leo@ph.tn.tudelft.nl (Leo Breebaart) (06/18/91)
And *another* month gone.
Stubborn as I am, I refuse to give in and officially change the
frequency of these reviews to once a month. I keep hoping that
someday all this *work* will just go away and I can get back to
my bi-weekly, or even a weekly (yeah, dream on), format.
I want to repeat a question that I asked last time, but got no
answers to: is the bass-line for De La Soul's 'Ring Ring Ring'
original, or was it taken from somewhere, and if so, where?
This song really is *terrific*, by the way. Consider my three
star rating upgraded to four.
Finally, this is the first New Singles Review that will appear
in rec.music.reviews (I will keep cross-posting to rec.music.misc.
Mail me if you don't or do like that). So to any new readers:
welcome, and enjoy.
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These are part eight and nine of my 1991 new singles reviews. It's a review
of more-or-less new singles that have come to my notice over the last weeks.
All opinions expressed are humbly mine. The rating system is simple:
**** = Excellent
*** = Above Average
** = Ok
* = Below Average
(0) = Worthless
WINNERS OF THE WEEK
MADONNA - Like A Virgin [Live] (***)
Who said that only 'musically correct' artists like Joe Jackson or
Elvis Costello are adventurous enough to offer re-interpretations
of their own work? This is a slow, 'Asian' version of 'Like A Virgin',
which I like much better than the original. It sounds more mature,
even though that far-east string arrangement borders on kitsch.
The videoclip features Madonna saying words like "masturbation", and
shows her doing crotch-grab moaning scenes on a bed, while male dancers
are fondling their outrageously fake pointy breasts. It should be enough
to send MTV execs and concerned parents screaming up the walls. I like it.
EXTREME - More Than Words (***)
Nice change of pace for Extreme, whom I first mistook for a derivative
Chili Peppers clone. Instead, they surprise us with this quiet, acoustic
ballad in the Everley Brothers tradition. Flawlessly executed, never
sappy or gimmicky, this is a well-deserved #1 song.
LOSERS OF THE WEEK:
BLACK BOX - Strike It Up (0)
Black Box is an almost unbelievably bad band, who shamelessly rip off
not only everybody else, but mostly themselves. Unfortunately, people
haven't gotten tired yet of their "black girl screaming at the top of
her voice over a standard house beat" type of record. Avoid.
MICHAEL BOLTON - Love Is A Wonderful Thing (*)
Michael Bolton undeniably has a great voice, but like Mariah Carey
he does so goddamn little with it. Singing a truly moving ballad
is all about feeling and sincerity and emotion. Bolton just howls
his way through yet another formulaic power ballad. And I just don't
understand why women seem to go crazy over this Al Bundy with long hair.
OTHER SONGS:
PAULA ABDUL - Rush Rush (*)
Paula Abdul has been a fan of Neil, Alex and Geddy all her life,
and she finally decided to honour her idols with this tribute to
one of rec.music.misc's most-discussed bands. Rumour has it that
her next single will be called 'Yes Yes', in honour of Jon & co,
but it can only be hoped that it will have a bit more substance
than this very lame ballad.
HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS - Couple Days Off (**)
I recently saw this group being called the McDonalds of rock 'n roll, but
they should take that as a complement: with Huey Lewis you always know
that you'll get what you expect, as long as you don't expect too much.
The solid musical foundation, and the complete and total lack of any
pretenses always make a new Huey Lewis single a pleasure to listen to.
CRYSTAL WATERS - Gypsy Woman (She's Homeless) (***)
People have been wondering about why *this* record, of all similar
records, should be such a big hit. The answer is easy. First, there
is some decent, seventies-sounding soul singing here. Second, it has
an underlying house-beat that is marginally original (electric piano
instead of just piano). Third and most important: "La da dee, La da daa".
That's what grabs your attention, and makes you remember the song
instantly. I predict it will be a huge over here in Europe, too.
CHER - The Shoop Shoop Song (*)
Everybody always assumes this song is called 'It's In His Kiss',
but 'shoop shoop' it is. Cher bellows her way through this basically
fun uptempo-rocker with all the grace, subtlety and vocal performance
of a charging rhinoceros. I hear the movie ("Mermaids") stinks, too.
MARIAH CAREY - I Don't Wanna Cry (*)
This song does make *me* want to cry. I refuse to take Mariah Carey
seriously as an artist or singer until she stops sounding like a Whitney
Houston clone (the first time I heard the first few bars of this song
I thought it was Whitney's 'All The Man I Need'). What's the use of
fifteen octaves (or whatever) if you don't *do* anything with it?
LENNY KRAVITZ - It Ain't Over Til It's Over (*)
Lenny in Smokey falsetto mode, with a song that could have been a
cover of a 1967 Miracles tune. It completely fails to excite me
(I keep thinking about what amazing things Prince would have done with
a tune like this), and the carbon-copy string arrangements simply
sound dated.
FADING LIKE A FLOWER - ROXETTE (**)
This song is about as original as anything Roxette has done so far
(i.e. not at all). A textbook case of "How to write a successful song
according to the MOR rock formula", with special marks for arranging
and background vocals. Still, this is one of the most likeable Roxette
tunes I have heard in a long time. If I believed in half stars I would
have given them two-and-a-halve...
THE KLF - Last Train To Trancentral (***)
This one took me some getting used to. Some very interesting things
appear (vocoder (!), strings), which give it a slightly 70-ish feel,
but the beat is *definitely* 90's. I think this is going to be a
*very* good song to dance to. The clip is one of the best I have seen in
a long time: simple, yet extremely efficient use of images and camera work.
BINGOBOYS AND PRINCESSA - How To Dance (*)
Gimmicky dance record with gimmicky clip. Enjoyable at first,
but goes on too long, showing definite lack of real substance.
ZUCCHERO FORNACIARI & PAUL YOUNG - Senza Una Donna (**)
A rather unexpected duo: British blue-eyed soul boy Paul Young
(whose career is at an alltime low these days) and Italian Joe
Cocker equivalent Zucchero (whose career is at an alltime high
these days) team up for a ballad that is not bad, but nothing
very special either. I'll take my Zucchero solo, please.
BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS - Could You Be Loved (**)
Expected exploitation of anniversary of Marley's death leads to
a re-release of his best-of album ("Legend"), and the re-release of this
classic, which I never particularly cared for, anyway, so don't
pay much attention to my two stars.
JESUS JONES - Right Here, Right Now (***)
I still like 'International Bright Young Thing' a bit better, but
I am glad in any case to see American chart success for a melodic,
interesting group that I feared was doomed to a life of occasionally
being played on 120 Minutes, if at all.
DIVINYLS - I Touch Myself (**)
This record is getting more attention for its innocent, non-explicit
masturbation lyrics than for the music. A vague sign perhaps, but
I would say that the Divinyls definitely show promise as a
commercial 'alternative-but-not-too-much-so' act.
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All remarks, agreements, disagreements, additions, or factual error
corrections welcome.
--
Leo Breebaart (leo @ ph.tn.tudelft.nl)