Page 10 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 24, 1986

I

Success hasn't spoiled him yet

By Joseph Kraus
"Success" hasn't spoiled Richard
Thompson.
After years of critical acclaim,
he's been touring to support his
second major label release in this
latest phase of his career. This
time around, the sales are a little
better and the reviews a little worse
than usual.
But Thompson and his band
proved it doesn't make a bit of
difference. When they come to play
a concert they play it like few other
bands could ever hope to and they
have a hell of a lot of fun in the
process.
Drawing mostly from the latest
album, Daring Adventures, (at
least for the second show) they
transformed many of the ducklings
obscured by Mitchell Froom's
production into swans of the first
order.
"Dead Man's Handle" turns out

to be able to stand with almost any
of Thompson's compositions; quite
a feat since Thompson is arguably
the most consistent songwriter of
the last 15 years.
"Bone Through Her Nose," an
easy but fun jab at the punk fashion
scene, was the vehicle for a set-
opening jam that nearly brought the
Ark's rafters crashing. Starting
slowly, Thompsom eased into one
of his patented whirlwind, guitar
solos. Five minutes later (or was it
a full lifetime?) he came back to
Earth with the intrepid band still in
tow.
The star of the show, after
Thompson, was accordion player
John Kirkpatrick. The mere poss -
ibility of an accordion in rock and
roll (outside of slower things by
Paul Simon or Los Lobos) seems
inconceivable. Kirkpatrick, one of
the world's masters of the
instrument, fit in like a glove and
on a version of Hank Williams'

"Mind Your Own Business" he
opened up worlds of possibilities
for the accordion in country-rock.
(Are you listening, Charlie
Daniels?)
For all the obvious skills of the
performers, they never took
themselves too seriously. Joking
back and forth, they weren't afraid
to include the audience in the fun.
When someone called out a request
for "Twist and Shout," Thompson
responded with 30 seconds of what
may have been the world's slowest
rendition of the Beatles' classic.
Later, announoing the end of the
show to an audience clamoring for
more, he called out, "This is longer
than Wayne Newton does, you
know."
As it was, the audience demanded
two encores, each of which
showcased only a part of the band's
awesome range. The first had an
unbelievable medley of 17th
century "Morris" dance tunes

spliced to a maximum R&B
version of "What's Wrong With
Rock and Roll."
The second encore (by now a
good half hour since they had first
tried to leave the stage) wrapped
things up with an unforgettable
version of Chuck Berry's "Sweet
Little Rock and Roller."
The whole evening proves what
much of Ann Arbor and a handful
of the rest of the country already
knows: Thompson is a rocker of
the first order consigned to the
small club circuit. It's a bit rough
on him not to sell as many albums
as his obvious imitators (like Dire
Straits' Mark Knopfler), but it's a
blessing to the ones lucky enough
to catch him in an intimate setting.
The good news for us is he'll
probably be back soon (Ann
Arbor's always been good to him).
The bad news for him is that he'll
probably remain our little secret.

Records
A-ha
SCOUNDREL DAYS
Warner Bros.
Yes, the "Take On Me" video
was the coolest thing since the
birth of rock and roll, and yes, after
hearing the song five or six times a
day for a month, even I caught
myself whistling the chorus. But
A-ha's follow up, album,
Scoundrel Days, is missing a
single catchy little gem of its own.
After one spin, it should be clear
which songs are destined for chart
immortality. That's the kind of
album this should be. Surpri-
singly, even after a thorough
screening, it is impossible to
differentiate the homogenous tracks,
much less pick out a quirky catchy
standout. A-ha is headed for trivia
question status.
Scoundrel Days seems to


vacillate between bland pop music-
and bland dance music. "The.
Swing of Things" has a listenable
refrain, but I'd be hard-pressed t?
hum it. "Manhattan Skyline?
boasts a good beat supplied by
good drum machine that maintair9
its constant pattern for almost five
minutes.
In fact, the best things about A-
ha have nothing to do with their -
music. In all likelihood, a dazzling
video will be in heavy rotation on
MTV, featuring the trio's rugged.
handsomeness and hi-tech gloss.
The song titles of the record, "Soft:
rains of April," "We're Looking for
the Whales," "The Weight of the,
Wind" are very imaginative, too. ,
It's a shame that none of that-
creative energy was imbued in the.
actual songs on Scoundrel Days.
-Mark Swartz

R.E.M. thrills crowds'


UVN
UNION

Arts

& Programming

This Week at the Michigan Union.. .
Oct. 27
Silkscreen Hangings of Sue Moran
The University Club
Oct. 29, 30
Safety Class for New Users
Student Woodshop 537 SAB
3-5pin
Oct. 30
Kerstin Allvin, Harpist
Works of Caplet, Granados, others
Pendleton Room, 12:15pm
For further information, call 764-6498

SG1NDINNkNJIk1
INFORMATION MEETING ON THE COLLEGE
YEAR IN SCANDINAVIA PROGRAM!
Information session and video presentation with
Dr. Mary Cattani, Program Coordinator
WHEN: 12:00 p.m., Monday, October 27, 1986
WHERE: International Center Lounge
AND
Slide presentation and discussion
WHEN: 3:30 p.m., Tuesday, October 28, 1986
WHERE: International Center Lounge

(Continued from Page 9)
B: No. It's a small town, no one
gives a shit.
D: Are there any bands there that
you particularly like?
B: Yea, I like Dream So Real,
Kilkenny Cats, Pylon (they've
broken up), Love Tractor...
D: Is there any truth to that
'Athens music scene' rumor?
B: No, people just have to have
something to write about.
D: So, do you feel as if you've
made it now that you're on the
cover of SPIN and doing so well;
are R.E.M. 'rock stars' now?
B: I think it's kind of funny.
Sometimes I think being in a rock
and roll band is the stupidestathing
in the world. Then I think putting
out a magazine about it is, or
writing about it...But it's
entertaining.
WEEKEND
MAGAZINE
Fridays in The Daily
763-0379J

D: Do you feel under any
obligation to come out after a show
and meet your fans?
B: I just don't want to end up
like Jimmy Page.
D: Do you think you'll ever
play any more small clubs?
B: We play small clubs for fun.
I don't have to do it anymore for a
living.
As we were walking out of
practically empty the Fox Theatre
lobby, the Photo Editor and I
spotted a guy with long blond hali
who was chatting exuberantly with
two or three people. He looked like
a rock star. "Excuse me," I asked,"
"Didn't you play back-up guitar '
with R.E.M.?" "Yeah,", he
responded, obviously pleased that
someone had not only recognized
him but was paying him attention,'.
too. "Well what's your name,"$I
asked, "I don't think I caught it."
He told me that his name was Van
Buren, told me how he had landed
the job (something about an
audition where they had originall 6
been searching for a keyboardist
and then said, "My mpther always
used to ask me 'When are you
going to stop playing that heavy
metal? Then maybe something
good will happen to you."'

ON CAMPUS CONTACT:

Jane Dickson
Overseas Opportunity Advisor
International Center
Phone: 747-229

SCANDINM
~~ SEMINVN
24 DICKINSON STREET, AMHERST. MA 01002


4

0

HIRI

1

I
U

MAUG
EATERIES &
COMMONS
$4/hr with advancements to higher-paying
student manager positions.
Benefits include:

6m

Ul

0

Uo

" Flexible hours
" 10 % off textbooks and selected items at the Michigan Union Bookstore
" 50 % off food the day you work
* Ti'rPP ra to mn t T nixruritr Ch1iih xvnt


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