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Page 8 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, December 3, 1985
Records

.lHearts Desire," Tyzik's catchy
Ralph MacDonald - Surprize melodies quickly grow tiresome due
jeff Tyzik - Smile to the band's utter lack of emotional
:(Polydor)and improvisational vigor. Despite
some tight, punchy horn section
In the past, fine jazz musicians such arrangements ("Face" and "Love
as Herbie Hancock and George Ben- Won't Wait"), Smile suffers from in-
son have achieved plateaus of great strumental inconsistency, led by a
artistic credibility before "selling- distracting overuse of electric drums.
out" by producing albums that were Furthermore, only on "Rare Momen-
accessible to the average listener of ts" does the album's too slick produc-
pop music. In the eyes of jazz purists tion yield to a sparser arrangement,
4nd aficianados, these instances were finally allowing the musicians to
seen as loathsome sacrifices of in- groove and show some creativity.
tegrity on the parts of the artists, who That Tyzik is attempting to lure a
were clearly aiming for a more pop audience is most clear on the
profitable market. It is therefore album's simple vocal tracks, typified
litturbing to find Ralph MacDonald by Maurice Starr's bland,
and Jeff Tyzik bypassing any attempt emotionless reading of "Sweet
at obtaining true respectability in Surrender."
jazz, seeking instead the quickest way Similarly, MacDonald's Surprize
into the hearts - and wallets - of a contains several vocal tracks which
Top-40 audience via a meek brand of sound suspiciously like jazzy com-
fupion. mercial jingles ("You Need More
On tunes such as the upbeat title Calypso," and "One Life To Live"),
track and the Mangione-styled "My due largely to the soulless singing of

Dennis Collins and Yogi Lee, respec-
tively.
Indeed, the restrained, contrived
sound of Surprize truly disappoints
the listener in light of the superb per-
sonnel present here; brilliant veterans
such as bassist Marcus Miller and
drummer Steve Gadd are relegated to
the role of inconspicuous session
players whose contributions are
woefully understated. The overall ef-
fect is that of a rigid, impotent sound,
even on instrumentals such as "Santa
Cruz" and the title cut. The latter is
particularly maddening; its heavily
percussive jungle beat, tailor-made
for Gadd's legendary style, is wasted
as the drummer clings stubbornly to a
straight beat, even at obvious solo
breaks.
When jazz is reduced to the level of
accessibility found on Surprize and
Tyzik's Smile, the crucial elements of
integrity, emotion, and im-
provisational freedom are
necessarily removed. Fusion artists
must therefore retain and embrace
these characteristics in order to gain
the respect of their peers, for the
alternative is an apparently profit-
motivated divorce from the genre of
jazz, resulting in musical sterility..
-Joe Acciajoci
Yngwie J. Malmsteen-Mar-

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and it really doesn't work the second
time around when garage rock is still
dim c-a-dozen.
And sometimes the power is
lacking, as on "Primitive," when
what could be a good feed-back gar-
bled thrashy attempt at sleazy rock
'n' roll comes off as slickened low-
grade heavy metal. Smack's just a lit-
tle too carbon to be taken seriously.
Recommended only for people who
think the Stooges are Larry, Moe and
Curly.
Another Scandanavian newcomer,
Yngwie J. Malmsteen, shows promise
as a guitar great, but again, gets too
caught up in imitating American
rockers, on his album Marching Out.
Yngwie's brilliant brand of speed-
core guitar work stands fine on its
own, but is all too often bogged down
cheesy metal monikers and ginr-
micks, like quasi-chivalric lyrics,
monotonous 4/4 drum lines, and span-
dexed production that drones ad
nauseum. On "Disciples of Hell,"
(some title) the mesmerizing
acoustic intro leaves you stunned, but
before you know it, all hell, (literally)
has broken loose and you're being
taken against your will on another
heavy metal roller coaster.
Malmsteem is a great guitarist, but
it seems he can only gain acceptance
from a metal audience, and so his
music suffers in the hands of a span-
dex cliche. Unfortunately, recom-
mended for metal fans and guitar en-
thusiasts willing to wade through
plenty of smoke machines and stud-
ded leather to get to the good stuff.
-Hobey Echlin
Jill Gomez
Songs of the Auvergne
(Angel)
Songs of the Auvergne, arranged by
Joseph Canteloube, is a new com-
pilation of the rural songs indigenous
to the mountainous Auvergne region
of France. The melodious songs are
sung by soprano Jill Gomez, backed
by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
Orchestra, with Vernon Handley as
conductor.
In a market saturated by albums
featuring the famous operatic singers
of the day performing the "hits" that
they're known for, this recording of-
fers a pleasant change. In this case, it
is the music itself, rather than the
singer, that takes precedence.
These are the songs of the people
who inhabit the region between the
Rhone and the Dordogne rivers in the
south of France. Sung in the rounded
dialect of the Auvergne, the songs
flourish in their wonderful use of

repetition of various sounds. The
refrain Bailero lero, lero, lero... of
the song "Bailero" is nothing more
than the flirtatious- gibberish of a
shepherdess calling to a shepherd
across the meadows. The repetition of
this one sound and the careful inflec-
tion by Jill Gomez express the exact
coquetish quality of the shepherdess.
"Trois Bourrees" (Book 1, No.3) is
a languid pastoral. The fluid accom-
paniment of a harp gives credence to
its subtitle, "l'aio de rotso" (spring
water). Nothing is as beautiful as the
refrain which uses the poetic soun-
ding oquel, aio, quel, aio,
throughout the song.
Soprano Jill Gomez, who studied
with a native Auvergnoise to learn the
dialect, is best known for her work in
French opera. Her light voice is well
suited to these airy songs, though her
chirpiness makes one wish her voice
was a bit richer.
-Noelle Bro wer

Various

Artists-Feed the

ching

Out

The strongest single cut on the
album comes from Steeleye Span.
"Where Are They Now" asks about all
the soldiers who've disappeared (I
don't see a direct connection to world
hunger, but it's still a damn good
song) and might well be asked about
the band itself. Maddy Prior's voice
sounds as strong as it did 10 years ago,
when a more sympathetic American
audience gave her band at least
fleeting fame.
The list goes on, with Billy Bragg
representing the angry side of the folk
sound, Kate and Anna McGarrigle the
sweet, and Loudon Wainwright III the
bluesy. Lindisfarne, Fairport Conven-
tion, The Battlefield Band, Paul
Brady and Billy Connolly round out
the roster that really doesn't yield up
a bad song on the album.
Since it is a charity album, you'll
feel good about buying it, and you
won't have to put up - with the fluff
you'll find on this album's high profile
cousins. -Joe Kraus

(Polydor)

Smack-On You (Enigma)
American culture seems to be
taking its time rebounding off Scan-
dinavia, and boy, is there a lot of
feedback.
First up from Finland is Smack,
who on their debut LP, On You, prove
that paying homage to your musical
roots might just get you somewhere.
The sound is a simplified version of
the Stooges, with plenty of whining
and grinding chord shifts.
The sound is powerful though, with
excellent production making that
wall-of-death rock sound come
through with plenty of charge.
Lyrics are predictably sleazy, as
titles like "Good morning,
Headache", and "Little Cunt," more
jthan attest to. The vocals themselves
will get a chuckle, especially the too-
Iggy forced accent on "Some Fun,"
But overall, the minimalist approach
of Iggy is a little too readily mirrored,

Folk (Temple)
Obscured by the Top 40 efforts of
their more famous colleagues ("Do
They Know It's Christmas" and "We
Are the World") this mostly British
group of folk music stars have gotten
together to do what they can for en-
ding world hunger.
Unlike the more publicized versions
of the same idea, this album doesn't
have a whopper "jam-'em-all-in"
showcase single. In fact, all but two of
the cuts are available on other
albums. But, when you consider that
most of these artists have absolutely
no access to American radio, it's not
such a bad deal.
Ireland's The Chieftans are
arguably the biggest name in the
bunch, but their single "Cotton-Eyed
Joe" is disappointing by their stan-
dards. (Which means, of course, that
it is only very good.)
Regular Ann Arbor visitor Richard
Thompson contributes "The Dundee
Hornpipe/The Poppyleaf" from Strict
Tempo and sounds like at least two
guitarists as he ranges through the
traditional tunes.
The Roches give "Want Not, Want
Not" from Keep On Doing, which
sounds a bit out of place next to the
more traditional offerings, but
nonetheless sounds good (and a good
deal better than their more recent of-
ferings).
Martin Carthy, who came to the Ark
just last month, offers "Old Horse"
accompanied by John Kirkpatrick
(who also showed up at the Ark),
Thompson, and Howard Evans.

John Trubee and the Ugly
Janitors of America -
Naked Teenage Girls in
Outer Space (Enigma)
OK - so John Trubee is still having
grim recollections of those goddamn
college girls who snobbed him when..'.
However, it's just not funny anymore.
The crude, obnoxious wit that tested
how much he could get away with on
his first hit single, "A Blind Man's
Penis" and his The Communists are
Coming to Kill Us LP is now just tired
and boring. With his backing "band"
the Ugly Janitors of America, Trubee
had created on that first album ar
hysterical mess of half-assed songs
with really rude lyrics, and taped
phone conversations on which he
wraught havoc on the lives of the
American society he detests so much.
Trubee was an outsider who had been
shunned and was determined to get
even (or better).
"We will keep making this music
even if it kills us..." he reaffirms on
his new record. However, the joke has
worn very thin this time around.
Trubee has attempted real musical
compositions, and one gets the idea
that he's getting way too serious for
his own good (this dude's no
musician). Much of Trubee's tunes
are boring and uninspired. Combine
this with those same old lyrics about
the snobbish girls and how he's been a
leper of society, etc... and he just
sounds stupid. On Communists this
stuff was new and nasty. On Naked
Teenage Girls it's old, dull, and
what's worse - sounds plain juvenile.
But Trubee does get a good laugh
here and there, as on those taped
phone calls of the earlier album. Not
to kill the punchline, but one can have
a lot of fun with unsuspecting subur-
banites. It's just too bad that the jokes
on this disc are so few and far bet-
ween.
-Beth Fertig
Screaming Tribesmen-Date
With a Vampire (What Goes
:d&


MMMiq

Sunldst
"Festa Bowl
The University of Michigan
Off icial Tour
Student /Faculty/Staff
Phoenix, Dec. 28- Jan.2
from
$699.
" Round Trip Airfare
.5 nights at the Sheraton Scottsdale resort
" All transfers included
" Complete New Year's Eve Party
. After game Rose Bowl TV Party
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" Air only and land only packages available

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We realize that the papers
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So, please, share your paper
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a0

On)
"Date With a Vampire" is a
rockin' good time with its grungy
guitar and dirty, revved-up garage
sound; but the rest of the Screaming
Tribesmen's debut EP falls below
such a level. "Ice" has a rather thin
quality to it, and "2 Blind Mice" is
nothing but a weak attempt to hop on
the bandwagon of "anything goes so
long as it jangles." The song is a
barely tolerable, direct cop at being
R.E.M. The band picks up again on
"High Times" with a fierce guitar
solo, but it's not really enough. All in
all, these Aussies yelp pretty well but
they don't really scream.
-Beth Fertig


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