Singles

Rip It Up, Issue 167, 1 June 1991, Page 27

Singles

cE7] B 0 OG Original Gangster (Warner Bros) Cassingle =~ Excellentslab of realismfromMr lee’ new album about how he starfed throwing his hands in the air, like he just _don't care. But reality kept on geffing in the way. No pop song but thafs not what he wants. The other songis ‘Bitches 2’ abouthow “someofyou _niggas is bitches tool” A bit of a twisted feminist argument here, bestthingis the Parliament back beat, the coolest thing fo sample ot the moment.

_KING KURLEE (featuring Blackmorednr) SmokeOnTheWater = (WEAJI2E Well, this is It has be | Swedish or Dutch, the home of terrible records. Yep, ifs DP's classic song of my youth hung out to dry and beaten info putty. A novelty of sorts, having, | assume, Ritchie Blackmore’s young son Loy e s e on axe duties. This is a good argument for stronge parental guidance. é"%”xwwgfmgyasEW§%a§fis*@§e

acoustic anyway, but an unexpected treat is the bluesy reworking of That Would Be Something’ with the swampy Dobro of Robbie Mclntosh. McCartney is in fine voice and in this setting the melodies soar. How many of today’s chart hits will feature in a singalong in 25 years? Will there still be singalongs? Cutesy patter aside, there is a warmth and charming honesty here that was absent from the recent live dinosaur. This has all the intimacy and spontaneity of Al Hunter at the King’s Arms, every Saturday afternoon after the league. CHRIS BOURKE MAGGIE’S DREAM Maggie’s Dream (Capitol) The 60s huh2 I'm told they never actually went away. I'm not so certain of that in general, but it's'definitely a fact around wherever it is that Maggie’s Dream come from. These boys who | know absolutely zip about have gone and made one of my favourite flower power-ish albums. The

SAMANTHAFOX L (Huri Mei Hurt Mel) But the Pants Stay On (Jive) 12" As a frequent observer of Ms Fox's career, | would say this is an attempt at respectability, doing a safe sexsong _ and all that. Looking very demure on the cover, what with the tattooand chain mail, some would call it symbolic. __ Ahouse grinder, especiallyin D] Pierres remix, using CC and music company beats and that full force v

THE TRIPLETS You Don't Have To Go Home Tonight (Mercury)7” _ “Dem Wilson Philips broads sure did shift some heavy units. The kids love ‘that wholesome shit, you know the family that sings fogether stays

together, we're falking good people _here ...’ Yep, the talk behind media consultants closed doors was thick with speculation — what next for the middle _market. Well, nothing new, just three cufe girls sitfing on rocks in the middle ofthe desertsinging about sex. Il buy _ REBEL MC (featuring Tenor Fly) Wickedest Sound (Desire) _ For the adventurous only, a clash of dancehall reggae and bleep beats like realinfense. Should really come with _some amyl nitrate and a strobe light for Plleffect not that Ideverusea strobelight on my body, Imaclean living bby. Ultra cool ot loud volume, all those bleeps set off my neighbours car dlarm and his Phil Collins fapes _exploded Wickedl! = CHRIS BAILEY . _Bridges (Mushroom)7” Talking about my neighbour — he'll like this. s sensitive, thoughtful, reflective, well its just plain mature. Its non-disturbing, which disturbs the hell ~ Ohyes, keep those cards and lefters _coming, ifs always heart warmingto know you have an audience that cares. KERRYBUCHANAN

reason they get the vote of confidence over a straight down the line revivalist like Lenny Kravitz is because they segue some modern elements in nicely with acoustic guitars and dopey lyrics. Mildly funky basslines and jazzy drumming drift in and out, not so obviously that they dominate but enough to ‘colour’ the music, or something hippyish like that. At times, Maggie’s Dream sound sort of like a gentler Living Colour — ‘Change For The Better’, for instance — it's largely in the soul sounding vocals. The entire second side of the album is the down and dirty stuff though, major mellow out time. It's all this really big sounding intense material, but get past the overly idealistic lyrics and it's all really listenable. If this sort of thing is going to come back into fashion then at least let it be through the efforts of smoeone like Maggie’s Dream who have some degree of talent and class, even if they have no idea of how to dress themselves without looking like clowns. : KIRK GEE ;

CROWDEDHOUSE =~ = Chocolate Cake (Capitol) Althoughthisdoesnthavethe anguishedfeelthatmadetheirlost albumsowonderful itdoeshavethat realnice popsoundtheseguysareso goodat Greatrefroorganfeelanda dliabitobviousandliberaibuthey,a burnonevangelisttypesisaiwaysworth edropoits, Khhcee BIRDLAND @ {azyjl2 BP _ The latest release from the perfect blonde Beach Boysof English _pop/thrash thrills if not sending one into Ramone heaven. Snarling vocals sounding like the offspring of 78 punk _and ‘BB pop hook although the band sound like they are holding something back - could well be the constipated _production. Even so, Birdland put pussy tryhards like the Pale Saints and the Darling Buds to shame. | dunno what they are doing on the B-side “untifled” butthisis the future of non-dancy Englnpop @ _ Buy, sing "donthangon”fo your lover and check out those pouting lips _on the teenvbop record cover. Yeah!

SHRFEEI

THE FLESH EATERS ' Dragstrip Riot (SST) , The 1991 university year began and | spent the first two weeks pissing . around changing subjects and shit, taking ones with less grind involved and just getting depressed in general ‘cos nothing had changed and people still repulsed me and everything, but by Monday of the third week | was more or less “set”. So | opened the Beefeater and by lunch that day I'd given it back to the ground, twice, and passed out flat fucked insane. Woke up around 5, sat up, stood up, and slurred “Never again”. Held my word for about a week, mainly ‘cos even the smell of gin brought on a sorta nauseq, but then the necessity of viewing the world thru a drunken haze became greater as varsity got worse so | switched to Johnnie Walker after various attempts to get blasted on assorted rum-type concoctions to which | seemed sadly immune. But there came a day when | was sober and on this day | wandered downtown and into some opening sale where | picked up a Sun Ra CD for the price of 4 ice cream Moros then wandered over to the “alternative” section. And pretty much freaked at what | saw. Dragstrip Riot, a new Flesh Eaters double no less! Dig! | had no idea they were back. Okay, quick dope for squares: the Flesh Eaters were (along w/ X, Flag, Germs) THE hap'nin’ p-rock band of early 80s LA. Centring around the giant vocal goop and lascivious lyrical lustings of Chris Desjardin, plus the swingingest, beatest buncha musos you could wish for in a decade about to launch Madonna as an icon for anything except pseudo-sado tit holders perhaps. And then they split. Mr D went into the equally hot tho' lots different Divine Horsemen, and for one album, Stone By Stone. But now he figures the old name should return, if

not the actual band, but they're prolly dead, so who fucks a give? The cover alone dripped with swellness, no need for naked babes with a group this cool. But would the contents be equally swank? Before you could say “Is it real2 Is it relevant? NO, it's Andrew rushing home to sample his latest score”, | was loading my deck for an answer. Now, after I'd cooled down and accessed my analytical antennae the following became apparent: It's not everything I'd hope for in a new Flesh Eaters album, half the songs are too long and don't go anywhere in their length either, but that's okay, ‘cos the prime - moments scorch where they should. Pretty damn fine, more sexual tension than, | dunno, Guns'n'Roses even. Listen to Wayne James' (since departed) guitar growl, howl and throb thru ‘Soul Kiss' ‘fore Mr D spouts “If | couldn't kiss yr. pussy | wouldn't wanna live” and try telling yourself that it's not the absolute goods you're hearing. You won't be able to. Opening cut “Tomorrow Never Comes’ is prolly the “best”, 4 minutes 29 seconds of pent-up screw-the-future love-me-today anguish layed atop a perfectly realised CLASSIC (gulp) rock move. Next track "Youngest Profession’ has some difficulty sitting nextto it, but tomorrow will come and you won't worry about it. Then again, if you're an existential prick tomorrow won't come and your life will still be equal parts depression, frustration and poop, and as such it'll be nice to have a disc like this to play. ‘Cos it embraces escape by enervating the opposite, pretty much like everything “wise” peeps (such as ) listen to: Stooges, Jimi, Coltrane, the twirl of the bottletop, the sloshing of the liquid, the floor as your face bites it, the men in the trees, the monsters on the moon, the ultravixens in your dreams, the POUNDING in your head, the, uh ... fugit. : ANDREW P 3