Newspaper Page Text
April 1, 1992
Flagpole Magazine
Page 19
Off the Beaten Tracks
The Ancients
(Independent CO)
The Ancients consist of two core members (Fredric
Schreck on vocals and guitar/bass, and Joe McGmty on
keyboards and drum programs) aided by outside help on
various songs.
They have a
penchant for
rhythm at the
expense of
melody, so they
can be hyp
notic at times.
Note that hyp
notic some
times equals
boring, so be
prepared to use
the program
button on your
CD player to
skip the chaff.
They're at their
best when they're reworking pop in a dance beat. Check out
their dead-on reading of the Beatles' “Rain’ and see if you
can keep your toes from tapping. They plumb the depths,
though, when they fall into a Joy Division meets Depeche
Mode thing, which is about 60% of the disc. Compounding
this problem, they've added "re-mixes" of four songs at the
end of the disc, and they merely sound like longer versions
of the same songs. Drum machines are
wonderful devices when used properly.
This is not a textbook example, I’m afraid.
(B-)
J.E. Sumrell
Mark Wood
Voodoo Violence (Guitar Recordings)
This has to be one of the most laugh
able pieces of crap to cross my player in
some time. File this one under “methinks
thou dost protest too much." Remember
when Queen and Boston stuck those dis
claimers in their albums that said "there are no synthesizers
on this album?" That way you were supposed to be amazed
when you played it and thought "gee, that sure does sound
like a synthesizer." Then, you looked at the disclaimer and
(of course) slapped your idiot head, feeling like a fool,
because... well, there were nc synthesizers on the aioum 1
Guess what. Mark Wood is a "violinist.* (1 put that n me
quotes because I've never seen a violin with frets, but hey ..
he might be a very mnaccurate player 1 ) And when ycu p uy
the aibum, realizing that it sounds an awful lot like warmed
over fusic-quas;-Zeptones. you surely must be thinking to
yourself “goodness, I wonder who's playing the guitar on
this little thang?’ Wrong! There's that disclaimer! There are
no guitars on this album! Y'know what that means 7 Well,
what this guy has done is record an album of bad Dixie
Dregs shit that Steve Morse would have been embarrassed
to release. And he must know it! Therefore, the only saving
grace, the only thing that makes it redeemable is... there’s
really no guitar! Not only that, but he's actually had the
damned “violins" photographed as though they were his
babies (and ugly little monsters they are, too). To make
things even worse, there's this pointless photo of the rear
view of ascantily clad, leathered up vixen, for absolutely no
reason at all! I'm all for scantily clad, leathered up vixens for
no reason at all, but talk about gratuitous, meaningless sex-
sells!
Ha. Well, the last laugh is... well... look at what label he
is recording on, mate! Guitar hell. Instant bargain bin
material — check out Wuxtry's cheap section for a copy. (F)
J.E. Sumrell
Northern Lights
Live At the Georgia Theatre (Indie Cassette)
“Northern Lights" is the name of an old Dixie Dregs
song, which leads one to believe that this band is attempt
ing to keep the old
Capricorn flame alive.
But they won’t do it
through this lukewarm
retread of old Allman
Brothers riffs and half
hearted Hampton
bleatings. I must ad
mit that they’ve got the
patterns down pat, and
it all flows very well.
This is a really good
recording, even for a
soundboard tape. But the death of Duane is still too fresh on
my mind to sit and listen to this guy butcher him. In a
nutshell: I've heard it all before, and it’s been boring for
years. Try again, fellows. (C)
J.E. Sumrell
BRING IN YOUR
USED CD’s
& CASSETTES
TO SELL
; OR TRADE
A
STUFF!
• Body Count
• Skinny Puppy
• They might
be Giants
• The Fall
• CURE (cd-5)
• Peter Case
• Monkey
Wrench
• Lords of Acid
• SWANS
New Decals!!
New shipment of
glow candles m
stockI
W • 4/1
Chicago Bob
Nelson
Th • 4/2
The Nathan
Sheppard
Band
Single Issues
Bad Livers
Lust for Life 7" (Cargo Records)
My knowledge of the Bad Livers spans a full year now.
I first came in contact with them at last year's SXSW
conference after seeing them play somewhere (where the
the hell it was I couldn’t tell you.) Then I saw them again,
opening for the Butthole Surfers at the Georgia Theatre. Oh
yes, they were r esplen-
dent in their flannel,
denim and t-shirts, lit only
by a blue spot from un
derneath. A fat man on
stand up bass, some
grubby motherfucker
who trims trees for a liv
ing on fiddle and K.K.
Downing on banjo, would
be the only bluegrass
band that could open for
King Coffee and Gibby
Haynes. These fond
memories had built the
Bad Livers myth into fan
tastic proportions in my
mind. Making these poor Gentlemen into something be
tween Aztec Gods, Bill Monroe and some deity that could
tear the Surfers a new butthole. I waited with to play their
new single (bought at their in store appearance at the Austin
Tower Records) until I got home (I actually have had a copy
for a couple of months but for the sake of the review 111 say
I just got it in a flurry of support for SXSW) and Ohmigod what
a record.
The first side is an amazing version of "Lust for Life." In
fact the man who sent the single to me, Mr. Beniamin "Shit
Jones’ Lutin, is a tremendous Stooges/ Iggy Pop fanatic
and he contends it is every bit as good as the original. I tend
to agree. There is an intangible joy in hearing lines about a
modern boy with his
veins full of liquor and
drugs being delicately
warbled over a tasteful
bluegrass backdrop.
Bullshit. There is the li
quor and drugs. There is
the modern boy. There
is no delicate warbling.
This single is fire. There
is high octane bluegrass
all over the "Lust for Life’
side, so much so that it
spilt all over the other
side too. Side Two being
three fiddle tunes strung
together (“Mississippi
Sawyer"/ ‘Sally in the Garden’/ "Oklahoma Rooster") so
tight there’s not any room for the ten or fifteen different sets
of lyrics these traditional songs always have. I say buy it to
believe it. As good as Southern Culture on the Skids, maybe
better. Eight Goddam ns outta Ten.
Jim Stacy
•GWAR
• Lyle Lovett
• Ma^napop
• Ramones
MON. - SAT. • 10-7 / SUN. • 1-6
369-9428
Corner d College and Claylon
WUXTRY
Baxter Hill
F • 4/3
The Nathan
Sheppard
Band
S • 4/4
Drum & Wire
M • 4/6
Stormy Monday
T • 4/7 ••
Blue Groove
95 hoyt st.
549-5 1 23
*