elf@utcsri.UUCP (Eugene Fiume) (04/16/85)
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There aren't may variations available in pop music before things go
around full circle. In the U.S., there is, among white pop artists,
a strong movement back to traditional guitar, bass, drum music.
In the work of John Fogerty, REM, and Rain Parade, to name three
diverse perfecters of the form, the results are convincing and
impressive.
In Britain, the movement focuses elsewhere. A new generation of (white)
British groups and singers, including Style Council, Heaven 17,
Eurhythmics, Alison Moyet, and Paul Young are clearly allied with
traditional black American music, and more particularly the 60's
Motown, funk, and r&b sounds (I really should have put quotation marks
around 'traditional'). While the overall sound is predominantly white
(don't ask me to explain what I mean by that--it's a feel, a property
of the music, not a racial bias), the effect is an often satisfying
hybrid. Alison Moyet's recent album, _Alf_, is a good example.
Formerly of the highly-touted, very enjoyable synth-pop band, Yazoo
(Yaz in North America), Moyet has in this album toned down on the
synths just a touch and leaned more toward belting out some original
and some not-so-original material. Her voice is just fine, and while
not as supple as, say, Aretha's, has just as much conviction and power.
Several singles have played on Toronto radio, the biggest being the
Lamont-Dozier song "Invisible".
Eugene Fiume
U of Toronto
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