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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 28, 1978)
(Continuedfrom page 9) it is blindly, damnably egalitarian. It is too much of a piece. There are no hierarchies in fusiorf, no saints or goddesses or princes. All the instruments (including voices) are given the same value — sometimes literally the same dynamic value and same values of timbre, as in cases wherein electric and electronically-enhanced guitar, piano, and, maybe, tenor saxophone all blend to the ex tent that one is literally indistinguishable from the other. It is melting-pot music, in the worst possible sense of the term. It rep resents not so much a fusion as a dissolution. Jazz — and, for that matter, much of rock — has always been an individualist’s music, a music which stresses — which depends upon — the split-second, highly personal invention of new music based on established musical patterns. At its best, it is perhaps the most impressive form of composition in the world. Fusion music, on the other hand, discourages the individual. It asks him or her to fit neatly into established patterns, to parrot cliches (many of which were in vented, though this is commonly forgotten these days, by John McLaughlin and the members of his various groups). It asks the musicians who play it to remember their places. What comes out may have moments of beauty, moments of excitement; much of what results makes good, compelling dance music. But it also represents, it seems to me, a sorry waste of talent — and, worse, a kind of enforced artistic entropy. Fusion music sashays, often to a disco beat, into a creative cul-de-sac. Starbooty, by Ubiquity, which is the group former jazz vibraharpist Roy Ayers leads, is easily the least interesting of these three al bums. The music is strong but repetitious (Ayers produced the album but does not play on it), the lyrics are inane, and if there are any distinguished players or singers here, they cannot be discerned. Dee Dee Bridgewater’s album is relatively without gimmickry, and there are some fine musicians present — including Stanley Clarke, who also produced Chick Corea, George Duke, Alphonso Johnson, Airto Moreira, Bobby Lyle, Ndugu Leon Chan cier, and violinist Scarlet Rivera. But the music never comes alive. It fits too neatly into overly familiar patterns, and the songs themselves are nothing special. (The only well-known composition here is “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word” — which is scarcely among the best songs Messrs. John and Taupin have written.) Bridgewater’s voice is clear and intense, but the material she does is mostly pretty blurry. The Lenny White album is a mildy pleas ant surprise. The packaging suggests a comic-strip sci-fi “Star Wars” rip-off. There’s even a synopsis of “a musical space odyssey” about space pirates, a “Heavy Metal Monster Machine,” “Mandarin War lord Starships,” and such (in one passage, “Images of Millenniums [rur] past race by”) but, fortunately, this nonsense doesn’t actu ally find its way onto the vinyl. There are some nice, if very simple, melodic themes on Astral Pirates, and a few moments of true fire from Don Blackman on good, old-fashioned organ and good, old-fashioned acoustic piano, and Lenny White’s percussion is crisp and hard-driving (though his one ex tended solo, which begins brilliantly, soon becomes a muddle). The music is unde manding, but not at all unenjoyable. It might be called “cocktail fusion.” Colman Andrews AMPERCHART T ROCK 1 Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack-RSO 2 Slowhand Eric Clapton-RSO 3 The Stranger Billy Joel-Columbia 4 A|a Steely Dan-ABC 5 Running on Empty Jackson Browne-Asylum 6 Even Now Barry ManilowArista 7 Point of Know Return Kansas-Kirshner 8 Jefferson Starship Earth Jefferson Starship-Grunt 9 Weekend In LA. George Benson-Warner Bros. 10 The Grand Illusion Styx-A&M 11 News of the World Queen-Elektra 12 Foot Loose & Fancy Free Rod Stewart-Wamer Bros. 13 Blue Lights in the Basement Roberta Flack-Atlantic 14 Double Uve Gonzo Ted Nugent-Epic 15 Rumours Fleetwood Mac-Wamer Bros. 18 Street Player Rufus-Chaka Khan* ABC 17 Watting for Columbus Little Feat-Wamer Bros. 18 Bootsy? Player of the Year Bootsy's Rubber Band-Wamer Bros. 19 Wsylon & Willie Wayion Jennings & Wilke Nelson-RCA 20 Excitable Boy Warren Zevon-Asylum 21 French Kiss Bob Welch-Capitol 22 Simple Dreams Linda Ronstadt-Asytum 23 Infinity Joumey-Columbia 24 Feels So Good Chuck Mangione-A&M 25 Champagne Jam Atlanta Rhythm Section-Polydor RECOMMENDED RECENT RELEASES Magailna London Town Heart-Mushroom Wings-Capitoi Thta Vear'a Modal Champagne Jam Bvla CoereHo-Colum&a Adamic Rhyftm Saaion-Polyaor And Than Than Wee Three... Kaye Genesa-Anandc Bob Martey S the Waitam-tstarw DouMaOoaa MgalOlaaon Hoi Tuna-RCA Nigel Oteson-Cokimbia Boy* in the Tree* Son of a Son of a Sailor Carty Stmon-Eiekt/a Jimmy Buftart-ABC JAZZ 1 Weekend In L.A. George BensomWamer Bros. 2 Uve at the Bijou Grover Washington, Jr.-Kudu 3 Rainbow Seeker Joe Sample*ABC 4 Feels So Good Chuck Mangione*A&M 5 Hold On Noel Pointer-UA 6 The Mad Hatter Chick Corea-Polydor 7 The Path Ralph McDonald-Martin 8 Let’s Do It Roy Ayers*Polydor 9 Funk in a Mason Jar Harvey Mason*Arista 10 West Side Highway Stanley T urrentine-Fantasy 11 Herb Aipert & Hugh Masekeia Herb Aipert & Hugh Masekela-Horizon 12 Heads Bob James*Columbia 13 Tequila Mockingbird Ramsey Lewis*Columbta 14 Just Family Dee Dee Bridgewater*Elektra 15 Say It with Silence Hubert Laws-Columbia F7 Jl RECOMMENDED RECENT RELEASES Every Day, Every Night Flora PunnvWamer Bros Lermy White Present* the Adventure* of Astral Pirate* Elektra Glider Auracle-Chrysahs A Portrait of Bud Powell AJ Haig*Interplay Lionel Hampton Present* Buddy Rich Who's Who In Jazz Unfinished Business Jimmy Smith*Mercury SOUL 1 Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack-RSO 2 Bootsy ? Player of the Year Bootsy’s Rubber Band-Wamer Bros 3 Weekend In L.A. George Benson-Warner Bros. 4 Blue Lights In the Basement Roberta Flack-Atlantic 5 Funkentelechy vs. Placebo Syndrome Parliaments-Casablanca 6 Street Player Chaka Kahn-ABC 7 All n All Earth, Wind & Fire-Columbia 8 Thankful Natalie Cole-Capitol 9 Golden Time of the Day Maze featuring Frankie Beverty-Capitdl 10 Raydio Raydo-Arista 11 Stargard Stargard-MCA 12 Once Upon a Dream Enchantment-Roadshow 13 Reaching for the Sky Peabo Bryson-Caprtoi 14 When You Hear Lou, You’ve Heard it AN Lou Rawts-Philadelphia 15 Warmer Communications Average White Band-Atlantic RECOMMENDED RECENT RELEASES Park Avsnus Sound Gloria GaynouPolydor Pleasure Prtndpla PartePCasabianca Sunburn SumCapitoi MandreTwo Mantfre-Mclcwn My Favorite Fantasy Dan McCoy MCA We Came to Play Tower of Power*Colurob<a Magic The Rogers* ABC Journey to the Light Bratnstorm*Tabu COUNTRY . I 1 Wayfon & Willie Wayton Jennings & Willie Neison-RCA 2 Ten Year* of Gold Kenny Rogers*UA 3 Here You Come Again Dofly Parton-RCA 4 Simple Dreams Linda Ronstadt-Asylum 5 Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town Emmyiou Harris-Wamer Bros. 6 Take This Job and Shove It Johnny Paycheck-Epic 7 Someone Loves You Honey Charley Pride-RCA 8 Best of the Statier Brothers Stattef Brothers-Mercury 9 Y* All Come Back Saloon Oak Ridge Boys*ABC*Dot 10 We Must Believe In Magic Crystal Gayle-UA 11 It Was Almost Like a Song Ronnie Milsap*RCA 12 Heaven’s Just a Sin Away The KendailsOvation 13 Let’s Keep It That Way Anne Murray-Capital 14 Love Is Just a Game Larry GatBn-Monument 15 Out of My Heed and Back in My Bed Loretta Lynn-RCA RECOMMENDED RECENT RELEASES - Soft Lights and Hard Country Music Moo Bandy-Caturntxa Variations Eddie Rabbrt-Ete*tra Tanya TucksC* Greatest Hits Tanya Tuckor-MCA Easter Island Kris Knstoffecson-Monumem Lonely Hearts Chib Bt»e Jo Spears-UA Old Fashioned Love The KendalteOvaijon Entertainers ... On and Off the Record Stattef Brothers-Mercury I’ve Cried die Blue Right Out of My Eyes Crystal Gayte*MCA
