12
Wednesday, April 13, 1933
Daily Nebraska!
Arts &
Album
Review
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'LA Rockabilly'
party monster fare
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interest in rockabilly. The best buy for
this person would be either the Stray
Cats' Build for Speed or the Rockats'
Make That Move.
3) Romantic lovers looking for just
the right record for that special evening.
Reviewers that enjoyed this album:
1 ) Roger Catlin, Omaha World Herald.
2) Billboard.
3) Mike Frost, Daily Nebraskan.
- Mike Frost
Waylon minus
Willies make
his best LP
LA Rockabilly
Various Artists
Rhino Records
Since rockabilly is basically a no-frills
form of music, the most appropriate way
to review LA Rockabilly, then, would be
in a no-frills manner. Here goes.
What's good about this album:
1 ) It is an excellent showcase for
music and musicians who don't have any
other opportunity to gain national
exposure. According to the liner notes,
these bands are hot stuff in Los Angeles,
the home base for the rockabilly
movement in the United States. But in
Nebraska, the state that prides itself on
being the home of Charlie Burton (not to
mention Paul Williams), hearing the music
of The Red Devils, Los Lobos, the Whirl
birds and Keith Joe Dick is as rare an
occurence as a first stage smog alert. The
only names here that are even vaguely
familiar are Billy Zoom (X's lead guitarist ),
Dave AJvin of the Blasters and Johnny
Meeks, who used to pick for Gene
Vincent's Blue Caps.
2) Rockabilly music is fun. Extrapola
ting from this theory, LA Roekabilly
is a fun album. Certainly, with the end-of-the-semester
party season getting into
full gear, this LP would seem a worthwhile
investment.
3) There are 14 cuts (or 14 all-new
rockin' hit songs, as they say in rockabilly
lingo) on this album, a particiuarly good
deal in today's royalty-conscious music
business.
What's not so good about this album:
1) Rockabilly music has always had
one key drawback: it is a very structured
form of music. Another way of saying this
is all the songs sound the same. One
guitar solo is often indiscernible from
another. On a regular album, this might
not be as noticeable; however, after 14
songs by 14 different people, it becomes
grating, to say the least.
2) All the song names sound the
same, too. Well, not exactly the same,
but titles like "Let's Bop," "Crazy, Crazy
Lovin' " "Say Mama," "We're Gonna
Rock," "Shake the Roof" and "Cadillac
Cruisin' " can only be rockabilly numbers.
It would be nice to actually see new
ideas arise from new bands.
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3) Because Rhino Records is a typical
small-time label (i.e. shoestring budget),
you may not be able to find this album
in your favorite record store. (Don't even
bother checking at The Record Shop
or Miller and Paine). However, you can
order LA Rockabilly directly from Rhino
Records, 11609 West Pico Boulevard,
Los Angeles.
4) It's in mono.
Who this album is for:
1) Rockabilly aficionados. (Obviously)
2) Record buyers who want to hear
new groups for a change.
3) Party Monsters.
Who this album is not for :
1 ) Air Supply aficionados. (Obviously)
2) A listener with only a marginal
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It's Only Rock & Roll
Waylon Jennings
RCA
Usually Waylon Jennings' albums are
compared to those of his friend and musi
cal comrade Willie Nelson. To me, this is
analogous to comparing apples and
oranes. Nelson is more of a musical vision
ary. He's not really that interested in de
veloping a particular style but, rather in
being something of a living encyclopedia of
modern popular music.
Jennings, on the other hand, is content
to be a country music singer. He likes to
play country sing it and live it. Too often,
this tendency is regarded as being smug.
However, I 1 ave always admired Jennings
for this, his steadfast loyalty to the music
that brought him his initial fame.
It's Only Rock & Roll, Jennings' new
est recording, may very well be his finest
effort yet. It comes on the heels of two
rather disappointing releases, Black On
Black and Music Man. Waylon sounded
tired on those albums, but here his voice
again sounds fresh, thanks in no small part
to the excellent production by Jennings
and Randy Scruggs (who is quickly becom
ing one of Nashville's most accomplished
producers), and the able playing of his
band, the Waylors.
The title cut is perhaps the most cyni
cal look ever given to the business of rock
'n' roll music. Written by the omnipresent
Rodney Crowell (who first recorded the
song on one of his typically obscure LPs),
the song is an indictment of the wheelers
and dealers behind rock music, and it hits
its mark brilliantly.
the record people love you, they can
get you on the bill
Change your name to money, dress you
fit to kill,
Second that emotion, paste it to your
soul
Don 't worry if they love you 'cause it's
only Rock and Roll.
In the interest of the equal time provi
sion, Jennings also levels a biting attack on
country music, accusing, by name, various
luminaries of being fools, profiteers and
hacks. At one point during "Living Le
gends Are A Dying Breed," Jennings pro
claims "I hope (Johnny) Paycheck likes
this song, 'cause like him, well, it's just a
joke." If nothing else, you have to admire
Jennings' nerve.
Despite its title, It's Only Rock & Roll
is basically a collection of country ballads.
Crowell's "Angel Eyes (Angel Eyes),"
which has also appeared on albums by Em-
mylou Harris and Willie Nelson (Waylon's
version is better than Willie's, in case
you're keeping score) gets an effective
reading here. "Lucille (You Won't Do Your
Daddy's Will)" is brilliantly transformed
from Little Richard's raucus rocker to a
bitter tale of disillusionment.
"No Middle Ground" and "Breakin'
Down," two original compositions, are en
joyable pieces. However, the most moving
selection by far is a number called "Love's
Legalities," a cynical song whose bitter
mood is brilliantly accentuated by Ralph
Mooney's haunting steel guitar riffs and
Jennings' wife Jessi Colter's moving har
mony. The only mistake is "Medley of Hits,"
an unnecessary cut which features no less
than nine of Waylon's biggest hits, in a
Stars on 45-like manner. Except for this
Haw, It's Only Rock & Roll is a great al
bum. Jennings has proven here, for the
umpteenth time, that he is indeed the most
original talent in country music today.
If you still think that Jennings is a pale
Willie Nelson, listen to this LP and com
pare it to Nelson's last effort, Always on
My Mind. See which is more gutsy, which
is better played, which is most effective.
Perhaps then the talents of Waylon Jen
nings and the virtues of It's Only Rock &
Roll can be fully appreciated.
- Mike Frost
'Planet P' geared
toward FM play
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Planet P
Planet P
Geffen Records
The problem with being a reviewer is
that sometimes on short notices, you, get
some records to listen to and you have to
make the decision to pan it or like it with
only a couple of quick listens.
Enter Planet P by Planet P.
The group, headed by former Rainbow
members Tony Carey, sounds a lot like a
space-aged Journey. And one Journey is
enough. Some would say more than
enough.
The music is obviously geared to FM
airplay and little else. Synthesizer-laden,
the songs seem to wander aimlessly, and
the lyrics don't often make sense.
At first listen, nothing outside of
"Why Me" and "I Won't Wake Up" really
stands out. The rest seem to fall short of
their aim - whatever that may be.
On "Why Me" Carey sings:
Sit tin ' up here
Watchin' all the lights blink down below
The earth is turning
Why does it go so slow
Tliinkin' bout the girl I left behind
Houston can you hear me
Or have I lost my mind
Why me?
Why me?
. An obvious attempt to draw any
parallels between love and space travel just
doesn't work.
If I had a chance to listen to this more
closely, the good points might start to
shine through. But 1 somehow doubt it.
If you want good Tony Carey music, I
would suggest liis solo album. It is
somehow more straightforward.
- Randy VVymore
'Scoop' gathers
Townsend prais
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Scoop
Pete Townsend
Atco
Away from sophisticated studio
techniques and repeated soul-destroying
takes, the real joy I get from playing and
writing comes through, and that joy is
something I want to share. I liave hundreds
of such demos, J his isn't meant to be a
definitive collection, just a scoop.
The lines above come from the inner
jacket of Pete Townsend 's latest solo
album - Scoop. On the album, Townsend
delivers on his hope to "share" with the
listener.
A double album, the set offers 25 works
by Townsend that were all recorded in
his own home studio. Some are four
or five-minute versions of Who classics,
and a couple are just one- or two-minute
passages he just felt like recording.
Scoop is tantamount to Pablo Picasso
ors Rembrandt publishing a book of
cocktail napkin doodles. There is
something mysterious and exciting about
seeing or hearing an initial, rough version
of a finished work.
Scoop contains the demos Townsend
made of songs like "Love Reign O'er
Me," "Magic Bus," "Behind Blue Eyes"
and "Bargain." These are the versions
that Townsend himself made before any
of the other Who members heard them.
Those cuts alone would make Scoop
a vinyl treasure.
But consider that on the end of side one
there is a track called "Piano: Tipperary."
It is an upbeat, one-minute version of
just what it says - Townsend playing
the piano and singing "It's a long way to
Tipperary ..."
If that doesn't impress you, how about
the last 15 seconds: it's Townsend playing
the piano and goofing around singing
"It's a long way to Tipperary ..." like
a chicken?
I swear - he does. '
One of the other stand-out tracks
(there are about 25 of them) , is called
"Circles," written and recorded at the
time of "My Generation."
There are no windmill power-chords,
which have become Townsend's signature.
Both records (a double album itself these
days is a rarity) are just as if Townsend is
saying, "I've got something here you might
get a kick out of hearing."
The album is destined to be a success,
and only Townsend could pull it off.
Springsteen is about the only other person
who could do the same thing - and he did
with Nebraska.
The other element which makes Scoop
work is the feeling of sincerity on the part
of the artist - of Townsend really wanting
to share such intimacies.
Continued on Page 13
