ARTS
Page 6
Thursday, February 12, 1981
The Michigan Daily
Echo & U2
Echo and the Bunnymen -
"Crocodiles" (Sire) and U2 - "Boy"
(Island) - Rarely have I objected so
strongly to two albums composed of
such good music. It seems, in all fair-
ness, that philosophical issues shouldn't
intrude on the territory of music
criticism. Yet, while I can find no
technical flaws with these albums - in
fact, they are composed of catchy, well-
played songs - I still find them
curiously alienating and even unap-
pealing.
Perhaps these bands are so
alienating because they themselves
seem alienated. The Angry Young Men
of the first punk invasion have been
replaced by the Alienated Young Men
of the current new wave crop. The trend
seems to have begun at a high point
with The Psychedelic Furs and
declined from there.
WHAT WE HAVE before us now are
two discs of sound that conjure up ad-
jectives like: Distanced, cautious,
gloomy, serious, melancholy, in-
trospective, ominous, sterile,
menacing, cold ... almost the exact op-
posite of what the'punk wave originally
meant, don't you think? The closest
progenitors of these albums were
probably actually bands like Ultravox
and Gary Numan, who have based their
careers on denying their own humanity.
Echo and U2 pay lip service to the new
wave in their cynical themes, but they
seem too removed from any emotion -
including anger - to ever attack and
resolve any issue.
So, what we have at the end is a set of
continuous, unreleased Tension. Each
song is in and of itself quite stunningly
crafted, but in the end each album
side seems to blend into little more than
morose, introspective ambiance. Like
The Psychedelic Furs, there are par-
ticular cuts that are worth salvaging
from the overwhelming caution of these
albums, but to my mind, none of them
come as close to connecting with any
real energy (either positive or
negative) as The Psycho Furs do on
tracks like "Pulse" and "We Love
You." I'm quite sure Echo and U2 have
something valid to say, but I'm not sure
that I want to hear it.
-Mark Dighton_
t 2.BOY
I
The Wedge.*
The Wedge - "The Big, Bad, Boss
Beat of . . . The Wedge" (Rhino) -
Finally,*for all of you who really miss
The Ventures, the Wedge have arrived
with this 5-song "mini album" to revive
that surf sound. The Wedge play fast-
paced surf instrumentals the way they
should be played - a loud, echoed, wah-
wah lead guitar right up front with
some straight-ahead, no-nonsense
rhythmic backing and a cheesy Farfisa
organ to fill in the spaces. Definitely
classic stuff recorded especially for
thost folks who think that the highlight
of The ventures' career was "Walk
Don't Run," not "The Hawaii Five-O
Theme."
-Mark Dighton
[
'
single "Celebration" is.. .well, okay,...
but the rest of the album is little more
than pleasant, sensual background
music for young married couples. Most
of this album inspires scenes of subur-
ban connubial bliss in my mind - sit-
ting in front of the fireplace, walking
along the beach, sharing secrets at a
crowded outdoor cafe . . . in short, a
Kodak commercial.
Even the cover makes clear that this
is the almighty PRODUCT: "Special
Prizes! 'Celebrate with Kool & the
Gang' Contest. Application Form In-
side." Said application form asks the
sort of questions that could only be an-
swered by a long-time Kool & the Gang
fan . .. or a passable reader; all of the
information required on the quiz/entry
form is printed right on the album
cover in a box that does everything but
say "Anyone can win. Look here,
stupid!"
Most of the musical content is
similarly tactless. At the best they are
capable of lame rip-offs of The Village
People or The Ohio Players. At their
worst, they can turn out vaguely
rhythmic music (no doubt inspired by
their producer/collaborator Eumir
Deodato) that is destined to be used as a
"hip" theme for the local 6 o'clock
news. One of the songs sounds like
Chuck Mangione on an even more blase
and melancholy day than usual.
Another sounds like a mellow version of
the Toyota Datsun "We Are Driven"
song. In short, this album is just too
unreal.
-Ma (rk IDightfon
0
Take a Sentimental Journey.
with the Friars
joined by
The Harmonettes and
followed by a
Dance/Reception
Campus Inn Regency
Room
1
J
i
The Grunyons wr .
10 p.m.
8 p. M. Big Band music by the Ambassadors
Valentine's Day $5.00
February 14
Rackham Auditoriu-m
Tickets at Ticket Central
Kool& Co.
Kool & the Gang- "Celebrate!" (De-
Lite) - Anyone who remembers Kool &
the Gang from "Hollywood's Swinging"
and "Jungle Boogie" will be surprised
at how lackluster this album is. The hit
the ann arbor
film cooperative
TONIGHT TONIGHT
PRESENTS
IN THE
REALM OF
THE SENSES
7:00 & 9:00-AUD. A
Japanese with
subtitles. RATED.
ADMISSION: $2
A
New
and
Vital
Black
Drama
I Can't Hear
the Birds Singing
February 1115
Eight die,
198 hurt
"
in Vegas.
hotel fire
(Continued from Page 1)
Unlike the killer MGM Grand Hotel
fire which claimed 84 lives November
21, "building codes were not a factor in0
either point of origin or spread of fire,"
Las Vegas Fire Chief Roy Parrish told
reporters.
Parrish said fire hoses on the niath
floor were severed, stuffed with flam-
mable material and set afire.
Parrish said fires, were started "on
the eighth floor in the elevator lobby
area. Another was on the second floor in
the uniform linen area and the other
was in the third floor in a service
elevator." The fourth fire started in a
ninth-floor firehdse.
LEWIN SAIDttie hotel had not
received any threats before the fires,
but during the confusion of evacuation,
hotel management received a call in
which thetcaller asked, "Is the fire still
on? Have they got you yet?"
The hotel sustained $10 million in
damage from the fire. Barron Hilton,
chairman of the board and president of
Hilton Hotels, said 900 rooms were
damaged, mostly from smoke.
"We expect that the Las Vegas Hilton
will be operational in one week with the
estimated 1,900 rooms unaffected by
the fire available to our guests," Hilton
said in a prepared statement.
If you re really in love...
nothing's going to/stand in your way.
Wed - Sat 8pm
Sun 2 pm
"One of the best films of the year."
-Andrew Sarris, VILLAGE VOICE
"One of the most enjoyable
movies of the year."
- Pat Collins, GOOD MORNING AMERICA
"Richard Dreyfuss is first rate. Amy
Irving is equally good."
-Charles Chomplin, LOS ANGELES TIMES
"An out-and-out crowd pleaser
that should captivate audiences on
a grand scale. In Richard Dreyfuss
and Amy Irving it has the most
appealing of romantic teams ...
the chemistry between them is
exceptional. Lee Remick is
outstanding."
-Kenneth Turon, NEW WEST MAGAZINE
"Exciting, authentic, and a great
deal of fun ... an honest love
story."
-David Denby, NEW YORK MAGAZINE
"Richard Dreyfuss, Amy Irving and
Lee Remick give wonderful
performances."
-Joel Siegel, WABC-TV
GUEST ARTIST
Earl D. A. Smith
PTP Ticket Office
Michigan League
Mon"Fri 10.1 & 2.5
Phone 764-0450
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*
777k fA * W~
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.- , ;,
COLUMBIA PICTURES Presents
A RASTAR/WILLIAM SACKHEIM PRODUCTION
RICHARD DREYFUSS