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Music you'll still play in 10 years
By Stew Magnuson elude King Kurtis on sax, Ray Charles listen to this collection a hu
Senior Reporter on piano and the great Elmore James times and never get tired of it
Lately, every time I step into a
record store to spend a piece of my
paycheck on some vinyl I face a terrible
dilemma. What do I buy? The latest hip,
trendy band from England or iCalifor
nia, or something older, something that
has stood the test of time?
Backtracks
More and more the answer seems to
be something older, a collection or
classic album that has aged gracefully
but sounds just as good as it did 20
years ago. I'm quickly beginning to
realize that these albums are a better
investment. I ask myself, will I still be
listening to the Jesus and Mary Chain
or Husker Du 10 years from now? Will I
still be able to get the same rush out of
these albums when I'm 35 as I did at 23,
or will they get filed away in my collec
tion, rarely, if ever, pulled out and
played, as my Devo and B-52's LPs are
now?
Not only have they stood the test of
time, but chances are many of these
collections can be bought in the cutout
binds for $4.99 or $5.99. Here's just a
partial list of some of the bargains. You
can't go wrong buying these collections.
0 "Big Joe Turner: Rhythm and
Blues Years," Atlantic Records. Big Joe
Turner weighed 400 pounds and had a
booming voice to match. His recording
career spanned four decades. He went
from big band to jazz, then was instru
mental in bridging the gap from the
blues to rhythm and blues rock 'n' roll.
He died early last year, and Atlantic
wasted no time in getting out this col-'
lection of his lesser-known, but still
brilliant, sides.
Don't let the terrible cover art of Big
Joe in the clouds with a microphone
turn you off to this collection. The
cheesy cover is the only bad thing
about this record. It's a double set of 32
distinctive Turner numbers character
ized by his powerful voice, a little
boogie-woogie piano and an occasional
blaring sax solo. Guest musicians in
clude King Kurtis on sax, Ray Charles
on piano and the great Elmore James
providing guitar on "T.V. Mama." Anyone
who has ever worked up a sweat danc
ing to Johnny Reno and the Sax Mani
acs will love this compilation. Atlantic
is promising a greatest-hits collection
later.
O Lonnie Mack, "The Wham of
That Memphis Man!" Alligator Records.
Somewhere between Chuck Berry
and every guitarist that followed him is
Lonnie Mack's "The Wham of That
Memphis Man," just rereleased by Alli
gator. This isn't a greatest-hits or "best
of ocllection, just a brilliant album
recordded in 1963, back when albums
hadn't become an art form unto them
selves. The importance of "The Wham" to
guitar players is well-known. Stevie Ray
Vaughn says, "If you play guitar, buy '
this record, and even if you don't play
guitar, buy this record!" but it's time
that non-guitar players like myself are
heard. If this were a new album, its
historical significance unknown to me,
my first reaction would be: "Why is a
man with such a rich, gorgeous voice
playing so many instrumentals?"
The answer: His first hit was an
instrumental of Chuck Berry's "Mem
phis," so the radio jocks just wanted
more of the same, ignoring the soul
screams Mack let out on the classic
"Why?" and the blues-gospel moans in
"Further On Down The Road" and
"Baby What's Wrong?" This album just
gets better every time I play it. After
you play this LP, start listening for
Mack's influence in every English guit
arist's style for the next 10 years after it
was recorded.
O "The Best of Otis Redding,"
Atlantic Records and "Aretha's Gold,"
Atlantic Records.
Aretha is still the standard which
every blues rhythm and blues female
singer is held up to. Her string of late
'60s hits may never be topped by
anyone anywhere, including herself. "I
Never Loved Man (The Way I Love
You)," "Respect," "Dr. Feelgood,"
"Chain of Fools" and "See Saw" would
be fantastic songs sung by anyone, but
Aretha's powerful voice and soulful
shouts make them classics. I could
listen to this collection a hundred
Aretha Franklin may be the queen of
the blues and lady soul, but Otis Red
ding had lots of fine competition, like
Al Green, Wilson Pickett and Marvin
Gaye.
"(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay"
is a masterpiece, one of the great songs
of all times. Everytime I'm near the
ocean, the song runs through my head
over and over. For some reason, some
0ti3 Redding collections out there
don't include this song. But we shouldn't
judge the man's whole brief career on
one song. Let's not forget "Mr. Pitiful,"
the original, lesser-known "Respect"
and "I Can't Turn You Loose."
Otis himself also wrote these clas
sics, so he was no hyped-up talent.
O "Buddy Holly: A Rock and Roll
Collection," MCA Records.
Since MCA bought all of Holly's
works, they've been endlessly repack
aging the same songs, liking them for
every dollar.
"Buddy Holly: A Rock and Roll Col
lection" is as good as any compilation,
except that it has a couple of sides of
fiery covers of some of Holly's contem
poraries, including "Baby, I Don't Care"
by Elvis and "I'm Ready" by Little
Richard. Holly's music is timeless, and
a collection of his classic hits is a must
for any serious fan of rock 'n' roll.
These few LPs are just the proverbial
drop in the ocean as far as classic
music goes. Great "best of and "grea
test hits" collections exist for Chuck
Berry, all the Motown artists, Fats
Domino, Marvin Gaye, Jerry Lee Lewis,
Carl Perkins. I can't find a good Little
Richard or Bo Diddley collection. But
Bo's first two LPs recently were rere
leased by MCA and can be found almost
anywhere.
A final note on the classics. People,
please stop playing your "Big Chill"
soundtrack over and over again at par
ties. Please don't refer to anything
recorded before 1969 as "Big Chill
music." The music was around long
before the movie and will outlast its
popularity by many years.
Separately, I love all the songs on
that collection. Played together, they're
starting to give me headaches.
Play depicts rejection,
plight of homeless;
to benefit Lincolnites
By Geoff McMurtry
Staff Reporter
"The Lower Depths," a thought
provoking play about homeless
people struggling to maintain their
dignity, will be presented six times
in the next two weekends: this Fri
day through Sunday, and April 9
through 1 1. Each performance starts
at 8 p.m. and will be in the Hay
market Square at 808 P St.
"The Lower Depths" was written
by Maxim Gorki after tramping his
way through is native Russia and
; meeting and living with people dis
placed by their own society. This is
one of several stories and plays
Gorki wrote about the homeless, the
poor, and the down-and-out. Because
of this, he became a symbol of pro
test against society's hypocrisy in
ignoring its own people.
The concern for the homeless is
not limited to his time, however.
Lincoln's HomelessTheater Project
is staging "The Lower Depths" as a
benefit for Lincoln's homeless.
"The, Lower Depths" features
actors Adam Branting, John Carlini,
Ron Hagar, Kevin Harvey, Angie
Holdsworth, Terrence Luce, Doug
Lippstreu, Kate Pritchard, Alan
Sands, Richard Schmeling, Shari
Schwartz, Amy Sheridan, William
Sherman, William Stone III, James
Walla and Birdine Zariski. The
director is Marc Adam Gabriel.
The actors are local residents,
but not all are unknowns. Sand3 is a
member of the Screen Actors Guild
and has appeared in episodes of
"Love Boat" and "The Gong Show,"
as Mork's friend from Ork, and in
the films "Texas Detour," "The
Fifth Floor," and "The Trial of Billy
Jack." He also appeared in "A
merika." Admission is free, but donations
are encouraged. All proceeds go to
The Gathering Place Soup Kitchen,
the Lincoln City Mission and the
Salvation Army Rehabilitation Pro
gram. Any other organization wish
ing to use some of the proceeds or
make other suggestions should con
tact HomelessTheater Project, 2435
Garfield St., Lincoln, Neb. 68502.
There will also be a discussion after
the Friday- and Saturday-night per
formances about the situation of
the homeless and ways to relieve it.
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the Zoo Dsr tonight end Saturday at 9 p.m. Ths cover is $3.
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of 40 performances a month, there's read music, performing in the Army
also the opportunity for travel - could be your big break. Write:
not only across America, but possibly Chief, Army Bands Office, Fort
abroad. Benjamin Harrison, IN 46216-5005.
Most important, you can Or call toll free 1-800-USA-ARMY.
expect a first-rate pro-
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waltz and boogie
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