This is a reviews page based on my own collection, which just keeps growing despite itself. If it isn't listed here, it's because I don't own it yet, or I haven't gotten around to it yet. If you think you might want to buy it, click the link and go to Amazon.
Also, bother your local "new rock" radio station and make sure they are playing "new rock" and not "I Melt With You," which is not new.
note: entries in red text indicate my pick for the artist's best available album. A gold numeral indicates the POPocalypse winner of the year's best album; second- and third-place winners are in blue. Green lettering indicates an obviously exploitative record company compilation without apparent artist input.
KIRSTY MacCOLL: Electric Landlady (***)
Best known in America for "Fairytale of New York," her duet with the Pogues, MacColl spent much of the 80s in retirement, raising her child. Landlady, from 1991, is the second of three albums released in her most creatively fertile four-year period. Assisted by top sessioners like Pino Palladino and Steve Lillywhite, along with Johnny Marr, in some of his first work after leaving The The, she finished a spectacular album. Her lyrics are marked by clever couplets and very realistic situations for her characters.
KIRSTY MacCOLL: Titanic Days (****)
A very good, emotional piece from 1993. Among the notables assisting her are ex-Roxy bassist Gary Tibbs and Attractions keyboardist Steve Nieve. Best tracks: the beautiful "Soho Square" and "Can't Stop Killing You," co-written with Johnny Marr. Following this, MacColl went into seclusion again, not returning to the studio for six years. Not long after the UK release of Tropical Brainstorm in 2000, she was killed in a freak accident while on holiday in Mexico.
MACHA: See it Another Way (1999, ***)
Damned intricate pop from Athens-based Josh McKay and his band, who know how to put on one hell of a live show and use a lot of Asian instruments in traditionally Western song structures. This is a 1999 collection of singles, centered around the astonishing "The Nipplegong," which got a fair amount of college radio play that year.
TARA MacLEAN: "If You See Me" EP
Tara has apparently stolen the "adorable, emotional Canadian waif nobody knows" crown away from Sarah McLachlan, since Sarah's gone all popular and soundtracky and spends years between albums. MacLean, like McLachlan, signed to Nettwerk for massive indie acclaim. This EP followed her debut and features two versions of the frankly forgettable "Evidence" along with three other songs, among them the very superior "That's Me."
TARA MacLEAN: Passenger (2000, ***)
The error in MacLean's second album is a confusing variation in tempo. After the beautiful "Jericho," only three of the remaining eleven songs are at all uptempo, and these serve as tentpoles for the downbeat, yearning pieces. Her most engaging and passionate pieces are, in fact, the faster ones, so this feels like nothing so much as a continuous trudge through some acceptable sadness with barely visible flashes of greatness. A few more tentpoles and this could have been among the year's best.
THE MAGNETIC FIELDS: Distant Plastic Trees (1990, ***) & The Wayward Bus (1991, ****)
Merge Records was good enough to issue the first two Fields albums on one CD, although annoyingly the ten songs from Bus, the second album, precede the first. On these two albums, the vocals are provided by Susan Amway, and written, arranged and played by New York's Stephin Merritt, who would sing on future releases. Merritt's songs are fueled with longing, regret and hurt, and by mixing metaphor with real examples of pain, the result is spectacularly heartfelt and it hurts like hell. Most of the songs on Bus mention "when we were young" or "we used to." One of these 1991 songs, "Summer Lies," so closely approximates a doomed relationship of mine (eight years later) that I'm forced to wonder whether ours was predestined by Merritt to fail. And then there's "100,000 Fireflies." If this song doesn't break you down into uncontrollable tears the first time you hear it, then you're obviously an inhuman zombie, bereft of soul. The production is cluttered and the musicianship experimental, but everything is pulled off perfectly. In all, a great start to an intriguing and challenging career.
THE MAGNETIC FIELDS: "The House of Tomorrow" EP (1992)
A five-track EP, with Merritt in something of a mid-70s Eno mode. The lead track "Young and Insane" is probably the best of the lot, a sigh of boredom and quiet desperation in his distinctive baritone.
THE MAGNETIC FIELDS: The Charm of the Highway Strip (1993, ****)
This is such a great album... imagine ABBA scoring lyrics by Roger Miller and Willie Nelson. It's a country album, of sorts, with Merritt obsessing about travel, and trains, and lonely old towns, but with the distinctly experimental synthesizers in place, it's like no country album ever made before. "Born on a Train" and "Sunset City" are to die for.
THE MAGNETIC FIELDS: Get Lost (1995, ****)
This 1995 album, the last Fields release for some time while Merritt worked on side projects, features his most overly commercial sound and is the best point for newcomers to hop on. He's still exploring emotional pain in all its forms, with the resigned choruses of "Smoke and Mirrors" and the single "All the Umbrellas in London" guaranteed to hammer you. Best of all is the remarkable "The Desperate Things You Made Me Do," which aims for a simple, uncluttered radio sound and succeeds despite its surprising lyrics.
THE MAGNETIC FIELDS: 69 Love Songs (1999, UK #170, ***)
It's a bit pricy, but you get what the title promises. Spread across three CDs and three hours, this 1999 epic just talks about love and love only. Merritt's usual themes of pain are all over it, but there are also tracks of happiness and wry comedy, and the lyrics are simply astonishing. Not every song works; in fact there are about six I don't like at all ("Punk Love" being the worst thing he's ever done). On the other hand, that leaves 63 winners. Few of the songs challenge the five minute mark, many others clock in around two, as Merritt and his guest vocalists L.D. Beghtol, Claudia Gonson, Dudley Klute and Shirley Simms (who each sing about six songs) find the point of the material, hit it and move on. No jams, just classic love songs. My favorites are "Reno Dakota," the petulant "I Don't Want to Get Over You," "Parades Go By," "Sweet Lovin' Man" (all on Volume One), "When My Boy Walks Down the Street," "No One Will Ever Love You," "Not That Crazy," "Long-Forgotten Fairytale" (Volume Two), "Yeah! Oh Yeah!," "Strange Eyes" and, best of all, "The Death of Ferdinand de Saussure" (Volume Three).
MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA: Between Failure & Frustration (Tokyo 9/19/73, Private Master Records)
A 2-CD bootleg of great quality, featuring the fusion band jamming for what seems like hours. This doesn't strike me as much more than background music. John McLaughlin has a huge reputation among people who like this sort of music, and it might be deserved, but it's one of those things you have to listen to a hundred times to get. I'm busy.
MICHELLE MALONE AND DRAG THE RIVER: Relentless (1990, **)
I think this was the only product Michelle released with her half-interested deal with Arista. She's much better live, and the version of "Big Black Bag," which she had already recorded on an excellent indie called New Experience, isn't as good as her own original. Despite having Lenny Kaye at the controls, the record is overproduced and too busy.
MICHELLE MALONE: For You Not Them (1993, ***)
Her first album after leaving Arista, For You Not Them only addresses her displeasure with the majors in the record's title and in the opening track "The Greatest Show on Earth." The rest of the album is her standard, blues-based guitar rock. The worst moment is a totally forgettable cover of the Doors' "Peace Frog."
AIMEE MANN: I'm With Stupid (1995, UK #51, US #82, **)
The former til Tuesday singer continues a commercially unsuccessful, but worthy career with this slower pop effort. Well written and insightful, and containing the sterling single "That's Just What You Are," this is listenable but oddly forgettable. I don't like this as much as I thought I would, but I've no objection to it being on.
MASTERS OF THE HEMISPHERE: Protest a Dark Anniversary (2002, ***)
The Masters are one of those annoying bands that eschew press and credits, confounding lazy critics like me who like to have specific complaints, like the name of the tuneless guy squalling sax so badly at the end of "Take Time." Originally from Warner Robins, the band relocated to Athens and signed to Kindercore. Anniversary is their third album, the first song is the college radio hit "Anything, Anything," and it's charming, uncomplicated, D.I.Y. pop.
MAZARIN: A Tall-Tale Storyline (2001, ***)
Based in Philadelphia, Mazarin is the project of a multi-instrumentalist called Quentin Stoltzfus (really!), who plays complicated but lo-fi sounding pop along the lines of Belle & Sebastian. It all sounds very intriguing, but it lacks the depth or the hooks to keep your attention all the way through. "Suicide Will Make You Happy," which has a lyric and a jaunty drive which belies the title, was a minor college radio hit.
IAN McCULLOCH: Candleland (1989, UK #18, US #179, ***)
About as strong a solo debut as a fellow could hope for after just leaving one of the best bands in history, Ian's first shaky, vunerable steps could have seriously used a solid group rather than so many guest musicians (including Cocteau Twins' Liz Fraser and the Cure's Boris Williams), but the production's good and so many songs, like "I Know You Well," "Start Again" and the exquisite single "Proud to Fall," should have been massive, but this album disappointed on the charts worldwide.
IAN McCULLOCH: "Faith & Healing" CD single (1989, UK #96)
Second single from his first solo LP, containing four fair to good mixes of the title, one remix of the previous single "Proud to Fall" and three non-LP cuts.
IAN McCULLOCH: "Candleland" CD single (1990, UK #75)
Third US single features two versions of the lead (one of them "extended" by all of 11 seconds) and three very good non-LP cuts.
IAN McCULLOCH: Mysterio (1992, UK #46, **)
Ian's second album is a more cohesive piece, but disappointing in the long run. It starts great, with a stunner called "Magical World," but most of the songs are only half-written. Listenable, but rarely compelling. The tacky, sub-Vegas 50s packaging is cute.
IAN McCULLOCH: "Lover Lover Lover" CD single (1992, UK #47)
The British version of this single, first off Mysterio, has the LP version of the lead, acceptable acoustic readings of "The White Hotel" and "Vibor Blue" and the non-LP cut "The Ground Below." The American version, released months later (after the first domestic single, "Honeydrip") contains the LP version and a dance mix of the lead and the exceptional non-LP tracks "Birdy" and "Ribbons & Chains."
MARIA McKEE: Maria McKee (1989, UK #49, US #120, ****)
The former Lone Justice singer is captured in this fragile, vunerable, utterly beautiful CD. Features the singles "I've Forgotten What it Was in You" and "To Miss Someone," as well as the damn astonishing "Breathe." Production by Mitchell Froom really complements her voice.
MARIA McKEE: You Gotta Sin to Get Saved (1993, UK #26, ***)
This is the ultimate hangover album. It sounds like someone completely shot Maria's heart full of holes, and she put together ten songs of regret and longing, including a pair written by Van Morrison and one by King & Goffin. There's no light at the end of this rainbow; Maria's pleas for love, perhaps illustrated most vividly in the country-tinged "Only Once," go heartbreakingly unanswered. Avoid this album for at least six weeks after you've been dumped.
MARIA McKEE: Life is Sweet (1996, UK #81, ***)
Her third LP, from 1996, shows McKee just as vunerable lyrically and vocally, but someone plugged in some discordant electric guitars for a really unsettling, thrilling experience. The opening "Scarlover" begins somewhere in the middle of a power chord for a real shock of a beginning. Not for everyone, this actually sent some old fans scurrying. The harsh single "This Perfect Dress" probably wasn't played on any radio station anywhere, while the far better choice "Absolutely Barking Stars" doesn't seem to have made it further than promotional issues.
LOREENA McKENNITT: Live in San Francisco at the Palace of Fine Arts
The artist's record company offers a six-song mini-album culled from the show, but the full 10-song set, professionally recorded, is practically a CD-trading standard. It's a very nice performance.
SARAH McLACHLAN: Touch (1989, US #138, ****)
Nova Scotia native Sarah McLachlan's astonishing 1989 debut hasn't aged a bit. Excellent production and vocals, and "Steaming," which is as sexy as pop music gets. This is a passionate, heartfelt winner, which promises great things...and happily, Sarah has delivered.
SARAH McLACHLAN: "Vox" CD single (1989)
This contains two versions of the title, from her first album, and a remix of "Into the Fire," from her second.
SARAH McLACHLAN: "Steaming" CD single (1989)
Contains two mixes of the amazing lead song and an excellent live cover of Peter Gabriel's "Solsbury Hill."
SARAH McLACHLAN: Solace (1991, US #167, ****)
Her less successful second LP contains the stunning "Into the Fire" and is her first collaboration with Pierre Marchand. Most of the second half just thunders by, very engrossing and emotional.
SARAH McLACHLAN: "Into the Fire" CD single (1991)
The LP version and one remix of the first single from Solace. Certainly worth a look in the cheap or single bins at good used CD stores to find.
SARAH McLACHLAN: "Drawn to the Rhythm" CD single (1992)
Third single from Solace, represented here by the LP version and a live acoustic reading, as well as a live version of "Gloomy Sunday."
SARAH McLACHLAN: Live (1992, ****)
A limited edition 7-song tour document, with six songs from Solace and one from Touch, only one of them a single and two radically reworked from the studio versions. Very impressive packaging.
SARAH McLACHLAN: Fumbling Towards Ecstacy (1994, US #50, ****)
Her near-breakthrough in America contains the minor chart hits "Possession" and "Good Enough" and is exceptional from start to finish, being almost as good as her remarkable debut. From the writing to the production (again by Pierre Marchand) to her beautiful voice, this one's a total success.
SARAH McLACHLAN: "Possession" CD single (1994, US #73)
The lead single from Ecstacy, teamed with a version of "Black" from the Live LP and alternate mixes of "Fear" and "Mary."
SARAH McLACHLAN: The Freedom Sessions (1995, US #78, *)
Sopoforic acoustic versions of several songs from Ecstacy. It features a multimedia session that is programmed as the first track of the CD, making this useless for a random play selection.
SARAH McLACHLAN: Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff (1996, **)
Lame title, great packaging and 13 good songs in this limited edition 1996 Canadian compilation. It includes non-LP tracks like her cover of XTC's "Dear God," "I Will Remember You," Joni Mitchell's "Blue" and "Song for a Winter's Night" along with remixes and live tracks. It also features a cut by the band Manufacture that Sarah provides guest vocals for. The track "Full of Grace," unreleased at the time, surfaced on Surfacing the next year.
SARAH McLACHLAN: Surfacing (1997, UK #47 [in 98], US #2, *****)
Her fourth trip to the studio results in her first major US hit album in the summer of '97, led by the top 20 "Building a Mystery" and "Sweet Surrender" before "Angel" completely dominated US radio and sent both it and "Adia" into the top 5. The best tracks weren't pulled as singles, though. "I Love You" and "Full of Grace" are both emotional roller coaster tear jerkers and work wonderfully. Oddly not released in England until early 1999.
SARAH McLACHLAN: "Building a Mystery" CD single (1997, US #12)
Four tracks: the lead, the earlier singles "I Will Remember You" and "Possession" and, beginning its radio attack, the LP track "Angel," which Arista probably wasn't planning to release on its own 18 months down the line from this release.
SARAH McLACHLAN: "Adia" CD single (1998, UK #18, US #3)
Her first top 10 single is teamed with the earlier single "I Will Remember You" and the next single, "Angel." Radio play for "Angel" drove "Adia" to the upper reaches of the charts, where it stayed for months before "Angel" was pulled as a single itself in early 1999.
SARAH McLACHLAN: Mirrorball (1999, **)
As live albums go, this 1999 issue is something of a disappointment. The performances are perfunctory compared to the nifty, innovative 1994 live set, and there's too great a concentration on her more recent material and radio hits. And in case we weren't sick of it already, "I Will Remember You" was pulled as a single. It's not really bad, but her other material is far more essential.
SARAH McLACHLAN: Pressed Up Against the Glass (Minneapolis 3/95, Ride the Tiger Records)
Another half-baked job from Minnesota's most embarassing bootleg label. Sarah's performance here is fantastic, but somebody in the factory had the boneheaded idea to fade up and out of each track, making this a distracting listen. The artwork, like the other Ride the Tiger Records I've seen, is a muddy, dark mess which might have looked good at the design stage, but was printed poorly. For completists.
SARAH McLACHLAN: Songbird (assorted 1997 material)
This for-sale boot, also passed around as a freely traded piece with different art, collects Sarah's 1997 performance for a Canadian TV show Intimate and Interactive, along with five tracks from Unplugged and two live B-sides. Great sound quality, and the band's in top form. "Sweet Surrender" is particularly wonderful.
SARAH McLACHLAN: Last Dance of 98 (Portland 4/21/98)
Apparently the commercial Mirrorball release was excerpted from this 2-CD performance. If that's true, then they cut the soul out of the evening when they stripped it down to its most commercial elements. One or two of the newer songs don't seem to engage the band, but overall, this is a happy, if tired, ensemble, giving 100% in a very entertaining set. Available from various free traders.
SARAH McLACHLAN: Border Songs (assorted 1996-98 material, Eclipse Records)
The first half of this 16-song collection is Sarah's awesome performance for Canadian TV's Musique Plus to promote Surfacing. There's also a one-off "Adia" and seven songs from two appearances on the CBC's Swinging on a Star. One of them is a remarkable version of "Vox."
THE MENDOZA LINE: We're All in This Alone (2000, ****)
They started in Athens and moved to New York, but that's OK. I'll forgive them as long as they keep making albums as wonderful as this one, which is one of the best releases of 2000. It's very straightforward heartbreak pop, apparently sparked by everyone in the band breaking up with each other for a year or two beforehand. Overall, Shannon McArdle has the best batting average and the best voice in the group; her four songs mix hurt and longing very painfully indeed. However, Tim and Peter's "Everything We Used to Be" earns the best-of-show. Desperately desirous, it's impossible to be unmoved by its fragility and honesty. Overall, a true success.
THE MICHAEL GUTHRIE BAND: Right Honourable Friend (1995, ***)
Guitarist Guthrie, who makes his home in Athens and runs a great music shop on Clayton Street, has been performing and touring for over thirty years, but has rarely recorded. He really is an excellent guitarist, and his three-piece rips through eleven "post-mod" songs with an unapologetically British feel on this 1995 album. Guthrie was using posters with images from TV's The Avengers at the time, and this album features a cover shot of star Patrick Macnee and a song dedicated to the character Emma Peel. Unfortunately, Guthrie isn't much of a lyricist, and some of his lines are atrocious, but for the most part, the music's so damn good it doesn't matter.
KYLIE MINOGUE: Impossible Princess (1997, **)
This was Kylie's "guitar" album, as the dance pop vet started working away from her old teenybop image. It has its moments, but unfortunately they all involve the Manic Street Preachers. Their guest contributions on "Some Kind of Bliss" and especially "I Don't Need Anyone" are extremely good and have a timeless rock edge. Nothing else lives up to these elements.
KYLIE MINOGUE: "On a Night Like This" (2000, UK #2)
A very listenable dance ballad, backed with one good bonus track ("Ocean Blue") and one utterly ridiculous one ("Your Disco Needs You").
MISSION OF BURMA: VS. (1982, ***)
VS. was the only full-length LP released during Burma's brief but influential life. Their sound was very harsh, very angular and very metallic but also spacious and warm. Unfortunately, Roger Miller's health-threatening tinnitus forced the band to fold prematurely, leaving this very good album, and some singles and an EP as their legacy. Rykodisc reissued this in 1997 with four bonus tracks.
JONI MITCHELL: Blue (1971, UK #3, US #15, ****)
I have no idea what makes this album so magical. There's something about Mitchell's honest, fragile delivery coupled with independence and comfort which couches these simple arrangements with timeless, listenable energy. Acoustic folk is rarely my bag, and I don't listen to this one all that often, but when I do, I'm captivated.
MOIST: Silver (1994, **)
Moist comes from Vancouver by way of Seattle. That's not to say they're not a million times better than Alice in Chains, but they're still not very original. Their vocalist emotes well, with an audible sneer.
MOIST: Creature (1997, **)
Certainly no worse than Silver, this album came out at a time when radio was shying away from this sort of material (Sponge had a similar problem). Fans of the previous album would certainly enjoy this, but they never had a chance to hear it.
MOLOKO: All Back to the Mine (2001, UK #149, *)
This album exemplifies everything wrong with dance remixes these days, you young whippersnappers. Moloko create some astonishingly good dance pop. I have "The Time is Now" and "Pure Pleasure Seeker" on a couple of compilation CDs, and they're tight, controlled, beautiful beasts. This double-CD of remixes is nothing but beats in search of grooves. These modern DJs who throw the song's entire structure out the window throw the songs' heart out with them. I'm amazed the band finds this acceptable.
MONACO: Music for Pleasure (1997, UK #11, ***)
As New Order continued their inactivity throughout the 1990s, bassist Peter Hook put a few solo projects together. Monaco, whose 1997 debut contains the minor US radio hit "What Do You Want from Me," is the most successful of his other work. Teamed with singer David Potts, it's Hooky's entry into the mid-90s Britpop arena, and sounds like a cross between New Order and Oasis, thanks mainly to Potts' remarkable ability to recall both Bernard Summer and Liam Gallagher.
JANE MONHEIT: Never Never Land (2000, ****)
This is an astonishing debut from a young jazz vocalist who has studied the Fitzgerald playbook closely and adds a personal spin to the material. She is accompanied by veterans like Ron Carter and Kenny Barron, but you can't help but wish she would write her own music.
JANE MONHEIT: Come Dream With Me (2001, ***)
This effort just gives more evidence for my argument above. Another mishmash of 1930s songbook numbers, led by an eternally overlong "Over the Rainbow," the album is pleasant enough, but it doesn't show Monheit as having any direction or plan in her recording. The collection doesn't have any key to hold it all together; it's just eleven songs. On the other hand, the last track is actually an aching, passionate cover of Joni Mitchell's "A Case of You," and not only is it even more suited to Monheit's voice than anything here which precedes it, it points the way towards a direction she would do well to consider in the future.
THELONIOUS MONK: Standards (**)
A collection of, well, early pop standards, mostly recorded in 1963-64. Perfectly fine background music, but not extremely engaging.
MONO: Formica Blues (1998, UK #71, ***)
Led by the alt-radio hit "Life in Mono," a somber, dreamy beast with a "do do do do do do do" chorus, this splendid debut featured much in the same vein, including the beautiful "Slimcea Girl" and "High Life." Relying on intelligent sampling and Siobahn De Mare's powerful vocals, the album is a really interesting treasure.
LEE MORGAN: The Sidewinder (****)
I know nothing about Morgan, but Q called this one of the 10 best jazz albums of all time, so I bit and I'm glad I did. It's very trad, cool trumpet-led jazz (do ya call this bop?) recorded in 1963. This reissue includes an alternate take of "Totem Pole" which breaks up the original LP sequence instead of being included as a bonus track after the original five, which I find a little annoying.
ALANIS MORISSETTE: "Joining You" CD single (1999, UK #28)
Two mixes of the lead, the previously unissued "These are the Thoughts" and an excellent live version of "Thank U." Very much worth my investment.
MORRISSEY: Bona Drag (1990, UK #9, US #59, ***)
After his first hit solo LP (1988's Viva Hate), Morrissey released singles for several months without a parent album. This collects these tracks and their B-sides, along with Hate's two singles. Standouts include "Hairdresser on Fire" and the majestic "Every Day is Like Sunday."
MORRISSEY: Vauxhall & I (1993, UK #1, US #18, **)
Somehow or another, this was a hit in America. I still can't see it. The radio hit "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get" made the top 50 and was an early favorite for programmers as the "new rock" format began, and music directors started making brief celebrities out of college rock faves. The material is tired and poorly played, with only the opening "Now My Heart is Full" showing any evidence of the power of the man's emotional pull.
MORRISSEY: Southpaw Grammar (1995, UK #4, US #66, **)
You can still hear a battallion of radio programmers scratching their heads wondering what in the world Mossy was thinking, following up his long overdue break into the US mainstream with a prog album which owes more to early Genesis than it does the Smiths. This is a barely penetrable effort, built around Morrissey's obsession with British boxing. It leads with the 11+ minute "The Teachers are Afraid of the Pupils," which features the eternally repeated refrain "to be finished would be a release," like some horrible early Yes number. Later on, Spencer James Cobrin imitates Carl Palmer with an obnoxious drum solo which opens "The Operation." Nobody ever thought a Morrissey song would ever open with a drum solo, and frankly, it should never have happened. The three most listenable songs are the ones with either upbeat, driving urgency ("Dagenham Dave," "The Boy Racer") or a lyric reminiscent of obsessions past ("Best Friend on the Payroll"). Experimentation is usually a good thing, but not when you're Morrissey and you want to sound like quarter century-old album rock.
THE MOTO-LITAS: For the Greater Good (2001, ***)
Atlanta's Moto-Litas formed in 2000, putting a southern-fried spin on the sort of delightful, raw noise that Sleater-Kinney's known for. Their debut, on Daemon Records, features nine roaring pop numbers punctuated by Courtney King's wonderful voice, which hits yelps and growls equally well. The final mix is very entertaining, perfect for driving or parties. The echoes -- only echoes, little more -- of country ("Cheated") and girl-group harmonizing ("Welcome Mat") prove the band knows what they are doing, and they put on a wonderful live show. Visit their website (www.motolitas.com), which isn't a very good website, and keep up with future southeastern shows!
ALISON MOYET: Raindancing (1987, UK #2, US #94, **)
Her second album, from 1987, was disappointing (despite some fun tracks) even before the US record company put an ugly cover on it and changed the track listing around. A little too slick and commercial, Moyet's voice isn't flattered by the very radio-friendly music, but the lyrics are pretty good. The only real stinker is a sappy duet called "Sleep Like Breathing."
ALISON MOYET: Hoodoo (1991, UK #11, ***)
After a four-year layoff, Alf returned to a substantially different radio market, one which mostly ignored her far superior product. This is one which may take several spins to truly appreciate. "Rise" has a rather surprising lyric, "It Won't Be Long" and "Never Too Late" are superb.
ALISON MOYET: Essex (1994, UK #24, US #194, ***)
Her most recent studio LP is this gem from 1994, featuring her controversial cover of "Whispering Your Name" which restored some lost chart fortunes in Britain. She's collaborating with Ian Broudie and Pete Glenister for a lush production that really flatters her. The only sour note is a fast-paced acoustic stomp through the old Yazoo mood piece "Ode to Boy" that isn't half as emotional as the original. Other tracks, like "So Am I" and "Falling," don't disappoint at all.
ALISON MOYET: "Whispering Your Name" CD single (1994, UK #18)
Four short mixes of this great song, including one massively reworked one by Vince Clarke.
ALISON MOYET: Singles (1995, UK #1, ****)
A terribly packaged UK #1 album, this 20-track collection includes all but one of Moyet's singles ("Sleep Like Breathing," her only chart failure, is skipped), plus three Yazoo tracks and two new songs. Alison may have retired or something: this came out in '95 and there's been nary a peep since.
PETER MURPHY: Holy Smoke (1992, ***)
His fourth album, I think, sees the former Bauhaus singer under something of an identity crisis after some moderate US success. Almost reacting against it with vocal histrionics and an ugly cover photo, Holy Smoke drove radio away, which may have been the intention.
PETER MURPHY: Cascade (***)
An unpromoted flop from 1995, this is one of the best things he's ever worked with, mixing lyrical coolness with lush instrumentation for a splendid experience, particularly on the awesome "Wild Birds Flock to Me."