City Of Sound
A Rough Guide To Gradings

As I will be writing for The Rock this year I'm bringing my grading system into line with theirs. Here is how it works.

A song is awarded points on a scale of 0 to 3, where 0 is considered to be crap, 1 average, 2 good and 3 classic. We add up the total and then divide it by the total points available - for ten songs that will be 30 (3x10), 11 songs 33, and so on. This figure is then multiplied by 100 to achieve the magical % rating.

Of course it is not an exact science and the rating is still very much a matter of opinion. Anything between 60-70% has to be considered a strong effort while you won't come across much above that very often.

100 - 91 Classic 50 - 41 Patchy
90 - 81 Essential 40 - 31 Below Average
80 - 71 Brilliant 30 - 21 Bad
70 - 61 Very Good 20 - 11 Very Bad
60 - 51 Good 10 - 00 Very Funny... NOT

March '98

RYPDAL & TEKRO
RYPDAL & TEKRO 2
Grappa GRCD 4146 (Norway 1997)
56%

TNT/Vagabond guitarist Ronni Le Tekro teams up with fellow Norwegian guitarist Terje Rypdal (and most of Vagabond) for their second collaboration on "Rypdal & Tekro 2" . For the most part it's instrumental (imagine the more laid back Vagabond moments mixed with some jazz/fusion) but there are a few "songs" with Ronni's inimitable vocals (pretty much like quirky Vagabond). Elsewhere "Le Tekno" sees them branching out into a Steve Hillage/System 7 meets Kraftwerk techno extravaganza and "Cathedral" is a very laid back and atmospheric opener with Gregorian chant style vocals and very reminiscent of Enigma. Guitarists' widdlefest albums aren't usually my thing but I do love Le Tekro's work and there's enough variety and experimentation here for me.

Strangest Places

ABRA MOORE
STRANGEST PLACES
Austin/Arista 18839-2
48%

Abra Moore's "Strangest Places" delivers all the usual suspects as far as comparisons go. McLachlan, Morissette, Amos, Crow, etc all pop up somewhere along the way. On upbeat numbers like 'Don't Feel Like Cryin'" and "Never Believe You Now" the fusion reaches its peak, (her Sheryl Crow-like voice making a change from Alanis style warbling).

BILLIE MYERS
GROWING, PAINS
Universal UDS-53100
54%

The Desmond Child produced "Growing, Pains" by Jamaican/English singer Billie Myers has none of the usual clichés associated with Child. Thank God! Billie sounds like Chrissy Hynde (minus the comedy accent) meeting Joan Armatrading with touches of Alanis and Julia Fordham. Musically you get Joan Osborne with traces of Alanis and Dalbello. Consistent songs, fine performances and Billie's strong vocals make this well worth checking out.

Together Alone

ANOUK
TOGETHER ALONE
Dino/BMG 74321 55002 2
56%

Dutch singer Anouk mixes up modern female rock with some more traditional melodic rock elements on "Together Alone" . The resulting album comes across like Amanda Marshall or Alannah Myles meets Alanis. From angry power packed numbers to bluesy rockers, to upbeat pop-rock via Joan Armatrading style acoustic pieces, there is plenty of variety. "Fluid Conduction" (written by Golden Earing's Barry Hay and George Kooymans) has a classic AOR pre-chorus, but within a song that blends 80s and 90s sensibilities quite naturally. Anouk's vocals are very impressive, strong and emotional, they lend themselves to all the different moods. Good stuff.

Now & Then Records

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Peter Sims
Last update 1st March 1998
Created March 1998 © Peter Sims