Arts,
The Michigan Daily Saturday, July 18, 1981 Page 9
- iLinx

Linx -'Intuition' (Chrysalis) -
Hummmh ... What to call this stuff -
funky pop-soul? Pop-ish funk-soul?
soulful pop-funk? Linx do all three so
well that I don't want to give any one
style preeminent billing. I want a word
that combines all three - funk, soul,
and pop - into one handy
phrase. . . how about "great"!?
The wunderkinder behind Linx are
David Grant and Peter "Sketch" Mar-
tin. Grant takes care of vocal chores,
sounding for all the world like the
"mature" Michael Jackson-strongly
and yet sweetly sensual. Martin plays
bass ... about as funkily as you're
likely to hear anywhere. Together they
wrote all of the songs and produced the
album with the help of their keyboard
prodigy, Bob Carter.
BUT THE SONGS are the real stars
of this production. Most of them com-
bine funky bass and some of the hottest
percussion around with melodies that
pack a hook at every turn. Many of
their numbers sound a lot like the
Jacksons, which might be to their
detriment if they didn't mimic the
masters with such flair.
But there's more nice stuff than just

INMITION

Dave Edmunds

that. There's the title cut, which has a
lovely Caribbean feel to it (complete
with steel drums and great percussion
work), and "I Won't Forget," which
sounds like an improved version of the
Police's "The Bed's Too Big Without
You."
It's hard to say much more about an
album like this, except that you can't go
wrong with Intuition.
-Mark Dighton

Dave Edmunds-'Twangin ...
(Swansong)-Strangely, on their only
album recorded under the group name,
Rockpile failed to come across with
anything as exquisitely list~nable as
the material on Edmunds' and Nick
Lowe's solo LPs. Perhaps it's the usual
problem of "democratic" bands whose
music lacks personality or direction;
Rockpile seems to function at its best
when one of its members is clearly in
charge.
Lack of direction is certainly not a
problem here. Dave Edmunds knows
exactly what kind(s) of music he wants
to make, and is under no illusions con-
cerning his influences, either. He plays
rockabilly and country-tinged rock with
such conviction that the occasional
British references seem startlingly out
of place . .. until one recalls that Ed-
munds is Welsh.
While' Edmunds' rockabilly covers
tend to be note-for-note reproductions
of the originals, he is much more than a
rock-and-roll archivist. On Twangin, as
on his previous solo albums, Edmunds
displays a remarkable talent for pure
POP.
BASSIST NICK LOWE and other Stiff
mainstays provide Edmunds with
Twangin's pop songs. "(I'm Gonna
Start) Living Again If It Kills Me,"
written by Edmunds, Lowe, and Lowe's
wife Carlene Carter, suggests that
living well is the best revenge on an old

lover, even if finding a partner to do it,
with presents some difficulty. Ian
Gomm's "It's Been So Long" is pure
bubblegum pop, and Mickey Jupp con-
tributes the fear-of-flying song "You'll
Never Get Me Up (In One of Those)."
Edmunds reveals his facility with the
rockabilly genre on three tracks of this
album. "Baby Let's Play House" was
recorded in 1968 and is about as close as
you could come to the Presley version
without bringing in an Elvis imper-
sonator to do the vocals. "Three Time
Loser" is heartache to a rockabilly
lope. "The Race Is On" is one of the
album's standout tracks. Recorded
with the Stray Cats, a New York
rockabilly outfit that Edmunds has
helped to chart success in the UK, it
utilizes the strong bass and twangy
guitar of rockabilly with a 1980s pop
sensibility.
There is the inevitable duff track or
two, but overall, Twangin is a collection
of consistent, enjoyable music. While
it's true that Edmunds is no innovator,
his appreciation for the musical forms
he draws upon creates a link between
those forms and extremely contem-
porary music without sounding dated,
bored, or cutesy. That's nice to hear.
-Karen Green
Thanks to Schoolkids Recordsfor
the use of some of the albums
reviewed in our records columns.

Ruth Laredo is ''. .. astonishing. . . a whip-
cracking performance." Paula Robison is
.a rare artist who can make the flute
sound both sensuous and classicallr
pure . .. an absolute wonder..,. magical."
The New York Times
Ruth Laredo Paula Robison
Ruth Laredo, pianist
Paula Robison, flutist
Poulenc: Sonata Selections from
"The Bird Fancyer's Delight"
Stamitz: Rondo Capriccioso
Rachmaninoff: Four Preludes from Op. 32
Prokofiev: Sonata in D major, Op. 94
Wednesday, July 22 at 8:30
Rackham Auditorium
(air-conditioned)
Tickets at $8, $6.50 and $5
Tickets at Burton Tower. Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
weekda's 9-4:30. Sat. 9-12. Phone 665-3717
ukIVESITY cMUSICAL GSOCIETY

DAILY CLASSIFIEDS
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