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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 1984)
Pago 8 Daily Nebrasksn Wednesday, February 22, 1984 n O f X i RCA Records Annie Lennox arid Dave Stewart of Eurythmics: Touch is "a sensuous album.' Eurythmics 'Touch ' all the bases By Toger Swanson Hopeful, angry, haunting. Touch, the newest re lease from the Eurythmics, is all of these and more. Lead singer and co-writer Annie Lennox brings a vocal sensitivity to her music that has fewpeers. She is as adept in high operatic wails as she is with gritty, raspy shouts. Lennox's captivating lead vocals are ideally complemented by her own flawless backing harrftonies, in addition to the excellent mixing and arrangements. The instrumental wizard and other half of the Eurythmics is Dave Stewart, who proves himself a master of synthesizer and guitar. Stewart's bluesy guitars and ominous synthesizers blend with the funky bass of Dean Garcia and the hammering, how ling horns of Dick Cuthell to form a strong backup to Lennox's soaring voice. This music is difficult to classify because of its many influences ranging from electric pop to rhythm and blues, to classical strings to reggae. All of these are set upon a solid synthesized beat which could pull along weaker music but in this case only serves as a foundation from which Lennox's powerful voice and the rich instrumental can soar. The album is a sensuous work, encompassing both internal emotions, and those directed at a lost lover. The first two tracks, "Here Comes the Rain Again" and "Regrets" express a melancholy depres sion. The next is a happy, hopeful, carefree calypso tune which looks upon the good old days and hopes for a return to a lover's arms. "Cool Blues" and "Who's That Girl" emit a jealous and vengeful atti tude, and "Aqua" delves into the resentment for a broken heart. The final cuts, "No Fear, No Hate, No Pain" and "Paint a Rumor" bring the realization of the break and a resolve to close the memory and harden the heart. This stirring trip reveals in glaring style the power and passion of Lennox's voice and the soft, subtle mood of the instrumental. Touch brings out the emotions of Lennox and Stewart and gently draws or harshly tears them from the listener through this diverse mix of musi cal style formed with excellent craftsmanship. Fans of last year's Sweet Dreams album will not be disap pointed and will probably be surprised with the feeling and sophistication of the new release. Tender and passionate, hauntingly domineering, Touch not only touches, it truly feels. e Mies cMs While most AM and FM stations in Lincoln are battling for adult listeners by playing essentially the same contemporary music, at least one of the AMs has found its niche. KLMS, the station that, until about a year and a half ago, was Lincoln's traditional top 40 rocker, is -A TV AM i ft ' - - - - - . i JoAnne Voting now the oldies station. They call it the "Greatest Hits of All Time," and Lee Thomas, program director, said the format is working very well. Thomas said the station's ratings are up consid erably from previous years. He claims a No. 1 or No. 2 rating in the station's target audience, the 25 to-49-year-olds. KLMS is first in male listeners ages 35-44, he said. The change in format came as a result of research, Thomas said. "A lot of stations were playing adult contempor ary," he said. "Wh en you say adult contemporary to the average listener, their eyes glaze over. They don't know what you're talking about." - Thus KLMS now presents an oldies format, the kind, Thomas said, few stations in the country are producing. It plays what Thomas calls rock 'n' roll tradition music from the late 1950s and concen trates on Top 40 songs from the '60s and early 70s. About 15-20 percent of the music is current hits. It's interesting that men in their 30s find this older music so appealing. Thomas said the station has done lifestyle research which shows men are of a different mind set, a different stage at this age. "Maybe men get nostalgic," Thomas said. "I can theorize it's the pressures of life." Maybe the music from the past takes them back to a better time, like high school or college days. For some reason, Thomas said, women were slower to discover the format. Along with the music, Thomas said KLMS is strong on personality Judy Converse and Gary Col lins do the morning show. Identifiable personalities make up an integral part of the format, he said. ' KLMS has a heavy emphasis on weather, a niche Thomas said was not being filled in Lincoln. He said KLMS is the only station in town with a completely equipped weather station, "no matter what other stations might say." One certainly can tell its weath erman's forte is weather, not announcing: KLMS has no direct competition, Thomas said. The closest station to the Lincoln station's format comes from Omaha's KOIL V - Continued cn Pslz 9 1 i Cyndi Lauper's She's So Unusual: cutesy or loud and brash?" CBS Records "Soft and Ant offers Adam bomb; Cyndi Lauper has fun By Stephanie Zink The only good thing about Adam Ant's current LP Strip (Epic) is being able to turn the stereo off and smash the vinyl to pieces. Ant used to be art student Stuart Goddard until the punk movement in England began. Ant then quickly changed his name to get a piece of the action. - After coming out with a few minor releases the Record Review first formation of Adam and the Ants hit it big in the British Isles wjth their first LP Dirk Wears White Sox in 1979. Several albums and personnel changes later Ant went solo and released a horrible album Friend or Foe, while the other Ants went on to better things. One mainstay in Ant's regime has been co-songwriter and guitarist Marco Pirroni. After being together for about four years, there is a sense of repetition in their songs. , There are so many things wrong with Strip mostly with the songwriting that even guest drummers and producers Richard James Burgess and Phil Collins couldn't save it. The highlight of the album is "Spanish Games." It has an easy-to-dance-to beat and an authentic feel. Unfortunately there is nothing special about the lyrics. In fact, there is nothing special about any of the lyrics. Everything centers around sex there is nothing about everyday life or even the out of place. Songs such as "Navel to Neck" and "Baby, Let Me Scream At You" undermine Ant's intelligence and raise his position as a mindless teen idol. Once in a while there is a glimmer of hope through Pirroni's guitar playing but it is soon covered up by Ant's droning vocals. Ever since the first Ant album there has been a noticable change in Ant's style. Basically the records have gone from brilliant to terrible. Since there is little to no chance of Ant improving, he should either forget about the music business or get his Ants back. Forget the "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" mental ity Cyndi Lauper's new album She's So Unusual (Portrait) is a, sophisticated, serious work, hidden under a mask of happy-go-lucky beats. Lauper does an excellent job on a cute yet nostal gic song written in 1929 called "He's So Unusual" about a boy who spends too much time with school work and not enough time with his girlfriend. It is the perfect lead-in for the energetic "Yeah Yeah". These two songs demonstrate the versatility of her voice, which can be soft and cutesy or loud and brash. . The meaningful "Time After Time" is carefully thought out and emotionally sung. , Of three remakes, "When You Were Mine" is the best. She effectively reproduces Prince's song and puts her own unique trademark of pep into it. The other remake, Robert Hazard's "Girls Just Want To Have Fun," is probably better Lhan the original but if listened to often it is possible to get very sick of it. ' Tiib album is a must for every record collection.