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Show Reviews Forum 10 April 19, 1994 A Mystery Lady Sings The Blues William Athey Forum Contributing Writer burns with a slow, passionate heat inserting himself each time James work together as one body on the album. They are so intricately wo- Etta James Mystery Lady (Songs Of Billie Holi- day) Private Music arrived home to see the package. It was yet another CD from Private Music, and I was excited. I knew and it what the package contained Private album. Yanni wasnt another Music sent me a press release on this one months ago. Ive anticipated the product ever since. What an honor it is for me to write a few words on an icon of the musical world. (I mean that, it isnt a piece of sarcasm.) I read the press release and chucked it. It reminded me of my own prose," and I couldnt bear it: A gentle mist falls over the Los Angeles recording session, a study in subtlety and understatement, by a singer whose phenomenal successes have come chiefly in the field Retch. of rhythm-and-blueThe album is dedicated to James mother, Dorothy Dandridge, who played the Billy Holiday records and encouraged her daughter to sing jazz, not rhythm and blues. The liner notes and the press release I just trashed were written by David Ritz, the cowriter of James forthcoming autobiography. They give some insight into how the album came about and James feelings of respect for the songs. On piano is Cedar Walton, a man Ive despised in the past for his venworld. I guess tures into the pop-jaz- z he needed the money, because on work is this album his spare and comfortable. He also wrote all the arrangements, effectively bringing Gershwin, Crosby and Berlin into the present while maintaining the character of the songs past. The sax man is Red Holloway, whos been around as long as James. As she says, Man, he burns. He I s. all-acous- tic f takes a breath. Waltons piano, Holloways bass and James voice R.IP. Kurt Cobain and Charles Bukowski ven, so perfectly blended together, that it seems that they were born to make this music together. I dont mean to slight any of the other musicians playing on the album. The band is full with guitar, bass, trumpet, fliigelhorn and trombone. Each instrument contributes to the smoky sweetness. James' interpretation of Holiday brings all the passion and sensuality of that great vocalist out front. The image she, along with the group shes assembled for the album, paints is one of a smoky lounge of the past. It has to be smoky, because in my mind jazz such as this cant exist without a drink on the bar and a cigarette in the ashtray. All the pain of Holidays life comes through. Spike in her arm, emotionally troubled and unable to maintain a lasting relationship with a male, no matter how desperately she wanted to Holiday sang with such overt sexuality that even today her recordings stand as examples of female passion and pain. On this album James has done the same. I received the album yesterday, and Ive listened to it iix. times. No matter how angry the Arrow junkies I work with became, 1 continued to replay it. Boz Scaggs and Steely Dan are rock and roll? Billie Holiday and for that matter, Etta James, didnt have any influence on their music? Please spare me your foolishness. For the males in the audience, if you want real music for seduction forget Yanni and Kenny G. This cool Etta James is aching jazz is hotter for you. Should I give it a grade? Nah, this isnt the Rolling Stone. I , hope James sells platinum and takes the jazz charts away from the pro- f OOTi - ,fJ V A m&mo ta dy Zji Billie Holiday Three's Company Takes A '90s Twist womanizer who is hot for the female roommate played by Laura Flynn Boyle ("Waynes World"). He adds an element of spontaneity to the movie that was probably not intended in the script. Threesome is another movie that briefly explores homo- - and bisexuality. It is completely different from other recent releases dealing with similar subject matter, such as Basic Instinct, The Crying Game Threesome is or Philadelphia. different because it is a comedy, not a drama, about three college kids trying to find answers to the big questions and getting their lives into order in the process. Threesome is a very entertaining movie without any blatant moral, messages. It simply presents examples of the type of confrontations typical of todays generation. Georgia Patience Forum Staff Writer sexed-ou- t Threesome is a surprisingly funny comedy about three mismatched roommates thrown together in a college dorm. This entertaining presentation goes beyond the typical storyline about the intimacies that can develop between two male and one female characters. The three characters start out with a mutual disdain for one another. Over time, however, they begin to become more tolerant and eventually care deeply for each other. The situation develops into an intense love triangle. Threesome is warm and funny, and is quite different from any movie I have seen. Stephen Baldwin ("8 Seconds"), the latest Baldwin to make it in Hollywood (How many more are there?), is incredibly funny as a cessed meat Perry Farrell Announces jA x' Pizza & Pasta Tuesday Night is Westminster Night- Buffalo Wings 150 ADULT ATMOSPHERE The Mighty Spectacle of the Summer April 6, 1994 in Ogden, Utah. LOLLAPALOOZA '94 Featuring a multitude of wonders in one vast location! Music, Food, Arts & Crafts, Cyber Communication, Surprises ... PARKING INTHE - REAR SPECIALTY PIZZAS FRESHPREPAREDTO ORDER Appearing on the main stage: Smashing Pumpkins George Clinton & Allstars The The Beastie Boys ' P-Fu- LOCAL BEVERACES ON TAP 11:00 AM -- 12 MIDNIGHT 1063 EAST 2100 SOUTH SLC nk The Breeders MON DAY THRU SAT. 484-180- 4 . A Tribe Called Quest Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds L7 Boredoms |