LETTERS

Rip It Up, Issue 60, 1 July 1982, Page 24

LETTERS

Post to 'RIU LETTERS', PO Box 5689, Auckland 1. What causes a three or four piece band to swell to five or six at Mainstreet? Have the extra members forgotten which band they belong to? Or do they just love being on stage? I want to hear what the 'band' wants me to hear, not cluttered by an unpracticed riff or beat that sort of fits in. Bugger Off Epsom In regard to the June Smelly Feet Left Odours tape review. Was the reviewer (D.McK): • Don Mclean? • an American? • a folk hero taught by a master? • or a straight pie? . Also, why does he think Smelly Feet is "best live". Where did the reviewer see Feet live and if he's telling the truth, why did he not tell all your readers that under the heading "Live", and which part of the Country it was in? Blah Blah Blah Christchurch P.S. There's a drought. EDITOR: The reviewer's name is Don Mackay and he's seen ya in Wellington. Having just turned on to the Jam through both Sound Effects and The Gift, l note with some disappointment that George Kay describes these albums as being "a far cry from the determined and clear-sighted sharpness of the Jam's best work What's the Jam's best work? Any album better than the above would definitely be worth having. B. Wallace Templeview T GEORGE KAY REPLIES: Try All Mod Cons, all of Side One of Setting Sons (and 'Burning Sky', 'Eton Rifles' on Side Two), all Side .One of In The City and isolated tracks on This is the Modern ■ World.

Just to set Mark Phillips' facts straight; 'Car of Your Choice' was most definitely not recorded for Ripper. It was recorded along with thirteen other songs for our own purposes, Ripper was going to release it, but negotiations broke down. If you ever saw Zerox which I very much doubt, what do you mean by "sounds like a copy?" If you remember 'Television' from Zerox's repertoire, I wonder why you don't also remember them playing 'Car of your Choice' and what about 'Television' being played by the Dentists or Otis Mace. Who's copying who? The person who wrote and arranged the fuckin' songs in the first place! Yet another badly researched bit of trip from another ill-informed rock press writer. Lena Days, Rod Macleod Concerning your review of New Order's Movement. Duncan Campbell does a disservice to the memory of lan Curtis by calling him "one dimensional as a performer" and blasphemes with; "rhythmic drive that the old Joy Division never quite achieve". What of the "rhythmic drive" of: 'She's Lost Control', 'No Love Lost', 'Novelty', 'Walked in Line', 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'? Most JD songs have a powerful, progressive rhythm. Most listeners would have heard Joy Division's music before their lyrics, as the latter are often hard to decipher. I also dispute Campbell's "clean break" theory. Movement is a moVe away from the JD phenomenon but not a "clean break". Look at the song titles and listen to the lyrics, they confirm a commitment to the ideas present in Joy Division, though New Order are a trifle more optimistic. Why be obsessed with dividing New Order and JD. New Order's identity is in part given by the legacy of Joy Division. They're not just some entity from nowhere. Quentin Bright Palmerston North

Simple Minds Promised You a Miracle 12" (Virgin) The third ('Love Song', 'Sweat in Bullet') in a trilogy of great singles from these Scottish masters of modern music. Pumping synth laced with almost indecipherable vocals and a jagged guitar break. Other side, both instrumental tracks Theme for Great Cities' and 'Seeing out the Angel'. Mockers Woke Up Today (Morocat) • After . 'Trendy : ’. Lefties', . the Mockers said they would give up releasing commercial singles. Lucky for; us they changed their mind-.;. "Woke Up Today' is a piece of simple pop with all the la's in the right places. B-side is 'Roger Aardvark and his Incredible Exploding Books', Boots', a rather ambitious 'version' of 'Woke Up Today'. • David Bowie Cat People (MCA) Baal (RCA) From the true chameleon come two very diverse soundtracks. 'Cat People' is from the movie "of. the same name. Bowie contributes the lyric and. Giorgio. Moroder • the music. Disco that wears thin pretty quick. Baal is totally different.. Five songs by Bertolt Brecht from the BBC play where Bowie played the lead. Theatrical but entertaining, it comes in an amazing gatefold cover with photos and story. ABC The Look Of Love (Mercury) With 'Poison Arrow' racing up the charts comes ABC's third single.’ Nothing new, they revamp the same formula, but white disco doesn't come any better than this. Screaming Meemees F. Is For Fear (Propeller) Taken from the debut Paradise Bag, this is a duet, in that Tony, ana Kim from the; Gurlz sing together. Nice piano intro from Peter leads into a good solid song, with all its handclaps and time changes ‘ in the right places. Definitely a hit, : if it gets onto RTR. Flip is 'Orson Welles', an instrumental of little repute. Yazoo, Only You (Mute) Yazoo ' is actually ex-Depeche. Mode hit writer Vince Clarke and female R&B single Alf. : . Lush pop synthesiser in a swirling melody, far ■ more radio-orientated than' Depeche Mode's later work. A hit. B-side is 'Situation', a disco stomp in the old DM manner and just as gbodjKB^RBBnnBBHBSB XTC, Ball and Chain (Virgin) This Colin Moulding song from English Settlement is the first song from XTC that I've enjoyed since Drums And Wires. One of . those great pop songs this band is (still) capable of producing. The Go-Betweens Hammer The Hammer (Missing Link) The Go-Betweens are one of Australia's better bands, with a sound of, the 60s and 80s, something like the bands south of Wellington. A simple bass beat with" a clever lyric and jangly. guitar graces the A-side. The B-side, 'By Chance', is more cluttered and less potent. 3 Piece Pack Furtive Four (Furtive)^^JHßH This four-band package has been a, long time in the pipeline. It features Palmerston North's Skeptics and Auckland's Bongos, Prime Movers and ;Dabs. Most interesting is "Nervous Tension' by the Bongos; featuring a vibrant organ. Prime Movers and Dabs regenerate the 60s, while Skeptics are Harsher. Worthwhile. ; , Desperate Measures EP (Desperate Times) Three-chord thrash from a Christchurch -'new. punk'' fourpiece." Songs are '1984', 'The Glad-

stone', 'Shane's Song' and 'Slow One, which doesn't seem any slower than the others. Classix Nouveaux Is It A Dream, (Liberty) Cut from the La Verite debut album. Good drum sound and a tight commercial tune, but oh, awful synthesiser, and the singing? Arghhh! /. B-Movie, Nowhere Girl (Decca) The only thing I know about this band is that they appeared on Mute's Some Bizarre, collection and are from Lincolnshire in the English midlands. , Standard synthesiser disco pop, like watereddown Duran Duran. Russ Le Roq I Just Wanna Be Like Marlon Brando (Ode) Is this chappie a DJ at Creole's? Starts out as a standard rockabilly riff,. then mixes in some inane lyrics and a mushy synth. Flip is 'lt Hurts So Bad'. He wants to be like. Roy Orbison , too? , . Snatch, Eye Contact (WEA 12") From Palmerston North comes one of the worst covers I've seen in a long time. The record is no better. Overpomped rock with outdated keyboards and cliched lines. Moodists Gone Dead (Au-Go-Go) Follow-up to 'Where The Trees Walk Downhill', this is the record the NME raved about. It's infectious, frantic and fresh, and leaves holes' in your head where your ears used to be. 'Chad's Car', on the flip, is almost better, highlighting David Graney's superb vocals. The Beat Save It For Later (Arista) I've always loved the Beat, from the day I heard "Mirror In The Bathroom'. 'Save It For Later' sees them moving on slightly from Wha'ppen, a. deliriously simple guitar line is the hook and. a supreme arrangement the bait. Where is the third album? ' Ballon DTssai 12" EP (Flying Nun) Another in the never-ending stream of South Island recordings.' Warped, effect-filled, atmospheric. It comes in a stunning sleeve, complete with a free comic. Needs a few listenings. •: • C Equal Local Yank/12 Ways To Go (Missing Link 12") Equal Local are rapidly becoming a band the whole world should know about. 12 Ways To Go' is a brilliant synthesis of electronics

and jazz-funk, sort of Pigbag on jcomputers. 'Yank' employs far more brass and a Latin rhythm over drum machines. Expect- to hear this r at A Certain BarSjHß . Dynamic Hepnotics Hepnobeat (Statik 12") This was actually released last year on Missing Link, and created enough interest to secure a British deal. Latin, bossa nova based, the remixed version has some really nice dub effects. B-side is 'Funky. Turban Part 13 Vi' and Hepnobeat ; with no words. Graham Parker . Temporary Beauty (Vertigo) From Mr Parker's Another Grey Area 'comeback' album,-V radioorientated ballad. Nice, but maybe just a little sweet. Other side is "No More Excuses', a tough reggae beat and far more like the genuine item. Monsoon Ever So Lonely (Mercury) Monsoon are faintly Asian, of Indian extraction, from London. This is a strange mixture of sitar and disco. Memorable and original. Kim Wilde View From A Bridge (RAK) -' C Kim is RAK's 80s Suzi Quatro.. I'm not usually sucked into this, but it bounces along and you just can't ignore it. If only I could stop. singing-it on the bus! '. - l - ! Rico & The Special AKA Jungle Music (Chrysalis) The remaining Specials' NZ debut. Reggae intro into a calypso. celebration of horns and festivities. Don't confuse with Brazilian supporters in Spain. Flip is 'Rasta Call You', .a hot number with’ Rico's trombone assuming vocal duties. Bananarama (with Fun Boy Three) Really Saying Something (Deram) This is where the boys pay back ' the favour. An irresistible blend of percussion and piano in a drastic-ally-reworked old Motown number. Other side is 'Give Us Back Our Cheap Fares', a song the girls wrote with Vaughan Toulouse of Department S. Soft Cell, Torch (Vertigo) No,' it's not a Danse Macabre cover. I used to think Soft Cell were going to be huge. This is neither particularly catchy nor danceable, and as these are basic to their popularity, it's unlikely to repeat the success of Tainted Love'. Mark Phillips