Page 4 DTH Omnibus
Thursday September 14, 1989
mmmmmmmmt
BA-D builds on
Big Audio
Dynamite
Megatop Phoenix
CBS Records
oooo
Last year, Mick Jones suffered a
near-fatal bout with pneumo
nia. During his recovery, the
leader of Big Audio Dynamite gave
extensive thought to the band's next
project. The result, Megatop Phoenix,
is a step forward, building on the
unique brand of dance music that
has become the group's trademark.
Jones, B.A.D.'s singersongwriter
guitarist had called Megatop Phoenix
"the record I have always wanted
to make." That comment naturally
raises great expections, given Jones's
history with the Clash, a band whose
influence far exceeded its record sales.
With its first three albums, B.A.D.
created a style based on eerie sound
effects, vicious dance beats and tune
ful melodies, often sounding like the
third-generation, bastard spawn of the
Clash's SandinistaJ. Each album was
a step of refinement for the band;
songs became progressively more
concise, melodic and sparse-sounding.
Megatop Phoenix contains 1 7 songs,
two-thirds of which are extended
grooves. The rest of the tunes are
short snippets serving as transitions
between songs. The album sounds,
at times, as if Jones has attempted to
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Brian Springer
, 1H'
craft his own Exile on Main Street,
dressing it up in dance-floor garb.
While not everything works, such as
the sound collage "Mick's a Hippie
Burning," the album is a reaffirma
tion of the band's wit and craftsman
ship. On previous albums, most songs
were complex constructions of sound,
but on this latest release, the sound
often approaches the minimalism of
early '80s European synth bands.
Using the sound of the title track
from last year's Tighten Up Vol. 88 as
a starting point, Jones continues the
trend of increased reliance on key
boards. "Rewind," the first full song on
the album alludes to Jones's illness
with the lyrics, "Never had to worry
When the chips were downHeld each
other's handsAnd we stood our
ground." The words reflect the debt
Jones feels he owes his family and
friends for their support during his
recovery.
"Union, Jack" superimposes a bit
ing guitar over a Tone Loc beat; the
result is an irresistible groove. "Baby,
Don't Apologise" recalls "Sambad
rome" from No. 10, Upping St., al
beit in a harder form. "House Ar
rest," which displays the influence of
house music, is this album's feature
vocal for Don Letts.
Another winner is "London
The burning world of primal Swans
The Swans
the burning world
MCA Records
OOOO
To long-time fans of the gloom-and-doom
industrial noise
school of music, the latest
Swans album, the burning world, may
come as a surprise and somewhat of a
disappointment.
Having made a name for itself
along with other purveyors of primal
energy and atonal experimentation
such as Sonic Youth the Swans
have become the latest group from
the quickly-dying progressive rock
underground to change its approach
and make its music more accessible.
In this case, however, greater acces
sibility does not mean watered-down,
made-to-order AOR fluff.
The burning world portrays song
writerlead vocalist Michael Gira and
his latest collection of bandmates as
reaching out for new ways to present
their art. Although some of the dirge
past successes
Bridge," which sounds a bit like
"Stone Thames" from This is Big Audio
Dynamite. The song is a bittersweet
reflection on the collapse of Eng
land, specifically London. Singing
"Give me dollarsI don't want
pounds," Jones displays a lack of
confidence in his Home country.
The highlight of Megatop Phoenix
is "James Brown," a song which is
both witty and sad. The lyrics do
little more than relate scenes from
the musician's troubled life amidst
backwards horns and samples of
Mick J ones
consistently creates
new sounds and uses
different approaches
to make the band
distinctive and
innovative
Brown's screams. The chorus "It's a
man's man's worldIn AmericaJump
back in my cellPlease, please, please
In AmericaSlipping into hell," seems
to say it all.
Jones's vocals are better than ever
on Megatop Phoenix, and keyboardist
Dan Donovan is given a chance to
flaunt his abilities more than in the
Doug Edmunds
like arrangements from previous al
bums remain, Gira and company rely
more on softer, acoustic backdrops
this time out.
From the opening strains of "the
river that runs with love won't run
dry," the group blends delicate vio
lin lines and traditional acoustic gui
tar with lyrical images of a "dying
sun" and decaying world. The addi
tion of Gira's stark baritone voice
a cross between Jim Morrison in a
blue mood and Iggy Pop on valium
makes for a striking, if not imme
diately appealing, sound.
But this music is not intended to
be easy to digest. It requires a larger
degree of emotional involvement on
the listener's part than does your
average major label release, and a
greater willingness to immerse one
self in the visions and the songs.
The song "Let it come down," with
its Eastern touches of double violin
I mm
4 jvJ
past. Letts is wisely more selective
with his sound effects on the main
cuts and is more playful in the tran
sitions between songs. As always,
drummer Greg Roberts and bassist
Leo "E-Zee Kill" Williams, who al
ways manage to find new and inter
esting rhythms, are taken for granted.
Megatop Phoenix is not as commer
cial as its predecessors, but it suc
ceeds quite well. As in the Clash,
Mick Jones consistently creates new
sounds and uses different approaches
to make the band distinctive and
innovative. This album isn't for ev
eryone, but the infectious , rhythms
and witty lyrics make it a real win
ner. and tabla and slow-march beat, sounds
like an Indian funeral procession as
Gira sings about a resigned accep
tance of damnation. Much of the
album deals with similar apocalyptic
imagery and struggles to put faith in
some god. Side two's opening track,
"saved," expresses an almost guilty
kind of hope for salvation.
In presenting these themes, the
Swans employ everything from Gregorian-chant
backing vocals to re
petitive three-chord patterns, to fairly
complex Indian raga-style instrumen
tation. The overall result is a chal
lenging, sometimes frightening col
lection of songs that give new mean
ing to the phrase "life is hard and
then you die."
Not for the unadventurous or narrow-minded,
the burning world is worth
the risk for those who appreciate emo
tional intensity combined with un
orthodox musical textures.
When, in the final, haunting
moments of "god damn the sun," Gira
sings "god damn anyone that says a
kind word," I don't think he neces
sarily intended it for music critics.
But if this is the case, then let me be
damned for praising this important
Album Charts
Rock Pool College Radio Chart
1. Pogues
Peace and Love
2. Various Artists
The Bridge
3. Red Hot Chili Peppers
Mother's Milk
4. Hoodoo Gurus
Magnum Cum Louder
5. Pop Will Eat Itself
This is the Day...
6. Lemonheads
Lick
7. Stone Roses
Stone Roses
8. Nirvana
Bleach
9. Bauhaus
Swing the Heartache
10. Swell Maps
Collision Time Revisited
WXYC
1. Red Hot Chili Peppers
Mother's Milk
2. Various Artists
The Bridge
3. Various Artists
Folk Classics
4. Half Japanese
The Band that Would Be King
5. Buffalo Tom
Buffalo Tom
6. The Fluid
Roadmouth
7. Billy Bizor
Blowing My Blues Away
8. Various Artists
Time Between
9. Various Artists
Mashing Up the Nation
10. House of Large Sizes
One Big Cake
i
Concert
The Swans, 'New York City
cutting-edge rockers, will
perform Friday, Sept. 15, at the
Cat's Cradle, 206 W. Franklin St.
The show starts around 10 p.m.
For more information, call the
Cradle at 962-9053
new work from an intriguing, worthy
band.
The Swans will perform Friday at
the Cat's Cradle. The group's live
shows are known for their hypnotic
intensity, so don't miss this one.
What The
Ratings Mean
O lame
OO -just O.K.
OOO workable
OOOO quite good
OOOOO excellent