Tony Allen Black Voices (Comet/Fusion III)
Ricky Martin Self-titled (Columbia/Sony) Jennifer Lopez On the 6 (Work/Sony)
Three Fish The Quiet Table (Epic/Sony) Pearl Jam did a cute rewrite of Led Zeppelin's "Going to California" on their last joint and here, bassist Jeff Ament's side trio pulls on another Zep thread in making their second album an exercise in Middle Eastern inspiration. With passport stamps and ouds proudly displayed, Ament and the Fish remind us--via Axl Rose, Robert Plant and William Burroughs--that it can be a fine line between the heavy-metal bandana and the Sahara headwrap. 6/10 (Chris Yurkiw) With David Garza at Cabaret , Mon., June 7, 9pm, $12.50+taxes
New Bomb Turks The Big Combo: More Singles and Other Swill 1994-98 (Drop Kick/Brilliant)
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There have been some interesting comps and rereleases of vintage '70s Afro-beat material the last couple of months--Racubah!, Africa Funk, Fela box sets--spurring on what looks like a full-tilt revival of that magnificent funk thunder. But what with Fela Kuti long since passed away and Manu Dibango goin' off on some Cuban tangents, who's there to bring the sound of African jazz-funk up to date? Tony Allen, that's who. He was Kuti's drummer back then, so he's got the sound down and can steer the rhythms with the best of them. At the same time, he enlists Doctor L to give these 7- or 8-minute jams a fresh dub-tronic wax job. The upshot is authentic Afro-beat kept very much in the now. 9.5/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
I strongly suspect that both Martin and Lopez were grown in a vat somewhere, genetically engineered Latin überbabes that they are (the exception being Miss Lopez's spectacular ass, which I believe was crafted by the wizards at NASA). I also suspect that musical creativity and character
were not in the DNA cocktail, given that both albums are largely big stinky hunks of lame dancepop, synthemotional artifice and nuevo R&B ballads with only the cheesiest of Latin flavours injected--although Martin's anglo debut does have a few freaky moments: sitars, ska, that massive soccer song and a cameo by Madonna. Now, does anyone care? Of course not. The pair's radiant beauty is not only blinding, but judging by their chart action, deafening as well. Martin 4/10, Lopez 2/10, CD booklet glamour shots of both, 10/fuckin' 10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
The sultans of punk are back with a greatest hits/single B-sides package, proving that they are the kings of blistering speed rock 'n' roll. The cover of the Pagans' "Eyes of Satan" alone makes this a worthwhile purchase, but it's the inclusion of the rare European Veronica Lake EP and the cover of the Rolling Stones' "Jivin' Sister Fanny" that make this an essential CD. To the slew of so-called "rock 'n' roll" bands coming out these days, the Turks provide a very large yard stick. 8.5/10 (Johnson Cummins)