A Record Season... Graphic by Tony Garzio PA G EB2 DAILY NtXUS THURSDAY, N O VEM BER29, 19 Knack, it's lately been hard to keep any number of other bands, up wth the number of new bands other words, if there were suci THE sprouting up in their wake. thing as middle-of-the-road n This confusion exjsjts not only wave, the Yachte would be sitti; BUCKBOARD because wrmaiiy of the npwliaWffi? : squarely on ffite White line. tend to sbund alike'in that they The Yachts rseem to~be^5frivi draw their styles from similiar for, above a'll else, an ov sources <i.e., rock radio of the commerciality, giving their son WESTERN FASHIONS 60s), but so many of them have a quality that makes them as names like the Beat, the Shoes, the stantly likeable as they are DOWNTOWN AT Sports, the Pop, and locally the stantly forgettable. Part of t 619 State Street, Santa Barbara S.O.S. ^ Pranks, the Tan, the Wave, etc. trouble comes from the contriv 9:30-6 MON thru SAT 966-2084 Get the idea? Now add one more posturing the group feels co The Yachts band to that monasyllabic list: the pelled to assume on nearly eve Yachts. cut. They simply ache to tell The Yachts For any band to rise above the how assured they are of the (Polydor) rest of the pack, it’s got to have selves and how cynical they a AUTO SOUNDS By KEVIN MACKINNON something extra going for it, about the world around them, a HOLIDAY SPECIALS Due to the unprecedented suc­ something that will make it especially about love. In “ Lo cess of such power pop-cum-new unique. Unfortunately, the Yachts You, Love You,” they sing, featuring JEN SO N Car Stereos wave bands like the Cars and the don’t. Their sound is strictly that of I wouldn't climb any mounta for you, Ford every stream, that's a d jju n ii in in nun in .... i in i thing to do. Yes I'm cynical, cynical, cyni through and through. By wearing their hearts on th M ellow sleeves like this, the Yachts r This Jensen R400 car stereo receiver is easy listening — with good reason. It their songs of any trace of si shares many of the features found in cerity. Lyrics like, “ Suffice to s the top-of-the-line Jensen .R430. At a you love me, I can’t say that price that’s easy to take. And short BOWL GAM ES blame you” may sound funny a f chassis design is ideal for most do­ MONDAY NIGHT times, but they very quick mestic and foreign cars. FOOTBALL become grating. The music itself is pleasa PRO FOOTBALL enough, but there are no surpris PLAYOFFS b. simply because it’s all been dor before on other people’s record Keyboardist Henry Priestman h obviously listened to more than o Blondie album; his organ fill JENSEN GIANT SCREEN T.V. though effective, sour MMINO LABORATORIES suspiciously like Jimmy Destri’s. In songwriting, the Yachts mo: clfearly resemble the Motels, wi every song dominated by the sar This coupon entities you forced :“ up” feeling. One son ¿ íÜ ífjj to a special discount “ Mantovani’s Hits,” even tries do to the BBC what Elvis Costello on any stereo system, “ Radio Radio” did to America A u t o m o t iv e S o u n d S p e c ia l is t s radio, but with hardly the san PLUS a FREE studio quality results. blank cassette. No purchase necessary. It’s hard to see the Yachts goi: (limit one per customer flO Embaí*. IM Norta the way of, say, the Knack, thou; 5861 Hollister Ave., Goleta, CA 93017 IslaIsla Vista Vista • •968-0510 968-0510^ they very clearly would like to. B; Phone (805) 964-3366 with a group so shamelessl IL iiu iijiu iljiijiljiljiu iiíii ÍI commercial and with the publj buying anything that loor remotely like rock ‘n roll, anythi is possible. Gospel & Lutherans The Gospel is the story of what has happened, is happening and will yet happen with Jesus. The kingdom is here. He preached “the kingdom,” the day when all the longing God puts in us will be fulfilled. H e preached with such faithfulness as to invest his own life in his hope for us. H e proved his commitment by incurring death. ' A nd G od carried him past death, so that nothing can now hinder his love for us, so that his promise and devotion must surely triumph. Our congregation is in the world to tell this Gospel, ’ by whatever words and deeds will get it across. Please join us irt the telling and doing. Lutheran Campus Ministry PA CE B3 DAY. NOVEM BER 29, .1979 DAILY NEXUS greatest ability has always been Which brings u's to my ex­ So we are left with a collection the musical creation of dark, pectations: which contains bits of dialogue and moody scenes,-in which pain is confusing sound effects which do physical reality, an object which Surely, I said, his new album not add to the music. We have a can be seen and held. “ Refugee,” ■ - would,, be staggering, important, structured albjim: the use of leit the album's lead-off track, is like and contain some terrific music. motif, symmetry of design, and a that: dark, painful, powerful stuff. It’s been three years since the last progression of musical ideas which Lyrically, it seems a metaphor for album Songs In The Key Of Life, bow to the form, We also have Petty's bruising passage through and this wunderkind keeps getting ponderous and boring music — the Hollywood contract/lawsuit' if better, by quantum leaps, Songs perfectly executed — mixed with a system. But the song is not entirely was an incredibly bulky and few brillant songs. Listen to the pessimistic — indeed, it is a stark ambitious work, and about 98 sweet melodies of “ Send Someone condemnation of the idea that percent successful. Wonder sought Your Love,” the sensitive vocal, quitting is ever a viable alternative to create music which would harmonica and lyrics of “ Power. Tom Petty and The to any problem. communicate his feelings on the Flower,” the numinous song Heartbreakers “ Century City” closes side one with this same sort of theme. It is nature and meaning of that vast “ Black Orchid,” and the beautiful Damn the Torpedoes instrumental, “ The Earth’s an all-balls rocker that seems subject, life. His message is love, (M C A ) and in the nature of music, I say Creation.” more amused than upset at the By CRAIG ZEROUNI idea of spending your life in your vie Wonder that his message in Songs is well expressed and received. What And once again. Wonder In 1978, just after the release of lawyer’s Century City office. rney Through the about the new work? astounds with his recording “ You’re Gonna Get It,” Tom Even “ Don’t Do Me Like That,” ret Life of Plants precision, musicality, writing Petty’s contract with ABC Records the standard hurt-in-love song, mla) Well...yes, no, and maybe. Yes, ability, and musicianship. Vir­ was sold to MCA, the music in­ comes across as a matter-of-fact there are some of the best songs tually the only instrument he dustry giant. Petty, upset at the statement rather that the usual threat of revenge for hearts By RANDY CAMPBELL Wonder has ever written on this doesn’t play on the disc is the prospect of recording for a label broken. The idea once again is the aling with my expectations is album. No, this Stevie Wonder guitar, and he plays everything that he felt would reduce him to a ultimate belief in the self, which biggest problem I have in collection is not his best ever. And masterfully. He writes, produces, mere statistic, refused to comply. The result was another round of should not be confused with con­ iewing Stevie Wonder’s maybe this work should not be records, sings, programs, plays Hollywood’s favorite game, “ Lets ceit. Conceit is destructive; self- rney Through the Secret Life compared to his other works, in­ and probably makes coffee with Go to Court.’’ confidence, as this album shows, lants. stead representing an altogether his spare hand. By the way, the different tack from the rest of his sound quality is pristine, on this And so, when Petty and his can be extremely productive. digital recording. Heartbreakers emerged early this But more than individual songs, perbole is so common in the year with a compromise deal, in it is the album as a whole that onality journalism of our time, So, you’re asking, what’s the which they would record for 'succeeds as so few others do. we shortened the word to After listening to the album for verdict, big shot? I ’d like to hide Backstreet Records, a small label Because for an album to be truly , and the word and the action the first time, I wanted to take behind something snappy, like the owned by MCA, the pressure was great, it must not lay itself out on used liberally. Genius is an sides one and four, and 'as jury is out, but what would be the on. Aside from ego, nothing is quite one listening. The albums that het which blows through the air an impromptu frisbee. Since this point of trundling through this as destructive to a rising artist as have endured have always been tantly, and is usually the didn’t seem to be objective jour­ article? Since I believe a primary the delay of contract negotiations.