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Frontline Assembly Rewind (Metropolis/Outside) Volume busted on your TV while playing G-Nome, Quake or WipeOut XL? Dump FLA's latest in and enjoy... kinda. Much like FLA's view of the future, Rewind has few bright spots. A soundtrack to post-apocalyptic boredom, this double CD is best played to distract. So if you're in a caravan of tech-scavenging WWIII fallout survivors looking for your next radioactive sweat-purge, go to your average (and I do mean average) gutted factory and dance 'til the next FLA bomb drops. 6/10 (Lateef Martin) Gordie Sampson Stones (turtlemusik/PolyGram) Gordie Sampson is the latest in the recent line of neo-Celtic Maritime music stars to break out of the east, but his range of styles is as broad as his list of collaborators. The young guitarist/vocalist co-writes with Jimmy Rankin and Mary Jane Lamond, hires fiddlers Ashley MacIsaac and Natalie MacMaster, and comes up with everything from radio-ready guit-pop numbers to exoticized "world" pieces with breakbeats. Can we get over disco-Celt fusion and rockin 'n' reelin' now? 5/10 (Chris Yurkiw) At the Spectrum, Sunday, Oct. 4 with the Rankins Ultra Naté Situation Critical (PolyGram)
Various Boss Soul: The Genius of Barry White (Del-Fi/Fusion III)
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Dance diva Ultra Naté hit a collective chord last year with "Free," her massive club hit which spoke of individual charity being the solution to general malaise. Her new album addresses similar issues, all the while cleverly cloaked under the guise of throwaway dance music. But her music is anything but disposable. Tracks like the title cut and the Chic-esque "New Medicine" tackle topics like personal responsibility and destructive relationships, clearly making Naté the thinking man's dance sensation. 7.5/10 (Gerard Dee)
Back in '66, Cali surf magnate Bob Keane started the Bronco soul label to dethrone Berry Gordy Jr. and Detroit's Motown. A harebrained scheme--white surf was Keane's forté--but he did have one ace up his sleeve: a young Barry White, well before he poured himself into his "sensuous" '70s Love Man persona. This comp showcases not only White's fabulous pipes, but also his skills as songwriter, producer and hotshot A&R guy for other talents, including Diana Ross soundalike Felice Taylor. A solid block of tasty old-style soul. 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)