Page 4 DTH Omnibus
Thursday October 12, 1989
PUS
Dave and Annie survived the '80s
Album Charts
Rock Pool Top Ten
1. Red Hot Chili Peppers
Mother's Milk
2. Camper Van Beethoven
Key Lime Pie
3. Various Artists
The Bridge
4. Sugar Cubes
Regina
5. The Fall
Seminal Live
6. Big Audio Dynamite
Megatop Phoenix
7. Hoodoo Gurus
Magnum Cum Louder
8. Pogues
Peace And Love
9. Bad Brains
Quickness
10. Soundgarden
Louder Than Love
WXYC
1. Bad Brains
Quickness
2. Soundgarden
Louder Than Love
3. Shellyanne Orphan
Century Flower
4. Camper Van Beethoven
Key Lime Pie
5. Snatches of Pink
Dead Men
6. My Dad Is Dead
The Taller You Are...
7. Bob Dylan
Oh Mercy
8. Gavin Friday
Each Man Kills the Thing He Loves
9. Meat Puppets
Monsters
10. Beat Happening
Black Candy
FOUr years
Tears for Fears
The Seeds of Love
FontanaPolyGram
OOOO
In Tears for Fears' latest effort,
The Seeds of Love, there lies a
single message to fans who have
not heard the album: do not expect
the great music the group has made
in the past, just expect great music.
It took four years to produce a follow-up
to the multi-platinum Songs
From the Big Chair, but guitaristkey
boardist Roland Orzabal and bass
player Curt Smith made the wait
worthwhile. Seeds is impressive: a true
example of how of patience and te
dious work leads to a thorough mas
terpiece. After spending 10 months
in the studio with Big Chair producer
Chris Hughes, the duo was unhappy
.with the music and started over, pro
ducing the album themselves with
David Bascombe.
The result is surprisingly inspira
tional music, with a basic theme of
hope, understanding and, of course,
love. Although some fans will ex
pect music similar to that of the band's
previous albums, they will be pleas
antly surprised with this soulful col
lection. Listeners might be discour
aged to find there are only eight songs,
Eurythmics
We Too Are One
Arista Records
oooo
W!
hen our airwaves are
choked with the romantic
nonsense of "Girl I'm
Gonna Miss You" and the like, it is
more than refreshing to hear a song
called, "You Hurt Me (and I hate
you)." Yes, Annie Lennox and Dave
Stewart are back, smashing sentimen
talism and delving once more into
the darker stuff of life. And even
though they've done it much better
and more intensely before (see Sweet
Dreams and Touch), the Eurythmics
are still good at what they do.
We Too Are One, it should be
explained, isn't their best, but it's
definitely a step up from the
unmemorable Savage. This album is
less raw and not so big in sound. It
relies more on Dave's bump'n'grind
guitar riffs and a more appealing,
atmospheric synth backdrop, as used
on Be Yourself Tonight.
Annie, sublime as ever, sings like
an angel, even when she's talking of
devilish things. The effect is chill
ing. Even the less successful tracks
Was WOrth
but with each averaging more than
six and a half minutes, there is plenty
of music.
And obviously the music matters.
The new piano intros, harmonica
whizzes and orchestral arrangements
create scenarios for the mind. In
"Standing on the Corner of the Third
World," the duo sets a despairing
mood with deep melodies and omi
nous sounds to express guilt and sad
ness about worldwide devastation.
The falling and rising Kurtzweil strings
combine magnificently with OrzabaPs
vocals in "Famous Last Words," which
expresses hope for peace in the fu
ture. Seeking a multi-dimensional
sound, the group included other
musicians besides keyboardist Ian
Stanley and drummer Manny Elias,
who were featured in Songs From the
Big Chair. Manu Katche, who did
some drum work on the Sting album
Nothing Like the Sun, plays on two
songs, while Phil Collins performs
on the first cut, "Woman In Chains."
For keyboard arrangements, the group
recruited Nicky Holland, who also
co-wrote five songs. Probably the most
helpful addition is vocalistpianist
Oleta Adams, who the band thanks
for "authenticating" their souls.
One of the most pleasant variations
from previous album's is the use of
gospel-like background vocals by
Dolette McDonald and Tessa Niles.
This gives the album vocal richness
and proves agairt that beautiful voices
Richard Smith
are appealing with Annie in such
fine form. So it's OK that the alpha
betized refrain of "Revival" could be
the j ingle of a pizza commercial. And
it doesn't matter ;that the choruses of
"The King and Queen of America,"
"Angel" and "We Two Are One" are
all-too-easy repeats of the song's titles.
The substance and appeal of We Too
Are One are deliciously hidden in
the bite of its acerbic lyrics.
"(My My) Baby's Gonna Cry"
could be mistaken for words of com
fort, but of course they're not. The
ironic tone of Annie and Dave's
vocals as they chide, "Now you can't
have your piece of cakeand eat the
sweet thing tooBut that kind of
understandingisn't good enough for
you" makes it the crudest of songs.
The somber arrangement of "Don't
Ask Me Why," coupled with Annie's
near-mutter, belies the bitterness of
the lyrics, "I don't love you anymore
I don't think I ever did." The ap
proach here is more subtle than in
the bombastic "You Hurt Me (and I
hate you)," though the sledgeham
mer approach is no less effective.
the Wait
will always produce beautiful music.
With Orzabal putting more soul
than ever in his vocals and Smith
adding his wide range of vocal tal
ents, the words flow over the music
perfectly. OrzabaPs voice has never
sounded better; on the album's first
release, "Sowing the Seeds of Love,"
he floats into deep tones reminis
cent of Tom Jones. Perhaps the only
"problem" on the album is that Smith
does not have any distinct lead vo
cals except for "World." One of the
best parts in "Sowing the Seeds of
Love" is his small solo: "Time to eat
all your words Swallow your pride
Open your eyes." His vocals could
have helped even the best songs on
the album become better.
At about nine minutes, the best
tune, "Badman's Song," is also the
longest, although it never drags. The
song shows Tears for Fears at their
finest, playing a rapid mixture of jazz,
rock'n'roll and soul as if the music
styles were created to be together.
Adams shines in this track with her
Ray Charles-like piano playing and
her soulful singing.
Overall, the album will make some
music lovers die-hard Tears for Fears
fans. The music, complex and mys
terious, will grow on the listener upon
every playing. It will be hard for the
group to follow up Seeds successfully,
but if four years are all it takes to
produce this quality, one thing is for
sure: the more time, the better.
" Tim Little
The Eurythmics have maintained their musical integrity
Eurythmics may not break any new
ground with We Too Are One, but
they remain one of the most respected
and consistent bands in popular
music. There aren't many who can
claim to have ridden the length of
the '80s with their musical integrity
still intact. Seven albums down the
road, they remain assured of what
they are doing, a fact borne out on
the album's closing track, "When the
Day Goes Down," dedicated to "the
broken dreamers" and "helpless fools"
of the world. "We are just the same
Tracy's back and O.K.
Tracy Chapman
Crossroads
Eiektra Records
OOO 12
Crossroads Tracy
Chapman picks up where
her eponymous, self-titled
debut left off, although she makes
little progress musically or lyrically.
Given Chapman's substantial song
writing ability, this is disappoint- ;
ing, but Crossroads remains a strong
album diminished only by the vir
tue of her landmark debut.
That Crossroads manages to suc
ceed as an album speaks only of
Chapman's mature songwriting. In
terms of content, this album, like
Tracy Chapman, focuses on relation
ships, racism, poverty and politics.
The title track, which is the first
single, adds the only new lyrical
wrinkle, with Chapman making the
usual star complaint of having to
deal with all the attention. "I'm
trying to protect what I keep in
side," Chapman sings in self-defense.
Accordion and violin pizzicato give
this song a slightly different flavor
than the previous album.
Songs such as "Bridges," "Be Care
ful of My Heart" and "All That
You Have is Your Soul" are a bit
too comfortable. -"Freedom Now"
No more no less than anyone," they
say, this time sincerely. It may not
be sweet dreams, but at least they're
not trying to kid.
The Ratings
O miserable
OO mediocre
OOO enjoyable
OOOO quite good
OOOOO unmissable
is a tribute to Nelson Mandela,
which Chapman performed on the
Amnesty International Human
Rights Now tour.
Some songs diverge from the stan
dard Chapman approach. "Subcity,"
with its Dylanesque harmonica,
takes a swing at inadequate gov
ernment support of the poor. "I'd
like to give Mr. President my hon
est regardsFor disregarding me,"
Chapman sings. "Born to Fight"
sounds like something from a 1940's
nightclub, complete with jazzy trum
pet. "This Time" overcomes famil
iar lyrics with a powerful chorus.
Chapman surrounds herself with
much of the cast from her last al
bum, including bassist Larry Klein
and drummer Denny Fongheiser.
She has taken on the additional
; role of co-producer, sharing credit
with David Kershenbaum. Yet even
appearances by Neil Young, Danny
Kortchmar, Steve Lindley, Russ
Kunkel, and G. E. Smith do not
provide a spark.
Despite its shortcomings, Cross
roads will strengthen Tracy
Chapman's musical reputation. The
album is an acceptable sophomore
effort, given the expectations set
by Chapman's remarkable debut.
Certainly, she needs to diversify her
approach on future releases, if only
to avoid stagnation. As of now,
Chapman has reached the cross-:
roads, but she has refused to budge.
Brian Springer