Newspaper Page Text
November, 1979
Ampersand
17
humourous slagging of “A Fool I .ike
Ybu," the well-constructed "looking
at Ybu" and others.
Vicki Arkoff
Chuck Berry
Kockit (Ateo)
From angry Anglo punksters like
the (’lash to blues-rock revivalists
like (.forge Thorogood, way on bat k
to the Beatles and the Stones, almost
everyone has copped licks and entire
songs from the indefatigable Chuck
Berry. Without him, rock roll
probably wouldn't exist. The sly,
spry creator of "Johnny B (ioode"
remains smitten with the spirit of
rock, as Rockit. his umpteenth re
lease, testifies. All ten songs arc
originals, except a reggae-hed re
working of his languid "Havana
Moon." Berry's lyrics, notably on "It
Wuden't Me," are wry. raunchy and
angularly ungrammatical: poetry
rife with playful verbosity Though a
mite slower in his fifth decade.
Chuck Berry's still got it.
Steven X. Rea
David Johansen
In Style (Bin# Sky)
David Johansen's first solo album.
Davtd Johansen, successfully com
bined the devil-may-care raunch of
his old band, the New Ybrk Dolls, and
mainstream hard rock. In Style is
smoother and more tuneful, but
misses the mark. Johansen, who
evokes Mick (agger while trying to
sound like the Four Tops' Levi
Stubbs, fails to capture the ditty-
streets romanticism he aims for.
Worse, Johansen has gone in for
cultural plundering. "She Knew She
Was Falling in Love" cops reggae
licks and stock Jamaican catch-
phrases to minimal efTert. "Swaheto
Woman." a hapless meeting of Gior
gio Moroder and the F. Street Band,
giddily advises the women of Sow
eto, the dreadf ul Johannesburg
ghetto, to hold their heads up high,
stand up for their rights, and they
w ill be fiee. Bwana Dave doesn't sas
w hat to do should thes get taught on
the white side of town without
passbooks.
F.lsewhere. "She" and "Wreckless
Crazy" arc typically frenzied Johan
sen rockers and "Melody” a straight
cop from the Four lops songtiook. A
wonderfully impudent sense of
style, apparent on these last num
bers. has always nude Johansen's
music enjoyable. It's ironic he should
name an l.P/n Style just when that
sense was least secure
Don Snowden
Led/eppei IS
In Through the Out Door
(Swan Song)
Though Led Zep never actually
called it quits, after three years away
from the studio, this is effectively
their comeback album, with varied
styles and influences represented
Jimmy Page bares some firmly
planted country roots on "Hoi Dog."
as disposable (here synonymous
with commercial) a piece as "D'Yfcr
Mak er." "Carousclambra" is a mod
ernization of Physical Graffiti'*
majestic “Kashmir," with contrasting
movements built on keyboards and
synthesizers, sometimes as overlap
ping patterns — including one with
(could t his be?) a disco riff. “All of My
Love,” another highlight, is a sup
reme love song in Zep'* grandiose,
primeval tradition. Unfortunately, it
segues into "I'm (ionna Crawl," with
a sappy orchestrated intro and a pas-
sel of Rohcit Plant's trite utterances.
After three years, releasing a new
Led Zeppelin I.P is like tossing Alpo
to a pack of starving dogs Weak
spots aside, it's a satisfying continu
ation of the Zep bombast. In the
wake of In Through'% immediate
coursing to Number One, seven of
the band's previous eight albums
have returned to the charts. With
fans like that, l.ed Zeppelin can
come in through any door it damn
well pleases.
Vicki Arkoff
J.D. Souther
Ybu’tc (>nl\ 1 .onclx (Columbia)
One of the finest singer-songwriters
ever to emerge from the sinogpots of
Southern California, J.D. Souther
has written brilliantly twisted songs
like "New Kid in Town" for the
Eagles and “White Rhythm and
Blues" and "Faithless Love" for
Linda Ronstadt. But his own career
has never really jelled, perhaps due
to Souther's reputation for being a
rock & roll asshole. In this age of
Pink Lady and Bee Gees, the fans
want love, not malice. Which is too
bad, because there's more to
Souther's occasional fits of pique
than all the falsetto jive talkin' in the
world. Like Souther sings it. "The
sun is sinkin' and people start thin-
kin' at twilight." It's at twilight that
the music of J.D. Souther cuts
deepest.
Merrill Shindler
Jules and the Polar Bears
Phonetict (Columbia)
|ules and the hilar Bears, ow ners of
the best band name in years, are a
critics' favc. which means that all the
soft-between-lhe-ears ersatz intel
lectuals who write about rot k put on
their headphones, listen to their re
cords about 97 times at high volume
and emerge to discourse at length.
Actually, Phonetics is an interesting
album, as was last year's praised-
to-the-skies (>ot So Receding. But it
slides from memory like water off a
duc k's back. Thai's usually the
problem with critics' bands
Merrill Shindler
Garland Jeff REA’S
American Box GirlM&M)
In this concept album about urban
runaways and hostile street life. Jef
freys has returned to the expert
blendings of rock, reggae and His
panic flavorings with heartfelt social
observation that made I977's
(.hostu nter great Several of the new
! songs are based on the expeiicnces
| of kids from a 24-hour crisis center
in Times Square Jeffreys includes
several straightforward romantic
songs, his warm, rich singing stud
ded w ith subtle inflections. But
American Hay ‘J Girl principally ex
presses the urban hustle for survival,
the desperate maintenance of life's
spark. Ghostwriter, something of a
masterwork, was more immediate,
but American Hoy (3 Girl is an il
luminating return to form.
Don Snowden
(Continued on page 19)
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