tKIje Cljarlotte
TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 1996
4BIARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
RuPaul’s
sophomore
enbrt is OK
By Winfred B. Cross
THE CHARLOTTE POST
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☆ ☆ t/2
RuPaul’s first record was a
dancer’s delight. His, excuse
me, her campy vocals were set
to thunderous beats that
rocked a party.
I’m not exactly sure what to
call the stuff on Ru’s new
recording. It’s more techno
with a little house thrown in
than anything else. The beats
still slam, but techno can be
such forgettable stuff.
RuPaul does give it her all.
The opening song, “Happy,”
begs for a remix. “Ru Nasty”
has a “Planet Rock” type beat
that nearly works. The lyrics
are a scream.
“Falling” brings Ru back to
r&b’s slower side, while
“Dolores” combines house with
a Spanish flair. This is the
kind of stuff she should have
us^jithroughout the CD. The
resi.l^ forgettable. Very forget
table.
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Salt of the Earth did an
excellent recording a couple of
years ago* which included a
version of the Gospel Music
Workshop of America Women
of Worship’s “Order My Steps."
There i 'were plenty of other
good songs on the disc, but
“Step®” got all the air play.
There’s no “Steps” on the
group’s sophomore release, but
that doesn’t ruin the record-
ingfi'There are plenty of good
songs for the liking. The open
ing song, “Bound For Mount
Zion,” sung by Paul Porter,
features old-time gospel with a
twist of contemporary flair.
“Worthy Is Your Word” is one
of those songs a choir could
tear up at a worship service.
The r&b arrangement on “Tis
Set Sweet” fits with the ener
getic choir arrangement.
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☆ ☆ ☆
Ia almost impossible to
keep’ up with the number of
male'vocal groups either get
ting hr , fighting for air play.
The number is staggering.
When one has a minor hit and
fades a-^i^ay, another pops up.
Day T6' Day is one of the lat
est in the growing number.
They aren’t getting much air
play but they deserve to do so.
Why? They actually can sing.
And^get this, they sing about
meS^ngful subjects. Love ,not
sex. Relationships, not one-
night stands. That’s refresh-
See SOUNDS page 5B
Despite a lot of junk, 1996 had its moments
By Winfred B. Cross
THE CHARLOTTE POST
is it easier to
the
Wr stuf^S?you hate
than the stuff you love?
Maybe
because
it takes
more
energy
to put
the stuff
you hate
out of
your
mind. I
can
clearly
remem- Shakur
ber Tupac Shakur’s wretched
Killuminati CD, Martin
Lawrence’s highly unneces
sary “A Thin Line Between
Love And Hate” and Michael
Jordan’s silly “Space Jam.”
Yeah, I know, each made
money, but rarely is that a sign
of artistic relevance.
Anyway, instead of doing a
best oPworst of list. I’m con
centrating on good stuff. 1
ditched the idea of a Top Ten
because I didn’t see 10 movies
that I really liked and I think I
heard way more than 10 good
CDs. So, here’s my favorite
stuff from 1996, not necessari
ly in order.
Interviews
Buddy Guy - 1 don’t get to
talk to living legends all that
often, hpw^ver when I do I
want them all to be like Guy.
He has few peers in the blues,
although he would tell you dif
ferently. He loves B.B. King,
the man who inspired him to
play. He also loves to talk
about his experiences, but not
in a boastful manner. Nope,
Gujfs a downhome boy who’s
appreciative of his fame and
his fans. I didn’t get a chance
to see his House of Blues-spon
sored tour, but how could it be
anything but good?
Babyface - Talk about shy
people. Face has no problem
writing hit songs, but he’s
uncomfortable talking about
himself. It’s just not what he
wants to do. Interviews take
away from the time he spends
doing what he loves - writing
and producing. He seems more
in awe of the people he pro
duces than the millions he’s
amassed. That was refreshing.
So was the love he has for his
craft. This man truly loves to
crdji^^nnderful songs.
'iflHPftiluy - Here’s anoth
er young man with his head on
straight. Riley’s not quite
Babyface, but he’s close, in tal
ent and demeanor. He talks
more openly, but he too likes to
talk more about working with
other people. He also loves his
new group BlACKStreet and
his family.
Movies
Get On The Bus - I couldn’t
understand why so few people
saw this film, clearly the
year’s best. Reggie “Rock”
B3d;hewood’s poignant and
even-handed script about the
Million Man March was just
the right vehicle for Spike
Lee’s kinetic directing style.
It’s certainly one of Lee’s most
Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington take to the ice in “The Preacher’s Wife.
passionate works. It belongs
on a shelf beside “Malcolm X,”
“Do The Right Thing,” and
“Jungle Fever.” The perfor
mances - especially by Andre
Braugher, Charles Dutton and
Ossie Davis - are worthy of
Oscar consideration.
A Time To Kill - Movies
about the racist South gener
ally leave me more upset than
anything else. Not this one.
Here’s a story where every
black person doesn’t run from
the Ku Klux Klan. In some
scenes they tak^ them head
on. It also has'people who
aren’t caricatures or stereotyp
ical. And how about Sam
Jackson’s magnificent perfor
mance? Can you say Oscar?
I’m keeping my fingers
crossed.
The Preacher’s Wife - No,
this wasn’t a great film, but I
couldn’t remember the last
time I felt that good when I left
a theater. The storyline was
sugary sweet, but what holi
day movie isn’t? Denzel
Washington was his usual self;
charming, likable and believ
able. Whitney Houston was
OK. She’s not a great actress,
maybe not even good, but she
was believable as Julia.
Courtney B. Vance continues
to impress me. Heck, he’s mar
rying Angela Bassett. That’s
impressive enough. Jenifer
Lewis as Houston’s mom is a
scream.
Music
Curtis Mayfield, New World
Order - It’s so good to have
f I Mayfield back. He may never
^return to top form, but this CD
proves he’s got a lot left in him.
The title song was featured in
“Get On The Bus.” Check out
“Miss Martha” featuring
Mavis Staples and “Back To
Living Again,” which features
Aretha Franklin. Did I say it is
good to have Mayfield back?
Luther Vandross, Your
Secret Love - I can remem
ber when I didn’t particularly
care for‘Vandross. Now he can
sing a dial tone and I’m
See MUSIC on page SB
Does new film da Justice to
memory of Medgar Evers?
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES -“Ghosts of
Mississippi” relates the climax
of a SO-yeEu'-old fight to see
justice done in the murder of
civil rights legist Medgar
Evers.
But the question of whether
director Rob Reiner’s new film
does justice to Evers or the
civil rights movement has pro
voked critics and drawn
impassioned declarations from
those connected with the
movie.
The debate goes beyond the
factual accuracy of a project
that apMjjjjjjjB carefully
researched. vHw the history of
black AmeriSFis told in films,
from whose perspective and by
whom, are the broader issues.
“Ghosts of Mississippi” stars
Alec Baldwin as Bobby
DeLaughter, who prosecutes
the case against white
supremacist Byron De La
Beckwith (James Woods) near
ly three decades after juries
twice failed to reach a verdict.
We see the white
DeLaughter’s tenacious pur
suit of De La Beckwith -
“Delay to his friends - despite
skepticism from DeLaughter’s
boss and the antagonism of his
parent wife and community.
D^Laughi.c^r’o effort is paint
ed in detailed terms, as is his
family life and the psychologi
cal torment he faces. He is
every bit the flesh-and-blood
hero of the movie.
Evers, by comparison, is an
unknown shadow figure,
gunned down as the early min
utes of the film depict his 1963
ambush
assassina
tion in the
driveway
of his
home.
What
Evers
a c c o m -
ished or
are
plored. Goldberg
Also nearly invisible are his
wife, Myrlie (Whoopi
Goldberg) and their children,
and little is expressed of the
family’s loss or their frustra
tion with justice delayed.
“When future generations
turn to this era’s movies for an
account of the struggle for
racial justice in America,
they’ll learn the surprising les
son that such battles were
fought and won by square-
jawed white guys,” begins a
scathing revie^in the trade
paper Daily*^^Bty.
Similar criticism was raised
in 1988 when “Mississippi
Burning” made white FBI
agents the fictional heroes of a
chapter of civil rights history
involving three slain activists.
Attacks on that film clearly
didn’t deter Frederick Zollo,
who made 1988’s Oscar-nomi
nated “Mississippi Burning,”
from producing “Ghosts of
Mississippi.” And it didn’t stop
Reiner’s involvement.
“I’m getting some criticism ‘
for being a white person mak
ing a movie that has civil
rights as a backdrop, and in
which there’s a white person
who’s the focus of the film,”
said Reiner.
“To me it’s very unfortunate,
because we’re living in a time
when everybody is so divisive,”
he said.
Bad reviews don’t bother
him; ill-founded attacks do, he
said.'
“This story actually hap
pened. I didn’t make up that
Byron De La Beckwith was
convicted in February of 1994.
I may be an idiot, but I think
it’s kind of interesting that 30
years after a man committed a
heinous crime, the district
attorneys office would go after
him.
“You’re not just going to
make any film about any civil
rights issue. You’ve got to have
a compelling story to it,”
Reiner said - and a story the
filmmaker feels equipped to
tell.
Taking DeLaughtm|||boint of
view “was my I^QBko this
subject matter,” the mmmaker
said.
See GHOST page 6B
Kirk Franklin visits hospital
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -
Carrying a blood-soaked
strip of shirt, gospel
music star Kirk
Franklin went back to
the Regional Medical
Center.
This time the Fort
Worth, Texas, native
was a thankful visitor,
handing out concert tick
ets £md hugs, instead of
a head-injury patient
who had fallen 10 feet off
a stage.
FRANKLIN
“It reminds me. When I think about what
could have happened. It keeps me from getting
a big head,” said Franklin, 26, of the cloth.
He refused to sign autographs, saying he did
n’t come for acclaim, but for handshakes and
hugs.
Except for occasional headaches, Franklin
says he’s fully recovered from the Nov. 1 acci
dent, when he fell from a stage into an orches
tra pit during a concert.
'The accident and his recovery in Memphis
and at his Texas home interrupted Franklin’s
“Tour of Life.” The 45-city tour resumed
Thursday in New Orleank and arrived in
Memphis Friday.
New Edition is back on top
By Nekesa Mubi Moody
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ALBANY, New York — Of all the reunited
bands hitting the road this year. New Edition
may be the only group whose members are
decades away from collecting Social Security
and have a hit record on the charts.
After spending eight years apart experienc
ing the highs - and lows - of life as solo enti
ties, Bobby Brown, Ralph IVesvant, Johnny
Gill, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie
DeVoe have come back to the group that made
them preteen sensations when they made
their debut in 1983.
Back then, the group - minus Johnny Gill,
who joined as Brown’s replaceihent in 1987 -
was hailed as the next Jackson Five and
became an instant hit with bubble-gum hits
such as “Candy Girl,” and “Mr. Telephone
Man.” They sold millions of albums and
helped the industry refocus on teen-age tal
ent, a trend that is still evident on the charts
today.
Fast forward to 1996, and it’s like nothing
ever changed. Their new recording, “Home
Again,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard
album chart a month ago and has already
sold more than 2 million copies and produced
two hits. It will be the primary focus of the
group’s upcoming tour, which will mark the
first time all the men - now in their late 20s
- have toured together.
“It feels like we’re a brand-new group,” Bell
said. “It’s a real positive feeling ... that we’re
still here, that we still have fans out there.”
“I think more than anything we feel
blessed,” Gill said. “There has been such a
demand for this project for many years.”
But just a few years ago, the prospect of a
New Edition reunion seemed like an idea that
would never gel.
Brown was,, on top of the charts with his
hugely successfiil album “Don’t Be Cruel.” Gill
and 'Tresvant were also riding high on their
own solo projects. And Bell, DeVoe and Bivins
found platinum success as the hip-hop dance
group BVD.
Yet, despite a consistent string of hits, the
group racked up as New Edition, they were
unable to sustain the success of the projects
that made them solo sensations. Brown, Gill
and Tresvant all followed up their albums
with disappointing sales, and BVD failed to
gamer one hit off their sophomore project.
“When we did the last run, between that, the
concert support and things that we wanted to
do with those projects, it never elevated to
another level. So up to a certain point, we just
kind of left them alone,” Tresvant said.
While it may not have benefited their solo
careers, the slump was a boost to New Edition.
“Had those second attempts been as success
ful as the first ones, we wouldn’t be here right
now,” he said.
On top of trying to hold on to shaky solo
careers, some of the group also made big
changes in their personal lives. Brown mar
ried Whitney Houston and became a father,
and also went through much-publicized legal
battles with law-enforcement officials. On the
other end of the spectrum, Bivins started Biv
10 Records with Motown, and is credited with
guiding the careers of Boyz II Men, among
other groups.
“'There are families, there are kids, there are
other obligations that we all had,” Gill said.
See NEW EDITION page 7B