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COLLECTION
ROLLINS BAND
Do It
Texas Hotel
Henry Rollins can rock! Do It is a
mini-Lo with three new cuts on the
A side and six live songs (recorded
in Holland 1987) on the B side. The
A side songs are perfect examples
of the Rollins Band's intensity and
power. Do It is one of Henry's best
producing" the band, somehow
loses track of their stripped down
"street rock" sensibilities. Circus of
Power is a damn good band with a
mediocre debut. Their music should
jump out and club you over the head.
but on this record it's more like a limp
slap in the face. MG
THE
original mix and, of course, television
excerpts. Whether you're a Beatnig
fan or not, I guarantee you'll love this
record. DO.
ultra vivid scen
ULTRA VIVID SCENE
Ultra Vivid Scene
Roughtrade/MAD
Right after my first experience with
this music I thought, "What the hell
is this?" I didn't know whether I loved
it or hated it. At first it sounded like
a life-sized Tonka dumptruck driven
by the Reid brothers of the Jesus and
Mary Chain dumping a ton of broken
toys on top of my head. After hear-
ing it again, the toys came to life
while I became a kid inside a giant
candy store. The debut album from
New York's Ultra Vivid Scene is
another example of the English 4AD
label's eccentric but always inter-
creations, with its honest, straight-up BEATNIGS esging taste. This playful plattor mixes
theme: "Don't think about it--Do it!
Don't talk about it-Do it! Don't lie
about it-Do it!!! Do it! Do it! Do it!
Do it!" This song makes you want to
go out and do something-anything!
The other two songs, "Move Right
In" and "Next Time" show off the
band's musical prowess-these
guys get funky as foot fungus. Hell,
they could even be a blues band if
they wanted to. The B Side is a live
taste of the band with older Rollins
tunes like "Hot Animal Machine."
"Lost & Found," "Wreckage," and
"Lonely" Take your pick, both sides
are great. Whether you prefer Hank
and his boys on stage or in the studio,
you'll love this record. DO
CIRCUS OF POWER
Circus Of Power
RCA
I caught this five-piece group in
NYC a few months back and was
quite impressed with their street-
tough hard rock sensibilities. They
possessed a hard-as-nails bite that
preening LA. glamsters only talk
about. Circus of Power have a knack
for songwriting. Bikes, beer and
babes provide lyrical inspiration for
vocalist Alex Mitchell's gritty, Jim
Morrison influenced singing. "Heart
Attack" and "Backseat Mama" both
ripe with double entendre and cliche,
are celebrations of the rock and roll
tradition. Unfortunately, C.O.P's self
described "power" doesn't really
transfer to vinyl. Ramones producer
Daniel Rey, credited for "not over-
television
BEATNIGS
Television 12" Remix
Alternative Tentacles
San Francisco's industrial strength
reggae hip hop political gurus meet
Adrian Sherwood and the Tackhead
posse-wow! What a concept. What
a record. The Beatnigs stomp into the
UK. with the best cut off their self-
titled album. Adrian Sherwood and
Tackhead hear it, add their own touch
and whaam! Together they make a
hit single. Seriously, this disc is
bound to stir up the British charts as
well as some cynics here. If "Televi-
tinkley toy sounds with hard driving
drums, distorted bass and infrequent
feedback. Along with the music
comes a voice that sounds more like
a possessed medium than a regular
male vocalist. In some songs the
guitarist will break out with a chain-
saw buzz he calls distortion, but he
usually sticks to simple strumming
and textural sonic overlays
If you like Tones on Tail, Jesus and
Mary Chain, or Sonic Youth, you'll
probably understand where this band
is coming from. Tracks to listen for
on this one are "Nausea," "Mercy
Seat," "The Whore of God," and
"How Did It Feel." After your brain
absorbs and decodes all of this
sound, you'll begin to have fun.
Really, it's not that hard. DO
OZZY OSBOURNE
No Rest for the Wicked
Epic
Sure, Blizzard of Oz was great and
Diary of a Madman had some great
songs, but Ozzy's most recent effort
is a big step down. No Rest for the
Wicked is musically similar to Ozzy's
later Black Sabbath work (circa
Technical Ecstacy). Unfortunately,
there are some truly insipid cock-
rockisms, especially "Breaking All
the Rules" a number the old man.
could certainly do without. Manufac
tured guitar hero Zak Wylde, whose
six-string dexterity resembles that of
predecessor Randy Rhodes, is a
welcome addition to the band. His
knack for solid riffing adds to
MG Co-Darey Cel
sion is any sign of what we are going
to hear from the Beatnigs in the fu-
ture-watch out. Tackhead's rhythm
track is a jarring, powerful drum
quake filled with distorted bass and
Michael Franti's deep mad growl.
And this is just the A side. The B side
is the same Tackhead rhythm with
more Beatnigs touch added. Above
the drums is the omnipresent Beat-
nig clank and pound, parts of the
Osbourne's effect. Lyrically, the big
O treads on familiar arcane ground
with the possible exception of
"Demon Alchohol, Ozzy's argu-
ment for cleaner living. Though it's
far from breathtaking, No Rest. is
bound to make Ozzy fans happy. MG
THE SCREAMING TRIBESMEN
Bones And Flowers
Ryko/Survival
Australia has been the home of
fierce guitar gods ever since Angus
Young decapitated the Bee-Gees
behemoth with his flaming Gibson
axe. Now there's a new pack of hard-
ass rockers that are busting chops
all across the koala continent. The
Screaming Tribesmen stroke some
wicked power chords in pursuit of the
Young family jewels, but it doesn't
stop there. Throw in a healthy hunk
of Machine Gun Etiquette Damned,
a bucket of Aussie power pop, a
seven-foot face of surt sound, and
you've got a winning recipe for
Tribesmen musical stew. Chris
Masuak's clean and crunchy guitari
beats your eardrums while Mick
Mayhew's viciously lovesick vocals
rip at your heartstrings. The sound
is uplifting yet biting. Bones and
Flowers is a knockout of a disc, and
it has earned the Tribesmen the title
of Aussie rock champs. MG
WOLFGANG PRESS
Bird Wood Cage
Rough Trade/4AD
I don't know why they put an unoc-
cupied toilet on the cover of this
album, but hey, to each his own pot.
For a label whose covers are often
better than its records, this piece
didn't look too promising. But guess
what? This record flipped my lid
When their killer funky gloomy single
"King of Soul" came out, who'd have
thought the Press could follow up
with an album of equal caliber? With
a deep booming rhythm section and
Mick Allen's funny droney voice.
you'd think you were listening to old
Gang of Four or sometimes even a
great reggae album. This is simply
their best record yet. Don't let the
toilet fool you; this album is far
from crappy DO