The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 11, 1984 - Page 7 Records Nick Lowe, "Nick Lowe and his Cowboy Outfit" (Colum- bia Records). Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit is par for the course among Lowe solo albums - unfatiguably cheerful, tongue solidly glued in cheek, comfor- tably lodged somewhere between wave- pop and '50s/early '60s party pop; with a guaranteed one or two minor fun classics and a remainder of songs that are, if not particularly memorable, im- possible to actively dislike. Like a lot of artists signed to Stiff Records in the '70s (though Lowe had a far more extensive track record than most),'Nick Lowe has specialized in the more harmless fun-fun-fun aspects of the (R.I.P.) "New Wave," half- jokingly nostalgic for early radio-pop innocense, half faster-than-the-same wavepop cheekiness. And, like such fello Stiff enrollees as Rachel Sweet, Lene Lovich and Ian Dury, Lowe has consistentlyjust failed to go beyond that jokey formula, snaring a few hit singles but never put- ting out a whole LP that trades in more than simple goodwill. Lowe once made an EP of Everly Bros. hits with Rock- pile partner Dave Edmunds, and all of middling solo projects have had the same air of high spirits/affection/skill and inspiration. Perhaps only Elvis Costello, among all the happy-middle- range Stiff acquisitons of the period, has really developed steadily with the years. Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit is still solidly within this tradition; it's a solid B-plus as a party album, but it inhabits that netherland between the grisly retrograde music and that still monopolizes much of the radio waves and what we call New Music. There's nothing wrong with being an essentially nostalgia-based group, but Lowe uneasily straddles new and old without quite fixing an identity in either. Perhaps the critical difference between him and bands like the Rain Parade and Rank and Rile, is that the latter take their dated genre pop conve- ntions with utter seriousness, while Lowe seems content to clown around. Perhaps it's our problem rather than Lowe's not being able to accept such slicked-up nouveau '50s/'60s pop comfortably. In any case, the album winds up feeling more like an arch trip through the archives by talented moderns than like a creative revision. That doesn't mean that Cowboy Out- fit isn't a very pleasant LP - it is. The "cowboy" motif, for those of you not particularly intrigued by the cowpunk wave of Rank and File, Jason and the Scorchers, etc., is pretty much limited to one or two midtemp stomps. Elvis Costello Himself co-produces one total- pop cut, "L.A.F.S." (that means Love At First Sight), which sounds a shade too Costello-at-his-blandest to fit into the grittie context of this album. More typical are self-explanatory titles like "Hey Big Mouth," "Stand up and Say That," "God's Gift to Women" and "The Gee and the Rick and the 3- Card Trick," which are silly as they sound and nearly as much fun. Lowe flirts with rockabilly, soul, R&B, and mid-60s pop like a near- master imitator; only near because he writes fairly catchy but unmemorable songs that fit perfectly into the chosen genre. There are some mildly ecstatic ex- ceptions, like the keyboard-happy opener "Half a Boy and Half a Man,'' the Elvis-(not C.) worthy "Maureen," but most of the cuts are more charming for the references they call up from memory lane than for their own worth. The only song that really jumps off the vinyl and into your lap is the most fully '80s-flavoured, an irresistable pop-up called "Break Away," which is nearly as memorable as Rockpile's catchy-as- plague version of "Teacher, Teacher" on Seconds of Pleasure. Needless to say, Lowe's fine sense of harmony is intact throughout the album, and the musicians (whoinclude Martin Belmont and ex-Squeeze Paul Carrack) have infectious tacky-wall-of- sound fun. There's a lot to like on Nick Lowe and His Cowboy Outfit, and virtually nothing to dislike. Still, it's frustrating that the enjoyment one feels never tur- ns to anything approaching love. Lowe has plenty of charm and studio know- how going for him, and he's a com- petent songwriter; but he remains just one degree too easy-going to make the jump from pleasurable minor perfor- mer to major presence. - Dennis Harvey S tudLc1e nts You can place your order for telephone service from August 27 through September 12 at our Michigan Bell Customer Service Center. We're located at 324 E. Huron in Ann Arbor. Center hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. There are three important points to remember when placing your order for service: 1. Michigan Bell now provides basic telephone service only, NOT the telephones. If you already own modular telephones, just keep them and plug them in once your service is installed. If you don't own any telephones, there are a number of companies from which you can buy or lease them. 2. If your residence is already equipped with modular telephone service, no installer visit will be required. 3. Please bring picture identification, such as a driver's license or passport, when placing your order for service. As always, we'll be happy to answer any questions. Good luck this fall! Michigan Bell AN Aisiri EcHi COMPANY Eastwood's Tightrope act (Contined from Page 6) As it turns out, the killer is on to Block, and has begun to trail him on his nightly excursions, watching with ghoulish voyeurism from as close as a few feet away. He begins to kill each woman Block has an experience with, turning the chase into a dual cat and,- mouse game with Block more often the prey than the hunter. Eventually the killer becomes com- pletely obsessed with Block, who finds his own children are the next in line unless he can crack the case, and keep from cracking up himself. Admittedly, this kind of character embellishment and some degree of plot complications are considerably more than the usual shell of a story Eastwood finds himself in, which only serve as an excuse to pad screen time before t someone's, head is blown off. The problem is that writer/director Richard Tuggle never develops the material into anything other than a B- movie psychokiller yarn that's so familiar one can't help but feel a con- tinuous sense of deja vuthroughout. The psycho is your basic omnisient, almost supernatural imasked =killer right out of any slaughter-at-a-summer- camp turkey. It's difficult to see any comparisons between him and Block, because we never get an impression that there's even a man behind the mask. Likewise, Block's own character is * almost as undeveloped. The script is lit- tered with an excess of pseudop- sychological babbling about "walking the tightrope between our two inner sides, one good and the other evil," but it's all unconvincing double talk that falls with a leaden thud the moment the actors utter any of it. Tuggle puts Block through all man- ners of hokey dramatic tricks to pound in the idea, from nightmares where he sees the killer's mask ripped off to reveal his own face to a series of halluncinatory flashbacks of his weird sexual experiences. Tuggle even goes so far as to wallow in some truly absurd symbolism by having Block evetually pursue the killer through the darkened corners of his own home. In the end though, there's still not a real man there to care about. For all the time Tuggle and Eastwood waste trying to make Block into a tor- tured character, the script frequently shelves the subplot to make room for gratuitous chase scenes and murders. After a climax so prolonged and disjointed it degenerates into a virtual anticlimax, there's one quick scene at the very end that tries to tie up all the loose ends and show Block as trium- phant in overcoming his dark side.. The problem is he hasn't done any soul purging to make that very convincing. If Eastwood's range extended beyond his usual squint-eyed, clenched teeth woodenness, he might have provided the film with a character the audience could empathize with enough to ignore the details. Sadly, Eastwood is as colorless and lacking in presence as any of his other granite-hewn heroes, Save for one occassion .when he lets loose with a broad smile (and that's something of a leap for Eastwood), Wes Block is really just an emasculated Dir- ty Harry. The rest of the cast is so vaguely sketched they literally blend in with the background. Even Genevieve Bujold as a rape counselor who develops a romantic albeit platonic relationship with Block, seems drained of her usually irridescent screen presence. Tightrope probably is the sort of project that Clint Eastwood and his legion of fans consider as "serious." With its clunky multiple plots and less than average action scenes, it seems more original that what we've come to expect, but in perspective, it's just a third rate murder melodrama which is, I guess, a step up for Eastwood. %. I I . r . 40( . ' a September 10 to September 14 The Great State Street Giveaway /I V, ,,/ 0 " Open to all college students. " Dozens of fabulous prizes. * Free Gifts and Discount Coupons just for entering. Brought to you by: More than 50 participating merchants in the State Street area. There's no Bo in Bolero (Contined from Page 6) To be honest, the script harbors one more infinistesimal surprise. Despite all of the bad acting, granite dialogue, and dull plotting, Bo does show us a por- trait of a woman who knows what she wants and works to get it. It is only the smallest of pluses though, and can't even begin to neutralize the thousands of minuses that fill Bolero. Instant Winner Prize Package - pick one up when you register to enter. Filled with free gifts and valuable discount coupons contributed by: Grand Prize Drawing September 15th at the Michigan' Theatre. The Michigan Theatre Bivouac Borders Books Great Lakes Federal Savings University Cellar Mutual Savings Martys His Lady The Caravan Shop Kinko s Copes AATA First of America Bank Movie Poster Gallery Comerica Bank Jacobson s State Discount Ashleys Restaurant Nectarine Ballroom The Pantree Restaurant Ritz Camera Shop Marti Walker Marshall s Dance Theatre Studio 711 N. University (near State St.) Ann Arbor Classes in ballet, modern, jazz, tap and ballroom ' '- I I V I Register Now At One Of These Locations The Michigan Theatre Bivouac Great Lakes Federal Savings MutualSavings Marty s His Lady The Shoe Palace Maison Edwards The Caravan Shop Movie Poster Gallery * Crown House of Gifts State Discount Campus Bike & Toy Ashley s Restaurant Liberty Music Shop Richardson's Pharmacy Marti Walker Merchant The Michigan Theatre The Bivouac Great Lakes Federal Borde's Book Shop Mutual Savings Marty s His Lady Van Boven Shoes Van Boven Inc. Wild & Co Van Buren Shop The Shoe Palace Maison Edwards The Continental Restaurant The Caravan Shop S.S. Kresge First of America John Leidy Movie Poster Gallery Crown House of Gifts Comenca Bank Jacobson s Sneakers n Cleats State Discount Mast Shoes Albertis Copying NBD of Ann Arbor Make Waves Campus Bike & Toy Ashleys Caffe Fiore Lake s Gallery Discount Records The Pantree Restaurant Kinko's Copies Liberty Music Shop Moe s Sporting Goods Bay s Jewelers Richardsons Pharmacy Dr Gingles. DDS Eric's Sportswear Marti Walker Prize 10 Free Movie Tickets $2500 Gift Certificate Sportswear Package $50 00 Gift Certificate $25 00 Savings Account 2-$25 00 Gift Certificates $5000 Gift Certificate $50 00 Gift Certificate Folding Travel Umbrella Woman s Terry Robe $50 00 Gift Certificate Attache Case Dinner for Two German Mug Hanging Plant 10-One Year Free Checking Coupons 2-$25 00 Gift Certicates Charlie Chaplin Poster 1 Framed Print $50.00 Savings Bond 2-$5000 Gift Certificates U-M Hooded Sweatshirt Record Album $2500 Gift Certificate 500 Self-Serve Copies 5 U-M Stadium Seats 10 Discount Coupons 3 Bike Bags and 5-$15 00 Gift Certificates Dinner for Four 10 Certificates for 2 Free Servings of Gelato $15 00 Gift Certificate 14 Twelve-Inch Singles $25 00 Gift Certificate 500 Free Copies Beethoven Set Of Nine Symphonies $2500 Gift Certificate 14k Bracelet 1 Pair of Ray-Ban Sunglasses 1 Free Teeth Cleaning 4-$5 00 Gift Certificates $25.00 Gift Certificate / I 'V Game Rules 1 The Great State Street Giveaway is a game promotion open to any currently registered student of a college or university in Michigan. 2 Registration may be in person or by mail to the State Street Area Association, PO Box 4128, Ann Arbor. Michigan 48106. 3 No purchase or other consideration is required to enter. 4 Only one entry per person is permitted. In the event of multiple entries. only the first card drawn for an individual will be honored and only the first prize won will be awarded. 5 Prize drawing will be held at the Michigan Theatre on September 15. 1984. 6 Entrants need not be present to win. -AS-