Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 11, 1992 TAG: 9201110394
SECTION: SPECTATOR PAGE: S-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
NEW RECORDINGS
ComedyFans of the original "Saturday Night Live" will delight in finding "The Lost Tapes" (In Your Ear) volumes one and two, recordings of the old National Lampoon Radio Hour.
This is SNL without the pictures. Hear skits from Chevy Chase as God, John Belushi as a rowdy college kid (a prototype of his character in the 1978 movie "Animal House") and other funnies from SNL alumni Christopher Guest, Billy Crystal, Bill Murray and Gilda Radner.
The skit material, recorded in 1973, may sometimes sound dated with references to Watergate with a call-in show requesting ways to fry President Richard Nixon, but it's all funny nonetheless. - JOE TENNIS
Movie theme music
Whenever a box-office smash spins off a top-selling theme song, it's only natural that interested fans would look for it on the soundtrack album.
But if you're hoping to snag a copy of Hammer's new hit, "Addams Groove," don't bother heading to the record store for "The Addams Family" (Capitol), because it's not on there. (Nor is it on Hammer's "Too Legit to Quit," unless you buy your copy on cassette).
Instead, what you get is a smidgen of Vic Mizzy's original TV theme, a version of "Mamushka" sung by Raul Julia and Christopher Lloyd, and a whole lot of semi-dramatic orchestral music by Marc Shaiman.
Creepy? No. Kooky? No. A rip-off? You got it. - The Baltimore Sun
Rock If social anthropologist Victor Turner's theories on the margin phase in adolescent rites of passage strike you as inappropriate material for rock and roll songs, it's only because you haven't heard the way\ Law & Order treats those ideas on its second album, "Rites of Passage" (MCA).
Yet as impressive as it is to hear how easily the band's songs deal with complex concepts like sangsara and nirvana (that is, illusion and enlightenment), what makes this album most worth hearing is its music, which finds room for everything from lush vocal harmonies ("Dawn Over Zero") to gritty, Stones-style balladry, to full-tilt boogie rock ("The Open Door"). Definitely an album too good to be missed. - The Baltimore Sun
Former Foreigner frontman Lou Gramm pours his thick voice over Vivian Campbell's solid guitar prowess on\ Shadow King's self-titled debut (Atlantic).
Gramm and Campbell, an ex-sideman for metal crooner Ronnie James Dio, are joined by bass player and keyboardist Bruce Turgon and drummer Kevin Valentine to produce 10 commercial mainstream tracks sounding like mid-grade Foreigner.
The baggage aboard this Gramm-driven vehicle is mixed. Tunes like "Anytime, Anyplace" are coated with a heavy streak of metalm while others such as "Don't Even Know I'm Alive" are heavy on keyboard mush and ready to hit the singles charts. One standout is the subtle balled "Russia," a cry to a waiting lover, which closes the set. - JOE TENNIS
The Dylans cruise confidently with a new-wave sound ready to be as easily consumed as the oranges dotting the cover of their self-titled debut (RCA).
Their music is high energy neo-psychedelic, twisting modern production and guitar-sound techniques with good harmonies and sing-along melodies reminiscent of The Byrds or The Who.
What's more, the tunes are diverse. "Sad Rush on Sunday" starts as a cop on the rhythm of The Troggs' "Wild Thing" with funky guitars jamming like The Stone Roses' "Fools Gold." Another track, "I Hope the Weather Stays Fine" builds on a dance beat while "Love To" stays simple with good ole rock 'n' roll guitars. - JOE TENNIS