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| What's
on Disc by Thomas Schulte |
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| JANUARY
2000 REVIEWS >>>>>>>>>> |
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 Cocteau
Twins
BBC Sessions
Rykodisc, Shetland Pk.,
27 Congress St., Salem, MA 01970
http://www.rykodisc.com
info@rykodisc.com
While there is much duplication of material on this
2-CD, it is an excellent document of the growth of the Britain's
premier art-pop group. The material, much of it Peel Sessions, covers
the years 1982 to 1996. Ambient and atmospheric, moody and magical,
this is the voice of Elizabeth Fraser leading the way for similarly
arranged female-fronted bands. Owing much to her is today's Morcheeba,
Lisa Gerrard/Dead Can Dance, Sarah McLachlan, etc. Emotional and
revealing, the corpus of Cocteau Twins is a noir, psychological
unveiling. Importantly, twenty-three of the thirty tracks presented
here predate the group's unfortunate nose dice into a confectionery,
commercial reduction of their art. (4) |
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Marina
Rosenfeld
theforestthegardenthesea
Charizma
This concept ambient album consists of two tracks.
Track one (41:40) is the title track. This is the live portion of
the CD, recorded in Vienna, Austria in 1998. Here Marina orchestrates
vinyl and acetate records and effects to produce a floating, organic
piece. The images summoned here sympathize with the blended title.
A wave washing over a beach subtly changes the sandy shore. A breeze
circulating through the leafy branches delicately effects the very
woods themselves. So Rosenfeld's influence on the spinning records
summons an amorphous vision. She recreates this atmospheric, diaphanous,
ethereal soundscape in the studio for the second track, "theseatheforestthegarden."
Several other musicians help out. Brought in to the astral projection
are such archaic wave benders as the Galbraith Analog Synth and
the Romero Copperwire-Feedback-Reverb-Machine. "theforestthegardenthesea"
is a quiescent, serene and fully textured communing with nature
through studio antiques. (4) |
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Ataraxia
Lost Atlantis
Cold Meat Industry/Cruel Moon International, Box
1881, 581 17 Linkoping, Sweden
http://www.coldmeat.se
http://www.ataraxia.net
Ataraxia is a band very much enamored of Atlantis
and the idea of a magical, mythical, lost land. Light keyboard melodies
and programmed drums frame the salient feature of this group. That
is, the voice of Francesca Nicolli. Multitracked and soaring she
brings to mind arias and plainchants. Classical, acoustic guitars
complete a medieval feel-ready for nostalgic narration. The cities
of Atlantis, its fauna and neighbors also figure in to this concept
album. The group refers to the work as a "pagan symphony." (3) |
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 Sister
Carol
Isis
Tuff Gong
Sister Carol mixes the modes of hip-hop with deep
dub from Jamaica. Many say that these dancehall derivations are
the roots of rap. It is no wonder than that this powerful vocalist
and straight-up plain speaker draws in crowds of dreadlocked Rastas
and tracksuit wearing trend followers. On this album, Sister Carol
looks back to a serious car accident that almost cost her life.
On "Ezekiel 37" she looks over the same verses that gave us the
popular hymn about the uniting bones ("The leg bone connected to
the hip bone..."). For her, these verses cause her to recognize
the hand of Jah in her life. This strong spirituality and a focus
on contemporary issues ("HIV," Womb-Man," etc.) makes this an excellent
example of sub-tropical, vocal dance music and the Sister publishing
the word. (4) |
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Meg
Lee Chin
Piece and Love
Invisible,
POB 16008, Chicago, IL 60616
http://www.invisiblerecords.com
 Meg
Lee Chin took the heart of the underworld as a sultry, dancing stage
presence feature to Pigface live shows. On "Piece and Love, she"
rolls out her own brand of industrial disco. Leather funk with a
whip, two-ton grooves with abandon, this album exudes hardcore sexuality
on tracks like "Sweat," "Swallowing You" and "Sweet Thing." But,
if you are a cell-phone-carrying member of the MTV generation, you
might not get any respect from this young lady. Check out her "Nutopia,"
a cynical look at the X'ers based on Ginsberg's "Howl." A dynamic
performer and clarion vocalist, Meg Lee Chin was seriously considered
to front Garbage a year before Shirley Manson was. (3.5) |
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_________________________________
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DID
YOU MISS ANY OF TOM SCHULTE'S REVIEWS?
BACK ISSUES:
| JULY | AUGUST
| SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER
| NOVEMBER | DECEMBER
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_________________________________
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Outsight
brings to light non-mainstream music, film, books, art, ideas and
opinions.
Published, somewhere, monthly since July 1991. Feel free to re-print
this article.
Ratings are (1) = :(, (5) = :)
"Don't be normal, be natural!"
Visit or Join Outsight's Web ring: http://d.webring.com/hub?ring=music1432
Outsight Radio Hours Webcasts
Sundays 6pm-8pm EST @
http://www.outsight.mu
NEW MAILING ADDRESS:
Tom 'Tearaway' Schulte,
5224 Shoreline Blvd.,
Waterford, MI 48329-1670
E-mail Outsight at: outsight@usa.net
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