This Scottish quintet has no real connection to the Lone Star State (they are named after the movie Paris, Texas because they liked Ry Cooder's soundtrack). But even if they don't know Waxahachie from Texarkana, the band displays a rare inventiveness, and lead singer Sharleen Spiteri still has that luminous, musical voice and a style that ingeniously fuses the sexiness of Diana Ross, the rock sensibility of Chrissie Hynde and the raspy voice of Kim Carnes. With a soulful rock sound that is propelled by drummer Richard Hynd, Spiteri makes the most of what is not an especially literate set of 12 songs (written by Spiteri with bassist John McElhone).
While Texas has sold 10 million albums worldwide since their late-'80s start in Glasgow, they haven't made the inroads into the U.S. market that some of their U.K. contemporaries have. This all-around solid album could well bring them closer to the American spotlight.
Bottom Line: Well-kept secret from Scotland begins to emerge
Red Hot Chili Peppers (Warner Bros.)
Album of the week
They spiced their stage shows with the near-naked cavorting of vocalist Anthony Kiedis and wild-man bassist Michael "Flea" Balzary. And with 4 million sales of their 1991 breakthrough album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, the Red Hot Chili Peppers looked like a long-running act. But as drug problems beset the band and feuding among group members prompted the departure of lead guitarist John Frusciante, the Peppers' bright prospects turned bleak. Now, happily, the rejuvenated group celebrates Frusciante's return (following the departure of ex-Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro) with another album of Pepper music: an explosive stew of hard funk, hip hop and heavy metal. Sounding healthy and hammering as hard as ever, the bandmates prove here that sobriety hasn't softened their edge, but it may have allowed them to show their sensitive side. After a series of rockers, Kiedis switches to a melodic croon on the delicate, aptly named "Porcelain" and on the closer, "Road Trippin'," a song of renewal that promises bright skies ahead.
Bottom Line: Hot and savory
The Chemical Brothers (Freestyle Dust/Astralwerks)
These leaders of the new British invasion bring commercial appeal to the underground music trend known as techno, most often identifiable by its mix of heart-thumping rhythms and prerecorded tape loops.
Their secret? In a genre where free-form jams and bland repetition tend to dominate, Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands (from Manchester, England) distinguish themselves with coherent song structures and sardonic wit—not to mention addictive tunes you can shake your butt to. At the CD's outset a robotic voice drolly declares, "Music triggers some kind of response." The duo's third full-length album also happens to trigger exciting performances from big-name singers like Noel-Gallagher of Oasis, whose vocals on "Let Forever Be" have a giddy, late-'60s vibe. Elsewhere, Surrender delivers a canny mix of dreamy sound-scapes and Star Wars-like aural effects.
Bottom Line: Hip but accessible
>Randy Newman
Though nominated for three Academy Awards this year (for his Pleasantville and A Bug's Life scores and the song "That'll Do" from Babe: Pig in the City), singer-songwriter Randy Newman, 55, went home Oscarless. Last month the wryly acerbic composer (his big hit: 1977's "Short People") released Bad Love, his first pop album in 11 years.
If not an Oscar, what award would you most like?
A platinum record for selling a million records. I know that's not feasible, but I've always wanted that.
Have your experiments with children's music—-in Toy Story or Babe: Pig in the City, for instance—affected your audience?
I had a 4-year-old heckler at this benefit I did the other day.
Who is your audience, exactly?
Well, I have relatives in Albuquerque, and when my [1998] boxed set came out, I noticed that two copies sold in one week there. I knew exactly who bought them.
Are you worried about losing pop fans after so long an absence?
I'm ready to do what it takes to get people to listen. If they asked, I'd do the nude scene—if it were dignified, of course.
- Contributors:
- Ralph Novak,
- Steve Dougherty,
- Alec Foege,
- Craig Tomashoff.
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!
