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‘Step Up’ to Tom Waits Tribute
When I first saw this disc, I thought,
“Oh, look, a bunch of high-paid artists
trying to pretend they’ve listened to Tom
Waits foryears.” I’m jaded; after all, that’s
exactly what the new Leonard Cohen trib
ute, “TowerofSong,”islike. Record labels
figure it improves their artists’ credibility
toappearona tribute album to a songwriter
respected throughout the music industry.
I was surprised. As far as tributes go, the
album has more in common with the 1991
“I’m Your
Fan" tribute to
Leonard
Cohen than
“Tower of
Song.” Most of
the covered
songs are older,
CLAIRE IARVIS
Music Review
Step Right Up: The
Songs of Tom Waits
Manifest Records
B+
more devoted-fan material than superstar
fodder. I was initially put offby the thought
of 10,OOOManiacs and the Violent Femmes
covering Tom Waits, but almost all of the
songs left me pleasantly surprised, and the
album as a whole was well done.
Thankfully, most of the artists try to
stick to the type of music they make best.
Instead of sounding like carbon copies of
Waits, the contributing musicians main-
Patrick Stewart Recites Vivaldi’s ‘Seasonal’ Poetry
Acclaimed concertmaster, solo violin
ist and orchestra contractor, Amie Roth
shows the diversity of his talents through
the quality and variety of his projects. His
concert appearances with many of the
world’s most distinguished orchestras, in
cluding those in Dallas and San Francisco,
have established Roth as an influential
contributor to the instrumental perform
ing arts. His latest endeavor, a recording of
Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, is the
culmination of
years of devo
tion to music.
The Four
Seasons has be
come so fa
mous it is
DEAN HAIR
Music Review
The Four Seasons
A
regularly used for background music in
restaurants, as film music and in television
advertising—that most people never real
ize that Vivaldi was writing programme
music. The original edition was dedicated
to Count Venceslas von Merzin of a noble
Bohemian family. Vivaldi asked von
Merzin to look “with benevolence and
indulgence on my feeble efforts, because I
fear to offend the inborn kindness which
Your Illustrious Grace has shown towards
them for some time.”
Roth’s new album, The Compleat Four
Seasons appeals to not only classical music
David Lanz Mixes Old Favorites With Few New Pieces
The new release by pianist David Lanz,
Beloved, combines his best prereleased
works with a few new pieces to produce
one of his best albums so far.
The album is a compilation of the many
romantic pieces he has composed; Lanz
writes in the al
bum cover that
romance is
“something
many of us
yearn for at a
deeper soul
level.”
KACEYKINARD
Music Review
Beloved
Narada Productions
B
His first piece on the album, Beloved, is
written not about romance of the heart but
about romance of the soul. It is a tender
piece that is dedicated to his wife, his
soulmate. Lanz writes that when we see a
sunset or look into another’s eyes, “what
we really see is the reflection of soul...our
Beloved. ” A small ensemble of instruments
including a cello, French horn and bass
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tain their own sound while performing the
songs of Tom Waits.
Waits is one of the best singers/
songwriters of our time, and most of these
artists find the balance between honoring
that talent and completely appropriating
Waits’ sound.
Both American and British talents con
tributed to the album, as well as two Aus
tralian pop groups. Chapel Hill can rejoice
in the inclusion of its own Archers of Loaf.
Several bands fronted by women are also
represented, lending an interesting twist to
Waits’ lyrics, especially Magnapop’s
“To listen as from the iron
portals rush winds from south
and north, all the winds in
contest; such is winter, such
the joy it brings. ”
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Composer
fans but “Star Trek" fans as well. Roth has
enlisted the help of Patrick Stewart, better
known to avid television viewers as Cap
tain Jean-Luc Picard in “Star Trek: The
Next Generation, ” to record the most com
plete possible rendering of Vivaldi's work.
The Four Seasons has been recorded numer
ous times before, but Roth and Stewart’s
presentation includes several sonnets that
Vivaldi had written to accompany the
music.
Vivaldi’s music is pure and powerfully
moving, but the sonnets emphasize the
beauty of Vivaldi’s already magnificent
score.
The poetry is not brilliant, but Stewart’s
reading of it is, as is Vivaldi’s bringing it to
life through music.
Vivaldi writes the following on the sea-
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accompanies his piano, giving the music a
rich, full sound.
Each song is dedicated to the music of
a certain kind of romance. A few pieces are
based on his marriage and Simple his wife,
such as “Leaves on the Seine” and “Cour
age of the Wind.”
Other romantic subjects include the
DIVERSIONS Music
“Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minne
apolis.” Perhaps the disc’s main failing is
that only pop groups are represented. The
jazziest this compilation gets is the
Tindersticks’ cover of “Mocking Bird,”
and the closest to techno is Jeffrey Lee
Pierce’s “Pasties and a G-String.”
Also included are some artists’ com
ments on why they chosen to be a part of
this collection.
Two of the songs were recorded previ
ously: 10,000 Maniacs’ version of “Hope
That I Don’t Fall In Love With You" and
Tim Buckley’s 1973 release, “Martha.”
If I had to pick the best song here, it
would be “Maltha.” Buckley was friends
with Waits, and when Closing Time came
out, Buckley recorded his version of
“Martha” immediately. The whining gui
tar and Buckley’s clear voice provide a
great complement to Waits’ lyrics.
Granted, there are some typical rock
covers, but often Waits’ brilliance comes
through.
Perhaps that’s the final point. Though
the music ofTom Waits could inspire great
profits for a record company, it inspires
instead some of the best covers I’ve heard
recently.
-, (ti.viri l
son of winter: “To shiver icily in the freez
ing dark in the teeth of a cruel wind, to
stamp your feet all the time, so chilled that
your teeth chatter.
To remain in quiet contentment by the
fireside while outside the rain pours in
torrents; to walk on the ice, with slow steps
in fear of falling, advance with care.
Then to step forth strongly, fall to the
ground, and again run boldy on the ice
until it cracks and breaks.
To listen as from the iron portals rash
winds from south and north, all the winds
in contest; such is winter, such the joy it
brings.”
A section of poetry precedes each move
ment in the work —with words such as
His romantic subjects include
the beauty of earth, hope,
reunion of mother and child,
and reverie. Probably his most
well-known piece is
“Cristoforis Dream, ” written
about the man who invented
the piano.
beauty of the earth, hope, reunion of mother
and child, and reverie. Probably his most
well-known piece is “Cristofori’s Dream, ’’
written about the man who invented the
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Four New Albums Promise Little Flavor
Here at the Diversions desk, we’re
swamped with all kinds of CDs. Labels
mail them to us, I suppose under the im
pression that the typical college student
and will lovingly and blindly embrace all
indie rock with a colorful cover. We get
some cool stuff, but before you rush over
here trying to swipe the latest Oasis, Seven
Mary Three or Joe Diffie, you should be
warned that a lot of what we receive is
how shall I delicately put this? crap. In
an effort to in-
foim you, the
semi-interested Mlisic Review
public, as to
some of our ac- The Brooklyn Side
quisitions, I re- The Monkey and
cenriy un- My First Child
earthed a trea- / g.
sure trove of r- ■ w
titles from the fathomless pit known as the
Dive CD drawer.
First up is Salt, from Pacific Northwest
rockers Clatter Bean. Now I like a little
seasoning as much as the next person, but
if I have to stomach this, I think I’ll stick to
the salt substitute from now on. This
Issaquah quartet (that’s near Seattle, grunge
kids!) features three female members and a
male drummer, which I guess makes them
furious thunder and lightning, torrid heat
in a blazing sun and to shiver icily in the
freezing dark. The music becomes much
more alive with the words, real and true to
its time, season and setting.
At the end Stewart returns to read just
the poems, minus musical accompaniment,
his voice creating their own music for our
ears to savor.
Stewart’s voice along with the music
forces upon its listener to create vivid im
ages in one’s mind, from “violent swarms
of furious ants and flies” to “a fair spring
sky in all of its glory.”
Playing his 1733 violin, Roth and his
orchestra (Musica Anima String Ensemble)
alone deliver an exquisite performance well
worth the price of the album.
Vivaldi’s mood and scene is diligently
captured through Roth’s beautiful rendi
tion coupled with the power and beauty of
Stewart’s voice.
The Four Seasons has brought happiness
to what is now literally millions of people
all over the world —a situation which
would have astonished Vivaldi, who con
sidered himself, in many ways, to be “a
modest cog in the universe. ” Beautiful and
inspirational, Roth’s The Compleat Four
Seasons begs to be played in a dimly lit
room with a roaring fire after a hard day’s
work.
piano. His performance is accompanied by
strings, which lets the main instrument
prevail. Through dynamics and arpeggios
the song beautifully shows off the piano as
a rich instrument.
The song written for Mother Earth,
“Madre de la Tierra,” was Lanz’s first
score written for a full orchestra. This piece
sets one of the most romantic moods for
the album. A piece that would be familiar
to all is a variation of Pachelbel’s “Canon
in D major, ’’ a song frequently recorded on
many nature music albums. Lanz does not
follow the original score exactly, but in
stead plays variations on the main theme.
The album as a whole grapples with
deep and profound romantic ideals, and
Lanz accomplishes this through piano play
ing that touches the soul.
the poor man’s Breeders. It’s super loud
grunge-rock-by-numbeis, and poorly done
at that. Lead singer Jennifer Parkinson’s
crack addict monotone would be enough
to drive you crazy by itself if the music itself
wasn’t so damn awful. Featuring, among
other things, a song titled “Strange Rage of
the Spider,” this album should be avoided
like a case of amoebic dysentery. The sole
cool thing about this entire noise-fest is the
CD itself, which features what appears to
be an insane little pink and black dancing
navy bean.
I soon stumbled across The Brooklyn
Side, the sophomore effort from the Bottle
Rockets. These “proud sons of Festus,
Missouri” look like they all belong in a
police lineup. “Hey, wait a second,” you
protest. “That’s not constructive, intelli
gent criticism or even relevant to their
musical ability.” True, but I’m here to tell
you that these guys could make more
money playing child molester stunt doubles
in TV movies-of-the-week than they ever
could with their musical “talent.” Resem
bling the bastardized cousins of ZZ Top,
the Bottle Rockets offer up an assortment
of numbers that are three parts beer-satu
rated good old boy rock, two parts cousin
dating country, and one part pure ass.
Indie Rock Band Raymond
Brake Delivers Excellent Music
The Raymond Brake is an indie rock
band. Like countless others, they list among
their influences ’Bos underground heroes
such as Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr.
Being from North Carolina, however,
the Raymond Brake get these influences
filtered through the music of local fixtures
such as Superchunk and Polvo.
Polvo espe
cially provides
a good point of
reference for
the Raymond
Brake.
Fans of that
group will in
stantly recog
nize the tempo
shifts and alter
nately tuned
guitars that are
TODDITO
Music Review
Raymond Brake
Piles of Dirty Winters
Simple Machines
A
Rebar split 7
Chunchy Record
Stuff
A-
present throughout the album.
However, the Raymond Brake, in con
trast to Polvo, employs a catchier, more
traditionally pop/punk sound, one more
like, say, um, Superchunk.
All of this is not to say that the Raymond
Brake are unoriginal. There are a lot of
bands that share these same influences but
make music that does nothing for me.
The Raymond Brake, however, take
these influences and forge a fresh sound
that, like Pavement, sounds really familiar
but still manages to challenge.
So, after two outstanding singles (one
on the Greensboro label D-TOX and an
other on Simple Machines), the Raymond
Brake give us Piles of Dirty Winters.
They go from slow and melodic to up
tempo and angry, often within the same
song. The band also throws in a countryish
acoustic tune and some interesting sound
experiments for good measure. All of this
makes for one of the best local albums to be
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VAMPIRE IN BROOKLYN 1
Thursday, November 16,1995
“Gravity Fails” is the only song worth a
second listen, but half-baked lyrics almost
lower it to the level of other efforts. Other
titles include the painful mandolin and
fiddle-flavored “Welfare Music” and
“Idiot’s Revenge,” both of which pretty
much aptly describe the Bottle Rockets’
album as a whole.
Next up is Nil Lara, who donated not
one, but two albums to our ever-swollen
coffers and, in doing so, broke the pattern
of suckiness that I feared I had encoun
tered. The Monkey and My First Child offer
eleven songs between them. The results are
fairly nice, certainly rising above the other
musical gems of the Dive CD drawer. Lara
reminds me a little of Luka Bloom, whom
no one really knows, but is cool just the
same. He offers a nice blend of guitar and
some simple arrangements, adding smooth,
up-tempo vocals, alternately creating a sort
of laid-back Carribean salsa and a blues
rock treatment of R&B. Basically, it’s just
a guy and his guitar, backed nicely in
different numbers by electric guitar, soul
ful chants and up-tempo re-dubs. After the
wince-inducing Clatter Bean and good old
boy Bottle Rockets, Lara provided not only
a pleasant diversion, but also a little salva
tion.
Fans of that group (Polvo)
will instantly recognize the
tempo shifts and alternately
tuned guitars that are present
throughout the album. How
ever, the Raymond Brake, in
contrast to Polvo, employs a
catchier, more traditionally
pop/punk sound, one more
like, say, um, Superchunk.
released this year.
Also managing to satisfy my appetite
for Raymond Brake product is anew split 7
featuring the Raymond Brake on one side
and fellow Greensboro residents Rebar on
the other.
The Raymond Brake’s entry “Davliks”
sounds like a more forward, less complex
song off Daydream Nation.
That doesn’t necessarily make it bad,
although they do have better songs on their
album and earlier singles.
Rebar chips in with “Transparent,” an
ace Bowie-ish chumer that climaxes with
vocalist/guitarist Sanders Trippe’sscream
ing. Then the song ends abruptly without
giving much of a resolution.
That’s okay with me, though; I just put
the needle back in the groove and do it
again.
Overall, this is a great single that pro
vides a sample of two up-and-coming stel
lar bands from our neighbors in Greens
boro. You should give them your money.
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