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In One



Ear

Cashmere Jungle Lords "Southern Barber Supply" (Little Abner Records)
The Cashmere Jungle Lords tackle the difficult genre known as "party rock" (two notable stylistic forebears: the Kingsmen, the Fleshtones) and damn if they don't do it better than just about anyone else. There's nothing deep or meaningful or new or experimental on Supply, but that doesn't mean it's throwaway crap. If anything, it's harder to make an album this good without the usual smokescreens of "meaningful" lyrics or "new" sounds to hide behind. The Lords serve up familiar items - twangy surf guitars, pounding drums, exuberant vocals, and outlandish lyrics - but there's more than enough great music and good songwriting and cool touches (trumpets, cellos, artful arrangements) to make it sound completely fresh and to reward many listenings. These guys worked like hell on this and it shows. (Little Abner Records, 4412 Forest Hill Avenue, Richmond, VA 23225) --Doyle Hull

Sau "Rock" (self-released 7")
I think this 7" has been out a while. Oh well, we do our best to review the local releases that are given to us (We’re still not sure if local bands are afraid of being reviewed, or what, but it’s amazing all the bands who ignore the local press, no matter how much support we give them. I guess some people are just too cool for school and don’t care about giving something back). Anyway, Sau rocks hard on this vinyl. Guitars pound, drums strum, trumpets sing, and vocals blare. The songs are silly (prime examples: "Transformers: more than meets the eye," and "I Love Molly Ringwald"), but hey, at least they’re entertaining. This is a good 7" in a sea of bad ones, so rescue it. Sau goes back into the Sound Of Music studio soon to record more. Let us hope they can keep it progressing. (Sau , P.O. Box 4781, Richmond, VA 23220) --Scott Burger

Dragline (self-released cassette)
This four-song tape from Richmond-based band Dragline -- recorded and mixed in their practice space on a 4-track and a VCR -- would probably be better described as a demo.
The high energy "Empty Chamber Chime" opens the recording, and although the menacing vocals reminded me of some morbid early ’80s music, and the brevity kept their monotony to a minimum, the sound quality was painful! The next three songs had the same problem; it sounds muffled and the effects on the voice (I certainly hope those are effects!) do nothing to enhance the listening experience. The songs simply don’t seem to go anywhere; each song has one riff played over and over. Dragline cites its influences as Wire, The Fall and Guided by Voices. They might want to listen to those bands some more and learn from their songwriting. These self-described "art-punk-psyche"-ers might want to take to the studio next time as well: sometimes a band just needs a good producer. --Maxine

The Dumm Dumms "Oxymaroon" (Glass Tube Records)
Richmond’s Dumm-Dumms sound like a band from another era_ as a room full of jaded audiophiles listened to the first cut off Oxymaroon, we were soon screaming the song title "Put Me Under!" and we mean with some HEAVY sedatives! Three names were mentioned in comparison. Eddie Money, Men at Work and Huey Lewis. Yikes!
But hey, Dumm-Dumms have quite a local following, good musicians, decent production and are obviously a tight, well-rehearsed band. So why am I in pain? The cheesy guitar solo on "Shanty?" Maybe. But I think it’s those affected vocals and the simplistic, silly lyrics. They just sound like something from ’80s radio, cheesy queasy. I am stunned that these kind of bands (and their fans) don’t seem to recognize how dated they sound! Your age is showing, fellas! Apparently there’s something for everyone, but this one’s not for me. --M.

DJ Nabbee Swift "The X-Files Series" (humble out produkshunz)
The TV show "The X-Files" has taken on the pop culture element like a vulcan at a Star Trek Convention. Books, movies, coffee cups, and now house music. A pretty decent 5 tracks; hypnotic, trippy house rhythms and grooves. A steady dosage of that all too familiar synthetic bass thumping with some mediocre tweakings and sample mutilations. In other words, not as great as some of the bigger house I've heard, but still a pretty good mix. The songs have samples and sounds from "The X-Files" (now that's a fan!) which, at some points, are a bit excessive and redundant, but nonetheless interesting. You can find the D.I.Y. tape at Plan 9 and I'd imagine it's at a pretty good price. (humble out produkshunz, 1013 W. Franklin St., Richmond, VA 23220-3707) --Phil Ford

T Minus 2 "Go with Throttle Up..." (TransVista)
I am dumb struck at the audaciousness of the four members of TM2 to actually reproduce this tape in any quantity other than zero. Screwdriver was a lousy band back in ‘82; there is no reason to continue its legacy.
These lyrics are for third graders who discovered punk by watching Saturday morning cartoons. My kinship with songs about pancakes, food fights and parental oppression dissipated in the sixth grade, soon after the Dead Kennedys, Crass, Minor Threat, Circle Jerks, Ignitious, Rites of Spring, the UK Subs and a whole host of intelligent bands made waves across my drums. Well, maybe not the UK Subs, but they still were playing with real conviction. (Transvista Co., c/o Crystal Lemons, 305 S. Laurel St., Richmond, VA 23220) -- W

Gore DeVol "Hooked" b/w "Ruglip" 7" (Ruido! Records)
"Hooked" and "Ruglip" are your choices. Both are concise executions of riff and ridum. Bellowing vocals are rich with determination to be heard. Strong Chicago influence a la Big Black and Jesus Lizard with peppery flowers a la Breadwinner, Stinking Lizaveta, King Sour. What I’m saying is Math Rock, but not so right angular, there are smooth curves in this deuce. This is Fred Lampier’s best work on drums I’ve ever heard. He keeps the groove without sounding like he’s over-playing it. Richmond has always produced good heavy bands, and this is no exception. Ruido is a local label as well, with several future releases. Check them out. (Ruido! Records, P.O. Box 7141, Richmond, VA 23221) -- W

Isaac Green & The Skalars "Schoolin’ with the Skalars" (Moon Ska)
This band from St. Louis has a nice traditional ska sound with some decent hooks. They’ve been around a while and have developed a good R&B feel to their horns and singing. Female and male vocals combined with changes in pace and mood keep them interesting. They remind me a bit of local ska band The Eskalators. Still, if you’re not into traditional ska, you might prefer the Grease soundtrack. Hopefully you can be schooled. (Moon Ska Records, P.O. Box 1412 NY, NY 10276, moonska@walrus.com) --S. B.

Space "Spiders" (Universal )
If you haven’t yet heard Space’s hit "The Female of the Species," from their debut recording Spiders, you truly must have your head stuck in the sand. "Female" went to #13 in their native Britain and remained in the Top 40 for 10 weeks. Other hits followed, and now Space seems poised to take America by storm.
So how’s the rest of the record? Well, okay. The songs are all weird little stories, heavily influenced by films, with a bizarre cast of characters. In "Neighborhood," the vicar is a serial killer, and in "Major Pager," the Prime Minister sells Ecstasy to the Russians. Keyser Soce even makes an appearance. The musical accompaniment is equally strange, ranging from Latin-tinged ska, rock, and loungy pop to techno. The wackiness factor is attributed to "keyboard player/sampler whiz" Franny Griffiths, who definitely takes these compositions to a different level. The techno bandwagon must be getting awfully full by now!
Spiders is a great sounding record with excellent, clean production, drenched with exotic sounds and noises, and songs that are interesting the first time around. I’m just not sure how often it will make it into the CD player once the novelty wears thin. Give it a listen and decide for yourself. --M.

Less Than Jake "Losing Streak" (Capitol)
Ska horns a-plenty! Power punk pop fast songs. Gainesville, Florida’s Less Than Jake have been big in their region, successfully hawking 23 recordings on their own before releasing this debut on Capitol.
Horns horns horns, fast punky guitars, speedy vocals -- high adrenaline ska. These guys would be really fun live -- with songs that say things like "Johnny Quest thinks we’re sellouts," the humor factor is also firmly in place. If you drink a lot of coffee and like to bounce around the room, put on Losing Streak. If the ska thing is your thing, Less Than Jake belongs in your collection. --M.

Semi-Gloss "Teenie" (Dirt Records)
The attraction here, I guess, is supposed to be the way Vereena Wiesendager's world-weary European chanteuse vocals contrast with her bandmates' peppy, synthetic power-pop song structures. For a moment or two it sounds neat, and then the Nico-meets-Flock-of-Seagulls charm wears off. The band's ebbing-and-flowing rhythms are captivating at times, but four minutes of a tired-sounding French woman intoning "Eeensie beensie tiny" is too much! --D. H.

Freedy Johnston "Never Home" (Elektra)
What set Johnston's 1992 LP Can You Fly apart from efforts by his folk-rock contemporaries and what set it atop so many of that year's "best of" lists were its lyrics. After all, lots of songwriters can string together a catchy melody and some chords, but how many can pack an avalanche-sized emotional wallop into the few lines that go along with them? Not many, but Johnston did it on every song. That's why 1994's This Perfect World and the new Never Home are so disappointing. On Fly we got powerfully descriptive lines like "The streets are slick with dew and motor oil/A girl walks in and out of the morning sun/A barred window reflects the cloudless sky/No blue reaches those eyes." Now we get say-nothing junk like "His conscience waits for dark/Like an AM radio song" and "Hey there, ’70s girl." If you haven't heard Johnston, pick up Can You Fly. If you've already got it, listen to it again and skip Never Home. --D. H.

Marbles "Pyramid Landing and Other Favorites" (SpinArt)
Ah, the joys of a boy and his four-track! Pyramid Landing is a collection of home recordings by Robert Schneider (here going under the pseudo-band name "Marbles") from the year or so preceding his tenure with the Apples in Stereo. Schneider's liner notes claim that "friends and curious individuals" were so taken with these tunes that they finally convinced him to share them with the world. That sounds like a bunch of hooey. Schneider is one of those arrogantly immature songwriter/artists who thinks that every tiny tunette that drops out of his imagination must be recorded and shared so that others may bask in the tragically overlooked intensity of his genius. All Landing really gives us, though, is a handful of throwaway song bits from a guy with the lyrical imagination of a pre-schooler and a fascination with odd stereo mixes and toy pianos. Good songwriting, like good musicianship, is as much omission as it is inclusion: what you leave out (or don't release) is just as important as what you leave in (or do release). Schneider should have never let these embarrassments get past the "friends and curious individuals" stage. --D. H.

Star Hustler "Vapid Drivel" (Dirt Records)
Juliana Hatfield’s kid brother Jason and his band of Portland-based cohorts (that would be Star Hustler) have made an engaging, interesting -- but ultimately so-so album Vapid Drivel. A pinch of Simon & Garfunkel, a smattering of Love, and, it must be said, a boatload of Blake Babies are the main ingredients. The Hustle (as I’ve taken to calling them) pick up a few extra sensitive-guy points for a tender reading of Nick Drake’s "Clothes of Sand." (Dirt Records, Knickerbocker Station Box 1053, NYC 10002) --Terry Banks

Treble Charger "Self = Title" (BMG)
Toronto-based Treble Charger lays down a competent, reasonably melodic brand of ’90s alternative guitar rock. Can you sense my excitement? In fairness, I bet this four-piece is a good live act with their sturdy Husker Du-isms and suitably disaffected takes on the Dinosaur Jr. oeuvre. Still, with so many bands doing this kind of thing, it’s going to be difficult for yet another to distinguish itself. -- T. B.

Moistboyz "II" (Grand Royal)
Low-fi, thick-edged punk with two scoops of metal. The kind that would make Tipper Gore start up another cause with their songs on topics like pro smoking, crank, and boy-on-boy sex. Loud, obnoxious, sarcastic and just plain snotty and unapologetic. Has that feel of Ween’s first album during it’s angry moments. A drum machine; fuzzed out, flying-off-the-chord guitar (courtesy of Dean Ween); and a distorted and pissed off vocalist. Fun and minimal, angry and sloppy -- a nice diversion nowadays. --P. F.

Matt Keating "Killjoy" (Alias)
This superb and very satisfying release from Matt Keating kind of caught me by surprise. I had boycotted Matt for years because he used to go out with an old girlfriend of mine. How’s that for pure subjective rock criticism?
On Killjoy he plays nearly all the instruments himself (a first) and has written some darkly shaded pop songs worthy of high praise (not a first). Keating’s work can best be described as traveling in the Freedy Johnson, Kevin Salem, or Jack Logan vein of well-thought-out and well-played moody pop. "Emily" recalls early Marshall Crenshaw in it’s unabashed, upbeat, pleading chorus, while the title track "Killjoy" brings a slow, sly smile to your face as the smartly-drawn lyrics sink in. But, unlike those songs a great deal of Killjoy is comprised of slower, more introspective numbers that build up to a release but, more often than not, just work themselves out in no particular direction -- much like the characters in the songs. "The Fruit You Can’t Eat" and "A Roundabout Way To Get Wise" are two examples, with the former sounding like a gorgeous Stephen Stills-sung Buffalo Springfield tune. It becomes obvious after awhile that the killjoy Keating smartly diagrams here is himself. And the listener is all the better off for it. (Alias Records, 2815 W. Olive Ave., Burbank, CA 91505) --Wes Coddington

Sloan "One Chord to Another" (The Enclave)
I’d always written Sloan off as one of those 1-hit wonders that was noticed between the advent of the phenomenon known as the Stone Roses’ first album and the immediate vacuum left in the space of the Roses’ 6-year sabbatical.One Chord to Another proves me wrong yet again. Unapologetically Beatles-esque with sideways winks to The Beach Boys, T Rex, and Chicago (!?), Sloan’s latest is a pretty fun listen, but won’t topple any governments. Sgt. Pepper on a busman’s holiday if you will. "A Side Wins," "Nothing Left to Make Me Want to Stay" and "Anyone Who’s Anyone" all recall the fab four in one sonic way or another, and Sloan, to their credit, do not hide behind this. They openly acknowledge it in the press kit.
Sloan’s first big hit on MTV, 1991’s "Underwhelmed," was quite the perfect pop assemblage and though they have tinkered with their sound greatly, it is all to good effect. Hey, and they’re from Nova Scotia! So One Chord to Anotheris a valiant and smart attempt to remove themselves as the answer to some sort of early ’90s trivia game in the not so distant future. (The Enclave 936 Broadway, NYC 10010) -W. C.

Built To Spill "Perfect From Now On" (Warner Bros.)
I’ve read in two media outlets that Built to Spill is taken as some sort of progressive/art rock unit and I just don’t buy it. I first encountered the elastic guitar sounds of Built to Spill coupled with Caustic Resin through the wonderful Red Hot+Bothered compilation. Color me impressed and with definitely no prog-rock overtones. Perhaps the label has been applied because of the length of Perfect’s eight songs. Most are over six minutes and do have whimsically thoughtful lyrics. But if goofy lyrics make a prog rock band, then lookout Yes, here comes Guided by Voices.
But all that aside, the #1 reason they are not an overbloated and pretentious leftover from the early ’70s is that their guitars rock! Always have, and seemingly always will. "Randy Described the Universe" and "Stop the Show" both have licks and achingly beautiful melodies to burn. And that’s another good point about Built To Spill - leader Doug Martsch’s ability to pull a melodic hook out of thin air just when you think it can’t/won’t happen. Perfect From Now On clocks in at around 48 minutes, so it’s an apt serving of Built To Spill’s sound without falling into the CD-spawned tendency to pack an album with 14 songs and 75 minutes of music. With Martsch’s searching, scratchy and oddly affecting voice, the whole album holds together quite well. I highly recommend this release. -W. C.

Neal self-titled (Bone HQ)
If you have been reading Throttle over the last four years and paid close attention, you’ve read a review or two about the mighty Mill Valley Taters. From the very land at the heart of the surf rock sound, Stratford, Connecticut, come the Mill Valley Taters. The Taters have put together a distinguished oeuvre of wacky tapes celebrating the sounds of surf culture in their own slightly off-center way. You could never quite tell where their collage of songs was heading and then there was that drum machine that really torqued things up.
Neal is Chris Neal, one of the Tater’s guitar players, and here he turns in five solo rave-ups that blast off where the Taters ended their last release, Flux Meditations. On "The Viper" he even adds vocals, minimalist as they are, something not usually found on Taters’ songs. The other four track’s names give a good indication of the wigged-out music contained here, "The Seedless Years," "Z Bags & T Bags," "Billy the Squid" and "Barnyard Redemption." As usual with this crowd, this self-released tape comes highly recommended. (Bone Headquarters, 426 Highland Ave., Stratford, CT 06497) -David Browne

The Egg "Albumen" (China/Discovery/Warner)
Electronica, Electronica, ELECTRONICA! Yikes - it’s everywhere. Fear not earthling, groover, or rocker, for there is nothing to dread. This foursome from Oxford, England (not the Richmond/D.C. unit called Eggs) makes getting into the sound - recently touted as the latest threat to whatever it is they’re force feeding us these days - very non-threatening. The Egg, while utilizing breakbeats, trance grooves and ambient house, also plays the traditional rock instruments (guitar, bass and drums) live in each song. There are many instances of jazz and Pink Floyd-like psychedelia strewn all about the songs as well. Think of Richmond’s Alter-Natives if they were a techno outfit. The Egg uses arrangements that set up the main beats and effects in the song and then basically jam on them for five to nine minutes, often using funky ’70s-style chase sequence music or the disco string arrangements that always played as the Pacific Princess establishing shots flickered across the TV screen on "The Love Boat." My favorite tracks on this disc are the last two, "Shoplifting" and "284 Windows and a Door," as they take on a bit more substance in the musical stylings. And that brings up one of the main criticisms of techno, no substance. Well, I can’t answer that here and now; I’m heading to a rave and eating some "X." (China Records, 2034 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA 90404) -D. B.

Cibo Matto "Super Relax" (Warner Bros.)
Wow, as we go to press, Cibo Matto are scheduled to play Shafer Court on March 28 and you would be insane to miss the show. These two diminutive yet amazingly active and prolific women have put out a spiffy little EP of nine songs, four of which are remixes of "Sugar Water," also including two new compositions and two covers. Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda continue the food fixation from their fabulous full lengther "Viva La Woman" on these tracks, naming them "Spoon" and "BBQ." For those not in the know, Cibo Matto do a sort of super-funky, sexy type of rap-less Hip-hop that invokes the Beastie Boys at their softest (?) and most trippy. This is very fuzzy good-time music.
They tackle the two covers to satisfying effect. Antonio Carlos Jobim’s "Aguas de Marcos" is played fairly straight, and they canvass The Rolling Stones’ "Sing This All Together," turning an originally pretty dopey throwaway into a Moe Tucker/Velvet Underground-esque essay on regret. The four remixes of "Sugar Water" are a tad too much, but the other five songs feed a growing hunger for all things Cibo Matto. -D. B.

Mess "Pretty Ugly" (Last Beat Records)
This Dallas, Texas trio serves up a buffet of punk styles, while still having fun with their music. It is always refreshing to find a band that has not lost its energy in an attempt to make a statement. Mess is just that band. The 13-track album ranges from songs praising Marcia Brady to those discussing the merits of everyone’s favorite alcoholic breath freshener, Goldschlager. Mess proves they’re serious when it comes to their punk roots, however. Fast, fun and furious, Mess delivers. So who cares about statements? Go ahead, indulge in the contagious mayhem. (Last Beat Records, 2819 Commerce Rd., Dallas, TX 75226,www.lastbeatrecords.com)-Shane Johnson

Farflung "The Raven That Ate The Moon" (Flipside Records)
Sites in the Nevada desert, things that go bump in the night, the "other side." No, this is not a summary of the X-Files; it’s an attempt to describe the "other-worldly" sound of Farflung. Organs, synthesizers, guitars and drums combine in a way that whisks the listener far from this earth. The vocals on this 6-track wonder are sparse, and when they do appear a thick curtain of organs and alien sounds overlay them. The sound reminds me of a System Seven or Ozric Tentacles. Truly an ambient experience. So come on, grab your secret decoder ring and step aboard. The journey is anything but boring. (Farflung, P.O. Box 931124, Los Angeles, CA 90093) -S. J.

Epstein "Permanent Winter Headcold" (Fowl Records)
Mr. Kotter, Mr. Kotter, I’ve got the answer to your power-pop dilemma. It’s the Annapolis-based quartet Epstein. Styles range from the hard-edged "deadbolt," to the angst groove of "Farce." Some may argue that the guitarist is stuck in flange mode. Instrumentation is basic but packed with energy. Hooks and catchy guitar rifts abound. So though spring is finally here, take a step back into Headcold. Those hooks are sure to please. (Fowl Records, P.O. Box 3617, Annapolis MD, 21403). -S. J.

Various Artists "Lost Highway soundtrack" (Nothing/Interscope Records)
Lost Highway is the soundtrack to the latest David Lynch film by the same name. Produced by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, it features Nine Inch Nails, David Bowie, Smashing Pumpkins and Lou Reed, among others. Despite this assemblage of different artists, Lost Highway is able to convey a dark, edgy feel. The best song on the soundtrack is Reed’s "This Magic Moment" which features Jerry Reed-like guitar highlighted by synthguitars.-E

The Crowd "Car Bomb" (Flipside)
California quartet The Crowd plays punk power pop a la Green Day. For the most part the band follows the formula of three-to-four-minute standard rock tunes. The Crowd believes in full-energy rocking out. You’ll find no ballads here. If straight-ahead Ramones-meets-Green Day music sounds good to you, then The Crowd is your band. (Flipside, P.O. Box 60790, Pasadena, CA 91116) -E.Jane Jensen

Comic Book Whore (Interscope Records)
New York City singer-songwriter Jane Jensen’s Comic Book Whore is a melting pot of industrial rhythms and guitar with a hint of Tori Amos. The best song here is "Lester," a moody, haunting number that gives a nod to Peter Gabriel. Comic Book Whore showcases Jensen’s versatility - a solid effort. - E.

Knapsack "Day Three of My New Life" (Alias Records)
Knapsack is from San Diego; Rocket from the Crypt is from San Diego. Knapsack sounds a lot like Rocket from the Crypt. Knapsack is power pop a la Silverchair. Knapsack is heavy like Green Day. Knapsack is yet another lame white boy power pop punk band that should have its digits removed from fretting hands. - W.

Skeleton Key "Fantastic Spikes Through Balloon"(Capitol)
A powerful debut LP from a New York City foursome. It’s Medeski Martin and Wood meets Motor Head meets early ’60s Beatles. It’s Kasper Brotzman playing with funksters Cameo. It’s free jazz pop maelstroms. This 11-song release roller coasters in dynamics. There’s never a dull moment as looped fuzz, pounded scrap metal, smooth drum grooves, throbbing Jesus Lizard dub riff bass tremblings, melodic vocals and crunchy metal guitar scronk hurl the listener through the keyhole of sound spectrum. This is a great record; seek it out and give it a whirl. Some songs are hits that will shock you. Others are possible bridges to better tunes. Former Lounge Lizards bass player Eric Sanko is the only recognizable name in the band, but with time you’ll probably know them all. - W

Lauren Hoffman "The Chemist Said..." (Pitch-a-Tent/Virgin Records)
Lauren Hoffman, the 19-year old wunderkind of Charlottesville, has released The Chemist Said_, a five-song EP, which carries not only a lot of good advance work, but the genesis of David Lowery’s reconstituted “Pitch-a-Tent” Records. Hoffman appeared locally in some good shows and likewise, her album, the flagship CD for Lowery’s former Camper Van Beethoven label, contains crisp vocals and fine, if spare, instrumentation. With the exception of guest percussion by producers Lowery and John Morand and others, Hoffman strums guitar, bass, does everything else, and even plays vibes when necessary. "Persephone" the opening number, and "Termite," with guest moog Marty McCavitt, present Hoffman at her best. The John Lennon penned "Mother" and the closer, "Don’t Wanna Be Your Girl" almost hit the mark, but give a noble indication that Lauren Hoffman will come through in future recordings. One last local connection: the CD artwork is penned by Throttle comic contributor Wes Freed. (Pitch-a-Tent, P.O. Box 655, Athens, GA 30603) -K. K.

Marianne Faithfull "20th Century Blues" (RCA)
On 20th Century Blues, chanteuse Marianne Faithfull departs from her heyday in the ’60s to the German cabaret of the ’20s and ’30s. Basically, she presents an in-concert version of her one-woman show "An Evening in the Weimar Republic." However, this album does not exhibit the long-awaited lighter side of pre-Nazi Germany. Written mostly by Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht, these were troubled songs for troubled times.
Faithfull opens with a lackluster "Alabama Song" and her whisky-and-cigarette dulcitones make one wonder if they can stand on an entire album of such despair on all levels. She may be no Reba McEntire, but her sullen style suits such dirges as the non-Bobby Darin-ish "Mack the Knife," "Private Jenny" and her signature Weill/Brecht, "The Ballad of the Soldier’s Wife." Once she gets into the groove - or funk, in this case - she performs a spectacular "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" and, surprisingly, brings bittersweet pathos to the ballads, "Want to Buy Some Illusions" and "Falling in Love Again." Since Friedrich Hollaender wrote these songs for Marlene Dietrich, it does not take a great leap of faith to consider 20th Century Blues as Marianne Faithfull’s public audition as this generation’s successor to Dietrich. So far, she leads the pack. -K. K.