RECORDS

Rip It Up, Issue 58, 1 May 1982, Page 14

RECORDS

Chris Knox

Split Enz Time And Tide Polydor x Ten years have passed since a peculiar little band called . Split Ends released , a song called 'For You'. Ten years of pinnacles and pitfalls, and some of the best music to ever emerge from the Southern Hemisphere. A lot of achievements to be proud of, and doubtlessley a few regrets. This is what Time And Tide is largely about. It's the band's pause for thought, about what has happened, and about what is yet to come. The most unusual piece is 'Haul Away', written along the lines of a traditional sea shanty. Tim tells his life story, from his birth in Te Awamutu to the present day, and takes us into his nightmares: Ambition has lost me friends and time Young men are waiting, lapping at my heels, Now I'm' having a nervous breakdown . But my mates will see that l don't go down 'Six Months In A Leaky Boat' is a song of freedom, individuality and ambition, a celebration of this country's pioneering spirit. •' , Appropriate sentiments from the Enz, who are pioneers themselves. It’s also one of their best tunes ever, and an absolute must

for a single. Tim's other two solo compositions, 'Never Ceases To Amaze Me' and 'Small World', are filled with observations, the former of human foibles, and the latter of a world being steadily raped by the human race, leaving little or nothing for future generations. 'Dirty Creature' and Lost For Words' are joint efforts between the Finns and Nigel Griggs, whc does a good deal of composing on this album. 'Dirty Creature' is not really a classic Enz single, the tune being too derivative, strong flashes of the previous two albums. 'Lost For Words' is a complex, demanding tune with a helter skelter melody.

Nigel . and Neil together also produce 'Giant Heartbeat', a dense and harrowing requiem for a dying world. Neil's three solo works .are largely of a similar, morose aspect. Take A Walk' recalls boyhood, escaping into the wilderness to find peace, now maybe lost forever. 'Log Cabin Fever' is loneliness and isolation. Eddie contributes the brief pastoral instrumental 'Pioneer', and the LP finishes on a basically optimistic note. 'Make Sense Of It' is a group composition, offering no solutions, but rather ways of getting by. If you shed a tear when ' the nightmare breaks . Just remember dreams go in opposites You're holding on ... Perhaps their most honest LP, certainly their darkest. The commercial zest of True Colours seems far away. Time And Tide will challenge Split Enz fans. Its music is demanding and its words ask many questions. Introspection and revelation. A lament for lost innocence and hope to find a future. Time And Tide is all these things. ■ Duncan Campbell Haircut 100 Pelican West Arista Haircut. 100 started life as a fresh faced three-piece early last year. They then transformed into a gleaming six-piece, adding saxo-

phone and extra guitar and drums. From this union came 'Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)', a brilliant, brassy single that conquered the British charts. They followed it with 'Love Plus One', a delightful, fruity sound and further evidence of their ability. Pelican West is a pop album. It draws from jazz and funk influences, but is still essentially a British pop record. In true pop fashion it opens with the two singles. The pace never slackens as they move into the youthful exuberance of 'Lemon Firebrigade', probably the best cut on the album. Phil Smith, on sax, is a fine player, and coupled with sidemen Dave Lord on trumpet and Vince Sullivan on trombone, they produce one of the best white horn sounds since AWB. Then it's 'Marine Boy', flip of 'Love Plus One' and at least its equal. Two important factors are at work here. Nick Heyward's songwriting and Bob (the Beat) Sargeant's superlative production skills. It's hard to fault either. Pop rules on the third single, Tantastic Day', with its burst of Sgt Pepper trumpets, while 'Baked Bean' comes as a total contrast with its jazz horns and funk guitar. Nick Heyward is only just 20. He has become rich and famous almost overnight, but has the songs to avoid the problems often associated with such rapid success. Pelican West is consistently an album of great pleasure, yet I don't doubt Haircut 100's ability to

better it in the future. Mark Phillips Lou Reed The Blue Mask RCA In which Lou Reed, godfather of punk and all things nasty and evil, becomes a family man. Well almost, but with Reed things are never clean cut. Lou's last album, the enigmatic Growing Up In Public, presented a happier, heterosexual (and married) persona, but suffered from dull musicianship, typified by your American AOR back cover shot of the band as good ol' boys. The Blue Mask rectifies that, and is Lou's most focused album lyrically and musically since the epic Street Hassle. The band is simple bass, guitar and drums, and the album is live in the studio, with a minimum of overdubs. Lou tells us he's 'just your average guy, trying to do what's right', and he really pushes the point, with songs about his wife ('Heavenly Arms'), patriotism ('The Day John Kennedy Died') and gun control ('The Gun'). But then he turns around and throws a song like the title track at you. A song about sado-masochism, with a Velvet Underground feel to it, and 'Waves Of Fear'. Growing Up In Public and The Bells (an underrated album) lost Lou Reed much of his audience, and had critics saying he was burnt out. The Blue Mask throws that back in their faces. With

Reed, never expect what you expect you'll get. Simon Grigg The Fun Boy Three Chrysalis I never managed to enjoy much Specials' music until 'Ghost Town'. Break up, then Hall, Staples and Golding became Fun Boy Three, and I enjoyed The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum' thoroughly. After slogging through the extreme sibilance and porridgey sound of the review copy (English), I found the remains of a good record which embraces Gregorian chants and Mungo Jerry, discards drum kits and guitars, uses six singers but very little harmony, and has fun with sounds. Side One is mostly percussive, with 'Lunatics' and 'Way On Down' being the highlights. Side Two features acoustic piano on nearly all tracks and is marginally more interesting. 'The Telephone Always Rings' is sort-of Hogsnort Rupert with credibility, while Taint What You Do (It's The Way You Do It)' is an old 30s or 40s ditty,' featuring the modern scat vocal talents of Bananarama (the other three occasional vocalists). This last song highlights Fun Boy Three's major drawback. Presumably they aspired to a real 'swing' feel, but the album is just a little stodgy and leaden. Still, Bananarama save it.