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r\AVID BYRSE
■U Songs from the Broadway
Production of The Catherine Wiwe/
(SlR£)Da\-td Bvme's sometimes stark,
sometimes sonorous compositions for
modem-dance maven Twyla Tharp's
Catherine Wheel project represent a
logical extension for the head Talking
Head's recorded work to date At van
ous times on this ambitious effort.
Byrne recalls the wired-tight anxiety of
his early Heads songs, the strident
Afro-rock rhythms erf Fear of Music
and Remain m the light and the spaces
minimalist doodling that mark his
manv collaborations with Brian Eno
(Eno. along with Heads keyboardist
Jerry Harrison, guitarist Adrian Belew
and percussionist John Chemoff. are
die core of Byme s Catherine Wheel
ensemble.) A handful of tunes here
feature the wailing, worried trademark
Byrne warble: His 'Wife Refused.'
probable the LP s most Talking Heads
ish track: the emphatic, repetitive
What a Das That Was". Big Business,
with its 'fierce and high" and gallop
ing" guitars (Byrne's liner note de
scriptions): and "Big Blue Plymouth
(Eyes Wide Open I." Others are rich,
aural abstracts the Byme/Eno piece.
Two Soldiers," "The Red House” and
the ethereal Tight Bath " Through it
all. Catherine Wheel resonates with
fast, fluid movements and an almost
sensual ambience. There s a vibrant
sense erf the physical at play here, a
physicalness that Byrne explores with
wh and intelligence
St exert X. Rea
OHSSY OTIS
The Sew Johnny Otis Sbou
(ALLIGATOR)If the history of rock &
roll is the blending of white and black
styles (and it is), then Johnny Otis is
one of its greatest exemplars The son
of Greek immigrants, he grew up in
the black ghetto of Berkelev. California
and went on to lead a mostly black
swing band at the Club Ala ham in
'S ans m the late Forties His 1958 hit.
"Willie and the Hand live," is as much a
favorite of musicians < Eric Clapton is
one of many who've covered it) as his
moody late Forties waxing. Harlem
Nocturne." is of choreographers and
stnp-tease dancers Anchored with a
cross of Bo Diddles and cha-cha
rhythms. Willie and the Hand Jive is
still a treat — either a nonsensical re
bellion song or a rebellious nonsense
song, it's hard to say which
The Seu Johnny Otis Shou , from
Chicago * independent Alligator label.
echoes the old da vs when Ous led a
hand and a passel of eager young
singers in a touring revue.
Kicking off with the New Orleans
warhorse "Dnnkin Wine Spo-Dee-O
Dee." Otis fades the tune out with
some characters talking about merging
their loose change for loose wine One
thinks he spies a dime on the pave
ment. "Thai ain't no dime. man. that’s
spit." instructs his companion After
this rhythmic silliness, guest vocalist
Charles Williams makes it lovely with a
version of "Every Beat of My Heart."
Otis backing him on the vibraphone
Then comedy returns with "Joneila
and Jack." a war-of-the-sexes duet
backed by a vamp similar to that on
Otis Redding and Carla Thomas
Tramp.” Jack says he plans to leave
Joneila. cning her "evil right cross'
and her big feet that deliver a kick
"like a Clydesdale horse " Joneila hips
Jack that he tsn t going anywhere, and
that he'd better "Pav some attention
To all that ! mention "Cause bov . I'll
snatch you right ourta your shoes'"
All the trades, which were recorded
in May erf 1961. have a live feel to them
— skillfully. but not ptamstakingly laid
down, witty, but loose Worth plenty of
note is the guitar playing of Shuggie
Otis. Johnny 's son by a marriage to a
black woman
Ous fils knows several tasty fills,
mostly pientatomc and subtle, stylisti
cally somewhere between B B King
and T-Bone Walker With all the
change-upis of rhythm, song style and
vocalist in Tbe \eu Jobnm Otts Sbou
Shuggie Ous guitar work is the nee
die and thread that sews together one
of the best party and blues records in
many years. Byron Laursen
Ocean Drive
Vois 1-3
(BEACH BEAT RECORDSj The authen
tic Carolina coastal item is an infect!
ous kind of easygoing soul music that
two generations of Southeasterners
have danced and romanced to cm their
waterfront holidavs It's largely black
music and its chief trait is its all-en
compassing tolerance rather than as
exclusivity As featured on Ocean
Drtte, beach music includes every
thing from rutung Fifties nickers (Joe
Turners "Wee Babv Blues"; to earh
Sixties pop cookers (Dons Troy's Just
One Look ') to the subtle soul of "Ms
Grace' by the Tymes (19"*)- The
common characteristic is an inviting
loping gait that seems to pop up in
most of these tracks, relaxation and
unrushed energy seem to be the keys
Since the beach music scene is a
phenomenon unto itself, it has built ns
own traditions, sired its own stars and
charted its own hits Some of them
you'll recognize instanth — Vol. 1 fea
tures the Drifters Up on the Roof
and the Trammps Hold Back the
Night among others. Vol. II offers
Bruce Channel s Hey Baby and the
O Kaysions Girl Watcher while Vol
III includes Man Wells My Guy and
.Archie Bell s "I Can t Stop Dancing
But the series real joy is that it
presents plenty of opport unities for
discovery Edwin Starrs incredibly up
"S O S and William Bell & Judy Clay s
Private Number turn up cm Vol 111
and Vol. IJ gives us the chance to hear
Arthur Alexander s original Anna
covered bv the Beaties on their Veejav
Ip And. as the TV mail order ads say
there's more, much more
VShether for a cost-efficient way to
corral several solid R&B hits in one
place, or discovering lost gems from a
regional music scene remarkable for
its vitality and variety. Ocean Drine is a
great avenue You can cruise pas or
park, meet old friends or make new
ones There's always something going
on down there Gene ScuUmM
BBA
The Visitors
! (ATLANTIC) Times muss be gening
hard if even a hand like Abba, the
heretofore -carefree Swedish pop rock
ers. releases an LP of heavy senti
ments Yet that's what the foursome s
new album. The Visitors, apparenth is
meant to be a serious look a broken
romances, parental guilt and other
I less-than-upbeai themes There s a ba
tersweet taste to Abba s current brand
of bubblegum here
The Winner Takes It All. the
group's fatalistic single of last year, was
the tip-off that Abba was changing di
rection Building its remarkable inter
national success upon joyous hits like
'"Waterloo' and "Dancing Queen," the
Scandinavian quartet in the past excel
led in creating sugary but irresistible
catchy pop songs Critics disdained
their lightweight Htics and cheerful
manner, but the public world wide re
sponded to Abba s easy appeal again
and again
The Viators is something else again
The title track is a slice of modem-dae
paranoia set to a chilly synthesizer
line, kicking off the W in a disquieting
manner A sombre tone likewise is
found in "Soldiers'' (a look at impend
ing war) and One of Is' (a self
condemning lament) The melodies
for most of the songs are moody
Europop pieces, huffing and puffing to
a sings.>ng beat that s more unsettling
than infectious Ahha has taken its
trademark style and reworked a into
dark, overscan mental c abaret musk
hill erf regret and foreboding
When they were an effervescent es
1 captst group. Abba could be ap
preciated as good dean fun, if nothing
more The Viators doesn't offer am
such quick highs, yet fails to entertain
an a more intellectual level
(BOARDWALK RECORDS ) Powe r
chords attack us right off the hat and
then, enter The Tough Anitude — a
must accessory for any heaw rocker
worth his or her salt The title track is
reminiscent erf Leslie West and Moun
tain a heav\ metal pop hand from the
Barry Alfonso
QN "J^OUR
Joan Armatrading
1ARFTELD THEATRE SAN
: FRvsasco
JL'ST outside the W arfield the main
drag was jammed with a frenetic
; scene cars paraded up and down
I horns blared, passengers leaned out
1 flashing We re Number One" signs
while pedestrians swarmed onto the
street to contribute their own whoop
ing and hollering in celebration of the
San Francisco Forty-Niners Super
Bowi victory that afternoon
Inside the classy, old-fashioned
Warfield, the atmosphere was equally
festive, but for a different reason Joan
Armatrading. the vital West Indies-bom
British stnger songwnter. was provid
ing the audience a stirring, stunning
83-minute set
.Armatrading. dressed head to toe m
white, opened the show iust like the
new record simple, heavy synthesizer
lines gathered attention to frame the
singer chanting I'm luckv. I'm
lucky " From "I'm Lucky she and
her backing band moved into Down
to Zero, then “I Wanna Hold You"
and Rosie
While the set emphasized songs
from Ladders. .Armatrading drew from
all stages of her career which, ulti
mately, was both a blessing and a
curse. This range of material afforded
an opportunity to trace her steady
progress as a songwriter it also lent
considerable musical diversity to the
proceedings — a jazz-tinged piassage
here, some folk-based tenderness
there, mixed m with the Jamaican
strains and snappn rock she currently
favors
But a few times the blend of styles
chipped away at the cohesion and pac
ing of the performance particularly
toward the end when Joan, playing
acoustic guitar, and her superb hand
— guitarist Oarv Sanford, bass and
Suck player Jeremy Meeks keyboardist
Dean Kluzate. drummer Justin Hil
dreth multi-instrumentalist Julian Dig
glc — locked into a long, pointless
jazzv-jam
However, this was an isolated flaw
within a tnumphani presentation V
matrading s vocals were lorceful and
marvelously expressive, whether beh
ing out a si news rocker like Is ii
Tomorrow Vet or crooning the
gentle poignant The Weakness in
Vie'
She rendered these and other num
hers with sufficient darm and emotion
that even those audience mem hers un
familiar with some compositions
found it easy to connect with her lyri
cal themes, which can convey vulnera
bilitv one moment ( And I need vou )
and independence the next i' I sit here
by myself/ And you know 1 love it ) —
somehow avoiding a stumble into con
tradiction As acutely as any active
v mgwTiter Armatrading understands
the quirks of romance and everyday
emotions _ __
Duncan Strauss
Nathan Milstein
ACADEMY OF MUSIC.
PHILADELPHIA. PA
One of the most striking
phenomena of musical perfor
mance in this century has been the
dominance of classical violin playing
by a handful of Jewish virtuosos who
were born and given their early train
ing in Tsarist Russia But although their
influence can still be felt in the playing
of some of today’s younger violinists
< Itzhak Perlman, for one), the masters
themselves are now mostly silent; the
most famous of these. Jascha Heifetz, is
now past 80 and has n<* played in
public for nearly a decade
Nathan Milstein is the last of this
school to hold the concert stage, and
he continues to hold it like a vise At
~ his technique shows little sign of
the deterioration that normally besets
colleagues who are 15 to 20 years
younger, and his phrasmgs are more
thoughtful and elegant than ever That
elegance, coupled with the sheer jote
de ivre that he brings to his playing,
still makes for a unique listening expe
rience
The highlight of his Academy recital
was Bach's solo Sonata in G minor,
which he seemed to dash off with the
greatest of ease even while striving to
project as many of the mysteries of
Bach s musical thought as one man
can I think his interpretation has be
come subtler and more understanding
than even the one included in his
prize winning mid Seventies album of
the Bach solo works Brahm s D minor
vinata by contrast, gave him the op
portune to show that he is still capa
hie of high drama as well as high
musicianship
After intermission fireworks Seem
ingly effortless renditions of two of
Paganini's man killing Caprices were
followed by Milstein s own brilliant
reworking of Liszt s thoroughly plants
tic Mepbetcj Vtaltz into a solo-violin
showpiece Two Tchaikovsky pieces
closed the program, the Meditation .
providing a bit of repose with a ckiv
ing high L) which seemed to final to
infinity before the Vatse Scherzo
brought it to a rousing finish There
were two encores, by Bach and Liszt,
and if the audience had had its way
there would have been more
SoI Louis Siegel
Jaco Pas tori us
DOROTHY CHANDLER PAVILION, LA
T AGO PASTORIL’S' rather fixmidabie
I reputation (Weather Report. Jom
Mitchell) aii a bassist and composer
preceded him But no one attending
his two-night stand at the Dorothy
Chandler Pavilion (home of the Los
Angeles Philharmonic) was quite pre
pared fix the phenomenally musical
performances lie generated there On
the first leg of a brief national tour
(which included shows in Chicago and
NYC) to promote his new Warner
Bros album. Word <jf Mouth, Pastorius
gathered a dozen of LA's top studio
and jazz men — trumpeters Snooky
Young and Chuck Kindles , trombonist
Bill Reichenbach and reedplavers
Marty Krystal! and Gene Cipriano
among them — in addition to friends
from Florida (steel drummer Othello