by Wendi Cermak
Spinning in Circles
As with every column, a writer feels the need to expound on some relative subject matter as way of an intro into the actual body of written text. And as Independence Day is just a matter of days away, this writer feels the need to expound on independence. At the ripe old age of 32, I now find myself free from the parental bonds of chores and curfews. Yes, I am an adult, free to pay rent and taxes, along with the electric, gas, water and sewage bills. NO, mother, I no longer think that money grows on trees (for if it did, I would have graduated from Texas A&M). There are times when my cynic self tells me that I was truly free when I was 16, when all I really had to worry about was coming home with good grades and fewer hickies on my neck. But then the mail arrives, and the writer reminds me that, through my editor and publisher, I can express myself freely on the one thing I love most-music. Freedom, it seems, is in the eye of the reviewer.
Gus Gus
This Is Normal
4AD/Warner Brothers Records
In the immortal words of Iggy Pop, "BlahBlahBlah!" First, just try to get beyond the eighties emanated synth pop muzak-like a Xanax-influenced Kraftwerk meets Love And Rockets. The next obvious obstacle is the stupid (or, if I may be so politically incorrect as to say retarded) lyrics; for example track number two, "Teenage Sensation,": "I can touch my teenage sensation / your skin must be from another world / my limbs are numbed with your pleasuredome / for the first time / a revelation beyond all imagination / gee, I love you so much..." There are several tracks that are up tempo enough to suggest that this album's sales should come via the dance floor. "Very Important People" would need a lot of remixing, whereas, "Acid Milk" and "Love Vs Hate" simply need to be longer. Keep in mind that none of them will be club anthems. "Bambi" and "Snoozer" make a desperate attempt for Portishead. Gee, they won't make it either. 6
Cibo Matto
Stereo *Type A
Warner Brothers Records
This album has that crushed velvet feel from the late sixties with just a touch of seventies permanent press thrown in. "Spoon," "Flowers" and "Moonchild" have that definitive lounge sound with a pinch of funk to spice things up. And you can't miss the jazz influences in "Sci-Fi Wasabi" and "King Of Silence." And while "Speechless" is my pick of the CD, "Mortming" touches that place in my soul usually reserved for Yanni or Jarre. This is a truly sophisticated album for those looking for more stimulating music. This is not up tempo like you would find on a dance floor; it's more uplifting to the intellect than to the pulse. 6666
Eric Benet
A Day In The Life
Warner Brothers Records
Last issue I pretty much panned the R&B selection presented to me. This week, I love Eric Benet's R&B offering. It's difficult to explain why one would be better than the other. The music, lyrics and vocals on this album aren't much different from the last; however, they are at the same time better. Much better. They are more complete. The production reaches to the depths of your soul. Your toes tap and your torso sways as if on their own accord. And this just from a run-of-the-mill CD player. After all, A Day In The Life is an enhanced multimedia CD with minimum system requirements of a 100 MHz 486 PC, with Windows 95, 16 MB RAM, 8x CD-ROM, VGA Monitor, soundcard and speakers (I, of course, have a Mac). Nevertheless, my six-year-old Fisher Studio-Standard boom box encountered no problems playing any of the tracks. Faith Evans, Me'Shell Ndegeocello, Tamia and Roy Ayers lend their vocal stylings on select tracks. You'll be delighted by Benet's rendition of Kansas' "Dust In The Wind."66666
Paul Reiser & Bobby Read
Birth of a River
Trapezoid Productions/Platinum Entertainment
This lukewarm album, which traces a river's energetic journey from its birth in the mountains through its rushing tumble to the sea, was described by the Washington Post as a "climb up the Blue Ridge and down to the Bayou and back up the Himalayas." A collaboration between composer Paul Reiser and Bruce Hornsby Band's saxman Bobby Read, it includes guest appearances from the Turtle Island String Quartet and master South Indian percussionist Krishna Das. It is obvious that a lot of time went into this album. The string work is magnificent, but it has no soul, no warmth. It is too orchestrated and too precise to contain any heartfelt emotion, which an album of this type must have. In its quest for perfection, it misses the most important aspect of music-passion. 6
