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The Roswells / Rock N Roll UFO / AMP (CD)
Stranger sightings have occurred, but there's nothing stopping the Roswells
from leaving anything but wreckage in their path. Nuddin I sez. Heinously
borrowing from The Scorpions and Ramones, the opening track "Bad
Muthafucka" lets you know who's boss around here, so pay attention. With
gruff 'n' husky vocals, the Roswells filter the Dead Boys, the Humpers and
AC/DC rock-riff tuneage through their alien dissemination techniques to
produce Earth-accessible music. Think distortion and Marshall amps. With a
secret Dictators cover at the end of the CD, you humans should prepare to
be assimilated mercilessly when the Roswells crash into your town! -- am
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Skinny Puppy / Remix Dystemper / Nettwerk (CD)
Did Skinny Puppy really need an album's worth of remixes? The original
versions of these songs are among the best output of the eighties and
early nineties -- uniquely disturbing, darkly danceable and
intermittently terrifying in a
"something-evil-is-waiting-in-a-dark-corner" sort of way. Some of the
remixes, like Gunter Schulz's take on the classic "Addiction" or God
Live's Underwater's interpretation of "Testure", capture the spirit of
the originals. Others don't quite get the point. -- gz
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Requiem contains three classic musique concrète
compositions from Michel Chion. All were produced at the GRM in Paris (the
acousmatic headquarters of the world). The requiem itself is an electronic
take on the traditional form. "Variations" is a "technical study" which
takes an original waltz theme and fragments it. "Nuit Noire" is considered
a "monodrama" -- that is, a drama centering around one "character". In this
case what we hear are the detached reactions of this "character" to a
nightmare. It's French, it's acousmatic...what more could you ask for? -- nw
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Irresistible Force / It's Tomorrow Already / Ninja Tune (CD)
Mixmaster Morris seems more focused here than in the past, inasmuch
as it's possible to have any kind of focus when your shortest song
breaks the six minute mark by a comfortable margin. And It's
Tomorrow Already is comfortable music -- huge, dithering slabs of
vaguely dub-funkish techno ambience that all but force you to spend the
afternoon on the sofa, half-asleep, with the disc-player on repeat.
It's easily one of the best albums of the year, within its genre. Unless you're in a rush to get somewhere, this is a pleasure. -- gz
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The Slackers / The Question / Hellcat (CD)
Ethno-flavoured ska? The Slackers provide a more mid-tempo, Latin
infused brand of the latest genre rage that has been ravaging the
countryside for some time. The Question undoubtedly has
excellent musicianship and well-crafted songs which are sure to drive
ya bonkers if you haven't had your RDA of syncopated drums and ninth
chords. However, if you've been ska-ed to death lately -- like yours
truly -- this could be the one to finally make you crack, causing
countless casualties at your workplace as you stare at your smoking
gun. Oops. See ya in the slammer... -- am
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Galaxie 500 / The Portable... / Rykodisc (CD)
Were you a little too poor to afford the Galaxie 500 box set when it hit
the streets? Here's the budget version. While I can think of a few
other "essential" Galaxie 500 tracks beyond what you'll find here, this
is an excellent introduction to/retrospective of the most influential,
ahead-of-its-time band of the late eighties. If the songs on The
Portable... don't sound all that innovative by today's standards,
that's just an indication of how pervasive Galaxie 500's influence has
been -- hell, even the Beatles sound derivative outside the proper context. This, or the box set from which it's culled, is a must-own. -- gz
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Buddy Guy and Junior Wells / Last Time Around - Live at
Legends / Silvertone (CD)
With the passing of Wells in 1997, this may be the final released
recording of these two blues giants. Recorded live at Guy's own club in
Chicago, this robust duo weaves the minimalism of harmonica and guitar
with soulful blues that tear at the inner soul. Guy's R&B inflected
voice complements Wells' occasional down-home shrieking, as the pair
earnestly accompanies itself with excellent, minimalist musical
backing. There's no painfully excessive Stevie Ray Vaughan guitar scale
masturbation here, just an intimate recording that indubitably displays the
maturity and proficiency of these two legends. -- am
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I know what you're thinking -- "He's sure reviewing a lot of retrospectives this week." Yeah, odd, that. This compilation, once promo-only, has supposedly been released due to
strong fan demand. I don't know -- it has a "fulfilling the contractual
obligation" feel to it, if you ask me. Still, any disc that collects
high points from the first eight KMFDM albums (thereby showing the
band's range far better than any single album) is worth having if you're
a rabid fan or don't have the eight albums in question. What a pity, though,
that a few great songs -- "Sucks" and "Naive", for instance -- aren't included, which makes Retro something less than a true "greatest hits" disc. -- gz
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