Mod soul meets '80s techno-pop My Ever Changing Moods Style Council Geffen Records __ Pity poor Paul Weller — it seems everything he does presently in Style Council gets reflected through the bright recollection of The Jam years. The legacy of The Jam is con siderable, but Weller's work with Style Council contains only the palest shadow of what was once The Jam. Things are indeed looking up for “Dear Mr. Weller," as he is known in the British music press. He's jumped from a longstanding relationship with Polygram Records and has released "My Ever Changing Moods" on Geffen Records, a subsidiary of the huge con glomerate Warner's Com munications. Weller and Style Council cohort Mick Talbot are currently on tour in America. It is the first time Weller has toured this country after a number of disjointed and large ly unsuccessful Jam tours. More importantly, "My Ever Changing Moods" has cracked the American AM and AOR (album oriented rock) FM radio sta tions' playlists. That's something The Jam never managed during their career. The LP "My Ever Changing Moods" is a successful attempt to discover a cohesiveness in the diffuse styles occurring in contemporary music and to make an optimistic, perhaps bouyant, statement of a healthy future ahead. Weller's composi tions run the gamut of popular tastes, from jet-propelled elec tronic funk, rap songs, Celtic soul, to '50s-style torch songs and (while we're in the '50s mien) blue jazz a la Dave Brubeck. Weller has redone a number of tracks previously released on the Polygram label. In one in stance, Weller betters the original effort, in the other case, he botches the job magnificently. Whatever possessed Weller to re-record "The Paris Match"? The original recording (on Polygram's "a Paris" EP) with Weller's tormented vocals (he was playing the "miserable bastard" again) was a haunting lament on a failed affair and a love that lingers unrequited. The latter version of "The Paris Match" is sung by Tracy Thorn in a excruciatingly accurate caricature of a torch-wielding chanteuse. Listening to this track, you can just picture Thorn wearing a strapless red sequined evening gown with elbow-length black gloves while leaning boozily on a shiny black piano. She sounds as good as she looks. One can admire the form and faithful adherence to the chanteuse style in this version of "The Paris Match." Yet, the slurred phrasing and strange dragging tempo (not to mention those gawdawful wire brushes on the snare drum) bring the song dangerously close to parody. Where "The Paris Match" stumbles, Weller's remake of "Headstart for Happiness" sprints with great spirit. With a skeletal arrangement of guitar, bass, drums and horns, "Headstart for Happiness" sounds as if it were done with a lot of joy and a single take. Weller's duet with D.C. Lee is excellent. There are weak points in "My Ever Changing Moods" — notably the '50s quasi-bebop jazz ("like, dig it cat, the Bird and the 'Trane would roll, like over in their earthy cribs, cat") and the vintage Brubeck. Nonetheless, Weller scores and scores big on tracks like the scratchin' "Strength of Your Nature," "Gospel," the fast funk of "A Solid Bond in Your Heart," the pure pop of "You're the Best Thing" and the title cut "My Ever Changing Moods." Weller may just have got what he's always desired and feared —• a hit in America. Nearly a Sin One The Juggler RCA Records Comparisons are a cheesy way to review an LP. However, when the artists are newcomers, comparisons help to convey the sound and style of a group listeners may not have had the opportunity to hear. "Nearly a Sin," One The Jug gler's American debut LP, begs favorable comparisons with some of the biggest groups in contemporary music. Not that One The Juggler sounds like this group, that group or all the others. The opposite is true. One The Juggler's style and sound is unique, but still it con tains strains of U2, Big Country, R.E.M., The Alarm and some Celtic soul. It must be stressed that One The Juggler's sound isn't derivative, but the ear can detect the band's influences. What is impressive about One The Juggler is their "big guitar" sound and the spare (if perhaps completely absent) use of syn thesizers. The result is a form of classic three-chord rock'n'roll Photo courtesy RCA Records One The Juggler began as buskers in the London Underground. with a difference. One The Jug gler's sound is 1950s roots rock'n'roll redefined into a 1980s context. One The Juggler began as a pair of buskers, Rokko (lead vocals, acoustic guitar) and Lushi (bass guitar), playing for a vastly indifferent crowd bustling through London's Underground stations. The twosome added Linn Minchin (lead guitar, vocals) and Travis (drums, percussion) and started to turn the heads of careless crowds in the tube. Soon they were above ground, playing the clubs and attracting a large following. It's no wonder One The Jug gler quickly rose from the Underground; this group's guitar sound is gutsy and huge, their vocals strong and sharp, their lyrics witty and sincere. Tracks like "Passion Killer," "Junkie for Love" (a properly ap pointed number in the vein of Buzzcock's "Orgasm Addict") and "Patience of a Saint" show One The juggler's ability to play danceable yet intelligent rock'n'roll. "Patience of a Saint" is an amusing tune about tainted love constrained at the very entrance to fulfillment. This number ends with what sounds very like a public health official reminding breathless youth: "Yes, I know it's a bore and irritating. But you could be responsible for one of the thousands of outbreaks every year. Keep it clean, keep it cool and keep it covered." These are words to live by. "Nearly a Sin," for a debut LP, contains some amazingly polished and professional pro duction work. Care of the craft, the craft of music, is evident from track 1 to track 14. One The Juggler's debut LP could be the best side to come out so far this year. And remember: Keep it clean, keep it cool and keep it covered. Cort Fernald Coffee Cart has the comer on caffeine gourmets LiuunMei lunee, iresmy roasieo ana ground, is the hot new item on the cor ner of 13th and Kincaid. The Coffee Cart has been brewing up a two-way educa tion since it took to the streets on March 26 this year. Cart owner James Thornton says he sees himself as "the person on the cor ner educating some people so they know what excellent coffee is." And Thornton learns while he teaches. "I'm finding there are a lot of different types of people out there I never knew existed. "You pick up the strangest conversa tions of people walking by or standing there talking. When you're standing there making a pot of coffee you just can i neip out near n, inornton says. In addition to receiving a street educa tion, Thornton is learning to run a business. An experienced team of volunteer consultants, the Service Corps of Retired Executives division of the Smail Business Administration in Portland, gave Thornton some initial tips on investing the $7,000 it took to get started. Thornton says he swallowed about $20 in daily losses from giving away samples the first week in business. "The first thing I did was to start han ding out samples so people could see how good the coffee was. I spent a lot of money doing it, but I thought it was the thing to do," he says. Ana wnue mormon is learning has to allocate money, he is also learning to allocate time. "The thing that surprised me the most about getting into this was the number of hours," Thornton says. Thornton's day begins at 6:15 a.m. and goes on until 8 p.m. During that time, he prepares his cart of coffee, pushes it about a half mile from the commissary where it's stored to the corner, and final ly, returns to the commissary where he reorganizes for the next day. Thornton speculates the long hours and high costs will eventually bring payoffs to his Coffee Cart education. "I'm making a lot less than I thought I would," he says, "but I'm having a lot of urn, ana i m getting there. "I think I'm building the clientele for the gourmet coffee industry as a whole on the block." The Coffee Cart sells regular gourmet and decaf gourmet coffee, espresso and espresso specialty drinks. All cups cost between 50 cents and $1.50. "I have a special every day so that peo ple will get to try different things," Thornton says. "I try to drop the price about 25 percent." Along with the coffee, Thornton sells chocolate-covered espresso beans, nuts and candy. Iced sun tea, lemonade, Stash tea and hot chocoate are also alternatives. Lori Steinhauer r 15 1 FREE Soda plus $ OFF any slice Offer good Sat., Sun. & Mon. of Memorial Day Weekend 11:30-Midnight, Mon.-Fri. 3:30-Midnight, Weekends 1211 Alder on Campus 686-9598 Sy's New York Pizza Dignified Dressing AND High Voltage Separates 10 to 5 Monday-Saturday Wednesday until 7 J?fttic C A Fashionable Experience 1 S 0 I A ST I I I V E N T H A V I N l I hi (. t N E O R I l. O N 4 H. 5 - h <> f> 6 II * // ■&■ ^ ^ ^ W ^ \\ \\ 5t II = II *•'-'%%-» •-' * s, ■*■/,*■*'' ~ , \X II + * ❖ * = II * » * * ■* //1 ^vws ^D,>vo\£s >11 =» * * //„ * * u T tt // v\ ' . ii \\ \ ** \\ // „ // % -#■ II II * IIf II II V0* S9' = * * _ * * . = // » * * * <!• * * * a = * * *■ -e- * * * •%■ 4f '/ *a. s3io'dV^ *&»