Page 8- The Michigan Daily -Thursday, December 7, 1989
The legend of
Ichabod
Stowe
continues
BY MARK SWARTZ
ASK most rock singers what their hobbies are and, if
they're being honest with you, they'll tell you either
"drugs" or "chicks." Ask the mercurial guitar hero Icha-
bod Stowe and he'll have to hand you his resume.
Stowe (who won't tell you his middle name, but it
might start with a "B") has a long and impressive ex-
tfacurricular history. Besides churning out acerbic and
Witty guitar-based tunes that shine in ensemble form on
his second solo album It's My Turn, or solo in his slot
opening for Frank Allison tonight at the Ark, Ichabod
reports, "I earned my MBA at Michigan a couple years
ago and then I got a Masters in Public Policy." And if
all that hasn't kept him busy enough, he also gives in-
struction in the martial art aikido.
Still, music is the main thang. For that reason, the
native Detroiter made the plunge a couple years back
into the "thick of things," New York City. "Yes, it's
really competitive out there," he admits, "but at least
there's a lot going on. Not that there's not a lot going
on here." Once he got there, he put together his solo
debut, the slyly titled The Legendary Ichabod Stowe."
It's My Turn quickly followed on its heels. Both are
available at Schoolkids Records, or through the mail.
Ichabod Stowe's music has been compared to that of
a variety of other rootsy-rocky troubadors, among them
John Fogerty, Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, and
Modern Lover Jonathan Richman. "I'll accept any and
all associations. Especially ones that I like. Then I con-
sider it a compliment. If its somebody I don't like, then
I don't like it." Stowe vehemently denies that he looks
like Richman on the cover of It's My Turn.
Although Stowe is optimistic about the new al-
bum's reception, he has a healthy distrust of the music
industry that can make him a star. "It does seem like a
lot of woman singer-songwriters are making it these
days. Which is fine with me, some of them are good
but some of them aren't that good. The next thing you
know, it'll be crippled folksingers that are getting
signed, or something equally as ridiculous," he quips.
With any luck, the next trend will be male singers from
Detroit who take their name from Washington Irving
stories.
ICIIABOD STOWE plays a solo show opening up for
FRANK ALLISON tonight at the Ark. The show costs
$6.75, $5.75 for students and starts at 8 p.m. To order
It's My Turn, send $8 to Gadfly Records, PO Box 6603,
New York, NY 10128 (212) 996-7875.
Eric Clapton
Journeyman
Reprise
Amazing. Simply amazing. Eric
Clapton's latest release, Journey-
than, is so good you'll forgive him
for ever doing those Michelob com-
mnrcials... Well O.K., so it's not
qtite that good, but Journeyman is
everything we've come to expect
from EC and much, much more. It's
a rainy-day-back-room-of-a-poolhall
kind of album, and it reminds us that
even if Clapton didn't create the
blues, there's no question that the
blues created Clapton.
Slowhand has managed to com-
bine the best from his earlier works
like 461 Ocean Boulevard and
Money and Cigarettes, while hold-
ing on to the energetic approach of
August and recent singles. The first
release. from the album, "Pre-tend-
ipg," assures solid airplay, but the
strength of the album lies in the
tracks that most likely won't be re-
leased as singles. Featuring a num-
ber of classic R&B tunes such as
Hound Dog" and "Hard Times"
(written by Ray Charles) EC's man-
aged to mix the old with the new,
strengthening the songs with his
honest vocal styles and the musical
flair which prompts some to call
him the best blues guitarist ever.
Clapton's attraction to the gospel
sounds of "Presence of the Lord"
(1975) has evolved into today's
"Running on Faith," and "Lead Me
On," a duct with Linda Womack,
that is perhaps Clapton at his very
best. The album features a number
of talented collaborators, among
them David Sanborn and sax on
"Breaking Point," as well as Robert
Cray and six-string on "Old Love."
And for an album which features the
likes of Daryl Hall, Phil Collins and
George Harrison as contributing
artists, the result is a sound that is
all Clapton.
-Scott Kirkwood
Salif Keita
Ko-yan
Mango records
It would be too easy to call this a
pseudo/diluted world beat, or even
new age, so the moniker "A fropop"
will have to do until modifications
come into play. One could just as
easily compare Keita (born to the
Malian nobility) to American soul
singers Luther Vandross (without his
exquisite voice wailing about above
the mix, this would be top form ele-
vator music) or Marvin Gaye (Ko-
Yan translates as What's Going
On), but the bastard Europop assimi-
lation that dilutes the whole of great
African pop music as well as this
work is already overwhelming
enough without dictionary music
comparisons.
Following the obscure but
groovalistically theatrical '87 Soro,
it would seem that the stage is set
for Keita's play of commercial suc-
cess. After all, the plundering of
World music styles on this side of
the map by Talking Heads, Paul
Simon, Sting, and Peter Gabriel has
done a lot to prime the spoon-fed
pop audience called America.
It would seem that even for
World musicians, with their more
literal "crossing over" of styles,
there is a definite need to standardize,
modify, tone down or otherwise "sell
out" to produce a music that is ac-
4
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INFORMATION MEETINGS FOR:
1989-90 Study Abroad Programs
I
JOSTENS
GOLD RING SALE
IS COMING!
SEVILLE, SPAIN (Summer)
Thursday, December 7th
4th Floor Commons MLB -5-6:30pm
OXFORD, ENGLAND (summer)
Thursday, December 7th
7th Floor Conference Room -Haven Hall
5-6:30 pm
i
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.,II1I
4
"a
!ti* M *."
f i M
" f
LONDON, ENGLAND
Thurday, December 7th
3201 Angell Hall -7-9pm
FLORENCE, ITALY
(Spring, Summer, & Academic Year)
Monday, December 11th
Auditorium 3 - MLB -7-9pm
(Summer)
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