ment
ar again...
al critics' picks.
year's ~t op movies to
Some of these may
may look totally new
has had some great
e record stores.
fans, keep the faith.
y, and you can look
t year -- not.
.M.
review
b Robb Frederick
The Collegian
L L A
From the effects-drenched
"Fields of Joy" and the retro
"Stop Draggin' Around" to the
emotional confession of "All I
Ever Wanted," Kravitz belted out
the year's most diversified album.
One minute he's screaming along
with Slash's guitar; the next he's
bopping to a Lawrence Welk
beat. Kravitz's message may be
stuck in the sixties, but his
music is still fresher than
anything else around.
The first release from this
well-schooled trio was a nice
surprise; the follow up is like the
$2O bill you find in those jeans
you haven't worn for months.
Bassist Stanley Clarke and
Police-veteran Stewart Copeland
return in fine form, and vocalist
Deborah Holland continues to
impress with her crystal-clear
vocals.
The ten tracks on Storyyille
were written as a homage to New
Orleans, but Robertson's solemn
portrayal of nightlife applies on a
more universal scale. With a
raspy whisper, Robertson
sketches visions of a shadowy,
smoke-filled underworld, where
love lines don't quite cross and
the future is lost in a blur of
empty bar glasses.
Good blues singers don't age
gracefully -- and that's what
makes them good. But Raitt,
fresh off her Grammy-sweeping
Nick of Time, has lightened up
in recent years. This time
around, she deals the good with
the bad, balancing light-hearted
tracks like "Good Man, (Good
Woman)" next to a stripped-down
song ballad like 'All at Once."
Vocalist John Popper cases
off the harmonica on this
sophomore effort, but traces of
the band's explosive self-titled
debut arc .till here. The primary
difference is in song length; on
tracks like "All in the Groove"
and "Mountain Cry," the band
catches a groove and keeps on
going. That may be the kiss of
death as far as radio airplay is
concerned, but when you're this
good, people tend to notice
anyway.
Lenny Kravitz
Mama Said
Animal Logic
Animal Logic 11
Robbie Robertson
Storyville
Bonnie Raitt
Luck of the Draw
Blues Traveler
Travelers & Thieves
Thursday, December 5, 1991
b Brad Kane
The Collegian
Nirvana
Nevermind
Yes, it's trendy to like them,
but Nirvana's Nevermind is the
album of the year. Start to finish,
top to bottom, it's an all out
slash and burn grungefest orgy.
What else can be said about 'em
that hasn't already been said? Buy
it - kill if you must - listen to it,
love it, live it...
Pixies
Trompe le Monde
Boston's finest (screw
Aerosmith) rebound from 1990's
disappointing Bossanova and
"fool the world" with a top-rate
album. Black Francis is
screaming again, and damn, does
it sound good. You need only
maim to get your hands on this
gem.
Kitchens of Distinction
Strange Free World
With Morrissey in a musical
coma, and,ex-cohort Johnny Marr
feeling under the weather, where
does one turn to get depressed
these days? How about lending an
car toward Patrick Fitzgerald and
his outstanding three-man
English outfit. With lyrics forged
from pure tears and anguish,
Fitzgerald stands as a much more
accessible version of Your
Majesty Morrissey.
Fuga•zi
Steady Diet of Nothing
Those of you who read Spin
know what the fuss is about -
here stands America's best hand
(sorry REM, sorry Sonic Youth).
For those of us who've known
about these guys for a few years,
Steady Diet is not their best
(check out the 1988 self-titled
debut), but just being Fugazi is
good enough for me. Singer
guitarist lan Nig:.lcKaye is the
closest thing to a god that I've
ever seen, heard, or experienced.
Achtung Baby
Out of Time
Now for you alternative
veterans here's a little consolation
- we have a tic between two of
music's finest groups ever.
Remember 1988, when REM
blew it with Green and U 2 blew
it even worse with Rattle and
Hum? Well, now in 1991 both
hands return to prominence in
fine fashion. You know about
REM, but Achtung Baby is a
darkly beautiful, groove-heavy,
entrancing album - atypical U 2,
but wonderful nonetheless.
On tape
b Grel Geibel
The Collegian
Rush
Roll The Bones
Brought to you by the letter
"B" this time, Rush returns with
one of their best releases to date.
Drummer and lyricist Neil Peart
confonts the different issues of
life while bassist Geddy Lee and
guitarist Alex Lifcson produce
some seriously cool tunes. 50...
Roll The Bones and Get Busy!
Van Haien
For Unlawful Carnal
Knowledge
Hey! Where'd that bass guitar
come from?! With the much
needed addition of a new pr o ducer,
Andy Johns helps Van Halen
finally get some bottom end to
their songs and some Poundcake
for your stereo. And more
importantly, it's Van Halcn...you
gotta problem with that?
Animal Logic
Animal Logic II
Well wouldn't you know it. It
figures that Rohh Frederick
would lay down his Top 5 picks
before me and say all of those
neat things about Animal Logic
and how good they are. If it
wasn't for me, he would still he
thinking that Animal Logic was
something that is controlled by
the cerebral cortex in the brain of
a rhesus monkey.
Infectious Grooves
The Plague That Makes
Your Booty Move
A splinter group from the
Suicidal Tendencies, the
Infectious Grooves arc a cross
between the Chili Peppers and
your worst nightmare. Mixing
punk, funk, rap, and thrash, the
Infectious Grooves will funk
with your head and make your
day very slippy•
David Lanz
Return To The Heart
Trying to summarize his long
and fruitful piano career, Lanz
travelled throughout Europe and
immersed himself in the rich
culture. Avoiding the recording
studio, Lanz recorded his works
in settings that would inspire
each work: a church in
Amsterdam; a palace in Madrid; a
recital hall in Munich; and an
opera house in Carpi, Italy.
b Paul Plisiewicz
The Collegian
Psychedelic Furs
World Outside
This is their eighth and best
album. Richard Butler's lyrics are
in top form and the band has
never been tighter. The newly
added second guitar adds a
richness that complements the
Furs' haunting melodies, ant.
they've dropped completely their
delusions of pop grandeur and
stuck to what they best.
Robyn Hitchcock and the
Egyptians
Perspex Island
The most melodic Hitchcock
album that also contains several
"ought-to-be" hits. It's more
straightforward than the earlier
stuff' which struck me as very
safe at first, but now it's hard to
put it back on the shelf.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in
the Dark, (OMD)
Sugar Tax
I'm the world's most avid
OMD fan, and I was "Crush"-cd
when I heard the band split up.
Only Andy McCluskey remains
and he does a terrific job on this
album. His vocals are as
stunning as ever and the lyrics
always tend to strike a chord with
my own life. The music sounds
as if the band could still be
behind him. The album is
smooth and yet not slick. This is
an album you could fall in love
to as well as with.
G.W. McLennan
Watershed
Ex Go-Between Grant
McLennan offers a plethora of
memorable songs on his first
solo album. Every track is filled
with punch and honesty and
McLennan's gentle voice has
never sounded better. The album
sounds so bright that even the
somber songs arc fun. It's
undoubtedly listenable.
Various Artists
I'm Your Fan
Several artists of the
alternative rock persuasion cover
the songs of Leonard Cohen. The
bands that participate include
R.E.M., Nick Cave and the Bad
Seeds, Robert Forster (the other
Go-Between), lan McCulloch, the
Pixies, and others. Cohen's songs
are always great and the
performances arc super and quite
interesting. This is my wishful
Christmas thinking pick because
I don't own it yet.
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