"Everything I write," Ice-T declares on his first album since last year's notorious "Cop Killer" episode, "is gonna be analyzed by somebody white." If he's right, the L.A. rapper has squandered a terrific opportunity. After a much publicized, mutually agreed upon parting with his former company, Sire, partly over Home Invasion's cover art, the album is out intact on an indie label. Unfortunately it's wildly uneven, much more bark than bite.
Some of the fault lies with Ice-T's deejay, Evil E. Save for the sinister snarl of "Ice M.F.T." and the rumbling attack of "It's On," the music's nothing to get excited about. But Ice-T himself has never been a particularly riveting rapper. He doesn't flow and his rhymes are sometimes strained. And in his lyrics he tries to have it both ways: Taking the high road, he bashes Korean-bashing on "Race War" and gang violence in "Gotta Lotta Love." Yet he turns loose guest-rapper Marquis, of 2 Live Crew, on the sexist slime of "99 Problems."
There is also endless self-aggrandizing, but that's been part of rap forever, and Ice-T doesn't seem to take the cartoon machismo too seriously. Ultimately what makes Home Invasion capable of rising above its shortcomings is the scope of Ice-T's vision. If he ever were to make a record as musically sharp as his most incisive observations, he would be more of a threat to the status quo. (Rhyme Syndicate/Priority)
Bash & Pop
Call it Keithitis. Ace sideman overshadowed by lead vocalist in killer rock band makes solo disc to showcase own talents. The most famous case, of course, is Keith Richards of the Stones. Last year Izzy Stradlin caught the bug and left Guns 'N Roses. Now Tommy Stinson of the late, lamented Replacements has the fever.
Paul Westerberg deservedly received most of the attention as front man for that group of Minneapolis malcontents, but Stinson finally proves his own worth as a songwriter with his new band, Bash & Pop. The group's name pretty much describes its music, a mix of bluesy rock and wistful ballads that do Richards's rough-hewn legacy proud. (Sire)"
Guy Clark
A lively, witty, intelligent collection, this album testifies eloquently to Clark's role as the éminence grise of Texas country music.
Clark's songs are both lyrically plainspoken and wry, and melodically and rhythmically satisfying. "It was a Texas girl that broke my heart/Then she tore my truck apart," he sings in "Baton Rouge." "I like crawfish I like rice/I like girls that treat you nice/I'm gonna find me one in Baton Rouge."
Clark, 51, an idol of, among others, Nanci Griffith, Kathy Mattea, Waylon Jennings and Vince Gill, also writes appealingly of shipwrights (the title song), old folkie Rambling Jack Elliott ("Ramblin' Jack and Mahan"), versatility ("Jack of All Trades") and modern art ("Picasso's Mandolin"). Clark sings of all these varying phenomena in his characteristically gruff, lazy-daisy voice. Jeff Hanna of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has said, "I don't know a songwriter who wouldn't want to grow up to be Guy Clark." Here's why. (Asylum)
Billy Childs
Since he records for Windham Hill, a label best known for its light-and-breezy new age fare, Childs has been slow to receive the recognition he deserves as a jazzman.
Backed by bassist Tony Dumas and drummer Billy Kilson on his fourth record as a leader, the 36-year-old pianist brings simmering danger to Cedar Walton's hard-driving "Bolivia" and John Coltrane's "Satellite." Childs's classical training (at USC) is evident in his fondness for incorporating counter melodies in his arrangements, and his liquid style is reminiscent of the pre-electric work of Herbie Hancock, whose classic "Speak Like a Child" inspired the wistful Childs original, "The End of Innocence."
Unfortunately, Kilson's drumming lacks sizzle and lends an air of predictability to the proceedings. Still, Childs serves notice that he is indeed a serious player.
Hothouse Flowers
U2 isn't the only Dublin band fascinated by American roots music. But while Rattle and Hum, the supergroup's 1988 exploration of blues and gospel, was reverential, Hothouse Flowers integrate American gospel persuasively into their Celtic rock.
The best moments on the quintet's third album could be highlights from a fire-and-brimstone church gathering. Although the band's messianic spirit is likely to incite further comparisons to U2, the Flowers prefer homespun simplicity to the older band's urban sheen. At the pulpit, vocalist Liam O'Maonlai delivers evangelical fervor ("Be good, be kind, be truthful, and feel free") with a wide-eyed optimism that the message is achievable. Featuring such vintage instruments as bouzouki, mandolin and bodhran (an Irish goatskin drum), "Thing of Beauty" and "Spirit of the Land" rumble joyously like impromptu jams, and "Gypsy Fair" wears shades of C&W. Songs' sole misstep, "Emotional Time," sounds like Bryan Ferry crooning sweet nothings in a Hawaiian lounge. But that one blemish doesn't dull Flowers' bloom. (London/Polygram)
>Ice-T
WHY A MAJOR RAPPER REJECTS GAY BASHING
ICE-T IS UNIQUE AMONG HARD-CORE rappers in that he has appeared at AIDS benefits and in the last couple years has eliminated antigay comments from his songs. "I even get letters from [the militant gay group] Queer Nation telling me where rallies are," Ice-T says, at home in Los Angeles. "As far as gay people go, where I stand now, I'm not getting anything out of disrespecting them. That's their way of life. I really got no problem with it. I'm straight and that's it. I don't even like using the word straight now because that insinuates that they are crooked, you know?" As to why rap and heavy metal are so homophobic, Ice-T adds, "You gotta remember, when you're coming from the ghetto, manhood is at a premium; that's just survival standards. The tough guy survives, so you're taught to prey on anything that's weaker. So you can't expect a lot of these hip-hop kids, who have grown up in the projects, to understand being gay. What happened to me is that I had to grow up and learn and travel and see life, but when you're living in the 'hood, you don't see s—t."
One of the pioneers of the West Coast rap sound, Ice-T is now in his mid-30s and about a decade older than most of his competitors. "As far as getting too old, a while ago I used to think, 'Damn, there's only so long you can rap.' But my roots are so deep as far as street s—t. It's like asking a Vietnam vet if he remembers a firefight. He'll say, 'Like last night.' Anyway, I'm still living it. I might have changed my location or my money, but [after "Cop Killer"] the cops hate me more than ever."
- Contributors:
- Amy Linden,
- Craig Tomashoff,
- Ralph Novak,
- David Grogan,
- Jeremy Helligar.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
