Gas Huffer One Inch Masters cd Epitaph This is a grunge sounding compilation of speed drum, guitar and vocals. While not always fast, the vocals are reminiscant of Mojo Nixon. Lead singer Matt Wright has the Mojo ability to almost bark out lyrics yet make them sound good (and melodic too!). I felt as though I should be in a mosh pit; my livingroom is O.K. but it just isn’t the same as flinging myself around aimlessly along to the beat. Wright’s singing ability combined with snappy backup vocals make this CD worth listening to....again. Bost Browiies: oe The Eagles Hell Freezes Over CD Geffen/MCA WARNING: There are only four new songs on this release! If they’re gonna reunite, at least do a whole album. Hell, I could put 4 songs together. Okay, now that that’s out of the way, I can review this with a clear conscience. The Eagles are a legendary band, back together to sell some records for some ex-Don Henley pals. Henley is obviously the big talent here and helps write two of the new tracks; those two tracks just happen to be the good ones. (I commend Joe Walsh for not trying to write new stuff with these guys. He’s the only one that came back without the pretense of being newly inspired by his ex-bandmates. My question: why, other than dollars, are you here, Joe?) As for the old hits here, there’s nothing worth hearing. They’re simply live versions of twenty-year old tunes, minus the youth, vitality and energy. From the live stuff on this disc, I recommend taking a pass on both the album and the tour. Despite Henley’s comment to the contrary, these guys just aren’t worth it. - Jason Kurylo - Tammy Coombes The Charlatans UK Up to our Hips cd Beggars Banquet / PolyGram Ves.--yes... Yes...Aahhh.... Mmmmm.... I like it like that! A great variety of sound...Come in number sounds like Deep Purple, but don’t let this scare you - there is great enough variety here to please everyone. My favorite song is inside - looking out; it's an introspective song that is found last. The song has hypnotic lyrics and the vocals are expertly trippy, man.... - Mishondra 2 Versatile 2 Versatile cd Some Music Company I’ve never considered myself a connoisseur of this sort of music, but The Other Press with an open mind, this album could grow on you. Since it’s a self-titled album, assume it’s these guys’ first effort at making an album, it’s not that bad actually. But remember, Milli Vanilli proved that making an album isn’t all that hard anymore. What I would like to know is how much 2 Versatile spent producing this offering. All and all it sounds very professional...and I’m wondering: is it money or talent? These guys are Canadian, so they are destined for some radio-play sooner or later... - Chad Iverson Pale Saints Slow Buildings cd PolyGram The overall sound of Slow Buildings is fairly subdued and makes for great background music (while cleaning the house maybe?). I wouldn’t suggest waiting for a Pale Saints single to appear on the radio any time soon, as they are definitely not a commercial band. They have defined their own sound, surviving the rise and fall of “the Manchester scene’”’. Buildings has an ethereal, holistic sound incorporating a variety of percussion and synthetic instruments managing a surprising degree of unity. Some long flowing instrumentals are faintly reminiscent of something Pink Floydish (if you have a good imagination). This might be a good album for those people who are, in the words of Pete Townsend, “too stoned to get up and change the [disc],” although I am only guessing. Starting off, King Fade is an instrumental typical of the aforementioned characteristics and sets the tone for the rest of the disc. Then, it leads into a track sounding exactly like what you would imagine from a song with the name Angel (Will You Be My), (at this point, though, I’m not taking marks off for predicability). One Blue Hill is a slow swaying ballad, nearly prompting this listener to find a lighter to wave in the air. Henry and Suggestion are both long (each exactly 10:47), although not as boring or monotonous as one might think. Hill and Always I are both 5:05, while Song of Solomon and Fine Friend are both 6:23. These tracks are placed throughout the album, giving it a sense of being symmetrical (only the band knows for sure). If the listener has an appetite for music which is not entirely commercial, Slow Buildings would be appealing. If not, it might have to grow on you. - Chad Iverson the cranberries no need to argue cd A&M Before I get started, I’d like to announce that I am a huge fan of the cranberries. So, depending on how you look at it, I’ll either be the best person to review the album, or the most biased, inappropriate analyst you’ ve ever seen. no need to argue is their latest release, following the huge success of last year’s everybody else is doing it, so why can't we? If you loved the first album, like many rabid alternative/ atmospheric music fans did, you'll probably be disappointed with this one. At least, you will be for the first four or five times you hear it. The reason for this initial distaste is simple: This album is not that album. Musically, we’re looking at a more mature band now. They’re not afraid to try new things, to go acoustic where otherbands might go grunge, to go left instead of right, to avoid turkey dinners altogether. Vocalist Delores O’Riordan, the victim of a recent marriage (to the chagrin of all young neophyte, vocalist lovers), displays her signature heavenly chops. In Ode To My Family, she uses November 30, 1994 her soul-gripping pipes to ask the universal question, “Does anyone care?” Gen Xers, I hate to say it, should find most of this album most identifiable. I could wank about the producers’ attempts to recreate the sound of the first album (Twenty One), or the obviously strained efforts to shake filler tracks out of the creative coffers (Ridiculous Thoughts). Instead, Vll just give you the objective facts: two cranberries albums exist. Two of them are great. ‘Nuff said. - Jason Kurylo Cop Shoot Cop Release cd ‘ Warner You may have already heard of these guys, ‘cause with a name like Cop Shoot Cop, it’s kinda hard for them to - keep a low profile. At any rate, when the A&E guy handed me this disc, I thought, right on, I had been wanting to listen to this CD ever since I'd heard the name of this band. These guys take the bass guitar and elevate it to a new level, because there’s not one, but two bass players in this quintet of innovative musicians. So why two bass players? These guys could not present their material any other way. In other words, it really pounds your earlobes. The music offered on this CD is a little repetitive, but this band still manages to achieve a good quality sound on each track. The sound is not messy or distorted, like so many other young bands that are eager to please. So you are safe to put this one on your boom box and crank it up. I certainly did. - Paul Andrew [music reviews continued on next page]