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Amber's Horned Hands! |
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Hot Snakes - Automatic Midnight (Sympathy for the Record Industry/Swami Records) Stop what you are doing, turn off the AC/DC and put on the best thing to happen to rock in a very, very long time. Hot Snakes have arrived with their first album "Automatic Midnight" and they are here to tell you a thing or two. With members from Drive Like Jehu, Delta 72, and Rocket From the Crypt, these boys are no strangers to what good music should sound like. With the likes of John Reis, Rick Fork, and Jason Kourkounis on board these three sound nothing like their previous incarnations. Hot Snakes have succeeded in starting a band that takes you one step closer to their musical rock goals. With the opening guitar strains of "If Credit's What Matters I'll Take Credit" the song threatens you to turn up the stereo. With Fork's distinctive voice hurtling through the lyrics at breakneck speed there is no chance to understand what the fuck he is saying. It doesn't matter. He cranks it up so you don't have to. You are thrown into a head shaking, stereo breaking, fuck anyone who doesn't care attitude. And it's fun. "10th Planet" is another great song that starts off with a quaint guitar that gradually builds into a pounding tom tom drum. The guitar hook takes you from verse to verse back through the chorus. Fork's yelling about this place being a "…dead dead town" makes this girl think about her city of San Francisco. Where music like his used to be in abundance but is now sadly lacking. Being from San Diego, I am sure this song is more about his town than mine but that is the beauty of it. It is a song that talks about how it feels to be caught in your room, alone, and pissed off about it. "Apartment O" is a bizarre sort of musical number that harks back to American solo numbers where the guitar is the master and the lyrics are servant to it all. Some good filler for this CD of wall to wall guitar matched with screaming vocal. So what have we learned today boys and girls? That you should go out and get this record. If you like Jehu and Rocket you will like Hot Snakes. Do they necessarily accomplish anything new? Mmmm. . . No. The sound is a staple style from many of the bands on the Sympathy label. This is not to say that they don't do it well. They do. When you can understand the lyrics they are good. The music backs it up every time. Check these guys out. You won't regret it. And hell, it is only 10 bucks! It's hot, it's hotter than hot, it's Africa hot. Tarzan could not survive this heat. . .
Four out of Five Horned Hands!
Erykah Badu - Mama's Gun (Motown Records) I have always thought Erykah Badu was an interesting gal. After seeing some random VH-1 "Behind Where They Are Before" program on her I was interested in how a High School Beauty Queen goes from all-American style to black power substance in a few short years. You know what? It doesn't matter. What does matter is that this wonderful woman is here to sing, free-style, and provide the Hip-Hop world with one of the most incredible talents it has seen in a long time. She is more than what a singer is. She is more than what a songwriter is. She is more than what a producer can be. She is a conductor, she is the symphony, and she is the words, thoughts, and actions. "Mama's Gun" has got to be one of the most beautiful albums I have heard in quite some time. For a switch I am going to tell you about the last song on the album "Green Eyes". This is the first song I heard from this album and it made me rush out to Ameba Records at 9:30 at night to get it. The song is like an orchestral movement. Starting with the first movement of denial, moving to acceptance (?), and ending with the eventual relapse, she takes you through the three wholly different moods of loving someone. The first movement is pure early black chanteuse. Reminiscent of Bessie Smith Erykah's voice in the first bars comes through a crackling radio speaker. Bobbing and weaving through lyrics . . . "My eyes are green, cause I eat a lot of vegetables. It don't have nothing to do with your new friend" she slowly pulls you in. Then the song switches gears and her voice becomes stereophonic. She switches from falsetto into soulful. She starts to understand the position she is now in and, with some denial, tries to understand it. "I don't love you anymore, yes I do I think, loving you is wrong. Is it?" By the end of this movement she has understood that it will be a while but she will handle it. Then comes the relapse. She goes from soul to blues now. She doesn't want to think that it is too late to apologize. She wants him to understand the love is real and alive. Three distinctive voices blending into one mind-blowing performance. The music perfectly orchestrated to take you on this beautiful journey that I believe every woman has been on. The other incredible song that stuck me on this album is "Orange Moon". This song is a pure and simple lullaby. Jazz tempo and sultry voices lift this simple melody up to the stars. Erykah has once again captured a clear-cut moment in one's relationship. The flute is reminiscent of Talking Book era Stevie Wonder. She employs it masterfully. She is in love with this man and her love is good, simple, and beautiful. Starting out with scat free-style Erykah next pairs her vocals with that of Stephan Marley. This is a duet, a story between two lovers - a lion and a lioness. This is the story of two souls in love with each other and how they view the other's love for them. The obstacles, the ebbs, the poetry involved in love. Wonderful. This album is poetry, orchestra, madness, and love rolled into one fantastic consequence. I can't tell you what a wonderful foray into music this has been for me. If you already know about Badu from Baduizm, than this is not new to you. However, if you do not know of her or want to experience how good a genre can get. Pick this record up. I can assure you that you won't regret it. Stick a fork in me I'm done . . .
Five out of Five Horned Hands!
Gling-Glo - Bjork Gudmundsfottir & trio Gudmundar Ingolfssonar (One Little Indian/Mother Records) To those of us who know Bjork, we know the wonderful places we are taken with her voice. From the harsh scrapes and bruises to the archangel falsettos, she has taken us everywhere. On her album Post we were treated to Jazz-style vocals and Rogers & Hammerstein quality songs. Gling-Glo, recorded and produced in a few short weeks in 1990, is the answer to this girl's prayers. A short 40 minutes this album took me on an interesting journey. One of trying to critique an album on it's music talents only, seeing as all but two of the songs were impossible for me to understand. On "Bella Simamaer" we are treated to jazz vocals unlike any other that I have ever heard. Melding Italian Opera with jazz piano we are given "Bella" on a pasta platter. Whimsical and smart, this song maneuvers us through the two styles producing a song that is quite amusing to the ear. Gudmundur on piano is amazing. His skills pay the bills on the vast majority of the songs. On Litli Tonlistarmadurinn his fevered pitch over the keys accompanies Bjork's voice very well. I think that his piano skills are what drew Bjork to do an album with him. He makes it quite clear that the music on this album is about him just as much as it is about Bjork. One of the last songs on the album "Ruby Baby" is not the glowing charm of this album. Is her interpretation of this song done well? Of course! However on "Ruby Baby" I was much more impressed by the music of this number than by Bjork's singing style. She takes the song on well. . . but I was much more impressed by where she took her voice on "Pad Sest Ekki Saetari Mey". With the Hammerstein song that finishes off the album, I am faced with much of the same gripes. Her voice is in great spirits, but compared to the rest of the album, it is clearly not as good. So where does this leave us? Well, in an interesting place. For those of you who love Bjork and everything that has to do with her, you no doubt already own this record and have plenty of things to say in addition to this review. For those of you who like Bjork, I think that this is a good addition to your collection. Realize though that this is an import. Which means it costs about $10 more than any other of her other albums do. So is it worth the 25 smackers? I say yes, with just a little bit of hesitation. Try to find it used. It will be hard, but try. Otherwise, check it out. If you don't like it the resale on it is incredible high since it is an import. Scoot-dap-diddly-deep-deep- do waaaa do waaaa!
Three and ½ out of Five Horned Hands!
The White Stripes - De Stijl (Sympathy for the Record Industry) "If you own an SUV you can't sing the blues." - The Doctor The White Stripes hail from South West Detroit and once again I find myself thanking (in no particular order) god, Detroit, and Sympathy Records for bringing me a wonderful record by an incredible band. Jack and his sister Meg are the White Stripes. That's it. Just them. Jack plays guitar and Meg plays drums. That's it. How is it possible that these two have recorded an album that sounds so full and stripped down at the same time? The method is in the madness . . . or is it the proof is in the pudding? Who the hell knows, it's there. There is a theme going on here. The stark white and red theme that The White Stripes employ must refer to the simple artistry in their music. The music theme is bang-up blues that gets played with raw emotion and eloquence that was previously reserved for some of the great blues-men out there. John Spencer has hit on this theme before. However, these two take the road less traveled by Mr. Spencer. That road is the road to simplicity. Less is more. We are showed this throughout the entire album. Starting us off simple is "You're Pretty Good Looking". The song's lyrics are not the most complex in the world, but that is not the point here I think. The song is to introduce you to what is going to happen in the rest of the album. You get introduced to the band through a very catchy guitar riff and the hard drumming that will have you tapping your toe in no time flat. On "Little Bird" Jack's guitar playing aches for something. It moans and pulls at me . . . it feels sexy! Then along comes Meg and the feeling gets dirty. They compliment and drive each other in the song. When you think the song is about to slow down up comes the tempo with the drums and makes a furious pitch to the left. With a knock of the boots we are off to "Why Can't You Be Nicer to Me?". This is a honkey-tonk blues number for sure. The guitar wails with an imperative twang that is backed by a 4:4 beat. This all dwindles down to a walking blues riff that compliments his plea . . . "nobody's calling. . . nobody's paying. . ." The comparisons made to The White Stripes have been many. From John Lee Hooker to Robert Plant this brother/sister combo has been compared to a lot. However to say they sound like Robert Plant is ridiculous! They are who they are and I have never heard anything like them before. Sure if I wanted I could say that that one combination of notes and lyrics is reminiscent of "blah blah's early style", or perhaps that Jack's voice sound like "so-in-so" from "such-n-such" band. But why? They have an early sixties rock/blues feel to them. There are tons of bands who have used this style before. The Stones for one, and yes, Zeppelin for another. This does not mean they sound anything like either of those bands. In the end if you like the Detroit sound, think Oblivians (though they are from Memphis), John Spencer et al, you will like this band. If you are a fan of Zeppelin and heard about this band through some random comparison . . . chances are you won't like this album. Pared down blues and rock dominate this album and there are no apologies for it. Thank goodness for brother and sister White! Robert Plant! You slimy fuck! Don't bother man, you really suck!
Four ½ out of Five Horned Hands!
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In
1990 Bjork was still in the Sugarcubes and her album "Debut" was
still a few years away. She decided to join up with her father's
jazz trio and produce some of the best jazz Iceland had to offer.
All in her native tongue, 
