarist from Chicago's West Side, broke into the collected consciousness of American audiences with his legendary performance at the Ann Arbor Blues Festival. But in spite of his enormous impact and popularity, he found it necessary to leave America in the '80s and become one of the many Blues expatriates living in Paris. He spent almost 10 years performing and recording in Europe, before his triumphant return to the States in 1990. He brought with him a recording, that was eagerly snapped up by Chicago's renowned Alligator Records. I recently had an opportunity to talk with him and asked what it was like moving to Paris. I'd like to share "the ride" and his insights... Luther: Well, I've had to deal with everything in my life... leavin' the family, learnin' what not and what to do. I can respect a person, doing what they do. I went from a champion... it became very hard in the beginning, because I gave up everything in the States, to take this chance. When I went there, I didn't go to stay. It happened like when I got stranded in California. But this time I'm not going to panic, because I ain't got no family to run back to. I'm going to stick it out. And I did! I knew Memphis Slim lived in Paris and I knew Champion Jack Dupree was in Germany. These guys was my old friends, my buddies. They were going to tell me what was going down, good or bad. If they tell me to get the hell out from over there, then I would have to do that. 'Cause I would believe that. They didn't, they said, "Welcome! You made a great move. Get your things together, these people is for you... they're for us. The USA is nice, it's home. But if you can't be there, get what you can now, then go back home if possible." And I did that." Now it looks a lot brighter. I have a lot of energy I don't waste now, wonderin' and worryin', goin' here and doin' that, tryin' to see what would happen. I'm very happy now. People really know about Luther Allison. They know I'm never a fake. I was always hard workin'. I'm getting, "Wow, we miss you now! I seen you 20 years ago, you haven't lost anything!" "Well, you saw me 20 years ago, but I only been gone for 10..." That's my answer back. "Where were you the other 10 years?" When they say, "The blues is back..." I was in Europe, I heard this stuff. At the same time, my son was in the States. My son played 3 years with Koko Taylor. I know what's goin' on in the USA. I don't have to worry about reading the paper to find out who's who and what's happening, or who's playing what. We played the same thing in Europe we played in the States. When you have a repertoire like Luther Allison, you played like Luther Allison! And many of the guys came to Europe and cliched the situation , "Well, the people in Paris say, that's the Chicago Blues..." I never believed in Chicago blues, because my thing didn' come from there. My thing came from down south, in the cotton plantation. Many came that route. We all went to Chicago - like I went to Paris, like I went to Los Angeles. I put an X on all this crazy stuff, put my feet forward, and say, "I did a lot of great things in the States as far as music was concerned. As far as helping other people is concerned and opening doors. I'm the one that was able to take the chance. I'm the one the night club owners could trust." In other words, my personality and respect carried me a long way. It's like goin' back in time, "Blacks over here, whites over there." I never had to worry about that. I played clubs of Chicago, west of Chicago, the USA and I was hired because people had heard about Luther Allison's respect. I would teach my band, "This is what we do, an' this is what we don't," and my musicians listened. I would tell my group, "I'm not into drugs." You know, if we get drunk one night on the gig, because somebody won't understand and we can't back out... "Oh! You're to good to drink with me!?" I'd say, "We're goin' to handle this..." and many times I was messed up. But there was not a job that could say that Luther Allison didn't do his job. I talk to a lot of young guys in the States, coming up. Girls and guys. You might of heard of Marva Wright, I believe it is... we talk about these things and look at the situation. You look at a woman, doin' her trip, tryin' to be involved with blues - with the guitar for instance. You did not see this so much when we were coming up. And now you see a lot of this. I talk to the girls, I say, "You want to play the guitar? Sit down and deal with it. What I want to do, is play music for somebody who believe in me. I want to play in a place people want to hear me. I don't want to be in some big beautiful place that nobody want me, because I play the blues. But to get back to "the blues is back"... people say, "Luther, what do you think about the fact, the blues is back?" How can I say the blues is back? I moved around to make sure ends meet. The blues always been there with me. As far as I'm concerned, it always will be. In the blues, it just takes so long for us to get recognized. This little stretch brought on people like Robert Cray, Albert Collins returned, Gary Moore - comin' into the other side, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush if he takes the chance... Luther Allison's sittin' here, still waiting... Luther Allison will be headlining a world class blues festival in my northeastern Pennsylvania this summer. Held at the Big Boulder Ski Resort (which lies nestled in the Pocono mountains) on the last weekend of July, this world class event will be featuring 14 internationally acclaimed blues artists. More information about the musicians and event can be found at the Pocono Blues Festival's Home page: http://www.scranton.com/bluinfo.html or sending an email request for the Saturday (July 29) or Sunday (July 30) line-ups, with the date in the subject line, to: blues@lydian.scranton.com --- REVIEW: silverchair, _Frogstomp_ (Epic) - Britain Woodman silverchair, a trio of teenagers from the Australian resort town of Newcastle, owned alternative radio in Australia with a Pearl-Jammish power ballad, "Tomorrow". Their first full-length release offers a few surprises, though, and while it is derivative, it's also satisfying. silverchair's previous incarnations won several amateur awards before Australian TV chose "Tomorrow" as the winner of a demo contest whose prize was a recording session in Sydney. Last winter Triple J, Australia's national alternative radio network, helped make silverchair one of the biggest bands down under, by putting a demo version of "Tomorrow" in heavy rotation. By September of 1994 they'd signed with Murmur, a Sony affiliate. This spring, "Tomorrow" became a U.S. alternative-radio hit, and silverchair's first album, _Frogstomp,_ is now in stores on these shores. In interviews, the band claim their influences are late-sixties bands like Deep Purple and the Doors, but musically, _Frogstomp_ prays at the altar of Seattle's Holy Trinity (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden). Frontman Daniel Johns sounds like Eddie Vedder, especially on "Tomorrow", but on other tracks he manages to get away from the obvious influence; other times he seems to blend qualities of Vedder and Kurt Cobain. The songs themselves reflect the angst expected of fifteen-year olds (the band members were all fifteen when they recorded _Frogstomp_ last winter). One exception is a sort of message song, "Pure Massacre;" Johns rails against "families... being torn apart," but in a vague manner; he could be singing about Bosnia, Ireland, or the U.S. Civil War. The music is competently played. One of the band's favorite tricks is to kick-start a song from a slow grunge shuffle into a punk tempo for the end. This is carried over across the album, from the lead-off track "Israel's Son" to "Faultline" to "Madman" to the final track, "Findaway." This tendency should make for some intestesting pit action when they tour. If you crave the Pearl Jam/Soundgarden sound, you'll more-than-likely enjoy _Frogstomp._ --- REVIEW: Paul Weller, _Stanley Road_ (Go Discs) - Tim Kennedy It is a surprising revelation considering his seventies punk past but Paul Weller's musical development has become parallel to that of the Black Crowes. He draws from similar influences musically, although being from Woking, with a more restrained delivery. This set marks a slight move away from the Free, "Mr Big" influences of Wild Wood and its live sister CD _Live Wood_. Though a little introvert and the tunes not as catchy, nevertheless the songs are frequently as sophisticated as any he's ever done and certainly this is a more varied collection. Stevie Winwood, a longstanding hero of Paul's, is playing keyboards on a few of the songs here, PW always sang like a cross between him and Paul Rodgers. Stevie's Traffic have long been noted by critics as an influence on Weller's latter works. "Changing Man" the opening track borrows the bass riff from "I Am The Walrus". It is an unusual performance in that Weller puts on a strangely gruff singing voice unlike ever before. He plays some pretty good Paul Kossoff guitar. Paul sings here of his belief in personal and artistic change. Indeed this is several steps away from the style of anything he's previously done. "Porcelain Gods" is track two, though downbeat, slow and a bit glum, when it takes off it again sounds a bit like Free. Paul has been jokingly described as a "moaning old get" by his friend Oasis guitarist Noel. Here he bemoans his role as (as he sees it) fading figurehead of a generation. Paul has frequently mentioned his recent conversion to the joys of Neil Young; amazingly he didn"t pick up on him until 1992's _Harvest Moon_. "Walking On Glass Splinters" smoulders like Crazy Horse. It's a snarling prowling guitar song which is the longest on the CD. The simulated 'stylus getting stuck" at the end is a rather cute nod to the olden days of vinyl that this raucous song recalls. "Splinters" is the only non- Weller composition on the record. "Whirlpool's End" on the second side is also Neil Youngish in its theme and in its tune as well as the crashing guitar. It recalls "I"ve Been Waiting" from the first Neil Young solo LP. Another track which rocks out on this new collection "Woodcutter's Son" must be the first Paul Weller song to start with a riff since the 70s - T Rex's 20th Century Boy to be exact. A nice acoustic slide emphasises the end of the chorus. It has an infectious Bo Diddley beat a la Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away". "You Do Something To Me" is a gentle ballad. It features a rather nice Dave Gilmour-esque guitar solo, akin to some of the guitar work on _Live Wood_. This is in the vein of Free's ballads. "Time Passes" has a hook that reminds me of Bobby Womack's "Poet 1". A nice slow ballad, it ends with a trippy swathe of psychedelic noises. This is the kind of superior soul/t'n'b which the Style Council were capable of, yet sadly rarely rose to accomplish. This one is an absolute treat and worth the purchase price of the CD alone. The other vaguely souly number "Broken Stones" has a tune recalling "Let's Just Kiss And Say Goodbye" by seventies smooching soul kings the Manhattans though a rock song. It doesn"t vary throughout and is a little pedestrian though pleasant enough. The psychedelic sounds fading after the end of "Time Passes" are really the prelude to the next, and the one truly psychedelic song on this CD. "Stanley Road" has a stomping 60's Move beat, with "Mellotron" mini moog suggesting psychedelic Traffic paranoia despite the strident guitar and keyboards. This song reflects upon Weller's childhood home street in Woking in a weirdly wistful fashion. The cover design of the album is by Peter Blake of Sgt Pepper fame, and the collage of images recalls earlier times - old buses, Beatles toys, a photo of the suited Lennon, Aretha, a poem, and hallowed icons such as the soccer player George Best. The centre depicts a young boy-presumably the young Mr Weller with his adult self photographed in the middle, as if held up by his young self. Paul doesn"t entirely depart from the pattern of previous couple of albums. "Out Of The Sinking" sounds a lot more like the Wild Wood set than anything else here. It has a nice hook, and familiar Weller Traffic guitar riffs, topped with a nice resounding chorus which is as good as say "Above The Clouds" or "Can You Heal Us Holy Man" from the best of the past couple of year's material. "Pink On White Walls" -a very puzzling title- is also Wild Woodish with its jaunty melody and Traffic guitar. Both of these tracks hail from the easier-to-listen-to second half. "Wings of Speed" the final track has piano accompanying, angelic choirs and Carleen Anderson in the background. Is this a hymn to amphetamine? This song improves with further listens, and is somewhat moving. Weller is still cutting it, this is without question. This is a complex and highly varied album, and aesthetically satisfying if not quite as immediate as some of the _Wild Wood_ set. There are enough classic Weller songs here to make _Stanley Road_ well worth a visit. I wonder if the fans have nicked the road sign yet? --- REVIEW: Various Artists, _Are You Ready For This? Music from the Extreme Games_ (Reprise) -Tim Mohr A new compilation has been released by, of all people, ESPN. The record ties into their coverage of the Extreme Games and offers three exclusive tracks alongside a grab-bag of songs taken from previously released albums by the likes of Dinosaur, Jr., Babes In Toyland, and The Muffs. As a musical compilation the collection is quite solid; as a companion to, or inspiration for, the Extreme Games it is perhaps implausible. Kicking off in a grunge rut, the collection starts with "Feel the Pain" from Dinosaur, Jr., "Today Is A Good Day" from Mudhoney, and "Oh Yeah" from Babes in Toyland, all of which come from the bands' most recent albums. Two upbeat tracks from Poster Children and Throwing Muses follow: "Hillbilly," from Throwing Muses, is an exclusive track that is a typically antsy, driving tune from Kristin Hersh and company. Following this, _Are You Ready For This_ veers in a strange direction, over to the slow country rock of Wilco (comprised of most of Uncle Tupelo), a 15 year old track from the B-52s, and an exclusive track from Chris Isaak. It is difficult to imagine extreme contestants preparing for a 60 mph vertical bike ride with the goofy music of Chris Issak or the B-52s. The compilation continues with an exclusive track from the now- defunct Cult, "Red Eyed Troll" from the Muffs (though it could just as easily be vintage Joan Jett), "Crackin Up" from Revolting Cocks, and "Human Animal" from boring Biohazard. The deliberate, raw riffs provided by the Cult sound like perfect sonic scenery for clips of extreme sports. If this had been released as a sampler of alternative bands on Warner subsidiaries it would be quite understandable (though they could spare us from the second rate Wasted Youth or Suicidal Tendencies rip-off offered by Biohazard). Oddly though, given the ESPN context, very few of the songs would make good backdrops for ESPN2 videos of skateboarding, skysurfing, or frozen- waterfall-climbing. Regardless, _Are You Ready For This_ is a decent compilation of prominent American guitars. --- REVIEW: Big Audio Dynamite, _F-Punk_ (Radioactive Records) - Sean Eric McGill I never really got into punk rock much. I knew who The Sex Pistols where, and I was exposed to The Ramones from a guy in my freshman civics class. But I did have MTV, and that's where I heard of The Clash. Back when the network was little more than a clearance house for hard rock videos, here were these three ugly British guys dancing around in an oil field...right there in the middle of Quiet Riot and Krokus videos. Needless to say, I was intrigued. And after buying up all The Clash material I could find, I was more or less satisfied. Then, in 1990, a friend gave me some of her unwanted CD's. One of them was _Megatop Phoenix_ by Big Audio Dynamite. After looking through the liner notes, I became aware that this was the latest band from Mick Jones, the same guy I remembered dancing around in fatigues on MTV all those years ago. Once again, I was intrigued. And after listening to the album, I was still intrigued. But with _F-Punk_, the latest release from Big Audio Dynamite, I'm no longer intrigued by the group. In fact, I'm becoming pretty bored. Jones (lead vocals, guitar), along with Nick Hawkins (guitar, vocals), Gary Stonadge (bass, vocals), Chris Kavanagh (drums, vocals), Mickey Custance (DJ, vocals) and Andre Shapps (keyboards) have put together an album that fits no known category. Again. Big Audio Dynamite has always been a mix of punk, techno, funk, and about three other genres, and while that is interesting, unless it's done well, it wears thin after a couple of listens. Of course, I wasn't smart enough to only give it a couple of listens and be done with it. I listened to it while driving, while cleaning my house, etc. What was eluding me was the purpose behind the album, if any. I felt that I was missing something, and even now, I still feel that way. Only now, I accept it. While I got some moderate pleasure from songs like "Push Those Blues Away", other tracks like "It's A Jungle Out There" and "Vitamin C" were doing less than nothing for me, aside from making me want to hear something else. The "mystery cover song" is "Suffragette City" by David Bowie, and I actually found myself longing for a previous version done by L.A. Guns, which I've compared to various dental operations. But the one thing you notice if you're familiar with Big Audio Dynamite (or B.A.D. or B.A.D. II) is that all of these songs sound like all the other lesser songs from the previous albums. As the frequent name changes suggest, what is lacking in this band is creativity. Perhaps by incorporating so many different genres into their sound, Jones and his band have lost a focus in their material. There's nothing fresh on _F-Punk_ and nothing that even comes close to being exciting. And considering that Jones was one of the freshest and most exciting performers in rock at one time, that's a shame. --- REVIEW: _Wigstock, The Movie_ (Sire) - Daniel Kane Wigstock, the annual celebration of music and transvestism, held in New York and hosted by Lady Bunny, boasts a soundtrack with talent including the magnificent RuPaul, Erasure, Crystal Waters, Dee-Lite and several more specifically genred artists. The collective work, recorded in 1994, categorizes vaguely, with artists all along the spectrum of the presentation range. From a boisterous intro to the ballad-like "What Makes a Man a Man" to Erasure's technosynthetic style to Joey as Billie Holliday, the soundtrack should appeal fractionally or wholly to most listeners. While a few of the campiest selections will likely have the listener hoping that the impersonation compensates for the performance, Lady Bunny's witty rationale--and the fact that the soundtrack exceeds seventy minutes in length--help to convince the consumer to give a listen or own a copy. _Wigstock_ is campy entertainment worth experiencing. --- CONCERT REVIEW: The Tea Party, Danforth Music Hall, Toronto June 24, 1995 - John Walker There is an interesting kind of hypocrisy that goes with the territory called "rock and roll." In other musical genres, young artists are expected to learn from their antecedents, and to a certain extent, to mimic their heroes' moves in the nascent stages of their own careers, finally developing styles of their own. Early on, Muddy Waters took his style from Robert Johnson, and the young Miles Davis copied Louis Armstrong, although both artists went on to eclipse their forebears artistically, extending their respective genres, blues and jazz, beyond the parameters they inherited. In rock and roll, however, this is only partly true: Green Day can get away with mimicry of the most obvious kind (are they the Ramones with English accents or The Clash with American accents?), and that's OK, because punk has a certain critical "cool" which has yet to abate. The Tea Party, however, hailing from Canada's version of The Motor City (Windsor, Ontario) draw on two classic rock bands which initially found enthusiastic audiences in Detroit, and whose influence there has never really waned: specifically, The Doors and Led Zeppelin, both mega-bands in the annals of "Detroit Rock City." Because of this, the Tea Party has sometimes been critically panned-- especially by music critics from Toronto, a city whose most famous recent "rock" export has been the execrable Barenaked Ladies--for remaining true to their Motor City roots, and unfairly so, as they show every sign of going beyond the territory staked out by their musical forebears and creating a signature style of their own. This concert showcased a band on the verge of becoming a powerhouse rock unit to be reckoned with, the Tea Party conjuring up powerful echoes of not only of greats from the classic rock past, but also inviting comparison with more recent alternative hard rock peers like the great God Machine. The show opened with the Canadian hit, "The River," (from their debut lp, _Splendor Solis_) which crashed along powerfully enough on its bluesy wah-wah riffery and lyrics a little _too_ cliched for my tastes (i.e. references to the River Styx--which brings to mind the band Styx, which brings to mind "Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto" ..... ughh). The band themselves seemed to want to get this one out of the way immediately (the crowd went nuts, of course), and then proceeded to launch into a trilogy of very strong material from their new album _The Edges of Twilight_. "Sister Awake" progressed through a couple of Eastern sounding phases (and a "Kashmir" vibe does indeed permeate the new album--a good thing, in my book) and ended up crashing and thundering on the strength of singer-guitarist Jeff Martin's insistent riffing and drummer Jeff Burrows' powerhouse drumming (a very complimentary and seldom made comparison to the greatest of all rock drummers, John Bonham, is apposite here). "SEES-TAH!" bellowed Martin, evoking the _basso profundo_ of "Roadhouse Blues" Jim Morrison in the song's chorus, yet seemingly summoning his own, singular muse. Similarly intoxicating were the following "Fire In The Head," another guitar-charged number whose title sums up its effect quite nicely, and the epic, multilayered "Walk with Me", which saw Martin improvising the chorus from Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart", to this critic's extreme approval. At times, the Tea Party can seem almost _too_ ambitious, as if they want to demonstrate everything they can do in the span of one concert appearance, a forgivable fault that can be put down to youthful over-enthusiasm. This was the case in the middle "raga-rock" section of the show, replete with East Indian draperies and candles, which momentarily arrested the quite sizable momentum the band had built up with some delays and false starts. All it took, however, was the opening bars of the first album's barn-burner, "Sun Going Down" (which interpolates Robert Johnson's "Me and the Devil Blues") to get things back up to speed. Martin shone here on acoustic slide guitar, going back to _Zeppelin's_ roots for a greasy jam in which he confronts ol' Satan himself and finds to his surprise that "he looked a helluva lot like me." The rapturous audience on this second night at the Danforth Music Hall was only too happy to follow Martin down Lucifer's well-worn path, trod by other rock icons from Aleister Crowley to one Jimmy Page. The show hit its apex, however, with another of the strong _Splendor Solis_ tunes, "Save Me", which is built around a percussive main rhythm and an exploding chorus. The band extended this one with a middle section based on a familiar drum pattern which soon revealed itself to be "Hurt" from Nine Inch Nails _The Downward Spiral_. Judging from the sing-along crowd reaction as Martin repeated the song's line "You can have it all," I would say that there is a sizable cross-over of NIN and Tea Party fans, dispelling the notion that the band merely attracts those trying to (re)create a "classic rock" experience. Of the encores, the ballad "Correspondences" improved upon the _Edges_ version, with some _In Through The Out Door_ guitar licks replacing the original's piano fills. Finally, "A Certain Slant of Light," the band's signature tune, just missed falling flat because of the extreme volume at which it was played, murking up the mix and giving the impression that the band was tired of the song and trying to get by on volume instead of emotion. Still, the punters went ape. Overall, a very good show. Things only look bright for The Tea Party as _The Edges of Twilight_ was released Stateside. Go get em, boys. --- REVIEW: Alison Moyet, _Singles_ (Columbia) - Bob Gajarsky The soul/pop/dance/blues sound of Alison Moyet has been captured on a greatest hits compilation, aptly titled _Singles_. Moyet's powerful voice first hit the American shores as one half of the Vince Clarke project, Yaz (or Yazoo, depending on your location). American dancefloors quickly fell in love with "Situation", which was originally slated to appear in the compilation but was scrapped in favor of the later tune "Winter Kills". Two other songs from her Yaz era are included on this compilation; "Only You" and "Nobody's Diary". Neither song is typical of the high energy which Yaz (and later, Erasure) generally produce, but they both highlight the strength of Moyet's voice. "Love Resurrection" and "Invisible", her biggest chart hit in the States, are highlights of her first solo effort, _Alf_. These two tracks give the best indication of how Moyet can play off a song - the slow pace of "Invisible" contrasts with the dancability of "Love Resurrection". Moyet's songs never captured the fancy of American programmers, even as she continued to churn out pop songs such as "Whispering Your Name" and "Weak In The Presence of Beauty". More than a half dozen UK top 10 hits testified to her staying power in Europe, but Moyet was still unable to crack U.S. playlists. For those who haven't heard Moyet, imagine Belinda Carlisle with a more powerful voice and a better musical backing. Then go out and see what American radio hasn't been embracing - and what you should. Track listing: The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Only You, Nobody's Diary, Winter Kills, Love Resurrection, All Cried Out, Invisible, That Ole Devil Called Love, Is This Love?, Weak In The Presence of Beauty, Ordinary Girl, Love Letters, It Won't Be Long, Wishing You Were Here, This House, Falling, Whispering Your Name, Getting Into Something, Ode To Boy II, Solid Wood --- REVIEW: Dish, _Boneyard Beach_ (Interscope) - Reto Koradi A female lead vocalist playing piano - the first associations are obvious, but quite far from reality. _Boneyard Beach_ is the first full length release of Dish, a four piece band based in Raleigh, N.C. Band leader Dana Kletter had a classical piano education, and was formerly in a band called Blackgirls. When she says: "Alternative music, especially, tends to be about making things ugly-sounding. I have a different way of thinking about that" this gives a good idea about what to expect. The essential parts of most tracks are Kletter's beautiful, clean voice and Bo Taylor's slowly whining guitar, the piano is only leading in few tracks. Most songs are slow and melodic, the most catchy ones are "How Could Anyone" and "January Song", which are potential singles. They are contrasted by some rawer songs, like a punkish version of The Band's "Tears of Rage". There's no outstanding feature that would make this record a milestone in musical history. But it has lots of quality, from the songwriting to the performance. You could put it into the "easy listenable alternative" category, some people prefer the terrible term "adult contemporary". Looking at the chart success of comparable bands, this might well sell many copies if it gets good marketing. It's certainly a good deal more interesting than the Cranberries. --- REVIEW: Urchins, _Yummy_ (Alley Cat Music) -Tim Mohr Straight outta New Brunswick, New Jersey come the Urchins, a clever guitar-based quartet fronted by vocal charmer Karen Bradbury. _Yummy_ serves up smart lyrics with a good sense of humor, catchy tunes, coherence, and a Partridge Family cover. In short, _Yummy_ is very good, and Urchins have performed with Frente! to boot. Bradbury's voice and lyrics carry the band beyond the ordinary. Vocally reminiscent of Echobelly, the Motels, early Debbie Harry, or Madder Rose, she has a tendency to belt out songs, such as "The Enabler", with a passion that brings Lone Justice/Maria McKee or even early Linda Ronstadt to mind. On "I'd Like to See You," Bradbury goes through a series of images of her unfaithful lover being boiled in oil, thrown off a 50 story building, and subjected to other such niceties. She explains, "You promised me the sun, then you dicked me over to nail another one." An acoustic version of this song closes _Yummy_ and showcases the vengeful but comically hyperbolic lyrics. She manages to include profanity in several songs without coming across as seeking hip semantic naturalism; that is, such forays sound genuinely natural and are not intrusive. Musically, the Urchins remain very straightforward, but don't suffer from their rock traditionalism. Passages drenched in reverb recall Echo and the Bunnymen, Chris Isaak, or Mazzy Star. The overall impression might be described as a tastefully unproduced version of the Divinyls or Pretenders: quite mainstream without the indie extremities of Th' Faith Healers or PJ Harvey, without the molasses-inflected psychedelia of Mazzy Star. Sleeper is a particularly good reference point, with the fiery (but not whining and self- indulgent) lyrics distinguishing the Urchins from most other contemporary bands. --- REVIEW: Strangeloves, _I Want Candy: Best of the Strangeloves_ (Legacy/Epic) - Bob Gajarsky The Legacy label keeps up its reissue catalog with this interesting item from the Strangeloves, _I Want Candy_. The title cut, "I Want Candy", which took up most of the Strangeloves brief glimpse of fame, is probably better known by today's rockers as done by Britons Bow Wow Wow, during those "flashback 80's" lunches that are all the rage. But, to this critic's ear, nearly all the songs which appear here - covering 2 album's worth of materials, as well as some singles - sound identical. That's what simultaneously makes _I Want Candy_ good and bad. "I Want Candy" sounds like their cover of "Willie and the Hand Jive", which the trio then play with the words (but not the music) to produce "No Jive". In the early 60's tradition of doing many covers, the Stones "Satisfaction" gets identical treatment. Even their original of "Hang On Sloopy" (later taken to #1 by their friends the McCoys) even sounds - well, the same. The up side is that it does sound like a garage band that you got for a party, who could play any song - in the same "style" in which they were hired. The Strangeloves' history didn't end in the 1960's. More than ten years after their last recording, Richard Gottehrer teamed up with Seymour Stein in the formation of Sire Records, later producing works for Blondie and the Go Go's. This one's interesting for a small listen, and it is nice to see 1960's artists getting reissued - Sony/Legacy deserves extra kudos for going through the time and trouble - but if you've heard "I Want Candy", you've probably got the idea for the album _I Want Candy_. --- NEWS: Dan Baird, formerly of the Georgia Satellites, is working on his second solo album, "Buffalo Nickle", to be released later this fall. His band usually consists of former members of the Satellites from the early eighties before they were popular. The two Ricks (Richards and Price) still play around Atlanta from time to time as the Georgia Satellites and as The Hellhounds. They generally play half covers and half originals. WWW information on Baird can be found through American, at: http://198.147.111.1/American_Artists/Dan_Baird/dan_baird_reviews.html Coyote Records has recently announced that there will be a co-distribution deal with Imago for John Waite's recent release, _Temple Bar_. Elektra Records has jumped feet first into the World Wide Web. The label has tried to simulate a person walking around the Elektra offices, with work environments, audio and video clips, and the usual artist information. Users can access the site at http://www.elektra.com The Queensryche CD-ROM mentioned in the June 27 issue of Consumable has now been delayed until sometime in October. --- TOUR DATES Barenaked Ladies / Billy Bragg Aug. 1 San Luis Obispo, CA Cuesta College Aug. 2 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore Aug. 4 Seattle, WA Under The Rail Aug. 5 Smithers, BC Northern Lights Music Fest Aug. 6 Vancouver, BC Vanier Park Aug. 8 Grand Prairie, AB Canada Games Arena Aug. 10 Edmonton, AB Edmonton Folk Festival Aug. 11 Banff, AB Banff Convention Ctr. Aug. 14 Brandon, MAN Centennial Stadium Aug. 18 Winnipeg, MAN Sun Festival Sept. 2 Memphis, TN Zima Sept. 3 Toronto, ON Molson Amphitheatre Sept. 5 Manchester, England Boardwalk Sept. 6 Liverpool, England Lomax Sept. 7 Northampton, England Roadmenders Sept. 9 London, England Royal Festival Hall Sept. 10 Portsmouth, England Wedgewood Room Sept. 12 Bristol, England Fleece And Firkin Sept. 13 Norwich, England Waterfront Sept. 14 Newcastle, England Riverside Sept. 16 Aberdeen, England Lemon Tree Sept. 20 Leeds, England Irish Centre Sept. 21 Cambridge, England Junction Sept. 22 Sheffield, England University Ball Sept. 23 Manchester, England University Ball Sept. 25 Birmingham, England Foundary Sept. 26 Glamorgan, England University Ball Sept. 27 Brighton, England Concorde Sept. 29 London, England Shepherd's Bush Empire Barkmarket July 21 Portland, ME Zoots July 22 Boston, MA Rat July 24 New York, NY CBGB's July 24 Philadelphia, PA Nick's July 25 Baltimore, MD Club Midnight July 26 Washington, DC 9:30 Club July 27 Richmond, VA Twisters Daryll-Ann Aug. 4 Balen, Minirock (B) Aug. 5 Amsterdam, Arena (NL) Aug. 22 Enschede, T.U. (NL) Sept. 1 Amsterdam, Melkweg (NL) Sept. 8 New York City, NY Mercury Lounge Drivin' & Cryin' / Yayhoos (Dan Baird + Others) July 21 Winston Salem, NC Ziggys July 22 Raleigh, NC The Ritz July 24 Panama City Beach, FL Spinnakers July 26 Tuscaloosa, AL The Ivory Tusk July 27 New Orleans, LA House of Blues July 28 Pensacola, FL Bally High Beach Club July 29 Memphis, TN 616 Freedy Johnston Aug. 12 Port Chester, NY 7 Willow Street Aug. 13 Schenectady, NY Music Haven Stage Kyuss July 22 Orlando, FL Orlando Arena July 23 Tampa, FL Expo Hall July 24 West Palm Beach, FL West Palm Beach Auditorium Huey Lewis And The News July 27-30 Stateline, NV Circus Maximus Aug. 2 Chicago, IL Skyline Stage Aug. 3 Clarkston, MI New Pine Knob Music Theatre Aug. 4 Clearfield, PA County Fair Aug. 5 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center Aug. 8 North Tonawanada, NY Melody Fair Theatre Aug. 10 Wallingford, CT Oakdale Theatre Aug. 11 Warwick, RI Warwick Music Theatre Aug. 12 Hyannis, MA Cape Cod Melody Aug. 13 Cohasset, MA South Shore Music Circus Aug. 15 Devon, PA Valley Forge Music Fair Aug. 16 Westbury, NY Westbury Music Fair Aug. 17 Latham, NY Starlite Music Theatre Aug. 18 Chautuqua, NY Chautuqua Institute Aug. 20 Riverdale, NJ Suntan Lake Aug. 21 Vienna, VA Wolf Trap Sept. 8 Concord, CA Concord Pavillion Sept. 9 Visalia, CA Visalia Convention Center Sept. 10 San Diego, CA Street Scene Lordz of Brooklyn July 25 River Grove, IL Thirsty Whale July 26 Columbus, OH Al Rosa Theatre July 27 Detroit, MI St. Andrew's Hall July 28 Toronto, ON Opera House July 29 Montreal, QC Le Spectrum De Montreal July 30 Boston, MA Axis July 31 Burlington, VT Toast Aug. 2 Albany, NY Bogie's Aug. 3 New York, NY Tramps Aug. 4 Northampton, NY Pearl Street Aug. 5 Newark, NJ Studio One Aug. 7 Washington, DC 9:30 Club Aug. 8 Wilmington, NC Mad Monk Aug. 9 Atlanta, GA Masquerade Aug. 11 Fort Lauderdale, FL Club Zoo Aug. 12 Orlando, FL Fairbanks Inn Aug. 13 Jacksonville, FL Shades Aug. 15 Houston, TX Urban Art Bar Aug. 16 Austin, TX Backroom Aug. 17 Dallas, TX Galaxy Club Aug. 19 Phoenix, AZ Nile Theatre Aug. 22 Riverside, CA Showcase Theatre Aug. 23 Los Angeles, CA Whiskey Aug. 25 San Francisco, CA Trocadero Arnold McCuller/Lyle Lovett July 22 Memphis, TN Mud Island Amphitheatre July 23 Pensacola, FL Bay Front Auditorium July 24 Atlanta, GA Chastain Amphitheatre July 26 Vienna, VA Wolftrap July 27 New York, NY Radio City Music Hall July 28 Boston, MA Harbor Lights July 29 Wallingford, CT Oakdale Theatre Aug. 2 Louisville, KY Kentucky Center For The Arts Aug. 3 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center Aug. 4 Detroit, MI Fox Theatre Aug. 6 Noblesville, IN Deer Creek Music Center Aug. 7 Highland Park, IL Ravinia Festival --- To get back issues of Consumable, check out: FTP: eetsg22.bd.psu.edu in the directory /pub/Consumable ftp.etext.org in the directory /pub/Zines/Consumable Gopher: diana.zems.etf.hr Engleski Jezik/Music/Consumable or Hrvastki Jezik/Glazbena Rubrika/Consumable (URL) gopher://diana.zems.etf.hr:70/11/eng/Music/Consumable http://www.westnet.com/consumable/Consumable.html (WWW) http://www.westnet.com (CIS) Compuserve, Lotus Notes users only: GO FORUM (Delphi) Music Fandom forum; GO ENT MUSIC Web access contributed by WestNet Internet Services (westnet.com), serving Westchester County, NY. 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