From: leo@ph.tn.tudelft.nl (Leo Breebaart)
Subject: Kronto Singles Reviews Vol.2, #13
Reply-To: leo@ph.tn.tudelft.nl
Organization: Delft University of Technology
Date: Mon, 2 Nov 1992 09:42:53 GMT
Followup-To: rec.music.misc
Summary: 21 Aug - 2 Nov


Well, my Singles Reviews have appeared at a very uneven rate this year,
but the two-and-a-half month gap between #12 and this #13 is a bit
much even for me. Work, busy, no time, etc, etc, etc.

Some of the singles below are very old hat by now, but I had already
written most of these reviews when they were still new, so I thought
I'd unload them on you anyway.

-----

This is part thirteen of my 1992 new singles reviews. It's a review of more-
or-less new singles that have come to my notice over the last few weeks. 
All opinions expressed are humbly mine. The rating system is simple:

****  = "Excellent", by the time you read this I will already have begged, 
        stolen or borrowed the album this song is on.
 ***  = "Above Average", if this song comes on the radio, I turn the volume
        up, and I will certainly try to get a hold of the album.
  **  = "Ok", this song is quite literally 'average', in the positive sense
        of the word. 
   *  = "Below Average", if this song comes on the radio, I turn the volume
        down, and pray for it to finish quickly.
 (0)  = "Worthless", songs that I can't understand *anyone* would like.

-----

WINNER OF THE WEEK:

NENEH CHERRY - Money Love (****)

Neneh Cherry is in my opinion one of the most talented and interesting
female artists around at the moment. She manages to combine
intelligent lyrics with melodious, irresistable songs, and has a very
pleasant voice. "Money Love" is even better than 'Buffalo Stance', but
built along the same lines. It starts out as a quiet hip-hop type song
with a strong vocal groove, then quickly accelerates into a aggresive
guitar-driven cacophony with melody and rap taking turns. This is one
of this year's best singles. Check it out.


LOSER OF THE WEEK:

BOYZ II MEN - End Of The Road (0)

Soul is dead. This song proves it, painfully, once more. It also
raises the question: why are all the super-mega-ultra-hits of the last
three years ballads *that I can't stand*? Last year it was Bryan Adams
with 'Everything I do', the year before that it was Sinead with
'Nothing compares 2 U' and now it's this overlong piece of rehashed
torch-song-soul drivel. Yuck.


OTHER SONGS:

INNER CIRCLE - Sweat (a la la la la long) (**)

I suppose this song has as much to do with real reggae as Vanilla Ice
has to do with real rap, or John Denver's music has to do with real
rock 'n roll, but stiff white folks will lap it up (especially here in
Holland where we need *at least* one 'tropical' top-5 hit each year).
Having said all that, I must be honest and admit that I have kinda
fallen for this little piece of fluff as well, though. It's so darn
catchy...


LIONEL RICHIE - My Destiny (**)

I really couldn't have taken yet another soppy Lionel Richie ballad,
so I suppose I should give thanks that this time he released an
uptempo song. Standard, trite, uninspired and boring are all words
that apply to 'My Destiny', but at least it is listenable.


SHABBA RANKS - Mr. Loverman (***)

Shabba Ranks is supposed to be the hottest reggae-artist around, isn't
he? Well, I don't know, but 'Mr. Loverman' sounds awfully Westernized
and commercial to me. Not that this isn't a good song, in fact it's
actually a *great* song (I love those little "Shabba!" cries), with a
very good groove, but it still leaves me a but curious.


PETER GABRIEL - Digging In The Dirt (**)

I respect Gabriel a lot, both as a human being and as an artist, but
this song sounds like a "So" outtake. There's nothing here that shows
that we are listening to a Gabriel eight years older then when he made
"Red Rain" which this song royally rehashes. I really had expected more.


HOUSE OF PAIN - Jump Around (0)

Did I say last week that the house song "Poing" was the most horrible 
thing I had ever heard? Well, just a few weeks later, House of Pain 
come very close to the same claim, with a unlistenable house track
containing some screeching that I swear has the possibility to do
severe hearing damage even at low volumes. You want to avoid this one,
believe me.


BRYAN ADAMS - Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough (*)

And sometimes power ballads are just not enough either, especially
if they add absolutely nothing at all to the genre, where, strangely
enough, the very same Bryan Adams has created some of the most
endearing and classic entries. How the mighty have fallen...


DEF LEPPARD - Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad (**)

Standard, standard, standard. Listenable (one of the few Def Lep songs
from the new album with that characteristic, actually), but standard.
Am I the only one seeing a difference between this uninspired
power ballad and last time's deliciously different (even though also 
based on prehistorical standard themes) "Love Bites"?


DEL AMITRI - Always The Last To Know (**)

Not the best song from the new album, but not bad at all in itself.
Solid pop-rock with vaguely countryesque influences. Fans will like
it, non-fans will not be converted by this. That, in a nutshell, is
incidentally also a good capsule review for the entire album this
single is taken from.

-----

All remarks, agreements, disagreements, additions, or factual error
corrections welcome.

-- 
Leo Breebaart  (leo @ ph.tn.tudelft.nl)
x-gateway: rodan.UU.NET from love-hounds to rec.music.gaffa; Fri, 13 Nov 1992 17:09:44 EST
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1992 16:57:36 -0500
Return-Path: <news@wakinyan.uchicago.edu>
From: hasn@midway.uchicago.edu (Sheheryar Hasnain)
Errors-To: Love-Hounds-request@uunet.uu.net
Subject: Re: Ticket off
Message-ID: <1992Nov13.215749.24667@midway.uchicago.edu>