June 30, 1994 Hi again - Here's what's in Consumable Online this week: REVIEW: - Various Artists - _Just Can't Get Enough_ (compilation series) REVIEW: - Spin Doctors - _Turn It Upside Down_ REVIEW: - Superstar - _Superstar_ TOUR DATES: - Superstar (All reviews by Bob Gajarsky As always, if there are any comments or questions, please send them in. Thanks - Bob Gajarsky Various - _Just Can't Get Enough (Vol. 1-5)_ (Rhino) Rhino Records, well known for bringing forgotten music to a new audience, has hit another home run with the first third of its new 1980's compilation series, _Just Can't Get Enough_. The fifteen volume set, which will be issued in three parts (with the second in October of 1994 and the third part in early 1995), opens with five discs covering the years 1979-1982. Is it just another 80's compilation series? Not at all - Priority Records compilations tend to focus on easier-to-get tracks, which are commonly available on individual artists greatest hits releases, _Sedated in the 80's_ tends to get lost and EMI's _Living In Oblivion_ series just can't match up to the depth and breadth of the Rhino reissues. The only label whose 80's reissues can compare to Rhino is Oglio's _Flashback Favorites_ and that's primarily due to the issuance of rare 12" mixes. The key to Rhino's issues, of course, is quantity. But, while fitting 16 songs on each disc (at a midline price), the California-based label refuses to sacrifice quality. Disc 1, for example, combines hits "My Sharona", "Video Killed The Radio Star" and Blondie's "One Way or Another" with cult songs such as Tim Curry's "I Do The Rock", The Flying Lizard's "Money" and Plastic Bertrand's "Ca Plane Pour Moi". Other rare or hard-to-find CD tracks included in the first five discs are Marshall Crenshaw's "Someday, Someway", Tommy Tutone's "867-5309", Pete Shelley's "Homosapien", Martha & The Muffins' "Echo Beach" and M's "Pop Muzik". But with a selection of 80 songs, it's easy to pick and choose here; suffice it to say that no other compilation combines what a discerning 1980's listener could want. Throw away those want lists of $15 discs that have one "must-get" song from the 1980's. Rhino has captured the true spirit of the first quarter of that decade with the first five discs of their compilation series, _Just Can't Get Enough_. TRACKS: Plastic Bertrand - Ca Plane Pour Moi; The Normal - Warm Leatherette; Blondie - One Way Or Another; Flash & The Pan - Hey, St. Peter; Nick Lowe - Cruel To Be Kind; D-Day - Too Young To Date; Graham Parker - Local Girls; Ramones - Rock N Roll High School; The Knack - My Sharona; Dave Edmunds - Girls Talk; Buggles - Video Killed The Radio Star; Tim Curry - I Do The Rock; The Inmates - Dirty Water; Tin Huey - I'm A Believer; Suburban Lawns - Gidget Goes To Hell; The Flying Lizards - Money (That's What I Want) M - Pop Muzik; Ian Dury & The Blockheads - Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick; Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart; Human Sexual Response - What Does Sex Mean To Me?; The Kingbees - My Mistake; Tonio K - The Funky Western Civilization; The Beat - You Won't Be Happy; Boomtown Rats - I Don't Like Mondays; Split Enz - I Got You; The Motels - Dnager; Martha & The Muffins - Echo Beach; Devo - Whip It; Ultravox - VIenna; Fischer-Z - So Long; Klark Kent - Away From Home; Vapors - Turning Japanese Gary Numan - Cars; B 52's - Private Idaho; XTC - Making Plans for Nigel; Rockpile - Teacher Teacher; Robert Palmer - Looking for Clues; Humans - I Live In The City; Pearl Harbor & The Explosions - Drivin'; Romantics - What I Like About You; Nails - 88 Lines about 44 Women; Lene Lovich - New Toy; Visage - Fade to Grey; Kid Creole & The Coconuts - Stool Pigeon; Squeeze - Tempted; Selecter - Too Much Pressure; Fools - It's A Night for Beautiful Girls; Gleaming Spires - Are You Ready For The Sex Girls? Devo - Freedom of Choice; XTC - Generals and Majors; Kings - Switchin' To Glide; Boomtown Rats - Up All Night; Greg Kihn Band - Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em); Motors - Love and Loneliness; Magazine - About The Weather; Phil Seymour - Precious To Me; Duran Duran - Girls On Film; Translator - Everywhere I'm Not; Altered Images - I Could Be Happy; Members - Working Girl; Monroes - What Do All The People Know; Undertones - It's Going To Happen!; Bauhaus - Ziggy Stardust; Soft Cell - Tainted Love Bow Wow Wow - I Want Candy; Waitresses - I Know What Boys Like; Kim Wilde - Kids In America; Haircut 100 - Love Plus One; Marshall Crenshaw - Someday Someway; Great Buildings - Hold On To Something; Jam - Town Called Malice; Tommy Tutone - 867-5309/Jenny; Go Go's - Vacation; Frank & Moon Zappa - Valley Girl; Flock of Seagulls - I Ran; Soft Cell - Sex Dwarf; Gang of Four - I Love A Man In Uniform; Japan - Art of Parties; Pete Shelley - Homosapien; Toni Basil - Mickey --- Spin Doctors - _Turn It Upside Down_ (Epic) The saga of the Spin Doctors, prior to _Turn It Upside Down_, is a story in dedication and perseverance. Their debut album, _Pocket Full of Kryptonite_, was released in 1991, with the first single being "Two Princes". That song didn't click with radio programmers the first time 'round and the band continued touring with other New York City area bands (such as Blues Traveller), all the time establishing a solid fan base. Loyal fans, such as those at Grateful Dead concerts, were travelling around the country to watch the Spin Doctors at the small gigs; a live release, _Homebelly Groove_, captured some of the energy at these concerts. Bootleg tapes of the group's shows were a big hit in the virtual world of the Internet computer system. Fast forward to 1992, and the release of "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" as a top 30 single. This prompted the re-release of "Two Princes" and the second time was a charm. The song crossed over to all formats, including alternative, rock, pop and adult contemporary, and became radio's number 1 single of 1993. The Steve Miller Band's magic was back and it surfaced this time as the Spin Doctors. So, with a 6 million selling album behind them, which direction does the new Spin Doctor's release go? Well, the first single, "Cleopatra's Cat", isn't "Two Princes Part 2". In fact, it sounds more of the kind of song you might hear from the local rock band whose heart is rooted in the 60's. The five first-take songs that make the final cut isn't a knock on the band but a tribute to pre-production, Spin Doctors style. The rest of the disc? "Big Fat Funky Booty" has a funk hook similar to "What Time Is It?" from the debut disc; "Hungry Hamed's" keeps the rock/funk style going through New York City based lyrics and "Beasts In The Woods" takes the band through a Woodstock style jam, 1990's style. The most accessible songs on the disc are probably "You Let Your Heart Go Too Fast" and "Mary Jane", which should both receive serious airplay. It's not as accessible an album as the debut and the hooks aren't as Top 40 radio-friendly. But it should find a home at all those classic rock houses that are looking for a recent band playing rock music and perpetuating the spirit of the late 60's and early 70's. If that's your idea of a good time, then _Turn It Upside Down_ is definitely worth your money. --- Superstar - _Superstar_ (SBK/ERG) The four Glasgow men who call themselves Superstar have an awful lot of guts. But they also know how to make a record that combines some classic harmonies and guitars into a beautifully crafted pop record unlike anything that's available today. "In a way, we're taking the piss out (making a joke) of ourselves - you know, the Superstars no one's ever heard of," says singer/songwriter Joe McAlinden. "It's fun, but it does fit in a way. We're more of a pure pop band (than the current noisy, grunge environment) and pop has always been a 'superstar' kind of thing." But pop usually takes several albums to rear its head. The Beach Boys _Pet Sounds_ and the Beatles _Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band_ each took several years of playing to develop and those releases appear to be the biggest influences on Superstar's debut. Another major influence for Superstar shows up on the album, playing guitar: Big Star's Alex Chilton. As another one of the purported pop icons, Chilton was responsible for one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the 1970's as well as influencing many of the top alternative artists of the 1980's; the Replacements even performed a song named, appropriately enough, "Alex Chilton". So, how about the music of Superstar? It's guitar, harmonies, drums, harmonies, horns and more harmonies. McAlinden's voice reminds one of Tim Burgess (Charlatans U.K.) with less layers of music and less complications allowing the sheer beauty of the tunes comes through. "Can't Help It" is one of those songs which could get NME's "Single of the Week", if ever released. "Let's Get Lost" (which employs McAlinden's 62 year old father playing piano) and "The Reason Why" have a tinge of Sgt. Pepper's horns in them and the single "Could It Be You" subtly sneaks harmonicas in with the multi-part harmonies and the sweeping, almost classical, bigger-than-life ending. That classical part can be explained by another of McAlinden's influences: Vivaldi. "I was brought up playing and listening to classical music," stated McAlinden. "I know the cool thing is to say I rebelled and started buying all sorts of punk records, but I really was into Vivaldi." After teaming up with future Teenage Fanclub members in the short-lived group Boy Hairdressers, as well as associating with friends in the band Eugenius, McAlinden became hooked on the pop life and wanted a band that could play instruments and sing harmonies as well. And, with his four piece band, he has successfully found it. Superstar's eponymously titled album, _Superstar_, has all the things critics live and die for in music. It's different than anything currently out there and that's refreshing. Let's hope that, as opposed to Big Star, it doesn't take fifteen years for this one to become a classic. --- Superstar Tour Dates. Yes, they're touring a small area. They rented a van and are going up and down the northeast as much as they can. Here are the dates Boston, MA - Local 186 (7/5) Boston, MA - Axis (7/13) Providence, RI - Club Babyface (7/16) New Haven, CT - Toad's Place (7/14) New York, NY - Brownie's (7/12) Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's (7/6) Asbury Park, NJ - Fastlane - (7/9) Ortley Beach, NJ - Harrison's Surf Club (7/1) Baltimore, MD - 8*10 Club (7/4, 7/11, 7/18) Washington, DC - 930 Club (7/15) ---