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Ampersand
November, 197V
Mil ION Ki 1/
Fxcitinii (Steeplechase)
Kui/ i% a vibtanl young pianist fust
exposed through his work with
Charles Mingus. His second album
for thr Steeplechase label of Den-
maik shows a broad musical scope
and a knac k for c housing cmpathetic
cohorts Kerdman Frank Foster,
iruiupetei Richard Williams, bassist
Huster Williams and drummer Roy
Brooks, A-1 New York pros all. dig
into this program ol traditional ja//
works with elan and sensitivity.
Kui/' "Dedication to the Cooker"
is reasonably straightforward until
the bridge, where he starts tossing j
1/4 and 4/4 lime hac k and forth, a
rhythmic diversion that keeps
everyone on his toes. The title trac k
* 'pens with all voices playing free, an
exhilarating vet slightly chaotic
sound. Foster tic kies the heights w ith !
his wispy soprano while Kui/ blocks
out idea-fot ining c hords. Bassist !
Williams uses small figutes and long i
runs, mumbling low and whistling .
high Kui/* sedo begins clear and I
cool, hut soon he's a mad hull on the
loose roaring wildly over the
keyboard. A ruminative duet with
bass and drums ends this fei vent
piece.
Side two has a rich, poignant bal
lad played by Foster on tenor sax.
and a rockhouse blues.
Zan Stewart
Fl Ef I WOOD \l \(
Itisk (Warner brothers)
I he label of Fleetwood Mac's long-1
awaited Disk says it straight: "Special
thanks from the band to Lindsey
Buckingham" Most of the interest
■ ng material, spread thin in an
otherwise typical Mac offering, is
Buckingham's. His " Iusk," the most
ambitious song on the album, be
nefits from Mick Fleetwood's prop
ulsive heat and hauntingly claus
trophobic production. "Not That
Funny" is as c lose to hard roc k (if roll
as Mac will ever get. "The Ledge" is a
surprisingly raw stab at rockabilly.
Besides his usual steady-as-a-roc k
drumming, Fleetwcnid's aggressisc-
double-timing in "What Makes You
I huik You'ie the One." literally car
ries the tune. Christine Me Vic's
long suit is the lilting love ballad,
represented here by "Over and
Over.' which echoes her work in Fu
lure Came*. But her "Honey Hi" and
Brown Fycs" are built on a single
melody line without so much as a
chorus change. Luxurious produc
tion gives an illusion of freshness,
hut thcic's nothing unique in the
songs. " I hink About Me" is a suc
cessful icm kei. something Disk could
use more of Civen her venal and
artistic limitations, it's no wonder
Stevie Nic ks' contributions are the
most predictable. "Sisters ol the
Moon" is her token gvpsy claptrap,
ananged like "Stairway to Heaven."
"Beautiful Child" is awash with the
natse lyricism that makes Nicks'
w riling so tiresome: "I'm not a child
any more/I'm tall enough to reach
for the stars/l'in old enough to lose
from afar/... I will do as Tin told."
lush's superb production may pla-
c ate old fans — there's still a huge
audience for smooth-as-milk music.
But without Huekingham's c realise
boost thi« allium, which cost $1 mill
ion to make, would be the costliest
puff pastry in history.
Jeff Silberman
I om Verlaine
loin Yerfaint* (F.lektra)
Those familiar with loin Verlaine's
earlier work with the now-dissolved
television won’t lie loo mm pi isrcl: his
inventive, spare guitat lines, the sur
realist rural dreamscapes of his
lyrics and his reedy voice dominate
this solo effort, as they did Adventure
and the daring Marqurr Moon
|as Daugherty, him Smith's capa
ble if obvious drummer, maintains
the In-at reliably, providing a steady
ground for Verlaine's explorations.
Second guitarists Mark Abel and
Kic ky Wilson build a Television-like
rhythmic complexity on "Last
Night" and "Bicakin' in My Heart."
the only songs on which Verlaine
lakes extended solos. Verlaine's
playing, unadorned and willfully
unvirtuosir by most standards, es
chews the clic bed histrionics of most
rock and roll guitarists. His solo
structures, curiously static, abjure
obvious hooks and climaxes for a
more compelling form based on ir-
tesolution and extension.
Vocally, Verlaine is much looser
here than on previous outings.
Along with Patti Smith, he helped
pioneer an edgv. model nisi singing
style w hu h has since hioadened and
become c apable of carrying more
mcMKls.
< >n Ativenturr Verlaine sang that he
"loved disaster and loved what came
after." What has come after is an ele
gant and pree ise set of music.
John Print
Pink ('.adiliac (Asylum)
John Pune's seventh album was re
corded in Memphis, at Sam (Sun Re
cords) Phillips' studio, the place
where F.lvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis
and Kos Orhison cut their early re
cords. Pink C.adillaf, while not as
lyric-centered as the discs that con
tained "Sam Stone." "Paradise" and
"Hello in There." is arguably the
gravelly-voiced Chicagoan's best
album to date. Hac ked by a foursome
of players raised on rockabilly and
Ho Diddley (bassist Tom Piekatski.
key boat cl/sax man Howaid Levy,
guitat ist John Hums and dtummer
Angie Varias). and produced by Sam
Phillips' sons Knox and Jerry. Pink
Caiiillin is a raw. hare-io-thc-hones
excursion into Prine's variably
funny, tragic, prejudiced, hard-
edged world.
Pi me kicks off with "ChinatowtC
a rowdy, downright rude blues stroll
through the sidestreets of ethnic
bigotry, where "The moon is yellow
and the people ate too/ They roll
their eggs on a hai-b-cue." where the
singer. "Feelin' kinda tacky with a
heaefful of saki” gets a “sidwavs hic-
key from a slant-eyed c hic key." Vul
gar. alcohol-laced humor makes
Prine sound less desperate than
usual. Still, there’s Roly Salley's ach
ingly unhappy "Killin' the Hlues,"
the Viet Nam vet of Saigon who
exclaims. " The static in my attic's
gettin' ready to blow," and the
moody, unreal "Down by the Side of
the Road." about the mysterious
shooting of the singer's girlfriend.
Offsetting these weird, affecting
mumblings ate a series of amicably
humorous tunes - "Cold War." a
drunken Texas wall/, the raucous
“I'hangi Stomp" and F.lvis Presley's
lusty old “Baby Let's Play House."
Pink Cadillai is about as uncom
mercial and basu as a record can get
these davs. Yet repeated playings
won't wear clown its appeal. The
playing is pliant, but not drag-
footcdly sloppy. Ptine. hobnobbing
with the imd-Fifties ghosts of Mem
phis, Tennessee, has hac ked off a
step from his sullen singer/song-
w liter stance to make an album that
sounds just as great as it reads.
Steven X. Rea
The Las i
LA Explosion (Hump)
The Mo i n.s
The Molds (Capitol)
The Pop
(»o! (Arista
20/20
20/20 (Fpui
I .os Angeles hasn't offered muc h in
recent years to the growth of rock
and roll, hut perhaps this lull will he
reversed by the Hurry of new wave-
inspired activity, the results of which
are now appearing on vinyl. Among
the earliest and most impressive re
leases are those from 20/20, the hip.
the Motels and the l.ast.
20/20 is a hand in the true col
laborative sense. Songw riling, lead
vocals and guitar leads are shared by
guitarist Steve Allen, bassist Ron
H\nt and Chris Silagyi. who adds
third-part harmonies as well as
guitai and simple synthesizer lines.
Mike (•allo's diumming propels
then tunes into great dance music.
The Pop helped initiate the LA
music surge, hut, since signing to
Arista a year ago. they've been
I absent from the scene. Co! seems
i detached, concealing the wonderful
| street hand instincts of the hip's first
album, independently released on
Automatic. Only "She Really Means
That Much to Me" and "Shakeaway"
reHect the earlier reverence for in
fectious melcMfies.
Martha Davis, lyricist and singer
lot the Motels, makes each numlier
an intimate experience, het expres
sive voice tuning songs of lonely
frustration — like " Total Control"
and "Counting" — into emotional
pleas. She likes to twist words; in
"Dressing Up." the lyrics "outfitted to
fit in" reduce the lules ol high fash
ion to a c hildish game. The album's
guitai intei play is also exceptional,
as is Martin Jouraid's stirring sax
work.
I he l.ast take an aggressive stance
on I.A Fxplosion, tout lung at tunes on
scHial (hemes. The album's generous
cuts vary from folk rink, surf music
and acid punk to the Mersey beat
sound, but cMcasicm.il lyric blurtings
like "Love is a gobbler, lose is a tur
key.” obscure the last's intensity and
potent use of dynamics. Quality is
recovered with the fierce yet