CONSUMABLE ONLINE - May, 1994 Richard Blade's Flashback Favorites, Volume 2 & 3 Soundtrack - _Threesome_ Charlatans U.K. - _Up To Our Hips_ All reviews by Bob Gajarsky RICHARD BLADE'S FLASHBACK FAVORITES, VOLUME 2 and 3 The new-wave sound of the early 1980's has been recaptured on compact disc by Oglio Records and their two recent compilations, _Richard Blade's Flashback Favorites_, Volume 2 and Volume 3. Blade, a popular Los Angeles disc jockey for station KROQ, has helped in selecting both classics and lesser-known new-wave songs for this multi-disc compilation. One such "unknown" song appears on Volume 3. "Chamber of Hellos", by Wire Train, bears an uncanny resemblance to the Cure's "Jumping Someone Else's Train" and "Boys Don't Cry". According to the liner notes, this song appeared on the 1983 LP _In A Chamber_ and the band reappeared in 1990 for a brief moment, with a self-titled album. Ah, the liner notes. Dutifully written by Blade himself, they are both insightful about each band and song. Each song has a 100 word or greater write-up about the background of the band, the song, and the ever-famous "whatever happened to them?" question. This part of the collection is crucial to its success, as many of the bands are not quite household names. Each volume contains two tracks which are known by everyone, even those who aren't new wave fans; Volume 2 stacks an extended mix of Madness' "Our House" and Grandmaster & Melle Mel's "White Lines", while Volume 3 contains the Romantics "What I Like About You" (long before it was ever featured in a commercial), and the extended mix of Soft Cell's "Tainted Love", medleyed in its 12" version into "Where Did Our Love Go". Extended, rare mixes appear of other songs as well. Volume 2, which tends to have better-known songs on it, includes extended versions of Bananarama's "Shy Boy", Roman Holiday's "Don't Try To Stop It" and the 7 1/2 minute version of "White Lines". Volume 3 tends towards slightly more obscure tracks, including the Bongos "Numbers With Wings", 20/20's "Yellow Pills", and Felony's "The Fanatic". Standout tracks? There's plenty, but suffice it to say that anyone who doesn't immediately recognize, from Volume 3, Blancmange's "Don't Tell Me" or EBN-OZN's "AEIOU (Sometimes Y)" probably hasn't had the song properly identified by a radio disc jockey. Romeo Void's "Never Say Never" still gets played to an enthusiastic response in dance clubs. Oglio Records was founded by former club dj Carl Caprioglio to help preserve the late 70's / early 80's "New Wave" music and finally bring these out-of-print classics to compact disc. Unlike other compilations, Caprioglio has worked out the politics to bring different labels' works onto one disc. These releases can be found at retail outlets and also from Oglio's "New Wave Connection", which can be reached at 1-800-COOL-CDS. I recommend this to anyone who wants to get an excellent sampling of the 1980's "new wave" tracks. Track listing, Volume 2: ABC-The Look of Love; Red Rockers-China; B Movie-Nowhere Girl; Bananarama-Shy Boy; Madness-Our House; Roman Holiday-Don't Try To Stop It (Extended Club); OMD-Electricity; The Kings-This Beat Goes On/Switching To Glide; Leisure Process-Cashflow; Adam and the Ants-Antmusic; Romeo Void-Never Say Never; Grandmaster & Melle Mel - White Lines (Don't Do It) Track listing, Volume 3: Wire Train-Chamber of Hellos; The Bongos-Numbers With Wings; The Buggles-Clean Clean; 20/20-Yellow Pills; Romantics-What I Like About You; Human Sexual Response-What Does Sex Mean To Me; XTC-Making Plans For Nigel; Gary Myrick & The Figures-She Talks In Stereo; Felony-The Fanatic; Blancmange-Don't Tell Me; EBN OZN-AEIOU (Sometimes Y); Soft Cell-Tainted Love/Where Did Our Love Go ------------------------------------------------------------ THREESOME Another film soundtrack has appeared on record shelves and on modern rock radio stations playlists. That soundtrack is _Threesome_, which like the movie it comes from is packed with sexual innuendo and flirtation. The leadoff single and video from _Threesome_ is a cover of the Staple Singers classic, "I'll Take You There". General Public does the remake, and it marks the reuniting (for the first time in 10 years) of original members Ranking Roger and Dave Wakeling. The reggae style which was present in General Public in the early 80's returns to help power the choruses and drive the song home to its listeners. The pseudo reggae pop also appears in Apache Indian's "Boom Shack A Lak", which sounds an awful lot like last year's U.K. smash, Shaggy's cover of "Oh Carolina". The song that has been hyped all over the television commercial for _Threesome_ is New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle". The rare 7" release is included on the soundtrack. Other hard to find tracks include U2's cover of Patty Smith's "Dancing Barefoot", which first appeared as a b-side to "When Love Comes To Town" and Bryan Ferry's "Is Your Love Strong Enough". Those who haven't heard the Teenage Fanclub cover of "Like A Virgin", originally released by the band three years ago, are in for a pleasant surprise. The group gives an almost grunge sound to Madonna's #1 hit, before Seattle was known for anything other than rain. The Beatlesesque "He's My Best Friend", by critical favorites Jellyfish, is also featured on the compilation. In summary? A nice treat for "alternative" music fans. _Threesome_ is not a must-buy (unless you're looking for the hard-to-find tracks on cd), but a reasonable collection. Track listing: Tears For Fears - New Star; General Public- I'll Take You There; U2-Dancing Barefoot; Teenage Fanclub-Like A Virgin; Apache Indian-Boom Shack A Lak, Bryan Ferry-Is Your Love Strong Enough?; New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle; Duran Duran-Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me); Jellyfish-He's My Best Friend; Brad-Buttercup; Human Response-What Does Sex Mean To Me?; The The-That Was The Day ---------------------------------------------------------- REVIEW: Charlatans U.K. The Charlatans U.K. have been kicking around the music world for more than 5 years. Jangly guitars, Hammond organs and lead singer Tim Burgess' distinctive voice helped, along with the Stone Roses, to define the Manchester sound. Take a look what has happened to that initial list of groups; Blur has turned towards the mod style of the late 60's; Happy Mondays have broken up, Stone Roses have yet to produce a followup disc of new releases, and countless bands have been signed and dropped by record labels. On the new release _Up To Our Hips_, the Charlatans return to the sound that helped catapult them to worldwide recognition. The first track, "Come In Number 21", immediately lets the listener know the Charlatans have returned home. There's that organ again; those guitars; Burgess even throws in a few "Woo Woo's", a la the Stones "Sympathy for the Devil" for good measure. It is followed up by the year's longest title for a (U.K.) single, "I Never Want An Easy Life If Me and He Were Ever To Get There". There are backup vocals on this song, which isn't common in most of the group's work; but, like most of the twists in this album, they aren't bad modifications, just different ones. Just like its predecessor, however, the organ and guitar carry the song, with Burgess' singing ably complementing the music. The first single, "Can't Get Out Of Bed", is almost reminiscent of light 1970's music, with the familiar guitar sound returning on the chorus. It's not a classic like "The Only One I Know", but those songs only come once in a group's existence. The title track, "Up To Our Hips", finds the band returning to more familiar ground of that there guitar and organ. The album doesn't have any surprised; even the instrumental "Feel Flows" stays within the band's area of expertise. The Charlatans second release, _Between 10th and 11th_, marked a decidedly poor departure from the initial sounds of their first LP. _Up To Our Hips_ sees the band return to the Manchester sound they made famous four years earlier, and is a must-get for any fan of the band's first work, _Some Friendly_ or the jangly guitar sound which put Manchester, England back on the map. ---