45 REVELATIONS

45 REVELATIONS

Ken Barnes

SINGLE OF THE MONTH

The perfect pop record of 1987 has arrived. Actually, it arrived in mid-1986 in Australia, but it took me until 1987 to get hold of it, plus the album it’s on just came out in the U.S. (it should be a single here late in the year or even in 1988), so I say it’s the pop record of 1987 and let’s get to it.

“Before Too Long” by Paul Kelly & The Coloured Girls (who, being neither coloured nor girls, have been renamed the Messengers for American consumption) is damnably difficult to describe without dallying with dangerous superlative references to the Beatles and other kiss-ofdeath comparisons. Nevetheless, those are the comparisons that come to mind; this record has the timeless qualities of an instant pop classic. You can hum the tune after the first verse, and it’s resonating in your bloodstream after one hearing. The spare, to-the-point guitar breaks hit just the right notes, and the harmonies are gorgeous. Make sure you hear it.

• • •

A good chunk of the recent action is, as usual in the past couple of years, in the dance-pop arena. “No One Knows” by Wild Mary’s (a group, an individual, a possessive tense?) is a snaky, subtle number with a hint of the mystery “Sally Go Round The Roses” by the Jaynetts has always held for me.

“Baila Bolero” by Italian duo Fun Fun is giddy Eurodisco at its absurdly catchy best, semi-garbled Spanish and Abbaesque turns of melody that only a churl (or a rock critic, if I’m not being redundant) could fail to enjoy.

“Only In The Night” by the Voice In Fashion is that rare artifact, a good dance-pop record with a male vocal. The proportion of female vocalists on danceoriented radio stations is far higher than in any other format, and may be even higher in the clubs. (Everyone’s higher in the clubs.) In fact, it seems as if every other dance-pop record is by a female singer, most of them possessed of just one name (Madonna’s Children, some call them—I’m compiling a long list that spans Alisha to Xena and grows every week). Dobble Deb semi-qualifies in this grouping (rather than invent a new one-and-ahalf-name category), and her third record to my knowledge, “I’m Searchin’,” may be the year’s heaviest dance cruncher. The melody doesn’t demand that Debbie extend her range much past two and a half notes, and there’s one of those stupid vocoders all over it, but the riff (the first four notes of ABC’s “Be Near Me” chorus) demolishes everything in its path.

“Play With Me” by AbbyLynn (hey, there’s a new alphabetical leadoff for the one-name list) lands on the teenybop/girl group side of the dance class, and is about as charming an example of that subspecies as you could ask for, with vintage Ronettes allure.

Ana’s “Shy Boys” combines girl-group appeal with a few Janet Jackson production tricks, and how then could the result be less than fabulous? (Rhetorical question; answers on a postcard not accepted.) Its co-producer is also the answer to the question doubtless hovering on the tip of the tongues of all perspicacious poppickers for the past five years: whatever happened to Kar Richardson, the coproducer (with the unforgettably-named Albhy Galuten) of all those seminal Bee Gees disco monuments?

“Let Me Be The One” by Sa-FIre (one of the more distinctive single-name identities) features lots of emulated chipmunks (in the Nu Shooz tradition) and borrowings from “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” but it hops hiply and sweeps you along before its brash assurance.

Tiffany sounds as if she should join the one-name gang, especially when you learn she was just 14 when she cut “Danny,” but actually she s in another class. Her voice is surprisingly mature, something like a young Stevie Nicks at times, and the song is teen-anguish pop-rock sans dance trappings but with an affecting overall feel.

Country continues to provide plenty of thrills. The tightly-wound guitar intro to Steve Earle’s "Nowhere Road” is impossible to resist, and the AOR priority track on the flip side, “I Ain't Ever Satisfied,” is actually less rock-oriented, but the piano probably reminds people of Bruce Hornsby and the tune is memorable enough.

Waylon Jennings brings back those mandolins from his version of “Will The Wolf Survive,” and the rock textures of “Failin’ Out” are upgraded to first-rank status as a result.

Despite the above two examples, most of the country action is also in the feminine domain, where solo singers and femaleled groups like Baillie & the Boys, Pam Tillis, Highway 101, Holly Dunn, Gail Davies & Wild Choir, Lacy J. Dalton, Tanya Tucker, Sweethearts Of The Rodeo, Judy Rodman, and many more keep the airwaves invigorated.

Roba McEntlre has one of the best pure country voices and benefits on “One Promise Too Late” from a pleasant trend in songwriting circles toward traditional/folky arrangements and melodies. Dave Loggins, Lisa Silver and Don Schlitz are three of Nashville’s finest writers, and they’ve provided a delightful showcase for McEntire’s emotional virtuosity.

Susy Bogguss is a relative newcomer whose "Love Will Never Slip Away” also has a tinge of traditional/folk, plus a bit of rock, and a captivating melody—an impressive package.

Rosanne Cash is the reigning monarch of female country, and her treatment of John Hiatt’s' “The Way We Make A Broken Heart” recalls the melancholy lilt of classic Drifters—with exquisite vocals, as always. There’s also a non-LP flip-side rocker, “707,” and a host of treats on the accompanying King’s Record Shop LP.

Speaking of John Hiatt, his experiment of recording live in the studio with Ry Cooder, Nick Lowe and Jim Keltner paid off big, as you might reasonably expect, with a raw rock ’n’ roll sound that smokes throughout “Thank You Girl” (and the rest of the Bring The Family LP). Cooder in particular is in his most exalted slide guitar glory.

In an amusing juxtaposition, ex-X guitarist (and former master Blaster) Davo Alvin was in the import shops with his “Fourth Of July” single just as X released their version of the Alvin composition in the U.S. The two are quite similar, Alvin’s a bit less cinemascopic, and both come up winners—the song is a superb depiction of despair and disillusion and, in X’s case, probably their best record yet.

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Fire Town’s “Carry The Torch” has an intro of those bell-like guitars that always ring my chimes; a great debut by this Madison band. The Long Ryders’ cover of NRBQ’s fab “I Want You Bad” has more of those guitars just like ringing a bell, and by the end of the record achieves 12-string nirvana.

San Francisco’s Tracy Santa performs a haunting, reverbed version of Nick Drake’s “Fly” on the B-side of his pleasant, countryish “Hell In A Handtruck” (on Germany’s Exile Records, but distributed through Important in good import-oriented stores everywhere).

One of my favorite LP tracks of late, “All Come True” by World Party, emerges in single form and its elliptical casualness, which threatens to slide into chaos but always resolves most tunefully, survives the transition quite well, attaining a Crowded House kind of feel in the choruses.

Nice to see the Kinks have a melody or two left in their knapsack. “How Are You” ’s verses are a truly lovely contrast to the conversational lyrics, and this is a most reassuring record.

Finally, the Stems from Australia have had a couple of first-rate singles out since I last compiled a column. “At First Sight” is relatively restrained compared to their previous garage gems, although the raw vocals and guitars keep the edge on the smooth melody. “For Always” takes the pop transformation a step further, the result not a million miles away from the Hoodoo Gurus in their quieter moments. It’s still rock ’n’ roll, though, and the Stems underscore that point by crossing Bo Diddley with the Troggs on “Mr. Misery” (B-side of “For Always” and garage grunge at its snarling, self-pitying best).