Word: songe
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...strongest performers of the night were 112, a southern R&B quartet with a mellow yet smooth sound, similar to that of Boyz II Men or Jodeci. Their harmonious singing left concertgoers wanting to hear more. The performance of their hit song "Cupid," complete with a shirtless group member playing the guitar, was the best song of the night--and the only one which displayed any significant amount of musical talent...
Starting in the late '80s with the seminal Boston indie-pop band Blake Babies, Hatfield has built a career around her girlish, often straining voice and simple, pop driven song structures. The recent release of Please Do Not Disturb, however, marked a sharp departure for the Boston-based artist. With its hollow, often menacing production, heavily distorted bass guitar and aggressive, direct lyrics, the EP opened up for her a whole new arena of musical possibilities. Hatfield's show reflected all of the strengths and weaknesses of the new approach...
Other Hatfield standards did not fare so well under the new sonic regime, as evidenced by an uncomfortably crunchy and hurried version of 1993's "For the Birds." A delicate pop confection in its original form, the song ended up sounding like an accidental high-speed dub. Though Hatfield's examination of new sonic landscapes is laudable, it would be in her best interests to selectively, rather than globally, apply them. The same problem cropped up on Only Everything, a virtual concept album which could have easily been entitled "50 Minutes of Mid-Tempo Tube Distortion...
Ironically, the most invigorating performance of the evening came with the first encore, for which Hatfield performed two 1989 Blake Babies standards, including a supercharged version of "Take Your Head Off My Shoulder." The song, originally bittersweet pop, was brilliantly re-interpreted as emotive pop-punk. That Hatfield's most bracing offering was culled from her oldest material, was surprising and somewhat discouraging...
Well, not quite. It turns out that the CD contains only two tracks recorded with the new lineup and contains only four other songs that haven't been released previously. The rest of the tracks are live or rare versions of such classics as "Stop" and "Mountain Song." But for Jane's Addiction fans, the point is moot. The simple fact that there is a new CD out with Jane's Addiction on the cover means that Kettle Whistle will have followers to the store in no time...