Page 8- Over The Edge - November 26, 1996

SoundCheck

by Lauren Bacon

ENZSO
ENZSO
Sony Music

There seems to be a trend of
orchestrating pop/rock groups’
previous efforts, of which the
result is intended to be
“crossover appeal”. This is yet
another of those albums — but
it actually sort-of works on a
musical (i.e., not just a
marketing) level.

ENZSO is a collaboration
between members of Split Enz,
the New Zealand Symphony
Orchestra, and the New
Zealand National Youth Choir.
All the songs are previously
released Split Enz Tracks,
which have been arranged for
performance by the full
symphony, choir, and a variety
of lead vocalists (Neil and Tim
Finn, Sam Hunt, Dave Dobbyn,
and Annie Crummer). The
arrangements are, in fact, very
good; an appealing mix of
orchestral textures is explored,
and Split Enz’ harmonic
structures are complex enough
to merit this treatment.

Some tracks make the move
into symphonic treatment more
easily then others; “My
Mistake,” for example, seems
a natural fit, with its Sgt.
Pepper like rhythms, while
“Under the Wheel” ends up
sounding like a reject from an
ELO album. The most
successful arrangement is
probably “Dirty Creature,”
which while it swings
perilously close to overkill, has
some wonderful choral and
orchestral writing, and would
not sound out of place in a
concert-hall.

It is inescapable that such an
album have moments of intense
cheese, but I was very
pleasantly suprised by the
musicality evident throughout.
The choral sections are,
arguably, the most lacking for
interest — a large-ish choir
singing wordless and seamless
backup vocals is over-the-top
at the best of times — but even
this, as in “Message to My
Girl,” can sometimes succeed.

Perhaps the most unfortunate
aspect of ENZSO is that, like
most of these symphonic-
version albums, it succumbs at
least once per track to the
Glory and Majesty of which an
orchestra and choir are
capable. The musicality of the
song writing shines through
regardless, but the listener is
forced to endure a great deal of
crescendo-for-crescendo’s-
sake (of which “Strait Old
Line” and “Stuff ‘N Nonsense”
are the worst examples).
Classical Judge a
Sound Track Judge ***
Crossover Judge stoke
See See
Enigma

Enigma 3: Le Roi est mort,
Vive le roi!

EEE ee)
Do you like Enigma? Did you
like the last two albums? Are
you looking for more of the
same kind of music? Well here
you go. Frankly, the very first
time I heard Enigma, the music
seemed somewhat appealing,
but disillusionment soon
followed. They — or rather, he
— have/has done nothing but
one song over and over: same
drum sample overlaid with a
few Gregorian chant outtakes,
a yelling/singing guy who
sounds. vaguely middle-
eastern, and/or an ephemeral
female voice, a la Kate Bush.

(There’s also the occasional
lead vocal by Michael Cretu,
Mr. Enigma himself but really,
he’s better of sticking to the
Latin and the wordless

samples, because his lyrics are

incredibly trite. Why he
thought “things are changing/
But Nothing changes/And still
there are Changes” was worth
printing in the liner notes is
beyond me.) This album is no
different so set your course
accordingly.

It saddens me that Enigma, true
to the law of greatness being
inversely proportional to
popularity, have made it so big,
while other (and better)
proponents of electronic/world
music such as Dead Can
Dance, struggle for publicity
crumbs. But I think the most
upsetting thing about this
album is that the packaging is
absolutely exquisite, and it’s
utterly wasted on the dreck
within. I can only hope that
someone better steals the
concept.

Cover art judge: ****

Actual content judge *
Ee ee red
Da Brat

Anuthantantrum

So So Def/Columbia
sx ESS SSeS
Da Brat, one of the
unfortunately few-and-far-
between female rap artists
around, is of the braggart
school of hip-hop. Most of her
lyrics revolve around her
ability on the mic, and
although after a while, this
kind of self-aggrandizement
can become a bit tiresome, her
talents are such that she almost
deserves the compliments she
bestows upon herself. Her
rhymes are solid, and the
production’ is very slick;
moreover, she has an edge to
her that demands at the very
least, a good dose of respect.

Jermaine Dupri (Da Brat’s
brother) is the producer behind
her sound, and he works hard
to give each track a layered and
polished quality that stands up

to several listens. Samples are
used judiciously, and when
there are additional artists on

the tracks they add
considerable musical interest.
(Krayziebones and Trey

Lorenz do vocal duty on “Let’s
All Get High” and Just A little
Bit More”;-respectively and
special mention goes to
LaMarquis Jefferson’s
excellent bass work on “Sittin’
On Top Of the World.”)

Essentially a mainstream rap
effort, Anuthatantrum manages
to combine straight-up — if not
necessarily interesting words
and well-crafted musical work.
It’s a strong effort from a
young artist, who will
definitely deserve continued

_attention in the future.

Hip-Hop Judge: ***

Content Judge: **

Style Judge: ***1/2
SS all
John Acquaviva
Transmissions Vol. 1
intelliNet/Virgin
=> eee ae
John Acquaviva is one of
Canada’s formost DJ’s, and for
good reason. This album stands
as an example to DJ’s
everywhere for its seamless
mixing; its only drawback is
the usual _ pitfall of
compilations (techno or
otherwise) — the choice of
material Although there are a
few tracks worth listening to
on their own merits, most of
the interest here lies with
Acquaviva’s expertise at the
mixing board.

The album was recorded life at
LA Maison De La Casa House,
and as a live set, it must have
been incredible.

Acquaviva does an excellent
job of allowing the levels of
energy to ebb and flow in a
hypnotic and natural way, and
it’s easy to imagine a club full
of people dancing and tripping
with this as their soundtrack.
Whether it stands up to
repeated listening is another
question altogether, though.

Another reward
of higher

education...

Get $750 towards the purchase or lease of any new GM vehicle.

There are two peaks on the
album: the first, a mix of
Mario J’s “Vision 3”,
Hardtrax’ “Hardphunk”, and
Tralopscinor’s “Always Did ,
Always Will” comes after
three unispiring tracks by
which time many listeners
may have given up and put
something else on. The
second high point follows
another couple of nearly-
indistinguishable songs: a
couple of minutes into
Barada’s “Gasoline”, things
really get going, and finally,
we get what we’ve been
waiting for. The goods
continue to be delivered right
through “Rescue,” an
Omegaman track, and a Fuse
remix of LFO’s “LOOP”.

Transmissions, Vol. I is
inconsistent, but contains a
handful of tracks worth
listening to; the most
appealing is Terrence
Parker’s “A Track For O. J.
Simpson”, which manages to
be both complex and highly
danceable. Also entertaining
is the appropriately titied
“Spaz”, by up-and-coming (or
has he arrived?) artist
Plastikman. ‘

It seems unavoidable that
compilations — especially
techno ones, it seems —
contain their fair share of
filler, and this one is no
exception. Acquaviva’s
mixing, though is impressive;
all things considered, this is
an above-average effort.

Techno Judge: **1/2
Compilation Judge: ***