Cowboys Rust etc

Rip It Up, Issue 29, 1 December 1979, Page 15

Cowboys Rust etc

Cowboys International The Original Sin Virgin The Ruts Fingerprintz The Crack The Very Dab Virgin Virgin The adventurous Virgin policy of snapping up new comers has earned the label a rosy reputation. The three new signings under scrutiny represent a healthy cross-section of what is currently going down. '; Fingerprintz are a tough little pop unit from South London relying-. on . the flexible songwriting skills of . Jimmie O’Neill and the chinky guitar leads of Cha Burnz. The band are at their best when O’Neill’s songs are terse and lean, (“Tempermental” and “Close Circuit Connection”) but they tend to over-reach when they tackle more obtuse songs like “Beam Me Up Scotty” and “Invisible Seams”. Still, the ideas are there.

Virginity gave us a representative foretaste of the Ruts on “Babylon’s Burning” and from that I sized them up as a poor man’s Clash, which is just about right. With their vague reggae affiliations it would have been reasonable to hope that they might have developed on the Clash’s “Police and Thieves” cover, but the Crack, other than on “Jah War”, plays it safe but certainly sound in a revival of the punk spirit. If you like nostalgia try “Human Punk”. Of the three albums, Cowboys International’s is by far the best. What the other two merely hint at, Bowie incarnate Ken Lockie delivers in full with cocksure ease. Fingerprintz and the Ruts represent the hardcase eight-days-a-weekers of rock’n’roll who might make a few ripples before they submerge but Lockie and his Cl are making waves now.

From Newcastle, he, formed the band however in London with ex-Clash Terry Chimes (Tory Crimes) on drums amongst others. The Original Sin is as mature as debuts can be and there are at least four songs in attendance that Bowie would/should give his eye-teeth for, “Thrash”, “Here Comes A Saturday”, “Aftermath” and “Lonely Boy”, all exuding Thin White Duke vocal twang and phrasing circa Space Oddity. Lockie, of course, adds his own unique brand of suss, but all in all the album is a lesson in how to be derivative without being fatuous or superfluous. Gary Numan could learn something. Times are good when debuts like The Original Sin are around. George Kay Penetration Coming Up For Air Virgin Sad but true, fully three quarters of the new hopes who appeared in the British new wave boom have now returned to obscurity. Penetration are one of the bands who have survived. For better or for worse they have done so by ditching their adherence to punk musical tenets like speed and simplicity.

On their debut album of 1978 the band showcased their jagged song structures, sparse arrangements and almost uncomfortably hard metallic sound to critical and popular approval. Now the pace and obvious energy have gone though there is still tension and a hard edge to the material. Nevertheless this is if anything a superior album. Overall the band demonstrates an increased capability and lead guitarist Fred Purser has lost none of his melodic dash. Now they also turn the studio facilities to their advantage with some interesting experiments in the mixing. Vocalist Pauline Murray is in her best chilly toned form. My own enthusiasm for the band has waned but I would still recommend a listen to this for anyone who liked the first album. File this one under uneasy listening. Dominic Free Skids Days In Europa Virgin My vote for best 1979 album is split between the Members’ Chelsea Nightclub and Skids’ Scared to Dance. There lies a good example of directions the latest products of new wave are taking, The Members appear to be content to joke and jibe, Skids, though, are after bigger fish. Richard Jobson’s lyrics abound with fanciful phrases, ethereal imagery and existential themes. The pity is that by setting their sights so high, they’re maybe aiming a little too high for their potential audience. A new drummer and producer hasn't made a great deal of difference to the overall sound. Stuart Adamson’s well-oiled rotoring guitar still

dominates and if Jobson's lyrics are little close to sixth form poetry, so what?jjSHoß9WP These lads are still in their teens and, for all their earnestness, they are likely to be playing the sounds that are to come to the fore in the eighties. Dylan they ain’t. But Days In Europa will turn grey before you hear me playing Slow Train Coming. John Dix Various Artists Business Unusual. BTC Business Unusual features , a variety;. of English small label acts who provide the opposite alternative to the complacency represented by the Eagles and their ilk. Compiled by Zig lag's David Marlow, the underdog’s champion John Peel and Cherry Red Records founder lain McNay, the album is an exuberant if rudimentary cross-section of what we missed out on in the way of grass roots rock’n'roll singles last year. The eight-track first side concentrates on the young, fast and unscientific. The Leyton

Buzzards’ ”19 and Mad” (which only hints at the stature they've achieved with their superior pop singles this year “Saturday Nights Beneath the Plastic Palm Trees” and “I’m Hanging Around”) and the naive “New Wave Love” are the best amongst them. But the second side is as good as a compilation can get. Starting with the Tights’ evocative "China’s Eternal” this side peaks with Thomas Leer’s “Private Plane” pulsing bass as Leer and synthesisers construct a rising melody, a gem. Robert Rental, Throbbing Gristle (remember Genesis P. Orridge? you don’t?) and Cabaret Voltaire conclude with their novel ideas of what young men should be doing with electricity. The album’s only fault is the omission of artists from the Fast label Gang of Four, Mekons and the Human League all mandatory stuff. A minor criticism in an otherwise intriguing compilation. If it came to a choice give me these enthusiastic amateurs anyday. George Kay

Donna Summer On The Radio Greatest Hits Vol. I & II Casablanca Sister Sledge Chic We Are Family Risque Cotillion Atlantic

Us white folks have a bad habit of picking up on black music several years too late. Sure Chuck Berry had his hits but it was the Beatles and the Rolling Stones that elevated him to the rock’n'roll hall of fame in the eyes of the general public. Later in the decade, the blues boom drew heavily in some cases almost exclusively on the advances made by the black bluesmen in the fifties. Disco however, as you may have noticed, has been more rapidly adopted by the masses. In retrospect that’s not surprising for disco, in form at least, is closes to the highly successful output of the 60s black music label, Tamla Mowtown. For both use gospel influenced vocalists singing pop tunes over a big beat. Similarly both are producer’s mediums it takes a distinctive voice to fight its way out of the production line and right now that’s where Donna Summer triumphs. Produced by the creative team of Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, she’s graduated from being queen of the vinyl orgasm to a convincing yet still earthy contemporary R&B singer. On the Radio is a double greatest hits package that traces this development and it’s i

ner latest role as brassy vocalist of such radio 'favourites as “Bad Girls”, “Hot Stuff”, “Dim All the Lights”, “Heaven Knows” and “Last Dance” that best display her talents. She may not have the voice of Aretha Franklin or the intensity of Gladys Knight but then they’ve not made singles this good in many years. (Warning: The versions of the singles on this album in most cases are of 45 single length and not the longer album or 12” 45 cuts. Also added effects and drumbeats between songs to give a danceable flow often have a jarring effect and ruins the lovely connection between “Hot Stuff” and "Bad Girls” from the Bad Girls album.) Chic, in case you didn't know is also The Chic Organization Ltd. and is controlled by guitarist Nile Rodgers and bassist Bernard Edwards the songwriters, producers and brains behind the outfit. While unashamedly commercial in their approach (Rodgers told one writer that if country and western were the next big thing, he’d be out there with his cowboy hat on), they’ve still developed an appealing and.original approach based around Rodger’s jazz-style chording and Edward’s propulsive bass playing. But Chic’s concern with style and elegance results in a coolness in approach this beautifully crafted music may entertain but it’s unlikely to move you. For that reason Rodgers and Edwards best work so far comes on the Sister Sledge album We Are Family. Here, the sisters Sledge function not as a cool and anonymous chorus but as soul singers giving character to the otherwise slick Chic machine. Standouts are the title track and the singles “He’s the Greatest Dancer” and “Lost in Music” but the strength of the songs and instrumental work makes this the most consistent disco album I’ve heard. As Graham Parker has said disco is just modern soul music. Believe it and you won't have to wait till the 1980 s to discover that for lyourself. . » Dougal

Willie Nelson and Leon Russell One for the Road CBS Leon Russell Life and Love Warner Bros The Earl Scruggs Revue Today and Forever CBS In the last Rip It Up I drew a comparison between Waylon Jennings and the screen persona of John Wayne. If Jennings has parallels withWayne, then Willie Nelson’s are with James Stewart. They share a vulnerability, a humanity that in both men is best expressed in the voice. For years the Nashville establishment refused to take Nelson seriously as a singer. But it i$ the seeming inadequacies that give Willie’s singing its strength. Willie Nelson is one of the finest of country songwriters with a touch for themes that transcend categorisation (check out 8.8. King's version of Willie’s “Night Life” on Blues is King). It is therefore remarkable that one of his most compelling albums contains no songs of his own. Stardust was a gem, although some saw it as an abberation, failing to perceive the interpretive skills necessary to breathe new life into well-worn chestnuts like “Moonlight in Vermont". • ■' The double album One for the Road is two distinct . records, one of which' is 'Stardust Revisited’. Record the first is a rollicking piece of business with Willie and -Russell (any suggestions, matinee fans? Richard Widmark perhaps?) trading choruses on 10 country or country-inflected songs with the aid of Willie’s band, plus guests, including Maria Muldaur and Bonnie Raitt (nifty slide guitar on the hoary old "Trouble In Mind”, which turns out to be an inspired choice). Only, the po-faced purist would quibble with Willie’s offering of Cole Porter (“Don’t Fence Me In") or Gene Autry (“Ridin’ Down the Canyon”); Record the second has Willie running down another set of standards to the backing of Russell, who plays all instruments. In Nelson’s hands -too-familiar, even debased, songs live anew. That may be a mark of genius. Leon Russell’s not entirely undeserved reputation as an opportunistic manipulator should not blind one to his considerable skills as songwriter and arranger. Life and Love matches seductive neo-gospel melodies to his idiosyncratic Dustbowl voice. It ranks with the Okie's best woTk.W^HnKHnn The . Earl Scruggs Revue employs a stricter

country approach than either Willie or Leon. A pioneer, of bluegrass banjo, Scruggs and his sons lay down an appealing blend of bluegrass tinged with rock, a sound that brings to mind one of the more interesting ‘forgotten’ albums , Kindling (WB, 1973) by ex-Byrd Gene Parsons. . Ken Williams The Boomtown Rats The Fine Art of Surfacing Mercury \ In the last/couple of years the Rats have gone from being a kids band to being a rock’n’roll band, fullstop. If with this goes American tours and production numbers, maybe we’ll get to see them out here sometime. I could stand it. This album has got to have about the worst cover of the year. It opens with Geldof’s paen to unreasonable beliefs, “Someone’s Looking”, including the immortal lines, On a night like this I deserve to get kissed At least once or twice ... Most rock writers have touched on the subject of paranoia, but Geldof does it well. They follow with a brilliant putdown of the non-stop party life that some music biz people succumb to. They said she did it with grace They said she did it with style They said she did it all before she died ... Both songs come complete with melodies and hooks you i could give to your bank manager as collateral. There’s more. "Having My Picture Taken” pokes light-hearted fun at the instant nostalgia business. It's not deep but it’s got a tune you can hum. Throughout it all the band plays like a unit and the production is good you can hear it all. The trouble is, The Rats don’t have a whole lot to say. They press on some touchy subjects and then pull back before it starts to hurt.' "Keep It Up” is a catchy little number about the sexual combat zone that doesn’t get past superficiality. “I Don’t Like Mondays” documents pointless violence without really making much of a point. And the couple of tunes that lack hooks . don’t have much to justify themselves. But that’s okay. There’s a wide .range of possibilities between the intensity of a Graham Parker and the classic dumb fun of the Ramones. The Rats are entertainment, a hot live act. I counted six good tunes out of ten. It may not be a home run, but it puts them in the right ballpark. .. John Malloy