OASIS
- Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants (Sony) It is very hard to judge
the work by these guys without their personalities and public stupidity getting
in the mix. The opening track does give one a false sense of a possible new direction
with both the title (Fuckin’ In The Bushes) and the more tough, pounding
attitude in the music with film style voice-overs in the background. But with
the opening beat, acoustic strains and nasal moans of Go Let It Out, you
know exactly where you’re at. Even the old Beatles rip-offs are again present
(crank pipe-organ sounds in track 2 and reverse mystical Indian sounds in the
very next one too obvious, whether they keep doing these tricks on purpose or
not). Same-old-same-old one might say once you’ve driven through this outing,
expecting to possibly encounter a fresh new oasis, but simply finding it was a
mirage that will only fool their already conquered fans. At least the production
has some warm and spacious boundaries and Noel Gallagher’s vocals on Where
Did It All Go Wrong is in fact much better than brother Liam’s. These two
might well be a couple of tossers, but they did however send the UK music scene
into a direction it needed at the time. But now what? - PB 3 / B FRANK
OPPERMAN and PRIME TIME ATTRACTION - Serial Boyfriend It's a while
since Frank surpassed his typecast image of Orkney Snork Nie's dof slapstick
Ouboet. He's establishing himself as quite a musician. This album should,
however not be lumped in the oft despised Adult Contemporary category,
although fans of the genre will no doubt love this album. It has a bit more to
it than that. There are some seriously catchy tunes like Just Wondering.
As a whole it can stand side by side with contemporary-, acoustic-, even folk-rock
bands without feeling inferior. Yet, Come Clean smells a bit like a Township/Country
morphing with a light, bouncy attitude. Happy Birthday crushes in with
some well placed distorted guitars in the chourus that wishing baby Jesus a happy
2000 year birthday(!) Michael Maxwell makes up the other part of the PTA
while the rest of the musicians on this disc include the competent guitar of Anton
Lamour and Barry Van Zyl (drums) and Concorde Nkabinde (bass) on the constant
rhythm section. With most of the songs dealing with matters of the heart, at least
Frank manages to avoid getting soppy on us. Sentimental Trash seems to
take the piss out of soppiness, but he doesn't deny the fact that everyone is
entitled to it now and again. Wendy Oldfield pops in for a "hello" while
guest string strokers also giving Why some added passion. The general slow-to-medium
pace doesn't get boring, though and I don't think Frank's almost Oasis
vocal-style in parts will put too many people off. A friend attended the CD launch
at the Bassline and said Frank really let's rip live and she found him quite sexy(!).
So, if you're hesitant to get the CD, check out one of his shows and you might
be convinced. - PB 3 / C ORGAZMATRACKS
- Various Artists (Roadrunner/Gresham Records) I take my hat off to
Gresham for releasing Roadrunner product. It not only proves that the demand for
this type of music is more apparent than most would admit, but that these bands
don't just boil down to talentless noise (like our parents used to say). This
tremendous compilation covers most of Roadrunner's biggest bands. Sepultura
rings in this disc with the Motorhead cover version Orgazmatron.
Another two of their tracks pop up throughout the CD which includes the riotous
Refuse/Resist. Powerful and to the point. A couple of Type O Negative's
biggest hits are represented here that'll make the gals (and guys) happy: Christian
Woman and My Girlfriend's Girlfriend slips and slides from your speakers-
dark and mysterious. The potent Fear Factory's cyber-metal fusion scream
at you with brilliant remixes of Self Immolation and Burn (taken
from their re-mix albums Fear is the Mind Killer and Re-Manufacture
respectively)- a crunching experience. With the legendary Frontline Assembly,
KMFDM and Will added to the mix, we get a nice counter balance with
this inclusion of hard dance tracks - that is if you're not one track minded or
in case you can only handle extremity in small doses. And while we're on the subject,
Machine Head crack out a couple of stompers which include their classic
song, Old. Nailbomb, ex-Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera's
side project of a few years back with Fudge Tunnel mastermind Alex Newport
gets a slot - I actually prefer it to Sepultura in many ways ! Also included
are Obituary, who happened to be one of the very first Death Metal bands
of the late '80's. The last few years they've had rumoured disbandings etc.; I'm
still not sure if they'd broken up or not ! What makes this package even more
attractive is the bonus CD - yes to add to the 74 minute CD you get another one,
gratis ! All this at a local CD price. On here you'll find an interesting mixture
revealing a slightly different side to Roadrunner with 4 tracks: Life Of Agony,
Junkie XL, some woman who's name I'll send through and Coal Chamber.
The latter utilizes that Korn sound which seems to be sweeping the globe - that
funky thumping buzzing sound. Life Of Agony's hard core roots seem to become
more and more distant with each release, for beter or worse... The only disappointment
is the track by Daniella’s Daze track which is such a blatant Alanis Morissette
style it makes me wanna puke twice ! Oh, have I told you I dislike her before
?? All in all this is one hell of a great deal and also serves as a superb sampler
for people who don't know many of these bands and want to delve into the heavier
side of life - dive in right over here ! - PB 5 / A ORGAZMATRACKS
II - The Second Coming (David Gresham Records) Gresham does it again,
realizing there are people who like this kind of intense, yet poetic music. Lee
again put together a great bunch of tracks ranging from metal and goth to other
forms of hardcore or electronic strangeness. There are remixes of Soulfly,
Laibach, Nefilim, Front 242, Skinny Puppy and The
Awakening while serious power is pelted out by Fear Factory, Slipknot
and the majestic Samael. Type O Negative pops up twice with their
doomy vampiric goth metal. Carl Orff fans (and others) will love Apotheosis’s
utilisation of his composition. Other cool acts include Suspiria, 69 Eyes,
Diary Of Dreams, Die Krupps, Pop Will Eat Itself, Cubanate and more. Just stop
wondering and seek this fine collection out right now. - PB 6 / A |