Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Wednesday, September 29, 1971 Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Wednesdciy, September 29, 1971 Steve Miller Band... Elvin Jones: Power of the sea ... A disappointment By HERB BOWIE If you are a die-hard Steve Miller fan, you have two op- tions confronting you: (1) start circulating the rumor that Rock Love, Capitol SW 748, when played backwards and listened to upside down, distinctly hints that Steve o.d.'d on hot chile and that a talentless look-alike has taken his place or (2) do as I have done and assume that Rock Love is the result of some horrible blunder by Capitol Re- cords. Rock Love has to be a mis- take. Miller's previous albums, if never great, were consistently good.He made up for his mere competence as a singer and guitarist with a flair for writ- ing songs that were, if always simple and highly derivative, often exciting by virtue of their freshness of approach. While lacking the creativity to trans- cend his blues and rock'n roll influences, he possessed enough imagination to recombine old elements, into new songs. The results were cuts that, without sounding distinctively like Mil- ler, avoided sounding like any- one else either. Steve's saving grace, though, was his nearly impeccable good taste. On his first five albums there was hardly a badtrack or a wasted lick. That's because he always remained faithful to his own musical tastes and had some sense of the range of his talents, never indulging in any musical doodlings that his mea- gre improvisational skills could- n't sustain. In a world of Super- hype, Blind Faith, and Satanic Majesties, with super-poops fu- sioning and fissioning like amo- ebas gone beserk, Miller's mu- sical integrity, as well as his music, was refreshing. Rock Love fails to fulfill any of the expectations generated by Miller's previous albums. Al- though he hasn't actually had a keyboards man in his group since his second album, organ and piano have always been a staple of. his sound, supplying a density to the music that Mil- ler's guitar alone couldn't pro- vide. On a few cuts, notably "Kow Kow" on Brave New World and "Your Saving Grace" on the album of the same name, Nicky Hopkins' virtuo- sity supplied the magic needed to transform good cuts into great ones. On Rock Love, Mil- ler aided only by Jack ing on drums and Ross Vallory on bass, tries to go it alone by playing more lead than he has on any previous album; but even though he generally plays well, it's just not enough. The cur- rent configuration of the Steve Miller Band would provide a solid nucleus for a larger rock group, but its members lack the virtuosity to make it as a trio. The songs on Rock Love are the poorest collection Miller has ever assembled. Most of them lack any coherence at all. "Blues With Out Blame," though not the worst composi- tion, is typical. It starts off nicely e n o u g h complain- ing about the difficulties an af- fluent white has singing the blues: I asked my baby for a nickel, She gave me a twenty-dollar bill. I asked her for a drink of whiskey, She gave me a liquor still. Oh yeah, yeah, what can a poor boy do? Ain't it hard, ain't it hard, when you have to live the blues? From then on, however, it de- generates into a routine blues number that ends with cliched lyrics: Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy on me. Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy on me. I'm trying to find my baby. Won't somebody please bring her home to me? Rock Love's problems are compounded by the presence of two sprawling cuts that take up half the LP. The album, which contains ,only seven cuts, begs to be edited and replenished with material of more sub- stance. "Love Shock," for ex- ample, a live cut that consumes over eleven minutes of the al- bum, starts off badly enough and further degenerates into a boring jam, complete with sup- erfluous drum and bass solos. "Deliverance" is better, with Miller on acoustic guitar this time, but he stretches a nice idea into a repetitive nine min- ute cut that can't possibly hold the listener's attention. The only song on the album that even hints at the original- ity Miller displayed in some of his earlier works is "Harbor Lights". The song begins as a dirge with the boys mournfully harmonizing, backed up by an acoustic and a slide guitar that echo the singer's despair. The lyrics are the words of a pri- soner. After four verses of grie- vous lament, Miller, speaking alone now as the guitars con- tinue to ooze sorrow in the background, recites these words: My dearest darling, as I am writing you this letter, They're coming to take me away. They beginning to shave my head now, sweetheart, But as they're doing it, I just want you to know, that I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm glad that I killed your mother. She was a low-down, dirty old hag. But in the end, Darling, you'll get your revenge, Because you see, they're go- ing to send you my belong- ings in a plastic bag. Miller's voice cracks into a giggle on the last word and he repeats "plastic bag . . ."'in a falsetto as the music stumbles to a halt. At last a song that belongs on a Steve Miller al- bum! Unfor'tunately, a good sequel to Zappa's "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mother" does not make this album belong in anyone's record collection. In- stead it only serves to remind us of a time when Miller was able to fill an LP with material of high calibre. Perhaps he still can: perhaps his next album will be full of good cuts, just like the old days, but, oh no, please, please, not a Greatest Hits album . - . By LARRY ADELSON It is 8:00 Sunday night in Sam and Jane's car. Sam is driving with the heels of his palms on the wheel trying to open another roll of Tums. We are going to Detroit. Now Sam, except for his drinking habits, is an exception- ally sensible person, so why is he, why are we, headed for godawful Detroit City at 8:00 p.m. on a hungover Sunday? Listen to Coltrane's A Love Supreme, listen back into the record to the drums. That is Elvin Jones. He drums like the sea. His cymbals incandesce with the power of the sun on the beach till you feel heatwaves rising, or flash cool like moon- rays on wavetops. Tides rise and fall, storms break and pass. He plays with that understated, in- exorable power of the sea. May- be you have heard of him. Maybe you came across his name in some Playboy poll, or maybe Rolling Stone mentioned him. I don't know. Maybe you have heard of him, but you should hear him. Sam has heard him, and he is going to Detroit now to see him. Elvin Jones has come to the Ibo Cultural Center in Detroit. Down at McNickels and Third, some dude with a walking staff is sell- ing incense at the entrance and a self-proclaimed "man on the street" touts the show to any- one who will listen. Upstairs, the words "Michigan Daily" transport us magically past the card-table box office into the hall itself. Elvin Jones is talking to the cashier. The band is announced, gets itself to the stage by bits and pieces, and swings into the first number. They play a round of solos with Jones riding a shift- ing rhythm and then breaking it up for each. Tenor, tenor, elec- tric piano, and then just the bassist, Gene Pearl. Pearl plays sweetly, plays rhythmically and Jones punctuates, responds, and finally joins in and leads him into the finale. The second num- ber features Joe Farrel on flute. It is too nice, too sweet, not even the band seems to take it seriously. They are back to work for the third piece: Frank Fos- ter is on soprano sax now and he plays it hard and good, Farrel on flute again, and then Jo)n H a m m o n d sprinkles, syncho- pates, and runs his piano notes into a celestially breathtaking solo. The piece ends full blast, For us, the concert is over, Sam's stomach insists. So we leave. The band members are sitting around in the room, talk- ing. The guy with the incense has raised the cash to get into the show and he is pushing his wares at the back of the room as we leave. On the road, we mull over the concert. It was an exhilerating disappointment. Jones played like Thor. Thun- der, lightningbolts and raindrops all flowed from his hands. But he did not play like he played with Coltrane. It was like watch- ing Muhammad Ali spar. All the skill was there, but it was not being pushed to its limit, it was not pushing on beyond what it had done before. leaving the auidence the last note for a the first set ends. hanging for while, and 01 , 71 MAOR announces Marcel Marceau Added performance slated for Marcean AUDITIONS FOR PREMIERE PRODUCTION OF THE NEWCOMERS" in their NEW THEATER, at HILLEL, 1429 Hill TRYOUTS: THURS., SEPT. 30, 7-11 P.M. Info: Jon Bernstein, 761-4000 Daily Classifieds Get Results A special matinee has been added to Marcel Marceau's ap- pearances opening the Univer- sity Musical Society's Interna- tional Presentations in the new Power Center for the Perform- ing Arts at The University of Michigan. All seats formances 15 and 16 sold. for Marceau's at 8:30 p.m. have already per- Oct. been ... The best yet By AL SCHACKELFORD Steve Miller is back again, with Rock Love (Capitol SW- 748), his best album since Sail- or days. Always an underrated guitarist overshadowed by Clap- ton and others, A'iller demon- strates a virtuos. y here that is matched by none, as he and his tight rhythm section rip into two extended jams. The first jam, titled "Love Shock," is a live recording with, Miller playing some Hendrix- like wah-wah in a blazing style. Ross Valory adds a hypnotical- ly-simple, eminently rhythmic bass solo to the piece, but Jack King messes things with a bor- ing interlude on his drums. "Deliverance," the other jam, features Miller's voice and acoustic guitar in a fast jazzy number. Miller's sweet blues style, evi- denced by his work with John Lee Hooker on Endless Boogie, is displayed here in a nice "Blues With Out Blame." There is a lot of inventive guitar here, although the overall effect of the song is hurt a little by Mil- ler's vocal gymnastics. Other highlights of the al- bum are the simple ballad "Har- bor Lights" and "Let Me Serve You," a grinding rocker played in traditionally - tuff Miller. fashion. The 'first song works even though Miller steals some lines from an old dirge called "The Prisoner's Song": If I had the wings of an angel, O'er these prison walls I would fly.' "Let Me Serve You" is interest- ing in that it shows Jimmy playing here. Poco's new album From the Inside (Epic 30753) is a huge disappointment, thanks largely to the emergence of banal Paul Cotton as an influential band member. Cotton contributes three self - conscious songs and some suspect lead guitar to this effort. Richie Furay also strikes out this time, with a host of forgettable songs including the atrocious "Hoe Down," which is almost a parody of Poco's ear- lier work. Rock's premier steel guitarist, the incredible Rusty 'Young, doesn't get to do much playing here. And who would have thought Gene Clark (A&M) could pro- duce such a bummed - out solo album? Coming off his two- country-classic numbers with Doug Dillard and company, Gene turns to long syrupy bal- lads and falls flat on his face. Every song is alike: poetic dir- ges accompanied by various acoustic instruments and sung in Clark's melancholy voice. The presence of some excellent sidemen, ex-Burrito bassist Chris sidemen, ex - Burrito bassist Chris Ethridge and organist Bed Sidran included, fails to much enhance this wrong num- ber. However, all 1,400 tickets for the newly-added matinee at 3 p.m., Oct. 16, will go on sale Thursday (Sept. 30) at the of- fices of the Musical Society in Burton Tower. Admission prices are set at $2, 3, 4, or 5. Marceau points out that "mime has been employed as an adjunct, more or less, to the arts of acting and dance. Great ballet dancers must know the arts of mime to round out the areas of silence in every play or ballet that has a story. ~TATE Corner of State and Liberty Sts. DIAL 662-6264 75c 7LADIES DAY ( Special Price for Ladies from 1-6 p.m. Wed. ends today "PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK" (R) OPEN 12:45 Shows at 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 P.M. "TIN HiredBHd" STARTS TOMORROW Hailed throughout the world as the foremost interpreter of one of the oldest, least prac- ticed and most difficult of the performing arts - the art of gesture - he is known to Am- erican audiences not only through the theater, but also via movie and television appear- ances. His latest motion picture "First Class" in which he por- trays 17 different characters, is currently being shown in the United States. The Michigan Daily, edited and man- aged by students at the University of Michigan. News phone: 764-0552. Second Class postage paid at Ann Arbor, Mich- igan. 420 Maynard Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104. Published daily Tues- day through Sunday morning Univer- sity year. Subscription rates: $10 by carrier, $11 by mail. Summer Session published Tuesday through Saturday morning. Subscrip- tion rates: $5 by carrier, $6 by mail. N $1.50. APIPstunning future-fantasy of whte urban-guerrilla struggle -made in U.S.A.- documentary of a revolutionary state-of-mind New York, 1968; or is it 1980, or '84? Young white revolutionary filmmakers, artists, and a future Weatherwoman act out a fan- tasy of an armed underground propaganda unit fighting "within the belly of the monster." The War is now in Mexico. Government repression is a Mitchell- Utopia. Middle America is still stoned on living standards and the media drone, but slowly awakening to Imperial crisis. The guerrillas struggle to maintain their humanity under pressure of the omnipresent SecPol and liberal sell-out, cop-out, defeatism and procrastination. They seize a high-rise apartment complex and show the people films of a raid on an oil refinery, suppressed in the "news." sex and violence? yeah. and vision: 7:00 & 9:30 $1 contribution TONIGHT Natural Science Aud. free coffee UM Film Society THE ALLEY CINEMA PRESENTS TONIGHT-WED., SEPT. 29 Zero Dc Conduite, dir. Jean Vigo, 1933. Concerns the oppressive life in a boarding school and the eventual revolt of the boys. Banned in France for 16 years because of its attacks on French educational methods. SHOWS AT 7 AND 9:30 $1.00 330 Maynard across from Nickels Arcade sponsored by ann arbor film cooperative 4 Loudon Wainwrigh't III ATLANTIC RECORDING ARTIST TODAY DIAL 8-6416 Shows Tonight at 7-9 P.M. J DIAL 5-6290 ENDING THURSDAY ANNA CA{DER-MARSHALL TIMOIY DA 3 =,Ta Po er; cd ~ALLNEW the passi theterror of_ Eily Bronte s immortal story1y'' g g lve. Fu " r "like a lonely rock and roller . . . songs explore the outer limits of lone- liness and unhappiness, expose games . . . with a rare musical integrity . Album 11 is one of the major records of the year and this is one of our major talents." -----Rolling Stone August 5, 1971 THURS.- CHIP O'DONNELL $1.00 Allnounci ng a SpeI Added Performance by Marcel Marceau! In response to an extraordinary demand for tickets, we are pleased to announce a special matinee performance by Marcel Marceau on Saturday afternoon, October 16, at 3:00 p.m. in the Power Center for the Performing Arts. Special matinee prices are $2, $3, $4, and $5. Tickets go on sale tomor- 0 I r WED, I I