RSSOn Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (Matador) and Mellow Gold (DGC), Pavement and Beck exploit this process as sarcastically, gleefully, and impressively as any newcomers in memory. Pavement are hermetic cellar-dwellers out of Stockton, California, Beck a garrulous folkie punk from to L.A. Pavement is longer on sarcasm, Beck on glee. Pavement obscures its lyrics a la Mick Jagger, Beck spills them out a la Bobby D. Pavement's music is immersed in the rock canon, while Beck favors ethnic touches--slide guitar, Afro-choruses, even hip hop moves. But both provide hooks and beats galore.
Neither act shows any desire to compete with Eddie Vedder in the oh-my-tragic-soul department, and no doubt both will seem too smarty-pants to some. But close to the surface of their virtuosic sound collages flows a melodic lyricism guaranteed to touch any heart connected to a brain, which I've always been told is the way souls work. These records won't just be noticed. They'll be remembered.
Fast Cuts: The tough young r&b of Little Willie John, who originated Fever, and the soulful doowop and rockish guitar of the Five Royales, who originated Dedicated to the One I Love, are only the cream of Rhino's new King series, which also features the smooth suffering of Roy Brown and the slick swagger of Wynonie Harris.
Playboy, Mar. 1994
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Feb. 1994 | Apr. 1994 |  |