June 19, 1999

Everlast : Ends

[a]Everlast[/a] undertakes the journey from arrested development - 'Shamrocks And Shenanigans (Boom Shalock Lock Boom)', anyone? - to [B]Arrested Development[/B] with some laid-back dignity;

It must rate as one of the mysteries of the late-20th century how one of the most supremely be-chunked of meathead rock-hoppers acquired the blues. Even after an arrest, home incarceration, a near-fatal heart attack and religious conversion, it's quite some way from the no-brainer joys of House Of Pain's 'Jump Around' to this single, a sort of Grapes Of Wrath for
the
downsized generation. But born-again soul man Everlast undertakes the journey from arrested development - 'Shamrocks And Shenanigans (Boom Shalock Lock Boom)', anyone? - to

Arrested Development with some laid-back dignity; picking up growly vocals, fervent strumming and nicely looped beats along the way. Some electronic beebling assures us it's Beck's call he's heard, not Dylan's; but the earnestness of the man
named
after sportswear is undimmed.

Incidentally, Everlast's will be the last household name in this singles review. The dry rot in the heart of the music industry is exacerbated by the summer months, when the majors all but give
up
releasing singles. Prepare, then, for the small mammals of rock's forest floor to peek out from the foliage and take over now that
the
dinosaurs are out of the picture.

JAMES OLDHAM