45 REVELATIONS

45 REVELATIONS

KEN BARNES'

The vacation was swell, but I spent most of it plowing through about a thousand singles. The vinyl this autumn was a bumper crop; maybe the government should pay record companies not to release so many records—I can think of a few artists who could be rotated...or stand fallow for a few seasons.

With so many new records over the last three months, keeping in mind I generally like at least half of what I hear (putting my Rock Critics of the World credentials in constant jeopardy), this column, even after severe selfediting, will have to be (unlike this introduction) terse. Regular rambling will resume next month.

Single of the Hiatus is Kate Bush’s “Cloudbusting.” Kate Bush inhabits a world that only occasionally impinges on our own, and it’s quite easy to dismiss her convoluted, personal songs as so much mystical twaddle. (Certainly when you hear the opening line of this one, “I still dream of Organon,” you’re pretty sure right off the bat that it may turn out a little less accessible than, say, ‘‘Into The Groove.”)

The story line here resolves into a fairly lucid tale (based on a children’s book) of government suppression of anything it. can’t comprehend, and the music is captivating, built around a bolero-style string figure that took up residence in my head three weeks ago and is applying for a permanent lease on the facility. Hear for yourself, and also don’t miss Kate’s first U.S. airplay contender, “Running Up That Hill,” a simple story of a woman trying to talk God into placing her soul in her lover’s body, and vice versa.

Speaking of “Into The Groove,” a probable Top Ten of the Year contender, Madonna followed it up with “Dress You Up,” the song I complained about not being a single somewhere around the time of “Material Girl.” “Dress You Up” is light, frothy, speedy, impossible to dislodge, everything you want from a Madonna single (her new British single, “Gambler,” from Vision Quest, is even speedier). John Cougar Mellencamp’s strum-and-stomp formula is nearing perfection with the “Small Town” and “Lonely 01’ Night” singles, but, invigorating as they are, they’re eclipsed by “Rain On The Scarecrow,” Mellencamp’s farmers’ song, far and away the best thing he’s ever done, more powerful than anything on Born In The USA for my money, and the best non-single of the year. Another rare instance of politics coexisting harmoniously with a good song is the anti-apartheid “Sun City,” but then Steve Van Zandt & Arthur Baker are the guys to pull off that trick.

Other good American pop and rockers are RJE.M.’s “Driver 8” (their most accessible); Springsteen’s inspirational flip to “I’m Going Down,” “Janey Don’t Lose Heart”; Tom Petty’s Southern pride anthem “Rebels,” and the Long Ryders’ “Looking For Lewis & Clark,” with the flavor of “Subterranean Homesick Blues” and tantalizing references to Tim Hardin, Gram Parsons and the Long Ryders themselves.

their best-realized move back to relatively straight pop. I was never sure I liked “Voices Carry,” but it kept sneaking up on me. No such indecision for ’til tuesday’s new one, “Love In A Vacuum”; reminds me of fellow Boston fave Robin Lane & The Chartbusters. Jane Wiedlin’s “Blue Kiss” is seductive, featherweight pop. Check the Romantics’ ersatz Four Tops “Test Of Time,” the Hooters’ stirring “And We Danced,” and Outfield’s solid mainstreamer “Say It Isn’t So.”

John Waite’s “Every Step Of The Way” is affecting; Candy’s “Whatever Happened To Fun” is affected—pure Raspberries, down to Jimmy lenner producing and Wally Bryson arranging, but the “I Wanna Be With You” effect is refreshing. Great guitar breaks on Chris Isaak’s “Gone Ridin’.” And points to Hall & Oates for their Temptations salute, “The Way You Do The Things You Do/My Girl”; securing the original lead singers, Eddie Kendrick and David Ruffin, didn’t hurt I’m knocked out by “Back Against The Wall” by George Johnson (of Brothers Johnson fame)—lots of rock riffing for you crossover fans, and a great restless and relentless record The ageless lsley,Bros. are still making fine records, like the subtle and atmospheric “Colder Are My Nights,” in their fourth decade. Prince’s latest flip sides “Hello” and “Girl,” are intriguingly bizarre, the former for its confessional lyrics, the latter for its dizzying musical shapeshifting. Aretha Franklin’s “Who’s Zoomin’ Who” is my

favorite of her ’80s records, -

over strong competition like “Jump To It” and “Pink Cadillac.”

Tons more good black/ urban contenders to keep an eye out for; Rene & Angela’s “I’ll Be Good”; Brenda K. Starr’s “Pickin’ Up The pieces”; Sister Sledge’s return to form, “Dancin’ On The Jagged Edge”; Stroke’s “You Are The One”; Benedito & Lori’s “Anything”; Atlantic Starr’s “Silver Shadow”; the Madonnaesque “More Than You Can Handle” by Lushus Daim & The Pretty Vain (don’t let the name put you off the

record). More? Rick James’s excellent productions for Eddie Murphy (“Party All The Time”) and Val Young (“Seduction”); Teena Marie’s “14K” Easton’s pop hiphop-style “Do It For Love,” a fine Nile Rodgers production; Rodgers’s own gratifyingly Chic-like “State Your Mind”; Jeff Tyzik & Maurice Starr’s Mtume-style “Sweet Surrender”; Con Funk Shun’s best ever, “Tell Me What”; Patti Austin’s fine Alison Moyet cover, “Honey For The Bees”; Melba Moore’s third straight delight, “I Can’t Believe It”; Curtie & The Boombox’s wondrous synthesis of Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family” and “He’s The Greatest Dancer,” “Black Kisses Never Make You Blue” (with guitar by Def Leppard’s Steve Clark); and Morris Day’s typically suave dance sensation, “The Oak Tree.”

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One of my favorite pop producers, Alan Tarney, returned with a No. 1, “Take On Me” by A-ha, also notable for being the first Norwegian hit and marking the return of white falsetto to the pop airwaves. A similar, maybe slightly better record is “Send My Heart” by the Adventures. Strawberry Switchblade pulls off a radical disco dissection of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” and the patient survives. INXS, like Talking Heads, have ' andoned the funk wars for guitar pop-rock, and “This Time” is their best in this vein yet. ABC’s “Be Near Me” is a good mix of their lush, romantic “Look Of Love” style and modern hiphop production.

Buzzsaw noise merchants the Jesus & Mary Chain double-cross their disciples with “Just Like Honey,” a Spectorian ballad buttressed with relatively tasteful feedback shrieks—fascinating. The Smiths’ “Boy With The Thorn In His Side” finds Morrissey’s crooning (bordering on yodelling this time) wearing thin, but the guitars are a perpetual marvel. The Jazz Butcher’s “Death Dentist” (complete with a chilling drill solo) is the best Cramps record Ivy & Lux never made.

Other British items to look for: The Alarm’s “Strength,” their most powerful rocker yet; Lloyd Cole’s “Brand New Friend” (mostly for the flip, “Her Last Fling”); the Clash’s subdued but compelling “This Is England”; Feargal Sharkey’s catchy Maria McKee (Lone Justice) cover, “A Good Heart”; Prefab Sprout’s immensely infectious “Appetite”; and Icicle Works’ “Seven Horses.”

Since I’m running out of space, I’ll hold some of the independent rockers till next time—plus a batch of modern country faves. 0