From: piscine@rs1.tcs.tulane.edu (Mike Taylor)
Newsgroups: alt.music.progressive
Subject: Re: Dave Stewart (was Re: Steve Hillage: Guitar-Centered Albums?)
Date: 16 Dec 92 19:16:12 GMT
Organization: Tulane Museum of Natural History
Nntp-Posting-Host-[nntpd-22641]: rs1.tcs.tulane.edu

BN>     1. How are the Stewart/Gaskin releases ?  Anything like
BN>        Egg/Hatfield/National Health ????

Stewart has recently moved into a more accessible pop direction.  I've only
heard _Spin_.  Overall, I was very disappointed.  About half the album is well
crafted pop, but the other half I find to be a yawner.  FWIW, I write a series
of reviews for the 60S_70S_PROGROCK echo on Fidonet.  I recently reviewed
_Spin_ and have included it here:

Band:  Stewart/Gaskin
Title: Spin
Year:  1991
Label: Ryko RCD 20213 (U.S.)

Band Members:
  Dave Stewart   - Keyboards, rhythm Programming
  Barbara Gaskin - Lead & backing vocals
  
  Variously:
    Andy Reynolds  - Guitar, Keyboard bass
    Gavin Harrison - Drums, Percussion, Rhythm programming
    Jimmy Hastings - Flute, Bass Clarinet
    Others
 
Song Titles:
  Walking the Dog
  The Cloths of Heaven
  8 Miles High
  Amelia
  Trash Planet
  Golden Rain
  Your Lucky Star
  Cast Your Fate to the Wind/Louie Louie
  The 60's Never Die
  Star Blind
  (?)

Total Playing Time: 60'11"


After hearing Khan, Egg, Hatfield and the North, and National Health, Dave
Stewart quickly moved into my top slot as favorite keyboard player and also
made him one of my favorite all-around musicians.  So, with great
anticipation, I purchased Spin.  Could this be the same Dave Stewart that
revealed the inner beauty of the Hammond organ?  Could this be the same Dave
Stewart that displayed his English wit with Hatfield and the North?  Could
this be the same Dave Stewart that showed strong compositional prowess in
National Health?  Alas, it could be.

Stewart/Gaskin is the current partnership between Stewart and long-time
musical associate, Barbara Gaskin.  Spin is the latest of four in a series of
"progressive-pop" albums, one of which yielded at least one hit single in the
UK.  Stewart displays his trademark, albeit brief, chops in some keyboard
solos but too many of the songs have a degree of sameness that leaves me flat.
Likewise, Gaskin has a beautiful voice but fails to display any real emotion
to get me involved in the music.

Spin is an ode to the 60's, with remakes of 'Walking the Dog', '8 Miles High,
'Amelia', the medley, and Stewart-penned tunes, 'Trash Planet' and 'The 60's
Never Die.'  'Walking the Dog' displays Stewart's willingness to explore the
full capabilities of his synthesizers (no Hammond here).  He turns in a short
keyboard solo that you'd almost swear was played on guitar.  It's a catchy
remake and is one of the better cuts on the album.  To be sure, many of tracks
are catchy and range from not-half-bad to pretty good.  However, other cuts,
such as 'Golden Rain,' 'Your Lucky Star,' and the remake of Joni Mitchell's
'Amelia'  sound the same from beginning to end and range from yawners to
downright snoozers. 'Your Lucky Star' is dedicated to Joe Meek, a record
producer.  You won't be able to forget this little factoid, as "Joe" is
mentioned at least eight times.  'Trash Planet' is a reminder of the
environmentally-aware youth of the 60's, while 'The 60's Never Die' is
self-obvious.  '8 Miles High' captures the feeling of the Byrds' original
fairly well and the medley is also pretty well executed.  But it's just not
enough to offset the bore that sets in from the other tracks.

There is an unmentioned 11th track which is also one of the standout tracks.
It displays Stewart in fine form and has some of his characteristically fine
playing.  It seques into an '8 Miles High' coda to end the album.

I was and still am disappointed with this album.  I have no problem with the
current direction Stewart is exploring.  I think he is quite capable of doing
quality pop, as evidenced by 'Walking the Dog' and 'Trash Planet.'  But the
duo do not consistently produce that quality across the range of songs
presented here, ultimately leaving me bored with the whole affair.  With a
heavy sigh, all I can say is "Don't bother."


BN>     2. In the liner notes (OK, CD booklet) for the Complete National
BN>        Health, Dave Stewart said they initially turned down Pip Pyle
BN>        because he didn't want Hatfield and the North, MK II.  Isn't
BN>        that what he really ended up with anyway ?????  Comments ?????

Stewart's fears were unfounded, though the band did end up with Pip.  The
work, to me, sounds quite different than Hatfield.


Mike

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Newsgroups: alt.music.progressive