The PP ' §”"’ FC'99Y’pQSFH 7!,1321; Page '6
l lrleks _.' l
3%
r
. 'fl 1‘. . .01., :1.- to... p 1
, E; i..-
'(***) BOOK OF DREAMS - STEVE MILLAR BAND (CAPITOL RECORDS
Steve Millar must be Ldeliberately trying to hide his talent from us, because as was the case with fly Like An Eagle, the worth- while songs are hard to find on Book Of Dreams. Once a- gain the short, completely useless synthesizer tracks are included, serving only to cloud over the picture of exactly where Millar is now musically standing. After subtracting these synthesizer tracks, what in effect remains?
As with Fly Like An Eagle, the commercial rock 'n rollers are back, namely
IOQOIIMIIOII»
ALICE COOPER
C H A N E IN G WIT H T HE. TUNES...
=“Jet Airliner” and llJungle
Love”. Both songs promise more than they deliver, so subtract those two. Next, dismiss for the moment, the songs not written by Millar. This leaves us with “Winter Time”, “Swingtown”, “True Fine Love”, “Wish Upon A Star”, and “Babes In The Woods". None of these are Millar classics by any stretch of the imagination, but simply nice safe.inof- fensive tunes to fihl out an album. To find Miller at his best on this album, the non-original material has to be considered. Les Dudek's “Sacrifice” is the best cut of the elpee, with David Denny's “The Stake“ a close second.
Obviously, Millar has fallen down the commercial stairs and is not even going to bother picking himself up. He'll just pump out the Top ho garbage and watch the
by
DULY NOTED
Callum Beck
CALIFORNIA ROCK
The Youngbioods: “Elephant Mountain” - ll969)
Soft, soothing, soulful, mellow music from over the hills, with a light touch of California Rock. “Darkr ness, Darkness“, “Quicksand” and “Ride tne Wind” almost, in themselves, make this album worth paying full price for. But even if they don't, with the rest of the album thrown in, it is more than worth your $7.00. Jesse Colin Young is the guiding genius and main songwriter behind the group.
Love: “Revisited” - (1969)
Love just about perfect- ly represents the essence of the whole California music scene in the late
sixties. The inside cover of the album jacket der " scribes them as the 'hip- piest [ugh!!] group a- round but yet, perhaps the only underground group left.‘ They attacked the older generationfs mores and superficiality, and were totally immersed into the optimism of the Haight, but yet their lives were basically hung-up, strung- out, and miserable. And with the death of the dream they ended up recording what have to be ranked near the top of the list, of the all-time worst ever albums. But this album is Love at their best. It is a collec-
(cont'd. page 17)
"Old, Fashioned Goodness???" The cellar — Hughes Drug Building
Abbey (My God)?" "
receipts roll in. When he feels a guilty twinge, he'll do a song such as Dudek's
to ease his conscience. Book Of Dreams is the product of a stationary Steve Millar.
(**) LACE AND WHISKEY -
ALICE COOPER (WARNER BROS.)
At one time Alice Cooper
was changing his style with
every album. The big problem
with Lace And Whiskey is - that he's changing his style with every song. Do you want
Alice 1
-copying Aerosmith (It's Hot Tonight)?
-doing "house-wife heavy metal“(You And Me)?
-singing about Fred As- taire and Rudolph Valentino
.(King Of The Silver Screen)?
-singing old rock 'n roll music while imitating Elvis Presley (Ubangi Stomp)?
-confessing that all his old rock classics were crap (I Never Wrote Those Songs)?
-coming on like the Su- premes, Motown production job included (No More Love At Your Convience)?
-sounding like he was re- corded live at Westminister
-being just mediocre (Lace And Whiskey, Road Rats)?
-at all (and be Damned If You Do)?
The only sign of the old Alice is the one line in
which he says he wants to eat'
his make-up and wear dresses again. Those days, and esp- ecially the music that go
with them, are, alas, gone.
(****) TRANS-EUROPE EXPRESS- ,KRAFTWERK (CAPITOL RECORDS) Donna Summer's synthe- sizer dominated single, I'I Feel Love”, is now burning- up North American charts, and if you enjoy that song, then Trans-EurOpe Express , by four electronics experts under the name of Kraftwerk, should also satisfy you.They first broke in America with “Autobahn”, a single from
the album of the same name.'f
A very successful album, Radio-Activity, followed. Trans-Europe Express con- tinues Kraftwerk's tradition of bringing you top-quality electronic music. Check out, in particular, the title cut, and "Europe Endless”. Kraftwerk are to electronic music as Chuck Berry to rock 'n roll, so get in on Kraftwerk on the groUnd floor, particularly Trans-
Europe Express.
(*****) PIPER (AeM RECORDS) A lot of name bands have
sprung from Boston, includ-
ing J. Geils, Aerosmith, and
Boston. But a new five- mem-
ber band, led by Billy Squier and called Piper, is superior to any of those mentioned above. They are by far the best rock group to come out of the United States in many a year. * ” Billy Squier is one of the present genius' in rock music. Along with writing all the songs exéept the Stone's. “The Last Time", Squier plays lead guitar, handles the lead vocals, and even contributes in the per- cussion category. His song- writing leaves little to be desired. The music takes . numerous listens before the listener discovers the var- ious hooks inherent in each of the songs. There is an underlying magic in each that brings you back time after time. Add to this mystifying music the cap- tivating vocals of Squier and you have an unbeatable combination. The very subtle‘ phrasings in songs such as “Whatcha Gonna Do” leads one to the conclusion that Piper just can't miss. The
. dynamic combination of music
and vocal ability is espec- ially eVident on “Sail Away” a song I consider to be a: classic for just that elect- rifying pairing. As far as his guitar work goes, Squier rates with the best. The Rolling Stone's “The Last Time” never had it so good, eVen from Keith Richard. Piper is a band to be heard from. Don't pass them up. Their second album, entitled Can't Wait, has just been released. The title js appropriate. I’ Just can't wait for more from Billy Squier and Piper.
(46m) FUNDAMENTAL ROLL - WALTER EGAN (COLUMBIA)
Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac had some time to themselves after the recording of Rumours, so they entered the studio and produced, Sang on and played on the debut al- bum of Walter_Egan. The fact
A that even in this company,
his album is a credit to his own style of songwriting and playing means that Walter Egan is a major new talent. "Yes I Guess I Am”, "She's So Tbugh”, and “Tunnel 0' Love“ are as good if not better than anythingmMac has done, and Egan deserVes as much credit as his mentors for their ultimate effect‘ iveness.
If you're looking for something to enjoy between
.Mac albums, Walter Egan's Fundamental Roll is it.