Timel THIS WEEK’S CD REVIEWS: »> Woody Guthrie — Buffalo Skinners » Cat Power — Moon Pix > Chris Sheppard's Club Cutz 201 > the smalls — My Dear Little Angle John Goodman This Week Editor Gi vex ke Woody Guthrie — Buffalo Skinners The Asch Recordings, Vol. 4(1999 Smithsonian-Folkways SFW CD 40103). Cisco Houston appears on 10 tracks, Leadbelly and Sonny Terry also contribute. Archivists looked at more than 300 songs for Smithsonian-Folkways’ Woody Guthrie project. About one-third of those were deemed worthy of inclusion. What made the final cut was not necessarily based on esthetic considerations as many of the recordings were in poor condition. Some were not playable, others fell apart before their eyes. Guthrie recorded the material in the early 1940s for Folkways founder Moses Asch. During this period there were government war restrictions on what could be used to manufacture records. Woody and his buddy Cisco Houston were in the Merchant Marine dur- ing the Second World War and recorded most of the songs on shore leave in March and April of 1944. Considering the working conditions it’s amazing that Asch managed to produce what he did. Although the | sessions were in New York City they could just as easily have taken place in Indonesia, or (like Robert Johnson) in a Dallas hotel room or (like. Penelope Houston and the Avengers) in a punk club in San Francisco. They are ethnographic recordings documenting a significant moment in North American folk culture. Twenty years later the young Bob Dylan would pick up the line. Smithsonian- Folkways has divided the Guthrie out- put into four separate CDs with each release containing over an hours worth of music compiled and anno- tated by scholars Guy Logsdon and Jeff Place. This Land Is Your Land (Vol. 1) shows the wide range of subjects in his repertoire; Mudeskinner Blues (Vol. 2) examines his traditional country heritage and Hard Travelin’ (Val. 3) displays his political activist leanings. The final instalment, Buffalo Skinners (Vol. 4), our this week, contains 26 songs on western themes about cowboys and outlaws. They range from classic 19th century material, such as Red River Valley (although the words have been changed the compilers note its Manitoba origins) to material written by ‘Guthrie. In the booklet the writers show how media reports helped mythologize his account of Pretty Boy Floyd’s exploits. Cocaine Blues, first recorded by Luke Jordan on 16 August 1927 in Charlotte, North Carolina, shows the cross-cultural influences of American pop- ular music on an Okie from Okemah. Guthric throws everything into the mix. The closing cut, previously unre- leased, is a skit with Cisco Houston recorded on a home machine. The Return of Rocky Mountain Slim and Desert Rat Shorty captures the anything-goes silliness of Mexican border radio. The original acetate disintegrated in the remastering process. Dylan, Springsteen and others have acknowledged their debt to Guthrie in word and deed. His legacy was further reinforced last year with the Billy Bragg/Wilco collaboration, Mermaid Avenne. The Smithsonian/Folkways recordings supply us with the real deal in all of its raw glory. BR xkkxx Cat Power — Moon Pix (1998 Matador OLE 286-2). Track seven of Chan Marshall's latest release acknowledges “The Bob Dylan” for inspiring her take on the traditional Moonshiner. Southern Gothic via the southern antipodes, Cat Power recorded Moon Pix in Melbourne, Australia in January of last year. The sound is deceptively fragile as if something could go very wrong, very soon. It never does. Timeless blues for the backporch. Cat Power plays guitar or piano and sings her original songs backed up by two members of the Dirty Three. Moonshiner doesn’t sound out of place in the middle of this seamless collection. It’s unfair to compare her music to anyone clse’s but Nick Cave comes to mind as a kindred soul. For someone who stays in che shadows of stardom she sure tours a lor. Cat Power performed at the Starfish lasr fall and, still on tour, makes her way back to this part of the world fora show at Bellingham’s Western Washington campus on Friday, 14 May. Win a copy of new ° J dance compilation “Enter to win a copy of Chris Sheppard's Club Cutz 20! from BMG Canada. Tell us the name of Sheppard's band and if your name is drawn you will be a winner of the CD plus a poster. Send your entries to Club Cutz Contest. North Shore News, 1139 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver, 8.C.V7M 2H4, Attention: John Goodman. You can fax entries to 985-2104 or e-mail . Deadline for the contest is Friday, April 30, 5 p.m.Winners will be contacted by phone. For more info on Chris Sheppard's world go to his Web site at . Tomorrow night the Rage is hosting a CD release party for the new release. indred si @ «xx Chris Sheppard’s Club Cutz 201 (1999 BMG 74321-65300-2). Toronto DJ Chris Sheppard mixes it up with the best of them. His own band Love Inc. scored a massive number onc last year with Broken Bones and he continues that success on a series of compilation CDs. The latest Clb Cuts 201 features 17 tracks, 14 of which are exclusives, He’s also included a version of Love Inc.’s most recent hit Homeless. Sheppard’s secret weapon is not much of a secret anymore — vocalist Simone Denny brings a lor to the show giving Love Inc. a soulful edge. As with any sampler there are some duds but the first seven cuts kick: Big Punisher featuring Joe — Still Not A Player, Noreaga — Superthug, Five — Slam Duuk (Da Funk); Touch & Go — Would You...2; House of Pain —~ Jump Around; Love Inc. — Homeless, and Cevin Fisher featuring Loleatta Holloway — (You got Me) Burnin’? Up. ES( VIRE Vancouver's finest & 108 East 2nd 1st, Corner of Lonsdale & 2nd St, Nosth Vi Van 984-4577 Park the side of SPRING Friday, Apri! 23, 1999 — North Shore News ~ 17 «4% the smalls — My Dear Little Angle (1999 smalisongrecordings). About three-quarters of the way through their new CD the smalls go into a straight reading of Carole King’s Natural Woman. T kept waiting for the punchline. Where would the song turn into a joke? Where was the "90s irony? It never comes, That four rockers from Edmonton can throw a Goftin/King/Wesler oldie into their set and make it work says loads about the band’s philosophy. the smalls tke to blur the lines and they have the talent to back it up. Previous recordings have veered towards Reavy metal than bounced back into punk without missing a beat. Vocalist Mike Caldwell approaches each song difter- ently going fullout or holding back as the material dictates. A number of names come up as influences: Soundgarden, SNFU, Black Sabwath, ete. but more than anything else they remind me of Fugazi. Like the D.C. out- fit they control all aspects of their musicmaking and have released My Dear Little Angle independently. The band is currently on tour and will play The Gate (1176 Granville St.) tonight with Duke of Medulla and Drexel’s Eye. Earlier in the day, at 3 p.m., the smalls are scheduled to make an in- store appearance at HMV Robson. ag "Glucosamine Sulfate 500m« uls WATCH FOR: Tom Waits releases his new CD this week Made Variations on Epitaph. San Francisco Chronicle writer James Sullivan asked him why his 12th studio album is coming out on a Los Angeles punk label and Waits replied: “The fact is, if T told them J wanted to do Cuban gospel disco cartoon music, they'd say, ‘When are you going into the stu- dio? The excellent profile can be found on the Internet at . Another guote: “In between words of devotion, Waits takes great joy in making up a past life for his wife: He claims she’s been an cleva- tor operator and an anchorwoman, among other things. ‘She was Yma Sumac’s hairdresser for a very short period of time.’ His slate-colored eyes twinkle devilishly. ‘They had co let her go — teo much overhead!’ ” One more for the road:“I don’t know what it is 1 do yet. I guess if you figure it out, you're kind of all done.” Other CDs set for release next Tuesday include Fugazi’s Instrument —a soundtrack to accompany a new video on the D.C. punk band; Charlie Haden — The Montreal Tapes with the Liberation Music Orchestra; Old 97s — Fight Songs, Soweto String Quartet — Renaissance. On May 4 look for Aretha Franklin’s Amazing Grace: The Complete Recordings: two unedited live perfor- mances recorded at New Temple Missionary Baptist Church, Los Angeles, California on January 13- 14, 1972. — John Goodman 25 a tabs | Herbal Viagta tisues 250m_ *25% 109 cans Cellu-trim iat fern, ERSONS F7HARMACY 988-5. tee Lonsdale @ 15th General Store! en Lonsdate @ 3rd North Van — $§9% 25 caps 271; 1437 Giyde Ave. \ West Van 922-2413 ? 1318 Lonsdale Ave. North Van 985-2556 3233 Connaught St. sale aan 988 2450 5 URDERES "~~ TDRVCLEARRIG "~~ ‘WENO DRESSES 9 fe2 ian ST i nL ad | for special price Coupon expires May’ ie Free Parking iz parkade at LIMITED Bonet WINE Y 0¢ Ciders 100° § monad OFF £ hem on Premise n valid with in-coming order, Se, AN om, sels aE ENS best on premise wine & beer making @ Authorized Brew King Dealer es Expires Aprit 28/99 Not valid wiih any other promotion or sale item,