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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2002)
A, 2002 . .»v* 7 ^ ^ music .... ü British invasion Wise collaborations tu rn mere UJK. gems into magic Lucy 's Social Hour.. . 5 : 0 0 - 6 :3 0 M -F appetizers & cjrinks for less $ pinner Monday through Saturday 704- NW 21st & Irving 503.226.6126 S a ia f/t a //a n THE DECK IS OPEN! New Fall/Winter M enu t i/Z/maifAìe <Sz & o w e /l S O S -2 S S -6151^0 tototo. xu/a/>wfro. com UITR CRFE Springwater — Grill 1/2 Off + Serving fresh panini sandwiches. + E n tree h 7 purchase of equal or g re a te r value /?//>/. i/e S ten k • /itM'fil' • i R n c k i’t I.¡im b R un S en ret) S a in to n + Delicious homemade soups & bold salads. + + Local hormone free beef burgers + + Many specialty & breakfast items too! + + Using local & organic ingrediants. + v Local organic beer, wine, & fresh juices. + 4 Spacious booths for groups and always quick service. + c Yummy kids menu! + • Hcocr*ui trono e*’ Coupon.* H c tfu irc ^ • o t/u’r offer.* h o n o re d •»•///* t A/.* co upon i/ n f o n holtthixi.* o r «•///» o th e r p r o m o tio n . 3024 NE Alberta + 503-335-8233 Hours: Lunch - M-F 11-5 Supper - Tue-Sat 5-22 Sun & Mon 5-10 Breakfast - Sat & Sun 8-3 B ring I t B ack McAimont and Butler • EM I International ernard Butler is an English guitar hero and all-around pop music Renaissance man whose frenzied, expan sive licks and bold, tune ful compositions place him in a lineage that includes Keith Richards, Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson and Johnny Marr of the Smiths. Also in the proud tradition of Ronson and Marr, he’s a bit of a fag hag— a straight man more than happy to work with a male singer/lyricist who’s sexually other and flamboyantly quotable on the subject. In Suede, the hyped and beloved U.K. band But ler co-founded in the early ’90s, it was epicene, lipsticked Brett Anderson; almost immediately after Butler left the group in ’95, he teamed with obscure, statuesque black gay soul singer David M cAim ont. T he duo’s first album, The Sound O f . . .McAimont and Butler, was a popular hit and a musical gem, but Butler then embarked on a decent solo career, so it came as a surprise when he and M cA im ont announced their reunion last year. T he fruition of their second collaboration is Bring It Back, and it’s fortunate they gave their chemistry a second chance; if the first time was a charm, this one’s magic. From the opening bluster of “The Theme from ‘McAimont and Butler’ ”— a self B D aybreaker Beth Orton • Astrakveiks s the story goes, music was something Beth O rton just stumbled into. Really, the young woman just wanted to act. But her voice was her for tune, and she was seized upon by W illiam O rbit, producer of M adonna’s K. Ray ofU&t, for a spoken word audition. The seri ously buzzed Brit pro duced a drunken song instead, after which apparently ensued a week o f inexplicable blind ness. A fter that temporary and still-unex plained episode, she became O rbit’s guest star, debuting in Japan with the rarely heard of « superpmkymandy. Now the 31-year-okfs singing career is in full bloom. She has collaborated with such big gies as Primal Scream and Ben Harper. Ed 7 Simons of the Chem ical Brothers (who bor rowed O rton’s vocals on all four of their studio albums) has said: “She’s n ot some soppy girl with Laura Ashley dresses who reached grade seven on the violin. She drives a big old green BM W and lives in Hackney.” Along with that bittersweet voice, O rton has developed her very own fblktronica style, some what echoing relative artists Hooverphonic, Bor* tishead, Nicolette and Massive A ttack. Her inge nious and distinct mix of the electronic and the acoustic appeals to a broad public, including the club scene, which snapped her up immediately. mythology in which McAimont pays lyrical tribute to Butler’s musi cal prowess, and Butler defuses what should be the campiness of such a conceit by musically proving every boast cor rect— to the lush clos ing ballad “Beat,” every tune is so fully realized and passionately invent ed, it’s like hearing soul music for the first time. “Falling” recalls Phil Spector’s “teen-age sym phonies” with its power ful drumming, roaring guitar and soaring strings. “Bring It Back” features McAimont doing his own catchy girl-group backup vocals. “Sunny Boy” is an expression of undying devotion from one man to another, and the acoustic-strummed “Blue” gives even Joni Mitchell (!) a run for her money. Butler’s guitar, keyboard and harmonica flour ishes float M cAlmont’s voice like the tide, and that voice is simply a revelation, a cool drink of water to ears that thirst for the rich melancholy and elegant emotion of true soul. McAimont can roar like Aretha and croon like Dionne; his vel vet baritone is Smokey and Marvin in one. He’s a genderless angel giving voice to something any human being who’s ever loved can relate to. Bring It Back is currently available only as an import, but don’t let a few extra bucks pre vent you from experiencing it. It’s worth sever al times what you’ve spent on almost any other album this year. — Christopher McQuain The singer/song- writer’s first two murky, haunting albums— 1996’s Trailer Park and 1999*8 Cenird Reservation — are signature discs, display ing folk in a new spicy dress, trip-hop infused with a hint o f stylish retro. Both efforts arc more elusive said ethere al than their baby sister Daybreaker, O rton’s most accessible yet. This newest album is » ill trippy and laid-back, but it comes imbued with poppier tones ami 7 dense intim ate reflections. Dtxt’t forget to listen for duets with guest vocalists Emmylou Harris and Ryan Adams and for Everything But the G irl musician Ben W att’s hand in polishing the final product. Patched together, the lyrics form a delicate emotional metronome of broken and mended hearts (“Tired but I ain’t sleeping thinking about some sad affair and why I should be leav* ing/And we’re doing fine now, yeah, we do we don’t feel sad or bad or blue”), o f giving and wanting (“And I’d do anything to see you smile again fU we should m eet again in some darkened toomfl hope to my soul it could be soon”). T h e songs h in t a t confession, clearly resonating O rto n ’s daily reality. B u t th e details d on ’t m atter for long. A fte r a w hile, d ie guessing disappears in d ie m agical shroud o f v o cal sound th a t sweeps you aw ay in m elan ch olic haze. — Els Debbaut JH
