Aggielife
Thursday, September 23,1993
The Battalion
Page 3
His Royal Badness 9 greatest hits. . .
Prince’s prolific reign
By Rob Clark
The Battalion
"The Hits"
Prince
Hip Hop/R&B
Paisley Park/Warner Bros.
Since his first album in
1978, Prince has been one
of the most innovative and
productive artists on the*
music scene. After 14 al-
r bums and numerous songs
written and produced for
other artists, there is final
ly a package of his greatest
hits.
"Tlie Hits" contains 32
-yf His Royal Badness' moSt
memorable songs includ
ing favorites like "1999,"
"Little Red Corvette,"
"Kiss," "Raspberry Beret"
and "7."
Nine songs are included
from Prince's two best al
bums, "Purple Rain" and
"Sign of the Times." ^
Four new songs are pre-
|\sented, including the first
jingle, "Pink Cashmere/'
which has an easy mellow
feel, similar to Prince's late
70s work.
Peach" is a guitar dri-
ven jam, while "Pope"
contains the hip hop sound
Prince has searched for on
earlier grooves like "Gett
Off' and "Sexy M.F."
Perhaps the most in
triguing of the new songs
is Prince's own version of
iir
"Nothing Compares 2 U,"
which Sinead O'Connor
took to the top of the
charts in 1990. Rosie
Gaines joins Prince on this
one, and they add some
much needed soul to the
song.
"The Hits" also contains
20 obscure B-sides to old
Prince singles. Among
these, "Shoekadelica,"
"Erotic City" and "She's
Always in My Hair" are
standouts.
But the one that grabbed
my attention was "Anoth-
*er Lonely Christmas."
Prince deals with the tor
ment caused by a girl
friend's deatfh pn Christ
mas Day seven years in the
past. He sings, "Last
night, I spent another lone
ly Christmas/Darlin' you
should've been there/ Of
all the ones I've dreamed
about/ You are the one
who makes my Jove
shout/ You are the only
one I care for.
"The Hits," can be
.
bought separately in two
compact discs or in the
three CD package with the
B-sides. The box set is def
initely a worthwhile buy.
Although it's hard to
confine 15 years of Prince's
creativity to three CDs,
"The Hits" is an excellent
compilation, and the B-
sides are an extra bonus.
JEyt—
Music
m
‘Judgment Night:’ slighdy slammin’
By Rob Clark
The Battalion
"Judgment Night"
Soundtrack
Rap/Alternative
Immortal/Epic Soundtrax
Rap and rock are probably the
two most rebellious forms of mu
sic today. The two have been
mixed successfully before, with
Run D.M.C. and Aerosmith, Pub
lic Enemy and Anthrax and of
course, Ice-T's heavy metal band
Body Count.
But these have all been isolated
releases. Enter "Judgment
Night," the soundtrack of the
thriller film starring Emilio Es
tevez and Cuba Gooding Jr. The
album is dedicated to the blend of
rap and alternative rock; and
some of music's top bands are
represented, with some interest
ing results.
Vernon Reid's guitar riffs drive
living Colour's collaboration with
Run D.M.C., "Me, Myself, and
My Microphone." But the lyrics
here are weak, with the rappers
resorting to "It's like this y'all/It
don't stop." Rappers as estab
lished as Run D.M.C. ought to be
able to come up with something
more original.
Ice-T and Tom Araya of Slayer sing "Disorder" in "Judgment Night.
Sir Mix-A-Lot's fast
paced rhymes match
well with Mudhoney's
Hendrix-like sound on
"Freak Momma."
Pearl Jam joins Cypress Hill on
"The Real Thing," which seems
like the album's marquee
matchup. While it is a good,
hard-driving song, it's not as
memorable as hoped.
The best song on the album is
"Fallin," where De La Soul rap
pers Posdunuous and Trugoy's
hippy rhymes are perfectly laid
over the fun old-school
beat by Teenage Fan-
club. The song tells the
tale of a hip hop has-
been, confused by the sud
den decline of his rhyme quality.
Posdunuous chants, "I lost touch
with reality/ Now my personali
ty/ Is an unwanted commodity."
Faith No More starts off "An
other Body Murdered" with a quiet
piano solo before exploding with
the Boo-Yaa Tribe's thunderous vo
cals, which sound very much like
Chuck D. of Public Enemy.
"Missing Link" blends the
bluesy guitar of Dinosaur Jr. and
the tongue-twisting rap of Del the
Funky Homosapien. Del raps
about being true to hip hop and
his no-sellout code. He says, "I'm
not discriminating myself when I
make my wealth/ Pure facts - It's
hard for me to endure wack MCs/
I lay my tracks with ease."
The problem with Ice T's song
with Slayer, "Disorder," is the
same problem with Ice's band.
Body Count. Ice T is simply more
effective as a rapper than as a
makeshift heavy metal screamer.
Cypress Hill appears again,
this time rapping about their fa
vorite smoking leaf of choice in "I
Love You Mary Jane." Despite
the fact that lead rapper B-Real al
ways sounds like he is holding his
nose when he raps, the song is
very funky, with Sonic Youth sup
plying the slow groove.
The album's weakest songs are
the mixtures of Helmet with
House of Pain and Therapy? with
Fatal which both lack the creativi
ty of the other tracks.
"Failin'" and "Missing Link"
alone make the album worth
while. And while some tracks
are mediocre, the album has
enough creative combinations to
make it work.
Big Red Letter Day,’ softer than grunge. . .
Buffalo Toms new album not overdone
By Jacqueline Ayotte
The Battalion
"Big Red Letter Day"
Buffalo Tom
Alternative Rock
EastWest Records America
Classic rock fans will detect a Neil Young or
Rolling Stones sound. Alternative music fans will
hear a little of REM or The Replacements.
Regardless of your musical passion, Buffalo
Tom will satisfy your ears with their fourth album,
"Big Red Letter Day."
The Boston based band's sound is similar to
Toad the Wet Sprocket. It has a cool alternative
feel to it, yeLhe guitars never strain so much
you'd want to claim it as grunge.
It's in between, at a pure sounding medium. A
little less poppy than Toad, yet peppier than REM.
Buffalo Tom's first single "Soda Jerk" reveals
the primal, refined voice of
lead singer Chris Colbourn.
The lyrics create a profound
sense of imagery in the mind
of the listener. This song has
an easy listening quality to it, with
just enough core guitar sound to add alternative
flavor.
"Treehouse" features female vocals revealing
how Buffalo Tom can sometimes push their own
boundaries.
The second single "I'm Allowed" captures the
band's range perfectly — rhythmical, aggressive,
loud, yet never forced.
Buffalo Tom's tendency to keep their music
from sounding overdone is the one quality that
distinguishes them from other alternative bands.
It may seem too easy, but if "Big Red Letter
Day" had to be described in two words, it would
be simple. . .
Polished roughness.
Nirvana
hardcore as ever
By Joe Leih
The Battalion
"In Utero"
Nirvana
Rock
David Geffen Company
With their new release,
"In Utero," punk trio Nirvana
will definitely prove that they
still have yet to go soft.
Sure, their 1991 breakthrough
album, "Nevermind," sold 5 mil
lion copies in 4 months, estab
lishing them as one of history's
most commercially successful al
ternative bands. And of course,
rumors that the Geffen label
made the new album's "sound"
even more accessible to the
mainstream market have con
stantly flown about as well.
But Nirvana is - if anything -
still hardcore.
Chris Novoselic drives the
basslines with intense fury while
drummer Dave Grohl never
stops with his incessant pound-
ing.
Even Kurt Cobain's whining
and ever-so-distorted guitar play
just shines with fervor.
In fact, with this new project,
the members have blatantly
launched themselves further into
the punk ideal.
Tunes like "Milk It" and
"tourette's" disintegrate at times
into random beats, chords and
sporadic distortion. And
still others ("Scentless
Apprentice" and "All
Apologies") showcase
Cobain's screeching,
unintelligible vocals.
The effect is mesmeriz
ing, but occasionally a tad grat-
ing.
Nonetheless, Cobain justifies
the harshness with his personal
message on the invaded life of
fame and success.
Constantly plagued by man
agement, fans and a pesky me
dia, Cobain has endured gossip
and sensationalism on every
thing from an alleged drug ad
diction to domestic violence in
volving his wife, Courtney Love
(lead singer of the rock band
Hole).
On "Serve The Servants," he
angrily lambastes "self-appoint
ed judges," and on "Rape Me" he
wails to his critics "Rape me, my
friend/ Rape me again." And fi
nally on "Radio Friendly Unit
Shifter" he bitterly asks, "What is
wrong with me?"
But thankfully, there is noth
ing wrong with this ardent lead
singer. Well. . . nothing, as long
as he continues to harness his
anger by creating powerful al
bums like this one.
Tom Maginnis, Bill Janovitz and
Chris Colbourn are the alterna
tive band, Buffalo Tom.
Nelson elected to Country Music Hall of Fame
'It's about time.. /
The Associated Press
Nelson
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -
Willie Nelson, whose restless
spirit is reflected in songs like
his signature "On the Road
Again," has been elected to the
Country Music Hall of Fame.
He will be inducted next
Wednesday nieht durine the
27th annual
Country Mu
sic Associa
tion awards
telecast on
CBS-TV.
Nelson,
60, was cho
sen by 350
electors, each
of them with
at least 10
years of ex-
p e r i e n c e
working in country music.
"It's an honor to receive this
award, and I'll have more to
say about it when I receive it at
the CMA show on Wednes
day," Nelson said Tuesday
evening.
One of Nelson's most promi
nent fans, Texas Gov. Ann
Richards, said "it's about
time."
"Willie Nelson is of course is
a pure Texan," Richards said.
"He is a man that has incredi
ble magnetism and wonderful
music, and we're real proud
that he's from our state."
Country singer and longtime
friend Waylon Jennings said, "I
think it's long overdue."
You've heard of all-around
cowboys; well, I think Willie is
an all-around artist because he
does it all great."
In a career spanning four
decades, he has released 35 al
bums, sold more than 40 mil
lion records and spearheaded
six "FarmAid" concerts to raise
funds for financially strapped
farmers.
His first success came as a
songwriter in the early 1960s
when he composed hits like
"Crazy" and "Night Life."
As a recording artist, he has
had hits such as "Always on
My Mind," "On the Road
Again" and "Blue Eyes Cryin'
in the Rain."
He became known for
recording updated versions of
classics like "Spanish Eyes,"
"Stardust," "Moon River" and
"Some Enchanted Evening."
Nelson has one of the most
unorthodox singing styles in
country music. His music is
known for its simple instru
mentation and spare produc
tion — sometimes just Nelson
and his gut-string guitar.
As a young singer, he played
in rowdy Texas honky-tonks
where chicken wire was erected
between the stage and perform
ers to protect entertainers from
flying beer bottles.
He worked as a door-to-door
salesman selling Bibles, ency
clopedias and vacuum cleaners
before establishing his music
career. He also worked as a
service station attendant, dish
washer and disc jockey.
Nelson's nomination this
year was his third. Other 1993
nominees were Don Gibson,
Merle Haggard, Harlan
Howard and Ray Price. The
CMA does not release the vote
totals for nominees.