Saturday, August 9, 1975
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Seven
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Metamorphosis:
THE ROLLING STONES - METAMORPHOSIS morphosis is rough and unpolished. Most of the songs
(ABKCO ANA 1), including: Out of Time, Dn't Lie are outtakes from earlier Stones albums, some are
a Me, Each and Every Day of the Year, Heart of demonstration tapes, and others are singles that the
Stone, I'd Much Rather Be With the Boys, (Walkin' Stones chose not to release. But this material as raw
Through the) Sleepy City, Try a Little Harder, I Don't and unpolished as it is, packs more of a punch
Know Why, If You Let Me, Jiving Sister Fanny, Down- than most of their recent offerings.
own Suzie, Family, Memo from Turner, and I'm Go- The Stones officially want nothing to do with the al-
og Down, bum (which was produced by Allen Klein and ABKCO
records), so they don't deserve to be blamed for much
By JEFF SORENSEN of the sloppy material that they would have preferred
not to release at all. <'
Metamorphosis may be a ragtag assortment of left-
over Rolling Stones songs from the mid-60's, but for
me this album radiates more energy than anything
else the Stones have done in the past few years.
On their last two albums, Goat's Head Soup and
It's Only Rock 'n' Roll, the group has been spending
more and more time in the studio with less and less im-
pressive results.
ON THOSE two LPs, synthesizers and a wide variety
of new instruments were used on such songs as "Can
You Hear the Music" and "Time Waits for No One."
But the aftermath of these efforts seems to be a final
product that is technically perfect, but sterile.
In sharp contrast, most of the material on Meta-
NEVERTHELESS, with or without Jagger's stamp of
approval, Metamorphosis is an essential album for
anyone who is/was interested in the Stones and their
classic works of the mid '60s.
Side one of the LP was recorded in 1965-66 (around
the time of Out of Our Heads and Aftermath), while
side two was recorded during 1967-68 (Between the But-
tons and Beggar's Banquet.) Both sides have their
questionable as well as classic moments, but the listen-
er must remember that consistency has never been
one of the Stones' strong points.
Only a few numbers are utterly unlistenable. In
particular, "Each and Every Time of the Year" and
"Heart of Stone" should never have seen the light of
The
Saturday
Magazine
The big squeeze
Curse of the bicycling set
day. The former is a hopelessly maudlin ballad in the
tradition of "Ruby Tuesday" and the latter a country
rock version of "Stone" that is in every way inferior
to the sassy, vibrant tone of the original.
EVERYTHING else on Metamorphosis is worth a
listen, although it must be admitted that some songs
may appeal more to the Stones connoisseur than to the
casual fan.
"Don't Lie to Me" is a vinntage Chuck Berry rocker,
although Jagger and Richards are listed on the LP
as the authors. This cut features some of Richards'
best musicianship. Those familiar, letter-perfect rhythm
guitar chords never sounded better than on this song.
This is the kind of music the Stones excel at; it's a
pity that recently the group has drifted away from its
rock and rhythm and blues roots exemplified by this
cut.
"Jiving Sister Fanny" is a solid number, though a
bit repetitious. It's based on one solid, Keith Richards
riff and doesn't progress much, but it provides a few
minutes of unadulterated enjoyment.
"OUT OF TIME," one of the Stones' most interesting
tunes from Flowers, is presented here as a showstop-
ping number.
It's certainly flawed-the strings are particularly
cloying in the first few bars-but the song possesses
a drive and clarity of expression, mainly from the
vocals, that's missing in the original. Bill Wyman also
deserves credit for his best bass work on the album.
"Sleepy City" is a gem. Its a tight, well-arranged
piece of music, much like the best of Aftermath. The
tune is strong, and the percussion and accoustic guitar
make this one of the most polished cuts on the album.
HOWEVER, the most fully-realized effort on the
album is, without a doubt, "I Don't Know Why," an ob-
scure Stevie Wonder song, despite the fact that Jagger,
Richards, and Taylor try to take credit for it. Every-
thing on the cut falls into place, particularly Jagger's
vocals, which are far and away the strongest on the
record.
"Downtown Suzie," "Family" and "Memo from
Turner" were all recorded around the time of Beggar's
Banquet and all feature lyrics that center on drugs,
prostitution, and decadence in general.
"Suzie" and "Family" come off as somewhat cold
and mannered, but "Memo" is an unfettered delight
as Jagger drunkenly talks about when he'll be "laughin'
in my grave" and finally tells his listeners "you
schmucks will all remember me."
"t'm Going Down" is the raunchiest cut on Meta-
morphosis. The lead guitar work is reminiscent of
"Gimme Shelter," as the Stones rock with all the author-
ity they mustered on "Brown Sugar" and "Tumbling
Dice." Only the vocal work is lacking.
CLEARLY the song was recorded with undue haste,
and it's a shame because the number deserved more
attention. Still, it's a stronger rock song than anything
an "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll."
"Try a Little Harder" is my favorite cut. This song
is vintage Stones, circa 1965, and sounds like it was
recorded around the time of the sessions that produced
"I Can't Get No Satisfaction" and "The Last Time."
"Try Harder" is outstanding, with distinguished
riffing from Richards and enthusiastic vocals from
Jagger. On this cut, more than any other, the Stones
seem to be having a good time.
ALL IN all; Metamorphois provides a welcome relief
from the likes of Goat's Head Soup and It's Only Rock
'n' Roll.
Despite the crude nature of the LP, its best mo-
iments contain some of the most powerful songs the
Stones have recorded. Every true Stones fan must
hope that Jagget or Richard will listen to this album
and redirect their energies if the group is to retain its
self-proclaimed title, "The Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band
in the World."
By LOIS JOSIMOVICH
Riding a bicycle in Ann Arbor is a bit like tightrope
walking with no net.
Weaving my way between parked and moving
cars on State Street every morning for the past
month has shown me just how lowly a creature the
bicyclist is in the eyes of the average pedestrian
and car-owner. To the pedestrian, a bicycle is like a
car only far more annoying because it can come up
on the sidewalk too and crunch your toes. To the own-
er of a motorcycle or car, however, someone riding
under his or her own power is an object of hilarity,
annoyance, and even scorn.
In this sort of limbo between vehicle and pedestrian,
it is no wonder that the bicyclist finds it hard to decide
what rules to follow.
For example, say you want to make a left turn
at a busy intersection. Do you stay in the right
lane because bicycles are supposed to on a two-way
street, or do you go into the left lane because cars are
supposed to? Also relevant to the question is the fact
that as you try to get into the left lane, the probability
of being hit by a car with the same plan is quite high;
and the fact that most automobile drivers are quite
vocal in their disapproval of a bike going 20 mph
in the left lane where they would like to go 40 does not
help matters for cyclists who value their lives.
In fact, I resent the whole dominance of the driver's
license in our society. I had to buy something with
a check last month, and it took me about 15 minutes
to persuade the clerk that my not having a driver's
license did not mean.that the other five pieces of I0
I had (including two with photo) were stolen.
I resent being honked at by some jerk because
I try to avoid a pothole so deep that it might link up
with the sewer system -- there is no lack of these in
the city, as everyone knows, and believe it or not, they
look a lot scarier from a bicycle seat than from a
driver's seat. So does the liberal sprinkling of glass
which benevolent tipplers strew on the streets every
sight.
If you ride on the sidewalk, you usually end up
behind a pair of lovers on an old lady with shopping
bags. It's also illegal.
If you ride on the right side of the street your
teeth click like a typewriter from the road surface;
on the center of the street, they click from fear.
Bike lanes and curb cuts which were recently made
around the city do something to relieve the bicyclist's
plight. But accidents on bikes are still on the increase,
and so are deaths. An AAA study of accidents in urban
areas back in 1971 listed 43,000 injuries and 570 fatal-
ities, mostly in bike/car collisions.
Quite frequently bicycle accidents are found to be the
fault of the cyclist and not the driver of the auto-
mobile. Most of these involve younger children who
have not been taught proper rules of bike safety.
However, as the cyclist gets older, the fault increas-
ingly lies with the driver - usually he just "didn't
see" the bicycle, or didn't pay attention to it.
I have had only two accidents on my bicycle since
I got it at age 11. The first time, a car coming fast
around a narrow curve forced me off a dropped should-
er. More recently, I was making a left turn, with
hand signal, but the driver behind me didn't notice
and ran smack into my front wheel. I was so shocked
to be in one piece that I just sat in the middle of the
road for a minute until I realized that a whole line of
cars was honking at me.
What I didn't know then was that I should have been
in the left lane to turn. I didn't know because I don't
drive. And neither do the majority of cyclists who have
accidents - they are under age 14.
Bike safety should be a basic part of elementary
education. But automobile drivers should also learn to
be more aware of the problems involved in riding
a bike, and should treat its rider with a lot more
respect than they are accustomed to giving.
Lois Josimovich is an assistant night editor Jeff Sorensen is the summer editor of the
of the Daily. Daily.