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Angel Romero
performing works by Rodrogo
and Moreno Torroba
(§) 1978 Capitol Records
Angel S-37312
Angel Record’s new release of
classical Spanish guitar album,
Angel Romero, is an interesting
collection of music by Rodrigo and
Torroba. For the true lover of clas
sical guitar music the album is an
excellent buy.
For the less serious classical lis
tener, two other Rodrigo pieces,
the "Concierto de Aranjuez" and
the "Fantasia para un Gen
tilhombre," (available on London,
STS-15199), are finer examples
of contemporary Spanish classi
cal music for guitar.
The first selection is the Eligio
de la guitarra by Rodrigo. The
first movement of the piece, a
sonata for guitar in three move
ments, is a fast melody that im
mediately emphasizes the
Spanish nationality of the com
poser.
The second movement, “An
dantino." is a slower, more quiet
theme. The composer says the
movement is intended to evoke an
old cathedral in Castille.
The third movement opens with
brisk scales ending in minor
chords, and ends with lightning
fast passages, requinng great skill
by the musician. It is without a
The other compositions on the
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album are based on Spanish folk
music. Completing the first side of
the album are two pieces by Al
beniz based on gypsy music. The
music perfectly captures the
image Americans have of gyp
sies. listening to music around a
campfire, wagons in the back
ground.
The second Albeniz piece,
Leyenda. from his Suite Es
panola. is the finest selection on
the album.
The second side, by Torroba, is
based loosely on folk music
from different regions of Spain.
The pieces vary in quality, though
none could be called poor or even
average. By Jack Condliffe.
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John Denver
By John Denver
< 1978 RCA Records
AQLI-3075
John Denver will never com
pete with Mick Jagger or Elvis
Presley for the "King of Rock title.
But on John Denver he shows he
can put on rocking shoes too —
with the kind of music that can
make a middle-aged Nevada show
room crowd come to its feet.
•Downhill Stuff" and Johnny B.
Goode," the two rockers that open
each side of the album, are lively
but far from possessing the mes
sianic message of the best rock n
roll. Denver wants his fans to
know he won't always just be
praising Rocky Mountain solitude,
the sun on his shoulders or soar
ing eagles.
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But, as usual, he can’t avoid
praising women. Five of the 11
cuts on the album are about
women, but they’re not solely
about his wife, Annie.
"Sweet Melinda” is the story of
a truck driver living on pills and
beer who sings, “ Cept for you,
sweet Melinda, my wife/I been
ridin’ on empty/Most all of my life.'
A more memorable composi
tion, one that Denver did not write,
is Bryan Bowers’ “Berkeley
Woman”.
As for the rest of the songs —
most are conservative, uninnova
tive crosses between country and
easy listening except for "Joseph
and Joe,” a song with a dreamlike
quality and unusual tempo
changes.
Denver has not written particu
larly powerful songs for this
album, but with an extraordinary
vocalist like Denver, lyrics hardly
matter. Two of his compositions
could have been written by a child
of three. “Life is so Good" and
“Songs of ..are simpler than
lullabies. Yet, the songs are well
done technically.
John Denver is not Denver’s
best work. However, for anyone
who wants to find out who John
Denver is, this album will suffice
For those who know already
what John Denver is about, this
album — rockers not withstanding
— will add a good deal of new
insight into the man and his music.
By Dave Steinman
We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby
By Loretta Lynn
(c 1979 MCA Records. Inc.
MCA-3073
Loretta Lynn, country girl from a
backwoods Kentucky coal mining
town, married at age 14, is finally
her own woman. So, the title of
the album, We've Come A Long
Way, Baby, seems appropriate.
How much her own woman can
Lynn be when all her material is
written by other writers?
The music is typical Nashville
studio work. Which means the
musicians are excellent and the
songs are unforgettable. I’ve heard
the sane licks and progressions on
albums by Dolly Parton, Hank Wil
liams and Ray Price. Each cut is
so similar to its predecessor that
none is worth mentioning. Conse
quently, the lyrics are more impor
tant than the melodies.
All 10 songs on the album are
about broken love affairs. The
lyrics reveal insights about rela
tionships that only one who has
never loved and lost would find
interesting. For anyone who has,
the words resemble the
homogenous pap turned out by
Nashville in the name of commer
cialism
The once regional music of
Loretta Lynn — her voice one time
exuded the heart of the Ap
palachian country sound — has all
but disappeared. I'm still amused
by the way she sings "baaybee
instead of baby but that's about
the only worthwhile sound on the
album.
If you do buy this album, expect
a guitar, pedal steel or harmonica
introduction and then Lynn's
voice. It walks the country tight
rope between sardonic humor and
outrageous, not-to-be-believed
sadness.
With the cost of albums today, it
might be wise to pass this one up.
Only one of the 10 songs is longer
than three minutes. The album is
like ice milk. It is palatable but
bland.
That’s too bad because it rums
the fact that Loretta Lynn is taking
part in the women's liberation
movement. She could be an ex
ample to follow.
Instead, it seems more likely
that, like the women used on Vir
ginia Slims Commercials, she is
merely a manipulated product of
the country music industry's
commercial greed and subse
quent willingness to put out em
barrassing material By Dave
Steinman
r
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