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Courtesy of NorthWord Press, Inc
Blonde
Continued from Page 9
Birthday.” The six-mintiic-plus title
track shows off Napolitano’s pipes
and Mankey’sdislinclivc finger pick
ing style.
Napolitano is still rock’s best female
vocalist since Chrissic Hyndc, so
anything she lends her voice to is
worth a listen. And fora lot of bands,
an album like "Walking in London”
would be a respectable offering. It’s
just that from these guys, we’vc come
to expect a little more.
— John Payne
American Heart £*3|
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Book captures spirit of cranes
“The Cry of the Sandhill Crane”
NorthWord Press
By Mark Baldridge
Senior Reporter
The sandhill crane (Grus canaden
sis) was called the “preacher bird” by
early American settlers because its
characteristic dance-like antics re
sembled a preacher leading his con
gregation.
Preachers must have been a lot
different in those days because the
sandhills arequite flamboyant in this,
their unique courtship ritual.
“The Cry of the Sandhill Crane,”
just out from NorthWord Press, offers
the latest theories about why the birds
behave this way, as well as a lot of
details about the oldest of all bird
species, the crane.
Written by Steve Grooms in easy
to-follow layman’s terms, “Cry” is a
fascinating book, full of beautiful
photos. Although the material covers
cranes from around the world, Grooms
focuses on the sandhill, the bird that
made Nebraska’s Platte River famous.
Some half-million crancsarcgalh
cring along the Platte this March, and
this book serves as an excellent intro
duction to the sandhills and an infor
mative guide to the avid crane watcher.
Grooms presents scientific fact in
a way that appeals to the aesthetic
sense, as well as appeases curiosity:
“Nothing about the sandhill anat
omy is as remarkable as its windpipe,
or trachea,” he writes. “The trachea is
a long flexible tube that runs between
the throat and chest. Tough, cartilagi
nous rings keep the trachea from col
lapsing or binding. There’s nothing
strange about that. But while a typical
adult sandhill might have a neck 23
inches long, its trachea is about 48
inches.
“The first obvious question is:
Where arc those extra 25 inches?
They’re located in the chest area,
lying in convoluted loops along the
sternum under the wing muscles. While
the calls of the cranes arc often de
scribed as ‘bugling’ or ‘trumpeting,’
the sandhill’s windpipe has more in
common with the french horn, a
musical instrument that conveys a
sort of moody beauty similar to the
effect of crane calls.”
Other interesting things about the
cranes:
Although they male for life, young
sandhills go through a “dating” pe
riod before settling down to raise a
family.
As part of the nesting process, adult
sandhills paint themselves with sill
containing ferrous oxides (rust), match
ing themselves to the tawny vegeta
tion where they nest. Only one other
bird, another crane, stains itself so,
and biologists are unable to explain
why they do this.
Although at limes Groom’s prose
is a little uneven, and he seems often
to be offering the fruits of undigested
research, the resulting book isaplcas
urc to look through.
The photography is excellent, al
though it might have profited the book
more to include fewer pictures. After
seeing hundreds of photos of cranes,
even the most beautiful photos can
begin to cloy.
In all, “Cry” is a beautiful and
informative book on these birds so
valuable and important to Nebraska.
Album rages
against ’90s
oppression
of women
“Little Earthquakes"
Tori Amos
Atlantic Records
“Liulc Earthquakes,” Tori Amos’
latest release from the Atlantic Re
cording Corporation, is going to rock
the contemporary music establishment.
Amos is angry. She is furious with
a society that secs women only as sex
objects and stereotypes women as
teases or whores. Her album describes
the pain this kind of oppression has
caused her and her struggle to over
come this injury.
But Amos is more than an enraged
feminist. She also is an excellent
musician. She wrote every song on
the album. Her arrangements go be
yond the standard drums and electric
guitars heard on many pop albums.
Amos uses violins, mandolins, choirs
and even ukuleles to add color to the
instrumentation.
In addition, Amos sings every track
on the album and often accompanies
herself on electric or acoustic piano.
She is an excellent pianist. Her style
is reminiscent of Ellon John or Billy
Joel. However, her voice sets her apart
from these male musicians. She has a
strong alto voice that quavers slightly
when she sings loudly.
Amos makes the best use of these
musical skills in the track “Winter.”
It is one of the lew ballads on the
album. It alludes to the fair*' talcs
little girls arc told and f these
stories arc no preparation I .cal life.
Amos sings that, instead of telling
their daughters to wail for a prince,
parents should say, “You must learn
to stand up for yourself/’Causc I can’t
"■m m
Courtesy of Atlantic Records
Tori Amos
always be around.”
Amos examines a similar theme in
“Girl.” She sings, “She’s been every
body elsc’s girl/Maybc one day she’ll
be her own.” The standard rock beat
of the piece is the only standard part
of the arrangement. The piano, vio
lins and vocals are rich and complex.
The track “Me and a Gun” stands
out in stark contrast to the other cuts.
Amos quietly sings a capclla. The
song explains what goes through the
mind of a woman who decides not to
resist an armed rapist. Amos sings,
“Me and a gun and a man on my back/
But I haven ’ t seen Barbados/So I must
gel out ol lhis.”
The album changes pace with
“Precious Things.” This piece is almost
thrash. Here the band seems to be
reaching for a style it cannot quite
achieve. The song is a laic of the
horrors of promiscuity brought on by
a lack of self-respect.
Amos gels hock on track with “Silent
All These Years.” She sings about a
woman who realizes that she has to be
more than a reflection of her boy
friend. The lyrics tell of her surprise
when she discovers her own voice.
“Sometimes I hear my voicc/and it’s
been hcrc/Silcnt all these years.”
Amos sings like the voice of expe
rience. She recounts the seedy, pain
ful aspects of being a woman in the
1990s. The album is brutally honest,
and it can be difficult to listen to. But
it contains some important messages
and some beautiful music.
— Andrea Christensen
Melomama masters mellow music
Rei/sUiVt
“The Darkside”
Melomania
BMG
A new English band has hit the
scene with a differeni effect from
usual.
The British pop artists of Mcloma
nia have managed to record an LP
without conforming to the new-wave
Brilish sound made popular by Jesus
Jones, EMF and the Happy Mondays.
Nine tracks comprise this release
by the English quartet, and the musi
cal arrangements arc simply superb.
Although they arc terrific and flow
ing, the first two tracks will take some
getting used to. Lead singer Pete
Bassman (who, incidentally, plays the
bass, too) neglects the fact that his
voice blends loo well with the music
to be heard properly. So the first two
tracks come off as more of a warm-up
than the rest of the LP.
The band corrects this problem
with ihc remaining seven songs, and
the outcome is excellent. Why they
didn’t go back and re-record the first
two tracks is strange.
The third track, then, abstractly is
the beginning to “The Darksidc.” Titled
“Tornado,” the music is driven by a
low, buz/ing guitar while the vocals
repeat, “I’ve got a tornado in my
heart.” Although there arc no other
lyrics to this song, the way Mcloma
nia has arranged it works for its pur
pose, which is to portray a tornado
See MELOMANIA on 11