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As originally published in The Evening Standard Wednesday October 14, 1992 Reviewed by John Saunders DESPITE her Dunedin associations and the sparkle in her recorded work, Jan Hellriegel failed to match expectations at The Albert last week. Perhaps the hope of some kind of Michelle Shocked meets Cassandra's Ears was a bit high. Whatever, songs like Viva Voca and It's My Sin on her debut album showed a new and exciting voice, a sound of Jay Clarkson meets the American Mid-West. Heavy-weights Warners thought so too. Yet on the night, Hellriegel fired only part of the time. The sound was good, the PA system superb, but her music still lacked urgency. Even Blam's Mark Bell on guitar failed to add the fire I had expected. Hellriegel was slick, but her presentation too distant. Playing guitar and hiding behind a keyboard all night, she kept a measured distance, ending up boring the pants off a sizable percentage of the audience. Some dwindled off into the distance, others thought she should dispense with the instruments and just be a vocalist. Yet the flashes of brilliance were all there. Particularly in full flight, moving about the stage angrily with songs like Wings Of Steel, a clipped, truncated tangle of layered guitar, more driven by the spirit of Kate Bush and Siouxsie Sioux than any Kiwi movement. Then the Straitjacket Fits connection would flash past in The Way I Feel; off-centre rythms and jagged guitar arrangements, a reminder of the exciting twists and turns since the migration from Dunedin was completed. The weird turning pro? Better than sounding like The Bats forever. By the end, however, it was clear Hellriegel still had some way to go to capture the spark. Although she was facing the heat of her own hyper-up image during the first solo tour, Sydney audiences will still need more. Which is why, come January, when she re-visits for Mountain Rock II at Ballance, this is one performer to watch out for. By then, with Warners in support, Hellriegel could well be playing in New York's new music seminar and doing well for herself internationally. And outsell Shayne Carter? The idea is not as dumb as it sounds.
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