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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 11, 1983)
QOi lei lj EM 4^1 ir^nr /\l ILasc, L lie uavvdlivj&l — Friday, November 11, 1983 5 Album reviews by Cary Stegall Battalion staff This week's reviews show an interesting cross-section of Brit ish music, from established artists such as Paul McCartney to some of the more influential members of the avant-garde. Boy George and Nick Heyward. It seems that everyone is making an important follow-up album. McCartney's 1982 release was his first critically acclaimed music for at least five years, while Nick Heywood, formerly of Haircut One Hundred, is trying his skills solo for the first time. The posthumous collec tion of songs by the Jam is prob ably the first time many Amer ican fans have even heard the group's sounds other than on its short stint on MTV. Culture Club Colour by Numbers Epic ★★★★ Watching the repeat of "25 Years of Motown" last Sunday, I wondered why Adam Ant made an appearance while Culture Club, a natural for the event, didn't make it. At least CC open ly acknowledges that it gets not only some inspiration, but also quite a few of licks, from early Motown stars like Smokey Robinson. On the group's second U.S. release, Boy George leads the group through a new pack of sounds from the sixties. Unlike a lot of the other bands mirroring that sound, they manage to re main fresh and try some new tricks along with the old. The album's first single, "Church of the Poison Mind," shows a major change in sound from their last, with much of the momentum resting squarely on its upfront harmonica line. The echo lines by session singer Helen Terry drive the song along, as they do at several points in the album. Although "Church" was released six months ago on an import 12" (a single on one side of a full sized disc) it is just now breaking into radio. As on the previous albums, Culture Club's various ballads give the album its unique char acter. Although the vocal line from Terry is sometimes over zealous, "That's the Way" is a great follow up to "I Don't Real ly Want to Hurt You." "Vic tims" also captures quite a bit of the black soul sound that Boy George is trying to put into his vocals. Once again, the band has been able to put out an album with very little filler, unusual among many of their British counterparts. "Colour by Num bers" makes a great way to spend seven bucks if you like to dance and feel the beat of the old Motown days. Nick Heyward North of a Miracle Arista ★★★★★ Last year's debut album by Haircut One Hundred can offi cially be called a "sleeper." It gained the band many Amer ican fans but did next to nothing on radio. Then came the news that Nick Heyward had decided to quit the band and try it on his own. Nick and his old band have been putting out 12-inch singles all summer, and now Heyward has his first American album. Heyward has taken all the good elements from Haircut — its horn and string arrange ments, simple cheery style and underlying rhythmic intensity — and left out some of the mud dle found in his old recordings. The sound here is crisp and energetic, and Heyward is at his best on every song on "North of a Miracle." More amazing than that: Two of the cuts were re corded live in the studio, some thing very rare for a person used to over-dubbing most every cut. "Atlantic Monday" is one of those live cuts that is similar to the old Haircut sound. It has a kinetic beat supported by very fast Congo line. But Heyward carries the sound one step furth er, bringing the break to a frene tic peak of chanting and drum ming, at the same point Haircut would have stopped short. The more sedate numbers like "Whistle Down the Wind" and "Blue Hat for a Blue Day," both hit singles in England, have just as much life in them as do the more raucous cuts. Heyward keeps his simple songs moving by texturing them with brass or strings with a subtle and tasteful touch. The end result leaves ev ery tune its own character yet a cohesive sound for the entire album. Heyward doesn't break a lot of new ground, but with a ma ture and refined sound like this, how much more can you expect? The Jam Snap! Polydor ★★★★ Greatest hits albums almost always have no new ground to cover, however, most of the material on the Jam's new dou ble album is still unfamiliar to U.S. listeners and it certainly de serves attention. In case you haven't heard, the Jam was England's most popu lar band for several years run ning when members announced that they were splitting up late in 1982. "Snap!" covers six years of recording for the band and is a perfect example of the changes that have taken place in the Brit ish music scene in that time. The Jam's early influences from the punk scene still are in evidence on some of the cuts like "News of the World" from 1977. But soon the sound had de veloped what critics called a "re vival bent" from the Invasion bands of the '60s, like the Kinks. With songs like "David Watts" and "Smithers-Jone" the band had developed a better sense of humor, replacing the cynical stance it inherited from punk groups. By the time "Dreams of Chil dren" and "Underground" make their appearance, the Jam has gotten more of the studio tricks of the trade under its belt to sound even more like the tunes of 15 years ago. That style moves directly into its newer work like "A Town Called Malice." For the person who owns the Jam's material, this album offers nothing more than a couple of demo versions from Sound Effects. But for those who mis sed the Jam, this is a perfect chance to catch some of the best music the U.K. has ever ex ported. Paul McCartney Pipes of Peace Columbia ★★★★ Paul McCartney's "Pipes of Peace" is very similar to his highly over-rated last album, but with a little better control of the sillier songs that made "Tug of War" so extreme. This time around Paul has de cided to work with Michael Jack- son, one of the hottest musical properties at the moment, and it's a great combination. In fact, all three of the songs Jackson worked on are very good; it's too bad Paul can't keep up the same consistency. "Say Say Say" is the first sing le, and after five weeks it is in the fourth spot on the Billboard chart. Jackson is the one who gives the song some fun, while McCartney sticks to a smoother and more solid line. The harmo nica solo by Chris Smith pushes the song along through a rather sappy set of lyrics. But take heart. It's not nearly as one dimensional as "Ebony and Ivory." Jackson's voice lends a help ing hand to two other cuts, "The Man" and "So Bad." The only time McCartney really shines by himself is on the album's last song, "Through Our Love." Supported by a lovely chorus, McCartney finally captures some of the sweetness of his ear lier songs without becoming a hopeless sentimental. "Sweetest Little Show" is another cut reminiscent of the Beatles music, this time in its more light-hearted vein. McCartney has succeeded in making another good album, largely through his host of back ground musicians. Each album sees him taking fewer chances and moving closer toward mid dle-of-the-road oblivion. I'm just wondering if McCartney is getting too old for rock 'n' roll. Michael Sembello Bossa Nova Hotel Warner Brothers ★★Vz After the Flashdance sound track spawned Michael Sembel- lo's first hit "Maniac," it was just a matter of time before his record company decided to try him out with an entire album. Although "Automatic Man" is doing well on the charts by itself, the com pany was smart enough to in clude "Maniac" — just in case. One surprise here is the list of musicians. — three Sembellos, not just one, appear on the album. Michael has brothers Danny and John in the act, on vocals and some synthesizer. By the way, it was no surprise to see that most of the instruments have been programmed, Michael's guitar solos being a notable exception. "Automatic Man" uses many of the same hooks and sounds that the earlier single had, with the addition of a short counting string to break the action. By slowing the tempo some from "Maniac," Sembello is able to give the melody lines more pow er and better harmony. After you have heard these two cuts, though, little else here has enough spark to keep your interest for over three minutes. "Godzilla" on the flip side is the best of the new cuts. It sustains some truly silly lyrics over a con ga rhthym for a fresh change from the rest of the "session music." That is what the other cuts are, unfortunately: music with little character and almost no innovation. Except for the three cuts that I've mentioned, this album is just filling space. Review albums are provided by Hastings Books and Records. ***** Exceptional Very good *** Average ** Poor * Trash
