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10 • The Red and Black / finals • Monday, June 11, 1990
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A&E
Entertainment cleans house with
a year — end multialbum review
■ ALBUM REVIEWS
By RACHEL CURRY, NOEL MURRAY
and DAVID WILLIAMS
Entertainment Writers
Ed. note: The Entertainment de
partment drawer was full of unre
viewed cassettes and CDs. We
emptied it (spring cleaning) and
this is the result.
Public Enemy “Fear of a
Black Planet” Def Jam
Rachel — Great music, impor
tant messages, and tight produc
tion make this album one of the
most important releases in a very
long time. All I can say is YES!
(****)
Noel — P.E. may be the only
band in any genre doing something
truly original right now. They pick
up here where the last album left
off, slicing up American culture
into unidentifiable sound bites
then slamming back together to a
hard beat and a righteous rhyme.
The really good news is that P.E. is
tightening up its philosophy,
aiming for a positive message
rather than mere controversy. And
best of all, it’s a serious rush on
your Walkman. This album will
probably still sound ahead of its
time years from now. Refuse to
lose. (****1/2)
David — Believe the Hype.
P.E.’s new album is great. Chuck
D. has one of the best voices in rap
and his rhymes have a lot of convic-
tion and strength behind
them.(****l/2)
The Sundays “Reading,
Writing, and Arithmetic*’
Rough Trade
Rachel— Harriet Wheeler’s
eerie, childish voice backed up by
very pretty tunes. It’s interesting,
a bit like a sophisticated version of
The Innocence Mission. “Here’s
Where the Story Ends" is a lively
and intelligent offering that alone
makes this album worth checking
out. (***)
Noel — Acoustic guitars, intri
cate drum patterns, and soaring
vocals by singer Harriet Wheeler
are highlights of this gorgeous re
cord. This is one of the hottest
bands in the U.K., and with good
reason. (****)
David — The singer sounds like
Elmo from Sesame Street, or Edie
Brickell. The songs are kind of in
teresting, but not very. Accoustic
guitars, drums, and a woman with
a really annoying voice singing.
Highly likable, except by me. (*l/2)
Urban Dance Squad “Mental
Floss for the Globe”
Rachel— Fun and funky, slow
and sultry, this album kicks much
butt. Part rap, part funk “Mental
FI088 for the Globe" could get even
the clumsiest frat boy moving like
a homeboy. (••*)
Noel — The first five songs of
this disc are the most intense
pieces of funk-punk-rap-blues to be
found anywhere this year.
Granted, the rest of the album is
pat and mediocre, but that first 15
minutes had me slapping my
stomach in pure joy and rapture. 1
think that alone merits recommen
dation. (•••)
David — This album is really
hot. It’s hard to believe that a band
this funky could be from Holland. I
didn’t know that they had funk in
Holland. Buy it (***)
The Fall “Extricate” Fontana
Rachel — Obnoxious boys (and
one girl) trying to be serious
rockers. Actually, the music is al
right but singer Mark E. Smith ne
gates any good the rest of the band
does with his mindless lyrics and
ridiculous 50s style delivery. (•1/2)
Noel — Alternative in every
sense of the word, The Fall begin
the 90s the way they began the 80s
— with danceable beats, repetitive
guitar licks, whiny chants and
random noise. Challenging and un
compromising, the kicks don’t
come easy with these guys, but
they’re there. It just takes a little
more digging. For the adventurous
only. (***1/2)
David — Sounds like almost any
50s or 60s rock and roll band would
sound if the drummer and the gui
tarist started playing at different
times. The end result is original
and very eclectic.(***)
Thin White Rope “Sack Full
of Silver” Frontier
Rachel — A voice like gravel and
some guitars. Not a big deal, but
not bad. (**)
Noel — Low-key country-rock
mystics sound like Gordon Light-
foot filtered through the Meat Pup
pets, and the lyrics about life on
the road were obviously written
under the influence of some heavy
drug, but I can guarantee nothing
else sounds quite like it. (***1/2)
David — It’s different The songs
are completely devoid of choruses
and have unusual structures. I like
it, but Tm not sure why. (•**)
MC 900 Ft. Jesus with DJ.
Zero “Hell With the Lid OfT
IJLS.
Rachel — Too much, too fast, too
manic. Too bad. (•)
Noel — A smart-ass joke that’s
just not that funny. (•)
David — Odd industrial rap with
unintelligeble lyrics. The music is
pretty good, ana sometimes goes so
fast that it makes you think your
turntable is going out of control.
I’m not sure how long I would like
to just listen to this, but it would be
a welcome change at a dance club
(•~)
Vic Cheanutt “Little” Texas
Hotel
Rachel — Stupid, stupid, stupid
right down to the illegible lyric
sheet. Mr. Chesnutt sounds as un
professional as they come. His
music is bare and void of person
ality. He might be trying for a
simple, unadorned sound, but I
don’t buy it and neither should
you.(*)
Noel — A right curious thing.
The songs aren’t too bad, pretty
good lyrics set to uninspired music.
I must say it sounds heartfelt, and
the production (by Michael Stipe)
is clean. It’s got an interesting mel
ancholic tone. The main problem is
that Chestnutt’s voice is grating,
and that makes this album a hard
listen. I personally thought it was
just O.K., but the right person
might really love it. You could be
that person. (••)
David — I don’t know. It didn’t
hit me right off, but I can see how it
would grow on a person. I can’t
really recommend it myself, but
I’ve heard some really good things
about it, and a lot of critics think
it’s brilliant.(**)
Hunters and Collectors
“Ghost Nation” Atlantic
Noel — I only got to hear n
couple of songs before Dave locked
the tape in his car, so all I have to
review is the tape case. It’s a good
case. The lettering is kinda hip and
there’s a really pretty picture of
sattelite dishes on the cover. I like
that title, too. I wonder if they
mean us, or are they talking about
their native Australia? This one
song listed here, “Gut Feeling",
looks like it would be really rocking
if I had heard it, which I didn’t The
songs I did hear didn't affect me
much at all, but hey, who am I to
judge? (I would probably have
given this **1/2)
David — Tm the only person who
has actually heard this album be
cause it got locked in my car before
Please See REVIEW. Page 13
R*
MC 900 Ft Jesus and DJ Zero: New album didn't fare too
well with our reviewers