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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1983)
Record review/Dan McMillan Year’s best record has drive, brilliance Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul Men Without Women EMI Liberty There is something about rock ’n’ roll that is both ma jestic and powerful and soothing and contemplative. But most importantly, rock ’n’ roll has emotion. That's why Duran Duran will only be technically adequate — Rio is about as emotional as sleeping — but the Stones will always great. From “Satisfaction" to “Start Me Up” their great songs have been emotionally vivid. The great rockers possess a passion and commitment to music. Whether it is the Beach Boys passion for girls, sun and surf, or the Who’s commit ment to thrashing out Pete Townsend’s problems on record, the emotion and com mitment have to be there. Along with emotion, pas sion, and commitment good rock ’n’ roll needs a certain in tensity. But today’s intensity is all screwed up. Fast, loud and hard music is in tense; soft, mellow music is nice — but not intense. Of course that's bullshit to anyone who listens to much music. Smokey Robinson can be as intense as Led Zeppelin because intensity is an ele ment of passion, not volume. With all these good things going for it why has rock *n’ roll lost much of its impor tance? It’s still popular, but the social importance rock once had is losing ground to a tid"? of indifference. Magic is what’s missing. Rock today is dependent on the mood, which is what 1 THE JEANERY'S Levi's o 4 DAY SPECTACULAR Just in time for summer, the Jeanery is MARKING DOWN PRICES on the most popular LEVI S® fashions! HURRY! SALE PRICES VALID THRU SUNDAY ONLY! STARTS THURSDAY MORNING! £Di SHRINK-TO-FIT DENIM JEANS The jeans that made Levi’s* famous! Exclusive ail cotton denim with button fly, shrinks permanently to fit like no jeans you’ve ever worn! 15 99 (longer lengths: $17.99) Q <& SADDLEMAH BOOT JEANS ON SALE NOW! Heavyweight denim with just enough flare to ride easy over boots 15 99 30% OFF EVERY PAIR OF LEVI’S® JEANS FOR GALS! ENDS SUNDAY1 SALE HOURS: • EUGENE MALL: 77 W. Broadway Thurs., Fri., & Sat. 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-5 • VALLEY RIVER CENTER Thurs. & Frt. 10-9, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 12-5 Wa’ra Lana County’s NUMBER ONE LEVI’S* STORE! J elevator music was created for. Sure, rock ’n’ roll should be entertaining, but it should also have that feeling of magic when a phrase, a guitar solo, or a chorus catches and holds the listener in a time warp of music. The Beatles had lots of magic moments but were also entertaining. Groups like Journey, Duran Duran and Flock of Seagulls are enter taining, but the magic isn’t there. I really can’t explain what I mean by magic, but I can give examples — the scream in “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” the guitar introduction to “Sweet Jane” and the way the organ slams into the rest of the instruments and Smokey's voice just takes off on "Tears of a Clown.” Now that the groundwork has been set for what I think rock ’n’ roll should be, it’s time for my favorite album of the year. This is not the best album but the album that I think best exemplifies what rock ’n’ roll is all about, Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul “Men Without Women.” Little Steven, in reality Miami Steve Van Zandt, is the chief disciple and one of the last of the great rock 'n' rollers. In a way it is fitting that the album is named after a Hemmingway novel, because Hemmingway was the epitome of the gutsy intense writer. The band is the best amalgamation of rock ’n’ roll talents assembled in a long time. Steven plays guitar and sings with a voice like Keith Richards and Bob Dylan (although he claims to sound like Sam Cooke); the Plasmatics’ Jean Beavoir is on bass; ex-Rascals Dino Danelli and Felix Cavaliere are on drums and keyboards respec tively; and La Bambas’ Mam bomen is on horns. Everything on this album sounds perfect to me. The way the guitar builds into the horns on “Save Me” and all of “Under the Gun" are magic moments of particular distinction. What is most impressive is Little Steven’s consummate understanding of rock 'n' roll. From the swaggering “Under the Gun,” to the up-tempo soul of “Angel Eyes," to the melancholy ballad "Princess of Little Italy,” the Disciples don’t miss a trick. But this isn’t just a fan’s bloodless homage to his heroes. “Under the Gun," the stan dout cut, builds from wood blocks, to guitar, to bass, then explodes into the keyboards and horns. The song has an undertone of violence, not from Little Steven, but from the forces that threaten us all — “We’re running out of heroes/So what you gonna’ do/Can’t wait forever I got bad news/They’re all waiting for you." v> Just a ‘Ducky’ book To heck with cats, this is the University of Oregon. We re clucks. For a wonderful little gradua tion present for your favorite duck take a gander — so to speak — at “And Then There Was Duck,” bv John Ward. "Duck” is a delightful little cartoon book of the many silly possibilities about ducks. Did you know, for example that duck bellys smell like peppermint? Just scratch and sniff. Or that ducks bathe with a lit tle rubber person? So go get a "Duck.” Where, you ask? It should only be a matter of simple deducktion. And ail for $3.95. from Pocket Books. ^German C2xZS auto sen vice "Since 1963" VWs - MERCEDES - BMWs DATSCIN - TOYOTA - AUDI Reliable Service For Your Foreign Auto 342-2912 2025 Franklin Blvd.
