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© REVIEWS ©
ODE TO ABBEY
Welcome to the Rodeo
Screaming Goddess Records
No human being can possibly
sound like this Shane Hines' emolive
vocals — lost in some vague, perpetual
ya*n — aren't otherworidiy m the
sense that they communicate the com
plex array ol mettat'e human conceits,
but more in the sense that they're to be
blunt, forced and pretentious Worse
ye' *rap that Quaver mg throat around
such lyrics as 7m your Lonoence I'm
v. '/ Jesus/Tm your Qrmk your aeed
’\trcf) and 'Hey you, p ease den t fe l
;v mat it's i f»-g /von! you give us
or- more everyday' !et < - Hope bu
Fe* 11 Some Regret’; Sure »ts all a* i
meaning and earnest ard must ukety
heartfelt and honesl. hu: each creeping
syfable tears holes »n IV- ru^ t V the
~eaeo% twelve tracks
Which is a sh<m smee the mem
bers :f Ode to Abbey - vocal s ? Sui
ts' s* Hines t^ss.st Adam Brode # d
drummer Cra;g ".aubmart — are *a s.
’ji ■ red perinrmets know ho* v
fa.n.^n a varsertv ot groeve-bastd ruck
s^'vgs ihat h* fourmstenn-s as disp^air.
as 'he °olice an 3 the Sp n C_ .Jrrs T he
band s wcr» wi'h i’ tr Mirc<i
Del mar has res jifed ■ a w*;f voided
and balanced a.bum *i?b mt r ju;ng
flour.she Iron, ap Mee> guitar*! Fr»c
Wenberg on -.•/.rxng and tk' >*.-
lion The Shenanigans on the funky
"Overtired" Compared to ear!re» demos.
Welcome to the Pedro proves that in the
right studio environment Ode to Abbey
can record an album that sounds qreaf
but the sengs themselves lack any cor
poreal sense of weight and substance
John Britt
ETHIOPIQUES:
GOLDEN YEARS OF MODERN
ETHIOPIAN MUSIC 1969*1975
Buda Musique
"Hedetch Atu* *he first track on
volume ne cl Buda Musiques aoii-
d'ous tivf-vc'um*- [thiopiQue cong a-
* >n begins a »h *h:$ looping guitar
, -ano-drum boo that sounds ••«*- a
.ross bet Ate", a E *er T and the VGs
single and Bernard Herrmanns score tor
the title sequence of berth Cy
bortti*e:,t Tn»>u 7,,luq*- r . M^i^ses
fore go cl'Vo vo.a s auiq u> su gir.g
tr. Amtid-' a*" h t we'*- the earth m
vour courtya'd v-’hn; a’ eas* beneath
y uf loots’epS a ne worthy o'
Catullus * ., ; a 'tie same r omt. l a
bor o' A t and m-dr'ache tha* B'lne
holiday t-ry nsnl ur. "Soiitudt A
saxnprtcre drop? occnsotcuous at
bf$t a halt-muted r o'~ ‘we and there <r
the backgrcuf’d r ut the" <t pours form ?
solo tha f rag 1 - between Cu f a r ic a' c r »*
moment and /■ r Wai*r-r tf.e re<;
Hows ettortlessiy until Mellesse's vocals
reappear, more mournful, and then in
the last tew seconds a lew swift, light
guitar iones strike, and what began with
this simple almost Krautrock-like hook
has btxome this extremely rich and lay
ered song Ihat is sad. yes — "They say
she has gone' — hut more immediately
and more importantly is brealhtakmgly
beautiful and soulful, a prayer as much
as a love song
’Hedetch Atu” isn't necessarily the
best song on Ethiopiques — good luck
picking a favorite but it is typical ot
the series in that it is incredibly brilliant
in the way it skirts the lamiliar and the
strange (and ol Ethiopian music's much
noted ’strangeness — yes this music
is recognizably different al its core —
the almost wailing vocals, the penta
tonic scale — but it's extremely acces
sible. this isn't Cecil Taylor) The story
behind Ethiopiques is fascinating — the
liner notes are worth the price ot pur
chase alone — but *n the end if doesn t
matter What matters is the music - a
strange brew of 'hythms melodies and
coun'ermelodies and desperate vocals
ot iong.ng and love This *s truly sou
nusic Boulevard Voltaire. 75GH
Pans. France)
Jdmes Biouni
JUNIOR KIMBROUGH %
God Knows I Tried
Fat Possum Epitaph
T-MODEL FORO
You Better Keep Still
Fat Possum Epitaph
The Far Possum record iabei ot
Oxfc.-j Miss. ccut nues to re.ease the
countrys mosi dargerousty relevant
biu» s The*r brano of mustC lias iittie It'
d with !N- r '> r mc^piace world ^1 leer
corrmercra s cr the b*g. biand style of
mrde'f dav Ch cage blues, but f ather
the gritty, everyday life of rural
Mississippi
Along with R L Burnside’s Pad
Luck City, 1991 also saw the debut
release ot Burnsides friend and rival.
Junior Kimbrough Besides his reputa
tion as a gui'anst. Kimbrough was also
known tor the popular juke |omt he
owned where hi* and many others honed
then craft at crowded, all-night parties
Sadly about this time last year. Junior
passed away from heart failure Fat
Possum has posthumously released
Kimbroughs last record, an album
culled Ircm several different recording
sessions, including three tracks pro
duced by crdically-acclaimed blues
documentary Robert Palmer
This record is as good an introduc
tion as any to Kimbrough's mellow,
plaintive blues Joined by Gary
Burnside on bass and Kenny Malone on
drums wtlh special appearances by
guitarist K^-ny Brown and bassist Daie
Beavers. K mbrough's unique style o!
playing and smqing is unmistakable
His songs tend to be quieter, mote
soothmg. and often more emotional
than some ot f s hill country brern «
Songs here like, ‘I Gotta Try You Girl,'
‘I'm In Lcve With You.' and ’I Cried
Last Night' are no exception What is
novel, however, is "How Do You Fed.' a
sparse. fusion-esaue blues without
precedent Only a master like
Kimbrough could make this work
While Kimbroughs style is contem
plative and structured, labelmale T-
Model Ford lends >o revel in all Ihat is
raucous and chaotic You Better Keep
Stilt T-Model's second record for Fat
Possum, is even looser than his first.
Pee Wee Get My Gun From an offbeat
box-banging accompammeni on the
record's opener to a schizophrenic con
versation m which he picks himself up
on ’These Eyes,* T- Model's madness is
like nothing else His liery. stomping
blues — aided by his relentless
drummer. Spam — is both rousing and
searing You stand loo close, you It get
burned Especially fascinating is T-
Model's polyrhythmic style he plays all
the necessary guitar parts on one guitar
with no accompaniment other than
Spam's bass drum and snare like
Burnside's recent disastrous experiment
Come On In. there's even a remix on this
album, but the biggest surprise is Ihat
this cne. by Jim Waters and Scott
Benzei is tar superior to those on Come
Cn lit and everi samples Run DMC
Tns re».ofd is the perfect sound
track to driving down a gravei road.
Kickmq up dust on a not summer Cay.
with a bottle of whiskey tucked between
ycuf 'egs and somebody blowing out
your rear window with a shotgun Bug
your ocai record store to carry this
sucker (Fat Fossut ^0 Bex 1?23.
Oxtc'd. MS 38655)
Matt Amundsen
J. MIKE PERKINS
Pop Rock From Texas
Wnoopy Cat
was ' f yirig to i.gc»e out who this
guy sounds 'ike He has hints ot Rubber
Soul era Beaties and Marshall Crenshaw
clever-pop sensibility Yet he, urcon
scious'y l assume, smgs exactly tike
Dane/ Kirwan. thaf little known slightly
btues-based guitanst-singer-songwriter
who played alongside Peter Green in an
early incarnation ot Fleetwood Mac and
then held things together for a few years
alter Gfeen left Not only ihat. he voices
chords and takes them not quite where
you'd have thought they might go. just
like Kirwan Weird
Anyway. Perkins and his band (gui
tars. bass, drums) steer through 20
sparse, shrewd tunes about love gone
wrong, suicidal pom queens. TV shop
ping channels and fluffy slufl with no
deep meaning like "Too Beautiful” or *l
Just Can’t let Go ‘ Now I know what
Kirwan. without the influence ol Peter
Green or the slide-driven lecherousness
ol Mac's other original guitarist Jeremy
Spencer, might have sounded like often
cute, romantic, more than a bit obnox-
■nus and somewhat contrived, a: the
vocal melody follows, mechanically,
what the guitar cnords do
Unfortunately. Ferkins' music plays like
a promising |oke with a disappointing
punch line Yet. a song at a lime, hes
charming -Whuopy Cal 423 Faust lane
Houston Texas 77024-3990)
Bruce Miller
GLOSSOLALIA
Sun s Anvil
Archive Music
S nee ' wa^ lifst released in 'SA and
then agam in this isn't a new CD
However it is ot interest because ol the
LO-production and bass playing o!
Athens resident Neal Fountam Also
•nvcfved are Apt Q258 (drums) and
Count M Butu (percussion) assocrates
ot Atlanta poet/comedian/musician
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E0 FLAGPOLE FEBRUARY 3, 1999