While reggae historically has been political music, few specialists in the style have been as actively or as visibly involved in debating the issues of the day in song as Jamaica’s Third World. “The music is borne from the message,” explains keyboardist Michael “Ibo” Cooper. “It comes from poor people…

Curtis Mayfield New World Order (Warner Bros.) Mayfield, who was paralyzed from the neck down in an onstage accident, discovered a year or so ago that he could sing as long as his body was in a reclining position. But doing so remains an exhausting struggle for him–and the sheer…

Tricky Pre-Millennium Tension (Island) In a music scene dominated by the safe, the threadbare and the predictable, Tricky comes on like a sonic anarchist–a ceaselessly creative sort who’s eager to abolish all rules, tear down those power structures that have outlived their usefulness and destroy anything trite that crosses his…

“I like beer, bikes and my model trains,” declares Beer Can Bob Schuster. He also likes music–hence his role as frontman and bassist for Beer Can Bob and the Stampede–but as he blows the foam off a cold one at his home in Boulder’s San Lazaro Trailer Park (where he…

Wesley Willis Feel the Power (American) If you’re wondering where opportunity ends and exploitation begins, the answer is…here. Willis, for the handful of you who have not yet been subjected to him, is a Chicagoan with a potpourri of mental problems who scribbles songs about whatever pops into his head–and…

John Parish and Polly Jean Harvey Dance Hall at Louse Point (Island) This disc has garnered the worst reviews of Ms. Harvey’s brief career, and that’s understandable. Compared with 1995’s remarkable To Bring You My Love, it’s resolutely minor. Moreover, the work contains several of our gal’s weakest moments on…

Although England’s Mad Professor claims to be sane, his many albums offer an argument to the contrary. The leading practitioner of dub music, an instrumental outgrowth of reggae that’s known for its studio effects, he makes music that’s thoroughly, wonderfully berserk. Mixing is in the Professor’s blood: This native of…

Nirvana From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah (DGC) In this disc’s liner notes, bassist Krist Novoselic writes, “Let all the analysis fall away like yellow, aged newsprint. Crank this record up and realize the bliss, power…and passion…TOTAL NIRVANA!” Novoselic’s tone, which recalls the prose style favored by teens who…

“Being a musician at our level is pretty much like indentured servitude,” reveals Cake singer/guitarist John McCrea. “You’re in debt to the Man pretty much, so it’s not this glorious, independent lifestyle that people think about when they think about music.” That may change soon. Now that Fashion Nugget, the…

R.E.M. New Adventures in Hi-Fi (Warner Bros.) Pearl Jam No Code (Epic) By most standards, these albums have been as highly anticipated as any released this season, and why not? After all, they come from two of the most critically acclaimed, commercially successful acts operating under the rock-and-roll umbrella. But…

Stay Positive is more than just the title of reggae star Pato Banton’s new album. It’s become something of a life philosophy for the Birmingham, England, native–and that, he believes, has everything to do with his success as a performer. “For me, personally, it means more than anything,” he says…

Dancehall reggae champion Yellowman was first motivated to make music by a couple of admittedly unlikely heroes. “From my growing up, I loved Elvis,” he reveals. “I grew up listening to him and Neil Diamond on the radio from when I was twelve years old, and with those artists, most…

Diversity is a goal that many in the Boulder music scene try to achieve. But rarely is so much of it found in one person, as is the case with Beth Quist. A connoisseur of sound, she sports a resume that seems more like a U.N. mediator’s than an entertainer’s…

It’s not uncommon to hear stories of a reggae star’s rise from the ghettos of Jamaica to international fame. But few performers have endured as much or struggled as hard as the harmony trio Israel Vibration, whose members are all survivors of polio. “I didn’t get no chance, no job,…

Neil Young and Crazy Horse Broken Arrow (Reprise) In a review of 1977’s That Obscure Object of Desire, the last film made by the late Luis Bunuel, Pauline Kael noted the relaxed confidence of the director’s work; after decades spent absorbing every aspect of the cinematic medium, he was able…

Metallica Load (Elektra) Thus far, this album has been reviewed more often on the basis of the bandmembers’ new grunge-junkie haircuts and the act’s decision to headline the worst Lollapalooza bill imaginable than it has on the merits of the music itself. But even if you exclude the aforementioned factors…

Boulder’s Roots Revolt takes an unusual approach to songwriting. “For our first show at the Fox Theatre, we still didn’t really know what we were doing,” concedes percussionist Grant, who, like his bandmates, feels that one name is plenty. “Since our songs were basically improvisational, we had to play back…

Beck! Odelay (DGC) Based on the two shows I’ve seen him perform, Beck Hansen probably isn’t the worst performer in the history of popular music, but he’s certainly in the top ten. Damn it if the little squirt hasn’t made a pretty decent album, though. His major-label debut, Mellow Gold,…

It’s not easy to track down Roger Gillies. His home is officially located in the tiny mountain community of Jamestown, Colorado, but in actuality, it’s far removed from the burg’s unpaved but passable streets. Simply finding his abode is a challenge–and even those visitors able to locate it must travel…

“A lot of people been saying that I’m not consistent,” reports Michael Rose. “And they say this is why no one hears of me.” On the surface, these rebukes seem warranted. After all, Rose left Black Uhuru, the group for which he’s best known, in 1983–and over the course of…

If reggae fans were given a chance to nominate a performer who’s best filled the role of the music’s elder statesman since the passing of Bob Marley, Culture vocalist Joseph Hill would receive a lot of votes. Since 1972, when he released his first single, “Behold the Land,” on Jamaica’s…

It’s been three years since Frank Black last participated in a round of interviews intended to publicize his music, yet he already seems ready for another breather. “I’m sick of it,” he confirms. “Writers are always looking for some stupid, lame-ass angle. “Sometimes I have interviews when I’m in a…