Friday, November 17, 1978 Weekender 9
Thorogood plwys rock1 th&wi&y-it wa meuut to
be
By MARK PEEL
If there is someone playing better rock
and roll than George Thorogood and the
Destroyers, I've missed the boat. Although
it's often said of jazz, I think an argument can
be made that rock is as much a way of
playing as it is a musical form. In Moue it On
Over, Thorogood embodies the essence of
rock as a style: he plays with a raw power
and snarling ferocity that make no
concessions to the middle-aged paunch
rock has grown in the 70s.
Thorogood is not a "singer-songwriter"
(that dread epithet for wimpy, diluted rock)
but a performer. He wields a Gibson
hollowbody electric guitar with which he
power-chords, slides and generally thrashes
about his audience with more technique and
' sheer guts than any five guitarists currently
laying claim to the title.
The Destroyers draw on the historical
roots of rock for their material, and one can
very nearly experience the re-creation of
rock 'n' jroll listening . to Thorogood
transform the blues of Willie Dixon and
Elmore James into the music of smokey
basements and beer-soaked dance floors
Move It On Over Backless
Thoroughfare Gap
and of frantically jerking Hmbs and flushed,
sweating faces.
It goes against every current trend in pop
music, and as if this non-compromising
dedication to pure rock 'n' roll does not
make the band underdog enough, the
Destroyers record for Rounder records, a
small, folk-blues-bluegrass label.
Thorogood's first album was the biggest
selling record in Rounder's history 50,000
copies (a modest production run by major
label standards.) But small is beautiful. This
is rock as it's meant to be played with
feeling and fire. A plus
Stephen Stills: Thoroughfare Gap
Thoroughfare Cap represents a low point
in Stephen Stills' career. In fact, this album is
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so bad, it's not even any fun to review. How,
for instance, is one to muster a critical
response to drivel like "she treats me nice
and she makes good gumbo?" You know,
people think this is a glamorous business,
listening to all the newest albums and
blowing off about them in print. Well,-it's
albums Hke this that make me wish I were
writing an anthrophology term paper right
now.
Anyway," I've listened to the album, so all
of you don't have to bother, IH sum up what
Steve's up to here so you can get on with
more important things.
He does a song about picking up the love
of his life on the dance floor. The line that
finally works is "what you need is a sunrise
and a smile." You may want to try that one
out sometime, fellas.
A couple of songs later, he's lost the love
of his life and, quite frankly, he doesn't take it
too well. He does learn a valuable lesson
from the experience, however: "life is real
and not a play."
He also does covers of "Midnight Rider"
and "Not Fade Away." Neither would tempt
one to forget the originals..
Finally, in a song I suspect may be a put
on, Stephen complains that he isn't able to
get any booty. Perhaps the ladies have heard
a demo of this album.
So there you have it. Don't say I've never
done anything for you. F
' o
Eric Clapton: Backless
- . .
Isn't this the guy who used to play guitar
for Cream? Why is he making J.J. Cale
albums?
The success of "After Midnight" may well
have been the worst thing that .ever
happened to Eric Clapton: Apparently he
got the idea that he was really meant to be a
laid-back dude, and ever since his early
successes he's been making albums that
sound like they were recorded from a .
hammock. Which, I suppose, is all right for a
genuinely laid-back dude, but is there
anyone out there who thinks that this stuff is
as good as Cream?
I don't think it's a meaningless question.
Are we to accept this lazy crap from a guy
just because he once was capable of making
great music? Let me put it another way: is
there a record company in America that
would let this guy near a studio if he weren't
already a big name?
Of course, Robert Stigwood is just
delighted to have Eric in the studio with an
album for the Christmas season.. The
packaging on this album is so beautiful, so
typically RSO, that, in fact, the contents are
nearly irrelevant.
The jacket, a grainy photo of Clapton
reclining on a sofa in reddish, diffuse light,
literally puts the music to shame. It just
angers me that with an many struggling
artists as there are who deserve to reach a
larger audience, that it's slickly marketed
albums like Backless that get the airplay and
the trade ink, and that wind up being
gobbled up by people who rely on computer
derived national FM playlists to spoon-feed
them palatable, easy-to-digest music.
Album: F Jacket: A ;
Mark Peel is music critic for the Daily Tar
Heel. .
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