Word: rocks
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Harris probably could have carried a conventional account of the founding of a bananas republic unaided. But Director Alex Cox and Writer Rudy Wurlitzer are helpful deadpan absurdists. They point up the parallels between 19th and 20th century imperialism with sly, casually dislocating anachronisms. Accompanied by a rock score, Coke bottles, North American magazines carrying cover stories about Walker's exploits, even a Marine helicopter all turn up at ! the strangest moments. At best one thinks of Brecht's presentational theater, at worst (not often) of Saturday Night Live. At all times one is glad to see the spirit...
...blond girl on the record jacket, staring out from everlasting eyes. Gifted, for another: the sensuality of that young voice, singing As Tears Go By with so much worldliness, with such regret. And dangerous, of course. Consorting with the Rolling Stones as they danced along the dark borderline of rock, then announcing famously, "I slept with three, and then I decided the lead singer was the best bet." Getting busted for drugs at Keith Richard's country home in Sussex wearing nothing but a bearskin rug. It was all part of swinging London. But for Marianne Faithfull, it swung like...
...public life, she does not have that privilege. Even if she were not already notorious as one of the '60s' most ravishing icons, and one of the '70s' most celebrated rock casualties, you could hear all of her history -- unspecific but unmistakable -- in her voice. No one can sing like Faithfull without deep scars. Not many can live as she has and survive. So she goes carefully now, learning how to hold tight and still let go. Listen to her latest Island album, Strange Weather, a critical favorite and a steady seller. That is evidence enough...
...sort of fey selections reliably included on subscription-only albums by chanteuses who play hotel lounges in off- season. Faithfull, however, endows them with real gutter sophistication -- the Boulevard of Broken Dreams never sounded like a mean street before -- and that is the essence of a pure rock-'n'-roll heart...
...REST of the album presents a panoramic history of recent American pop, from the '60s girl group sound to modern synth pop, from Midwestern rock to New York rap. The highlights are plentiful. Alison Moyet's "The Coventry Carol" and Sting's "Gabriel's Message" are the two purely spiritual songs, and they are beautifully austere. Sting sings a capella except for a few drum beats, while Moyet blends her ancient sounding carol with simple synthesizer accompaniment producing a haunting blend of present and past...