The Age from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia • Page 60

music THE SUNDAY AGE 1HW CUE Artist TK PET SHOT MTS Title: Eadier of the tfevol Rating: It's been 13 years since Smash Hits pop writer Neil Tennant and architecture student Chris Lowe first formed Pet Shop Boys and put together that super-dubbed track West End Girls, Masters of studk) technology, harmonies and video wizardry, they went on to delight the dance set and camp it through some of MTVs more memorable clips. This year they released the single Hello Spaceboy with David Bowie and, after the single SeA Wda (That's The Way Life Is), the album Bilingual. This one Is an easy-listening, easy-dancing collection for the yuppie beach-party set at Its most meaningful, a collection of the laments of a single, business-class frequent flyer. Of course, it drips with irony, darling. rbMCoartls Artist MHO CIRCLE Title: Dal Label: Von IT He's 53, painfully shy and off the bottle.

He's Bert Jansch, the musician Jiml Hendrix ranked the world's best acoustic guitarist Jans Ccnrjvdl reports "VTJ-THEN BERT JANSCH released his eponymous debut record-31 years ago VY he revolutionised the British folk scene. Finely crafted, delicately powerful songs of life, love and loneliness, delivered in a rich Scottish brogue, the album stopped contemporaries in their tracks and had Soho's flower children flocking to watch him perform. The next few albums contained even more technical ami lyrical brilliance, and it became obvious that, had he wanted to, he could have been the British Bob Dylan. But the painfully shy Jansch has always been a reluctant hero, even if others were determined to dole out the praise. Jimmy Page, Neil Young, Paul Simon and The Smith's Johnny Marr cite Jansch as a major influence; Jimi Hendrix reckoned he was the best acoustic guitarist around.

After a hedonistic stint in folk popsters Pentangle (1968-72), Jansch went Into virtual retirement, onlty to be lured out again to record a series of LPs compromised by ill-heaith and alcoholism. Then last year, dean and sober, he released the beauteous When The Circus Comes 7b 7biOTi and took up a weekly residency at London's 12 Bar Club, where Noel Gallagher, Jarvis Cocker, Bernard Butler, The Jesus and Mary Chain and Dodgy came regularly to witness their idol in the flesh. An idol who usually ended up appearing with eyes shut or fixed firmly on his fretooard. It doesnt bother him to be pigeonholed as a neariy-ran, as the guy who stepped aside to let Donovan take the glory. But it does, he says with a wry smile, bother others.

The crumply laced Jansch, unprepossessing in grey Jumper and jeans, never craved superstar status anyway though in some circles hes got it, whether he likes it or not "1 am getting an increasing number of young people coming to see me. I suppose having a fairly good product out helps," mutters the 53-year-old Jansch over a cup of instant coffee at his modest flat in Shepherds Bush. A Fender stands straight-backed in a stand near the window, two Yamahas -gifts from the company lie on the floor. Recording software spills off a table. On the bookcase are photos of sons Richard, a bass player, art college student Kieran and 10-year-old Adam.

"They all have different mothers," says Jansch. Tve never been able to sustain a relationship for any length oftime. I spend days and days on my own, so when I have to speak it's hard" Indeed, Jansch speaks so softiy that the tape recorder's voice activator fails to activate, He cant even practise speaking to his dog Banjo the aged hound was put down a few months ago. But one gets the feeling that Jansch makes conversation in his songs, little vignettes nestling in chords deftly plucked from the ether. "I sing whatever personal to me," he whispers.

"1 cant write about business studies, 'cause I've never done it before, if you know what I mean He can spend months perfecting just one line, and says the songs always differ greatly from record to on-the-road. "You have to be able to know the song well enough to actually change the words on stage. As if you were just talking to OfUM he cant Rating: Veteran reggae band Inner Circle, renowned for their bouncy, rock-steady "riddums" and creamy three-part harmonies, display an interesting range of stylistic moods throughout Da Bomb. I Think I Love You, slicked over with its tender sweet soul music, provides well-placed respite from the more aggressive DJ rap of No Army Life ami the chugging cadence of the excellent title track. Generally, Inner Circle favor a smooth, polished touch, but the intermittent, lightning Jamaican rap of Kris Bentley over the persistent rhythm section and drummer Lancelot Hall's superb volley of rapid-fire rim-shots provide a tough, radical edge Terry Rally Artist MCXEY HART Title: Mcfcay Karl's Mystery Box Label: Rykadtoc Rating: A The Grateful Dead's master percussionist Mickey Hart explains the motivation behind this beautiful album as the bringing together of drums and voices "the most sacred of instruments" to form a musical dialogue "If drums could speak, this is what they'd say," he says.

Mystery Box is an unalloyed joy. Hart takes masters of percussion from all corners of the worid Africa's Sikuru Adepjou, Latin America's Giovanni Hidalgo, the Near-East's Zakir Hussein, Airto Moreira and, of course himself and overlays them with the gorgeous voices of London's remarkable a cappella group, the Mint Juleps. Add some of Robert Hunter's most affecting lyrics, guest spots by Bob Weir and Bruce Hornsby and three marvellous songs spoken-sung by Hart himself and you have a wedding of worid music and pop as perfect and Important as Paul Simon's Graceland. Gary Tippet Artist rurruKEo Title: Rated Label: Heihro Rating: What a sweet young charmer Bif Naked isl The heavily-tattooed Winnipeg singer, who Is never short of a printed expletive, has a crammed eclectic philosophy which Includes Tao, Jesus, Buddha and Satan. Gentrified folk will most likely bristle at the direct crudeness of her liner rates, but they may also wince at the over-used, muted chainsaw of a guitar that blankets most tracks, In particular the uninspiring neurotic ballads Make Like A Tree and Teton You.

the In-your-face Everything is an ateokitety engaging thrash metalish articulation of the quirky B-52s' floe loteter sound of the late-70s. irsA SflrUTXE PUXEEVCI 112 irons ITS ATI Aid KXUTD far removed from Shepherd's Bush, London, as you can get, but there's all these people living in this strange world with the same names. And I havent yet seen a kangaroo." Hes worried about taking his guitar on the long-haul flight last time it got broken by baggage handlers. Jansch, despite suffering terribly from re-stage nerves which he steadies beforehand with a couple of herbal valerian tablets is looking forward to his Australian tour. If only, one suspects, because it will get him out of the house In turn, Australians can look forward to some exemplary playing.

Though people will continue to remember the days when he was lauded as Britain's Great Folk Hope, Bert Jansch continues to make a vital contribution to music "IVe no conception of time, he says. Then grins before adding: "Now to the time. remember how some of the early songs went In the first place. Though hes flattered to have influenced some axe-wielding luminaries, he shrugs in his self-deprecating way and says: Tm a writer locked away just like any other writer. Tm not a pop star.

Pop stars tend to rely on the media and their image rather than their music Is there any of the current post-Brit-pop crop he admires? "Well, because I'm shy and I dont go out much, I dont really know who's around," he says. What of Oasis, then? "If you pointed them out to me I might be able to tell you I did do a charity gig recently with this band who are In the charts," he says, but forgets their name. (It was Dodgy); Jansch has been to Australia many times, with Pentangle, fellow Scotsman John Martyn and sundry others. He can't remember the actual gigs was drinking heavily in those but reckons that "It's a strange place. Even the light to strange.

It's an alien world to me, about as AAA CD Heaven AAA Worth a listen AA Middle of the road Or Don't waste your money.