Page Two
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Tuesday, November 30, 1971
Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Tuesday, November 30, 1971
records
MayalI: Another landmark
1.
I;
Ul Baily Calendar
Tuesday, Nov. 30
ail
Film-
By HARRY HAMMITT
John Mayall has been promi-
nent on the British blues scene
for close to a decade. During
this period, he has never failed
to provide the public with a
constantly changing, very per-
sonal, brand of blues. He was
the one responsible for first
bringing the vast talents of Eric
Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick
Taylor to public attention. After
the swarm of imitators that fol-
lowed Mayall's Bluesbreakers
had made British blues mean-
ingless, Mayall made a radical
change to a modern folk blues
style that is well-preserved on
Turning Point. Even with this
incredible success to his credit,
Mayall refused to stagnate. He
disbanded his Turning Point
band, moved to California, and
got his first American band to-
gether. Again, he was incredibly
successful. this time exposing
the highly underrated talents of
violinist Sugarcane Harris, and
guitarist Harvey Mandel. The
first album with this line-up,
U.S.A. Union, was good, but not
nearly as good a representation
as is found on Back to the
Roots.
Mayall has formed a new
band, presenting us with a trio
consisting of himself on har-
monica, rhythm guitar, twelve-
string guitar, piano and vocals;
Jerry McGee on lead guitar, do-
bro, and sitar: and Larry Tay-
lor on bass. Memories (Polydor
PD-5012) is their first album
together. Not only is it a new
departure for Mayall, but .also
a new landmark. It is impossi-
ble to know what Mayall will
come up with next, but he never
fails to give the public the best,
in modern white blues.
The theme of the album is the
memories of Mayall. The record
begins with the title song which
is the story of Mayall's early
childhood in England. The song
has a good melody and is a
break away from the blues pro-
gression. Although the song
could easily stand on. its own
merits as a nice melody, it is
the arrangement that turns the
song into something monumen-
tal. The instrumentation is
sparse throughout, with Mc-
Gee's sitar fitting subtly into
the background. Then, near the
end of the song, Mayall's har-
monica comes in with the per-
fect touch of haunting nostal-
gia.
This is immediately followed
by "Wish I Knew A Woman," a
graphic description of an ado-
lescent boy. Mayall's lyrics are
very well-fitted to the song:
What's wrong with me? I still
got virginity
Guys are driving me mad
with all the women they
have had
All I got is my hand for satis-
faction every night
Mayall's harmonica and Mc-
Gee's dobro get a real work-
out during the number. It is
amazing how much this song
rocks even with the lack of
drums; few musicians could pull
it off as well as Mayall does.
Much of the credit has to go to
Larry Taylor's beautifully de-
pendable bass, but Mayall's gui-
tar is what cements the rhythm
together.
Following this is "The City,"
another nice rocker, and two
slow reflective songs.
Side two starts out with "The
Fightin' Line" which is about
Mayall's army life during the
Korean War. This sing is ex-
tremely effective in tying lyrics
and music together. Mayall's
harmonica, again, highlights
the song.
"Grandad" is a slow coun-
try-style blues which fits to-
gether well and is highlighted
by the dobro of .McGee. "Back
from Korea" is possibly the best
song; it rocks with incompara-
ble ferocity. Finally, "Play the
Harp," is the only live on the
album and would be rated a
throwaway if done by lesser
talents. but Mayall brings it
off with some nice rollicking
harmonica.
Possibly the key the Mayall's
success is the ability he has to
attract outstanding musicians
to his bands. McGee had pre-
viously played with Delaney and
Bonnie, and with the entures.
Taylor was the bassist for
Canned Heat. When you get
musicians as, good as this to-
gether and add the exceptional
composing talents of.Mayall,
you are bound to be rewarded
with some good music. Memo-
ries is such an album.
A new entry from England is
Russell Dean (Metromedia KM
D 1046). Dean is a singer who
sounds a lot like the Bee Gees.
Generally, the songs are pleas-
ant, but undistinguished. One of
the faults lies in the fact that
the backing is by studio mu-
sicians who never get moving.
The musicianship is good and
clean throughout, just unin-
spired.
From California, Dory Pre-
vin -- Reflections in a Mud
Puddle/Taps, Tremors and Time
Steps (United Artists UAS-55-
36) is another album that is
above tolerable, but quite unin-
spiring. Previn sings and she
always sounds out of breath and
unable to hit high notes. The
interesting part of the record
lies in the lyrics which the fair-
ly unique and conversational in
tone, as witnessed by some-
thing like "The New Enzyme
Detergent Demise of Ali Mc-
Graw."
Jim Carroll (A&M SP 4323) is
also from California. Carroll
not only sings, but he also plays
the guitar. He spends the ma-
jority of the first side playing
songs that are based complete-
ly on one acoustic riff that goes
nowhere. On the second side he
gets better, but, -still, it doesn't
approach being sensational. The
one things that places this al-
bum above those of Dean and
Previn is that there, is more
interplay between musicians,
due in part to Carroll himself,
but mostly to guitarist David
Spinozza, and pianist Craig Do-
erge.
Bloodrock, of course, is a
fairly well-known group whose
reputation is based on the fact
that they are heir apparent to
Grand Funk, or worse. In U.S.A.
(Capitol SMAS 645), their new-
est record, they give ample
proof that their reputation is
justified. The entire record is
a series of rock riffs that con-
stantly grate against the lis-
tener's ears and remain thor-
oughly tuneless throughout. The
lyrics are insipid and com-
pletely deserve their musical
fate. The only good things to
say are that the sound is clean
which may be due to the engi-
neering rather than the group.
If you already like Bloodrock, or
Grand Funk, then this album is
for you.
Varsity Cheer, or a History of
The Western World at Half-
time (Folkways FTS 31310) is
referred to as a "comical-musi-
cal-satirical - poetical - histori-
cal - political - sexual - eco-
nomic - religious - patriotic" re-
cord, the brainchild of one
Myles Jackson. The record em-
ploys written dialogue and short
songs interspersed with actual,
conversation w i t h teamsters,
stockbrokers, and Beatles' fans.
The record was put together
between 1963 and 1971, so some
of the things included may
seem hard to relate to at this
time. The record is a good di-
version and sounds something
Alley Cinema, 330 Maynard'
Max Ophul's "La Ronde" 7 and 9:30 p.m.*
Fifth Forum
"Plaza Suite" 7 p.m.*
"Desperate Characters" 9 p.m.*
State Theater
"Bless the Beasts and Children" 1,3,5,7 and 9 p.m.*
Campus Theater
"Medicine Ball Caravan" 1,,35,7 and 9 p.m.*
Michigan Theater
"Play Misty for Me" 1,3,5,7 and 9 p.m.*
Other Events-
U. of M. Ski Club Meeting
3529 S.A.B. 7:30 p.m.*
*denotes events for which admission is charged
I
AT STATE & LIBERTY
Program Information 662-6264
OPEN 12:45E
SHOWSAT1,3,
5, 7, & 9:05 P.M.
COLUMBIA PICTURES Presents
STANLEY KRAMER'S Roaon o
Ends Wednesday) GP
Starts :...
Thurs. _
SOULT
MOSO5ULI
wwmnw....-
(Eu zg
DIAL 5-6i9.
"One of the most excit-
ing films you'll. see this
yea r.
- Det. News
CLINT
E AST WOOD
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I
M
4.
like a forerunner of the Fire-
sign Theatre.
With competition in the re-
cord industry as high as it is
now, it is essential to have a
high-class product in order to
succeed. These records, while
not being too intolerable, are
not outstanding, and as a con-
sequence, will probably not sur-
vive.
-M
W-NmyYVRFD
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A LECTURE ON
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Fourth in the series
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ANGELL HALL-AUDITORIUM D
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RONDEL4 : l
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AN ELABORATE SATIRE ON SEXUAL BEHAVIOR. With great subtlety, Ophuls presents a
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elatonships in ten timeless sketches full of humor and tenderness. With SIMONE SIGNORET.
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