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CASH BOX AUGUST 1996 9 POP ALBUMS 24,

ALBUM REVIEWS by Daina Darzin

EARTH: Pentastar: In The Style of the Demons (SubPop SPCD 361 And, well, yeah, there’s that little matter about Keanu Reeves being Dogstar’ bass player, and turning down a gazillion dollars to do Speed 2 in order to

Earth is a big, lumbering, deliberately, interminably slow metal band that tour with his beloved band. . takes the Black -Sabbath- via-the-M el vins-and-Codeine route, periodically H DEADBOLT: Tijuana Hit Squad (Cargo HED-059 CD) adding Phantom of the Opera keyboards, ambient noise loops and other appropriately atmospheric flourishes. Most of the tracks on this disc are too What would you get if you crossed the Rev. Horton Heat, the Cramps and a long for radio play, but this is an extremely inventive, cool disc that could Quentin Tarantino/ Robert Rodriguez movie? Welcome to the creepy and increase the band’s already-solid cult following (the outfit has a stellar history, amusing world of Deadbolt, which makes good ole rockabilly twang sound counting Melvins’ Joe Preston and, some years back. Kurt Cobain among its like the most ominous thing in the world. The disc’s hilarious, darkly sarcastic former members.) tone and fun rootsy sound could make any of these tracks— “Convict Man,’’ “A Hit Gone Wrong,” “El Perversio” — a novelty hit. DOGSTAR: Quat- tro Formaggl (Zoo 72445- H ROBERT MILES: Dreamland (Arista 18930-2) 11128-2)

A major-league hit in Europe, This four song EP is Robert Miles gets ready to take the just a preview of Dog- U.S. Miles’ single “Children” star’s Our Little Vi- sold more than two million units sionary full-length and reached #1 in seven countries. album, which will be A trancey, dramatic dance track released in the fall. In from the former pianist, club DJ the meantime, this and producer, “Children” ap- four-track Enhanced pears on Dreamland in two ver- CD plays on a conven- sions, with plenty of other tional CD player and similarly lush, hypnotic Giorgio includes state-of-the-art interactive computer graphics. Dogstar plays entirely Moroder-meets-Enigma dance lovely, catchy power pop songs that could work on any number of formats. tracks in between, including the space-age blip of “Landscape” and the high-drama crescendos POP ALBUM INDEX and plaintive keyboard arrangement of “Princess of Light.”

311 /1 Jars Of Clay /57 Sublime /75

2Pac /40 Jay-Z /59 Sweat, Keith / II Adams, Bryan /90 Jewel 129 SWV /86 PICK OF THE WEEK Alice In Chains /6 Kelly, R. /48 SOUNDTRACKS:

Arden.Jann /78 La Bouche /65 The Crow: City Of../16

Beck /24 Lawrence, Tracy /72 Escape From L.A. /88

Black Crowes /53 Lewis, Donna /45 The Hunchback

Blues Traveler /82 LL Cool J /47 Of Notre Dame /63

Bone Thugs N Harmony /7 Ixisl Boyz /50 Nutty Professor /23

Braxton Toni /4 Lovett.Lyle /68 Phenomenon /14

Brooks & Dunn /33 Maxwell /58 Trainspotting /87

Brooks. Garth /70,76 McCoy Neal /81 Waiting To Exhale /80

Buffet, Jimmy /64 McCready, Mindy /51 The Tony Rich

Bush /49 Merchant, Natalie /54 Project /85

Butthole Surfers /34 Metallica /10,69 Too Short /43

Carey, Mariah 121 Michael, George /74 Tribe Called Quest /8

Chapman, Tracy / 13 Miles, Robert /55 Twain, Shania 120

Connick, Harry /73 Morrisette, Alanis / UGK /26

Coolio /61 Mr. Mike /60 Various Artists:

The Cranberries /36 Nada Surf /56 Club Mix '96 /91

Crucial Conflict / 35 Nas 12 Dance Mix USA /79

Dave Matthews Band /15 N.W.A. /96 Jock Jams 199

De La Soul /92 No Doubt /5 Mom - Music For Our

Dion, Celine /3 Oasis /18 MTV Party To Go

Dishwalla /98 Petty, Tom /19 Vol. 9 /39

Estefan, Gloria 122 Primitive Radio Gods /38 So So Def

Facemob /42 Quad City DJ’s /31 Bass All Stars /46 FAILURE: Fantastic P/anef( Slash /Warner Bros. 9 46269-2) Fugees /12 Rage Against The . . . /32 Sun Splashin’ HI

Foxworthy Jeff /97 Rimes, Lxann /9 A Tribule A swirly, inventive mix of hard-edged industrial sounds and sweetly harmonic Franklin.Kirk /93 Sandler, Adam /71 To Stevie Ray Vaughan /37 melody lines. Failure is a comm ercial alternative natural, with weird but Garbage /21 Smashing Pumpkins /41 X Games /100 anthemic tracks like “Saturday Savior” and the sadly lilting and extremely Gill.Vince /83 Soundgarden /28 The Wallflowers /84 catchy “Pitiful.” Much of the rest of Fantastic Planet takes off for an Hootie & The Blowfish Stabbing Westward /89 Weird A1 Yancovic /44 extended sonic adventure, with peculiarly and brilliantly deconstructed sound.

/30.67 Sting /95 Williams, John /94 This is a real hang-out-under-the-earphones record which includes car sounds

The Isley Bros. /52 Stone Temple Pilots /62 (“Segue 2”), feedback and other assorted strangeness in the mix. Although band, Failure is stranger to national touring, having completed an Jackson, Alan /66 Strait,George / 25 a new no extensive trek opening for Tool in support of its earlier disc, Magnified.