Two Records from Canada

Pag JThe Gargoyle Two records from Canada, eh? urban chaos and isolation are all themes that BRUCE COCKBURN/INNER CITY FRONT Cockburn has dealt with before, but hi - new ap­ Millenium proach underscore these ideas in a straight forward, BOB & DOUG McKENZIE/THE GREAT ~ Records dose-to-the-bone manner. For i:his reason alone, Jn. NORTH WHITE Mei:cury ner City Front deserves to be he.ird. If it's any exam­ ple of what we're goi_ng to hear from Canada in the By W. C. STROBY future, we've got a lot to look forward to. Canada has never been known as the entertain­ On a lighter side is the long awaited American ment capital of the world, and up to now it's been release of The Grear Whice North. So SCTV's Bob for: good reason. With the exception of Rush, Neil & Doug McKenzie have like, finally made an album eh? ' Young and a few others, Canada has not made much of a contribution to the American music cene. But Through their appearances on Second City, Bob · lately, newer Canadian groups such as Triumph, a_nd Doug (Rick Morani and Dave Thomas respec­ Soft Cell and others have found a degree of success tively) have earned a lot of recognition. Their south of the border; and along with the recent s~ereotypical characterizations of a pair of semi­ release of these two albums it seems as if things are Licerate, Molson-swilling Canadian brother have on the upswing for the.great white north. given rise to a cult following where the pas word Canadian singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn are slang terms like "Take off," "Ho er" and {pronounced Coburn) has been an enigma for quite "Good Day"; words that have become trademarks some time. His guitar-oriented folk/rock albums not only for the show bur for the country it elf. sometimes sound like Jackson Browne, Gordon Since their TV pots are almost entirely improvis­ Lightfoot and Leo Kottke combined and although ed_. it is surprising. that t_hey managed to come up he's relea cd 12 albums in Canada only five of tho e wtth enough matenal to fill an album . The nine cur are currently avaiJable in the United State . · here wer_e reportedly culled from. over 40 hours in Cockburn's newest album, Inner Cicy Front, is the studio and although the routine grow tire ·ome somewhat of a departure from his earlier recording . toward the end there are some great moments in Instead of the jazz-like acoustic guitar playing that the meantime. One of thee i their hit i,1gle "Take marked those earlier efforts, the new release is more Off" with Geddy Lee from Ru h on lead vocal anJ of an expansion into electric jazz and fusion, with a backup banter from Bob & Doug ("Decent inging, fuller band sound complimented by Bob DiSalle's eh?" "Yeah, he's good.") and another i~ their unique drum and Hugh Marsh's wirling e)ectric violin version of the "12 Days of Chri tmas." playing. As in his last two albums, a trong reggae in­ fluence is reflected on some of the cues and the Along wi_ch these, there are also ome insightful album even contains one breakthrough ro~k song commentaries on uch Canadian national in titu­ ("Wanna Go Walking") chat i one of the most pa - tion. as donut hop ("Twelve rabies and only four sionate things he's ever done. parkmg pots!"), back bacon and beer drinking Unlike some of the songs on Cockburn's last games ("Be~rhunter" ~>Unds like a lot of fun). The album,Humans, Inner City Front _is far more per­ album also includes an mnersleeve copy of The Dai­ sonal than political in its subjective look at modern ly Haser, a new paper complete with crossword man and the -world he's built for himself. Although puzzle and a weather report that read _ "G'day. It "Cockburn) ~eepl felt Christianit is still at the look like it's going to be a good day. So G'day." heart of his songwriting, e manages to convey his Though some of it is repetitive, much of the belief. throl_!gh images without bogging them down album is genuinely funny and it helps if you have a tion of "Loner" is tied to the joyful folk/rock of few cold ones to go along with it. But the question with rhetoric;· something few "born-aga.in" artists "And We Dance." these days are able to do. that pops up is where do they go from here? Can we In the final analysis, the album, despite its somber expect Grear White North TI or Son of rhe Greac Alt~o~gh occasionally overburdened with lyrics,. nature, leaves one with an impression of en itive, White North? Maybe Bob & Doug Meec Pierre the nme songs here break a lot of new ground. From almost ethereal beauty unmatched in a lot of Trudeau? Either way this certified 100% Canadian the salsa-like horns of "You Pay Your Money and A~erican ~usic to1ay. Cockburn's songs are filled content album is entertaining and endearing in a You Take Your Chance" to the eerie sy nthesizer with. yearn mg, patn, anger and an overriding, way that few comedy relea es are nowadays. It' pro- that snakes through "The Strong One," Cockburn mystical sense of hope in the face of human elf. bably ~he cleane~r, mosr_unbitter come_dy record I've manages to cover a lot of musical base . The ame is destruction, both personal and social. Inner City heard in a long time anc:I because of this it' also one true_ of ~he lyrics. The film noir i~agery of the tide Prone deals with the per onal battles that are fought of my favorite . ' cut ts dLrectly related to the apocalyptic vi ion of ev~ryday and the quest for unity that ometime "Broken Wheel" in the same way chat the desola- dnve people to great extremes. Failed relationship , So like, chat.' the review, eh? New wave from New Order Never End" and "Cho en Time." For a person with danceable tune, unlike the melanchoJy ong By O'ROURKE FRANK a virgin ear to this neV( wave sound, it is best describ­ "Doubts even here." I liked "Doubts even here 'out New Order-"Fact. 50 1981 Movement" ~d a f~n but at times depressi ng. "Truth" i a song of the lot becau e of the relation in which can be The majority of the rock and roll aud_ience today, 10 which Albrecht, the lead guitarist and vocalist, ma?e betwe~n th~ co_nsta_m curiosity the singer has have recently assim_ilated some form of new wave i_n­ ings about his private obsession and his almost i_n­ while watchmg his girlfriend from afar, "watching to their tasteful music category. 'Movement' ability to grip with everyday life. every move you make" to the girl whom in return displays precisely the type of music currently being sars he is inde?ted t_o her. The two sing parallel on produced in England which is just now receiving the "Oh it's a stra?ge day, in.such a lonely way, this song and tts effect is overwhelming. 1 m sure popularity it deserves in the U.S. New Order is a I saw some children dance, I watch my life in a most people haven't heard of New Order, but they band among many other that are on the Factrix trance are the type of band which will generate a loyal label whose graphic album covers are done in good And the people around me seem so glad to be here folJowin_g. For all you new wavers our there, a good taste, although not as a substitute for quality music. Oh time goes 'so slowly on a day that I fear." ' way to fmd out what the current wave is in England Originally the band had been called "Joy Division" would be to buy th_is album. 'Movement' is a Factrix but has since changed due to the abrupt suicide of its There is nothing overly profound in these lyrics, publication ava_i]able only as an import. leader Ian Curtis. Since then they have regrouped but it shows exactly what the band has set our to do themselves by agding a woman named Gillian with their music. Thi i , finding answers to their Gilbert to play synthesizer ,and guitar. per onal problems and anxieties. "Chosen Time" is (Music for this column '1as been provided for by one of my two favorite cuts on the album, due most­ The band also changed its style co that of a musical Neighborhood records and tapes.) ly to the_ dri~ing and almost screaming sound imead of lyrical approach. The sound of the band is Albrecht plays on the lead guitar.' It is also a very uptempo but moody as emphasized on "Dreams