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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 1994)
O ctober 5, 1994 • T he P ortland O bserver P age B 2 « 7 / Ó -Portland (©bseruer ENTERTAIPiMEríT "The basis for this album was simple: it was about trusting my 'g u t’ feelings. It w asn’t about over-sing ing but about doing what was natural. Although there was no overall lyrical theme, the songs really addressed women’s needs, songs that women in particular can em brace.” Make Him Do Right, Karyn W hite’s third W arner Bros, album, does indeed focus on sentim ents and feelings that women of the Nineties will easily identify with. Check out the upbeat, no-nonsense first single “Hungah For Your Love,” one of the songs Karyn co-wrote and co-pro- duced for the album - “a sensual tune that I wrote when I was singing in the shower! I wanted to do something that was in the vein o f a Donna Sum mer '7 0 ’s kind of tune...although we don't push the same kind o f buttons as much as she did!” R eflectin g the a lb u m 's d iv e r sity, the b e a u tifu l b a lla d , “ I ’d R ather Be A lo n g ,” a c u t K aryn c o -p ro d u c e d w ith F ly te T y m e P ro d u c tio n s’ J e lly b e a n Jo h n so n , c o n tra sts w ith the p ro p u ls iv e , in siste n t “W e a k n e ss.” And. in the tradition o f her 1991 classic “Superwom an,” there’s title track “Make Him Do Right,” a soul ful, straight-ahead piece (written and p ro d u c e d by h itm a k e r D ary l Simmons) that Karyn notes, “is about how we women want to be treated. It’s like, if you can ’t make a man do right, what you can do is raise your own level of self-respect. The lyrics are telling women that it’s better to be alone than to be mistreated or disrespected. T here’s one line, 'i f he don’t want to get married, then he can’t be no man of m ine,’ and I’m a good example o f that viewpoint my- The Selecter The reactivated Selecter have been busy for over three years now, touring extensively throughout Eu rope and America in support o f their of their live reunion LP, O ut in the Streets. Their most recent outing was the much lauded all-star ska tour, Skavoovie, which barnstorm ed the U S. in late 1993. At that time. The Selecter released a C D -single con taining three vision o f the ska-stan dard “M adness,” recorded with guest star/ska legend Prince Buster. The current summer/fall tour of America is in support of the brand new LP of patented Selecter ska, entitled The Happy Album. It’s the band’s first collection of all new songs since 1981. The record features many new favorites made popular via the Skavoovie tour, such as “California Screaming” (already getting heavy play via W ayne Jobson at the world- famous KROQ in Los A ngeles), “ N e u ro tic a ,” and “ W hip T hem Down.” It also features a fine remake of Toots and the M aytals “Sweet and Dandy.” Form ed in 1979, T he S e le c te r sp e a rh e a d e d the T w o T o n e /S k a M o v e m e n t in the U K L ed by v o c a list P au lin e B lack , the band sco red a n u m b er o f hit sin g le s, such as “T h ree M in u te H e ro ,” “ On M y R a d io ,” “ T he W hisper,” and “Too Much Pressure." The hits led to the albums, most notably Too Much Pressure and Celebrate the Bullet. In addition, they had four <Llie c a ll 5 0 3 - 2 8 8 - 0 0 3 3 a UNUSUAL CASSETTES S RECORDS COMPACT DiSCS POSTERS Music Millennium DJANGO u n SW STARK PORTLAND, OR 97205 227-4381 • FAX 248-9538 V,'E BUY AND SELL ALL TYPES OF MUS1CJ Store 503-331-1718 3415 NE Broadway Portland, OR 97212 T h e re a c tiv a te d S e le c te r. A fterafew U .K . w arm -updates. The Selector toured A merica fo ra month of sold-out appearances. In October of 91, they em barked on a 60-date tour of Britain and Europe, resulting in their live album Out in the Streets released by Triple X. The LP fea tured all o f the group's well-known hits, including "On My Radio," plus "Train to Skaville,” and a ska-ed up version of the "Jam es Bond Theme." sexy superstar singer/songwriter/pro- ducer R Kelly, is experiencing in credible chart success, w ith two singles in the Top 25 on the Pop and R&B charts. Hits from the album keep com ing from the gold lead single “Back and Forth." a mellow party record, to the romantic Isley Brothers remake "At Your Best (You Are Love)." C ur rently her album reigns at number 5 and 25 on Billboard's R&B and Pop charts. In keeping with the album's title, the admitted teenager refuses to divulge her exact age in interviews, however it is clearly under the legal drinking age, forcing her to cancel her scheduled performances on the Kelly- headlined Budweiser Superfest 32nd & E. Burnside 231-8926 , Zy/// SB songs featured on the Dance Craze soundtrack -- both the film and the soundtrack were hits worldwide. The band split-up in 1981. V o calist Pauline Black stated making television appearances and eventu ally had her own BBC show. Black on Black. Ten years later, in June of 1991, Pauline reformed the band, recruiting former Bad Manners mem bers Martin Steward and Nick Welsh. "W hen I recorded 'S uperw om an,’ I was singing about my own mother, but now I understand even better what it really means." Karyn smiles, “The changes in my life have cer tainly affected how I relate to my music. During my pregnancy, I had time to think and do some soul-search ing. I come to this album with a lot of ideas for lyrics and m elodies.” la t t ò O D hsevU ev 23rd & NW Johnson 248-0163 L ivi M usic Friday & Saturday -Midnight S-P zfp Wednesday Session featuring Louisiana style cuisine a t its finest At Bourbon Stneet we're proud to offer the finest ribs, freshest seafood, delicious fettucmi and blackened Y ö 'V self!” Karyn is referring to her mar riage to master producer Terry Lewis, who (with partner Jimmy Jam), co produced seven tracks on Make Him Do Right. She says, “My marriage and the birth o f my daughter Ashley have been like the opening of a whole new beautiful chapter in my life.” Reflecting on the past, she adds, A D V E R T I S E IN COLLECTOR'S RECORDS Aaliyah’s Number Is One Million Age is proving a double edged sword for Jive recording artist Aaliyah (ah-lec-yah). While meaningless in catapulting her debut disc “Age Ain't Nothing But a Number" to sales of over I million (certified platinum), it’s held her back from performing on the Budweiser Superfest. Aaliyah, t^e youthful protege of S in g e r - Songw riter, K aryn W hite 15900 Boones Ferry Road in Lake Grove. Oregon 636-00I7 -"'Z - PRESENTS ~\C|HT W ty \ CISCO'S & PANCHO S ' 9:00 P.M. -OCTOBER 31st 107 N.W. 5th (DOWNTOWN PTLD.) $5.00 COVER CHARGE AT THE DOOR COME SPOOK WITH US