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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 1978)
THE BATTALION FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1978 Page 3 Aerosmith good but ‘commerciaV I Gibson 1420 TEXAS AVE. OPEN EVERY DAY! By BOB ASHFIELD Aerosmith, like any other sledge-hammer-heavy-metal rock band, has been both heavenly praised and sternly denounced by anyone who casually listens to cur rent radio airwaves. Critics either exalt them as an exciting, rip- snorting combination of no-hold- barred rock blues or denigrate them as a faulty garbage disposal, mainte- nanced only by the youngest of rock advocates. Alas, to anyone so be wildered, the facts are that not only do they possess the most dazzling lead guitar player of the present in Joe Perry, and the premier rock vo calist in Steven Tyler, but that they are a band whose sound promotes a generation that doesn’t give a damn who likes it. “Draw the Line” is their fifth al bum, two discs after they pushed their way into the everyday life of the long-haired adolescent with “Toys in the Attic.” The new album is very reminiscent of other works by the band, exposing their definit ive and somewhat repetitive sound, but also demonstrates the ever- increasing lengths they’ll take to produce fresh, high-energy rock. Each cut is crammed with guitar riffs and base lines that cut against the grain of the song, not to mention the haunting lead and background vocals that somehow survive it all. The result however, is a concise meaty, but thoroughly digestable morsel of superb rock and roll. The title cut is an example of a typical no-nonsense Aerosmith rocker, complete with lyrics that de scribe the never-ending frustrations of the male personna mingling with the forever distrustful female. (“Checkmate honey, I beat you at your own damn game.”) Against the backdrop of a fiesty, rhythmic din (that only this band has the right to make), Tyler almost mocks the in tense musical radicalism of the band as he virtually screeches out the last verse in a barely intelligible ban shee wail. “I Wanna Know Why” is a little more low key, still sounding like a handful of previous songs. Stan Bronstein’s sax warms the bulk of the tune while a quite reserved Joe Perry sneaks in a comparatively quiet, high-pitched guitar solo at the end. Turn the volume up now. “Criti cal Mass’ eases an onslaught of piercing harmonica (Dylan would be proud) and soaring vocals upon the unsuspecting listener. The band chants “Time and Space are taking me away,” as they experiment with distortion as never before using dis appearing guitar breaks, that can only remind psychedelia lovers of the sixties of the same in the Bea tles’ “Helter Skelter” and “Straw berry Fields Forever.” Review Turn the volume all the way up. “Get it Up” follows with crashing guitar and thunderous drums as the familiar suggestive lyrics dance on an almost uninterpretable guitar line. After the first refrain the band embarks on an awesome display of screeching guitar and omnipotent base at its undefinable best, leaving the record owner longing for the concert. There do appear on the album the regular, not quite as radical rockers such as “The Hand That Feeds” which really contains the best guitar solo of the record. “Bright Light Fright” is a solo contribution by Joe Perry that ends the first side, but upon consideration it would have been better to just end it without it. Then there is “Sight for Sore Eyes” which is the type of song that gave the band fame on “Toys in the Attic” as it combines heavy metal with pure gutsy funk almost uncharac teristic of a white band. The tongue-in-cheek ludeness of the lyrics are extremely heightened by the raw emotion and orgasmic sin cerity that Tyler pumps them out with, the evokes the highest of spirits that everyday rock bands have tried hard to reach. Bassist Tom Hamilton’s “King and Queens” is the real surprise and compliments the band greatly. The tempo is set majestically by a docile guitar riff that builds rapidly, over which Tyler laments of nightmares of a former life in midevil days. Ev erything compounds to a shudder ing climax through which Perry emits precise rhythmic shrieks off his guitar that casts a chilly eerie ness which drops to silence. Piano introduces a beautiful guitar solo and then builds to a powerful last verse that comes way too soon. With their last album “Rocks” selling faster than any of their previ ous records, Aerosmith was catapulted to the top of the heap of contemporary rock. Fans, however, had to wait almost a year and a half for the next release to determine if their reign would continue. The un believable intensity of “Draw the Line” removes any further suspi cion. Still, there are the skeptics who love only “art” and push up their noses to any of this “unmotivated noise.” Even Steven Tyler asks in song, “I wanna know why, every body with good intentions has gotta make a fool out of me, and this is a very good question. Why must everyone rip the top? Tyler answers, “They play rough, but can t get enough, so they try to make a fool out of me.” Instead, Aerosmith evokes a happy-go-lucky attitude toward the commercial world. “Celebrate kids, we are Crit ical Mass. We are what we are and not what we re supposed to be. “Time and Space are taking me away” from all the confusion of exactness that art mongers create. It does not matter whether it is a Rem brandt or not. It’s the emotion that can only be the final test and the band at its very least is exhilira- ting. Aerosmith still strives to carry the message to what’s left of the human world that if it feels good, do it. And they do it better than ever. COORS Texas A&M University Opera & Performing Arts Society Tickets Available at MSC Box Office 845-2916 Zone 1 Texas A&M Student $3.40 Regular..... .$5.50 Zone 2 Texas A&M Student $2.75 Regular $4.40 Zone 3 Texas A&M Student $2.30 Regular $3.50 Thursday, February 16, 1978 8:15 p.m. Rudder Auditorium TEXAS OPERA THEATRE ^Performing ROBINSON CRUSOE:;!;:;:;:; *1 45 6-pack I cans Good through Saturday BUY 1 & GET 1 FREE ... university studio 115 College Main 846-8019 hi •ri.iii. MiYt IriririririMMMMM* s Qbc) INTERSTATE //fea&ted UNIVERSITY SQUARE SHOPPING CENTER SEVEN!! FINAL CINEMA I hiC 1 * Ho* fiM V ■ •H PuMi-M ktrfWP iwcM Anreetle* h* 6ve« Mmtit&n Ticket. *Enter the Wallmarf^ ‘HearttvcufnerSiveepstaHjes! a ? i % ‘Wiria fr&e trip to ‘Lontion.‘Paris or ‘Italy! You could be one of three srand prize winners tekins a two-week trip for two to exciting places where the world's great romances blossomed. It might be London, where Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett became immortal lovers. Or Pans, where Napoleon and Josephine loved at first sight. Or Verona, Italy, where Romeo wooed Juliet This year, we also have a great selection of Valentine cards and gifts for the one you love . Come discover a special way to - say "I love you,"and enter the Heartwarmer Sweepstakes today. FREE! The Hallmark Heartwarmers Idea Handbook. Filled with gift suggestions, recipes, and loving things to do for your Valentine. Pick up your copy today! It's available while the supply lasts. Make us your Heartwarmer Headquarters for Valentine’s Day, February 14. Petal Patch 707 TEXAS 846-6713 m * ? i % a: Is it sack to love a pen? Is it crazy to love marker pens that give you the smoothest, thinnest line in town.. .and feel so right in your hand? Is it mad to worship pens with clever little metal “collars" to keep their plastic points from getting squishy? Not if the pen is a Pilot marker pen. Our Razor Point, at only 69C, gives the kind of extra-fine delicate line you’ll flip over. And for those times you want a little less line, have a fling with our fine point 59c Fineliner. It has the will and fortitude to actually write through carbons. So, don’t settle for a casual relationship. Get yourself a lasting one, or two, to have and to hold.. .at your college book store. Pilot Corp. of America, 30 Midland Ave., Port Chester, New York 10573. fineline marker pens TEXAS A&M BOOKSTORE Memorial Student Center midnite show TODAY & SAT 1 I : 45£I!n ALSO SAT,SUN 3:55 5:50 ALSO ADULT $3.00 CHILD $1 .50 An ABC encore presentation] a re-re leas U«t«n to ttio Warron Dsvta Show KORA-FM for FREE tickets! The Battalion Classified 845-2611 Time stands still at our distillery where we still make Cuervo Gold by hand. For centuries we’ve wound our clock by hand. And for centuries weVe made Cuervo Gold by hand. At the Cuervo distillery iCs almost as if time has stood still. Our Blue Magueys are nurtured by hand, picked by hand, and carried to the ovens by hand, as they have been since 1795. It is this continuing dedication to tradition that makes Cuervo Gold special. Any way you drink it Cuervo Gold will bring you back to a time when quality ruled the world. Cuervo. The Gold standard since 1795. CUERVO ESPECIAL® TEQUILA -80 PROOF IMPORTED AND BOTTLED BY © 1977 HEUBLEIN, INC., HARTFORD. CONN. il in