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The Red and Black / Finals • Monday, March 19. 1990 • 11
‘Language’ sells short
■ ALBUM REVIEW
File
Tracey Thorn, Ben Watt:
New album too ‘poppy’
By CARA MAY
Entertainment Writer
Everything But The Girl’s latest
release *The Language of Life” is
an obvious attempt to get the excel
lent but obscure English band
some mainstream American air
play, and it’s a true shame.
The one-man, one-woman band
has altered its sound dramatically
from smooth, simple rhythms with
vocalist Tracey Thom’s strong yet
soft-edged voice to sleek, slightly
over-produced, complex songs.
Even the lyrics have been
changed to a happy-go-lucky style
instead of the acute observations
and scathing criticisms that Thorn
and Ben Watt have made on past
endeavors. This weakens Every
thing But The Girl tremendously
and makes “The Language of Life”
an utterly forgettable recording.
The changes also make the band,
which was previously difficult to
classify, fit perfectly into the easy-
listening/pop category of Swing
Out Sister and Sade.
With the new, complicated style,
Thorn’s extraordinary voice is
somewhat hidden behind many dif
ferent instruments and varied
rhythms. Making the songs sound
so poppy also takes away any deep
emotions that Thom is so good at
revealing. On “Me and Bobby D.,”
she sings of a man who drinks too
much, has extramarital affairs and
beats his wife to a quick, toe-tap
ping tempo. “My Baby Don’t Love
Me” is also sung with an upbeat
rhythm and a snappy horn section.
Out of the 10 songs on the re
lease, only two have any depth at
all. The title track, ‘The Language
of Life,” is a slow ballad with a mel
ancholy piano solo and soft horn
section backing up Thom’s heart
felt lyrics about a man who can’t
show his true emotions. The
Road,” which opens with a weeping
saxophone, is a touching song
about a friend’s departure. How
ever, Watt’s voice, which is a per
fect back-up complement to
Thom’s voice, isn’t that strong in
the lead position on this cut.
The rest of the music on ‘The
Language of Life” is mediocre soft-
pop, with the exception of
“Driving.” “Driving” is a sweet, up
beat song wnth a snazzy sax solo,
but unfortunately, it isn’t strong
enough to carry the rest of the
music.
After hearing Everthing But The
Girl’s latest effort, the listener is
left humming the catchy tunes, but
not able to remember the songs, be
cause “The Language of Life” ex
presses next to nothing.
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MIDNIGHT
From page 10
tions that the native people have
to endure, first-hand.
Since then, the band has be
come active in advocating Aborig
inal and native-American rights.
The tour also provided the
inspiration for their album
“Diesel and Dust” and led to their
current, stripped-down, pri
marily acoustic sound.
Midnight Oil’s sound has
changed a great deal over the
course of their career, but the
passion and intensity in their
music has remained constant.
“Blue Sky Mining” is no excep
tion. “Blue Sky Mine," the al
bum’s first single, begins quietly
and gives the impression that the
band may be losing its edge. This
impression lasts about 15 sec
onds before it’s dispelled by the
scream of a harmonica. The
album takes off from there and is
solid from beginning to end.
The lyrics on the album are
strong and moving, particularly
in the case of “Blue Sky Mine”
which is written from the per
spective of a miner who sees the
damage that mining causes, but
depends on it for his livelihood.
Midnight Oil isn’t predicting
Doomsday though; the images
they present are often grim, but
there is a feeling of hope in their
music.
Hey Dude, This Is No Cartoon!
Lean, Green And On The Screen.
GOLDEN HARVESTiLIMELIGHT wooocxn^ ^ * > GARY PROPPER ^ STEVE 8ARR0N :
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TIMES' me JUDITH HOAG ELIAS KOTEAS EASTMAN PETER LAIRD 'YJ0HNDUPRE2
- ROY FORGE SMITH' S-:i';->TH0VAS K. GRAY &3RAYM0NDCH0W ^GRAHAM COTTLE r >B06BYHERBECK
iT’-TODO W LANGEN an: BOBBY HERBECK KIM DAWSON, SIMON FIELDS, DAVID CHAN HSTEVE3ARR0N
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NEW LINE CINEMA I
OPENS IN THEATERS EVERYWHERE APRIL 6TH, 1990
FREE SNEAK PREVIEW
Thursday, March 29, 1990 TATE CENTER THEATRE 8 p.m.
Tickets available at the Tate cashier 9 a.m. and 12 noon day of the show.
LIMITED SEATING - FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED