TEDDY
THOMPSON It is far too often that new, young performers (talented or not)
have to pump up the sex-appeal card, often to disastrous effect. "My manager made
me do it!" Whatever! Occasionally a young artist comes along who concentrates
on the music. Teddy plays guitar, harmonium and sings on all the tracks, without
the necessity of a fashion statement, strut or pose. His plain boy-next-door look
is definitely a statement within itself, but his voice, passion and conviction
within the songs place him in a more credible (though accessible) spectrum of
the male vocal genre. His voice has a Neil Finn (ex-Crowded House)
quality to it, soothing but not without an edge. Teddy touches on acoustic rock,
folk and country elements without getting trapped in its shortcomings - rather
taking its best aspects and making it his own without being lumped in its category.
- PB 4 / C TEDDY THOMPSON At first glance Teddy looks
like some kind of brit-popper but his fragile country influenced pop-rock (and
a voice that sounds so much like something I know very well but just can’t put
my finger on) is unusual enough to have many ears prick up. He could well be the
Chris Isaac for this decade with heart squashed injustice in his voice
and lyrics (without sounding like a whining twit, that is). Let’s just hope Teddy
doesn’t lose his edge like the great Isaac when success (and with it, comfort)
comes rolling in, sending artistic outpour of true suffering out the window.
- PB 4 / C THERION
- Vovin (Nuclear Blast) The future of metal might just belong to Therion.
Including a vast range of influences and styles, they gently pull you into their
world which is that of an epic, operatic apocalypse. Never too subtle and also
not over-emphasising, these musical geniuses add the most angelic and powerful
of operatic voices to heavy guitars and an atmosphere both forboding and comforting.
Not much more can be said about his beside bloody brilliant! This could actually
convert many who thought metal was dead and a mere noise. - PB 6 /
A TIFFANY
- The Color Of Silence Well look what crawled out from the bottom
shelf of the dusty 80's cabinet. After taking the teenage market by storm with
her "daring" smash, I Think We're Alone Now, the ginger moppet seemed to
have disappeared into obscurity. Thoughts of millions wasted on an early adulthood,
rehab and mismanagement always loom on the horizon, but the fact that she's trying
a comeback over a decade later is just too fascinating to wish wrong on the poor
girl (no matter how much she annoyed you back then). "So why isn't he talking
about the music?", I hear you cry. There are very little distinguishing "Tiffany"
characteristics (her being grown up & all - looking a bit haggard for hardly being
in her 30's). She has the name and now need to prove that she can still sing,
regardless of thanking her pastor and God in the sleeve notes. It's all very passable
but it is still basically female pop with not too much fizz. I guess it's not
long before Debbie Gibson and Mandy Smith will follow suite. You
gotta' pay the bills… - PB 3 / C
TITAN A.E. - Motion Picture Soundtrack The soundtrack to this highly
anticipated animated sci-fi feature reflects its energetic thrust. You get good
doses of Lit’s sing-along rock, Powerman 5000’s crunching
hyper-rock has a remix sound built into it while Jay Kay and Jamiroquai’s
funk-e-fied trademark gets a futuristic disco taste. The unmistakable vocal beauty
of Texas seems out of place (but remember, movies need valleys as much as peaks).
Fun Lovin’ Criminals adds a heavy, fuzzy guitar riff tucked under their
particular Hip-Hop / Rap brand while Luscious Jackson does nothing unexpected.
Several lesser-known bands get a shot here. The Urge has a hard pop edge
with a soaring chorus. Electrasy’s guitar backed sound hs many electro-drenched
melodic pop-rock elements while the idea of Rastamen in space is a provocative
one, though Wailing Souls has very few computerized influences, opting
for the traditional irie-style. Splashdown has a very intriguing, Middle-Eastern
feel to it, making it a very memorable atmospheric track. With the catchy modern
rock sound of Bliss making another one of the cool tracks (most not too forgettable),
the Titan A.E. soundtrack packs more of a punch than most animated film
soundtracks (South Park excluded, of course). - PB 4 / B Toploader
- onka’s big moka (Sony) On viewing the very late 60’s/70’s style
cover photography, you get some knid of idea of what to expect. Toploader
lands somewhere between Kula Shaker, Oasis, The Verve and Black Crowes,
a teeny bit of each to be heard in their music (deliberate or not). Happy songs
with a retro touch and finger popping tunes of comfy, safe warmth. Mostly straight
pop with a bit of rock thrown in for good measure, the Hammond organ sound very
rarely discarded. Pensive moods do arise with reflective inflections of bitter-sweet
feelings, but the tone is mostly that of a positive optimism. Toploader
is a mellow, good-times band that will have to avoid the same old recipe next
time around. - PB 4 / C TRAINSPOTTING
& TRAINSPOTTING #2 - Rolprent Klankbane (EMI) Hierdie uiters vermaaklike
en suksesvolle Skotse rolprent oor dwelmslawe het net soveel populariteit met
die klankbaan losgeslaan. Met 'n wye verskeidenheid kunstenaars, soos Underworld
se alombekende Born Slippy tot Pulp se Mile End, het die
fliek se klankbaan net so bekend soos die fliek self geword. Ander kunstenaars
hierop te vind is Primal Scream, Brian Eno, Leftfield en 'n aantal ander.
Maar nou is daar 'n tweede CD van Trainspotting beskikbaar ! Baie van die
liedjies is wat die vervaardigers wou gebruik maar nie plek voor gehad het nie.
Daar is die legendariese Iggy Pop wat op albei klankbane sy verskyning
maak. Behalwe Dark and Long se hipnotiese toon, is daar 'n herverwerkte
snit van Underworld se Born Slippy/NUXX. Ekstrakte van hoof akteur
Ewan McGregor se eind monoloog verskyn saam met PF Project se elektroniese
trans klanke. David Bowie is teenwoordig met sy bekende Golden Years. Ander
'80's pop liedjies hierop te vind is Heaven 17 se treffer Temptation
asook Fun Boy Three. Die alternatiewe gode Joy Division lewer Atmosphere
op hul unieke manier. Behalwe verdere treffers van Primal Scream, Goldie
en Leftfield, is daar selfs 'n opera snit, Habanera, uit Carmen.
Hierdie twee klankbane kan nie misgeloop word nie, spesifiek om rede dit musiek
vasvang wat relevant is in die rolprent en nie net om die top 10 te haal nie.
- PB 5 / A 200
CIGARETTES - Motion Picture Soundtrack (Universal) Although no incidental
music from a composer is included, the tracks are none the less great to listen
to. Like, for instance, there’s Blondie’s In The Flesh, Roxy
Music’s More Than This and The Cars’s Just What I Needed.
The Go-Go’s give us Our Lips are Sealed, Bow Wow Wow’s wonderful
I Want Candy will be remembered by many while The Ramones’s attitude
drenched I don’t Care is still cool. Joe Jackson does It’s Different
for Girls, while Kool & The Gang rips with their classic, Ladies
Night. And then there’s ol’ Elvis Costello. So, it’s everything from
old and classic pop & rock to soulful disco & smooth tunes. More modern tracks
include Harvey Danger and Girls Against Boys as opposed to the majority
of 70’s & ‘80’s tracks. A Blondie medley with a No Exit remix featuring Coolio
& The Loud All Stars, members of Mobb Deep and Wu-Tang Clan
make for a real interesting finale’. Cool movie as well, by the way. -
PB 4 / B 2
STEP SOKKIE STOMP - Various (BMG) This 20 tracker will definitely
appeal to a certain chunk of the SA populace. Mixing some foreign country stars
with local manne and poppies is actually not a bad idea. From abroad there are
the likes of Randy Travis, Leann Rimes, The Judds, The Mavericks and Dwight Yoakam,
while the locals include everything from Patricia Lewis and Steve Hofmeyr to Bobby
Angel and Christo & Cobus. For the sokkie fans out there, this is not to be missed.
I’m sure it’ll sell like hotcakes. - PB 3 / C |