Records

Rip It Up, Issue 96, 1 July 1985, Page 30

Records

The Hyphenears What Are Stars? The Stars Are What Separates Us From the Animals, You Sonovabitch TV Eye "Holy shit, Batman, not one of these men is wearing polyester pants!" "That's right, Robin they play mean and dirty, real ass-kicker stuff." Once again the Legendary Hyphen-Smythe and the Imaginary Legacy Of Ears team up to bring you the follow-up to the terribly good Garden Of Lycanthropy and Sonovabitch is even better. All their influences are shoved into the TV Eye blender to produce something completely... um, well, what? Different? Original? Shee-it, it just is. It stomps, shouts, mumbles, curses and screams in a seemingly haphazard manner. An island vision all their own, it could only happen in New Zealand. But hell! Let’s not get too serious! Check out 'Diamond Head; 'Ring Your Rosie' and What's the Shakes’; this IS ass-kicker stuff. 'She Somewhat Bloodless' curled

'round ma brain with some phazed guitar, and 'Monkey' is wonderfully psychedelic to these ears. It seems the Ape-men are playing more arranged songs. ‘The Wizard Of Weather’ has a neat melody, good backing vocals there's more happening here than on first impression, but the craziest, most wonderful track of all has to be ‘Long Gone! "I'm in a rocket and the controls are set for Friday!" shouts KS amidst the feedback. It's great! What more could you wish for the best album title of the year and music that'll blow the top of your head off if you’re willing. Buy it? Hell yes! Fiona Rae Temptations All the Million Sellers (Motown) A reissue of a compilation focussing on the vocal group's years with Norman Whitfield writing and producing from 'Ain’t Too Proud To Beg' (1966) to 'Papa Was A Rolling Stone’ (1972). There is only one early Smokey Robinson-produced song ('My Girl; 1964) but this LP is still excellent listening. Most of the psychedelic tracks feature Dennis Edwards (left group 1984) but the original vocalists seen with Hall and Oates on Live Aid are here too Eddie Kendricks ('Just My Imagination')

and David Ruffin ('Ain't Too Proud To Beg’, 'I Wish It Would Rain!

Katrina and the Waves MC (Capitol) 'Walking On Sunshine' is one of those singles that, despite its familiar formula, wins you over by sheer exuberance. Only two other tracks here pull off the same stroke. Each is sequenced in the middle of a side and both are written about Mexico. (One even riffs of that old chestnut 'La Bamba!) Elsewhere on the album, the formula can get tedious. 'Cry For Me' sounds suspiciously like a heavyhanded rework of a great old Pretty Things hit, 'Cry To Me! 'Game Of Love’ begins with Chuck Berry and then introduces Everly Brothers harmonies for a self-consciously period lyric. (It also wins a Dave Edmunds plectrum for its revivalist guitar solo.) Red Wine and Whisky' is, of course, another barroom cliche. All tracks, bar one, were written by the American lead guitarist and they're all sung by an Englishwoman. At least the timewarp is transatlantic. PT Shalamar, Heart Break (Solar) Bigger, punchier hip hop beats and strong man guitar solos make up the new sound of old pop/soul band Shalamar. Howard Hewett is the only original member left, and although he sang the lead on their previous singles, somehow the

new songs lack the svelte, sweet boy and girl charm of 'A Night To Remember’ and ■ ‘Second Time Around! Including producers Stanley Clarke and Bill Winthrop, Heart Break is aimed at the dancefloor with last year's 'Dancin’ In the Sheets’, 'My Girl Loves Me’ and 'Amnesia! all of which suggest the human condition at its best. PG Dan Fogelberg High Country Snows (Epic) Throughout his flirtation with pop-flavoured music, Fogelberg has always kept one foot near his C&W roots. Waiting for the opportune moment to make his tribute to traditional American C&W. This is it; and it's all here: the up-tempo mandolin/fiddle duel, the waltztime weepy, even a touch of accapella. They’re all here too Ricky Skaggs, Al Perkins, Chris Hillman, Charlie McCoy, Doc watson, et al. It’s country, it’s American and it’s true to form. SGE Eric Clapton Behind the Sun (Warner Bros) Clapton’s dour expression on the album’s inner sleeve photo suggests the discomfort of the gamekepper unexpectedly asked to tea with Lord Chatterley. This passionless record suggests the humble guitar plucker asked unexpectedly to srum up a storm. Producer/participant Phil Collins gives Clapton’s "pop squire" side

a techno rhythmic hook, but there's little steam in the boiler. The too-obvious debt to ‘Layla’ of 'Forever Man; is considerably lesser song, is just that. KW