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Over The Edge Page 6 SOUNDSCAPE November 23, 1998

Skinny Puppy
Remix: Dystemper
Nettwerk Records

When | first heard that
Nettwerk was releasing
a compilation disc of
remixed Skinny Puppy
songs, | wasn’t sure
what to think. In a way,
it was nice to get some-
thing (sort of) new from
the best band ever to
have existed. On the
other hand, it was hard
to believe that any of
the people that were
slated to take on their
songs could master-
mind something worthy
of the originals. In a
way, the end of Skinny
Puppy was very repre-
sentative of their music:
anger, conflict, death
and open-endedness.
While “The Process”
(their final album) was
not their best, it remains
as a legacy to the mem-
ory of Dwanye Goettel
(the member who died
during the creation of
“The Process” due to a
heroin overdose). So
the only question that
remains is: Can this col-
lection do justice to the
Skinny Puppy legacy

while not making
Goettel roll over in his
grave?

The best tracks on this

disc are the remixes of .

the older Puppy songs,
such as “Addiction,”
“Assimilate” and “Dig It.”

These songs have a,

modern sound, where
the new technology is

adding new, organic
sounds, and at the
same time _ altering

sounds originally creat-

ed fifteen years ago.
This combination of the
familiar and the unusual
make these songs
come alive. “Dig It,” for
example, has been par-
tially re-sung by a com-
puter generated voice.
“Assimilate” is very sim-
ilar to the original, but
has been altered just
enough to make it worth
listening to a few times.

Conversely, | was very
disappointed with the
remixes of Puppy’s
more recent (post 1990)
songs. “Killing Game’ (I
thought) was _ slaugh-
tered. “Love In Vein”
and “Spasmolytic,” are
two that | hated less
than the others, but are
still only mediocre at
best. In general, these
remixes do no justice to

the originals.
As a marketing tactic, a
new version of

“Smothered Hope” was
recorded by Ogre and
Mark Walk. This re-
recording is actually
pretty good, but it’s hard
to like something that
was recorded obviously
to increase sales. In
fact, the sticker that
comes on the packag-
ing reads “... a brand
new recording of
‘Smothered Hope’
recorded by Ogre...” It's
funny to think of the
things that record labels
will do to increase
sales, and | guess that
even bands like Skinny
Puppy will fall prey to
this from time to time.
After listening to: this
disc a few times, and
trying to give lt.a fair
chance, | decided that |
have no real decision
on this one. | found it to
be disappointing in a lot
of aspects, but a few of
the songs are worth lis-
tening to. If you're a
collector, you'll probably
get it anyway, but don’t
expect too much. If

you're a Puppy fan look-
ing for something new,
buy all of their real discs
first. While | doubt that
Goettel will roll over in
his grave, | think that he
might plug his ears at a
lot of this one.

By Jeremy Karlson

Big Bad Voodoo
Daddy
Big
Daddy
(Coolsville  /
Capitol)

Bad Voodoo

EMI

“Come on kids...Swing
that thing!” Ina period

of music which can be .

found cashing in on the
swing craze, retro swing
can be found around
every corner, and at
every bar around. With
every musical style,
there are great bands
with a passion and a
meaning, and bands
which are just trying to
cash in on the latest
trend.

“Big Bad Voodoo
Daddy” is one of the
greats without a doubt.
Like most of the highly
successful swing bands
we are experiencing
now, they were around
before the craze began
- actually somewhat
responsible for swing’s
big comeback. Big Bad
Voodoo Daddy was
responsible for the
majority of music found
in the “Swingers” movie
soundtrack, along with a
guest appearance on
Fox’s “Party of Five.”

Harboring a sound
which stays true to the
era of the greats, lead
singer/songwriter/gui-
tarist “never thought of
‘his music as retro”, hav-
ing previously. been a

2

sort of a hired gun who
played everything from
punk to country in -stu-
dios for other bands.
Morris also. notes that
“they are as- influenced
by ‘Black Flag’ “as
‘Count Basie.”
Morris decided that he
was dissatisfied. with life
as a studio guitarist in
Los Angeles and decid-
ed to launch a three-
piece swing in ‘89.
Eventually he hired Dirk
Shumaker on_ string
bass and a couple of
surfing buddies, includ-
ing Andy Rowley on
saxophone to add
horns. The. audience
was amazed at the'style
which the band was res-
urrecting. The band was
amazed that people
were digging the style
which they were playing
in such numbers.

In ‘92 the band
received a name.
Morris went to an Albert
Collins concert and
asked for an autograph.
Collins signed Morris’
ticket “To the big bad
voodoo daddy.” He
thought that it was the
“coolest thing ever” and
so the band was

named.
Morris now describes
the music of Big Bad

Voodoo Daddy as high-
octane nitro jive - loud
and wild with a total
edge. The band is res-
urrecting a “get up and
dance in the aisles” era
- even recording in the
Capitol Records Tower
in legendary studio B,
where greats such as
“Louis Prima” and “Nat
‘King’ Cole” once
recorded beats which
changed the direction of
music forever.

One thing’s for sure,
swing isn’t going to go
away for a long time.
It’s just become tame in
its recent years and
now it’s time to see a
return to the wild “Louis
Armstrong’, “King
Oliver” times which

started the craze years
ago. So in the words of.
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy,
“Go Daddy-O”.

BAL ears, BARENAKED LADIES
‘OE FOLDS FLVE BLYAS PORTERS
RMERYA CROW GEOREE DUKE
PHNE GYBRE MINE BYERS
LONE BARELCH WYMORNA

Burt Bacharach
One Amazing Night
(Tall Pony / Attic)

“One Amazing Night” is
one amazing compila-
tion.

Burt Bacharach is prob-
ably one of the greatest
living American com-
posers. He is respected
in all of the major circles
as a paradigm of mod-
ern lounge and is
respected for his amaz-
ing talent within his own
genre. It is probably fair
to say that contempo-
rary American music
wouldn't be what it is
today if Burt hadn't
woven his influence into
it.

Regardless, “One
Amazing Night” is a trib-
ute to Burt's fame and
influence as a compila-
tion of tributes to Burt by
a wide array of impres-
sive and eclectic stage
luminaries such as
Sheryl Crow who cov-
ered “One Less Bell To
Answer”, All Saints
(Always Something
There), and Wynonna
(Anyone Who Had A
Heart). All of the tracks
were recorded live at
the Hammerstein
Ballroom in New York
City, backed up by a
forty piece orchestra
and directed by George
Duke.

Some of the more
notable performances
are those of “Raindrops
Keep Falling On My
Head” by Ben Folds
Five, fellow Canadians
The Bare Naked Ladies
rendition of “They Long
To Be Close To You’,
and a wacked out per-
formance of “What's
New Pussycat”, by Mike
Meyers. =
The end result is that
this compilation shows
the respect which mod-
ern artists have for the
legacy of Burt
Bacharach and his influ-
ence on our music
scene today. It also
gives us a chance fo lis-