Daily Staff Writer

Lost Highway Soundtrack

Various Artists

The latest release on Trent Reznor’s Nothing label features three contributions by Reznor (two solos and one with Nine Inch Nails) along with a host of other acts, including Marilyn Manson and Lou Reed.

The soundtrack is Reznor’s third attempt at producing non-Nails stuff (Natural Born Killers and Manson) and features his usual haunting mixture of ballads and murder anthems.

But it is a non-Nothing artist that brings the disc to a higher level. In by far its most unique song yet, The Smashing Pumpkins treat the Lost Highway Soundtrack to “Eye,” an experimental, borderline-industrial journey to the “gates of heaven.”

Like much of the disc, “Eye” changes pace a few times but stays with a tempo similar to “1979.” Although he doesn’t do any screaming on the track, Corgan’s voice is perfect for the job.

David Bowie also contributes an industrial effort to the disc, but the song is weak compared to the Pumpkins or to his last soundtrack single for Showgirls.

The real plague on the soundtrack, though, is the back-and-forth flow of the disc. For obvious reasons, going from Nails to instrumental Angelo Badalamenti just doesn’t work.

The instrumental contributions to the disc are interesting and definitely worth a listen, but they would be better suited for disc of their own. After being teased by “The Perfect Drug” and “Eye,” you’re bound to be begging for more industrial.

Turn Lost Highway into a double-disc set, throw on a few more psycho songs from Reznor and Corgan, and we’re talking soundtrack of the year.

An interesting note: a remix of “The Perfect Drug,” along with songs by Orb and Plug, will be released on a special remix E.P. due out later this year.

3 stars

— Corey Moss

The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum

L7

L7 is a band that has been at the fringe of commercial success for years with such hits like “Shitlist” and “When We Pretend (That We’re Dead)” from their previous albums Bricks Are Heavy and Hungry Like Stink.

With its newest release, The Beauty Process: Triple Platinum, L7 has finally passed that thin line from sporadic greatness into a realm of genius.

The Beauty Process mixes the hard-core punk of early and live Nirvana with the sentimentalism of Hole. It is a mixture which propels the listener into a high throttled, sonic adventure. Indeed, every song on this disc makes you want to bang your head, mosh or scream in delight.

Songs like “I Need,” “The Masses Are Asses” and “Bad Things” are driven by ferocious guitar attacks, bursts of machine-gun-fire-like drums and growling lyrics. But L7 has much more to offer than just frenetic punk rock/heavy metal.

“Off The Wagon” has a melody similar to surf music, while “Moonshine” has gorgeous guitar rifts that float like phantoms amid the fuzz.

“Must Have More” demonstrates that blues can blend with metal, and “Me, Myself and I” features honky-tonk guitar mixed into a squall as thick as molasses.

“Non-Existent Patricia” starts on a slower note than the rest of the songs, with ringing guitars and playful bass lines, then explodes into an annihilating blitzkrieg of guitar shrieks.

“Lorenza, Giada, Allesandra” is a ferocious number that continues at a mind-boggling speed into unheard of tempos, then slows down again at a consistent pace.

The two best songs are definitely “Drama” and “Bitter Wine.” The former features vibrant lyrics laid over a blistering guitar riff similar to Corrosion of Conformity’s “Vote With A Bullet.”

The latter is a phenomenal number that begins with a techno twinkling which is superimposed over pulsing drums and guitars that sound like the gurgle water bottles make when emptied.

The lyrics are mournful and well done, the song is extremely catchy and immediately addictive.

This disc is definitely going to be one of the highlights of 1997 and deserves at least triple platinum status. L7 has just made the album against which all future punk and “grrrl” bands will be measured.

5 stars

— Ben Jones (Gwar fan)

Rahsaan Patterson

Rahsaan Patterson

Rahsaan Patterson has already established himself in the music industry as a very creative and respected songwriter. Now he wants to add himself to the long list of successful songwriters attempting to jump from behind the curtains to the microphone and achieve success as a singer.

After having collaborated on projects with artists such as Brandy, Tevin Campbell and R. Kelly, Patterson showcases his lyrical abilities on his own self-titled release.

The album succeeds (very well, in fact)—that is, if you can get past the all too familiar R & B sound.

There are plenty of areas on the album where Patterson sounds like Tony Rich. However, if you look past that, the album does have a definite flavor to it.

Patterson is a lot more funky than the likes of Rich or Babyface. Even in his slower cuts like “Stay Awhile” or “Spend the Night,” there are more guitars and jazzy synthesizers than the typical slow jam.

The song “Can’t We Wait a Minute” seems to separate the album into two parts — funky and smooth.

The rest of the album incorporates more classical instruments like violins, cellos, pianos and even some a capella singing on “Joy” (which features some members from Take 6).

Not too bad for a debut album. R&B heads should grab it.

3 stars

— Rhaason Mitchell

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All ratings are based on a scale of zero to five stars, with five being R.E.M. and zero being Local H.