July 8, 1991

the Other Press

 

No Rap Zone

In the sea of rap, pop, and
other various kinds of no-talent
bullshit that the 90’s music scene
has become, it is seldom that you
find a rock steady band chalk
full of veteran talent that hasn’t
sold out to electronic drums and
hairspray.

Bad Company
Holy Water

reviewed by Michael P. Northey

But over the years Bad
Company has amaged keeping a
grasp on things and jsut
concentrating on putting out
great albums. Holy Water
doesn’t give ir! to any Top 40
bullshit. Every song on the
album is good in one way or
another - no exceptions.

The more impressive songs
are Boys Cry Tough, Holy Water,
If You Nected melody: and
surprisingly 100 Miles, where
drummer Simon Kirke takes a
shot at singing.

If the album lacks anything,
it’s ballads, but this doesn’t
really take away from the album
at all. Brian Howe is definitely
successful as Paul Rogers’
replacement, and Mick Ralphs
(guitar) and Simon Kirke are as
strong as ever. Holy Water is a
great album

Avoid Like The Plague
Close your eyes and picture

a white Bobby Brown.., This is

what I think of when I hear

Gardiner Cole.

Gardiner Cole

It’s your Life
Wea Records

 

 

reviewed by TanyaPloquin,

Like most people when I
received the tape I looked hard
at the cover only to see a fairly
somber looking young man
with deep set brown eyes.

Then, as is habit with me, I
read the lyrics. which are
completely misleading. The
lyrics you see, could be found in
most alternative bands but they
are destroyed when combined
with a hyper sounding rap beat.

So if you were thinking of
buying this tape first close your
eyes and imaginae Bobby Brown
as a caucasian rapping Depeche

Mode songs. Not a pretty
picture.
Old Guys Make Good

Where do all old rock ‘n
rollers go? To heaven? Naa, of
course not. You see, they never
realize that they are dead. They
always figure that they can
squeeze that last drop of music
out of their souls, and be in the
limelight that one last time.
Usually it doesn’t work.

Damn Yankees
Damn Yankees

Warner Brothers
reviewed by Scott MacDonald

One guy from an old band
will call up another and see if he
wants to start a new band. Of
course they think it’s a great
idea, and they get to it. Usually
the result is the band slumping
and fading out of existence.
Usually! Not in this case.

If you look at the band you
will probably recognize two
faces at least. Ted Nugent, who
had jis own band back when,
and lead singer Jack Blades from
Night Ranger. In my opinion,
these two form the nucleus of
the group. They both have so
much style and class, you have

 

to like their music as well. And
you do.

Every song on the album is
so different than the others.
They all stand out on their own
pedastals. This is true rock ’n
roll!

fIREHOSE Is Flyin’

Once upon a time, Ed
Crawford from Ohio called
Mike Watt in San Pedro,
California. Ed loved the
Minutemen, Mike’s old band
that was going somewhere until
the lead vocalist died in a car
wreck. And although Ed had
never met the Minutemen
personally, he just had to keep
the Minutemen alive. He would
join the band.
flREHOSE
Flyin’ the Flannel
Sony Music
reviewed by Tim Crumley

Normally, this sounds like
the beginning of a plot for a bad
TV movie about
pschizophrenia, but it all
happened. And it worked. And
five years later, fIREHOSE is in
a position to surpass their
former incarnation with this
latest release.

From the beginning thuds of
Mike Watt's bass on the opening
cut, Down With the Bass,
fIREHOSE show themselves as
somewhat retro, but not sixties
retro. The Minutemen were one
of the leaders of California punk,
and it is this influence that most
permeates their sound. But
Crawford’s style has changed
the overall sound, adding more
rock and a bit of country into the

 

 

“envelope.

The album is a
much-welcomed addition to the
post-punk scene. Vital and raw,
fIREHOSE delivers some feeling
to an otherwise bland summer.

Brit Barfs In Sock

Z2Z2ZZZ2z.... oh sorry, just
listening to Peggy Suicide.

Julian Cope
Peggy Suicide

Island Records
reviewed by Tim Crumley

In short: a double length
tape of the most boring,
pretentious twit Britain has ever
vomitted forth to this continent.
Thinks the listener is stupid
enough that we can’t figure out
his vapid lyrics, so instead of
packaging the lyrics themselves,
he explains the songs for you in
totally pompous liner notes.

Use in place of Sleep-Eze.

Mothers Are a Cult

The Mothers have done
with their bebut album, First
Born, what the Cult did with
Love; that is, took a semi-pop
sound, slapped it around a bit to
get a bluesy-pop album that is
fun while being serious.

The Mothers

First Born
reviewed by Michael P. Northey

The album has rockin’ tunes
like Miracle Man, Sponge, and
Drag Racer, then it mellows with
great ballads like Oasis,
Kingfisher Rock and Pond. The
strength of the ablum is the way
the songs give no slack to
traditional song structure, ie
verse, chorus, verse, chorus,
solo, etc.

Wayne Holmes’ raw vocals
give First Born a dirty backstreet
sound. Although Alan Riggs’
guitar playing is occasionally
impressive, the rhythm section

 

 

 

 

 

made up of bassist Richard
Jackson and drummer Mark
Robertson is at its best average.
Nevertheless, First Born is a
fantastic album that should be
added to everyone’s music
collection.

bubblegum chewers with no
sense of rebellion or originality.

They’re The Hardest

I’ve got to be honest. This is
the hardest album I’ve had to
listen to. Not because I couldn’t

 

Bob Marley: The Ledgend of Reggaelives on still

Ramones Substitute

Do you really miss the
Ramones? I know they still exist,
but they are just old tired ex- or
current junkies. No fun.

Mr. T Experience

Making Things With Light
Look Records

reviewed by Tim Crumley

I don’t have to miss them
anymore — I’ve got MTX.

They’re from California,
they’re loud, they’re a blast. The
lyrics aren’t as stupid, but then,
I don’t think MTX is obsessed
with drugs. They’re waycool,
and the CD has 22 songs, like
Flying Jelly Attack and Danny
Partridge Got Busted. But none is
as good as What Went Wrong,
which takes the best a hardened
Ramones has to offer and mixes
in harmonizing without
sounding like dumb pop crap.

Yup, it’s a pattern; and I love
it. Maybe I'll grow out of it when
I’m older, but I don’t think so.
I’m not that young anymore and
whenever I hear this record |
want to jump around and slam
and do air guitar, In other
words, I am willing to look like
a complete goof because of this
record. When music makes you
want to do things, forces you to
do things, it’s good.

p.s. The CD has yellow
drooling monsters on it.

New Kids CLONED!!

Thad a nightmare about this
kind of music being created
before. Littled did I know
somewhere in this world there
were 2 guys and 2 girls creating
that music that appeals only to
pre-pubescent 12, 13, and 14
year old girls.
The Party
Wea Records
reviewed by Tanya Ploquin

If Debbie Gibson made a
union with the New Kids you
would have the Party. Even
when looking at the cover you
can see 4 trendy looking
pre-pubescent boppers. You
could envision them doing
Break Free commercials and
anti-anything raps. Whatever
hyappened to the kind of bad
boy music we wanted to hear at
their age. The upcoming
generation is turning out to be

 

 

 

 

understand what they were
saying. Not because I wanted to
experience the underlying
message in the music. It’s
because this tape is so damned
monotonous!

Vanity Kills

2Die4

Hollywood Records
reviewed by Scott McDonald

Musically, every song on the
entire album follows a pattern.
Let me give these guys a
suggestion. Patterns are boring,
boring turns off fans, turned off
fans don’t buy albums. Result:
Dead band! This is where Vanity
Kills is destined.

I know what you’re saying:
“what a cruel, heartless bastard;
give ‘em a chance. It’s their first
try.” Oh please, give mea break.
Let’s take a look at the very first
song on the album entitled Give
Me Your Heart. The song is 2
minutes 56 seconds long, and
the words, “give me your heart”
apear 23 times. Worked out, that
is a “give me your heart” every
8 seconds. Doesn’t leave a lot of
room for other lyrics, does it?
Enough said!

Maybe I’m biased because
in my opinion they’re not a real
band. They don’t have a
drummer and instead use a
machine. Their repeated,
annoying attempts at guitar and
keyboard type music, if that’s
what you want to call it, are
enough to send you through the
roof. And really, I don’t see any
reason to waste any more
valuable paper on this useless
excuse of a rock and roll band.
Why should trees have to die to
promote this crap?

Deadly Record

Well, its summertime, as
you feel the hot sun’s rays come
down upon you as you lie on the
beach slathered in
sunblock.(kind of a
contradiction isn’t it) You switch
on your radio and you hear the
Grateful Dead song Truckin’ on
the radio.

Deadicated
Various Artists

Arists/BMG RECORDS
reviewed by Haroon A. Khan

Now that’s not an
uncommon scene, but as you

 

 

 

 

listen closely its not the Grateful
Dead singing, its got the same
sort of twang but then you hear
a great southern accent drawl
out the verse truuuckinnn... and
you know its Dwight Yoakum.

For those who didn’t know
what the hell I talking about in
the preceeding vignette: Wake
up and listen to Deadicated. Its
a compilation of Dead songs
covered by an amazing group of
artists: Los Lobos, Elvis Costello,
Suzanne Vega, The Indigo Girls,
Midnight Oil...it goes on and on
with 15 covers by nearly that
many bands. Its a great listen,
with all of the different, and I
mean sometimes radically
different versions, like Midnight
Oil’s pounding rendition of
Wharf Rat to the Rastaman
Vibration vibes of Burning
Spear.

Deadicated is definately
worth a listen.

Ziggy Revamps Sound
Ziggy Marley, and the rest
of the Marley clan who make up
the Melody Makers, have come
up with something
extraordinary in Jamaica.
Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers
Jahmekya

Virgin Records
reviewed by Haroon A. Khan

 

 

Like the music of their
father, Bob Marley, they make
music that talks to the people,
the music breathes, with
harmony and grace coupled
with the strength and grooves of
Raw Riddum.

But this time out with their
new album, Jahmekya, they’ve
infused hip-hop, rap, R&B and —
Gospel elements in their music.
This doesn’t change the music,
rather, it adds to it.

Raw Riddum is the first
track and it sets the pace of the
album. With some sampling
and drastic hip hop beats it goes
against the grain of traditional
Reggae rhythym and instead
utilizes different aspects of the
musical canvas to let the music
flow.

The album’s first single, the
dance club hit Kozmik is a
perfect example of the Melody
Maker style to stimulate and
awaken, both body and mind
with meaty lyrics and a very
danceable beat: I know there are
many forces that would not like to
see/Our dream become a
reality/There’s a war going on, a
war you cannot see/ Our dream
become a reality/There’s a war that
is so real...can you feel it? It’s
Kozmik.

Jahmekya shows immense
improvement in songwriting by
both Ziggy, and his younger and
equally talented brother
Stephen. It is definately a
standout album, worthy of the
Marley tradition.

Marley 10 Years Later
by Haroon A. Khan

Bob Marley’s'§ music
continues to make an impact on
the collective minds and
consciousness of music lovers
everywhere.

In 1991, 10 years after his
death he’s still on the charts with
2, yes, 2! albums on the charts.

The first is Legend, a greatest
hits collection that is a great
place to start for anyone
interested in the Marley legend.

 

 

»..continued on page 7