nessus@mit-eddie.UUCP (Doug Alan) (06/30/85)
["Otto, what about our relationship?" "Fuck that!"] I've had a little mail conversation with Jeff Richardson (jeff@dciem.UUCP) about Dalbello's most recent album, "Who Man Four Says". I think that it itself is probably an okay review of this album, so here it is: Hi yet again Jeff! Thanks for the info on Lisa Dalbello. I bought her album because I was curious, and have listened to it several times. > Lisa Dalbello is a Toronto-based recording artist (I think my fiancee > knows her) who is a very rare breed: a pop singer gone progressive. I admit that that is rare, but Kate Bush is also a pop singer gone progressive.... > In other words, if you see any of her albums other than "Who Man Four > Says" (The only other one I know of is "Pretty Girls", which is about > five years old.), don't buy them. But Kate Bush's early albums are worth their weight in element 147! I'll believe you about Lisa Dalbello, though, because "Who Man Four Says" isn't all that great. > It may be both. Anyway, the concensus of the reviews was that > it's really great stuff, That's a gross over-exageration, but then again, I know a Kate Bush Fanatic who says he likes it almost as much as "The Dreaming". > and that the music was very similar to two of our favourites, Peter > Gabriel and Kate Bush. The album cover also looks very Gabriel-like. > The comparison got me very interested in it, but I didn't run out and > buy it because I wanted to find out if it was on the same artistic > level as Gabriel and Bush, or just an inferior rip-off. She's definitely been listening to Peter and Kate, and almost certainly Toyah too. She also seems to have been listening to Heart (or something like that) and screechy soul music. (Who does screechy soul? I don't pay a lot of attention to such stuff....) But basically her music seems to be largely cliched pop, mixed with cliched hard rock, mixed with cliched soul, all rapped up into a somewhat experimental and progressive package. The experimental parts are sort of interesting, but they don't save the album. She also abuses her Fairlight to no end. She uses the brass sound that was used so perfectly in "Sat In Your Lap" (by Kate Bush) and beats it to death! It's almost like a parody. > It sounded okay, but didn't strike me right away as being anything great, > but then neither did most of the stuff Gabriel and Bush have done. I've listened to it enough times to be able to tell, I think. The fact that I can hum most of it is bad news. I can't deal with music that is so catchy I can remember how the tunes go after a few listens. Why bother listening to it, if you've remembered it all? > I'd have to hear more before I could say whether it was in the same > class as them, but it's certainly a very similar style, as the reviews > said, but I think it's different enough that I can say it's not a > blatant rip-off. I think parts of it are a blatant rip-off of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush, and other parts are blatant rip-offs of other people, but it's mixed together. Unfortunately, in mixing together the styles, she didn't seem to come up with much original. There are a couple good tracks ("Cardinal Sin" and "Target" are both pretty neat), and some interesting bits here and there, so she probably has potential. Maybe her next album will be really good. > I guess I should have posted this, but I don't have time now. Feel free > to post all or part of it yourself. I'm going to post a review sometime soon. Maybe I'll just touch this up a little and post it.... "You'll see... you'll find one in every car!" Doug Alan nessus@mit-eddie.UUCP (or ARPA)