The Michigan Daily-Monday, February 29, 1988- Page 9

Records
Steve Winwood
Chronicle
Island Records


Also included is the recent born-
again mega-hit, "Valerie," originally
released in 1982, during which time
it received airplay on only A.O.R.
stations and "Talking Back To the

The Spenser Davis Group, Blind Night of the same year. In a
Faith, Traffic, The Jimi Hendrix =t;,Nighy therae eaInt a
Experience - these are some of the the highly underrated, Vacant
petgosbands Steve *iwo has been included, whicha
prestigious dt irWinwood makes up for its exclusion
has worked with during his career. **Back in the High Life.
Ginger Baker, Dave Mason, Jim The quality of this album
Capalidi, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and ter than most of what Winw
Eric Clapton - these are some of circulating aroung the air
the luminaries of rock he has played these days, which is sad consi
with. But his most recent album, it's collection of yesteryear.
Chronicle, a compilation of his solo vyou want the "best" of Steve
music since 1977, deals with none wood, get some Traffic or the
of that, and it's too bad. Faith album (which he wrot
The album does features a sam- of and sang all of anyway),
pling of his earlier, better work, in- you want some good solo m
cluding a somewhat abbreviated ver-. ..yurant some oo hsolo m
sionof Whie Yu Se aChace"....... ..<$,.A~ 7'purchase some of his earlier all
and "Arc of a Diver" from the 1980 especially Arc of a Diver.
album of the same name, as well as \ Akim D. Rein
a rendition of "Spanish Dancer."
But also featured are songs of .
questionable quality from his most The Housemartins
recent effort, Back in the High Life, The People Who Grinned
namely "Higher Love," "My Love's Themselves to Death
Leavin"' and "Wake Me Up On Steve Winwood's latest, 'Chronicle,' is a compilation of his most popular Elektra
Judgement Day." Unfortunately the SeeWnodslts Crnce'i oplto fhsms oua lkr
best song from that album, the title solo music since 1977, but your best bet is to check out his earlier work The Housemartins' late
ack, has ben left off of thish one with Traffic and Blind Faith.T

ddition
Chair"
almost
from
is bet-
ood is
waves
dering
But if
Win-
Blind
e most
and if
aterial,
bums,
!hardt

brings us more bouncy British pop
songs with the same sparse, guitar-
driven sound and tight vocal
harmonies that made 1986's London
O, Hull 4 so much fun.
Songwriting guitarists Stan
Cullimore and P.D. Heaton have
become a bit more sophisticated, so
that while the songs remain
instantly catchy, they don't become
tiresome, even after a lot of
listening. In fact, bouncy tunes such
as "Me and the Farmer," "Five Get
Over Excited" (with its "fun, fun,
fun... " chorus), and the Smiths-
esque title track will probably keep
you humming. And speaking of
humming, the album comes with a
bonus 7" (mail-in with the CD) of
two a capella songs which are
performed quite competently and in
typical, light, Housemartins style.
The music is unabashedly fun, as
is the quartet's unpretentious
"loveable nerds from Hull" image.
However, don't think these guys
have nothing to say. A read-through
of their lyric sheet will sound more

like Brecht than the Beatles.
Through the LP's 12 predominantly
danceable songs, the listener is
confronted with sharp attacks on
Thatcher's economics, militarism,
the Queen, the Church, sexism,
racism, and other staples of
England's far right. Far from being
preachy, the Housemartins slip their
messages in subtly, like good
propagandists. The title track is fun
when you ignore the anti-Tory
lyrics: "The people who grinned
themselves to death/Smiled so much
they failed to take a breath/And even
when their kids were starving/They
all thought the queen was
charming."
And so it goes with The People
Who Grinned Themselves to Death.
It's a tremendously fun, catchy
bunch of songs that won't hit you
over the head with its message. The
Housemartins: pop star darlings or
social revolutionaries? You be the
judge.
-Spencer Gusick

I

st L P

GE


Books

ro

(Continued from Page 8)
have spotted me among those strug-
gling to be hip and realized I was
teetering on that very verge."
Mr. Zappa's friendship proves
lasting and productive - he helps
Des Barres form a rock group, the
GTO's, and gives her a job as nanny
to his kids. Ultimately, Des Barres'
friendship with the Zappas lasts
lgnger than her rock group, and her
other attempts to become a star
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and marries Michael Des Barres (ex- selfconscious. Her narrative voice is
Power Station singer). very feminine and very free, which is
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quest for male approval. As a writer,
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her integrity makes for a touching
and funny autobiography that is def-
initely recommended.-Avra Koufman

GE TIT!
EROATlEE


The. Personal Column
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~Mom says the
house just isn't the
same without me,
even though its
a lot cleaner

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It costs less than you think to
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