November 2, 1994 10 ; The Other Press LIR _ Magico Magico! cd What Are Records? ae Hailing from Dublin, Ireland, LIR is what you might call a “good band.” Their debut disc, Magico Magico!, is one of the best non-REM albums released this year. Showing influences from Led Zeppelin, REM, U2, and even Elton John, LIR reeks of energy and talent. David McGuiness’ vocals easily switch from the haunting melancholy of Some Folks Are Truly Evil to the controlled fury of The House of Song. Ronan Byrne provides a punchy guitar to compliment Robert Malone’s driving bass, while David Hopkins plays a (quote-unquote) trippy psychedelic keyboard. Add Craig Hutchinson’s perfectly balanced drums, and L/R becomes a qualified success. Over fourteen listens, Magica has only improved, while a little voice keeps whispering in my ear, “Find out where you can see these guys live.” You may not be able to find much information on LIR in town, as the band is currently on a small label in the midwestern States, but they're worth a search, trust me. For information on L/R, write them at 1085 - 14th Street, Suite 1185, Boulder, Colorado, 80302. - Bert C. Ennah Pato and the Reggae Revolution Collections cd Virgin / EMI Pato Banton is a pseudonym meaning a Jamaican owl and a heavyweight DJ. (You figure that one out.) Anyway, he put together this “best of’ reggae collection from several albums. Interestingly, his collection includes several covers of other people’s music - sung his way. He does do some of his own songs which are quite enter- taining. I really liked the song Don't Sniff Coke. He croons on and on about how he doesn’t sniff coke, he only smokes ganga. He tells a story about being on a train with some guy who offers him a line; Pato throws the coke out the window and he “light it with a flash” and shares his dope. In general, the songs were a bit corny but in small doses Pato Banton is great for that reggae “fix.” - Holly Keyes uniforms...” Billiards. Congrats, Ryan!! As promised, here's that hockey season update for all you OP Hockey Pool crazies around here. You may already know about Gino Odjick, still in the midst of a 30-game suspension for spearing a referee. His excuse? "I thought the Ducks had new Other news: million-year old Gerry Cheevers has come out of retirement. He's led the Bruins to a 12-0 record so far, sporting a GAA of 0.19. Habs Kirk Muller, Patrick Roy, and coach Jacques Demers slipped and fell while doing a drunken Conga at Sir Winston's Night Club. All three suffered broken ribs, and will be out of action until at least Xmas. Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, Jaromir Jagr has finally lost his virginity (he shoots, he scores). Pavel Bure's on a hot streak scoring an average of four goals per game thus far. Asked for a possible reason for the recent explosion, he mused, "I don't know. Perhaps it's because I don't have to play with that Gino guy." Here, DC student Ryan Smith has won the first official OP Hockey Pool draw. His prizes include a pass for two to the upcoming premiere of Frankenstein, a Rolling Stones t-shirt and CD single and the Pato Banton reggae compilation reviewed above, compliments of Virgin Records, a copy of Gordie, the new Gordie Howe biography, courtesy of Douglas & McIntyre, a pair of tickets to TheatreSports at the Planetarium, dinner for two at the New West Spaghetti Factory, and free billiards and coffee at Black Dog Starving for NHL action? Watch this space for more updates. All right, then. I've begged.- I've pleaded. I've offered gifts and prizes. f \'ve even gone so far as to offer my body in return / for a decent logo for this music review page. And what a shock! It hasn't worked. Here's what I'm after: there must be someone out there with even a small amount of artistic talent and imagination. Find that person, and get them to draw me a really neato graphic that we can print every issue. The successful entrant will receive a CD or three, and - they'll also have their name immortalized forever in the world-famous tome that is the Other Press. Marianne Faithful A Collection Of Her Best Recordings cd Island / AGM Once you grasp the purpose of this CD, which is to again surf the ripple of Faithful fan nostalgia for cash, then you can understand if not forgive the tremendous disappointment of _ this compilation. There is nothing new, or even relevant burned into the plastic. Therefore, we skip to the liner notes. Trafficking unashamedly in 60’s and 70’s nostalgia, David Dalton writes a disgustingly sentimental retrospective cartoon of Faithful’s career. It is shallow, pseudo-intellectual, pop pulp. Again, nothing of value worth noting. If you are a Faithful fan, be prepared to be embarrassed. There are only two reasons to buy this CD. Either you are thirty- something and entering a mid-life crisis and gave away your last Faithful album in a garage sale, or you wish to contribute to the Marianne Faithful benevolent fund. Otherwise, skip this meaningless work. - Peter Baran The Samples < Autopilot cd What Are Records? I really liked The Samples’ Autopilot at first, revelling in the Sting-esque Eagleness of it all. At once, the atmospheric, full sound combined with a placating vocal to provide a pleasurable listening experience. Unfortunately, after ten or twelve listens, I’ve started to get a different, less palatable vibe altogether. I’m hearing strains of Kim Mitchell, bits and pieces reminiscent of a hundred other politically correct bands. I’m hearing overtones, undertones, and monotones of ... nothingness. The Samples aren’t bad, by any means; they’re proficient musicians, and have a successful knack for poppy tunes. They’re a little like extra-sugary birthday cake. They look and smell great, and they’re exciting at first, but after a bite or two everything is simply spelled O-V-E-R-K-I-L-L. You can’t help but like The Samples, but only in small doses. (They’re so damned inoffensive, it’s infuriating.) Call them a talented 90’s version of Boston, call them okay, but whatever you do, call them. If you’d like information on Boulder, Colorado’s favourite thing since Mork & Mindy, write to The Samples Headquarters, 1085-14th Street, Suite 1234, Boulder, CO, 80302. - Bert C. Ennah She Screams Out of Nowhere cd ICAN Productions Out of Nowhere is a new indie release by local Vancouver band, She Screams, and boy, can you tell. Featuring slightly less than inspiring production, and some really bad mixing levels (especially on the first track), Screams is at best a derivation of a number of Canadian and Seattle bands. This latest release by 54-40, er, I mean Screams, does feature one truly brilliant moment - a punk-thrash-trash version of the old gospel spiritual, When the Saints Go Marching In, featuring a wonderful trombone solo by lead singer/trombonist Kurt Turner. Even better is the half-speed version buried track of the same. Unfortunately, one cheesy song does not redeem this latest effort by Barenaked Ladies ... damn, I mean, She Screams ... and the rest of the album is uninspiring at best. The only thing that I found interesting about listening to this album was figuring out what band _each song sounded like (Pearl Jam, anyone?). About the best thing that can be said about Screams is that they show potential. They have yet to tise above being just the sum of their influences. If they can accomplish that, Screams could be an exciting force in the Vancouver market. But right now, She Screams is stuck where they began. Nowhere. - Trent Ernst Sara Craig Sweet Exhaust cd MCA Looking at the cover, you wonder how someone in dis- tributing let this out of the ware- house, let alone out of the studio. She sounds like the other famous Sara but took her writing cues from her fellow stoned and drugged friends, who helped with the album. They were all in- fluenced by her third grade poetry. To make matters worse, it is backed by Canadian Heritage. Looking at the cover says how good the album is. Stop reading. * - Ken Spittel Furnaceface This Will Make You Happy cd Cargo / MCA Don’t ever let yourself mentally associate band names to the style\type\genere of music you think it might be. Furnaceface. Laughing clowns and candy apples. Which phrase makes a happy picture in your head and which does not? The new album, This Will Make You Happy, by a band called Furnaceface, is... neat. What I thought would be rauncious evil death metal noise, turned out to be groovy, almost grungesque political straight-on rock and roll. Full of melodic harmony and funky drum beats, the coolest feature in the Furnaceface package _ are the slightly screwy lyrics that seem, somehow, to make sense by the tenth listening. (da, dum, dadumdadum, WHAT WAS THAT LYRIC???? ). Cool, nifty, buy it if you like popular punkish grunge rock kinda album. HEX - Scott Simmer We haven't heard it yet, but The Eagles are releasing Hell Freezes Over (MCA) on Nov 9. You can't help but be curious, you know? Hopefully, we'll have a review soon.