Page 4 DTH Omnibus
Thursday September 13, 1990
MUSIC
3SS5SS1
Popular
1. M.C. Hammer
Please Hammer Don't Hurt'em
2. Wilson Phillips
Wilson Phillips
3. Jon Bon Jovi
Blaze of GloryYoung Guns II
4. Marian Carey
Marian Carey
5. Poison
Flesh and Blood
6. Bell Biv DeVoe
Poison
7. Anita Baker
Compositions
8. Keith Sweat
' Give All My Love to You
9. New Kids on the Block
Step by Step
10. Graff iti Bridge
Prince
Rhythm & Blues
1. M.C. Hammer
Please Hammer Don 't Hurt 'em
2. Keith Sweat
I'll Give All My Love to You
3. Anita Baker
Compositions
4. Johnny Gill
Johnny Gill
5. Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
6. En Vogue
Born to Sing
7. Tony! Toni! Tone!
The Revival
8. Bell Biv DeVoe
Poison
' 9. The Time
Pandemonium
10. Luke Featuring
The 2 Live Crew
Banned in the U.S.A.
Billboard
Debut strikes a tediously soothing chord
Hummingbirds
loveBUZZ
rooArt
OOOO
W7
ocals can make or break a
pop band, particularly those
post-modern 'alternative'-
U sound ing bands notorious tor
becoming extinct as quickly
as they become trendy in college music
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Husker faithful will like it
Bob Mould
Black Sheets of Rain
Virgin Records
oooo
f i fter the release of last year's
brilliant Workbook, Bob
Mi Mould is forced into the
bittersweet position of hav
LJ UJ& ing to follow it up. His ,
sophomore solo effort, Black Sheets of
Rain, while a great album in its own
right, is a notch below his debut-
To get the inevitable comparisons
to Mould's old band, Husker Du, out
of the way, suffice it to be said Mould
seems finally to have come to grips
with the band's demise. Workbook's
quiet acoustic power has fallen by the
wayside in favor of a tighter, more
electric sound. Back is the guitar
overkill missing from the last album.
The songs here rock harder than be
fore, and Mould is again working with
a three-piece band. Hell, the cover
even looks like a Husker record.
But Mould isn't returning to the
thrash pop of his Husker days. The
songs on Black Sheets of Rain come
across like Workbook meets Flip Your
Wig. The album sounds like a million
bucks and should finally garner Mould
his long-deserved commercial success.
That being said, the core band
from Workbook returns for Black Sheets.
Golden Palominos leader Anton Fier
lays down absolutely mammoth drum
tracks on every tune. Ex-Pere Ubu
bassist Tony Maimone holds the
sound together with simple-yet-powerful
basslines. Over the top, Mould
cranks up his guitar and lets loose
with razor-edged riffs and squeals of
feedback. Mould's incurably melodic
voice sounds rougher than on the last
Layton Croft
circles. The late D. Boon's vocals fit
The Minutemen's style, but detract
from their overall musical aesthetics.
On the other hand, the duet-style
vocals of X's Exene Cervenka and
John Doe are the only interesting
aspect of the band's music.
The Hummingbirds' debut L.P.
loveBUZZ is unadulterated guitar pop
cms nmso
(Sate
mil
Brian Springer
record, matching the new album's
harder sound. Noticeably absent is
Jane Scarpatoni's cello, which added
so much to the atmosphere of frus
trated tension on Workbook.
Mould is playing down his image
as a solo artist, promoting the "Bob
Mould Band" in publicity for his
current tour (at Cat's Cradle earlier
this summer). The new songs are
longer than before, allowing the band
frequent jams. What the new songs
give up in emotional intensity and
quiet power, they make up for with
straightforward hard-rock smarts and
instrumental virtuosity. Mould is a
splendid guitarist, and he weaves his
guitar in and out of the Maimone-Fier
rhythm foundation effortlessly.
Lyrically, Mould stresses environ
mental themes more than ever, in
addition to his usual looks at pain and
emotional suffering. Of course, he has
a knack for creating intoxicating pop
hooks, and this album proves it.
Black Sheets of Rain opens with the
guitar snarl of the title tune. For nearly
eight minutes, the band cranks
through power riffs as Mould screams
"The toxins fill my bloodstream As
I'm walking throught the parking lot
... It's the black sheets of rain Fol
lowing me again."
"It's Too Late" has an undeniably
catchy melody you'll be singing for
days, even if the words are indeci
pherable. This has the potential to be
a ... gasp ... hit single. Mould goes pop
here, and not in the Iggy sense.
"One Good Reason" and "Stop
Your Crying" employ heavy, d inosaur
riffs and rhythms directed towards
that is instantly likeable yet perma
nently effective. The malefemale lead
vocals of guitarists Simon Holmes
and Alannah Russack qualify as har
monic genius, and only add to a near
flawless songcrafting quartet.
Released on their native Austra
lian rooArt label, noted for promot
inghomegrown bands, loveBUZZ was
produced by North Carolina's Mitch
Easter. Easter's reputation as one of
the '80s southern-music gurus is evi
dent throughout the album, particu
larly on the songs "She Knows ..." and
"Tuesday," where tediously soothing
chord-picking accompanies vivacious
rhythm guitar and a steady rhythm
section, composed of drummer Mark
Temple and bassist Robyn St. Clare.
The Hummingbirds' most striking
element is their presentation of
thoughtful lyrics. Holmes and Russack
not only create silky harmonies, but
syncopate their vocal entries to keep
fair distance from the expected.
"House Taken Over" is the most
extraordinary single on loveBUZZ ,
hinting at psychedelia, with a sweet
ened chorus that departs from the rest
of the tune while maintaining the
Mould's own melodic ends. "Stand
Guard" twists a heavy-metallish riff
onto the grounds of college radio.
Simplification is the name of the
game for Mould for a large part of the
album. Few tunes employ this strategy
better than "Out ofY our Life," a simple
and stellar melody over a typically
noisy guitar riff. He cuts to the quick,
singing, "If you want me out of your
life Now all you gotta do is tell me."
"Disappointed" is jagged and re
lentless as it motors along while Mould
notes "The three years I went to col
lege Didn't make much of a difference
to me Made me feel so safe I didn't
have to think About the things I
really wanna be." This closely re
sembles the faster songs on Husker
Du's Candy Apple Grey.
"Hanging Tree" meanders from its
acoustic beginnings to a huge lum
bering riff, similar to "Whichever Way
the Wind Blows" from Workbook.
"Sacrifice Let There Be Peace" churns
and burns from its simply loud be
ginning to an anthem ic close.
The one acoustic track on the al
bum is "The Last Night," a welcome
break from electric fury. The song is
good, though not exceptional, and
Mould could have pumped the album
to the five-blob pantheon ( the highest
rating in Omnispeak) with a few more
of these mood breakers. Mould is a
natural with the 12-string guitar. He
should pick it up more often.
Black Sheets of Rain is weakened
only by virtue of Bob Mould's previ
ous album. He hasn't sold out, but he
has made music for the masses. An
audience beyond the Husker faithful
will certainly go for this LP. Like
Workbook, Black Sheets takes about
three listens to become addictive. Bob
Mould has met the challenge of fol
lowing a sensational album with an
other solid effort.
zombie-like tempo.
The opening track, "Blush," was
voted the debut single of 1989 by
Rolling Stone. "Three In The Morn
ing" is an insightful tune about un
expected pregnancy, made relevant
by its adolescent vocal delivery.
Blatant perfectionism is evident
throughout the production of this
album. However, after seeing a less-than-lengthy
Hummingbirds' perfor
mance at London's Marquee Club in
late June, I left with more respect for
Easter's producing talents. The
Hummingbirds' live show was less
than polished, with inaudible guitar
parts and disappointing vocals.
If anything, their live show con
firms the fact that on record The
Hummingbirds may be too good to be
true. Buy the album, if you can find it.
O miserable, boring
OO mediocre, bland
OOO enjoyable
OOOO insightful, laudable
OOOOO exhilarating, divine
MUSIC BRIEFS
The Sundays
Reading, Writing,
and Arithmetic
OOOOO
Seldom does a band's debut al
bum shine with such intricate bril
liance and musical maturity as this
freshman effort by the Sundays,
The London foursome spins a web
of heavenly melodies laced with
celestial pop appeal. The blushing,
airy voice of Harriet Wheeler acts
i in stark contrast to her strikingly
creative and ingeniously prover
bial lyricism. Guitarist Dave
Gavurin strums vigorous acoustic
rhythms, borrowing heavily from
Johnny Marr's museum of post
modern folk and guitar-pop
rhythms. Highlights include the
interrogatively insightful "You're
not the Only One I Know", and
the first single, "Here's Where the
Story Ends." "Joy", an appropriately
dim closer, reverberates with a
darkerand calmer solemnity, which
brings the album back down to
earth in a warm, cyclic fashion.
Don't miss this extraordinary album
in the midst of Manchester mania.
Jane's Addiction
Ritual De Lo Habitual
Warner Brothers
OOOO
Jane's Addiction never had to
grow up, but they did. Their most
recent LP, Ritual De Lo Habitual , is
a definite departure from any pre
viously released material. The al
bum is harrowing, musically intri
cate and lyrically haunting. "Three
Days," an 1 1 -minute mind warp
into song-crafting science that does
not bore, proves this record is not
for the novice. Despite this, Ritual
De Lo Habitual is a must purchase,
especially if you love original music
and want to try to figure out what
Jane's Addiction is about.
Aztec Camera
Stray
Warner Brothers
OOO
Deep in the heart of modern
British pop, heralding a likeness to
the Psychedelic Furs, English boy
wonder Roddy Frame weaves driv
ing, spectacle-oriented rock in
"The Crying Scene" with spacious,
lush tunes like "Stray" and "Get
Outta London," to show that his
musical intellect penetrates deeper
than most youthful pop phenoms.
While many tracks initially tend
to do what the title implies, the
record both soothes and soars, re
flecting another British band's fur
ther penetration of the modern
underground pop market.
Compiled by Layton Croft and
Charles Marshall.
- 1 . i 4. k 4 . 1 L L L . L . '