6
Thursday, October 7,1993
Widespread Panic’s
Show Truly ‘Eclectic’
I have a confession to make. Before last
week, I had never really heard much of
Widespread Panic’s music, and I had never
been to the Southern-Gothic campus of
Dook. I guess sometimes you have to take
the good with the bad, so I sucked it up and
bummed a ride to Page Auditorium to see
Widespread Panic on Sept. 29.
Dooldes you’ve seen one, you’ve
seen them all. As we stood outside the
door of the au
ditorium, they
floated by in
flocks. One
particular
CHARLIE SPEIGHT |
Concert Renew
Widespread Panic
couple—we’ll call them Claire and Tobias
seemed to haunt us all night.
“I remember the first time we saw these
guys back home in New Jersey,” recalled
Claire. “That was the first time Daddy let
me drive the Mercedes.”
“Yeah, that was such an eclectic event.
The spontaneity was invigorating,” added
Tobi.
That inspired us to enter the audito
rium and take our place among the wicked.
We didn’t quite fit in with the Dookies,
though. After all, neither of us had a J.
Crew plaid shirt tied around our waist or a
‘Dook’ hatattachedtoourbeltloop. None
theless, we were ready to hear some Wide
spread Panic and no Dookie was going to
begrudge us that pleasure.
Foremost on my mind throughout the
show was myattempttofindashort phrase
to classify the sound I was experiencing.
These catchy, categoric cliches are the
essential weapon of the music reviewer
(For example: ‘a blend of pop/rock with
rich R&B overtones’ or ‘intense-melodi
ous-edgy-precision-grunge-rock.’) Wide
spread Panic, however, may well be the
first band to defy this convienient method
of classification. Forthose whohaveheard
Widespread Panic, you understand what I
mean. For those of you who have not, try
to follow along...
Close your eyes and picture six middle
aged fishing buddies from (surprise, sur
prise) Athens, Georgia forming a band.
The guitarists really dig Southern blues
(Allman Brothers style) and the lead singer
figures that Dan Fogerty is the quintessen-
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tial vocalist. Sounds like yourtypical South
ern rock band sq far, huh?
Well then, wfc’ll just throw in a drum
mer who has mattered quite a few power
ful gimmicks ind a keyboardist who
interpates a littli melody when the guitars
get thin. Oh yeah, and let’s not forget the
most distinctive feature of Widespread
Panic’s music, the percussionist. This man
reminds me of my fifth grade music teacher.
This man played bongos, congos,
moraccas, bells, chimes and even one of
those tiny drums with the two little beaded
strings that everyone played at the end of
“Karate Kid 11. ” During one song he pulled
out one of those rain sticks that they sell at
Epcot Center, arid I think he even grabbed
a couple of spoohs and beat then against a
coffee can. His focus, however, was on the
congos, which he played in true reggae
fashion.
This band redly puts out some sound. I
felt like I was being treated to a big blues
jam session. During the second set, one of
the songs turned into a 30-minute jam.
These guys really enjoy their music and
they really enjoy being on stage.
Don’t assume, however, that their show
consists of anything but good, honest
music. These gifys aren’t pushing for any
kind of image, ifnless of course you con
sider JCPenney meets Dan’s Truck Stop
to be a valid style these days. Take these
guys at face value and you might just
expand your musical taste; I know I sure
did. They may well be one of the only
alternatives to “alternative” around these
days.
I think even Claire and Tobias were
impressed. I mean, the last time Dook
experienced widespread panic was when
the newL.L. Bean catalog was mailed one
week late.
Being from Chapel Hill, however, af
fords me a bit rfiore credibility than two
Dookies. From the untainted opinion of a
first time witness, I can truly say that
seeing Widespread Panic live was “an
eclectic event. The spontaneity was in
vigoratun.”
Translated: Widespread Panic is for
real. I recomn.?nd that you check these
guys out.
DIVERSIONS Music
Box Set Highlights His Purple Majesty’s Best Work
w nai ao you ao n you ve Decome one
of the best musicians in the world, made
more money than you can possibly spend,
have a following of millions, and can have
any woman, anywhere, solely became of
your fame? Retire from recording and
change your name to an unpronounceable
symbol?
That’s not the answer most people
would give, but Prince has never been one
to go with the
flow. A few
months ago,
after releasing
his best album
yet, Prince
JOHN NEIMAN
Album Review
Prince The Hits
A+
mysteriously announced his retirement and
left all of his devoted fans wondering if
they would ever hear from His Purple
Majesty again.
Well, the prayers of Prince’s loyal sub
jects have been answered —sort of. Warner
Bros, has released a three-disc set of the
best that (the former) Prince has to offer.
Unlike standard greatest hits compilations,
this set includes many tracks that weren’t
played on radio or that were previously
unreleased. This feature is especially de
sirableforthis set because many ofPrince’s
best songs contain lyrics you wouldn’t
want your mother to hear. In fact, lines
from Prince’s Purple Rain inspired Tipper
Gore to begin her advisory labeling cam
paign.
Musically, this set is superb. The first
two discs contain all of His Royal Bad
ness’ most famous hits: “Let’s Go Crazy,”
“1999,” “Raspberry Beret,” “7,” “Little
Red Corvette,” and many others. How
ever, the true gems of this album are
Prince’s originals that other artists put on
the charts. Chaka Khan made “I Feel For
You” famous in the mid-’Bos, but Prince’s
original on this set drives with more force.
“Nothing Compares 2 U,” transformed
800 Radleys’ Latest Fulfills Much of Their Early Promise
When England’s 800 Radleys released
their debut album Everything’s Alright For
ever last year, critics unfairly tagged them
as yet another “shoegazer” band. The
Radleys actually broke from the typical
shoegazer formula of layer upon layer of
distorted guitar riffs by employing differ
ent horns and strings to flesh out their
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into a colossal hit by fellow iconoclast
Sinead O’Connor, is a live track on the
second disc. This tune, sung as a duet with
New Power Generation member Rosie
Gaines, never made it on an album be
cause it lacks the funky style that charac
terizes Prince’s music. But this version is
magnificent and proves that Prince is a
truly great songwriter who can transcend
any genre.
Indeed many of the songs on the third
disc, which contains B-sides, don’t sound
like typical Prince compositions but are
terrific nonetheless. “Homy Toad” has
the beat and guitar twang that might land
a song on the country charts. “4 the Tears
in Your Eyes,” previously availiable only
on “We Are the World,” is surprisingly
deep, exploring Prince’s Christian beliefs.
In "Hello, ” Prince takes a rare shot back at
his critics. However, these aberrations are
scarce. The majority of the set consists of
the dance songs that made Prince famous.
These songs are famous because they’re
brilliantly written. Synthesizers mix with
percussion, guitars, and layered vocals to
form a perfect union of harmony and
rhythm. This masterful mix compels even
non-dancers to stand up and do a two
step.
A great number of people don’t buy
Prince albums because they think he is just
too nasty for their tastes. But Prince is a
song writing genius not to be ignored just
because of his grooming habits. His music
appeals to anyone who is willing to give it
a try. These albums provide the perfect
opportunity to get to know this enigmatic
monarch. Discs one and two are available
separately. Each disc contains 75 minutes
of music, so it’s certainly a lot of sound for
the money.
Anyone who likes Prince at all should
go ahead and spend fifty bucks on the
boxed set. It provides an anthology of the
sound. But the
net result was
unremarkable
since many of
the songs be
came bogged
MERRETTE MOORE |
Album Review
Giant Steps
B
down in the instrumental morass.
But one song from Forever, “Does This
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Great Hall 12:30-5:00p.m.
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The former Prince demonstrates that, whatever he may choose to be called,
his greatest hits always will sound the same.
best music Prince ever made, and it’s a lot
less expensive than buying all ofPrince’s
albums.
One point becomes painfully clear as
you listen to the entire set: Prince was at
his best over the last years of his career.
This fact makes his retirement seem fool
ish and even tragic.
However, Prince’s former tour man
Hurt”, indicated the Radleys’ sizable po
tential, with its wondrous orgy of guitar
chatter and hypnotic beats.
The Radleys second album Giant Steps
is a substantial improvement. Several of
the songs are effortless pop gems, enhanced
by diverse instrumentation and sensible
lyrics. “Wishin’ I Was Skinny” and “I
Hang Suspended” are particular standouts.
On “Skinny,” the Radleys use a wistful
melody to belie the speaker’s desire for the
whole world, which for him consists of a
single girl. “Suspended” has a surprisingly
steady rhytlmn that is punctuated by a
muscular guitar lead.
■ THURSDAYS M
BO* DRAFT
Cover with UNC ID
159 1 /2 E. Franklin St. 929-0101
uJtjp Daily ©or BpH
ager Alan Leeds, who wrote this album’s
liner notes, offers a glimmer of hope for
the disheartened fan. Leeds believes that
Prince’s retirement was only a retirement
of the Prince persona and that even better
music is on the way from whomever or
whatever the former Prince might choose
to become.
One can only hope.
Not all of the songs on Steps work,
though. The flanged psychedelia on such
tunes as “Thinking of Ways” is quite an
noying. “Butterfly McQueen” starts off
well enough with a tight reggae bass line,
a nifty flamenco guitar note and wispy
vocals but then disintegrates into a whiny
voice over some freak-out guitar.
Still, Giant Steps sees the 800 Radleys
fulfilling much of their potential. They
have an unquestionably great album in
them but they need to figure out what
works and what does not. The 800 Radleys
need only take a few more giant steps
before they release their masterpiece.