The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, July 29, 1999, Summer Edition, Page 4, Image 4
Paae One bookstore Paperback Docks 1/2 Price. More than 30,000 used books for sale or trade. : All types of fiction and non-fiction. . Lincoln's Largest Paperback Exchange! 206 North 13th, Lincoln, NE 474.6316 Monday-Saturday 10:15-5:30, till 6:00 Thursday NEBRASKA REPERTORY THEATRE STREET student tickets just $5 I a wild and crazy ^ comedy about the 60s 28-3l and radical movement . * \ August 3-7 at 7:30 p.m. August 1 at 3:00 p.m. Howell Theatre first floor Temple Bldg. 12th A R riCX'ETS: 472-2073 yworks' OPEN 24 HOURS Your Most Complete Print Center Celebrating 10 Years NOW OPEN HI 1320 Q Street (next to Nebraska Bookstore) 477-7400 Fax 477-8966 op«nZ4hoaoa<ioy ?dcy»awe*k L . More Than You Bargained For ^TH£ THRIFT D E PA £ \tH ng j One coupon per customer per day. Limit of $3.99 4890 It’s on now. dailyneb.com The Pretenders !Viva El Amor! Warner Bros. Grade: A Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde is a maternal siren of rock ‘n roll. Androgynous, eye-makeup sexy and motherly all at the same time, Hynde has embraced rock’s traditions without making cliches of them. For the most part, at least. Hynde and her Pretenders haven’t hit such time-proven targets with punches of panache as of late. Their last album, 1994’s “Last of the Independents,” was uninspired and self-righteous. For Pretenders fans, so comes the band’s new album, “!'Viva El Amor!,” like a cold bottle of Newcastle after five years on a Budweiser-only wagon. The record features one Spanish sung tune, and the title’s English translation is “Long Live Love.”Teeming with attitude, the release’s first track, “Popstar,” explodes and bounces to a fuzzy bass line. This elementally basic song could pass for a PJ Harvey composi tion with the mentioned bass effect and overall marriage of old rock and new roll. “Popstar” is a playful and ram bling vocal sprawl aimed at an old boyfriend. With that in mind, honest and inspired song writing has always been Hynde’s fan-making delivery. Her sometimes tough, sometimes feathery vocals, plain-spoken lyrics and often roaring guitar riffs sound like black tears raining from Hynde’s mascara duct falls. Hynde’s personality is embedded in feminine originality, though she has the power to speak for all slightly darkened searchers of romance. Her sense of common relation ship themes has lubricated the Pretenders’ mythology into a normal, shared experience. Hynde’s most poignant deliveries translate to chil dren-bound mothers and crusty old barflies. “Human,” the second track on the new album, rounds up some prime Hyndinian soul and has been market ed as the record’s hit single. A pretty guitar line and a solid mid-tempo snare hit play anchor to Hynde’s sultry and strong sense of female voice. Here, Hynde’s once again elo quently tosses her raw-meat lyrics to her hungry fans with the careful delivery of a mother hen. “Well there’s blood and there’s veins and I cry when there’s pain. I’m \ Harris Together, We're Making Lives Better 621 Rose Street, Lincoln www.mdsharris.com/rcrt/recruit.htm only human on the inside,” she sings on “Human,” with a balance of emo tion and restraint. The rest of the 12-song record unravels like all good Pretenders’ albums do with enchanting ballads and rockers that bark like philosophi cal wolverines. “Nails in the Road” and “Samurai” are two of the many stand out tracks. Why the Spanish album title? Hard to explain. Song 11, “Rabo De Nube,” might be the best lead for sleuths of Pretenders’ syntax. “Rabo De Nube” means “Tails of a Cloud” in English - if that helps at all. Musically speaking, this timeless and somber tune once again proves Hynde’s throaty prowess. Her vocal command makes storm and sunlight throughout the record.Like her work on 1987’s “Learning to Crawl,” Hynde’s sings more-rocking tunes like she’s giving a well-deserved lecture. She softly croons ballads as if they were lulla bies of hard reality. When Pretenders’ songs are as effective as the ones on “! Viva El Amor!,” they ring with pain and joy as if they were giving birth. — Christopher Heine