The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 22

that structure is. In that sense, listening to "Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace" at this point is a bit like listening to gossip about people you don't know it may sound juicy at times, but it's unlikely to make any sense. So even though the galloping trumpets and fluttering woodwinds of "The Sixth SpacecraftThe Droid Battle" clearly convey action and urgency (particularly given the way Williams keeps us on the edge of our seats by slyly having the melody modulate ever upward), that's all the track tells us. Why we're being made so anxious won't become clear until we see the scene itself. There are, of course, moments that stand entirely on their musical merit.

The pastoral splendor of "Anakin's Theme" is one of the album's highlights, offering a melody tuneful and timeless enough to have come from some half-forgotten Tchaikovsky ballet, while "The Arrival at Tatooine" is as wry and well-colored as a Prokofiev miniature. But on the whole, "The Phantom Menace" is the sort of score that will doubtless become more meaningful after we've seen the images it's meant to support. With that in mind, the London Symphony may want to hold off on its youth-recruitment drive until after the movie opens. A must-see soundtrack By J.D. CONSIDINE The Baltimore Sun "STAR WARS: EPISODE I THE PHANTOM MENACE" John Williams (Sony Classical) Formats: CD, cassette In his liner notes to the soundtrack from "Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace," composerconductor John Williams mentions that during the recording sessions with the London Symphony, some of its younger members made startling confessions to him.

Writes Williams, "(A)s children, they had seen and heard 'Star and immediately resolved to study music with the goal of playing with the London Symphony." Amazing. By now, most people are aware of the tremendous impact George Lucas' "Star Wars" trilogy has had on contemporary culture. From the Death Star and light-sabers to R2-D2 and Yoda, the "Star Wars" mythology is familiar to millions. But the music? Although a disco version of the "Star Wars" theme was a No. 1 hit in 1997, Williams' "Star Wars" scores had nowhere near the pop impact of the soundtracks to "Saturday Night The Phantom Menace' The John Williams soundtrack to 'Star Wars: Episode I -will sound better once you've seen the movie.

Fever," "Flashdance" or "Grease." Nor would anyone have expected them to, because the music Williams wrote was orchestral and atmospheric, designed more to lend weight to the onscreen imagery than to give viewers something to hum. Unfortunately, that makes listening to the latest soundtrack vaguely unsatisfying. Sure, the music is richly colored and stirringly dramatic, but it also clearly follows a sort of narrative structure and because the film itself hasn't opened, there's no way to know what, precisely, TRACKS Concert calendar Cincinnati: Next Saturday at Bogart's, Eminem, Beat Nuts. (513) 281-8400. Louisville: Sunday, Candle-box, Oleander.

(502) 361-3100. Next Saturday at The Gardens at Louisville, Isley Brothers. (502) 361-3100. Noblesville, Monday at Deer Creek Music Center, Shania Twain. (502) 361-3100.

Ticket office Cincinnati: May 23 at Bogart's, Mike Ness, Deke Dick-erson. (513) 281-8400. Kings Island, Ohio: Aug. 27 at Kings IslandfTimberWolf Amphitheatre, Britney Spears. (513) 562-4949; (502) 361-3100.

May 26 at Riverbend, Offspring, Mighty Mighty Bos-stones, Living End; June 9, Poison, Ratt, Great White, L.A. Guns; June 10, Vince Gill; June 22, John Mellencamp (513) 232-6220. Louisville: May 30 at Papa John's Stadium, George Strait, Tim McGraw, Dixie Chicks, Kenny Chesney, Jo Dee Messina, Mark Wills, Asleep at the Wheel. (502) 361-3100. June 5 at the Brown Theatre, Taj Mahal and the Phantom Blues Band; June 19, Robert Cray Band.

(502) 584-7777; (800) 775-7777. June 16 at Kentucky Center for the Arts, Chris Isaak; June 23, Bonnie Raitt. (502) 584-7777; (800) 775-7777. July 14 at Freedom Hall, John Mellencamp. (502) 361-3100.

Noblesville, June 8 at Deer Creek Music Center, Poison, Great White, Ratt, L.A. Guns; June 11, Vince Gill (502) 361-3100. BULLETINS, BLASTS AND NEWS BITS Book of the Dead," Gann wrote, "The music grew and grew in scintillating, illu-sionary beauty long past the point at which you thought it could still surpass itself." First will appear Thursday at Artswatch, 2337 Frankfort where he will perform a recent composition, "A Bet on Transcendence Favors the House, Pt. 2." Visual accompaniment will be provided by artist Patricia Smith (9 p.m., $5). Louisville composerimproviser Keenan Lawler will open with a set based on his new release, "The Ghost of a Plane of Air." The release is on the Konstant label and features an electronically manipulated National steel resonator guitar.

According to Lawler, First's set will "merge unique sonic and visual events to create a trance-like mind-bending experience." The event is being presented by Konstant and Artswatch and will be broadcast live over the Web at by Shadowcast Networks. For more information: www.konstant.com. Too much is not enough Travis Meeks, the mouth behind the Louisville-based Days of the New, tried to explain "II," the follow-up to the band's eponymous debut, in the new Alternative Press. In order to realize his "clear artistic vision," Meeks says he drew from influences as varied as classical music, Led Zeppelin and Dead Can Dance. Meeks says the new album has "a barbaric feel to it.

I think I'm going to access some new fans. I think (the new record) will keep some old fans though; it's heavy and intense." "II" was recorded with session players, but former Java Men Craig Wagner and Ray Rizzo have signed on to tour. "The label just wants me alone in the publicity stuff," Meeks said, "but I don't want to end up looking like a make-me-puke solo act." Out this week "Lilith Fair Volume Two" and "Lilith Fair Volume Three" are separate single-CD collections of live performances from the successful all-girl tour. "Volume Two" includes Sinead O'Conner, Angelique Kidjo, Queen Latifah, Heather Nova, Shawn Colvin, Sarah McLachlan, Mor-cheeba, Lisa Loeb, Natalie Merchant and Cowboy Junkies. "Volume Three" includes Lucious Jackson, Liz Phair, Holly Cole, Sixpence None the Richer, Suzanne Vega, McLachlan, N'Dea Davenport, K's Choice and Bonnie Raitt.

Meanwhile, the Backstreet Boys are just in time with "Millennium." Jimmy Buffett is back with "Beach House on the Moon." Insane Clown Posse is scheduled to release "The Amazing Jeckyl Brothers" after several delays. Eddie Money is attempting a comeback with "Ready Eddie." And "Fellow Workers" is the second collaboration between poet Utah Phillips and mega-babe Ani DiFranco. Other bands with new material in the racks include 10,000 Maniacs, George Carlin, Radney Foster, Jerky Boys, Elliot Murphy, Push Stars, Rippingtons, Ron Sexsmith, Texas and W.A.S.P. Also, Captain Beefheart gets the box treatment with the 5-CD "Grow Fins, Essential Rare Recordings (1965-1982)," and the Cardigans' first album, "Emmerdale," will be released domestically for the first time. Paul Curry, special to The Courier-Journal Free KrazyFest If you run very quickly (or drive) to ear X-tacy records, Better Days Records, Ground Zero or Mom's Musician and General Store, you can still get your collectible guide to KrazyFest, the three-day, punk-rock music festival being held Friday through next Sunday on the Belvedere in downtown Louisville.

The guide with a complete band schedule and many useful facts about our beloved town is a product of Scott Ritcher's design madness and sure to disappear quickly. Or you can just wing it and go to Krazy-Fest. Tickets are on sale at the above businesses except Mom's or you can charge by phone, (502) 499-7865. They cost $10 (Friday), $14 (Saturday) and $12 (Sunday), or $30 for a weekend pass. Jeffrey Lee Puckett, The Courier-Journal First things first Composerguitarist David First has a pedigree that reads like a bowl of alphabet soup.

His music has been performed in New York at Experimental Intermedia, the Kitchen, La MaMa, Roulette, Merkin Hall, Exit Art, the Knitting Factory, Bang on a Can Festival, the Cooler and CBGB's. Outside the Big Apple, his music has been heard at the Institute Unzeit in Berlin, the Ijsbreker in Amsterdam, the Heidelberger Festival for Experimental Music and Literature in Heidelberg, Germany, and the Zwischen Tone Festival in Cologne. Kyle Gann of the Village Voice referred to his art as a "bizarre cross between Jimi Hendrix and La Monte Young." And, referring to First's opera, "The Manhattan Saturday, May 15, 1999 SCENE Page 5.