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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 1986)
1HI unsMiwnM Subversive: The Housemartins records—the songs fit her limited vocal range like a glove and the arrange ments never distract the lis tener from her voice May be it's because the songs on this album are more senti mental or because her mar riage to Jim Kerr of Simple Minds has made her hap pier, but Hynde’s singing has become more expres sive. Except for a couple of percussive numbers, where her breathy, nonmelodic delivery has to carry the song, she pulls it on. Ironically, the albums strongest tracK, "My Baby,” hearkens back to her more jaded, hard-bitten style, even if it is a love song. Hey World! (EMI America). Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers From the ringing steel drums of "(live a Little Ixive" to the rock bottom bass of "666,” this album demonstrates the hypnotic rhyth mic power of reggae. In their second album, these four children of Boh and Rita Marley—Ziggy, Sharon, Cedella and Stephen—have become self-assured and compelling performers. And the songs on "Hey World!", all written or cowritten by Ziggy, show the musical variety possible in this limited style. At times the Melody Makers rock steady in a more traditional way, as on "Freedom Road,” but they also stretch the reggae form to the bursting point, with the very pop-ish "Fight to Survive.” Just as Bob Marley mixed political songs with expressions of Jamaican mysticism, Ziggy Marley sings of racial injustice in "Police Brutality" and deliverance in "Lord We a Come.” In the joyous way that "Hey World!" blends the old and the new, it makes reggae seem fresh again. Ron (I i v i: n s L WAR1NC \WHITT hci jI» romantic to tfm point ot mushinoss: Peter Himmelman Classic Reissues Often imitated. never duplicated."That was the motto of Chess Records, one of the most important labels in the history of blues, rhythm-and-blues and rock und roll Throughout the 1950s this Chicago-based label recorded the titans of black popular music—Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf artists who profoundly affected the shape of contemporary popu lar music. And now, thanks to an ambitious reissue effort (just begun with 12classic recordings! by MCA Records, which bought the Chess catalog last year, today's listeners w ill find out just how accurate the Chess motto really was. Chess was the most important label for Southern rural muesmen wno migraieo to un upper Midwest ufter World War II and electrified their style of music Kight of the initial 12 Chess reissues are by blues art ists. "The Blues, Volume One" provides a nice overview, with cuts by a cross-section of the Chess roster. But among the other seven hlues Id’s are some immortal recordings. "Mouning in the Moonlight” is the first Howlin' Wolf album; in essence, an early "best of” collection. Wolf was an elemental musical force: raw, crude, incredibly powerful His harsh voice cuts like an acety lene torch, and his harp playing ► H \SK IMtKMiMlH I K1TION BhMS titan: Waters (1960s) is almost brutal I he songs on Moaning are equal 10 mons mighty talents Dawn and dirty: The two Muddy Waters records in this batch—"At Newport” and "Sings Big Bill Broonzy”—seem almost casual in comparison In fact, Waters’s best work for Chess is down and dirty But "Newport" and "Broonzy” have double value, as power ful musical statements and demonstrations of the rural-urban stylistic tensions in Waters’s music. Another strong recording is "John Lee Hooker Plays and Sings the Blues," with its simple framework—downhearted vocals and throbbing guitar Simulta neously crude and polished, rural and urban, Hooker defines the blueson "I Don’t Want Your Money" when he sings, "You got me down, down, down / You treat little Johnny any kind of way ” Dominating the K&B portion of the first Chess reissues are Bo Diddley’s first two albums, "Bo Diddley" and "Go Bo Diddley Here is the trademark Diddley sound the sinuous chunk-chunk chunk-uh-chunkchunk rhythm, the nasty reverberating guitar, the use of maracus for percussive accents In spite of his overt bluesiness, you can hear the beginnings of rock in songs like "Who Do You Love" and "Say Man " Also impressive is Little Milton's "We’re Gonna Make It" album, with its big sound, carefully arranged and highly polished guitar, rhythm section, horns, background singer And there’s a lot more where this came from—over 25,000 titles in blues, K&B. jazz and gospel including, early next year, the first two Chuck Berry albums. The Chess project has been done uncom monly well, and MCA executive BobSchnieders, who put it togeth er, deserves a medal—oral least a bonus All oft he reissues feature original album artwork and original liner notes, plus ujidated liner notes and information on session musicians At a list price of $4 98, which translates into retail prices as low as $,'f, the Chess records aren’t just quality repackaging of quality music, they’re amazing bargains us well K G
