Is this Garth Brooks' Vol. 2 of Collection greatest achievement? serves up folk greats

ANNA HARRIS duce an that defies barriers, cre- JOHN ROBERT PORTMAN ing a folk radio show in California for contributing writer ates another star and still works in both contributing writer almost 30 years now, so they definite- the country and rock arenas. Although ly know what talent sounds like. Span- the album is not a huge step away from The FolkScene ning 25 years of various recorded per- the classic sound of songs like "Stand- Collection: Volume Two formances, the sound achieved by the ing Outside the Fire" and "The Dance," Red House { ｾ ｾ Ｌ acoustic acts is intimate and sharp. it still promises an enthusiastic audi- Other artists featured are Lucinda ence among purveyors of softer rock Williams, Stephen Fearing, Tom Rus- and pop. Prince and Beatles fans alike I 8 If sell, Chris Hillman, Jim Lauderdale, should recognize an active influence. Watch for Tom ｾ .•e/ Patty Larkin and Stan Rogers. In the true tradition of a greatest hits Wai ts hanging ·· The unplugged sound of the album album, it includes songs from the dif- out at the Hummingbird is relaxing and some of the musician's ferent musical eras that Gaines lived Grill in the Warehouse voices and the unmanipulatcd sounds through, and the sound of the album District. of the guitars are nothing short of amaz- is diverse enough to be enjoyed by many ing. Songs like "Love at the Five & listeners. The album is a sure thing, not Dime" by Nanci Griffith and "Good only for the music or for the legend that Perhaps you have noticed the unfor- Woman's Love" by Vince Gill arc lies behind it, but also for the novelty tunate fallacy of most modern music; smacked with a brick from the house of it all. The CD is actually a pre-sound- the inevitable let down you feel when of love, and "Take off Your Old Coat" What's more fun than a barrel of track, meant to set the stage for a movie you recognize the inconsistency and by Eliza Gilkyson and "California Snow" monkeys? How about an album by a to come out later next year, The Lamb. mercenary intentions of the mainstream. by Tom Russell are inspiring. "The Heart schizophrenic country leg- When the lack of soul gets you down, of Saturday Night" by Tom Waits and end singing rock and pop and the music inspires no emotion in "Let Me Fall" by Peter Case are like a songs in the guise of an Aus- you except the longing to switch off the roadtrip to anywhere, while "I'm This tralian rocker? radio, check out Tlle Folk Scene Collec- Blue" by Greg Brown is like a date with Sounds interesting, any- tion: Volume Two. the bottom of a bottle. Volume Two of way. What's more interest- The second album in a series by The FolkScene Collection is a good buy ing is that the album is great. Howard and Ron Larman, FolkScene for anyone with ambitions of broad- Of course, that might be flaunts such greats as Vince Gill, Peter ening their musical horizons, as well because the country legend Case, Tom Waits, Greg Brown and Eliza as for those people who just appreci- happens to be Garth Brook!'> · Gilkyson. The Larmans have been host- ate great music. and he's not all that mental- ly defunct after all. Brooks, a defining force in country music for quite some PE' s sound is go in' on time, skillfully takes on the challenge of switching musi- STEFAN KONWINSKI cal direction. It's evident that contributing writer the CD, In the Life of Chris has Gaines, was painstakingly cre- never been shy to take ated. One of the most inter- an issue head on. On Fear esting things about it is the of a Black Planet, it was enclosed booklet, which goes white America. On Apoc- to great lengths in inventing alypse '91, black Ameri- Gaines. Each song is accom- ca. Most recently, they panied by a small paragraph challenged the sports industry with the who "get their drink on but not their describing how and why it He Got Game soundtrack. Now Chuck think on." came about. Chris Gaines. the Australian ex-swimmer whose songs D and the rest of the PE crew turn the Primarily, however, Chuck is going As Gaines, Brooks has have touched the hearts of millions ... oh, wait, thats just spotlight on the rap industry. There's A after the record executives. On the somehow managed to pro- Garth Brooks. Never mind. Poison Goin' On is a hard hitting assault album's first single, "Swindler's Lust," on both the artists and attorneys who he identifies record companies as "the ｾ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ｾ ｲ ･ ｾ ｮ ｩ ｮ ｴ ･ ｨ ｩ ｰ Ｍ ｨ ｯ ｰ ｷ ｯ ｲ ｬ ､ ｾ ､ ｡ ｹ vultures of culture." Throughout the Musically, the album is a return to album he draws parallels between record the PE of old. After giving up much of industry and slavery, on the grounds The Arcade ... we know their musical edge with the pop pro- that if companies control a man's art, duction of He Got Game, complete with they control his soul. where you got dem a Puff-Daddy style True fans of hip-hop should check sample, the band takes it back with a out this album. PE is a hardcore act that vengeance. and Termi- truly looks to shake things up rather shoes. nator X lay down a dense sound collage then simply sprout cliches. They place of sirens and sound bites. their strength in mindpower, not fire- also turns his back on th power. If you're looking for someone to Now with marshmallows! pop PE had begun moving towards, strike against the trendiness of the rap declaring himself "the opposite of jiggy." world, PE is your band. ｾ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ］ ｾ ･ ｬ ｯ ｯ ｾ ｾ ｳ ｾ ｯ ｾ ｡ ｴ ｰ ｮ ｾ ｾ ｲ ｡ ｰ ｾ ｮ october 22, 1999 arcade •