Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Feb. 2, 1989, edition 1 / Page 14
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6DTHOmnibusThuisday, February 2, 1989 Album reviews The Pursuit of Happiness yields enjoyable rock'n'roll By KELLY RHODES Arts Editor You wouldn't believe the kinds of stuff that people send me trying to call music Groups you and l have never heard of and will probably never hear of again. Fortunately. The problem is that you have to listen to all of them to find that diamond in the coal mine. Album covers, like book covers, are deceiving. Record company promo papers are even worse "Here is the greatest band from Podunk, U.SA, since . . . " Needless to say, when I listened to The Pursuit of Happiness's (TPOH) album, Love Junk, I became a happy camper after just half of side one. True, they are out on a big label (Crysalis), and true, they have a familiar name at the helm (Todd Rundgren as producer, mixer and engineer), and true, you've probably heard them on the radio, which technically makes them a commercial success, but the album is still great fun to listen to. They look like musicians, which is a point in their favor, and their sound just re-enforces the image that they are trying to project. Lead singer Moe Berg has a flexible kind of voice that pulls the band through the strangest variety of songs. He also, encouragingly, wrote all the songs on the album, which may account for some of their weirdness. The Reivers produce nothing new at this 'End of Day' By DOUG EDMUNDS Staff Writer The Reivers End of Day Back in early 1986, 1 bought an album by a band named Zeitgeist. They could have been just one more mediocre alternative "guitar band," but the album, called Trans late Slowly, was definitely a cut above most of what I'd been hearing in that vein at the time. 1V IT Their airwave song, "I'm An Adult Now," is the most fun of the bunch. The lyrics reflect an inner thought, a kind of maturity, that they tried to maintain through out part of the album's making. Of course it didnt last, because who wants to be mature? For example-. "No more of this boy meets girl, boy loses girl, more like, man tries to understand what the hell went wrong!" "Consciousness Raising As A Social Tool" is what you would expect in this U2 age of political pop. Rapid guitar hits and strident vocals, but a surprisingly good back-up singer, Leslie Stanwyck, takes over to sing some lead. Not too bad, not too sticky. The other songs on side one blend well around the mention ables. "Hard To Laugh," "Ten Fin gers" and "She's So Young" may not have been divinely inspired, but are still fun to listen to, full of the message TPOH started to send in the album title. "Walking In The Woods" has that hard drum line that reminds me of Bowwow wow's "I Want Candy," but the echoing vocals are different enough to make you forget about it. The first song on side two may have had an inspiration or two, especially since I know for a fact that someone talented could have been spying on my sister, who also wears purple and black, boots and jingly, jangly jewelry, then wrote The combination of songwriter guitarist John Croslin's deep, rough-edged voice with Kim Long acre's smooth but equally strong voice provided some memorable highlights to an outstanding debut record. I remember won dering if they would ever get anywhere or if, like so many promising groups in the alterna tive scene, they'd simply fade Ox f 7 fKj,xLf it The Pursuit of Happiness offers up energetic rock with "Beautiful White." This side also hides TPOH's darker, more amusing side. "Look ing For Girls" is a bit crude, but not totally unexpected or unconven tional, because Berg's voice fits it just as well as it did on "Beautiful White." "Killed By Love" is the same way, with a little more hard rock appeal. The band touches on almost away into premature obscurity, . Three years and one name change later, this same group has just released its third LP, End of Day. The Reivers, as they're now called, haven't really changed much since that stunning debut. Croslin and Longacre are still trading memorable melodies and harmonies- the songs are still guitar-based and simply arranged; Our chefs arc better by degrees. LAXILriHIERS SEAFOOD RESTAURANT The cookms timed in seconds. 54 at I-40, Chapel HillDurham, 493-8096 '967-8227 Atlantic Ave. at Spring Forest Rd., Raleigh 790-1200 Lunch 11:30-2:00 Monday-Friday Dinner 5:00-9:00 Sunday-Thursday 5:00-10:00 Friday & Saturday lAJ m&w fHA every kind of love there is between a man and woman (or boy and girl, if they lapse). "Man's Best Friend" is a brotherly sort of love,- "Killed By Love" is that hopeless, desperate, hateful love, and "Beautiful White" is that pure, hopeful kind of love. All truly what they would call love junk. The rest of the band is Dave Cilby on drums, Johnny Sinclair on and the lyrics are still poetic and often intriguingly cryptic. The question is, why dont I like this new record very much? A big part of my disappoint ment stems from the very fact that they havent changed their style at all, havent evolved as a band. The familiar, positive qual ities mentioned above simply arent enough to make a third LP terribly exciting. I expect these qualities from the Reivers, but also, as with any band I like, I expect . some surprises, something new that adds to their sound. This could include using different instrumentation, experimenting with song structures and time signatures, doing a crazy cover song or something equally unex pected. Of course, even without any new developments a band can save itself by writing a couple of killer tunes and filling the rest of the album with solid material R.E.M.'s Reckoning is a good example. unfortunately, the Reivers dont even manage this. There is not a single track that really jumps out of the speakers at you, such as "Things Dont Change" off the first record or "Once in Awhile" from their second disc The best songs . here sound like the weaker songs , f their LP, Love Junk. bass and Kris Abbott on guitars and vocals. Pick it up and give it a listen. This one is the best one to come across my desk since Whisper Tames the Lion by Drivin' n' Cryin' and the Popes on Hi! we're the Popes. And you know now that I dont get all the best of the world's music; I have to find it, too. from these earlier albums, which doesn't mean they're bad, just okay. To make matters worse, the band's playing sounds restrained, as if every member were trying to get every note and every fill correct. I'm not advocating poor musicianship, but the rougher, more energetic performances of the past would have helped out some of these tracks. Oddly enough, the most spirited playing on the record comes from the one tune not written by the band, a funky number called "Lazy After noon," which Longacre sings beautifully. I'm glad the band I discovered three years ago and liked so much is still out there making records and is gathering popular as well as critical success. That their latest release doesnt stand up to prev ious efforts means only that I can look forward to the next LP and hope for something better. Judg ing from the lyrics on End of Day, Mr. Croslin and company are going through a transitional phase, trying to come to terms with success, the mainstream record industry and the passing of time. Here's hoping that they find some peace of mind and come up with some great songs to share the next time around. , w v v.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Feb. 2, 1989, edition 1
14
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