Choice Cuts

Reviews of Everything

Album: Urban Nostalgia Vol. 1 Artist: Baby Blue Sound Crew Label: Universal

.. Canada’s self-proclaimed “ambassa- ~ dors,” the Baby Blue Sound Crew invite listeners on a musical journey back in time on a cheesy effect-heavy intro to their latest compilation, Urban Nostalgia Vol. 1. The majority of the tracks on this poorly mixed CD (lining up beats is one thing, mixing together samples that are out of tune with each other can be jarring) are of the new school variety. Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock’s “It Takes Two” is the only truly vintage cut on this album. Nostalgia for the Blue Crew for the most part consists of hip hop and R&B from the nineties. A few glaring errors in the selection of tracks: having an LL Cool J song made after he fell off (something from Radio or even “Mama Said Knock You Out” would make more sense than the disgustingly terrible “Doin’ It”); Lionel Ritchie’s “All Night Long” (No explanation required. If it ain’t “Dancing on the Ceiling” then forget about it.); having the EPMD classic “Crossove,” a song about bitch-ass rappers selling out to R&B shit, along side R&B tracks fea- turing those bitch- asses; and the biggest blasphemy is listing the old school anthem, “900 Number” by DJ Mark and the 45 King as a track, but only playing the famous sax sample while some idiot from the Baby Blue Sound Crew yells “When I say Baby, you say Blue!” - I hate people that do stuff like that. There are a few surpris- es on this otherwise awful, inconstant record. Native Tongue members, De La Soul and Black Sheep make an appearance with “Me Myself and I” and “The Choice Is Yours” (that bassline is remarkable). And Tony! Toni! Tone!’s “Feels Good” is a guilty pleasure for all you play hataz out there. But ultimately this CD is a big disappointment from a shitty crew. If they were really “Canada’s ambassa-

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dors,” they could have at least includ- ed some classic Cancon from the likes of Maestro Fresh Wes, Main Source, or even Organized Rhyme.

-Stephan MACLEOD

Zine: G-spot and Female Ejaculation: When It Rains, It Pours —

Nice little zine about, you guessed it, female ejaculation. I know a few more things about female ejacu- lation now than I did before I read it, so I'd say it was worth the 50 cents. This is good just to have lying around on your coffee table, or better yet, kitchen table, for when pesky old peo- ple are going to be around. Don't you just hate old people?

(No address, so if you're real interest- ed, I could lend this to you. But you're probably not real interested, are you? No, of course you're not. Jerk.) -Jonah CAMPBELL

Album: Manic Moonlight Artist: King’s X Label: Metal Blade Records —

Doug Pinnick, Jerry Gaskill, and Ty Tabor are the guys who make up this bass, drums, and guitar band. They have a great mix of grunge and hard rock. Their sound is tight and their music has personality. The moment you pop on Manic Moonlight, it'll

catch your attention. You can tell that they just play the music and go with it; it’s natural. Echoes of Jimmy Hendrix ricochet throughout the cav- erns of this album (a.k.a. it kick-ass rocks). And what’s that I hear? A hint of jazz? Excellent touch, guys! And who could deny the influence of Grand Funk? With this CD, you can dance to it, cruise to it, or just sit there and listen to it (while prominently bobbing your head to the beat, of course). Just remember to play it loud. I recommend “Believe” and “Vegetable” as tracks to pay special attention to. Do yourself a favour and check these guys out.

-Mariéve MaGREGOR

Album: Wake Up and Smell the Coffee Artist: The Cranberries Label: MCA

The biggest thing about this CD is the vocals and the fact that the music compliments the voice in every song. When Dolores Burton lets loose and seems to be throwing all her emo- tion right into it, the music also picks up its speed and seems to act as a cat- alyst for Burton’s fire. Burton uses her full voice on tracks like “I Really Hope,” which picks up the pace from the softer, sweeter, more relaxed Burton on tracks like “Pretty Eyes.” The music is, in many of the songs, a

back up to Burton’s amazing voice that exemplifies her shifts in tone. Musically, this CD seems to concen- trate on emotion and peace of mind, and it is for the most part, a soft and easy-listening CD. Listen to Burton’s vocals, if they don’t impress you, you’re a vegetable. -Brad DEIGHAN

Album: The Chillout Aritsts: Various Virgin

Compilations rarely work because it is difficult to get any consistency with tracks from so many different artists. And besides, the idea of some record executives picking out a bunch of artists they want to promote, packag- ing them all together, and then trying to sell their glorified sampler to the public makes me want to burn my own mix CD (with a computer) while burn- ing their compilations (with a fire- place). To be fair, the tracks on The Chillout, sound nothing like the shit that usually ends up on Now 6, or Big Shiny Tunes. For the most part, this album features a lot of respectable and underplayed talent like Air, Massive Attack, Badly Drawn Boy as well as more popular but acceptably cool artists like Moby, Radiohead, and Gorillaz. The tracks are mixed togeth- er with smooth transitions, and a flow that is rarely interrupted. The songs.

really good tracks like Air’s “Playground Love,” and the Zero 7

Mix of Radiohead’s “Climbing Up the

Walls” but there’s a bit of filler. I think it was a bad idea to make this a double album. The only thing that links the artists on this album together are the low beats per minute on their songs and mellow arrangements. Don’t expect The Chillout to live up to KLF’s ambient masterpiece of the same name. These tracks are just mod- ern slowjams or pop music on Valium.

-Stephan MACLEOD