Mavem bate . ws Rev \e ior rel ao AeNN o! PSYCHEDELIC FURS MIRROR MOVES Quick! How-many of you out there remember (or have ever heard of) bands like the Amboy Dukes or the Strawberry Alarm Clock, or even Pink by STEWART WOOLVERTON Floyd? Refresher course time, if you've forgotten about ‘em (or are pleading ignorance). These bands, and others like them, . some American, some Englich, emerg- ed during the summer of love in’67, and started playing a type of music that was downright unique (read: Psychedelia): End of history lesson; back to the present. This type of music (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) is being played ° today by a band called the Psychedelic Furs. Currently comprised of three full-time members (Richard Butler doing vocals, brother Tim Butler playing bass, and John Ashton on guitar) plus hired studio help, these folks have been putting out records in this style since 1980, when a few of us lucky souls got to hear their first offering (Sister Europe springs to mind as a personal favourite), al- though most people discovered them three years late, when Love My Way got onto MTV, and received a fair bit of airplay at the same time. In the years since 1980, they seemed to have discovered a formula for ‘making successful sounds: hit upon a good riff; repeat it again with a few changes, and write new words. This 50th, . THE OTHER PRESS ime 1 Th. never been so evident than on Mirror Moves, their fourth offering. More than a few of the songs have something in common: Produced by Keith Forsey, who also contributes drums and_ percussion work, Mirror Moves continues the . Furs’ trend towards a smaller band (their last effort, Forever Now, had four musicians, the two before it both had six players), and also sets you to wondering whether the Furs will be able to continue utilizing their current formiiila. which, fieten heretofor successful, seems to be stretchin a little thin. How will they. approach a fifth album? Only time will tell. Enough hot air; on to the sub- SIDE ONE Ghost i in You: ‘I’m in thie mood for you’ says it all. The acknowledged top-40 (gasp!) single from this album, it still has that great ethereal feel to it even after all the commercial airplay GENERAL PUBLIC . ALL THE RAGE When | was 18, The English Beat played the Commodore. Apparently, it was a great show, but thanks to the fact that | was born in the wrong year, by JOEL HAGEN 1 couldn’t get in. However, | didn’t panic, because | knew that my favourite dance band would be back. Throughout my formative years | had missed out on punk, Rocky Horror, ‘and edible underwear, but | was determined not to miss the Beat. But alas, the three sisters of fate weren’t with me, and very soon, the Beat called it quits. Their total recorded output was only three al- bums, two of them fantastic, and a posthumous collection. | was pretty disgusted with this turn of events, and | thought that this was the end for Ranking Roger and the boys. But the Beat is not dead. They are alive and well and called General Public, and as the cover of their first album ry states, they are “‘all the rage.’ Right away, it’s easy to see that General Public picks up right where the Beat left off. David Wakeling and Ranking Roger are in charge of vocals and musical direction, as they were in the Beat, and the first song Cool You’re Hot, guest stars Saxa, another Beat alumni, on tenor. . It’s a great song, and those that | . | ” dt modore someday soon, |’Il be there. follow it up on side one maintain the blistering pace of Cool You’re Hot. The melodies are good, the production clean, and the beat is very compelling (no pun intended). The flip side of the album is, unfortunately, rather like the flip side of a single; it’s filler. But it’s not bad. In fact, it builds up.to a pretty good climax with the songs Where’s the Line? and the title track General Public. General Public’s style is hard to pinpoint, but it is a unique sound, which always makes it a refreshing change. Picture a combination. of reggae, a la UB40, plus blue-eyed soul, and a dash of British ska, and you've got General Public summed up pretty nicely. It’s great dance music, and when General Public rolls. into the Com- Lad \rev' vg NOKe rANe Revie ~Re vie’ and ‘the MTV video. This song really bops along, maintaining that all-im- portant psychedelic effect. eens come cowboys: ‘’Here come Cowboys/Here to save us all.’’ John Ashton’s guitar solo really makes this song. It is definitively weird; a sound reminiscent of David,Bowie’s Fashion mixed with Butler’s rasping, throaty vocals. Beep beep, and all that. Heaven: My choice as the second from the album. Not too psychedelic, so no chance of confusing it with any of their other songs, but lighter. Not- quite-but-almost a ballad. Still bop- able, though. - Heartheat: Wow. With a wicked sax solo by ‘‘Mars’’ Williams, anda heavy, pounding bass beat put down by Tim Butler, this one should have you up and hoppin’ in record time. ’ SIDE TWO My Time: ‘At the end of -the day/It’s the price that you pay/With you pieces of love/All your pieces of love.’’Here Richard Butler comes off sounding a hell of-a lot like Bowie. A really strong piece, but only on the basis of its vocal work and lyrics. Following Heartbeat as closely as it does, though, one really _ wonders about all the similarities between the Like a Stranger: Mellow, mellow, mellow song. A real turkey, though, because it is the hardest song on the album to get a handle on. It doesn’t help, either, that parts of this song _ sound like parts of Cowboys. Alice’s House: ‘‘Come and stay a day at Alice’s house/Pass the time ws Ta MO ore Kerr 5 NO away at Alice’s house’”’ - pure psych- edelia, reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s first; See Emily Play. One small problem here, though. .The: song. has an opening seemingly identical to that of Roxy Music’s More Than This, that makes you wonder if you’re on the right album. Only a Game: Starts with a couple of chords lifted from the Who, but goes only upwards from there. An extreme- ly syke-a-del-ick song, with soaring guitars, full use of the stereo effect, and that chorus at the end.. Wow! Play loud. High Wire Act: The co-turkey on this album, it sounds a lot like My . Time with different words. Its only redeeming virtue is the drum work put into it by producer Keith Forsey, the element that preserves its uniqueness. THE VERDICT: Buy it (of course, all hard-core Furs fans will anyways). . The Furs’ continuing trend towards Americanization (the first two albums were produced by Steve Lillywhite of XTC fame, the third by Todd Rundgren, and the fourth by Forsey. The last two albums were even recorded in the States), leaves you wondering what will happen to their creativity in the future, but overall, it’s much better than most of the pap being passed off as music over the airwaves presently. The lyrics are intriguing, and the positives quite outweigh the negatives anyway, and by the sounds of things, their nest album will be a monumental success of earth-shattering propor- tions, or else an abysmal flop. oe een ve MO DIAL-ACSMAK (1980)LTD. figs eeuryen) AOIA-8th St., New West. 525-1733 OR 525-7227 Dec. 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