SHAKE SUMMATION

Rip It Up, Issue 124, 1 November 1987, Page 42

SHAKE SUMMATION

Al Hunter ‘Jealous Guy’ (CBS 7”) If anyone deserves airplay, it’s Al Hunter, and if any song is gonna get it for him, it’s this fabulous remake of John Lennon’s ‘Jealous Guy.’ Instantly appealing, with the perfect amount of country feel, it swings along to the delicate, tuneful licks of Ken Francis, Stuart Pearce’s piano and organ, and Al’s heartfelt vocal, which brings out the pain and passion with spirited phrasing. One of the year’s gems, it gives cover versions a good name. Hopefully the melodic, soulful flip, Al’s ‘Evening Sun,’ will get people listening to the rest of the sublime Neon Cowboy LP. Theßockits ‘Keepon Running’ (Reaction?”) The Spencer Davis Group classic never loses its energy, and this is a creditable 80s rendition by some anonymous Auckland “name” musos, produced by Dave McArtney. Great R&B vocal, but it could do with even more spicing up to add to the original. The B-side ‘Across the Floor’ mix

hints at the possibilities. Still, if it means some locals get added to a station’s “oldies” rotate... Midge Marsden and the Roger Fox Band *T uxedo Junction’ (Circular?”) From the 1985 LP Let the Good Times Roll, ‘Tuxedo Junction’ has a live sound but is hampered by its lowrent production. Midge's vocal has spirit and there are moments of fin-ger-snapping subtlety, but the band lacks energy. ‘Flip, Flop and Fry,’ the Joe Turner standard, has more punch in a Vegas kind of way, but there’s an awful heavy rock solo in the middle. Radio stations with older target audiences are crying out for NZ material to fit their formats, but no doubt the RNZ programmers would reject this, from their own studios, for low production standards and “the original was better.” Sad but true. Chrome Safari ‘Anything For You’ (Pagan 12”) Built on a catchy, insistant synth riff, ‘Anything’ has a cold urban technofunk feel that drives along, with the bite and cynicism of Simon Alexander’s voice leavened by Shanley Morris’s sweetness. Just when the riff starts to nag, it’s all over. ‘The Meaning of Life’ doesn’t try so hard so is more appealing, almost a duet between Simon and Shanley, with lots of melodic, drifting touches and a cruisier pace that might be dancefloor friendly. B-side ‘For You ... Anything’ brings the bass forward and adds quirky touches, but you can sense a frowning brow behind it all. Darlene Adair ‘ Deception ’ (CBS 7”) A light pop song sung well in a Rickie Lee Jones (remember her?) mode that should suit the Haurakis, Radio I, RNZ Comnet. Not dynamic but inoffensive. ‘No Prisoners’ hints at more but is valium mellow, drifting by, elegant but empty. But it holds up best because it’s not trying to do too much with too little. Chris Bourke