8
Daily Nebraskan
Wednesday, January 12, 1983
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Entertainment
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Squeeze finale
a fattag mute
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Singles 45's and Under
Squeeze
A & M Records
Once upon a time in bloody old Eng
land a young man by the name of Glenn
Tilbrook met up with a guy named Chris
Difford, and they decided to create a new
sound together. The result of this song
writing duo was a band christened UK
Squeeze. Many critics at the time thought
of the two talents as the next Lennon
McCartney. The years proved them to be
a reasonable facsimile.
Tilbrook and Difford were joined by
Gilson Lavis on drums, Harry Kakoulli
on bass (who was later replaced by John
Bentley) and Jools Holland playing key
boards. Holland's original combination of
jumping keyboard strains, set to the
driving rhythm from Lavis' drums, gave
the band the basic sound that Tilbrook
and Difford had sought in the beginning.
This was the sound of UK Squeeze.
In 1978 the band signed with A & M
Records and produced their first album,
which gave birth to their first single
"Take Me, I'm Yours." Their only pre
vious work had been club dates and a
limited-edition EP that they had financed
themselves.
Immediately following the EP, the
group shortened their name to Squeeze,
because of the addition of the group UK
on the music circuit. With a new feel for
its career, Squeeze set out to take on all
of Britain and, eventually, the United
States.
The only member to leave the band
at this time had been Kakoulli, who had
taken time off periodically and eventually
was officially replaced by Bentley. 1980
brought on new problems with the exit
of Holland, who began to work on a solo
career.
This may have been a blessing in dis
guise for the band when Paul Carrack
signed as chief of the keyboards. The
multi-talented Carrack only pushed the
band to further success with his capti
vating vocals on the 1981 single
"Tempted," which featured Elvis Costello
as producer and cameo vocalist.
Costello helped produce and, again,
appeared on vinyl the next year when
Squeeze released its sixth album Sweets
From A Stranger. This album was the
final phase of Squeeze's evolution and
many tracks on the record served as
reinforcement of the Squeeze sound.
By this time the band had a style that
was nothing but its own.
Their group's foundation in the world
music scene came too late, however, be
cause soon after the release of Sweets
From A Stranger, the group announced
a breakup, signaling the end of the octet
that had broken so many boundaries in
progressive music. Squeeze's final appear
ance in the United States was a late-night
offering on "Saturday Night Live."
The final release from Squeeze as we
knew them is the Singles-45's and Un
der album that highlights the career of
the band. Starting with their first single
"Take Me, I'm Yours," the album is a
musical document of this band and its
career. Each and every musical highlight
is included in the album, and the final
cut is a previously unreleased single titled
"Annie, Get Your Gun."
This album is not only a treat for
Squeeze fans, but is also a special intro
duction to the band for anyone who
seeks the agreeably melodic, easy -moving
ballads that can be found here.
Those who once termed the band a
"clean pop group" were only half right.
They were entertaining, too. Squeeze is
definitely one band that many will miss
in the years to come. With that feeling,
this album serves as the final tribute to a
band that actually had fun changing the
course of progressive music.
Todd R. Tystad
Magar album
disappoints fan
Three Lock Box
Sammy Hagar
Geffen Records
Sammy Hagar disappointed me.
After last year's Standing Hampton al
bum, I anxiously awaited his next effort.
But after listening to Three Lock Box, lh
gar's latest, I felt scorned. Gone are the
catchy lyrics and intricate fret board an
tics. All that's left are hollow words and
primitive guitar licks.
Songs such as "The Room" and "I
Don't Need Love" are insults to the mature
music lover. They both use run-down
rock'n'roll themes, and then use them with
SAT ' "AGAR
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no sense of creativity. If he's going to play
variations on themes, the least he could do
is to be original.
The only redeeming track on the al
bum is "Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy."
It brings back the ingredients of word and
sound that made Standing Hampton Ha
gar's first real commercial success. Unfor
tunately, he didn't have enough material
left over from his last record.
The musicianship of Three Lock Box
is by no means on the level of microsur
gery. Most of the time, it sounds as though
someone is experimenting with the use of
their feet as a way of playing the guitar -all
of this, while the rest of the band
drops a threefour time "One, two, three
stroke" on the remaining instruments.
It's too bad that so much potential is
wasted in what sounds like a rushed effort
to complete a recording contract. Hagar
doesn't have the commercial popularity
of Journey, Led Zeppelin or Fleetwood
Mac, so he can't afford to take the extra
time to do it right. It's possible that the
only thing lacking is a good producer. A
veteran of the recording booths may have
been able to salvage Three Lock Box. But
somehow, I doubt it.
Unless you're 13 years old, scratch Sam
my off your list.
-Randy Wymore
Cat's' leader
takes solo spin
Beatitude
Ric Ocasek
Geffen Records
Singer-songwriter-producer-guitar-playing
virtuoso Ric Ocasek has released his
debut album as a solo project away from
the security of his airplay-guaranteed group
The Cars. How can a presence like Ric
Oc3sek draw himself away from a group
like The Cars and still come up with a
satisfying album that sets up a decent
enough contrast with the band? My first
thoughts were that I would find the album
a follow-up to Shake I Up, but a quick
listen to the sound of The Cars, as opposed
to the sound of solo Ocasek, showed a
professional artist at work. On Beatitude,
we find raw Ocasek at work.
Not to call Ric Ocasek raw, but this new
collection makes me wonder what he might
have sounded like back in 1975. when he
performed in Boston in pre-Cars groups.
I lis striking originality in performing led to
his meeting Ben Orr, who eventually
became The Cars' bass player. The pair
added three other musicians to the lineup
and officially started The Cars' career (not
to forget the start of Ocasck's career as a
producer).
Top on the list of activities for the
group was the output of a demo tape for
prospective record companies. Tire tape
received quite a bit of airplay on Boston
radio waves. That airplay, along with
widespread hometown support, led to the
group's signing on Elektra. Ocasek was now
a producer. He wrote and produced all
of the material on the debut album and let
the three hit singles off the record tell the
story of his talent.
That talent kept right on working after
the completion of The Cars' first tour of
the United States and Europe. Ocasek
began to produce for the best of Boston's
underground groups, the members of
which now appear as the backup musicians
on his solo album. And just what can we
expect from this stab at individuality?
First of all, the listener must realize
that Ocasek has lost the vocal variations
he had with all the members of The Cars
around. This leaves a concentration on
just one voice.
Ocasek carries nearly the entire album
with a style I've never heard on a Cars
release before. He gives the listener a
detectable chill with a sound like Lou
Reed meeting the keyboards. Could
Ocasek have been imitating that rock 'n'
roll master in his depression-filled look
at the world's youth in the cut "Jimmy,
Jimmy"? If not, we have a snappy state
ment about the future of the world in
that song.
The album isn't without optimism,
though. Another song on the bouncy
first side implies the feeling a funky Pink
Floyd. The "Prove" cut also features a
sax solo by Deric Dyer (from a band called
the New Reflectors) that almost threatens
the release of the song as a single. My
interest in Ocasek's vocals waned a bit
near the end of the second side when he
droned the plea for human understanding
in the politically tainted "Time Bomb."
With all this about Ocasek's vocal
relation to other singers, how can the
album succeed on its own as an example
of the many talents of Ocasek and the
unknown musicians who back him up on
the solo album? The answer is simple
enough. Rick Ocasek is a multi-talented
performer who now can say what he wants
on his own album, and does just that
when an audiophile such as yourself
turns on Beatitude. Cars fans is in for
a special treat when they find out what
Rick Ocasek really thinks on this solo
effort.
Todd R. Tystad
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Kucudgreri band
on 'Network 9'
Network 9
Utopia
Elektra Asylum Records
Todd Rundgren makes music. He really
doesn't sound like anyone else. Other peo
ple sound like he does. Listening closely to
Rundgren's band Utopia and its new al
bum, a critical ear can detect the sound
many bands are always trying for. The give
away factor is more of an influence than
an actual traceable sound. At any rate,
Rundgren and Utopia are back at work
with a new release.
Rundgren seems to be the artist that
many can only wish to be. Without being
transformed into a commercial art ma
chine, he cranks out his music and video
art as fast as it is conceived.
The latest offering is a hefty collection
dubbed Network 9. In addition to the regular-sized
package, we find a bonus album
that includes an extra five tracks. Were
they really necessary? I think so. At this
point in a career like Rundgren's, every
thing you do just isn't a bouquet of roses
for the world .
Some of Utopia's vocals escaped Rund
gren's talents as an engineer. The vocals
problem seems to be the one thing that
brings Network 9 down again and again.
At points, the album is almost too
much to be considered a 1982 release.
Some would say that the mark of a "time
less" contemporary artist is his attempt to
break with the trendy trash through his
timeless vocal ability. This doesn't work
here for Rundgren or the band. Rund
gren's vocals shine above the sloppy har
monizing of his backup, and in some places
they cause the song to just follow his
strains of pulling the harmony along.
I think that Utopia's success as a band
rests entirely on Rundgren's talents as the
songwriter," session man and producer
engineer. The sound of Network 9 suggests
that the band is pulling the lead underwater.
A great musician's band does no good
unless it acts as a compliment to the cen
tral figure, rather than keep him in a con
stant state of retaliation. Utopia does come
close to the former, but I'm disappointed
in the overall feeling of the album.
That overall feeling is quelled when
Rundgren cuts loose on a couple of the
tracks. The old style many are familiar
with reappears in the cut "Burn, Burn,
Burn," where everything comes together
for a great performance. It's almost as
though Rundgren is fulfilling a promise to
jump right through the speakers and dance
the song out for you. This feeling comes
through a few more times on the album,
too. Sone of the slower songs on the side
containing "Burn, Burn, Burn" serve as an
excellent mode for the real Rundgren to
shine through.
The vocals I've mentioned as being
sloppy don't ruin the entire album, but do
put a crimp in the mood I looked forward
to in the new material. Utopia's style is still
apparent, and the album is a must for
Rundgren Utopia tans. It's just now
something you would give as a new wave
gift. It does, however, serve as an excellent
example of the classic style of the gifted
Todd Rundgren.
-Todd R. Tystad