Big beat manifestes str a new one e from the Belfast Cowboy John Goodman This Week Editor jobug@nsucws.com 8 «x Fatboy Slim — You re Come A Long Way Baby (1998 Virgin /Astral Werks) From Housemarzin to House DJ is no mean feat. Fatboy Slim (Norman Cook: traces his turntable origins back to the carhy “80s before ruck stardom: got in the way, He established his club credentials with a string of U.K. hits coi- lected on 1997" Rerter Living Thronah Chemistry CD. Later this month Fatboy Slim puts his crown on the dine at the Hearreiqht D] Championship of the Worla as he goes head to head with New York’s Armand Van Helden in a weekend of gigs at Stoke’s Trentham Gardens (April 16) and London’s Brixton Academy (Apri 17). The event celebrates the third anniversary of Brighton's Big Beat Boutique Club set up by Cook, Gareth Hansome and Damian Harris of Skint Records. It also illuminates the nature of the beast — Hulk Hogan vs. Grandmaster Flash in the temple of techno. Musically Fatboy Slim is all over the map " including a sample of a DJ Shadow sample. The set also includes the “funk-soul-brother-check-it-out-now” mega-hit “Th Rockafeller Skank” as well as “Praise You”. The video for the latter shot live on an L.A. street with Roman Coppola and the Torrance Community Dance Group may be the best video of the year. It is certainly the most talked about. B eke Cassius — 1999 (1999 Virgin/ Astral Werks) Fatboy Slim’s reach into the pop mainstream benefits everybody on the Astral Werks roster, many of them radically adventurous. experimenters. Based in the U.K. (and distributed by Virgin) the label has more than 30 artists including The Chemical Brothers, The Future Sound of London, Photek, and u-ziq. If that’s not enough they also have a dub subsidiary (Melankolic) and a Frenck arm (SourceLab) The Parisian Source label is connected with just about every- body who is anybody in French electronic Pop. music — start with Air and work your way down. SourceLab, and now Source Material, gives new artists a chance tu be heard on compilations of unreleased material. French mixmasters Philippe Zdar and Hubert Blanc-Francard are taking centre-stage as Cassius, but behind-the-scenes they have been responsible for much of the great French club music | Lar T] It's time for all those outdoor projects. Do it yourself and save! At Valley Tools, we carry f the largest inventory of home ~ renovation equipment plus a wide variety of heavy duty equipment, and with over 60 f delivery vehicles, we can get to your job site dati. f Rentals © Sales © New & 3 Used Equipment 7332 ee £705 W. 2nd St. North Vancouver over the past decade. The two 31-year-old Parisians have produced three albums with MC Solaar, as well as dene remives tor Air, Daft Punk, Bjork, Neneh Cherry and Depeche Mode. They've also recorded under the names Ls Funk Mob and Motorbass. The new CD 1999 brings disco deeper into a mix heavily influenced by hip hop and house. Samples from the likes of Gwen MeRac, Donna Summer and Willie Hutch situate Cossas in the fast Jane of funk. For Boombass and Zdar slow- ing down is not an option. Nor is it for you if vou put this on. Think. James Brown meets Jackie Brown. Cassius deliver a techno knockout. @ * 4% Van Morrison — Back on Top (1999 Virgin 7243 8 47148 2 6). The 1968 album Astral Weeks established Van Morrison as a major presence in popular r-usic. There were no “hits” on it, in fact it’s clos er to jazz than rock and made litde concession to prevailing tastes. Up to that point Morrison had been trying to capture an audience, first as a member of Belfast’s Them, later as a solo artist in America. He succeeded by the way — Brown Eved Girl. But success wasn't what he was after — or at least not on somcone else’s terms. On the cover of Them's sec- ond LP Morrison sports a black eye. Nothing's ever come easy for the Belfast Cowboy. “Goin’ down Geneva, give me a helping hand, it’s not casy baby, living on the exile plan. ‘Down on the bottom, down to my new pair of ‘shoes, Pin down by the lakeside, thinking ‘about my baby blue.” — Goin’ Down Geneva, 1999. Over the course of the °70s Morrison refined his sound into a personal soul music making sure that he had musicians who were on the same wavelength. He used veteran players to get across his ideas. For the new CD Back on Top he has many of the same people he had on tour with him Jast year: former James Brown saxman Pee Wee Ellis anchors the horn section, Geraint Watkins and Fiachra Trench double on keyboards and Jan Jennings attacks the double bass like he was Willie Dixon backing up Howling Wolf. In their capable hands Morrison lets loose with his latest com- positions. Listen to the CD all the way through for full effect. "How you get there will be anybody’ sites with all the so-called trappings of. ‘SUCCESS, Left all the deadbeats on the top of the hill, too busy raisin Cain, I’m back on the street again, Pm back on top again.” — Back On Top, 1999. It’s Van the Man versus the rest of the world. The Belfast Cowboy pulls no punches. MIATA 5399n0. ‘$9 SoLanA SI SE 4650. 36 mo. toate $8000 down % mo. lease ® $2300 down rege wt i ‘aE ah Ba om De RD. *99 48 mo. tease $2500 down Win Van Morrison’s new CD Back on Top Enter to win a copy of Van Morrison's new CD Back on Top. Tell us the name of his first band and if your name is drawn you will be a win- ner. Send your entries toVan Morrison Contest. North Shore News, 1339 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver, 8.C.V7M 2H4. Attention: john Goodman. You can fax entries to 935-2104 or e-mail . Deadline for the contest is Thursday, April 8, 5 p.m.Winners will be contacted by phone, iJ Winners The following people won cepies of the new Crash Test Dummies CD Give Yourself a Hand plus a poster of the band courtesy of BMG: —- Brad and Shannon Sharp —~- Emma Campbell — Shannon Lerrie — Sandra Corbett -— Tasey Balden R. Kelly to play Vancouver EARLIER this week R. Kelly announced dates tor a summer tour which includes a stop in Vancouver at GM Place on Sunday, June 13. The tour wil! begin May 5 in Richmond, Virginia in support of his latest album R. Artists joining Kelly on the 30-date schedule include Busta Rhymes, Foxy Brown, Sparkie, Nas, Kelly Price and Deborah Cox. The only other Canadian date is in Toronto on May 12. 99 Sienna LE $47 1a 36 mo. -Wease $5000 dow:s RUNNER Et. 955500. 36 mo. lease $5000 down 6 mo, tease 510000 ¢ own 5 OO VW VW JETTA GIS °369s0 “99 Porno: Boxs Boxsrm 893 ‘99 SumumaaN SLE 528 | ‘99 vw Berrie 534510. teasa $2500 down .