20 - Friday, September 2, 1988 - North Shore die... young BABY BOOMERS get a disc full of kindred spirit-sear- ching sentiments from a just-turned-40 James Taylor; Gentlemen Without Weapons sample the world to plead for its case; Clive Gregson & Christine Col- lister serve up an intelligent mix of folk-oriented music. James Taylor — Never Die Young, C8S Records 1988 A milestone release for Taylor, the LP delivers what fans have come to expect from him — clev- er, visually dense lyrics wrapped in a soothingly smaoth, nasal- distinctive vocal delivery. He’s lived up to the album title’s exhortation by turning 40 this year. The LP is his first new release in over two years and his fifth for the Columbia label. The title track, Never Die Young, is a firm fixture on adult- oriented radio playlists and offers a paean to non-conforming, life-af- firming consciousness. Taylor's lyrical references tap into the collective concerns of his baby boomer contemporaries. The MICHAEL BECKER music reviewer songs tackle eminently adult tuft like ‘putting down roots,”’ keeping a metaphorical weather eye to the chart on high,” and love as a knock ‘em down punch out with breaks for lunch in be- tween rounds, and never being able to go home again. But in the end the LP closer, First Of May, rejects the notion of passive deference to the declining years and descending decrepitude. The song reaffirms the message carried in the title track — an in- vitation to join in nature’s dance of renewal. It's an even effort with the better cuts including Never Die Young, Sweet Potato Pie, First Of May, and Sun On The Moon. Gentlemen Without Weapons — Transmissions, A&M Records 1988 No, they are not distant cousins of the Men Without Hats. The weaponless gentlemen are in fact Kenny Young, Vic Coppersmith- Heaven and Nick Glennie-Smith. In previous musical incarnations, Coppersmith-Heaven worked with the Jam as producer and engineer; Glennie-Smith has played keyboards for the likes of Paul McCartney, Phil Collins and Tina Turner; Young's songwriting cred- its include Under The Boardwalk. This is a Concept LP. The two- year project saw the three musi- cians comb the world over with a Sony digital recorder to snag some 2,600 hours worth of living sounds from the natural world. The sounds, some 800 in all, were sampled and sequenced with the aid of a Fairlight Series 3 to cobble together the musical tracks. The musicians sampled everything from termites and toads to the sound of a head being scratched. Nature provides the backing for a series of songs addressing acute environmental issues such as acid rain and the decimation of the world’s rain forests. The unarmed gents call for us to love and respect the beleaguered world we live in. It’s not a subtle record — rather it’s a pure example of entertain- ment as agitprop. The blunt message is an important one to digest, but in the end, the novel approach to making music wears thin, collapsed by the weight of its own cleverness. The ultimate im- pact is akin to an environmentally attuned, ersatz Alan Parsons Pro- ject project. Clive Gregson & Christine Col- lister — Mischief, Special Delivery 1987 Clive Gregson & Christine Col- lister — Home and Away, Cook- ing Vinyl 1987 These two LPs, distributed in Canada by Festival Records, rep- resent a comprehensive introduc- tion to this talented British folk- oriented duo. Home and Away captures the duo in concert and is packed with 15 cuts, including versions of Carl ——LUI Photo submitted Perkins’ Matchbox and Merle Haggard’s Mama Tried. While the live LP is for the most part a deft mix of seamless vocal harmonies backed by simple acoustic accompaniment, the Mischief LP showcases the in- dependent vocal talents of each singer. The unembellished, precise sound Gregson orchestrated for The Oyster Band on the group’s Wide Blue Yonder release, is reproduced to best advantage on Mischief. Gregson, a Manchester native who first surfaced in the late 1970s with a group called Any Trouble, emerges with this studio LP as one of the strongest contemporary lyrical talents from Britain. Collister, who began her singing career working holiday camps on the Isle of Man, is blessed with a gutsy, clear voice. The two put in a great couple of sets at this year’s folk music festi- val and are clue back in town early October, when they are scheduled to open for the Richard Thomson Band {6 SEVEN SEAS Every day we're serving the finest, freshest seafood (and landfood). So, if you're doing business or pleasure or just doing lunch, sel sail for the Seven Seas! LUNCHEONS $675.54 925 Salad and coffee included with every meal LUNCH 11am - 2:30pm daily SHIP OF THE Foot of Lonsdale Avenue North Vancouver Lots of free parking 987-3344 SWEET BABY james Taytor,: no: g longer. a ‘baby: at'age 40; comes” up with> a. _ baby” boomer release. , . AN OCEAN OF ORIGIRAL AHD CLASSIC SUSHIS LOVINGLY PREPARED ss Try our rainbow roll — a deliciously colourful roll of a sea-eel, cucumber, salmon, snapper and egg b. m and spinach, or mushroom sushi with a) shitake mushrooms. D TAKE-OUT and CATERING AVAILABLE 980-1510 iso East 2nd, North Van. Hot carved roast beef © carrot salad © beet salad Pa “© spatzli salad e potato salad 2 lm © Japanese sushi_ess+ My European if ed cereals @ assorted fj Tes © scrambled & Japanese ¥ cold sliced European meat & assorted pates and terrines © chicken ascona @ tomato salad © red cabbage salad shrimp @ tamequin © various desserts © assorted cheeses a Z°@ rolls o seafood tertines © ragouts «ff