Records

Rip It Up, Issue 64, 1 November 1982, Page 10

Records

David Perkins

Culture Club Kissing To Be Clever Virgin Getting noticed is half the battle. Boy George, vocalist with the new London rage, Culture Club, knows that much. His high profile bisexual image by itself would only have raised the odd chuckle but behind the vain provocativeness this man and band have talent to burn. A debut album then. Kissing To Be Clever and Culture Club live up to their name by merging all genres and by disturbing your perception of white/black divisions. And Boy George can sure sing, he's easily the best of the current crop of British funksters and the same can be said for the band. The songs: 'Do You Really Want To Hurt Me' is gospel, then Smokey Robinson brushed with reggae, a classic single and as

obvious a hit as the Human League's 'Don't You Want Me'. Other singles present are White Boy', their first and funkiest and I'm Afraid of Me' (remix) spirited along with just a touch of salsa. The best of the rest: the hot 'Love Twist' with a reggae toasting treat from Captain Crucial, the functional movement of You Know I’m Not Crazy' and Take Control' and the effective atmosphere of 'White Boys Can't Control It'. Kissing To Be Clever proves that Boy George isn't just a pretty face. There's enough voice, song and dance here to prove that much, with ease and style to spare. George Kay . Bruce Springsteen Nebraska CBS It's two years since Springsteen's last album but he's not stopped writing. Since then he's written songs for Gary U.S. Bonds and is currently completing sessions with the E Street Band for release in the new year. And here we have the man alone. One can foresee some people peremptorily dismissing Nebraska along the lines of 'more songs about cars and father fixations'. Certainly the same obsessions highways

at night, the working grind, etc do carry over from The River, however most of those songs were about loves won and lost. Nebraska's rarely touch on romance. This album is much nearer a sequel to 1978's Darkness On The Edge Of Town. Like Darkness, these stories are set in the smalltown life of the American south and mid-west. However, where the earlier work ultimately celebrated triumph snatched from the teeth of despair, the scenes here are of fatalism and defeat. Appropriately therefore, instead of the enormous sound of Springsteen's band, we get the subdued backup of simple guitar and harmonica. As nearly every song is slow and brooding the sparse accompaniment is perfectly adequate. Occasionally it is delicately enhanced (eg xylophone on 'Used Cars') or another guitar is added but there's nothing here beyond the limits of Springsteen's fourtrack home cassette recorder. Only once, when electric guitar is used on the most up-beat number, do we miss the fuller backing of a band. With the subject matter, narrative nature and acoustic treatment of the songs, Springsteen seems to be placing himself in the tradition of Woody Guthrie. His lyrics have

always borne considerable weight in his music but never more than in this setting. But as he continues to rework the same subjects he increasingly runs the risk of thematic banality. Sometimes here he comes perilously close to selfimitation. The title track, for instance, like its cinematic source, is extremely well crafted but ultimately trite. 'My Father's House' is sub-Freudian habdab and one or two others betray beautiful-loser sentimentality. On the other hand, 'Mansion On The Hill', 'Highway Patrolman' and 'Used Cars' are among the best songs he's ever written. Which is saying a great deal considering we're talking about one of the greatest talents in American popular music. There are very few rock musicians who would take the risks that Springsteen has in making Nebraska. That it may contain one or two failures is small criticism. Peter. Thomson Tom Robinson North by Northwest Stunn Who would've expected Tom Robinson to make any sort of comeback. I, for one, was quite prepared to let him lecture to empty halls after the activist calls of Power in the Darkness. The subsequent TRB 2 and Sector 27 suffered from Robinson's unimaginative adherance to conventional rock formats and downright weak material. His heart-on-the-sleeve sincerity couldn't save the feeble song structures. But North by Northwest is something of a renaissance, not a crucial statement but an awareness' that certain old standards and approaches have to be updated. Consequently he's recorded the new record in Hamburg, swept up the sound and exorcized his alter ego in 'Now Martin's Gone'. In 'Can't Keep Away' and The Night Tide' he has his best songs to date

and in Those Days' and 'Merrily Up On High' he makes pithy social comments about the overbearing obviousness that marked much of his past output. This album won't propel Robinson to the forefront of rock'n'roll but it does show that he not only has the ability and inclination to change, he also has the potential to improve. George Kay Peter Gabriel Mercury The ex Genesis vocalist offers up his fourth album, which maintains the high standard set on the preceding albums. Less approachable but equally rewarding. The songs here are essentially developments of themes previously examined by Gabriel. His penetrating political consciousness is evident on 'Rhythm of the Heat' and 'San Jacinto'. The former is the equivalent of 'Biko' from his last album. Mixing Ghanaian drums with brooding synthesisers, Gabriel's voice soars over this menacing backdrop, tempered by the whispering chorus lines. A ritualistic masterpiece reminiscent of Talking Heads. There is not much rock on this album, but what there is provides welcome relief from the album's overall gruelling nature. 'Shock The Monkey' and 'I Have The Torch' are exceptional in a kind of electronic rock adventure, as though Gabriel has reduced the music to embryonic forms. The remaining tracks are dominated by an unsettling atmosphere of tension, the sounds seemingly suspended. Only the faintest strands of his Genesis days can be gleaned from this challenging and disturbing record by an artist who has refused to compromise. There is no attempt to tailor the sound for public approval, but the converted will be well satisfied with this latest album. Highly recommended.