Music Reviews
Mango Jam
“Somewhere In the Middle”
Road Work Records
Grade: B
Mango Jam is very... different.
When the first track of “Some
where In the Middle”, starts, the
idea comes across that this is a light
record. About two-thirds of the way
through, a thick organ comes in,
and suddenly that idea is thrown
into File 13.
When “Miss Minnie” kicks in,
the jams are flying, organ buzzing
and harmonica in full overdrive.
It’s almost blues meets funk, with a
good Caribbean element thrown in.
The “Mr. Valentine” hits, and
it’s about as Caribbean as a rock
song is going to get, with congas
and organ, sounding almost like
Jah Wobble.
All of the album wanders around
like this. At times it gets very Ca
lypso; at others, very rock; still oth
ers, very funk; even others, very
blues.
Mango Jam is nothing i f not var
ied. Some of the tracks strike home,
like “Mr. Valentine” and “Cus
tomer,” but others are simply in
stant passes, like “Luau Feet.”
“Somewhere In the Middle” is
something to try if you’re feeling
daring one day, but not if you want
to know exactly what you’re get
ting into.
—Cliff Hicks
The Drags
“Dragsploitation...Now!”
Estrus Records
Grade: A
From the sandy soil of New
Mexico come The Drags with
“Dragsploitation ... Now!” This is
the band’s longest release to date,
and The Drags represent the ’60s
revival punk sound very well. This
20-minute, 10" record has more
power and fury than most records
twice its length.
Side one starts off the title track
and lures you in—only to slap you
in the face with the unforeseen ter
ror-filled screams of female bass
player Lorca. After you recover
from the opening instrumental, the
band comes back with “Can't
Change My Style,”anice littlenum
ber about people’s inability to
change.
Once the onslaught of the first
side is over, you flip the record over
and the second side starts with equal
fury.
“Mr. Undertaker” begins and
features once again the backing
vocal power of Lorca. The medley
of “10th Man Theme”, a raw and
sloppy surf song, and “My
Girlfriend’s In The F.B.I.” com
bine perfectly.
Minimalist to be sure, this record
sounds as if it was recorded in the
era of mod. The raw guitar sound/
noi se blends very well with the crass
and dry vocals of guitar player C.J.,
sung sincerely.
The drum kit only consists of a
kick-drum, snare and a hi-hat —
but isn’t that all you need anyway?
As an added bonus, if you order
this masterpiece from Estrus, the
record company will even throw in
a Drags airplane flight bag, com
plete with the Drags logo.
In a few words, The Drags
“Dragsploitation... Now” holds the
power and raw energy that most
bands only can dream about. If
you’re in the market for good mu
sic, you definitely should own this.
But if you are happy with medioc
rity, let this one pass you by, and get
the new Alanis Morissette.
—Brooks Hitt
Comedy sparse in ‘Mr. Wrong’
Sorry Ellen, but your first movie
sucks.
Seriously! You took jokes and ideas
■ from your televi
Mnifin sion ser*es and
mu v It# spliced them all to
Review ^er„for “Mr.
And we thought
Dr. Frankenstein
created a monster.
Martha Alston
(DeGeneres) is a
thirty-something
woman with a good
career and a rotten
single life. The pressure is coming in
fromall sides to get married, but Martha
is happy just where she’s at... sort of.
The first half-hour of the film is
where the lion’s share of the laughs
await Actually, it’s where mast of the
laughs occur as we watch Ellen ... I
mean, Martha deal with some really
pathetic men.
But when she meets Whitman
Crawford (Bill Pullman), all doubts of
single life are cast aside.
WHAT?!? Bill Pullman in a ro
mantic-comedy? Oh, now THERE’S a
stretch!
Anyway, Martha falls hard for this
perfect guy, but eventually finds what
Whitman is like on the inside. He writes
really bizarre poetry, likes to steal beer
and has a possessive — and cosmi
cally stupid—ex-girlfriend, Inga (Joan
Cusack).
Naturally, everyone else loves
Whitman, and he becomes more and
more obsessed with Martha as her life
goes down the proverbial toilet until
she ends up in a Mexican jail.
Look for familiar faces Polly Holi
day as Martha’s mom and Dean
Fam: “Mr. Wrong”
Stars: Ellen DeGeneres, Bill
Pullman, Joan Cusack
Director: Nick Castle
Rating: PG (mild language,
mature humor)
Grade: 13
Five Words: “Fatal
Attraction” comedy without
laughs
Stockwell (A1 from “Quantum Leap”)
as a private detective hired by Martha.
DeGeneres’ performance is noth
ing past what she has done in her
“Ellen” television series; acceptable
by television terms, but as a film, it just
See WRONG on 14
Children hurt at Jackson concert
LONDON (AP)—Police arrested
a rock singer at the British music
industry’s Brit Awards after he alleg
edly attacked three children perform
ing with Michael Jackson.
BBC Radio identified the man de-*
tained Monday night as Jarvis Cocker,
a member of the British pop group
Pulp.
“Jarvis did not assault anyone,” said
his spokesman, Scott Piering.
Scotland Yard said one 11-year
old boy was punched, another got a cut
on the ear and a 12-year-old was thrown
to the stage. Cocker was released on
bail this morning.
The incident occurred during
Jackson’s performance, but not within
range of television cameras. The award
show is to be broadcast in Britain
tonight.
A statement from Jackson’s record
company, Epic, said the singer was
shocked and angry over the incident,
“but is immensely proud that the cast
remained professional and the show
went on.”
Piering said today that Cocker did
“take a stroll on stage” during Jackson’s
performance, but that he did not “push,
shove, molest or touch any children
there.”
“We couldn’t believe our eyes that
Jarvis was on stage,” he said. “Every
one was getting wondrous at Michael
Jackson’s enormous production num
ber.
“Jarvis deflated it a bit, but Michael
did not notice any of this going on.”
Performing for the first time since
he collapsed in New York last year,
Jackson sang “Earth Song” and re
ceived a “Special Artist of a Genera
tion” honor.
David Bowie, the former rock ‘n’
roll rebel known for his futuristic fan
tasy rocker image, received an award
for “Outstanding Contribution to The
British Music Industry.”
Also at the ceremony, British band
Oasis won three major awards, for best
group, best album — “(What’s the
Story) Morning Glory?” — and best
video, “Wonderwall.”
Towns look to buy writer’s home
PARIS (AP)—Two dozen eastern
French towns are pooling
their cash to make sure seedy figures
don’t end up cultivating
the gardens of Voltaire’s estate.
The proud chateau on the Swiss
border, where the 18th-century writer
and philosopher spent the last 20 years
ofhi s 1 i fe, now is owned by two women.
In their 80s, they can’t maintain the $6
million mansion.
The aging landlords say plans to
split the estate among
their seven children and 13 grandchil
dren have been foiled by a bitter fam
ily feud. The only option they see is to
put it on the market.
So the mayors of Femey-Voltaire,
where the estate is located, and 23
neighboring towns are trying to come
up with the cash to make sure the estate
doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
“In respect to Voltaire and his battles
for freedom, we have to do everything
we can to make sure the chateau isn’t
bought with money from drug traffick
ers or the Russian mafia,” said Alex
Decotte, cultural director of Ferney
Voltaire.
The French are especially con
cerned about the fate of their prized
chateaus these days.
Last month, a Japanese heiress was
jailed on charges of forgery and breach
of trust after buying 10 prominent
See VOLTAIRE on 14
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