Page 2-Tuesday, November 1, 1977-The Michigan Daily
Local disc company flourishes
So you want to
The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, Nov
buy astei
By MARK BEYER
Most Ann Arbor residents know of
the Blind Pig as a quaint little saloon
on First Street, that serves exotic
coffees and tasty cheeses. Less
people know of the "Resignation", a
nightclub in the basement of the
Blind Pig, that features local talent
in the form or warm and human
blues artists who play long into the
smoke-filled night to appreciative
and growing audiences. But even
most of the locals do not know about a
growing corporation on the top floor
of the building. With visible assets
including a phone, a stereo, and
several floor plants, there exists
Blind Pig Records, a four-year-old
record production company locate in
the cultural bosom of Ann Arbor.
The artists who appear- on Blind
Pig Records are obscure, by way of
their music alone. Basic and laid-
back Rhythm and Blues artists,
(with emphasis on the blues) have no
call for glittery silk plumage, house-
sized amplifiers, and dazzling light
shows. The blues artist has his mind,
his life and his instrument to work
with, along with a much more deeply
rooted musif than rock would like to
admit. Most of the music heard in the
cellar of the Blind Pig is pre-Elvis,
and the performers are often in their
middle and elder years. Blind Pig
Records is devoted to the expansion
of the audiences of such artists as
John Nicholas, Boogie Woogie Red,
and a rockabilly blues band, The
Silvertones.
Blind Pig Records is,,the ambition
achieved of a 28-year-old ex-taxi
Rolling Stones' new
'Love You Live'hits
By OWEN GLEIBERMAN
The Rolling Stones have been
among us so long that it's truly
difficult to lament over the medioc-
rity of their recent albums. If any
band in rock has contributed enough
to let us overlook a creative dry spell,
then surely that band is the Stones.
Nevertheless, I think it's been diffi-
cult for even the most die-hard fans
to disregard the band's quiet drift
into the monotonous world of mid-
seventies rock. The Stones have
unfortunately been as guilty as many
of merely "going through the mo-
tins." Black and Blue may have had
its share of fine moments, but it wqs
at best, a likable pastiche, miles
below their best work.
At any rate, the Stones seem for the
present to be biding their time, and
they've chosen this moment to
release Love You Live, a representa-
tive account of their '75 tour. The
importance of this album lies not in
its, superiority to Get Yer Ya-Ya's
Out, though vastly superior it is, but
in that it is the first album to genuine-
ly capture the essence of a Stones
performance.
In spirit Love You Live most
resembles Exile on Main Street
(arguably their best album), exhibit-
ing the same controlled but not-com-
pletely-tame energy. Nothing here is
out-of-the-ordinary; the album is
simply pure live Stones, and it
affirms that they can still play as
well as ever. Frankly, I find that
reassuring.
The focus of this two-record pack-
age is the post-Exile era, with enough
older classics thrown in to keep
everyone satisfied. The album is
surprisingly free o, dead spots. A
disappointingly restrained Tumbling
Dice has Jagger inexplicably doing
his pseudo-Jamaican accent (re-
member Luxery?) and the song
lacks the supreme power of the
original. However the majority of
the cuts gain an energetic imme-
diacy over the studio versions, and
the performances are amazingly
consistent.
Following the opening track, a
straight, solid rendition of Honky
Tonk Women, the band launches into
a medley-of If You Can't Rock Me
and Get Off My Cloud. The latter is
one of the few songs to deviate
significantly from the original, as the
Stones seem to have updated it to suit
their later, hard-edged style. The
change pays off, and the song is one
of the outstanding cuts on the album.
Keith Richard delivers assured,
spirited vocals on Happy, and the
number comes off well despite an ex-
tremely up-tempo pace. The version
of Hot Stuff offered may have more
raw energy than the one on Black and
Blue, but I prefer the latter's con-
trol and careful mix. In the live
version the band manages to create a
general mush of sound, swallowing
much of Ron Wood's lead playing. In
this particular instance, however,
not much is missed, as Wood's
adequately played leads are a poor
substitute for the fiery smoothness
Mick Taylor displayed on the '72
tour. Despite a nicely executed vocal
arrangement. You Gotta Move
doesn't approach the blues greatness
of Love In Vain on Get Yer Ya-Ya's-
Out, and this is due largely to Wood's
lack of inspiration.
Then of course there's Mick Jag-
ger, who I suppose can afford to be
arrogant in his old age. Still, his
grossly over-affected slurring is a bit
much, especially on Jumping Jack
Flash, where it . sounds as if his
tongue's been amputated. Fortunate-
ly for all, he limits his journeys into
the realm of non-pronunciation to
relatively few numbers, and in songs
like Star Star, comes off in top form.
Jagger is spotlighted on a side of
Blues oldies, recorded earlier this
year at a Toronto nightclub. This side
deviates from the Stones' usual fare
but remains largely unexceptional,
with only Around and Around ener-
gized enough to merit much atten-
tion.
The final side is the genuine show-
stopper, -containing four solid ver-
sions of Stones classics. Brown Sugar
proceeds a little too quickly for my
tastes, but Jumping Jack Flash (vo-
cals aside) and Sympathy 'for the
Devil are both far superior to their.
Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out counterparts.
Love You Live covers the many
periods of a long, awesome career,.
and is by far the definitive live Stones
album. It's hard to say exactly where
the album stands in the context of the
Stones' recent exploits, but they have
for the moment left their fans with a
reminder of the band's greatness.
driver named Jerry Del Giudice. In
1972, he decided that he wanted to
produce records, so he turned in his
fare-meter, scraped up $4,000, moved
to Ann Arbor and started a record
company by producing his first
album. The record is Boogie Woogie
Red Live at the Blind Pig. It has the
flaws of any "first" album, but one
has to start somewhere.
Five years and three records later,
Jerry Del Giudice and Blind Pig
Records continues to function, and
the product is improving with age.
The production quality is getting
better and the records are being
distributed in all parts of the United
States. However, the record sales are
restricted mostly to more rural areas
as the city folks haven't yet slowed
down enough to break the disco; rock,
punk-glittery-blob habit of conven-
tional AM (and Most of FM) radio air
play. Blind Pig is an exception to the
accepted stereotype of record pro-
duction companies.
Jerry Del Giudice and his partner
in a Los Angeles office conduct their
music factory with sincerity and
aplomb. Del Giudice doesn't sit in an
overstuffed chair skimming CREEM
magazine or rush out to dress his
bands in torn leather and safety pins.
He just likes to relax and listen to the
artists he records. He only records
the music he likes, and Blind Pig is
how he accomplishes this.
His newest artist is John Nicholas,
a multi-talented blues artist whose
first records, Too Many Bad Habits,
was recorded in Amarillo, Texas and
made with the assistance of over half
a dozen other notable blues artists.
The album offers variety and relaxa-
tion, and makes one wish for a bottle
of beer and a cigarette. Jerry is
happy with this effort and feels that it
will be popular.
After listening to it, I had to agree,
for it is a fine album, with exception-
al blues instrumentation, especially
the blues harp playing. Another
group, the Silvertones (whose name
alone could be keeping sales down) is
also very listenable and has many
enjoyable cuts with a bouncy rocka-
billy flavor. Jerry Del Giudice is a
man of fundamental tastes, and the
Silvertones are a fundamental four-
man band, and are fairly well known
to longtime residents of this city.
The album suffers from a mild
case of low-budget production but
happily, the music supports itself.
Though the Silvertones borrow their
material, most listeners have never
heard it before, so there is-no feeling
of staleness. As for John Nicholas,
the best numbers on the album are
the ones he wrote. Still, the music is
nostalgic, and takes a bit of listening
before becoming accustomed to.
Most of Blind Pig's records are, of*
music written and played before
Elvis Presley ever sung, before Bob
Dylan began to strum, and before the
Beatles ever started rocking out
Little Richard tunes at The Cave in
Mersey.
Jerry Del Giudice is an historian,
who looks past the obvious to
examine the form. He quotes Plato,
"Music is the perfection of the uni-
verse."
Del Giudice, like many others in
growing numbers, is getting bored
with today's mass produced tripe that
floods the airwaves, and searches for
the roots. The music that started the
music industry snowball thirty-five
years ago. In the cellar of the Blind
Pig saloon he finds what he desires.
Blues ,and rhythm, like you don't
hear much any more, and are worse
off for it. And Blind Pig Records is
constantly engaged in putting these
veteran talents on vinyl and getting
the country to sit down, mellow out,
and listen to the music. The company
isn't what Jerry Del Giudice is
knocking his brains out for. As he
puts it, "The music is what makes
the company, nothing else." So if you
walk outside to escape the blare of a
nearby stereo, blasting away into the
night, take a walk down to 208S. First
Street.
Walk into the Blind Pig, perhaps
snag a beer and make your way
downstairs to the brick-walled Resig-
nation. After you've found a seat,
open your ears, let your eyes adjust
to the dimness, and settle back for
what may well be a musical exper-
ience unlike any you've had before.
Turn on to the blues and you'll be
watching and listening until the stage
is deserted. You can buy the records*
upstairs at the bar, when you leave,
and likely plan to return.
If you've reached the age of 18, 19, or
20 without being able to turn up a long
lost rich uncle to finance your fondest
dreams ofnstereo listening, it may be
time-you quit hoping and started plan-
ning how to buy a stereo system your-
self. The jungle of stereo store shopping
is not an easy one to traverse, however,
and as guides we don't rank with Tar-ti
zan. But perhaps we can set you on your
way with a few suggestions for good
buys.
With a little help from Cnsumer Re-
ports magazine, here is a sampling of
some good equipment that can be found
in the Ann Arbor-Detroit area. We know
you aren't about to shell out $2,500 for a
system made in the sky, but neither are
you willing to settle for your little
brother's Panasonic special, the turn-
table of which has become permanently
affixed to the sticky side of Sean Cas-
sidy's latest 45.
So we chose a handful of components
that are not incredibly expensive but
still maintain a reputation fbr quality.
The combination of components, of
course, is up to the buyer to decide, with
advice from a dealer. At any rate:
SPEAKERS
Make sure you buy speakers that can
'MOR'
Ronstadt
again
By AUSTIN VANCE
,Linda "M.O.R." Ronstadt has
struck again, giving us an album that
has AM station managers across the
country drooling in anticipation.
Simple Dreams (Asylum 6E-104),
displays Linda's true roots: pop.
Poor, pitiful Linda. Complete with a
"I'm a Rock and Roll Star" photo of
her on the inside, this record should
go over well with the ten to fifteen year
old crowd.
Linda is the Farrah Fawcett-
Majors of rock. Farrah's trademark
is her hair; Linda has the big eyes.
Question: Farrah has Lee, but who
does Linda have? Answer: Warren
Zevon, who writes those simple
country-flavored songs that put the
grits (or, more likely, filet mignon)
on her table, which is probably
covered with a cute red and white
checkered tablecloth.
The selections on this album are
very strange. Whatever Linda is, she
certainly is not a Rolling Stone.
Tumbling Dice sounds absurd on this
record. Seriously, now:
"My my my I'm the lone crap-
shooter playing the field every night"
You would never catch Mick
Jagger pronouncing th words so
that they're understandable. Can
anyone imagine Ronstadt as a
junkie? Hearing methadone blues
being sung in a voice that oozes
sweetness on Carmelita makes me
think that we're being put on, which
is exactly the case. Also included is a
traditional song, Old Paint; I can't
understand why anyone would be
moved to record it. Of course,
everyone has head It's So Easy by
now, and it will continue to be
pounded into the ears of top 40
listeners everywhere until Decem-
her_
r((I
i
Connoisseur Society ar
Quintessence Classics
get the most out of whatever receiver
you decide upon. Too many systems
waste speaker equipment because of in-
adequate receiver output.
An important measure of a speaker's
performance is its accuracy, or in other
words, how well the speaker converts
the electronic impulses sent by an am-
plifier into sound. Accuracy can be ex-
pressed as a percentage, with 100 per
cent accuracy being that of a non-
existent "perfect" speaker. Most listen-
ers can't distinguish between a dif-
ference of less than eight per cent.
You might want to check out the Jan-
szen Z412HP, which sell for $300 per
pair. Accuracy: 90 per cent.
A notch down in price, at about the
same accuracy level, are the Pioneer
CS63DX$270, 83 per cent accuracy) and
the JBL Century L100 ($273, 88 per cent
accuracy).
Another notch down in price is the
Fisher ST530, $250, with 67 per cent ac-
curacy.
RECEIVERS
Again, don't buy a receiver that's too
powerful for the speakers you choose.
Also, you can pay a great deal of money
for a receiver that looks like the inside
of Apollo 11, but you'll find you may
never need all the fancy knobs and
gauges. Four good receivers that don't
cost the moon and the sky are: the Scott
R31s, $200; t
Pioneer SX4'
S7110, also $2
TI
You can s
either of two
Dual 1228, w
the Realisti<
hinged dustc
ced that a $2
making eith
New York P
in your living
look at the G
$140 is still e
you feel ma
lously so. Ha
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HORENSTEIN
Brahms/Symphony No. 1
The London Symphony Orchestra
1
these featured
Lp's nlow sale priced at.
CHOPIN PRELUDES
OPUS 28
Ivan Moravec
1
3.9
I
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ALEXIS WEISSENB
LISZT Sonata in B r
SCHUMANN Fantasia in
the entire
catalog of 698 series
798 series
at a
Connoisseur
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3_A4
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Music from Khovantchina Russian Ea
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In The Stepes of central Asia pian9 concerto no. 1 in D minor.
Earl Wild/Jascha Hore
RACHMANINOI
Pia
C
Ph
on 1sal(e for
235 S. UNIVERSITY 300 S. S
668-9866 665-36
HOURS:I10-9 Mon. -Sat; 12-6Sun.
2.99 e
540 E. Liberty-Libe
(on corner of Liberty ondMaynard)
662-5623
fTATE
579
The Silvertones, featured on. one of Blind Pig's first discs, got an early boqst from
Blind Pig co-owner Jerry Del Giudice.
M-Th 10-10; F& S10-12 Midnight;