singles

Rip It Up, Issue 214, 1 June 1995, Page 35

singles

The return of the occasional singles column is justified by a bunch of tasty and tortured white assed rock ’n’ roll. First up has to be legendary producer Butch Vig’s band Garbage and their debut noise, Vow (Discordant). Trash it ain’t, as vocalist Shirley Manson leads the band through intense, swirling guitars, in a tune loaded with menace and a threat to ‘tear your little world apart’. Believe it, and the limited vinyl edition comes packaged in a silver tin box. Destined to be one of the year’s best singles.

Next, it’s beauty and the beast, as Shane MacGowan teams up with Sinead O'Connor to resurrect ‘Haunted’ (ZTT) from the Sid And Nancy soundtrack. Slicker and glossier than the original, but there’s still a hint of MacGowan degeneracy in the chorus. The EP is completed by a couple of highs from The Snake and a suitably weather beaten version of Neil Diamond’s ‘Cracklin’ Rosie’. Still with the ageless and Paul Weller comes up with a fine song in ‘The Changing Man’ (Go Discs), although the chorus owes too much to Sam and Dave’s classic ‘Soul Man’. His cover of Etta James’ ‘l’d Rather Go Blind’ confirms he’s off on another of his soul/R&B tangents, but that’s good tidings, man. To the current supposed cutting edge of British rock ’n’ roll, and Oasis’ Cigarettes and Alcohol EP (Epic) has finally surfaced. By now you’ll know the title track's crunchy, debauched swing. Add to that a passable live scrutiny at their roots in ‘I Am the Walrus' and a couple of non-album tough rockers. Oasis aren’t world beaters yet, but they're getting closer, as their soon to be released single ‘Some Might Say’ testifies. Past gods, but now mere mortals, the Stone Roses failed to drive home the initiative created by their quintessential indie first album. Five years down the track, songs like the wistful ‘Ten Story Love

Song’ (Geffen) prove they're still magical, but a lot of the stardust has worn off. In contrast, Radiohead have continued the momentum of ‘Creep’ by producing a powerful second album that gives rise to the tightly focused melodic ballad ‘High and Dry’ (Parlophone), and unsettling comparison piece ‘Planet Telex’. The deal is rounded off by a couple of non-album tracks. ‘Maquiladora’ particularly impresses. The last of this month's Brits introduces Iceland’s petulant, precocious and occasionally inspired Bjork, whose ‘Army Of Me’ (One Little Indian) gradually makes its mark on the back of a typically Bjork-ish cavernous, bobbing bass-line. Stars and stripes time, and REM keep hitting Monster for singles. They're still in pay dirt with ‘Crush With Eyeliner' (WEA), another cracking Stipe allusion to some sexual encounter delivered in restrained power by a band in top form. Monster's best. Concluding with American power grunge pop (aka grunge), ultra-cool sleepyhead Mascis and Dinosaur Jr. are hard to beat, with their customary gritty, melodic bursts of static. “I Don’t Think So’ (WEA) is another classic to fit that.particular bill. It's worth re-visiting Faith No More's Digging the Grave EP (Slash) not only because their tour here’s on the horizon, but the title track and ‘Ugly In The Morning’ verify the band’s current peak as evidenced on the something for everyone philosophy behind their new album King For A Day... Fool For A Lifetime. Grab. Finally, if sleazy cowboy grunge is your poison, the Reverend Horton Heat might just fill your cup with ‘One Time For Me’ (Sub Pop), and a couple of live tracks where the frontman's stage banter has the class of the great Iggy Pop. Cheers.

GEORGE KAY