For years, the crumbling of the British Empire has been mirrored by the shrinking chart fortunes of British bands in the colonies. Sure, at one time Britain gave us the Beatles, the Stones, the Who, the Kinks, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, the Sex Pistols, the Police and the Smiths–but…
Now the stage is bare and there’s emptiness all around. Facing his audience after almost seven years in the wilderness, it’s only natural that this beloved performer should be wracked with fear. Will the old magic work again? Will this crowd get fidgety and have to go to the bathroom…
Many times over the last four decades it seemed like Ronnie Dawson was on his way to being somebody. At the ripe age of 17, he was picking and yelping his go-to-hell rockabilly on American Bandstand. He was part of seminal rock impresario Alan Freed’s stage shows. He played on…
The Wolfgang Press Funky Little Demons (4AD) Cranky Little Demons might be a more appropriate description. Showing the equivalent of an extraterrestial’s grasp on what makes music soulful and thus funky, Wolfgang Press spews lyrical references to Motown on the first two cuts and lifts the chorus from the Four…
Alice Tatum Piano (TTC) The only things missing from longtime Valley artist Alice Tatum’s new CD are cocktails and cigarettes; Piano is an exercise in soft, spare, lounge-ready vocal gymnastics. The singer caresses 13 standards, accompanied only by the subtle keyboard work of locals Chuck Marohnic, Charles Lewis, Phil Strange,…
Remember that TV mail-order albums like Country Gold and The Best of Floyd Cramer were available on almost-obsolete eight-track cartridges well into the Eighties? Now the Nineties has its version of this phenomenon: Recent TV titles like Soft Rock of the ’80s and The Best of John Denver are being…
Live Shows Diamanda Gals, and John Paul Jones Gammage Auditorium December 2, 1994 Three hundred years ago, Diamanda Gals would probably have been burned at the stake. Even in these progressive times, she’s managed to upset more than a few folks–mainly religious officials–with her own particular brand of “entertainment.” And…
For music that only gets hauled out once a year, Christmas albums sure have a way of branding themselves into our collective psyche. For many of us, it’s just not Christmas without a certain familiar, seasonal album crackling in the background like a yule log on the fire. So what…
Don’t let anyone tell you that Tempe’s own Fluidrive doesn’t take itself seriously. Just check out an excerpt from the band’s florid bio: “Raw music with undeniable groove, power and presence. That is what we stand for. There is so much energy when we play, so much passion and so…
Various Artists The World of the Zombies (PopLlama) To your average human being, the Zombies were a footnote to the British Invasion, a band whose career oldies stations have defined forever by three songs: “She’s Not There,” “Tell Her No” and “Time of the Season.” But listen up, average human…
In the world of entertainment, people are fond of slapping labels on things they don’t understand. Some members of the press have been quick to label Diamanda Gals a “performance artist.” Big, big mistake. “I have no relationship at all to this schooltime, academic, low-temperature, Anglo-Saxon performance-art shit,” qualifies Gals,…
Dead Hot Workshop River Otis (Seed/Atlantic) You know about Dead Hot Workshop. You’ve heard ’em, you’ve seen ’em. It’s the band most likely to succeed the Gin Blossoms as Tempe’s top pop export. Indeed, many would argue that Dead Hot was the best band on Mill Avenue back before the…
Here are some reasons to justify why you’re reading a Jerky Boys interview in the Music section: 1. You’ve gotta go to a music store to buy the Boys’ CDs. 2. Sometimes, even music writers get sick of hearing music, or, more to the point, they get sick of hearing…
Let’s think back to the summer of 1986, when it was only 20 years ago to the day that the Monkees first said, “Hey, hey!” Concertgoers at the Jones Beach Theater in New York were doing their customary hanging out in the parking lot before the show. But this was…
Vince Neil is a man who’s had some good times. He was the front man for one of the biggest bands of the Eighties, pop-metal superstuds Motley Crue. The Crue sold tons of albums, Vince married a statuesque ex-stripper named Sharisse, made tons of money, and partied like there was…
Various Artists Baywatch (Scotti Bros.) How many of you out there think of music when you think of Baywatch? Liars! ‘Fess up–it’s boobs and buns and bronze skin, defying gravity in the California sun, that you’ve got on yer mind! Superfox Pamela Anderson may chirp “watch my water!” at one…
Before we dip into the treasure chest of sound this month, let me tell you to go see the Fastbacks. Simply one of the best bands ever to emerge from the Pacific Northwest (that means Seattle). That’s at Boston’s on Tuesday, with Jeff Dahl. And, on the home front, Idols…
BeauSoleil L’Echo (Forward/Rhino) Cajun music is a curious beast. At times it can make for a glorious jolt to the soul. Other times it can be annoying as hell. BeauSoleil is a bit of both on L’Echo, a collection of old-timey Cajun cover songs. The good stuff is the same…
No One Cares, Frank Sinatra (1957) Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House (1964) 70’s Hits: Great Hits of the Decade, Volume 1, original artists Let’s Be Together Today, Mister Rogers (date unknown) Thriller, Michael Jackson (1982) Six Feet Deep, Gravediggaz (1994) Petrifying Premise That a man can score as…
Tom Jones The Lead and How to Swing It (Interscope) For millions of females over the last several decades, Tom Jones has been a seething, pulsating mass of unbridled sexuality, the consummate stud with a throat of leather. For millions of others, he has been the ultimate camp joke with…
Kiss in Our Time The world’s greatest–or dumbest–rock ‘n’ roll band refuses to die. Pucker up, buttercup. By Serene Dominic When intellectual punk Paul Westerberg led the Replacements through a halfhearted cover of “Black Diamond” on Let It Be, it opened the floodgates for other alternative bands to finally come…
Laurie Anderson’s latest is more of what she does most. She’s again putting out experimental, highbrow hoo-ha, spewing words in big spaces between beats. Occasionally, she’ll try to force a melody, and it almost works on the almost American gothic “Muddy River,” one of Bright Red’s better cuts. Other times,…
