Daily Nebraskan
Wednesday, February 2, 1983
I
Arts Si
Entertainment
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Going Where The Lonely Go
Merle Haggard
Epic
There's a song on Merle Haggard's new
album, Going Where The Lonely Go,
titled "You Take Me for Granted." This
sentiment could very well sum up Merle
Haggard's recording career. He's been
around as long as George Jones or Johnny
Cash, yet he's not been accorded "living le
gend" status as they have. His albums sell
as well as Willie Nelson's or Waylon Jen
nings', yet he's not recognized as a country
pop star, either.
There are two reasons for this pheno
menon. One is the fact that Haggard alie
nated the rock music press (a highly influ
ential force, even in country music) in the
ll)bOs with his idiotic right wing musical
diatribes like "Fighting Side of Me" and
"Okie from Muskogee."
Secondly, and perhaps more import
antly, Haggard has always just sort of been
there. His music rarely reaches out and de
mands your attention like that of Ricky
Skaggs or Rosanne Cash. His personal
life, although interesting enough (in
cluding a stretch in San Quentin prison)
has always been rather hush-hush, so he
doesn't have the "survivor" aura of George
Jones or Jerry Lee Lewis. Most significant
ly, his albums, while always well done and
original enough, seem to lack any parti
cular pizzazz.
Perhaps the most incredible thing about
Going Where Vie Lonely Go is that, with
the exception of three songs, none of the
selections makes a particular impression.
Seconds after a song has finished, you
truly cannot remember what it was about.
What is frustrating is that Haggard
obviously is capable of much more. There
are tantalizing hints of greatness on this
album. The title cut, a Haggard composi
tion, is a brilliant mood piece, which
painfully and honestly reflects the des
peration of a fellow human being at the
end of his rope. Conversely, "If I Left
It Up To You" (a song Haggard first wrote
and recorded a decade ago) is a bouncy,
western-swing flavored number, which is
quite enjoyable. "I Won't Give Up My
Train" is another interesting piece, in
which Haggard pays tribute to a wander
lust that will not die.
Yet, while these three songs are superb,
they are still only three songs. That leaves
seven more selections to plod through. Not
that any of the other songs are bad per se
(except for "Shopping for Dresses" which
is so stupid, it seems intentional), it's just
that they are bland and indistinguishable
from one another except for their titles.
Haggard wrote all but three of the
songs on Going Where The Lonely Go.
On future efforts, Haggard might consider
reaching out for different writers. Perhaps
then he can leave the realm of mere re
cording artist and enter the world of le
gend. However, after nearly 20 years of
trying, one begins to wonder if he can do
it.
Mike Frost
Ctner album
'nrcmsDcal ref 0
I PARALYZE
Cher
Columbia
Diarrhea, rotten eggs, baby vomit,
fungus, moldy food and dead squirrels
all belong in one place: the sewer. So
does Cher's new album.
Sometimes very affluent people de
cide to drop an enormous amount of
money on a worthless piece of garbage.
It happened when The Knack made their
second album, But the Little Girls Under
stand. It happened again when Chuck
Barris made "The Gong Show Movie."
Believe it or not, the unrelenting spirit
of musical refuse has cast his magical
spell again. This time it fell upon the
seventh - album effort from a 37 - year -
old glamourpuss by the name of Cher (the
last name is anyone's guess.)
It was nine years ago that Cher was di
vorced from her personal and professional
partner Sonny Bono. Since then, she has
released a total of six albums on an even
more impressive collection of four record
labels. The latest attempt at trend-hopping
by this fashionable singer-actress is a cute
little assembly titled Paralyze. It is
not stated on the album whether or not
rv
Chei is attempting to paralyze the con
sumer's eyes or ears.
My first impression was wonder at why
an entire album could sound like a used
car commercial jingle. As hard as it was, I
delved even deeper into each jingle and
attempted to make some sense out of the
nine new wave a la Las Vegas ditties. To
no avail, each cut provided me only with
humor. It is apparent to me that Cher
always has, and always will, rely on her
Rod Stewart vocal tendencies to carry
her through every song.
The big new wave attempt on Paral
yze is a harmless pop-rock tune The Babys
once released called "Back On My Feet
Again." It turns out to have the same
guitar solo it had in 1979 and comes off
as the silliest song on the album. The most
revolting track in the collection is the
title cut that one John Farrar admits to
have written and produced. For almost
four minutes you get to hear Cher moan
and use her favorite word: honey. -Didn't
her old hit with Sonny, "All I Ever Need
Is You," include that word about 50
times? Coincidence.
It's just too bad that such an excellent
looking female would have so much suc
cess on television and Broadway, and then
fall flat on her face on vinyl. It's also too
bad that I just can't offer her any support
on this effort. Let's face it; the album
could warble the paint right off your
walls. There's nothing here but haphazard
instrumentation, fuzzy lyrics and the
voice of a woman who did her best work
with a guy named Sonny Bono. Aside
from all this is the fact that the lady needs
to dump the glasses and headband. Do
yourself a favor and let Columbia Records
realize its mistake on this one.
Todd R. Tystad
Denmeimto vimiyl
odd hit parade
Demento's Mementos
Dr. Demento
PVC Records
Dr. Demento first gained notoriety
by having one of the most off-beat shows
on radio. On it, he featured obscure novel
ty songs with an annotator's eye for re
cording history.
However, as time passed and Dr. De
ment grew more and more famous, he
became less interested in being a music
historian and more attracted to the notion
of becoming the Dick Clark of novelty
artists. His radio show then became a
springboard for new musical schticks,
some clever and original (Wierd Al Yanko
vich, rock parodies most notably), but
most silly and repetitive, relying heavily
on cheap sex and drug humor.
Demento's Mementos, then, is a gather
ing of these new, unknown musicians
(with one exception), playing their new
tunes for the Doctor's approval. So, if
he wants to be Dick Clark, he should be
treated that way. What follows is a quick
review of each of the album's songs, fol
lowed by a 1-100 rating. (Danceability is
not a factor).
"Doctor of Dementia" (Dr. Demento
and Barnes and Barnes): Self-indulgence
at its worst. Manages to be both melodic
and moronic. 19.
"I Get Weird" (John Christensen):
Many of the Doctor's protege's are bad
Frank Zappa imitators. This is one of the
worst. 16.
"I Wanna Kiss Her" (Tim Cavanaugh):
An embarrassing series of sexual puns.
Embarrassing because no matter how im
mature this sort of thing is, it always holds
a certain base fascination. 80.
"My Wife Left Town With a Banana"
(Carlos Benzine, Sr.): See description
above. 80.
"Smut" (Other Half): What starts out
to be a satire of 1980s morality quickly
deteriorates into a series of "naughty"
words. If you're over 15, it's hard to see
how this could be funny. 20.
"Space Invaders" (Uncle Vic): A guy
complains that something is wrong with
society because it prefers video games to
disco. Occasionally manages to rise above
its own triviality. 65.
"Rodeo Song" (Showdown): Effective
parody of bad country music. Actually is
funny, satirical and melodic at the same
time! Definitely the album's high point.
"Bodine Brown" (Purvis Pickett): Why?
There are few things this world needs less
than a Chipmunks rip-off. 40.
"The Alphabet Song" (The Three Sto
oges): Some of the cleverest material
this comedy team ever did. 25.
"Swedish Western" (Steve Lisenby):
Does for Swedes what Amos & Andy did
for blacks. Of course, Amos and Andy did
have their moments. 65.
"Harry's Jockstrap" (Dickie Goodman):
Toilet humor. 6.
"My Name Is Not Merv Griffin" (Gary
Muller): The title is funnier than the re
cord. Still, though, a clever satire on the
trappings of stardom. 80.
"Mediocre Mama" (Doug Robinson):
"You don't do nothing special, but you
don't do nothing well." An effective
tribute to blandness. 90.
"Don't Go to the Fallout Shelter With
Anyone Else But Me" (Tom Fenton):
Pithy. Not that amusing, but pithy none
theless. 84.
"Rock and Roll Doctor" (Travesty
Ltd.): Great novelty song except for one
thing: it's not a novelty song, it's a skit.
Doesn't belong on this album. 86.
"I Found the Brains of Santa Claus"
(Jason and the Straptones): If you find
the idea of discovering Kris Kringle's gray
matter, resembling chunky tuna in a pickle
jar amusing, then this is your kind of
humor. I find that amusing. 89.
The average for the entire album is a
dismal 58. And, friends, a comedy album
that is funny only 58 percent of the tune,
ultimately is not an effective one. Pass me
my Allan Sherman album, please.
- Mike Frost
Wit&ou! So
W
good stuff
Men Without Women
Little Steven
and the Disciples of Soul
EMI America Records
This is the debut album for this group,
but chances are you've run across Little
Steven before, albeit under a different
name. Faithful followers of Bruce Spring
steen will know him as Miami Steve Van
Zandt of the L Street Band.
Now Miami SteveLittle Steven has
formed his own band and launched his bid
to escape the shadow of the Boss. And, if
this album is any indication, and we must
assume it is, (otherwise why review it?)
that bid will be successful.
Springsteen's influence is clear through
out the album. True, there aren't any songs
about cars here but, as the title implies,
there are plenty of songs about men and
women and what they do to and for each
other. And most of them are very good.
The album is made up of several little
vignettes dealing with the "Never-Ending
Quest For a Baby."
"I've Been Waiting" is the song that cap
tures this idea best. It's about a guy who's
been waiting for the right girl to come
walkin' down the street and then she final
ly does and then they break up and then he
wants to get her back-A "Book of Love"
with sad overtones, in other words. If Tom
Waits ever did this song, he'd have you cry
ing rivers of tears.
X.
7
Still, it's sad enough with Little Steven
doing the mournful lyrics, sounding, at
times, very much like his mentor, Bruce.
t
Not all the songs are ballads, of course.
The Disciples aren't Peter, Paul and Mary
after all.
"Lyin' In a Bed of Fire" will burn your
socks off, but it does have a sense of
despair about it;
Had me a real bad dream last night
This morning my bad dream was
walking the streets ofN. Y.C.
Continued on Page 9