16 Arts and Entertainment

The Cadre

¢ 9 March 1999

Gov’t Mule

Capricorn Records

byStephen McQuaid

Music Corner |

My first exposure to Gov’t Mule was- on _ the HEMPilation 2 CD with a song called “Thirty Days in the Hole,” at the suggestion of Big Sugar’s Gordie Johnson. It really rocked. On this CD, Warren Haynes (who also appears on Big Sugar’s latest CD, Heated, on the excellent cover of “Let it Ride”) provides extremely “real” and raspy vocals

which matched the Mule’s down & dirty sound. On Dose, it’s more of the same, but the music is a little more eclectic than I thought it would be. There are some heavier songs, but many lighter blues/jazz songs as well as some folky stuff (like “light” Led Zeppelin) like on the song “Raven Black Night”. Another couple of highlights are the songs

“John the Revelator,” and the seven-minute cover of the Beatles’ “She Said, She Said.” For all its varied styles, Gov’t Mule doesn’t stray much from its basic sound, mostly due to Haynes’ vo- cals, and the fact that they record the songs together, “live,” to analog tape. All of the songs are fairly long, av- eraging at about six min-

utes... but who cares? They rock! I’d recommend this disc, but not at the inflated prices asked by the CD stores around here that have it. Don’t encourage them. If you’re like me, and not rich, ask for it special-order from my fave CD shop in town (hint: it’s in an alley). You'll probably save some money that way.

Big Rude Jake

fj

Roadrunner/Attic

by Stephen McQuaid

If swing is “dead” once again, which I doubt, I'd feel really bad for Big Rude Jake. He’s been doing the swing thing for years in To- ronto, way before its popu- larity exploded. He used to bust his butt to get gigs and try to land a record deal. Af- ter about seven years, I think, he moved to New York City. In less than a year, he got a record deal.

How sad is that? Even sadder, BRJ seems to have

been Americanized. The band’s logo includes an ea- gle and some US flags, like a certain US symbol. Stars and stripes are all over this thing. Not only is that disgusting in itself, it’s another sad case of a good Canadian entertainer being claimed and thought of as American. It makes me nauseous.

How’s the music? Just fine, thank you. It is swing, but with a ragtime and jazz feel. It’s great. Some songs

are very swingy, and others are slow and raunchy. His lyrics are distinct and pe

better than most swingers. he has a rough quality t his voice, and sings of partying and... other things; like din- ing with the devil... or the subject matter of the song called “Queer for Cat.” In this, he finds his gal and the gal of his dreams... together. And he likes it! Also, there’s a hilarious punky song called “Let’s Kill all the Rock

Stars.” The lyrics go a bit like, “...Let’s line the f***ckers up and shoot the f***ckers down/ I’m pissed off and annoyed at all these coporates whores/ and the radio plays the same old sh*t, over and over and over and over...” This CD is a bit cleaner than | am letting on, so don’t be afraid. If swing’s your thing, you'll love this disc.

Sky

When listening to Piece of Paradise, one can get a sense of the broad vari- ety of musical styles in which Sky falls. Officially classi- fied as an R&B group, it is

music. Although their first his single, “America,” re- ceived more coverage in Québec than nationally; to listen to their two latest hits all one has to do is turn on

Kinda Wonderful” and “Love Song” have remained on the Top 40 for quite a time

now. Although both songs are classified as pop music,

believing that both these songs are from the same group. This is because each song has its own distinct style. This CD is the perfect addition to any CD collec-

All City

M.C.A. by Marc MacDonald

surprising that all three of MuchMusic. Both “Some one would have a hard time _ tion. Sky is a Canadian band their hit songs have been pop from Montréal.

All City is prop through with their own ahhight. Some ofthe best not fill the CD with as a Onyx protégée, but sound. The weakest part oie are “the Actual,” meaningless skits and fea- they sound nothing like of Metropolis Gold is the Stay Awake” and “ Price- tured artists. Overall, it’s a Onyx. Thisisagoodthing frequent mentionofmoney less.” All City manage to g00d album and hopefully because they don’t try to that gets real old. Other make every song flow and _!t won't get slept on. sound like Onyxandcome than that the disc is