Staff Reports
Arizona Daily Wildcat
October 2, 1997

Music Meltdown

The Verve, Urban Hymns (Virgin)

Richard Ashcroft is the man of the hour.

Yes, he's the mad bloke you see walking down the street in the "Bitter Sweet Symphony" video, as well as the primary songwriter and vocalist for England's Verve.

With Urban Hymns, the band's third full-length album, the Verve have delivered an epic, era-defining masterpiece.

After a short, yet turbulent, split in '95 when guitarist Nick McCabe and Ashcroft suffered an acrimonious fallout, the newly reformed Verve (with the addition of another guitarist) went into the studio during their darkest yet most triumphant hour.

The album clocks in at over 70 minutes, a virtual sea of wah-wah/reverb/delayed guitars, thumping drums & groovin' bass lines, all overlaid by Ashcroft's lyrical genius and flaring vocals. The album begins with the sweeping strings of "Bitter Sweet Symphony," followed by the lazy swoon of "Sonnet."

"The Rolling People" is a clear statement to the world that this band knows how to play their fucking instruments.

The middle of the album contains other amazing tracks: "Catching the Butterfly," "Neon Wilderness" and "Space &Time." All are insights into the band's excursion into the stratosphere of psychedelia.

Track 8, "Weeping Willow," is a true showcase for Ashcroft's song writing, leaving you in a state of disbelief as to what one man and his guitar can do.

The next four tracks are more of Ashcroft's compositions, all written in the spirit of his heroes, the Rolling Stones. The album ends with the rockin' ultra-blues jam of "Come On," a nice display of the band's musical creativity and ability.

Hailed as one of the most important bands in Britain at the moment (along with their contemporaries Radiohead), we, my friends, are looking at the future of rock 'n' roll.

-James Casey

Chumbawamba, Tubthumper (Republic/Universal)

Most people who hear Chumbawamba's hit single "Tubthumping" probably feel like they've latched onto a great new band. That's the impression one always gets when radio decides to champion a band, whether they're actually new or not.

Chumbawamba is not a new band. In fact, they've been together for over 10 years. And their latest release, Tubthumper, while their first release on Republic/Universal Records, is far from their first.

Over the course of their career, this eclectic band has recorded a total of nine albums, including one which was never released, Jesus H. Christ, because it lifted the choruses off of famous songs.

Originally forming as a political punk band, the anarchist members of Chumbawamba reacted to the underground success they gained in England by following it with an acappella folk album. They were set on proving that they would not be pigeon-holed; although they held strong political and social beliefs, they would not serve as anyone's representatives.

Progressing through a variety of musical styles over the years, the band came to the decision that they would never do the same thing twice. They wanted to keep the crowds, and themselves, on their toes.

Which is all very apparent on Tubthumper. While the current single is a rousing barroom dance-hit, the rest of the album goes off in every direction, featuring different vocalists on different tracks, using samples from all over the place and cycling from drum-and-bass to dance-hall to new-wave-pop within the space of minutes.

While Tubthumper can certainly be qualified as a dance album, it's damn hard to say what kind of dance album. It does have a message, though.

Expect the unexpected.

And for a truly interesting time, check out Chumbawamba's web-site (www.chumba.com) while you listen to the disc. It's maintained by the band themselves and has some of the strangest information and insights you're likely to find.

-Doug Levy

Busta Rhymes,When Disaster Strikes (Elektra)

Busta Rhymes' newest offering, When Disaster Strikes, is not what I expected from a rapper I knew from cameos on old A Tribe Called Quest albums.

Don't be fooled - this M.C. is hardcore.

And he lets you know it.

Track five, aptly titled "So Hardcore," features the chorus, "So hardcore like Quick Draw McGraw / Fuck what you heard, you ain't heard this before."

This is true.

Plus, not only are Busta's vocals innovative, he is also in a close race with Coolio for the craziest hair. Busta Rhymes is flamboyant and original - but the new album has more of the former than the latter.

The album, which follows his debut album, The Coming, and a score of cameos, is full of good stuff - strange samples, like snippets of a Henry Mancini performance of "The Windmills of Your Mind." The beats are grooving and the raps are chaotic and poignant.

The problem is you have to skip weaker tracks to find good ones.

Following up Busta's party hit "Woo Hah, Got You All in Check" is "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See," with its crazy video getting plenty of air time on MTV and BET.

Plus, a guest appearance by man of the hour, Sean "Puffy" Combs, won't hurt this album's sales.

There is plenty mention of women as "bitches" and lots of talk about violence.

Much like folk music, rappers tell it like it is - they sing about what they see. I'm sure Busta Rhymes has seen some shit go down in N.Y.C.

Despite all the bad-mouthing there are also lines like, "You know we only have one life to live, let's come together as one."

However, the 73-minute, 18-track album is too long.

Here's my advice: 86 the trash-talkin' and the long intros and stick to the point.

Retro Review - 1978

Radio Birdman, Radios Appear (Sire)

Radio Birdman's Radios Appear has been as much of a milestone and as influential to punk rock as its predecessors, the inventors of "high energy" rock 'n' roll, like the Stooges, MC5 and Alice Cooper.

Radio Birdman was started in Australia by guitar genius Deniz Tek, who, originally from the Motor City, found himself in the land down under with a head full of the Detroit sound, surf music, the British Invasion and an itch to create a band that could kick out their own jams.

Radios Appear served as the perfect unification of the Detroit high-energy, hard rock sound of the '60s and the punk rock explosion of '77. Radio Birdman tipped its hat to the Velvet Underground and the New York Dolls and their sound is echoed in the music of the Damned and the Fun Things.

Although Radio Birdman received their share of controversy over their armbands and insignia (a flying saucer coming through the middle of an eagle's wings) which gave them a militaristic look, it was the intensity in their sound, which included piano, organ and extended jams, that caused the greatest furor.

Many fans of "punk" didn't understand or relate to Radios Appear during the time of its release because it was so steeped in the sounds of the decade past, yet it has become and remains one of rock 'n' roll's most impressive albums. Members of Radio Birdman later branched out and produced acts such as the New Race and the New Christs. Also, the Deniz Tek Group just released a new album and put on the most amazingly crazed show I saw all summer.

-Fen Hsiao