The Michigan boily--Wednesday, May 31,1978-Page 7
RECORDS
LO NDO N TOWN
sophistication that is rare in a rock ar-
tist. Even well-executed pop (or disco,
where technicaI polish is of the utmost
importance) depends on rich orchestral
arrangements and the like to dress up
otherwise flat musical ideas.
McCartney's music, no matter how
much of a throwaway flavor it retains,
is always based on inventive, concrete
musical ideas, even if nothing more
than something like the repeated guitar
riff in "Let Me Roll It." Were he not so
infatuated with his Platonic ideal of
familial happiness, McCartney's
achievements might well be
milestones. As it stands, all I can say,
Paul, is go on singing your silly love
songs. Anyone who does it as well as
you can be more than forgiven.
-Owen Gleiberman
Stayinaliveoto
77-year-old Sally Lippman, better known as "Disco Sally" to her hustlin' com-
patriots at New York's Studio 54, dances up a storm at the midtown disco. Says
the gyrating granny, "I'm gonna dance till the day I die."
Cannes Film Festival
announces top honors
CANNES, France (AP) - Italian Another Italian film, Marco Ferreri's
director Ermanno Olmi's L'Albero Ciao Machio Monkey Dream, a
degli Zoccoli, The Wooden Shoe Tree, a satirical comedy on the end of
three-hour epic on the fate of landless humanity, shared the international
farm workers in 19th-century Italy, won jury's Special Prize.
the coveted top prize, the Golden Palm, The other half of the Special Prize
of the Cannes International Film went to a British-produced film, Polish
Festival on Tuesday. director Jerzy Skolimowski's The
American actor Jon Voight, 40, won Shout, based on a Robert Graves short
the festival's male acting prize for his story about the supernatural powers of
portrayal of a paralyzed Vietnam war a man's voice. The prize for best
veteran in Hal Ashby's Coming Home., photography was awarded to French.
Two actresses, American Jill director Louis Malle's Pretty Baby,
Clayburgh and French star Isabelle about a child prostitute in 19th century
Ruppert, shared the female acting New Orleans.
prize. Thirty-seven films officially selected
CLAYBURGH was honored for her to represent their countries competed
portrayal of an abandoned wife in Paul for the top prizes, but more than 400
Mazursk's An Unmarried Woman. other movies were presented on the
Ruppert received the prize for her title sidelines of the world's largest annual
role in Claude Chabrol's Violette f.D
Nozieres, the real life story of a French film festival. American Director Alan
girl tried in the 1939's for murdering her J aku a presided over the inter-
parents
London Town
wings
Capital SW -11777
For those who believe that Paul
McCartney should rightfully be com-
posing ad jingles, London town, the new
Wings album, will probably seem like
another hopeless collection of banal
good cheer. For others, the album may
turn out to be a rather pleasant sur-
prise. I've never held any grudges
against McCartney for dedicating his
life to the pursuit of happy rock and roll,
but in the eight years that Wings have
been together, only Band On The Run
seems to have achieved a respectful
balance between style and substance.
On London Town, McCartney melds his
technical mastery with a soupcon of
heartfelt emotion-that appears to be
about all Wings can support concep-
tually-and the result is a spon-
taneously enjoyable record that never
indulges in slickness for its own sake.
McCARTNEY'S studio facility has
always been integral to Wings' sound,
and London Town is no different.
Although the 15 songs have been con-
ceived to glide as if weightless (there
isn't a rough edge within 100 miles),
they are far more than the aural
equivalent of jello. Take "With a Little
Luck," an exquisitely simple ditty with
snythesizer embellishments that dance
around the melody and give ita feeling
of lilting grace. Were it not for the
smooth mixture of tone colors and
precision playing a song like this one
would be barely suitable for AM air-
play. As it is, McCartney's
arrangement is more than tasteful-it
makes the most simple ornamentations
absolutely enticing.
The title track, a whimsically
evocative number with lyrics
reminiscent of "Penny Lane," is played
with utter delicacy as it winds through
a complex series of beautiful modal
harmonies. "Cafe on the Left Bank"
and "Name and Address" are not so
lovely, but the rhythmical intricacies
have a way of sneaking up on you; Mc-
Cartney must pen the catchiest
melodies around.
LONDON TOWN spreads the Wings
sound over a vareity of styles and
moods, and McCartney is as adept as
ever. "Don't Let It Bring You Down" is
an uncharacteristically solemn ballad
with an understated 6/8 rhythem that
flows along unburdened as it delivers
its quietly optitimistic message.
"Backwards Traveller" begins as a
superb rocker, then ends one minute
later, an example of McCartney
flagrantly squandering his talent at the
bequest of whimsey.
As benign as McCartney's post-
Beatle music is, it has always housed a
quiet conflict between a pop sen-
sibility and the kind of musical
REO Speedwagon's new LP, lou Can
Tune A Piano, But You Can't Tuna
Fish, was released at the opportune
moment-the summer months are ideal
for their rollicking, let-it-go music. The
popular single "Roll With the Changes"
is an excellent representative of the
REO sound. Their's is an exhilarating
rock and roll style, which shies away
from blasting you with two or three
guitars. For the five years the band has
been around they have developed a
sound akin to that of a hard jazz band,
with Gary Richrath's sizzling guitar
providing the only genuinely hard rock
element in their music.
The tone of the latest album differs
little from the other REO Speedwagon
LPs. Most of the songs are about love,
having a good time, and the need to "be
self-confident"-consummate 70's
lyrics. The music ranges from the
serious ("Time for Me to Fly") to the
unabashedly free-spirited rock of
"Ridin' the Storm Out" and "Keep
Pushin'."
IN CONTRAST to the melodic
pleasantries of "Blazin' Your Own,
Trail Again"' and "Time For Me to
Fly," touching acoustic numbers with
enchanting harmonies, side two offers
"Lucky For You," which includes some
hot guitar licks then settles down to a
punchy melody. "The Unidentified
Flying Tuna Trot," an instrumental,
throws a piano and bass guitar together
for a bouncy, funky melody, as
Richrath's axe fills in the background
with effective sublety.
With the extensive airplay many of
the cuts are receiving and the con-
sistent quality of the material, there
seems no doubt that REO Speedwagon
has a winner here.
-Tim Yagle
You Can Tune A Piano
But You Can't Tuna Fish
REOSpeedwagon
Columbia JE35082