14 -The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 18, 1995 Faces still set the pace for rockers By Thomas Crowley Daily Arts Writer Once upon a time, long before Rod Stewart embarked on his jaunt down the road of decadence at a much swifter rate than contemporaries like kcond a Eric Clapton and Elton John, he sang for a rock 'n'. roll band called the Faces and to put it quite simply, they rocked. In 1969, Steve Marriott, singer and guitarist for the London mod- rock outfit the Small Faces, left mem- bers Ian McLagan, Ronnie Lane and Kenny Jones to form Humble Pie. Though the Small Faces had turned out some intriguing psychedelia in their time, in the wake of Marriott's departure, they teamed up with Jeff Beck Group expatriates Stewart and guitarist Ron Wood, in turn redefin- ing themselves through the Faces as a bluesy, sporting bunch of rogues. Now, a retrospective such as this can prove risky when, to a great num- ber of minds, Rod Stewart means nothing more than "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" and a few more recent enter- prses in schlock-rock. Some skepti- cism is understandable. However, one must take the frontman for what he was from 1971, when the Faces re- corded their finest achievement, "A Nod Is As Good As A Wink ... To A Blind Horse" with producer extraordinaire Glyn Johns: A remark- ably soulful vocalist with an equally heavy share of flamboyance. "Rod the Mod" they called him. He was a proud Scotsman adorned in clan plaid and a soccer star to boot. And as for Stewart's characteristically gruff vo- cals, the Faces' gritty stomps pro- vided the perfect back-drop. At the heart of the Faces' smoking grooves was Ron Wood. His gig with the band preceded his indoctrination into the Rolling Stones in the mid- '70s, and you could theorize that the latter event involved some measure of deprogramming or unlearning, for while his work with the Glimmer Twins is undoubtedly very good, it rarely exceeds that. On the other hand, Wood's playing on the Faces' tunes, where he had the responsibility of operating as the sole guitarist, is noth- ing short of brilliant. On tracks like "Miss Judy's Farm," "Too Bad" and the group's most well-known single, "Stay With Me," Wood delivers one scorchingly clever lick after another, his playing very direct, but not re- stricted to one specific, invariable riff. As the Chuck Berry cover "Memphis, Tennessee," will attest to, the axeman's skill at pedal steel and slide guitar also stands out as a merit un- der-employed in later years by Jagger and Richards. Furthermore, the swampy slide to "That's All You Need" arguably did not meet its match in popular music until Led Zeppelin released "In My Time of Dying" four years later. "A Nod Is As Good As A Wink" was unique from the similar efforts of the era by the Stones and Humble Pie, not only in Stewart's rasp and Wood's chops, but also in Ian McLagan's honky-tonk piano and organ work. He tends to bounce off Wood while pounding the ivories, and vice versa. Within the song, each one alternately sets the stage for the other to take the song around a new corner, resulting in a spontaneity that keeps the band from sounding even the slightest bit regimented. Thankfully though, they never come off too sloppy or self- indulgent either. Finally - though if accepted by the masses, they'll give in begrudg- ingly - Stewart sings exceptionally througout the LP. Not only that, but his musings reflect the life experi- ences of the everyman: Squalid love affairs, ejections from pubs, rabble- rousing, etc. A real lad, Rod the Mod. Sadly, nothing gold can stay. Two albums later, in 1974, our intrepid singer had become a little too big for his britches. Billing changed from "The Faces" to "Rod Stewart and the Faces" before Stewart formally initi- ated his solo career. Ron Wood began work on a solo album and, of course, joined the Rolling Stones. Bassist Ronnie Lane, responsible for the deft songwriting and singing on "Last Orders Please" and "Debris", went the way of Pete Townshend, devoting much of his time and efforts to the exaltation of guru Meher Baba, and drummer Kenny Jones popped up a few years later to replace the deceased Keith Moon in the Who. Although the Faces' legacy is less notorious than the accomplishments and - fair enough - embarrass- ments of the band's members follow- ing the break-up, one can trace their influence from the Black Crowes to up-and-coming groups like Gene and the Steamboat Band. The Faces may not have released a stockpile of al- bums or achieved great popularity outside of their native UK, but in many ways they epitomized early '70s blues-rock with an energy, sound, style and swagger all their own, and sometimes, that's all you need. Korn rock hard and rock proud. Korn brings a new flavor to metal By Kirk Miller Daily Arts Writer It's not exactly the coolest name in the world, but Korn is a cool band, vegetable moniker aside. They're loud. They're angry. They're damn tight musically. They're (superficially) the dynamic tension of Tool crossed with the hip-hop style rhythms of Rage Against the Ma- RUFFIAN Continued from Page 9 holds an irrationally strong fear of dying, and Wilson desires it. All three of the character's stances on death become more intense as the play careens forward, and their po- sitions eventually seal each of their fates. According to Epland, Orton's theme produces in audiences "a rec- onciliation that death is there, death is ever-present." Orton's work manages to take a seemingly tragic situation and give audience members the ability to laugh at the absurdity of it while still being very much affected by the horror. This form is called dark comedy, and few playwrights do it better than Joe Orton. While still very much a comedy and guaranteed to make you laugh, "Ruffian" will also make you cringe, and actually think about what's play- ing out in front of your eyes. Said Epland, "I think this play is funny with a point." chine fueled by the rage of vocal style of Pantera, but there's something also really twisted and unique about them and their self-titled debut on Epic/ Immortal. A song title like "Faget" (sic) might have left a taint of homophobia or exploitation on the band, but lead singer Jonathan Davis claimed there haven't been any misunderstandings on the lyrics. Essentially "Faget" is his nasty little response to being picked on during high school and not fitting in. After hearing the term used against him several times he twisted it back into a nasty little comeback against his former adversaries, with surpris- ingly ironic results. "At our shows we have all these big buff guys screaming along 'Faget,"' he laughed. "And I like it." Davis was the last to join the band, all of whom had played for a while around the not-so-charming neigh- borhood of Bakersfield, California. ("It's like nowhere you've ever been," he said. "It's crazy.") After a particu- larly bad childhood Davis's anger and enraged delivery would be expected, except he didn't even like loud or heavy music. "No, not at all," he admitted. "I was more into classical or New Wave, Duran Duran and shit like that." Even his bandmates have an eclec- tic music background far away from the expected Metallica and Pantera influences. "We're all into different stuff - hip-hop, punk, Phil Collins," he ad- mitted. Even if Davis has only recently discovered the joys of hard music, his legitimate anger is definitely a wel- come change from the usual angst schtick or generic pissed-at-the- world-rage employed by most heavier bands. Tracks like "Clown" and "Need To" are direct and deadly attacks on his private demons, while other tracks trip out to new absurd lengths; "Shoots and Ladders" wraps nursery rhymes around menacing guitar riffs to ex- pose the hidden evil side lurking in traditional bedtime stories, while "Daddy" is an excruciating 17-minute diatribe told from the point of view of a sexually abused child, making Jer- emy sound like a well-adjusted kid. So his childhood sucked, but sing- ing about it helps. "It's like therapy and I get it out," he mused very quietly. "It's a re- lease." Possibly the only down side to Korn comes from their inability to play a show in Detroit until now. They canceled an October appear- ance with Biohazard/ House of Pain at the State because their transpor- tation broke down, and then agaip opted out of the Sick Of It All/ Orange 9mm concert last month at St. Andrews to pick up the opening leg of the Danzig / Marilyn Manson concert. Considering that the two bands above them on Friday's bill have employed everything from lesbian strippers to exposed scrotums at their shows, it might be rough for Korn to win over the crowds. But with a nanie like Korn, wackiness hasn't been too far behind. "At our last show with Biohazard they dumped creamed corn all over our head," he laughed. (Hey, they're lucky there name wasn't Battery Acid.) Besides corn puns, the band migtt gain attention from their occasional covers of everything from Cypress Hill to Black Sheep, not hard to imag- ine considering the diversity of the band. And hey kids, they just won an 89X new music showdown last week with their new single "Blind," so ex- pect to hear them on your favorite alternahit station soon. Not that they need coddling. In 4 musical and cultural climate that di- vides itself between oppressive po- litical correctness on one side and hypocritical conservatism on the other, Korn is one of the few bands that can legitimately rock for all the right reasons, because they're good. '1 RECORDS continued from page 11 Orb Orbvs Terrarvm Island Like its predecessor, "Pomme Fritz," "Orbvs Terrarvm" isn't exactly what fans have come to expect from The Orb. But now that they've released as much twisted, far-out, anti-dance music as they have cool, mellow, ambient dance grooves, who's to say what anyone should expect from them? But if this album is any indication, it seems fair to assume that The Orb have left their dance music roots behind them in search of more compelling forms in which to craft their sonic textures. "Orbvs Terrarvm" is actually closer to a combination of the previ- ous releases. The grooves are some- what more accessible than on "Pomme Fritz," but nothing on the album gets within spitting distance of a techno beat. But unlike any of their other previous work, the album contains an element of harshness and even noise to contrast with the more ambient sounds, especially on tracks such as "Montagne D'Or" and "Oxbow Lakes," where a haunting piano solo morphs into a quirky rhythm/noise combination. Other tracks, such as "Valley" and "Plateau" (both of which appeared in a different form on theirmajestic "Live '93" release) seem spacier and less reliant on the noisier elements. How- ever, they still maintain a certain level of complexity with their seemingly random use of samples and precise rhythm structures. Most importantly, however, is that the songs structures have taken their unusual techniques and made the songs sound fully coherent, instead ofsound- ing amateurish orprententious, as a few of the songs on "Pomme Fritz" did. Instead, every soundon thealbum, noisy or ambient, seems to have it's place as part ofthe total picture, insteadof sound- ing like a mishmash of noises that Dr. LX and company thought should be slapped together. For that reason, it's fair to call "Orbvs Terrarvm" the Orb's latest masterpiece. -Andy Dolan Sonny Fortune Four In One Blue Note Records Whenever a list of the most influen- tial jazz musicians is made, it comes as no surprise that Thelonious Monk would be found among the most notable. His creations, carved and shaped by his piano, include "Reflections," "Trinkle Tinkle," "Coming On The Hudson" and "Ask Me Now." These songs are as familiar to any jazz connoisseur as his or her own back hand, and they will undoubtedly continue to be as well received as when Monk first played them. "Four In One" is saxophonist / flutist Sony Fortune's, contribution to the continuing legacy of Thelonius Monk. It's 10 cuts, all originally composed by Monk, are testaments to the-beauty of tradi- tional jazz and the genius of Thelonious Monk. There is little noticeable variation in this reproduction from Monk's original works. The beauty of this preservation, and Fortune's ability to recreate that original Monk vibe, makes "Four In One" an outstanding jazz CD. With the help of pianist Kirk Lightsey, bassists Buster Williams and Santi Sebriano and drummers Billy Hart and Ronnie Burrage, "Four In One" becomes noth- ing less than jazz perfection incarnate. -Eugene Bowen Flowerhead The People's Fuzz Zoo Poopy disc, mommy, poopy disc. Yep, fuzzy bland poop. - Dirk Schulze 9 ta4'. i. m A I