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8 Thursday, November 11, 1999 Vertical Horizon Redefines Sound for Mass Audience By Carl Jacobs Staff Writer After three successful independent releases, Vertical Horizon’s major label debut seems to be everything the radio wants. Everything You Want is chock-full of catchy songs destined for GlO5 and teenage soap operas like “Party of Five.” The album epitomizes the music of the ’9os, with its hard-core pop sound and cho ruses that you start singing |(f CD Review Vertical Horizon Everything You Want ffff along with on the first listen. Although this formula is becoming tiresome, Everything You Want is as good as the formula gets. With this album, Vertical Horizon took the opportunity to redefine the acoustic rock sound that sold 70,000 albums without any label assistance. This move will certainly abandon some of the loyal grass-roots fans that the band has built since its 1991 incep tion. However, the change also creates CfmOUNA Chape! Hilt Columbia St 933-8404 7:00, 3:30, weekends 1:00, 4:00 k A giant step in f I WrJjYtlCm American film’’ tommy ut V j^, YYS IK ASHLEY J A CRIME ,UDD * W Jt? i W 3MotW[oHmm7oH JtUJIAKUY @ i : no 4:15-7:00-9:45 O iwaftL&aininll - M www.localmovies.com 967-8665 GET ‘TOUCHED’ BY AN ANGEL! BIiSIEgS;MT BEN MAn LINDA Tttlßßlor' JASON ALAN CHRIS AFFLECK DAMON FiORENTINO HAYEK LEE MEWES RICKMAN ROCK r cb www dogma-movte.com ’j _Lg-°T , _J- | j. E director of clerks and CHASING AMY STUDENT TRAVEL Planning Trips for Generations Mi ■Br> iBH W (800)777-0112 BA We’ve Been There. www. statravel. com a radio-friendly sound that is much more accessible to the general public. Kane said the new sound was an attempt to better express the band’s changing life experience. “After six or seven years of touring, toughing out relationships, struggling; you begin to feel a little more realistic about life,” Kane stated in a press release. “That realism, that anger sound ed really good on electric guitar.” The first single, “We Are,” isn’t the album’s best track, but my guess is Vertical Horizon is easing into the radio. “We Are,” though average on an album with many radio-worthy tunes, does establish the band’s new, harder sound. The released tracks should culminate with “Best I Ever Had,” the album’s token beautiful track. The song is almost a sure thing, with its slow, melodious underlying cello, sweet vocals and sad lyrics: “It’s not so bad/I don’t want you back/You’re only the best I ever had.” At the end of the decade, the band’s sound is probably too old to remain on the charts for too long. But unless some thing new catches on really soon, Vertical Horizon is destined for tempo rary fame, and the radio will benefit from its contribution. Tf.u Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu. 7r<#/e 967-8284 IN THE BANK OF AMERICA BUILDING/CHAPEL HILL ' * ~~ —- THE^WOODfR) Daily 7:00. 9:30 Sat/Sun 2:00, 4:30, 7:00. 9:30 BOWFINGER (PGI3) Daily 7:20, 9:40 Sat/Sun 2:30, 4:45, 7:20. 9:40 OUTSIDE PROVIDENCE (R) Daily 7:10,9:35 Sat/Sun 2:15, 4:40, 7:10, 9:35 DIVERSIONS Music Voodoo Daddy's Second Swing Misses Mark T By Ferris Morrison Staff Writer With the release of its second album, This Beautiful Life, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy makes another attempt at suc cess in the music industry but falls short of the popularity the band so desires. Most noted for its contribution to the “Swingers” soundtrack and the theme for the TV show “Third Rock From the Sun,” Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is one of the many swing bands that has |H CD Review Big Bad Voodoo Daddy This Beautiful Life ff infiltrated the music scene since the genre became popular a few years ago. Listeners crowd auditoriums to hear the music played live, allowing fans to catch a piece of the madness that fills their dancing shoes with jitterbugs. When you are listening to This Beautiful Life, visions of those crowds jumping and jiving to these guys don’t come to mind. Rather, the sound creates an image of the band in some studio, stuck in a sound booth, trying unsuc cessfully to create that live feeling. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy takes no lib erties with this album, leaving inventive solos out of some tracks that could have Poppy, Philosophical' Lud Climbs Local Ladder By Josh Baylin Staff Writer When I picked up Epiflot, local act Lud’s second release, it had what one could call an informal press pack, real ly just more of a handwritten note to the Diversions editor. After mentioning that Lud’s first CD, Sparkling Rope, was rated one of the best l"s* OFF AH New & Used CDs pJ tr J77j I ■ ■ (WITH THIS AD. EXP 11/30/99) j L j DVDs, Posters, 136 E ... J 4|V New jAk fashion & uPr* formal wear m '-|; 2-day shoe sale : SHL ! fzM' no V . 12-13 All shoes 20% OFF 968-0365 H°URS -135 E. Franklin St. Chapel Hill • Between Nationsßank Plaza & Salon 135 —Faculty fynpluaaeci Thursday, Nov. 11 3:3opm Carol Mavor Associate Professor of Art will discuss her new book Becoming: The Photographs of Clementina, Viscountess Hawarden # Bull’s Head Bookshop UNC Student Stores • 962-5060 bullshead @ store.unc .edu made the album a little more interesting. Instead, repetitive lyrics and poor vocals plague the album. Songs like “Some Things” and “Big and Bad” make the album cumbersome. It’s as if they’ve forgotten the crescendo, leaving fans wanting something more powerful. “Still In Love With You” offers some hope for, success with a soothing saxo phone solo that swoons over lovers past. “When It Comes to Love,” a sleepy, jazzy tune, creates the image of a smoky singles lounge with patrons that need a little advice on the subject. One of the few songs both well-done and fun to listen to, “I Wanna Be Like You” jazzes thing up with its crazy salsa beat. Unfortunately, it’s simply anew mix and cover of the same song from one of Disney’s animated films. But there is hope for Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. Since swing is one of the easier music types to compose, it shouldn’t be too hard to take this album back to the drawing board and add some spice to these bland and unoriginal tracks. And thanks to the undying populari ty that swing music seems to have, it looks like the band has some time to reinvent itself before this fad is retired to the history books. The Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu. local releases in 1997, it quickly I asked the reviewer to be mindful of the “deep philo sophical” and “poppy songs” Lud had to offer. Hi CD Review Lud Epiflot ffff A challenge had been issued to this Ii I: j JBBI iiiiiMi S' *' 99r * "jtttttMH § I mkm wk g ? i, |r m) Jpr Bl t I mBB m ><4H ■; . Afe- - ; 1 JBhHb l J '.'fJKk* Big Bad Voodoo Daddy makes an attempt to keep the swing trend alive and kicking with This Beautiful Life. reviewer, so I bravely accepted and began listening to Epiflot. First and foremost, due to the deep philosophical content I was preparing myself for, I felt I had to find out what their seemingly odd name meant. After much deliberation, I’ve con cluded that it has to do with a man named Ned Lud, who in 1779 broke into a factory and destroyed two knit ting machines. Lud and his followers the Luddites were waging the war of man vs. machine. In my humble opin ion, this is perhaps what Lud stands for. Epiflot starts off with “Work in a Restaurant,” which could undoubtedly replace the current theme song to NBC’s “Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place.” The catchy tune has a recogniz able guitar riff and droning lyrics, cre ating an anthem for workers'in restau rants everywhere. This is the pop side of Lud. Playing on another catchy guitar riff, “Tree Lud”challenges the conventional rock sound by feeding lead vocals through a felanger, giving an underwa ter sound to the tune. Another pop installment. Two songs really stand out as the deeply philosophical (really, what I just THE BONE COLLECTOR 4 . Daily 3:25,7:10,9:351 . THE BEST MAN . Daily 3:15,5:30,7:45,10:00 E POKEMON Daily 3:00,5:00,7:00,9:001 < SUPERSTAR.-: LIGHT IT UP R^RELOR^ Daily 3:05,5:10,7:25,9:30 EHS THE STORY OF US ■ Daily 3:20,5:20,7:20,9:20 n . HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL Daily 3:15,5:15,7:15,9:15 M THE SIXTH SENSE Daily 3:10,5:20,7:30,9:40 Ell AMERICAN BEAUTY Daily 4:10,7:00,9:35 THE INSIDER Want to be a PLAYER? HM (Thr laily (Jar Mppl like to call well-written) songs. “The Song of the Ambulance Driver” is slow; and has an almost bluesy feel to it. Another solid guitar riff aids the vocals of Kirk Ross and Sara Bell. Their chill ing harmonies amplify the tune’s mes* sage about the horror of death. “Rocket to Kinshasa” speaks of the revolution to come in the Congo and the “confederacy of dunces and ass holes.” Deeply philosophical, but more importantly, meaningful. While both the self-deemed “poppy tunes” and “deeply philosophical” ones grab my ear, the songs that really offer the most are the instrumental tracks that are in a whole new category themselves. “Eritrea,” “Valiant” and “Bud” show case the band’s real talent. The great guitar, driving drums and extremely, complex bass lines keep the music fresh. “Picante” is just that, hot and full of energy. Can we say Carlos Santana of old? The one problem with “Epiflot” is that some songs on the album just get lost. “Patron Saint of Lost Causes” and “Epiflot” are weak songs that seem to interrupt the flow of rocking tunes. With another couple of releases, this Lud should get those production errors out of the way and make a push toward being a great local band. Despite this reviewer’s initial doubt, Kirk Ross was right when he described Lud’s new album as poppy yet philo sophical. Lud’s newest release is “sure to please,” in both my own words and Kirk’s. The Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu. So I Married An Axe Murderer UNC One Card! t Bi 9 Daddy Mg Friday @ 7:3opm fill. Jamk Sa,urt)a y @ 10:00pm Admission: I? M ' with UNC One Card! Tommy Boy Kil Friday @ 10:00pm ml : M| Saturday @ 7:3opm FREE with UNC One Cord! jQTPf I* All movies shown In Carolina Union Auditorium. I
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Nov. 11, 1999, edition 1
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