tRS Released in South Africa

[kuyper@aim1.aztec.co.za (Kuyper Hoffman)]

Aaaargh, the worst has happened, I am unable to log on to my machine
back at the office, so I'm using a guest account elsewhere.

NOTE This is not my return address, but I do have a forwarder from here.

Regular return address: Kuyper@iplan.co.za

Here's the trouble-making article that should have been posted from
my usual machine (which also has my regular signature) and a spell
checker :-)

=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Let's face it, one way to make yourself unpopular is to make
statements like "Well, I guess I'm the first person in the Southern
Hemisphere to _buy_ The Red Shoes - heck possibly in the world!!"
even if it's probably not strictly true :-)

Well at about noon (GMT) on Wed 27 Oct 1993  I walked out of Digital
Music with my very own copy.  I didn't know a Moto Guzzi 500 could
pull moves like that on my journey to the nearest CD player.

Opening the packaging revealed a rather interesting CD pamphlet.  Not
your usual "page-through-me" affair, but rather a mini poster
folded into 12.  Hooray an even number, and it matches the number of
tracks on the album.

One side shows KaTe being held up by (I guess) one of the dancers from
the EtM vid.  At the bottom are the production credits and the Thanks
list.  The album is dedicated to the late Hannah Bush.

The other side carries the lyrics.  The first six are in order of
appearance on the CD, but then follow a rather wierd pattern.  What
with the release being so close, it's not worth it for me to list all
the lyrics here (apart from all that typing - yikes!).  The lyrics
are printed pretty small, and repeated folding is going to make some
lines unreadable.  They're printed in semi-opaque dark-grey boxes on
a background of fruit.  All the fruit has been neatly cut in half. 
Photo credits again go to John Carder Bush / Kindlight.

Unable to wait any longer at that stage I hurriedly put the disc on
and waited.  Rats, RbG is the first track - "I've already heard this one,
shall I press skip, no damnit, get a grip on yourself, listen to it
properly".

Somewhere I pressed STOP to see the running time (55:30) and then
resumed play.

Then comes And So is Love.  No real comments at this stage.

Having only heard EtM 2wice on the radio (nothing was released here as
a single, and I was only able to obtain the RbG single) I really
enjoyed hearing it with REAL BASS.  It's rythmns are so African and I
later had it's sound compared to that of a local Cross-over band
appropriately called "Magno Groove" whom you _may_ have seen in a live
crossing to Johannesburg during an AIDS concert (in Wembley?) where
George Michael took lead vocals in Queen (for the first time?).  They
also crossed to U2 in LA, but I was disappointed.  BUT I digress.

The quiet bits of MoP remind me of TWW - just an observation.

I'm still getting used to The Song of Solomon & Lily.

The title track - now there's one I _know_ I like.  I can't sit still
during this one (well I guess the story really works).  I just feel
like leaping about - not club stuff, but a real head-nodder.  More
Valiha on this one, with Paddy adding some whistles and a Musical
Bow.  The whistles kinda make me think of Jethro Tull.  I'd like to
hear this one on the radio.

Top of the City slows it all down again (relatively to tRS). 
Followed by Constellation of the Heart.  Again, still working out
what I think of these.

BSL has been done to death on Love-Hounds, so I'll just mention it
together with an answer to my own question of a few weeks ago -
KaTe's the one on guitar.  She makes a few guitar appearances, is
this new?

It all rounds off with Why Should I Love You? and You're the One.

Much of this is going to take a good few repeated listens to get used
to, but I _definitely_ like it.

Clapton appears on: And so is Love
Beck on: You're the One.
Nigel Kennedy: Top of the City & BSL
Prince: Why Should I Love You? Lenny Henry also does vocals on this one.
Gary Brooker: And so is Love, Constellation & You're the One (still
    sounds like his days in Procol, or maybe that's just the Hammond)

Now to explain how I got it.... Well I can't - EMI in South Africa
decided that 25 Oct was a good release date, and it was in the stores
today (possibly even yesterday).  My copy is a full UK import (both
booklet and CD).

I have delayed going on holiday until I had the album and had
listened to it a few times, so tomorrow I'm off on my Bike.  Any
flames and other hate-mail will therefore only be read in about 2
weeks :-)

I hope you all enjoy tRS when _your_ copies arrive.  Only problem now
is this one and my 2 singles don't fit in my TWW box ;-)  It's tough
at the top!

Cheers

Kuyper
--
Normally kuyper@iplan.co.za    | The "E" of my eye
                               | The eye in wonder
Kuyper Hoffman                 | The eye that sees
"Mind that manhole cover!"     | The "I" that loves you  - KT