The Michigan Daily-Friday, February 18, 1983-Page 7
!Spending the night with The Rolling Stones
rANN ARBOR--
AL momr" " '
By Mike Cramer
A LOT of people call the Rolling
Stones "The World's Greatest
sock and Roll Band." That statement
is pretty well founded. The Stones have
been around close to forever (20 years),
and have released more albums than
just about anybody (28). Discs like
Exile on Mainstreet and Let it Bleed
are still regarded as among the best
rock albums ever recorded. Mick
Jagger may well be the world's most
recognizable rock performer, and
sidekick Keith Richards is one of the
-most respected lead guitarists in the
ndustry.
In 1981, on the heels of the release of
their Tattoo You album, the Stones an-
nounced their tenth American tour, a
huge fifty-concert production which at-
tracted over two million fans and a lot
more dollars. The concerts were
mostly in outdoor stadiums and big in-
door arenas, and featured balloons,
fireworks, rotating stages, and even
hydraulic cherry pickers so Mick could
buzz around above the audience. The
ILour was soon made into the album Still
Life, and has now been made into a
motion picture, Let's Spend the Night
Together.
The movie was directed by a Stones
fan-Mick Jagger's old friend Hal Ash-
by, whose past films include Harold and'
Maude, Being There, and Shampoo.t
Ashby's basic plan for Let's Spend the
Night Together was to film the Stones in
concert from as many angles as
possible (to bring thewaudience above
and onto the stage, as well as in front of
it), and to keep backstage shots to a
minimum. Ashby also added in a few
bits of older live footage, and mixed up
scenes from the three concerts which
were filmed to make the movie (one at
Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe,
Arizona, and two at New Jersey's
Meadowlands Arena).
Sounds great, right? Well, sort of. As
far as I can tell, the advertising for the
film is geared not to the long-time
Stones fan who admires the band's
creativity and blues background, but to
the fifteen-year-old "rock fan" who also
listens to Van Halen and Loverboy.
Sadly, the film itself (and I guess the '81
tour) appeals to this same audience.
Most of the songs performed in the
movie are either "Hot Rocks"/greatest
-hits types, or tunes from the past
couple of albums.
Not that those songs are really bad,
it's just that they're almost to the point
of being overplayed. It would be nice to
see and hear the Stones play stuff like
"Rocks Off," "Stray Cat Blues," and
"Monkey Man."
Predictable material isn't the film's
only problem; the fact is, Mick's voice
just ain't what it used to be. He is
basically flat throughout the movie. (I
was particularly disappointed when in
"Miss You," he sang a gutteral "ay-ay-
ay-yay-ay-ay-ay" instead of the high-
pitched "ooh-ooh-hoohoo-hoo-ooh-ooh"
that adds so much to the studio ver-
sion).
Despite its faults, Let's Spend the
Night Together does have its good poin-
ts. Some highlights include: the 1960s
film footage and photographs of Brian
Jones mixed in on "Time Is, On My
Side," Keith Richards' vocals on "Lit-
tle T & A" and his good o1' rock'n'roll
guitar on Eddie Cochran's "Twenty
Flight Rock," the consistently good
saxophone of Ernie (don't-know-if-he's-
related-to-Charlie) Watts, and the
closing song, "Satisfaction," which ac-
tually sent a little tingle up my spine.
Some of the photography is really
pretty nifty, and this makes it possible
to see not only the expressions (and
wrinkles) on the Stones's faces, but the
size, feel, and magnitude of these con-
certs.
There are some genuinely funny
elements to the film, too. One is a
chorus line of "Honky Tonk Women,"
including Mick's girlfriend, drummer
Charlie Watts' wife, and Ron Wood's
daughter. Others are the speeded up
footage of the crew setting up for the
concert, Keith's dangling cigarette and
attitude, Mick's gyrations and ex-
pressions, Bill Wyman's smirks, and
Charlie Watts' bald spot. Watts and
Wyman are their mellow, grinning
selves, Ronny and Keith are typically
loose and laughing, and Jagger, as
usual, is nothing but.. . well, Mick
Jagger.
Still, the film wasn't as exciting as it
might have been; and, like I said,
Mick's vocals just aren't that special
anymore. The man who once said, "I'd
rather be dead than singing 'Satisfac-
tion' when I'm forty-five " will
probably be singing "Satisfaction"
when he's fifty-two. But a lot of us will
still go see him and the boys (old boys)
in concert (or on film). Thing is, so will
a lot of fifteen-year-olds who also listen
to Van Halen and Loverboy.
2 INDIVIDUAL THEATRES
54$, Ar.e at Lib" ft"Y 0
GOLDEN GLOBE WINNER
BEST ACTRESS
- IN A DRAMA -
MERYL STREEP
SOPHIE'S
CHOICE,
FRI. - 6:45, 9:30 (R
SAT., SUN. -
1:00, 3:50, 6:45, 9:30
Mick wears his 'Nu-Wave' specs
proudly in 'Let's Spend the Night
Together,' Hal Ashby's film of the
Stones' 1981 tour.
STARTS TODAY!
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DUDLEY MOORE
ELIZABETH McGOVERN
A comedy for
the incurably
romantic.
LOVESICI(
The Core
'S
By Tom McDonald
I T WAS AN unexpected scene at
Rick's Wednesday night. The video
games were idle, the dart boards were
dormant, and even the pool table was
quiet. Because on stage was a band
called The Core, an exciting reggae
quartet hailing from Pittsburgh who
had the packed house at Rick's dancing
into the early hours of the morning. Ex-
pecting a modest turnout because of the
oonflict with exam week, the band drew
out the Ann Arbor reggae crowd in
numbers, showing that they have the
capacity to soon make the transition
from the bar circuit to small halls.
The Core got off to a slow start, but
soon captured the audience with their
striking and innovative original
material which represents a smooth
coalescence of reggae and rock. The
group exploits the traditional reggae
rhythm, yet manages to amplify it
Shrough their eclectic choice of influen-
es from the best of various sources in-
cluding rock, funk, and R and B. The
result is a hybrid that is effective and
vigorous.
While other American reggae bands
often attempt to duplicate the sound of
Jamaican bands, The Core makes an
effort to forge their own distinctinve
style. They realize their musical roots
are in the working class city of Pit-
tsburgh, and not in Kingston, Jamaica,
Dnd thus desire to utilize the range of
their domestic influences rather than
creating a cheap copy of the Carribean
sound.
dn first appearance, the band does
not have that "reggae look" that one
miay expect. Three white players and
ond black took the stage. Reggae has
been known as a predominantly black
idiom, but The Core view it from a dif-
delicious re
ferent perspective. "We're color
blind," says lead singer Tony Miles.
"We're just four good musicians who
get together to ,play reggae because we
like it." Miles is quite accurate with
this assertion: their music should not
be limited by racial boundaries.
However the racial mix has worked to
the advantage of the group, as they
have appealed to a wide variety of
listeners.
The Core has a hypnotic stage
presence which constantly diverts the
attention of their listeners froni their
mugs of beer to the music. The six-foot,
four-inch Miles is the visual epicenter of
the band. Clad in baggy camaflauge
pants tucked into knee length socks, a
sleeveless green army vest, and a rain-
bow colored headband, Miles can be at
times defiant, bold, and sensual. The
two feet of stage space that he had to
play with was simply not enough; he
would have been more at home on a
stage where his dancing and jumping
would not result in an overturned
microphone stand or amplifier.
Belting out their new single release,
"World Citizenship," Miles demon-
strated the depth of his vocal delivery.
His short winded screams, soulful
falsettos, and spiritually seducing
modulations capsu lated the range of his
ability.
Miles' vocal talents are illuminated
even further by the solid cast of
musicians backing him. Most evident is
Kurt Resch, who wields a brash guitar.
Usually the guitar serves as a
background element in a reggae band,
but Resch clearly brought out the
energy of the band. His supple guitar
work guided the band in and out ot
various musical styles with surprising
ease. In the song "Keep on Movin',"
Resch ferreted out an assortment of
tones from his Gibson hollow-body to
ggae
produce a slick-sounding melody.
Bassist Brooks Duer provided a strong
rhythm with his driving bass riffs, and
drummer Ken Crisafio made up for the
bands lack of extra percussion by a
solid performance on the drum kit.
When the patrons began to feel the ef-
fects of the gin and tonics, the small
dance floor became crammed with
writhing dancers. "I love to deal with
the audience," says Miles. "Every
night is a new experience. I like these
people to get up, forget their troubles
and have a good time dancing." When
the band left the stage well after 1 a.m.,
the audience demanded and received a
couple of encores. With a reception like
this, The Core will undoubtedly return
to Ann Arbor-keep a lookout.
FRI. - 7:10, 9:10
SAT., SUN. -
1:00, 3:10, 5:10, 7:10, 9:1(
*a
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