Fervor in place
on latest album
by the Stones
By Matt Burton
Staff Reporter_
Rolling Stones
“Steel Wheels”
Columbia Records
It’s 1989, and the Stones are roll
ing on “Steel Wheels.”
“Steel Wheels,” the first album
by the Rolling Stones since 1986, is a
welcome answer to the question of
age affecting rock ‘n’ roll. It is clas
sic, up-to-date music played with
such fervor that nothing recent has
come close to equalling its energy
and drive.
The Rolling Stones have the
unique ability of adapting to time.
Such albums, as 1978’s “Some
Girls” with its discoey undertones,
exemplify the Stones’ power to
change, not surrendering the raw
energy that made it the “world’s
greatest rock and roll band.” “Steel
Wheels” is no exception; it is truly
the Rolling Stones in 1989.
albmn—
“Sad, Sad, Sad” kicks open the
door on “Steel Wheels” with one of
Keith Richards’ standard introduc
tions. It eases into a no-nonsense
rocker with Mick Jagger rolling off
the lyrics like he means it. The
Stones’ trademark of dueling guitars
between Richards and Ron Wcod just
doesn’t stop.
The second song on the album is
the first single “Mixed Emotions.”
Here is where the Stones, especially
Richards and Jagger, try to lay to rest
their feud of recent years, and finally
get down to business.
Such lines as “Bury the hatchet/
W ipe out the past’ ’ show the apparent
readiness of the band to get down to
business.
Jagger continues: “So-get off the
fence/ It’s creasing your butt/ Life is
a party/ Let’s get out and strut.”
“Mixed Emotions” features new
and innovative uses of a synthesizer
making the sound modem. The syn
thesizer, however, is in the back
ground just giving the listener a taste,
while having the band att^e forefront
of the song. If there is one thing
| * ‘Mixed Emotions’ ’ suffers from, it is
|too much radio airplay, which can
discourage the most avid listener.
“Hold on to Your Hat” is a hard
rocking tune in the tradition of “Hip
Shake Thing” that must be played
loud. Mick spits out the lyrics like he
always has, and Wood and Richards
reel out hot guitar licks.
This song makes the listener say
“yeah” with lyrics like: “Hold on to
your head/ Don ’t give me no rap/ I ’ ve
had it up to here/ With your yackety
yak”
It doesn’t stop with “Rock in a
Hard Place,” highlighting Bill
Wyman’s funky bass. The middle of
the song features a strong jam with
incredible drum playing by Charlie
Watts supported by Wyman and the
rest of the band. At points, however, 1
this song tends to sound overpro
duced and could have had a more raw
edge.
Perhaps the most amazing and
innovative song of the decade is
“Continental Drift.” This song fea
tures the Master Musicians of
Joujouka, a group of instrumentalists
from Morocco who worked with for
mer Stones guitarist Brian Jones be
fore his death. The combination of
the Rolling Stones with the Master
Musicians of Joujouka creates a
sound capable of charming snakes
with its definite rhythmic, Middle
Eastern flavor. “Continental Drift”
begins with a slightly mellow, but
still ominous, sound and it builds into
an incredible tribal intensity that
continues to build faster, finally eas
ing the listener down to where it
started.
Overall, “Steel Wheels” is one of
the Rolling Stones’ strongest efforts
ever. It has innovative elements but
still has the unmistakable energy that
gave the Stones their superstar status.
Band refines raw energy on album,
‘Doolittle’ earns a plus for Pixies
By Mark Lage
Senior Reporter _
Pixies
“Doolittle”
4-A-D/Elektra-Asylum Records
The list of negative criticisms
regarding The Pixies’ third album,
“Doolittle,” and the band’s three
album career in general, is sub
stantial.
Kim Deal’s bass lines are
simple, plodding, and often sound
as if they may stumble and fall
over their own notes. And her
backing vocals often are bland and
childisn-sounding.
Lead guitarist Joey Santiago’s
raw talent is roughly equivalent to
that of the average household pet,
and especially intelligent cats
would likely put his riffs to shame.
Singer Black Francis’ lyrics
may be mildly intriguing upon ini
tial listenings, but further investi
gation reveals nothing, leaving the
listener faced with an obscure,
opaque lyrical world, littered with
seemingly pointless violent im
ages.
The band’s live show often has
been criticized for its lack of spon
taneity, variety and emotion.
Members also are criticized for
lack of rapport with the crowd.
All of this goes to prove one
thing: there is no equation for de
termining the merits for a rock ‘n’
roll record, for if there were,
“Doolittle” has way too many
flaws. Of course, it does have
many good points as well.
One of the strongest aspects of
“Doolittle” is the recording itself.
The band members, along with
producer/engineer Gil Norton,
achieve an absence-of-production
sound that is reminiscent of The
Beatles’ White Album.
"Doolittle” features neither
the overproduction of recent
emerging alternative stars as The
Replacements or Bob Mould, nor
the flawed, low-budget sloppiness
of earlier Pixies’ albums.
The clarity of this album’s
sound is remarkable. The listener
never has to strain to hear any part
of the music, even on songs like
“Here Comes Your Man,” or
"Number 13 Baby,” where at
times as many as three or four
guitars are going at once.
"Doolittle” manages to be
much more refined than last year’s
"Surfer Rosa,” while maintaining
much of the raw energy of that
previous album. Granted, there is
nothing on "Doolittle” to match
the 110 percent abandon of
"Rosa” songs like "Broken
Face,” "Something About You,”
and ‘‘Oh My Golly,” but
“Doolittle” has plenty of rawness,
with the added impact that results
from being incorporated into much
more tightly and thoughtfully ar
ranged songs.
Another of "Doolittle’s”
strengths is the band’s increased
ability to shift gears. The songs
range from the bubblegummish
stylings of "Here Comes Your
Man,” and "La La Love You,” to
the acidic, structured grunge of
“Dead,” to the frenetically-paced
energy of "Crackity Jones,” all
the way to the relatively straight
ahead rock of "Gouge Away,”
and "Wave of Mutilation.”
Black Francis has added new
dimensions to his already unique
and versatile voice. The wistful
ness and soft expansiveness he
displays on “Your Man,’ and
“Mutilation” are not seen on the
earlier Pixies’ albums. The only
thing really missing is something
in the lyrics that might indicate
why Francis would be wistful or
softly expansive. This aside, the
vocal effects are undeniable.
A recurring characteristic of the
Pixies’ music is the alteration be
tween thunderous noise and eiuier
relative or absolute quiet. Periods
of open silence, featuring only
bass and sparse percussion, give
way immediately to huge walls of
distorted guitars. The distortion
often gives way to periods of soft
acoustic guitar.
Joey Santiago works for the
Pixies, much like George Harrison
did for The Beatles. He picks and
chooses his places carefully, and
Fills them with strange, simple
noises. His scratches, squeaks, ar.d
odd harmonics Fill the album, add
ing to its freshness.
The Pixies, to fall back on the
common rock ‘n’ roll critics’ cli
che, not only add up to a sum that
is greater than their parts, but add
up to a sum which also somehow
wipes out all of their negatives.
If this explanation seems inade
quate to Pixies’ fans, the reason is
this: “Doolittle,” more than any
other album I ever have heard,
exposes the ultimate inability of
the rock record review to provide
any real explanation of why rec
ords are good or bad.
But I tried.
Who Dr. Who combines jazz and funk
By Stacey McKenzie
Staff Reporter___
Who Dr. Who
“Sudden Dose”
Smooth Wool Records
Who Dr. Who, a new Lincoln
band, recently released its first cas
sette, “Sudden Dose,” produced on
its own Smooth Wool Records label.
This band combines jazz and funk
to create some very danceable tunes.
The style of Who Dr. Who is
dominated by a nc.w-tech, electronic
sound. It used “sequencers,” which
are multi-track recordings on a key
board, to completely pre-produce the
i new release.
“Our music is very hard to de
scribe. It is very original and dance
able,” said Scott Rehling, keyboar
dist and co-leader of the band.
“We’re kind of pioneers in Lin
coln in the style of music we do,”
Rehling said. “This is the first at
5 tempt.”
The title song, “Sudden Dose,” is
a mix of overlapping keyboard styles.
This computerized, electronic sound
has a beat produced by synthesizers,
some very blended vocals and a back
ground jazz guitar.
Arrangements that follow have
the same urban quality with different
arrangements of synthesized sound.
According to Rehling, Who Dr.
Who is set up to go live and is hoping
to perform openings for semi-na
tional groups.
“The idea is to get the album out
first,” Rehling said. * ‘The business is
very expensive. This is what we want
to do for something bigger and belter
than what we’re doing now.”
Other band members include Rod
Molden, keyboardist and co-band
ieader, and Henry Wells, lead vocal.
Molden has a music degree from the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln and
currently does studio work.
STYLE from Page 9
The normal evaporation loss is
estimated to be equivalent to 21
million bottles of cognac annually,
or as much as is shipped in one year
to the United States. This year the
loss may reach almost 23 million
bottles.
The unusually high tempera
tures, however, have not adversely
affected the vineyards in the Co
gnac region, according to the co
gnac trade here. The heat may re
sult in a slightly earlier grape har
vest this autumn, experts added.
Economic complaints about the
exceptional evaporation of cognac
this season have been muted due to
a greater influx of tourists filling
the region’s several new hotels.
The economy is further bol
stered by a burgeoning interest
throughout France in “long
drinks’ ’ — combinations of cognac
with water, orange juice or ginger
ale.
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