The Michigan Daily - Friday, January 6, 1989-Page 11 Frank Allison and the Odd Sox Monkey Business Relapse Records It's amazing how four little words can do in a band like this one. Those words are "for a local band," as in "they have some pretty good songs for a local band." Translation: go see them at Rick's if it's $2 pitcher night, but spend your record-buying money on a real album instead. This is not, repeat, not, a good album for a local band. This is a great album for any band, local or oth- erwise. The first full-lengther from those lovable goofballs who've been making watered-down beer taste just a little better for Ann Arborites for some time now, Monkey Business captures all of their live energy and goofiness, and then some. I say "and then some," because it also shows, through capable pro- duction (despite being recorded in Frank's kitchen) and probably the coolest lyric sheet ever (written in pseudo- rebus form with illustrations courtesy of Allison), that there's more to these guys than just silly faces and creative fliers. The key word here is exuberance. The entire album, with Allison's cockeyed lyrics and melodies, exudes a sort of cynical optimism if such is possible. The songs are mostly tales of debt - financial, romantic, and r r r r otherwise - but all the while there's a sense that life sucks, but it's not going to get any better by whining .; about it. On "Crediting Men's Hayride," for example, Allison sings about losing his shirt to The Man by - throwing an imaginary bash for the collectors. When the album does get heavy, on the pining "Please Come Home," and "Slaves," it's done with an inventive freshness that defies melancholy ("will you romance some new guy/who looks like Dick Tracy/ and smells kind of queer," from "Please"). And none of the lyrical blues get in the way of the album's danceability. From the frenzied tip of the hat to Eddie Cochran, "Louder," to "Hayride," the Odd Sox play with all the verve of a pack of sixth-graders at recess wired on chocolate milk and Pop-Rocks. "Athletic Dan" for my money is one of the best pop songs of this year, its trebly guitar strums carrying it to its end in what seems like far less than its three-odd minutes. With material like this and an expanding out-of- town schedule, it's possible we might not have the Sox all to our greedy little selves forever. But Monkey Business will at least give their fans something worth keeping long after the beer spills on their pant legs and the green ink spots on the backs of their hands have long since faded. m :q* Freud may say Melanie Griffith and Harrison Ford are suffering from some kind of complex resulting from not being breast fed, thus causing them to suck on their fingers, but in reality they're biting their nails as they contemplate an important business deal in Working Girl. ork ng Continued from Page 1 Griffith plays Tess McGill, the new secretary to power-position-holding Katharine Parker (Weaver). Parker claims to be open to any suggestions that Tess may have, stating that their professional relationship is "a two-way street." What Tess finds out is that both lanes lead in Parker's direction. So when Parker is incapacitated from a skiing accident, Tess tries to implement one of her own ideas without going through the heirarchy and redtape of the company by acting as her own boss. i .Her first step is to set up a meeting with Jack Trainer (Ford), another corporate wheeler-dealer. It isn't, until 40 minutes into the film that Harrison Ford makes his first appearance, and by this time Weaver's character is hung up at the hospital; so rarely until the final climactic scene does Griffith appear on screen with both her co-stars at once. However, she is in nearly every scene throughout the film, and even one- on-one with Ford or Weaver, she still wins out. In Something Wild, Griffith donned black hair and numerous odd outfits to match her unique character. In Working Girl, she starts off with a New Yorker's speech patterns and a bad habit of overdressing, but she learns enough from Katharine toschange her image by speaking clearer and dressing sharper. As Director Nichols remarks "Eighty percent of the battle is style. And Tess literally has to masquerade in order to demonstrate her ability and free herself." This may seem like a paradox, but it is the truth. Tess carries on her charade of being a power-holder, and at the same time becomes romantically involved with Trainer. This is where the comedy comes in, but masked in the laughs is a serious look at the people involved, much the same way as in The Graduate. And if you are looking for a line to match the infamous "Plastics" from 20 years ago, you'll find it when Griffith first meets Trainer and tells him "I've got a brain for business and a body for sin." Well, it's obvious that she's got a brain for acting, and as for the other part we'll leave that up to Don Johnson who will soon remarry Griffith, whom he divorced ten years ago. What a DINK pair this Working Girl and Guy will make! WORKING GIRL is playing at Showcase Cinemas and at Briarwood. Traveling Volume One Wilbury Records Read Ube ~Daieg Wilburys Who are these guys trying to fool? Nobody's going to fall for this Wilbury ruse - the Wilburys (Lucky, Otis, Charlie T. Jr., Nel- son, and Lefty... or, uh, Bob [Dylan], Jeff [Lynne], Tom [Petty], George [Harrison], and Roy [Orbison]) are just too recog- nizable, both visually and musi- cally. Of course, this could be the reason for their attempt to disguise themselves - a desire to get away from all the inherent expectations that accompany a project with their names and faces on it. Certainly this album is more lighthearted than its progenitors' recent efforts. Musically, Volume One is free- spirited and fun yet not without powerful emotions. Lefty, the crooner of the group, who is somewhat out of place amongst his four rough-voiced brothers, showcases his multi-octave range (guess who he is...) on "Not Alone Any More," and Lucky explores the darker side of his family's mu- sic on "Tweeter And The Monkey Man." The album was produced by Otis and Nelson Wilbury, and uses many of the same sounds as Nel- son's recent solo album (which was, coincidentally, also produced by Otis and Nelson). Each Wilbury has one or two songs on which they sing lead, and several songs split the vocal duties among the brothers. Perhaps the anonymity, or at- tempt thereof, freed up the Wilburys to relax a bit and have fun again with their music. What- ever the cause, the effect is a won- derful album. Let's hope for Vol- ume Two sometime soon. - Chuck Skarsaune Ofra Haza "Im Nin' Alu"/ "Galbi" 12" Sire Considering the otherwordly, trancelike state that can be conjured by the discotheque experience - where the rhythm bypasses the intellect and envelops one's motor instinct with abandon - I'm sur- prised modern dance music neglects the mystic potential of vocal sources. Certainly, the growing deployment of rat-a-tat stuttering samples and scratch mutations has brought the vocal element further into the percussive mix in a strangely appealing way. But considering the copycattish creative insularity of the U.S./England disco -Jim Poniewozik industry, it's not surprising that it should take some cross-breeding from non-Western sources to break:. through. An unexpected synthesis of the Levantine sources behind Peter. Gabriel's score to The Last Tempta- tion of Christ and the mix-a-lot frenzy of M/A/R/R/S' "Pump up thea Volume," Israeli singer Ofra Haza.- takes the wailing voices and, undulating fiddle sounds of ancient Yemenite folk songs such as "Im Nin' Alu" as the basis for over- whelming synthesized grooves that stand out thankfully far from the jamming crowd, especially in a year where a scary disco medley of Peter Frampton and Lynyrd Skynrd looks to be the genre's most unlikely hit. Unfortunately, the overzealous American remixing of these tracks - originally recorded in Tel Aviv - tends to obscure the unique qualities of Haza's music. But at least you're given the choice of two different full-out mixes of both songs. And perhaps it's oddly appropriate that these remixes em- phasize the irony of how, in a genre where change is usually characterized by technological one-upsmanship, an antiquated source has given rise to the most exciting and effective new twist around. --Michael Paul Fischer Ir U,, * TEXTBOOKS NEW AND USED: REQUIRED AND RECOMMENDED BOOKS FOR ALL COURSES BOOK BUY BACK CASH FOR YOUR USED BOOKS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. RECEIVE UP TO 50% OF LIST PRICE SCHOOL SUPPLIES COMPLETE SELECTION AL po -J 1 r 66 -J * REFERENCE AND LEISURE READING NEW AND CLASSIC TITLES IN ALL SUBJECT AREAS. EXTENSIVE LAW, MATHEMATICS, AND COMPUTER SCIENCE SECTIONS. 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