d

• The Province•

Take a break!

W=f,

Quickspins
Count,y
CAROLYNMARK:Party Girl
(Mint Records)

****

Road
stival

"'*
>ased
songgrass
sand
Stern
not
but if
early
onto
·eyor
:ome1Rail
!re is
nadiiting
11ght
,ned
the
cold
~astugh1ger
:ach
; an
tion
10U-

and
1ent
dio,
(~lin

ELTON JOHN: The Road
to El Dorado {DreamWorks)

*

A 10-year-old listener,
upon hearing this collection of songs from the
new animated kids movie,
suggested we give the
album to her grandmother. Not a good sign
for Sir Elton. These undistinguished,
over-produced pop ballads are
hobbled by clunky lyrics
from Tim Rice. (Sample:
"Just because we are Hispanic/Doesn't
mean
we're
oceanic./Quite
frankly we've had water
up to here.") There's no
hint of adventure or myth
in the lyrics or John's
reading of them. Whatever visual charms the
movie holds, the kids
aren't going to be humming the tunes as they
exit the theatres. But
John's one-size-fits-all
piano noodlings could
have a second life in ads
for Cadillac's two-door
boulevard cruiser.
-

Glen Schaefer

This is Victoria's Carolyn
Mark and The Room-Mates'
(which they actually are)
aural diary of a recent crossCanada recording odyssey
that includes sit-ins such as
Ray Condo, Greg Keelor and
Oh Susanna. It's smart, shabby, proud, funny, blearyeyed and wonderful. Mark
opens for Neko Case this Friday at Richard's
on
Richards.
- J.P.M.
ERNEST TUBB: The 20th
Century Millennium Col•
lection Best of Ernest Tubb
(MCA)****

There was a time the
Texas Troubadour, Ernest
Tubb, was the hippest thing
in American country music
and this record tells you
why. It includes his biggest
hit, Walking the Floor Over
You (featuring the first electric guitar in country) Tubb
proves he was the original
honky-tonk man, - J.P.M.

Pop
TREMBLING BLUE STARS:
Broken in Whispers {Sub
Pop)**½

As a member of The Field
Mice and Northern Picture
Library, Bob Wratten
penned plenty of melancholic music and with his
new band nothing has
changed. This disc is loaded
with lush melodies and sad
lyrics sung in a detached,
spoken style.
- S.D.

Jazz
***½

NOWOrchestra: Wow Wow
{Spool)

Under the musical direction of Coat Cooke and Ron
Samworth, who contribute
strong compositions to
Wow Wow, Vancouver's
New Orchestra Workshop
plays noisy new music with
verve. Trombonist George
Lewis,reedsman VinnyGolia
and clarinetist/tenor saxophonist Paul Cram all appear
on the CD. For info on this
Saturday's NOWfundraiser,
call 254-5016.
- 5.D.