A Few Tidbits for the Holidays 8
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11 ~.7.;^C •. •• • ^ , "• - — ' — r -—-| Is(Q CO z A few tidbits for the holidays 8 is accepting and seeking advice bum, and features Howe on ban JAN HAMMER CD from other talented musicians. jo, steel guitar, dobro and wash THE FIRST SEVEN DAYS The best example of her now- board. From there the record NEMPEROR NE432 established jazz influences in The ends with two rock-oriented I Jungle Line, which is accompan pieces. Pleasure Stole the Night by STEVE UNGAR 7T ied by "Warrior drums" through CD and Break Away From It All. On The First Seven Days, Jan D out. The rhythm of these drums, Howe, of course, is amazing Hammer departs from his back a. in fact, is the song, which tells the throughout. His electric wails CD 1 ground role with the Mahavishnu -s story of jazz swing and rhythm. through Lost Symphony, while his Orchestra and asserts musical in "The jungle line burning in a picking is prominent on The Na dependence in a mo$t emphatic n ritual of sound and time... Pretty -» ture of the Sea0 In every case, his solo album. And solo it is, as a woman tunnelled through values solos have a beginning and an hammer takes on the theme of and smoke/Coy and bitchy wild end; he never loses track of where genesis armed only with a synthe tt nm and fine." STEVE HOWE his playhing is headed. sizer arsenal and an occasional This leads into Edith and the BEGINNINGS Probably the only weak part of violin. JONI MITCHELL Kingpin, a beautiful ballad of a ATLANTIC SD18154 the record is Howe's seemingly This album is held together local pimp and a local woman, untrained voice. It's one thing to THE HISSING OF SUMMER by LARRY LEVIN thematically, by a preconceived § LAWNS and their glaring respect (or de sing harmony--it's another to I had some doubts as to image which is meant to unify the 3 ASYLUM 7E-1051 ference) as they meet and make shine on your own. Unfortunate whether by now the legendary various melodies, tones, and pro love to one another. These and ly, if Jon Anderson were singing, gressions into a coherent and in £ by LARRY LEVIN Steve Howe album would ever -t the rest of the lyrics still deal with this would surely be called a Yes telligible entity. Very much like Joni Mitchell has been liberat come out. Now that it has, I know CJl the typical Joni Mitchell love album. But on top of harmonies Joe Zawinal's work with Weather ed from the confines of being that it was worth waiting for. themes, but now they are more sounds fine. The lyrics- are con Report, the music takes on a poet solely a folksinger with a great For all you expecting a Yes Street-wise (yes, like Bruce crete and down-to-earth, remind ic, almost literary quality which, voice and a talent for writing tre album out of Howe, guess again. Springsteen), more realistic than ful almost of Bert Janschand and it is claimed, transforms jazz into I mendous lyrics. She has develop Beginnings demonstrates what Ol before. Never before would she other British folk singers. I don't exploratory music. ed into something more in the iast Howe has contributed to the • have written, as she does in Don't mean to treat them matter-of- For most of us who are there two years. group, and what Yes has given to Interrupt the Sorrow. factly; however, they are sedate to listen to it, such an undertaking Not that she wasn't a powerful him. "Clandestine/He don't let up and ordinary than the instrument is admirable, if not excessive. performer before. Ladles of the What he has given to them is a the sorrow/He lies and he cheats/ al aspects of the album. Yet, they Hammer himself must have Canyon, Bine, For the Roses; all solid background in musicianship It takes a leart like Mary's these refrain from being too corny, and thought so when he wrote on the were dependent upon her ability and arrangement. This becomes days/When your man gets don't detract at all from the mu liner notes: "These points were and little of others: But since she evident in the first piece of the weak." sic. the inspiration for this album, and met up with the L. A. Express and album, Doors of Sleep. The open- Some of the songs, especially I could never separate Howe besides, they provided me with her honey John Guerin, Joni's ng acoustic guitar chords launch the opening on France They Kiss from Yes in my mind, and he an excuse to write seven new found the best of several worlds. the listener into Howe's world of On Main Street, are reminiscent doesn't intend to. The album pieces of music." For Guerin and saxophonist Tom diversity, ranging from the solid of Court and Spark's Help Me gives a good idea of the diversity Having said this, how can Scott have taught Joni how to rock rhythms found in The Nature and Free Man in Paris. Others of one of the members-hopefully Hammer expect his listener to swing. They have shown her how of the Sea, to more lyrical, chang- are more haunting and mysteri the rest of the expected solo avoid "reading" into his music? rhythm can be manipulated, and ing-speed Australia. In every ous, like the title cut and the albums will shed some light on As a substitute for poetry, this how a band reinforces it. They piece, Howe sets up thematic ma finale. Shadow and Light. the group's origins. Still, Howe is music fails. As performance it demonstrated the differences bet terial and presents it cyclically And of course, Guerin plays a a total musician, and his music merits listening, not reading. ween folk, rock and jazz. prominent role in the album, but throughout. here should be considered one of> The Hissing of Summer his inspiration is far more impor The diversity continues the bright spots of the year. Lawns, her latest album, has through the rocking Lost Sym Mr. Uiifiar. a professor in the French department, tant than his drumming. He's cer I writes on jazz for the weekender. shown that she's gained confid tainly a steady drummer, but not phony, which surprisingly uses ence in her new-found genres the most imaginative. However, saxophone as the prominent solo J since Court and Spark. "This re Findlay is one of the more Profici instrument. The second side com- cord is a total work," she explains ent sideman around, and his flug- mences, with the title cut, chamb- i on hte liner notes, "conceived elhorn and trumpet playing are a er type piece orchestrated by Yes / graphically, musically, lyrically | pleasure ta hear. And the other keyboardist Patrick Moraz. and accidentally—as a whole." As L.A. Express members are, as Howes guitar (and moog synthe she goes on to pay tributes to the j usual excellent. But their most sizer!) weaves through Moraz' performers and composers who I important contribution is bringing harpsichord and strings in a piece contributed to the album (L. A. | Joni into a fresh world. almost remindful of a light scher Expressers Max Bennett, Bud zo or trio. i mamimmMammemmmmam Howe, suppressing his own -Shank, Robben Ford, and Guerin, I trumpeter Chuck Findlay, and Mr. Levin is editor of the weekender. talents for the sake of the group composers Johnny Mandel and i shines on Ram. Ram if reminis Jon Hendricks), one can fell that j cent of The Clap on The Yes Al she has come out of her shell, and ' The cellAR OGDR ll The finest selection fthe •••• •••. *V* of cheeses and wines available fwn the ii' HHEUip : :| ••• • 3 Cheese World East i thwina west 20140 Van Aken Blvd. Shaker Hts., Ohio 44122 friday JudySwack (216) 283-7260 v ' An Authentic French Cuisine Saturday Tom Cooper on CWRU's campus ALL PERFORMANCES 9:30 thatplace 1 Mon -Thurs: 1V-00-6 ONl BELL FLOWER Cedar A Taylor, vnvwnQ— — * ' rmgnvBI lalnhla 11401 BELLFLOWER RO. t CLEVELAND, OHIO 44106 • (216) 231-4469 || 321-9764 Fri & Sat; 11-0Q-1 ——11 • w - m •»-. • • »-• m mm mm m.mtm m «- 1i .