The Age from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia • Page 30

Friday 7 August 1992 EG THE AGE ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE Picture: CHRIS BECK ANDREW MASTERSON ASTONISHING. Some days the i fates just smile: the sun shines, the coffee brews, the head on the Guinness stands just so, and you can't bring yourself to say anything nasty at all. Especially about music At the risk, therefore, of diminishing the reputation for bitter, sniping vitriol that this column has labored long and hard to create, this week's effort will be sickly sweet almost to the point of sycophancy. The objects of such unreserved praise are. to be specific, recent solo euons oy ine current and past lead vocalists of Irish idiosyncrasies, Clannad.

(If we get time we might also dwell upon the new compilation of songs by the Judds, but we'll see if we can suspend the bile ducts for that long.) Enya's new, self-titled album is, in fact, an old one. Released by BBC records, it was recorded in 1987 and comprises the soundtrack to a British television documentary series called the essentially back-seat purpose "for which the 15 tracks on it composed makes this by far the most aiuDiem enon ever released by the uannaa cian. Having said that however, it is still far from a collection of meandering, atmospheric puffery. Eava has alwavs riisnlaved a leaning towards New Age synthesiser wotdiiqss, wnicn, in less capable hands, can send all but the most tie-dyed and wholemeal amnne ik scrabbling for both a bucket and the nearest aiayer aioum. ISnP is rarefitl hmHM, the deliberately smooth kvhrH melodies to the altogether more rigid mm cuergeuc rnymms of traditional insn music, chucking a touch of pop sensibility alone the nv Time typically, her own meditative Juno 60 ua uju nna themselves in an uneasy but enjoyable counterpoint to Arty McGlyna's crisp electric guitar CHRIS BECK Have you ever had a love-hate relationship? I had a man who was very selfish and self-centred.

He disregarded the opinions of other people. He thought his way was the only way. So I learnt to hate him. I loved him at the same time. He brought me a lot of joy and made me happy and we bad lots of shared interests.

It is nice to have someone in your life who you care for. But it is also not healthy to have somebody who you can't communicate with unless it is on his terms all the time. Love is about understanding and caring. We broke up when my resentment grew stronger than my love. Is passion- always involved with love? Passion is wonderful, isn't it Passion is important If you love someone but never get to touch them it's not the same.

But you can love your mother and not be passionate. I think of passion as being steamy love-making. You can have passion without love for about five minutes. Can you fall in love with an image? The image that you see is probably Our guide to the heart of the weekend Albert Park, the Theresa Karuana lv 4: Randy Crawford singer Are there too many love songs? I think love is safe tn sine ahnnt nth. erwise you would be singing about pontics or gospel songs.

Through songs people can express the happiness, aneer. nain nr rficrnntontmoiit and good old ordinary admiration auum luviug reiauonsnips. Have Van ever written ahnnt vim. love for some ne? Not yet I haven't felt strnnelv ennnoh about someone to put it down in words. It Will hannen Ynnr tions are the most difficult emotions to sing about I co-wrote 'It's Raining; it is a sone that reflects the uov i might feel about someone.

It is about a reiauonsnip i would nave liked to have shared with a man I knew when I wrote the sone: Though we live ami we try, and even wonder why, our love turned out this way." It reflected the doubt and wonder nf I1C hAr-nminn an item or just staying friends. There was a Kino oi love ana bond between us that wasn't so serious. We didn't want to ruin a frienrishin We bn distant lovers distant friends. can you love someone who doesnt love von back? I know you can. You can love somebody and they don't even know they love vou.

Sometimes vnu ran inua somebody but they won't believe that you love them. Paul Harris ouu uie gran-soaked Bolshevism of VICTORIA THIEBERGER Baby Don't Cry INXS (Eastwest) Well, they've jettisoned the experimental junket with this one. Mere weeks after the release of their grungy 'Heaven Sent', which failed to convince the punters and DJs, INXS have turned to a sure-fire '60s-style crowd pleaser to regain the charts. There are definite shades of earlier heroes the Kinks, Yardbirds, Searchers and a chorus you swear you've heard before. It's extremely enjoyable but hugely derivative.

There's a degree of arrogance, too, in these recession years, in releasing a measely one-track single at full price. Many indie bands and others put out impressive EPs and mini-albums for the same dosh. Smart promo or waste of resources? Face to Face Siouxsie and the RanshPAc (Polydor) Every now and then a band resurfaces in the mndpm popular music that makes you wonder what has filled the pages of tiieir since, say, ia2. Siouxsie and the Banshees, those archetypal gothics once awkwardly wedged between post-punk New Wave of the late 70s and the New Romanticism of early '80s British music, spawn a song that shows little has changed musically for the band over the years. In the meantime, mainstream culture has caught up, in the shape of the follow-up blockbuster film Batman Returns', from which "Face to Face" hails.

A few added techno details embellish the moody core polished by Siouxie's Hagen-esque vocals. Catwoman in an earlier life, perhaps? Galileo Indieo Girls lEoinl There's a line in the latest release by these eals from the Mid.Wect iw kinda sums up their earnest musical attitude: "You knnw me i tairo evervthine so serinnslv Their heavy compositions are short on laugns, dui tinny saner's and Amy Ray's soaring harmnnies anit acoustic niceties make up for it. The CD sinele. hnwever ootc stripped of its honors for being one of the most teeth-erinriinoiv O'J ii lutiauuc releases of the yean apart from the single, it contains excerpts only of four songs from their 'Rites of Passaee' album, earh lactina auvui a minute-and-a-half. Three songs don't get past the first chorus; one fades OUt abrUDtlV in the middle nt a li rf v.

J1 I. No industry taster, this is the commercial release. At least they write nice first halves of songs tfCDEFGH Zsuzsa Polgar in the 1992 Hungarian championship (see second diagram) Play continued 29. KM 31. g3, Qf5; 32.

Be2. Rd2; 33 Ra8, Nxf2; 34. Kg2. Nel 35. kgl Nh3; 36.

Khl. Qxfl 37. Bxfl Nf2; 38. Kgl, Nf3; and White resigned rather than he rmmHoj after 39. Ke2.

Nhi neo no mOVeS allow Rzh2 mote. D.o.j.. it ivii. xi mate. Decrarninr stnrn mm not the real person.

The real person is probably better. Celebrities give icujjre uupe. i nave oeen inspired by Aretha Franklin's music and I am protective about what the press say uuuui uci. ti a tain-snow nost made her uncomfortable, I would hate that person. But I have never loved her so deeply that I would expect her to love me in return, i naven't written her a letter exDressine mv adm Aretha's music has been a part of my emu i nave suiierea wnen she suffered and felt her joy.

I feel very close to her though we have only spo- acu twite in our lives. IS God Inve? That is what God is. It is a balance of auu power ana goodness. Imagine IS nrnhoklu hA i- sing about religion. I co-wrote a sone use a.

aun uui oi nowhere He touches our hearts, with a love so rare, rarer than that of any picture perfect day, with a love so deep, one "uai pi ay. mars kind or deep, who were you in a previous life? Albert Einstein. I wmiM iii, i much more intelligent Or maybe nomaway, so i could arrange music the way he did. Randy Crawford appears at the Hilton Hotel at a midnight supper show on 15 August. $45.

Bookings 412 3067. ABCDEFGH Bxc4, Nxc4; 19. Bel, c5; 20. dxc5, bxc5; 21. Bf4, h6; 22.

Re2, g5; 23. Be5, Qd8; 24. Rfel, Kf7; 25. h3, f4; 26. Kh2, a6; 27.

Re4, Qd5; 28. h4, 29. R(l)xe3. fxe3; 30. Rxe3, Qxa2; 31.

Rf3, Ke8; 32. Bg7, Qc4; 33. bxg5, hxg5; 34. Rf8. Kd7; 35.

Ra8, Kc6; wane resignea. TwentV-slY vears later ho n. i. again, this time playing white against film buff 'The Fabulous Baker Boys' at the Astor. I lyJ UTMina's uillean pipes ana rairici Mailing's violin.

As alwavs. some nf the Ivrirc on in Gaelic, but their finely wrought tonal mecnanics ensure only a minor loss ui comprenension tor non-speakers. Songs such as 'Deireadh an Tuath nna uay uwr may not deliver Precise meanines tn manu but their overall significance is clear. ney are songs or pride, songs of Maire Breaaan. current frontperson for Clannad, also sings in uacuc on many oi the songs on her solo debut, 'Maire' (BMG).

While she, too, opts for the layered arrangements that typify the output of the group, as a whole, she imbues wim a distinctly harder edge and a leaning towards lumirarauvery uptempo signatures, ua uu m- nmn nn ino nir digital dreamies, but Maire Brennan preiers a solid percussive sound. Where one tends to inv hnrir ih other lends to nush fnrwnr hhi by a sometimes impatient drum beat On SOWS SUCh as fw and th superb Ce Lets' her vnir ctand. close to the front of the mix, allowing ftoujt innerem in uaelic to be mocu to tun ana impressive effect Enya and Maire work well as a back-to-back selertinn in the player. OK, they're both hopeless as iriy music, at least until that point cnea wnen all the booze has gone and the cigarette papers are running daneerouslv low. hut far those times Whpn enlitaru onH Mlm pleasures are demanded, you won't una mucn better.

Aaahh wasn't that nice? Oh yeah, the Judds. A best-of Compilation is illSt nut nnu that student rm playing bass guitar in a band called Soundworks at Siioms Airport Lodge, Tullamarine. We play dinner dance-tvoe Steven Carroll theatre columnist 'Vengeance' at Gasworks Theatre, Thomas Taylor rock columnist After buffing the lino in the cupboards, -at ii i ich at me loie. TWO remarkable chess events are Scheduled in different nartc nf the world over the next few weeire Tn ayaney on August 15 and 16, the increaiDie foigar sisters will comnete in the Australian nnon HC.U raDld-Dlav Chess chamninnchin "iiuc me niatcn ine wona nas waited iv years ror. tne srher.cnocciru rematch, is scheduled tn heoin in what is left of Yugoslavia a couple of wccas later.

If you have not alreadv made m. arraneements for Svdnev dn nt delay, as the Polgar circus generally sees flights and hotels fill ranidtu it is quite a coup for the organisers of the rapid-play event, Cepacol and the Shor Inn. tn hnve 7cn7co tudith uu nil auu Sophia in their event so soon after Judith broke Bobby Fischer's record as the vouneest ever erandmacter and just before Fischer's inne- overdue return to competive chess. The event tnkes nlare at the cimm inn noiei in ine svdnev suhnrh nf w. WIUI.

Artarmon. To enter the tournament e3, motherand-rifliiffhtpr CHRIS DEPASQUALE or for more details about this 1 1-round event which starts at 11.30 am on the 15 August, you need to telephone the hotel on (008) 251 116 or fax (02) 428 3458. The Polgars and Fischer are a generation apart, but the elder statesman of Hungarian chess, Lajos Portisch, spans that gap. Here he is up against Fischer in 1966: White Portisch; Black Fischer: 1. d4, Nf6; 2.

c4, e6; 3. Nc3, Bb4; 4 b6; 5. Ne2, Ba6; 6. Ng3, Bxc3; 7. bxc3, d5; 8.

Qf3, 0-0; 9. e4, dxe4; 10. Nm4, Nxe4; 11. Qxe4 (see diagram) (intending to meet Qxa8 with nto winning me queen) 12. Ba3.

Re8-13. Bd3. fS: 14. Oxaft Nrfi- is rnra-u Qxe8; 16. 0-0, Na5; 17.

Rael, Bxc4; IS. NmihI and Wvoofina have Qnlit nn Tfa- nvuau ihvuulc sweet oiten muersweet close harmony country fit to please anyone with a preaiiecuon towards the sound of steeMrring guitar. MR tracks include aaahh. llflmn Him. I'wn mly nf ImIm nia rwa am yourselves, rm off to punch bov emit..