THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 21, 1994 TAG: 9408190115
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUE SMALLWOOD, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
THOUGH OFTEN DUBBED as a folk act, Scottish singing/songwriting duo the Proclaimers - who perform at the Abyss in Virginia Beach Tuesday - owe far more to the rockin' Everlys than the folky Guthries.
``All that '50s stuff generally was a massive influence in terms of the intensity and simplicity of the songs, the kind of positive feel a lot of those records had,'' explained Charlie Reid, calling from Buddy Holly's hometown of Lubbock, Texas.
``Folk indirectly is an influence through acoustic music, particularly Scots or Irish folk music. It's the influence of that that has come back through music we like, through blues or country.''
Elements of vintage rock 'n' roll, R&B and country styles - childhood fallout from his father's vast record collection, Reid says - run rampant throughout the Proclaimers' latest LP, the refreshingly vibrant ``Hit The Highway.'' Along with the other Proclaimer, brother Craig, Reid experimented a bit on the project; the evidence is on the muscular title track.
``It's a different kind of song for us,'' the singer said of the unusual song, which uses voices to create a rhythmic bed and features punchy brass. ``In terms of having a horn section on the record, we'd never really done that before. But when we were rehearsing that song, it came to have that feel where you could put horn stops in the middle of the song and stuff.''
As on their previous two albums, strong themes of spirituality also run deep on ``Hit The Highway.'' The brothers Reid pull off a stirring rendition of the old gospel tune ``I Want To Be A Christian'' and question organized religion in ``The Light.''
``There's a belief in God, that's for sure,'' in Proclaimers material, Reid said, though that faith is by no means cut-and-dried. ``I'm very unsure about religion, I'm suspicious of it and I certainly couldn't call myself a Christian as such. But I'm very interested in religion, in trying to reach God in whatever way you do it.''
The Proclaimers are probably best known in this country for last year's left-field hit single ``(I'm Gonna Be) 500 Miles,'' a cut from their 1988 LP ``Sunshine On Leith'' which became the theme song for the Johnny Depp/Mary Stuart Masterson movie ``Benny and Joon.''
``It took us completely by surprise,'' Reid said of the song which sold nearly 1 million copies. ``It was good fortune what happened with the movie; the fact that Mary Stuart Masterson, I presume, had been a fan and got this song in the movie. It was basically because of her enthusiasm, I believe.''
The Reids got word of their Top 10 U.S. smash while winding up recording of ``Hit The Highway'' in Europe. The good news couldn't have come at a better time, as the pair had just plowed through some difficult and disheartening personal struggles.
``We didn't intend it to be that long,'' Reid said of the five-year gap between albums. ``We had a lot of problems. I had a lot of problems writing, I'd gone through a divorce and stuff. I was starting songs, then losing faith in them and throwing them away. Craig was getting stuff, but it was very slow.
``But I'm convinced it never will take that long again.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
CHRYSALIS/ERG
The Proclaimers' ``(I'm Gonna Be) 500 Miles'' became the theme song
for ``Benny and Joon.''
by CNB