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