European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 11, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Ohn Wesley Harding a Here comes he Groom Quot Bob Dylan is my father. Joan Baez is my Mother Tad i am their Bastard son Quot sings John Wesley Harding. Harding who takes his name from a Dylan album is i Gleeful musical Vandal. On his debut album he sounds eerily like Elvis costello and even shares costello s music publishing company and two members of his former band the attractions. Harding s Long Cathy s new Quot Jown quotes from the a. In i. A to 1 q Overly Brothers classic. V v ii i \ i o but faster than Myone can spell derivative Quot Harding is laughing. His thievery is 0 blatant and he lakes such a joke bout it that its thrown pack in the face of eople Overly concerned with originality in Rock a no Roll. Besides its fully hard not to like this album. Quot Wes Quot is the real life Wesley Harding Stace a 24-ear-old englishman who once aspired to be a sportscaster. His backup band the Good liars matures former costello rhythm Section Bruce and Pete Homas and shares the attractions Mastery of several different styles. Harding does t hesitate to take them 1 All sorts of directions affairs of the heart with its accordion and pedal steel guitar sounds like French country music. Some of Here comes the Groom is like Iet Happy with a brass Section some is clearly Folk influenced. On the Devil in me about the Darker Side of Uman nature its both in the same song. Like costello Harding has the gift of gab. Words often pour out faster than most human ears can pick d. There a Little of costello a bitterness however As is Couplet suggests Quot if there a a nuclear Winter at ast it will the cassette has 15 songs and Many of them Are ackling Good. There Are slower moments a such Asle uninspired Folkie duet with Peter Case things snowball and other cuts buried on Side 2. But Harding is an unexpectedly High batting average on this Ida Cious debut. A David Bauder Poad the wet sprocket a Pale Toad the wet sprockets new album Pale amplifies everything that a wrong about the wheezing alternative Rock scene. Far from the cutting age the underground scene has too Many imitators Stead of innovators. The reigning gods Are still e.m., which methodically built a successful career the originality and relentless work. Since the Early 1980s, . Has had More impersonators than Elvis Presley. Toad the wet sprocket is Only the latest to emulate the form rather than the substance of . Pale is loaded with Moody slightly incongruous lyrics. The guitar Rock mixes the jangle and the drone. The cover s a Grainy picture of something indistinguishable and the band photo is Blurry. Sound familiar admittedly the failure of an entire genre is a Tough Burden to place on the shoulders of an unassuming California Rock band. They re somewhat adept interpreters the sound is More muscular than murmur Era . Though the songs of course Lack distinctiveness. But it would be far better to see bands try to make their Mark with their own visions rather than someone else s. mix a lot a seminar Seattle usually Isnit thought of As a hotbed of rap yet sir mix a lot makes the City seem As Funky fresh As new York or los Angeles. How she do it Well in seminar he boasts about offering instruction to rival rap stars frankly though the music Speaks for itself. Part of this album s allure is its eclecticism a though beepers lifts its guitar lick from Princess Bat dance the peek a boo game manages to quote Sioux Sie amp the banshees. But mostly what makes this album stand out from the pack is that mix a lot not Only has something to say but also knows How to say it. Whether waxing political on National Anthem or reflecting on fashion in cortex his raps Are both amusing and illuminating. But As my Hootie makes Plain his greatest strength is turning real life into credible entertainment a and that a a lesson More rappers should learn. A . Considine Baltimore unlock up a something bitching this Way comes generally speaking the typical hard Rock band plays Only two styles of music loud a Crunchy or soft a sentimental. Maybe that s Why lock up Isnit a typical hard Rock band. On its debut something bitching this Way comes this los Angeles quartet runs the Gamut from sly Slippery Funk nothing new to Bluesy Balladry everywhere i go it looks like rain there s even a touch of go go in the bouncy 24-hour Man. Factor in Brian Grillos soulful expressive vocals and Tom Morello a inventive guitar and lock up ends up sounding like the freshest new sound to have emerged from . Since guns n roses. A .c.the Church a Gold afternoon fix there a nothing terribly fancy about the churches sound. With its dreamy vocals softly chiming guitars and insinuating rhythmic undertow the band s approach is unassuming in the extreme. Yet beneath that veneer of amiable psychedelia lies a finely honed pop sensibility with an almost beatles que ability to churn out effortlessly engaging tunes. Listen through Gold afternoon fix and though the playing seems to waft by in a Haze of blurred guitars and whispery vocals the melodies leap out at the listener from the quietly insistent Metropolis to the moodily upbeat you re still Beautiful. A Winner. A .c.Chart billboard has discontinued the compact disc Chart. Cd Are included in up a singles 1. I la be your everything a Tommy Pago 2. Don t Wanna fall in love a Jane child 3. All around the world a Lisa Stansfield 4. Nothing compares 2u a Sinead o Connor 5. Love will Lead you Back a Taylor Dayne 6.1 Wanna be Rich a Calloway 7. Here and now a Luther Vandross 8. Get up a techno tronic 9. Forever a kiss 10. Black velvet a Alannah Myles top a los 1. Nick of time a Bonnie Raitt 2. Forever your girl a Paula Abdul 3. Soul provider a Michael Bolton 4. Janet Jackson s rhythm nation 1814 a Janet Jackson 5. Alannah Myles a Alannah Myles 6.1 do not want what i Haven t got a Sinead o Connor 7. But seriously a Phil Collins 8. Pump a Aero Smith 9. Cosmic thing a the b-52 s 10. Please Hammer Don t Hurt pm a . Hammer country a singles 1. Five minutes a Lorrie Morgan 2. Hard Rock Bottom of your heart a Randy Travis 3. Not counting you a Garth Brooks 4. Love on arrival a Dan seals 5. Stranger things have happened a Ronnie Milsap 6. Here in the real world a Alan Jackson 7. Just As Long As i have you a Don Williams 8. Walkin. Beatin broken heart Highway 101 9. Seen my father in me a Paul Overstreet 10. Help me hold on a Travis Tritt Black a singles 1. Spread my wings a troop 2. Whip Appeal a baby tace 3. Ready or not a after 7 4. Everything you touch a Smokey Robinson 5. Never too far a Dianne Reeves 6. All around the world a Lisa Stansfield 7. Poison a Bell big Devoe 8. Addicted to your love a the Gap band 9. What goes around a Regina Belle 10. The humpty dance a digital underground a compiled by billboard a v and of pm War thes Usaj ipes vet 48, to. 3w Apt 11, w0 a 0 1 Moscow to step up pressure Days Lithuania Stone Wang on Sounon a a Moscow it my c. German parties agree on coalition to form government ass skies a or a cts sets is a slag is Northern Ireland blast kills 4 British soldiers aim Imam a a a a Mimm. Tto coat a idl eel hi4re u i a Wjk i Moi Ami Daivd Istas Pulc twin do to Amie Tom we k Ike pvn aay trashing through him min to Zeaim aka a a. Tvs my to Ris ferry fire death toll mounts could reach 200 a fuss Ino Kama Nanay he is Tah no am ie�refih�a4alrentesak every Day can make a world of difference in your life in a world that never takes a Day to rest every Day can make a world of difference. A Day can mean the difference Between a Campaign and a Victory. A budget and a budget Cut. A revolutionary idea and a revolution. The stars and stripes has All the news it takes to keep you on top of the world s events. And a subscription to the stars and stripes can assure you that you la never fall a Day behind. Call one of our circulation offices today listing on Page 11 for your subscription to the stars and stripes. Or write to the stars and so ropes attn sales promotion Apo 09211 the stars and stripes a we can make a world of difference in your life. Every Day. Wednesday april 11, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 17
