New Releases - Crystal Waters, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Goldfinger

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Rating Scale: to

Artist:	"CRYSTAL WATERS"
Title:	"CRYSTAL WATERS"
Label:	Mercury Records
Reviewed By:	Donn Jehs
Rating:

From the opening track Ms. Waters pulls you up out of your seat with an irresistable beat and slick lyrics that appeal in spite of some background sampling that could easily be dispensed with. "Momma Told Me" would be a really extraordinary cut except for some weird sampling in the middle of the cut that sounds like someone overdubbed the wrong record. Crystal has a way of delivering a lyric that just suggests she is barely concealing her sarcasm from the rest of us but you feel she is laughing with you not at you. The second cut, "Love I Found" is a pretty dance tune with a nice echo effect and the much the same beat as the first cut without the weird overdubbing.

Her cover of the artist formerly known as Prince's "Uptown" doesn't suffer by the comparison especially, as like the former, she has that high soft sultry voice that makes you want to join her there.

Several of the cuts have a definite disco feel to them, like "Say ...If You Feel Alright" and "Body Music." You can envision the spinning globe and dancers in leisure suits on the floor.

Two of the cuts, "Easy" and "Passion" both use guitar intro's to give a different sound and feel to these more bluesy lyrically richer songs. "Let Go My Love" starts out like a Billie Holiday tune before it breaks into a more danceable tune.

The funkiest tune on the album is "Just A Freak" which features Dennis Rodman and as Crystal says, "...He really adds a nice bit of freakiness." However it adds to it only if you know it's him. Otherwise his contribution would be meaningless. On the other hand her use of the chorus from "Dead or Alive's" "You Spin Me Round" on "Spin" adds to and makes the cut identifiable and an attention getter.

Taken as a whole the album is engaging, highly danceable, easy on the ears and an excellent party disc. Ms. Waters continues to deliver the beat and the word.

Artist:	"THE FABULOUS THUNDERBIRDS"
Title:	"HIGH WATER"
Label:	High Street
Available:	Any Major Music Store
Reviewed By:	Donn Jehs
Rating:

Most of us got our first taste of the Thunderbirds from their MTV videos in the late eighties like "Tuff Enuff" and "Wrap It Up" but with this album we get a delivery of the promise made back then - R&B with a modern touch. With the precision of a surgeon and the heart of an artist Kim Wilson delivers crystal clear vocals on every track. And the man plays a mean harp too!

This album represents a unique twist, the only member of the touring Thunderbirds to actually record on this album is Kim Wilson who recorded this album with guitarist Danny Kortchmar and drummer Steve Jordan. Kotchmar and Jordan had contributed instrumentally to previous T-Bird albums but this album is just them, which may be a surprise to fans who've see the Thunderbirds on the road and enjoyed the great music from the likes of guitarist Dave 'Kid' Ramos, keyboardist Gene Taylor, bassist Willie J. Campbell and drummer Jimmi Bott. But the heart and soul of the Thunderbirds since splitting with Jimmy Vaughan has been Kim Wilson, all the other members coming on board in the last two years so the legacy rests in his hands and voice for the most part anyway.

The opening cut "Too Much Of Everything" was also part of the soundtrack from the summer movie "Trial and Error" and helps keep up their unofficial record as the band with the most movie credits. This track has a touch of all the best of the elements of this album from Wilson's voice and harmonica playing, a solid beat from the drums and from the opening notes an excellent exposure to the guitar talents of Kortchmar all of which just get better as you get deeper into the album. It's no surprise that Muddy Waters has said Wilson is the vocalist he most admires. And Wilson does credit to the woman whose vocals he most admires, Etta James.

Usually an album will have a song or two that strikes a particular chord with me, but this album played a virtual symphony in my soul. The third cut "Tortured" was the first movement as lines like "I haven't found the oyster, how am I supposed to find the pearl" and "My heart always gets me by the throat. She keeps me hangin' by the end of my rope" reach right down and play a riff on the heartstrings. And your heart keeps right on beating to the time of cuts like "Hurt on Me'" and "Sometimes".

The emotions get deeper and the rhythm slower with the tracks "Hand to Mouth" and "Promises You Can't Keep" before picking back up with "Too Hot To Handle" and "Save It For Someone Who Cares" which has a reggae beat and uses the electric organ to great effect.

The last (obligatory bonus) cut "That's All I Need To know'" is a playoff on the second cut on the album "Do Right By Me" and helps bring the album full circle to an 'I told you so' conclusion.

This album may be a "High Water" mark in the Thunderbird's recording history but hopefully it's just the beginning of a flood of good music.

Artist:	"GOLDFINGER"
Title:	"HANGUPS"
Label:	Mojo Records
Available:	Any Major Music Store
Reviewed By:	Bryan D. Smith
Rating:

"Goldfinger" are the latest in a seemingly unending stream of newer acts to mine the ska/pop/punk vein. My own rough estimate is that there's been approximately two trillion and three of them. And that's about two trillion and one too many, give or take one or two faux-Bosstones. "Goldfinger", however, are better than ninety-nine percent of their like- minded contemporaries by at least a few light years.

The difference is an unforced approach that fends off any suspicions of trend-following. The guys in "Goldfinger" work this particular groove with an ease and confidence that suggests this stuff is what really gets their mojo workin'.

Speaking of mojo, Mojo Records, the band's record label, ought to take all the money they're undoubtedly wasting on lesser talents (hey, it ain't a swipe, all labels do it) and pump some high-octane fuel into the "Goldfinger" promo machine. There's no good reason hipster college students in every corner of this great land shouldn't have "Goldfinger" stickers pasted on the back windows of their VWs alongside their carefully applied NIN and MEAN PEOPLE SUCK stickers. I'm not kidding. These people are the true arbiters of official hip. Forget indie punk street cred. You gotta get in with the faux-slackers and the scholarship babies. They're tired of shopworn grunge, lumbering song structures, and dimestore angst. They wanna groove. They wanna party. They need a house band, new icons around which to rally. "Goldfinger" can be that band.

Okay, maybe not. Because modern day rock 'n' roll doesn't create true icons anymore. The only real one the 90s have produced was Kurt Cobain, and it's been more than three years now since he blasted off this mortal coil. And the reality is that "Goldfinger" will not ever approach that rarefied status. There is no future rendezvous with that not-so- hallowed stage upon which Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are held. Nor will very many of their peers achieve that dubious honor.

The latter half of the 90s has mutated into a warped freakshow mirror version of the first half of the 80s. The aesthetic components of the music of the two eras are at first blush radically dissimilar. The parallel is the assembly line-like arrival and abrupt departure of too many one hit wonders. Few of today's acts have any staying power beyond the initial hit disc. This isn't necessarily due to a lack of quality in sophomore efforts--it has simply become the nature of the beast, a marketplace subject to the whims of an ever-more-fickle public. So, yeah, it's not likely that anyone other than diehard followers and the bandmembers themselves will give a damn about "Goldfinger" a decade hence.

But, the question arises...is this a bad thing? At this late date, probably not. It's all been done before, bigger and better than anyone else could ever realistically hope to do again. So, screw it. Why even try to be rock gods? It's too heavy a cross to bear. The smart ones enjoy the ride while they're on it. If a band's lucky enough to get that brief, shining moment of public adulation and attendant media spotlight, it ought to soak up every sweet moment of it. "Goldfinger" hasn't quite reached that plateau yet, but I sure hope that they do. The dreary pop landscape could use a cleansing injection of their propulsive ska/punk. Of course, this would result in the signings of yet another trillion or two Bossclones, but hey, better that than another wave of whiny Nirvanabes.

On their previous cd, the self-titled debut, "Goldfinger" referenced one-time "Black Flag" and "Circle Jerks" singer Keith Morris in a song. Cynics may dismiss such a move as a calculated grab for alt street cred. But I don't buy that. It's not like Keith Morris is the instantly recognizable name that Sid Vicious is. And on "Hangups," their new cd, a song called "Chris Cayton" references another one-time standard bearer of the hardcore punk flag, the beloved (in some circles) "Dead Kennedys." "You got kicked out of school for wearing profanity/'too drunk to fuck' said the Dead Kennedys/ on your button, your punk rock button," go the snappy lyrics. These nods to punk rock roots never seem self-conscious, and only serve to remind the listener that this is a band that has a solid foundation. They're NOT trend-followers. They do what they do, and if what they do happens to be a cool flavor of the moment, so be it and so much the damn better.

Other standout tracks on "Hangups" include "My Head", "Superman", the plaintive "This Lonely Place", and "20 Cent Goodbye", which also wins for Best Song Title.

Buck up buckaroos, snap to attention o' ye great unwashed denizens of the wilting Alternative Nation. Listen to what "Goldfinger" has to say, and get into their freakin' groove. You'll like what you'll hear, and you'll be able to discard that silly pensive look you've cultivated while listening to too many Bush cds. In other words, it's good for you.

Back to New Releases