March 20,1997
The Banner
Features
Page 8
U2, Blur, and Ben Folds Five make stellar albums
By Brian Castfe
Features Editor
U2, the biggest band in the world,
has returned with their first studio
album since 1994’s “Zooropa.”
“Pop” (out now on Island Records)
sees the Irish superstars heading far
ther toward the techno apocalypse
first hinted at on “Zooropa” and
1991’s “Achtung Baby.”
Long gone are the band’s white flag-
waving days.
U2 has obviously been listening to
the Chemical Brothers and The
Prodigy, the British leaders of the
current electronic Zeitgeist catching
hold in the U. S. record industry.
But “Pop” is no ripofF of the techno
craze, as the group retains its identity
within the sound.
Throughout the album, Bono’s lyr
ics are as anthemic and majestic as
ever. The guitar sound that The Edge
invented permeates the sonic
soundscapes laid down by the rhythm
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section of bassist Adam Clayton and
drummer Larry Mullen, Jr.
While “Zooropa” failed to reach
U2’s core audience with its dance
experimentation, songs like leadofF
single “Discotheque” will bring fans
of techno and fans of rock together.
The song features Bono singing
about love, while The Edge’s gun-
blast guitar work (reminiscent of
“Bullet the Blue Sky”) collides with
the swirling synthesizers from pro
ducer Flood, booming bass of
Clayton, and the dance-floor drum
programs of Mullen.
“Discotheque” sets the pace for the
album, and ‘,‘Pop” never lets up on its
listeners. “Pop” contains something
for every U2 fan, and should bring
marty more into the already-bulging
fold.
In keeping up with the times and
retaining their band identity in the
process, U2 have created their best
album since 1987’s “The Joshua
Tree.”
“Pop” is a masterpiece.
England’s Blur has also taken an
other direction in its music. With the
band’s eponymously-tided fifiJi al
bum (out now on Virgin Records),
Blur seems to be taking one last stab
at massive American success with an
album that is fiill-on ROCK.
Once the kings of British pop with
their ever-changing styles (Stone
Roses-era ba^y, Kin!:s and Who-
styled Mod, Madness and English
Beat ska). Blur has seen its fortunes
decline at the hands of the new kings
of England, Oasis.
With “Blur,” the boys from London
are evidendy trying to beat the men
from Manchester at their own game—
rock and roll.
And they just about pull it off, too.
“Song 2” is unbridled punk. But after
these two breakthrough tracks, the
album begins to fade into rewrites of
their own songs, as if they are so guilty
about their pop past that they feel the
need to rewrite their back catalog as
rock songs.
For instance, “Country Sad Ballad
Man” is simply an acoustic rewrite of
their own smash single, “Country
House.”
The song, like “Country House,” is
about a depressed guy who lives way
out in the country and does nothing
but watch television.
But instead of accompanying the
song with the oompah horn section
andwibbly guitar sounds, they choose
to employ a simple acoustic guitar
The first two songs, the cracking
singles “Beedebum” and “Song 2,”
signal a new era for singer/songwriter
Damon Albarn and company.
“Beedebum” seems to be loosely
patterned after The Beatles’ “Why
Don’t We Do It in the Road,” and
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with occasional blasts of electric gui
tar from Graham Coxon.
The new music to virtually the same
lyrics takes all of the irony out that
made Blur so endearing in the first
place.
Still, “Blur” is, overall, an ace album.
Finally, a band that has no problems
with its sound and keeps on churning
out stellar music with each go-around.
Chapel Hill’s Ben Folds Five returns
its second album, “Whatever and
Ever Amen,” (out now on Caroline
Records) acontinuationofthegroup’s
unique three-piece sound.
Ben Folds Five is one of the more
unique bands in America today. Led
by singer/songwriter/pianist Ben
Folds, the Five (actually Folds, bassist
Darren Jesse and drummer Robert
Sledge) plays heavily on generation X
whimsy and frustration over a
soundtrack that evokes early Billy
Joel (before his fall into VHl leth
argy: think “Piano Man”) and Randy
Newman (“ShortPeople”). Butdon’t
think that because their music is pi
ano-driven Folds and .Co. are light
pop— they rock the house as well as
any guitar band.
The newsingle, “The Ballad ofWho
Could Care Less,” features the inge
nious lyrics of Ben Folds at his very
best: “I’ve got this great idea/ Maybe
we can pitch it to the Franklin mint/
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Fine pewter portraits of general apa
thy and major boredom singing. . .
whatever and ever amen.” Folds’
songwriting persona of the sardonic
ne’er-do-well is hilarious at times like
this, when a whole generation of kids
are loafing on the streets.
While most of the album is down
beat when compared to the Five’s
rollicking, self-titled dsbut from last
year, the songs are every bit as enter
taining and even compelling..
“Whatever and Ever Amen” is the
best of March’s bumper crop of new
rock albums, including U2’s “Pop.”
The next Billy Joel lives right here in
North Carolina. Hopefully Ben Folds
won’t get messed up by a model.
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