Eye discs: September 13, 1995

Desperado Soundtrack

Various Artists

Sony

Are you looking for a man who calls himself Bucho?

If you saw and liked Desperado, then consider the soundtrack. This gritty and raunchy disc is a nice backing track for 90 minutes of body butchering spread over an exceptionally sensual sex scene somehwere in the middle.

Los Lobos, Latin Playboys and Tito & Tarantula fill about three quarters of the album and fuel it with a hot and lusty fury that screams “shoot me!” Carlos Santana and Dire Straits also chip in their two cents worth, but the one to watch for here is Salma Hayek performing her “Quedate Aqui”. This vocal-only track cuts into the predominantly instrumental nature of the first dozen songs nicely.

But go to a sleazy western-type bar that serves piss for beer and hear this disc in its natural environment. Oh yeah, don’t forget to bring your guitar. Bucho’s gracias.

Everybody salsa!

Four eyes.

– Jonathan Blackburn

Empire Records

Various Artists

A & M Records

The soundtrack to Empire Records is the latest in an influx of alternative/rock/pop compilations that have been released in the last little while. The songs themselves read like the rotation list of your favourite rock/alternative station. With new tracks from groups like the Gin Blossoms and the ubiquitous Cranberries, plus a whole heap of songs from less well known groups such as The Martinis and Drill, it seems to be designed to be marketed to the university/college music scene.

As the soundtrack to a film about working in a record store, Empire Records concentrates on only one section of the music industry, but at least it’s consistent. There are definitely a few cool songs, such as formed Orange Juice lead singer Edwyn Collins’ “A Girl Like You” and Evan Dando’s cover of Big Star’s “The Ballad of El Goodo”. If you’re into Mazzy Star at all you’ll probably like The Innocence Mission’s “Bright As Yellow”, and the Better Than Ezra track “Circle of Friends” is reminiscent of the Posies guitar/pop sound.

Overall, the soundtrack to Empire Records is an album that any alternative/rock fan would probably enjoy. If you think it sounds cool, check it out.

Three eyes.

– Alex Mlynek

Twelve Deadly Cyns

Cyndi Lauper

Epic

Cyndi Lauper’s latest album Twelve Deadly Cyns is a must miss. Save yourself the twenty bucks and dig up your old True Colours or Girls Just Want To Have Fun tape, if you feel the need of taking that trip down memory lane.

“Come On Home”, one of her most recent attempts, fails to meet the standards of the ‘80s and falls into the league of Twisted Sister sans the testosterone.

In a world where anything constitutes alternative, this is sheer shit. It’s Joan Jett meets the Chippettes. Cyndi is trying to jump on the retro ‘80s new wave bandwagon, but she fails. The only thing going for this CD are the few classics on it. “Girls Just Want To Have Fun”, “Time After Time”, and “True Colours” are entertaining blasts from the past —but only in moderation.

All in all, the album is good for a dress-up ‘80s dance party, but not much more.

Two eyes.

– Jackie Burns

Exit The Dragon

Urge Overkill

Geffen Records

Exit The Dragon is Urge’s second album on the Geffen label, and after listening to it, it may well be their last. Frontman Nash Kato makes the error of releasing dental office white noise for the sake of the almighty buck and all but forgets that the end result is supposed to be some sort of music.

Between Roeser’s sissy riffs and Kato’s lack of testosterone, 90 per cent of Exit the Dragon is sickeningly reminiscent of Lenny Kravitz. Moreover, Tom Jones on acid comes to mind. Apparently, Blackie O took beat lessons from Barney the Dinosaur because the percussion lacks the power demonstrated on their previous release, Saturation.

On a positive note, track nine stands out as a beacon of light on an album gone wrong; if only it was new material.

“View of the Rain” gave me deja vu, which lead me to their 1993 No Alternative CD. Sure enough, “View Of The Rain” was formerly known as “Take A Walk.” The lack of originality is disappointing, so in an attempt to remember the Urge of days gone by, I put on Saturation and mourned the lack of Exit’s Crackbabies, Erica Kane and sure, even Sister Havana.

Two eyes.

– Trista Vincent