Wednesday, February 9, 1933
Daily Nebraskan
'FG'oimtiei's' is Journey at lis best
Continued from Page 8
His influence still can
be heard in the music of
Dave lidmunds. the Who,
Stray Cats and Charlie Bur
ton. If anything, he is
owed a debt.
77 Great 28 pays back
that debt if full. Newly
renovated Chess Records
went all out for this tri
bute, and it shows. The
album is attractively pack-
why Berry has never been
rewarded the honor due
him - bad timing, bigotry
and poor management are
always mentioned. But Tlie
Great 2S goes a long way
to paying homage to the
master. Buy this album
and hear the true spirit
of rock V roll, played
by the man who invented
it - Chuck Berry.
Mike Frost
aged - double sleeve jac
ket, sharp artwork, insight
ful liner notes, complete
annotation. More signifi
cantly, it contains nearly
every Chuck Berry clas
sic - presented chrono
logically, in their original
form - none rechannelled
for stereo effects, no ad
ded instruments or back
ground vocals. Just pure,
unadulterated rock 'n' roll
music at its crudest and
most effective.
Berry's genius is obvious
throughout this album.
From the opening strains of
"Maybellene" (recorded in
1955) to the final chords
of "I Want to be Your
Driver" (originally pressed
in 1964), Berry and com-,
party virtually jump off the
vinyl. His wit, originality
and virtuosity make every
cut a standout.
What is most amazing
about Berry's music is the
simplicity of the arrange
ments. Generally, he played
with only a three-piece
back-up. It's incredible to
realize that all the wonder
ful musical nuances of
"Sweet Little Sixteen,"
"Johnny B. Goode," "Mem
phis " and "Rock and Roll
Music" were made with
only four instruments and
one vocalist. But this is no
ordinary guitarist and sing
er - this is Chuck Berry.
The only problem with
The Great 28 is that it's
only 28 - and not 40 or
50. Certainly, there is ma
terial enough for more.
One can't help but long
for more Berry classics -"The
Promised Land,"
"Dear Dad," ' "No Money
Down" - and "My Ding-a-Ling"
are absent, for ex
ample. But perhaps if this
set does well, there will be
more.
There are many reasons
THANK
YOU
FOR
CARING
GIVE BLOOD
Aiiii i u .hi
WOONlMoC0OIP
Frontiers
Journey
Columbia
Mainstream rock V roll.
That term, or rather la
bel, slithers from the mouth
of music lovers much the
same as the word "her
pes" comes from the mouth
of moral majoritists and
lovers.
The bad part is that
once a band is labeled,
it's hard to live it down;
an even bigger injustice is
when a band like Journey
is hurt by the label.
What people tend to for
get is that groups like
Journey were not born in
the mainstream movement.
This band has been around
for years and probably was
one of the first to make
this music a marketable
commodity. The latest al
bum by Journey - Fron
tiers - is more than likely
the best that mainstream
gets.
If that's the case, there
isn't one thing wrong with
it.
Frontiers is the hardest
hitting album of the year
yet. "Separate Ways (Worlds
Apart)" is the most intense
song since Asia blew every-
V
one away last summer with
"Heat Of The Moment."
Someday love will Jin J
you
Ilrcak those chains that
h in J you
One night will remind
you
I low we touched and
went our separate ways
If he ever hurt you
True lore won't desert
you
You know 111 still love
you
Hiough we touched
And went our separate
ways
The words are .drippy,
but the music is liar J
driving and to the point.
"Chain Reaction," "Front
iers" and "Rubicon" are
very serious and solid selec
tions. On the last Journey al
bum, Fscape the band
drifted dangerously close to
the edge of blandness. One
thing that has helped turn
the band back into a serious
threat is keyboardist Jona
than Cain. Once with the
Babys, Cain's haunting ef
forts comes into their own
on Frontiers. Gone are the
great - but seemingly never
ending - epic guitar runs
7
by Neal Schon. Cain re
places Schon's overbearing
ways with keyruns that lead
but do not overtake.
After the last album,
Journey had also gotten a
bad reputation as a band
with an eye for ballads.
Ballads are one thing, but
Journey was choking itself
with songs like "Open
Arms." Frontiers has its
share of slower-paced songs
like "After The Fall" and
"Faithfully," but at least
this is believable stuff.
Frontiers does utilize the
popularity of love and pro
gress as themes for its
songs, but the excess isn't
there as it was last time.
Still, the band is in every
way, shape and form a
mainstream band by today's
"standards."
Who cares? Is a little
escapism that bad?
At their very worst,
Journey puts out a good
product and gives the peo
ple what they want.
Frontiers is Journey at
its very best.
Randy Wymore
ALL Records and Tapes
on sale thru Fri.
8.98 list albums 5.99
All other albums $1 off
217 N. 11th East Park Plaza
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