14 The Cadre + 26 January 199 —— < Music Reviews (Roadrunner)

Over the course of the past half-dozen albums, Sepultura has evolved into a world-class thrash/punk/ heavy metal group. Their 1996 album Roots was an unquali-

fied masterpieceNIn 1997, though, the band’s lead vocal- ist Max Cavalera left the band, and was replaced by Derrick Green from England. Has Sepultura survived this change

in their roster?

Against isn’t one of the band’s better albums — the last three songs, “Drowned Out”, “Hatred Aside”, and the in- sot Cm en eee

“T3rcermillennium” are pain- fully sophomoric, and “Float- ers in Mud” is overproduced. Still, the title song and “Boy- cott” are powerful songs, and

on the whole, Against was a decent enough album. Wait until Sepultura’s next albumto judge whether or not the band is doomed.

- Randy McDonald

The Nylons Fabric of Life (Shoreline Records)

Having pleased crowds the world over, the Nylons are back with this album. Best known for their hits “Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Good- bye), “Happy Together” and “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”,

they show off their immense a cappella skills on this album. Standout tracks include “Mon- key”, and their unique and har- monious version of the Beatles classic “Let It Be”.

Formed in 1979, the band

rose to dominance with their brand of doowop and a capella during the early 80s. How- ever, the late 80s and early 90s saw the band hit some rocky roads, as they lost original members Paul Cooper and

Marc Connors. Showing their resilience, the band added Garth Mosbaugh and Mark Cassius, and, together with original members Arnold Robinson and Claude

Morrison, the Nylons have

proven that they’ re back at full with Fabric of Life

All 11 tracks are your typical

Nylons' songs — fun and full

of breathtaking harmonies.

- Ryan O'Connor

Furious George

Gets A Record!

(Recess records) www.recessrecords.com

This is the first full length release from Furious George, an American punk band. There are 16 tracks on this album, and all but one suck. The highlight (sur- rounded by lowlights) of this

album is “Gilligan”, which fea- tures the unmistakable vocals of Joey Ramone. Unfortu- nately, that’s the only good song, the rest don’t even warrant mentioning.

What else is there to

like about the album? Well, the cover is pretty neat, it has two pictures of a monkey (so similar looking to Curious George that there’s apparently a lawsuit going on) having his mugshot taken. Also, if one

looks inside the liner notes, there’s a pretty neat cartoon of Joey Ramone at a concert. That’s about all that’s neat about this album.

I definitely wouldn’t

recommend anyone to buy this cd. Save your money — or if you want a decent punk album go buy something by the Smug- glers or the Ramones (just avoid their 80s material).

Various artists Explore (Sony)

Seeing as how there’s no continuity to this CD (it’s just 13 different groups), I'll just tell you who I liked. The Afghan Whigs, “Somethin’ Hot” - You have to love a band whose frontman, Greg Dulli, can’t stand to listen to modern mainstream radio be- cause of the lack of soul, blues,

Fear of Pop, Volume 1 (Sony)

Ben Folds is behind this re- lease, but on the outside, it’s hard to tell. His name appears on the back of the disc, in small print, mixed with the credits. Maybe he wants to distance this from his work with his trio known as the Ben Folds Five. It’s understand- able. This album isn’t much

and feeling in much of today’s “rock” music. That’s exactly how I feel, so I dig what they’re trying to do. The Getaway People, “Chocolate” - pop/funk beats, acoustic rock, and kind of soulful with a smattering of turntable scratches. Pretty in- fectious. Jerry Cantrell, “Leave

like the BFS discs, and the other two musicians in BF5 don’t appear on this offering. It’s sort of experimental, like blending together Ben Folds and pieces of Jamiroquai and Beck, adding some more hip- hop/’dance”’-like beats, white noise, and various sound blurbs, while still maintaining Folds’ sense of melody. Some nifty

Me Alone” - From the debut album of the lead singer of Alice in Chains. Nice classic hard rock sound. Bic Runga, “Sway” - Female su of New Zealand. Not bad. Dag, “Our Love Would Be Much Better (If I gave a Damn About You)” - Funk, piano,

tracks are “Fear of Pop,” the 70’s chase-scene-like “Kops,” “J Paid My Money” (from the p.o.v. of a guy in a movie theatre getting annoyed at eve- ryone leaving early during a bad movie, and he says over

‘and over like some angered cally

mantra of denial, “I paid my money, and I’m gonna see all the movie!”’), and the odd “Rub-

and some style. Very groovy. Bernard Butler, “Stay” - This song’s quite dreamy at first, with sigh-like vocals, a lagging but pretty guitar part, a bit of piano, and a lot of feeling. The was even Called “the best gui- tarist of his generation” by

ber Sled.” However, I must con- fess that the main reason I his album was the fact William Shatner on two of the tracks. best of the two is “In Love”. It’s basi- Shatner telling an old girl- friend that he faked the whole relationship, put on an act, and now it in anger.

NME. Although I highly doubt that, it is good stuff. Also of note: Flick, “There You Go (False You)”/ D Generation. “Helpless”/ and The Julie Band, “Bad Day”.

-Stephen McQuaid

Shatner states, “I learned to ape the emutions of a sensitive human being...” and “At pu- berty, I was sworn to secrecy by the International Brother- hood of Lying, Fickle Males.

Ah, ya gotta love ol’ Bill Shatner. I can’t wait until his new CD comes out this spring. In conclusion, this CD is inter-

yee esting, but it’s nothing great.

-Stephen McQuaid