The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 20, 1997, Page 5, Image 5
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Bush ov(
sophomo
JOHN LYONS Features Editor
When a young band's debut album
does phenomenally well, all eyes are
on them when they release a second
album.
And mo6t of those eyes are looking
closely and anticipating failure.
So with tremendous pressure
placed upon them and with the
almost certain prospect of close
scrutiny by critics, U.K. grunge
i rockers Bush have taken on one of
the most tremendous tasks musicians
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ever lace; uie aopiiomure eiiun..
"Razorblade Suitcase" is the band's
follow up to their debut, "Sixteen
Stone," which sold about seven million
copies and left fans with very high
expectations.
The album, which soars far above
the expectations of critics, establishes
what seems to be the band's wellearned
place in the Nirvana and
Pixies chain of punk and grunge,
and it highlights their distance from
the Pearl Jam school of grunge.
The songs on "Razorblade
Suitcase" are not as catchy as
"Everything Zen," "Comedown,"
"Glycerine" or any of the commercial
hits from "Sixteen Stone," but what
they lack in catchiness, they make
up for in intensity and sincerity.
It is the band's sincerity that has
been questioned during most of their
time in the spotlight, and despite its
commercial success, "Sixteen Stone"
was berated by critics who accused
Bush of being nothing more than an
imitation Nirvana.
The group's decision to recruit
i Bjork's latesi
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Since the release of her first solo
album "Debut," Iceland's pop visionary
Bjork has become something of a
cult figure.
She could be considered the Tori
Amos of electronic music or the Ani
f
Difranco of ambient dance. Like these
other semi-famous female artists,
Bjork has received limited commercial
airplay but has still garnered
enormous respect and devotion from
her fans.
Bjork has earned this respect
largely because of the explorative
nature of "Debut" and "Post," her
second album Both of these albums
genre-hopped and broke down many
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Steve Albini to produce their second
album only heightened comparisons
to Nirvana, but the quality of
"Razorblade Suite ase"proves that
the decision was a .wise one.
The album relies on the same
mixture of punk and grunge that
made Nirvana so successful, but it
also borrows quite a few tricks from
the Posies and other Nirvana
predecessors.
"Razorblade Suitcase" trades in
the instant catchiness of "Sixteen
Stone" for a harsher, grittier sound,
but after a few listens it is clear the
album still has the underlying pop
sensibility that defined the band's
first album.
Albini mav have been the nerfect
choice for the band's sophomore effort,
not only because of his great track
record, but also because his presence
on the album directly confronts the
shadow of Kurt Cobain that has hung
over the band's head.
The lyrics on the album flow from
despondency and despair to rage
and fear, and Gavin Rossdale sings
with such intensity that it is difficult
to doubt his sincerity.
Rossdale is backed by the drivings
rhythm of Robin Goodridge on drums
and Dave Parsons on bass, but while
these two provide the album with
its steady pace, "Razorblade Suitcase"
owes the most to the loose, screaming
guitarwork of Nigel Pulsford.
Pulsford creates the angry, intense
mood of the 13 songs on the album,
and his guitarwork flows from
screeching anger to wailing sorrow.
It is his exquisite guitarwork which
t release 4Tel
assumptions about a pop album.
Her third album, "Telegram,"
which is a collection of remixes, is
even more expansive than the first
two, and it explores how genre
divisions can be reworked through
individual songs.
"Telegram" features one new song
and remixes 10 others, nine of which
are from "Post."
The album is incredibly expansive
in its emotional range, and it has a
musical depth that is extraordinary.
The music jumps from jungle beats
and drum and bass grooves and on
to classical string arrangements.
From R&B to jazz to pop, there
is not a genre Bjork and her star
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Bush, featuring Nigel Pulsford,
and Dave Parsons.
net effectively helps the band rise
above previous critirisms.
Regardless of how many albums
they may sell, this four man U.K.
grunge band rose above all
expectations with this "Razorblade
Suitcase" and lived up to the challenge
of the sophomore effort.
They may not sell another seven
million records and there will probably
be continued accusations from some
critics, but Bush has asserted the
egram' filled
studded lineup of remixers are afraid
to confront.
The album opens slowly, almost
timidly, with "Possibly Maybe." The
song is remixed by Marie Bell of LFO,
and from the start, his soft, carefully
arranged version of the song confronts
misconceptions about the purpose
of a remix.
From that point on, the album
flows gracefully from genre to genre,
emotion to emotion. From the
heartbreaking to the danceable, and
from classical to techno, "Telegram"
covers a spectrum that most artists
would never even consider.
"It's important for me when I do
a record that it has a lot of different
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SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK
Robin Goodridge, Gavin Rossdale
power of their music and begun to
step out of the Cobain's very long
shadow.
They've suffered the comparisons
for almost two years, and some of
the pain and anger on the album
seems to be rooted in this.
Maybe this is what Rossdale has
in mind on "Communicator" when
repeatedly sings, "Somewhere
sometime/all things will be fine/and
it never seems enough."
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i witn emotio]
emotional angles," Bjork said about
the album. "Because that's what
people are like. I don't understand
pop albums where everything is cool
for the whole album, or everything
is sexy for the whole album. Thank
God that humans are a bit more
complex than that."
On "Telegram" Bjork relies on
some very talented help to achieve
the emotional angles and complexity
she desires.
The Brodsky Quartet and Deodato
give the album a mild traditional
feel on "Hyperballad" and "You've
Been Flirting Again," while Dobie
gives the album an R&B element on
"I Miss You."
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Snoop Do
creates less
ROBERT KNIGHT Staff Writer
a
Snoop Doggy Dogg marks his
return to the worldof rap with the
dropofhis ___________
newest album, IBF7W
" T h a ||P|
Doggfather."
This album [ I [I [I i I jKljj
is Snoop's
second release i
from the newly ^
renamed, The I
New and
Untouchable |
Death Row I
Records. Snoop I
returns to the
rap arena
without the
production help
of Dr. Dre, and he shows that he can
and will continue to hold on his own.
Snoop does not perform completely
on his own though.
Warren G., Nate Dogg, Tha Dogg
Pound and Charlie Wilson are all
featured on "Groupie." And Teena
Marie lends help with vocals beside
Vapors and Too Short on the track
"You Thought."
"Tha Doggfather" incorporates
various samples, many of which come
from old Gap Band songs, and Snoop's
cool Southern accent and very smooth
flow makes up for the lack of original
beats.
The first single off the album,
"Snoop's Upside Your Head," sends
the message out loud and clear that
Snoop can and will take on all
challengers.
a, genre-swit(
The album pulls together an
incredible array of talent, and with
help from Howie B., Outcast, Dillipja,
Sanko and Graham Massey, Bjork
explores the musical genres and their
divisions as the album flows from
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ambient, and most notably, to jazz.
Although the album is a collection
of remixes, the songs are reworked
so thoroughly that it becomes a
completely new entity.
"To me, the word remix is so
underestimated," Bjork said. "Probably
because until now it's been a record
company's way to try to make a song
more radio friendly or more successful
commercially. A lot of the remixers
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vulgar rap
Snoop confronts accusations that
he would go soft after Dr. Dre left
his production team on "Freestyle
Conversation." He also tries to lay
to rest the East
I coast versus
West coast
controversy in the
song by
declaring that
he is in the
business to
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with whomever
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" S i x x
Minutes" is the
most laid-back
track on "Tha
Doggfather,
but it is also the
most opinionated. It features Snoop
rapping about rappers and DJs who
use samples and beats without giving
credit to the originators.
In the song he also takes a swipe
at imitation rappers who are really
just commercial hype.
Snoop declares that gangsta rap
is not dead at the beginning of "Tha
Doggfather," but a close listen finds
his rhymes more groomed and less
offensive than in the past.
The polished sound isn't really a
surprise though.
After all, radio play is required
if an artist wants to sell millions of
records. And so "Tha Doggfather"
crives listeners a slicrht.lv kinder
o* * ? o j '
gentler Snoop.
Some may like it, some may not,
but I consider it to be a good' album.
'hing music
have been incredibly creative over
the years. I'm talking about the pure
idea of a remix and what a remix
can be.
'It's so nice when somebody with
a completely different musical style
than you remixes your song. There's
a certain honesty in that, because
you write a song, and you write it
perfect like the way you want it to
be. And then somehow you become
material on somebody's mixing desk."
The ten remixes on "Telegram"
capitalize on the potential that Bjork
sees in a remix and illustrate her
extraordinary talent and the talent
of those she brought together to
design the album.
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