mm
MUSIC
REVIEW
By Victor Sylvia
Michael Murphy — Peaks, Valleys,
Honky-Tonks and Alleys
If you were fortunate enough to be in attendance
at Michael’s April 4 concert in Bryan Civic Au
ditorium, you know that Murphy is a true performer.
He is the Neil Diamond of the Texas Sound. At the
concert he did various songs featured on his new al
bum, Peaks, Valleys, Honky-Tonks and Alleys,
which is half studio and half live.
Side one was recorded live at the Palomino Club
in North Hollywood. It contains the classics “Cosmic
Cowboy,” "Backslider's Wine,” and “Geronimo’s
Cadillac” plus two newer songs “Years Behind Bars”
and a show-biz tune “Another Cheap Western.”
Side two contains the new single, “Chain Gang,”
a remake of the old Sam Cooke song.
One new song “South Coast” relates the inter
esting story of a man who wins a bride in a card
game, they leave to the mountains, he’s hurt in a
landslide and she’s killed by a mountain lion. Mur
phy’s always writing songs about everyday oc
curences like that. Most of the songs are about
traveling, drifting from town to town, and the joy of
coming home. In one of the album’s finest moments,
Murphy sings:
Cactus Jack likes his coffee black
And he says, “Boy, this is your lucky day”
Outside the sun is up
And the wind blows me like a paper cup
Down the highway.
Van Halen — Van Halen II
As a hard rock group, Van Halen has great poten
tial. Their first album was awesome and very nearly
perfect. Unfortunately, Van Halen II is a bitter disap
pointment. The songs are uninspired, and there’s
nothing to compare with “Ice Cream Man” or “You
Really Got Me.” Instead, a curious collection of tacky
sexually-oriented songs like “Beautiful Girl,” “Wo
men in Love,” and “Bottoms Up” make this album
both tasteless and monotonous. Also the production
is poor compared to the first album, with some of the
songs sounding like first takes. Too many stolen
guitar riffs indicate a general lack of ingenuity, and
without the characteristic Van Halen scream, this
album could pass for a UFO album, for example.
Side one opens with “You’re No Good." Yes, it’s
the same Clint Ballard tune that Linda Ronstadt rec
orded, except she did it better. At one point, vocalist
David Roth groans “Do What You Want To” in a
surprisingly good Jimi Hendrix imitation. "Dance the
Night Away” (not a disco song) follows, with the
Stones’ “Honky Tonk Women” as an intro. At any
rate, you can’t dance to it, but it’s good for drivin’.
Then the album starts to degrade, with only a few
highlights here and there. For instance, the begin
ning of “Outta Love Again” sounds like a killer bee
attacking.
Side two is both frantic and boring. Only one
song, “D.O.A.,” stands out. This time D.O.A. stands
for "Dead or Alive” and is probably the best song on
Van Halen II.
We were sittin' ducks
For the police man
They found a dirty-faced kid
In a garbage can
From this point, ideas begin to deteriorate to inef
fective and age-old lurid suggestions. You’ll have to
hear them to believe them. I only hope that it’s all
tongue-in-cheek. By the way, the album is literally
sealed with a kiss, so listen for it. If you really love
Van Halen, forget this album and pick up a copy of
their first, since your old one is probably scratched
by now. Van Halen could be a great group, but not if
they keep this up. By the time Van Halen III comes
out, they’ll probably be writing like Bob Welch.
Sally Oldfield — Water Bearer
Recently it has come to my attention that many of
you question the validity of my craft. Down through
the ages, critics have been strongly criticized, its
only natural. Something inherent with the human
condition brings forth torrential waves of protest,
each gaudily painted with individual preferences.
And certainly it should seem obvious that any com
plaint that arises is flavored with as much personal
bias as my review. Putting it more simply, never try
to please more than one person at a time.
At any rate, to approach the problem at hand, it
seems that Sally Oldfield (Mike’s sister, I believe)
has her own album out now called Water Bearer.
This album is good only if you’re deaf, or if you like
listening to forty minutes of mantra-like nonsense
lyrics and insectinal humming. This is muzak to
trainalpha waves by. It’s boredom set to music. It’s
not good, to be polite. Buying this album would only
be an incentive for Sally to release another one like
it. And we wouldn’t want that.
Doobie Brothers — Minute by Minute
Take a look at the Top Ten at any moment and
you’ll find a few albums that have no right to be
there. This is one of them. Everyday people pur
chase albums because they like one particular song
that they hear on the radio. This is a dangerous
practice.
If you like “What a Fool Believes,” buy Kenny
Loggins’ Nightwatch, because his version is
better. Give it a listen before you disagree with me.
The only other good cut on Minute by Minute is
"Minute by Minute,” which should indicate some
thing to you. I’m not saying that the other songs are
garbage, they’re just not that good, that’s all.
Particularly, Doobie Brothers’ albums since The
Captain and Me and Vices have become increasing
ly sparse in good material. So if you like the Doobie’s,
buy their Greatest Hits and a single of “What a Fool
Believes.” You’ll be doing the right thing for a
change. Trust me.
Supertramp — Breakfast in America
Supertramp’s new album, Breakfast in America,
is really a feast. It’s one of the better concept al
bums to emerge in recent months, dwelling on the
tribulations of a modern man, looking for love and
hoping that it’s around the corner. Every song tells a
story, moving through feelings of depression to a
denouement of positive elation. These are songs of
hope set against blind skies of fortune.
Breakfast begins with “Gone Hollywood,” a song
that describes the frustrations a Hollywood-hopeful,
and follows the depression-to-hope formula per
fectly. At first the character admits that there “Ain’t
nothin’ new in my life today, Ain’t nothin’ true; it’s all
gone away.”
Sally Oldfield
That’s some advice we can all follow, because
sooner or later, we all have to face rejection. “There
are times when all the world’s asleep,” and loneli
ness can cut like a cold steel blade. And we all have
to say goodbye. Sometimes, though, the goodbyes
are easier to handle, as in my personal favorite,
“Goodbye Stranger.” Listen to the chorus and you’ll
hear strains of George Harrison’s “All Things Must
Pass.” Again, the expressions of hope are there.
It may sound like something you’d find in the back
of a high school yearbook, but there’s a lot of inno
cence in wisdom. The title track is a song about
Texas millionaires and beautiful Cornia girls, and
once again hope. But I won’t tell you what the mil
lionaires are hoping for. “Oh Darling” finishes side
one, and is a simple song whose idea is timeless:
“See that girl, I’m gonna make her mine.”
Side two, though not as impressive as side one,
still carries on with the theme that “struggles are
rewarded.” This is evident in the first song “Take the
Long Way Home” which means “Don’t Take the
Easy Way Out,” “Nothing Good Comes Easy,” or
“Nothing Ventured,Nothing Gained.” Take your
pick. The remainder of the album more visual. That’s
because the resiliency of the characters against in
surmountable odds becomes a tad farcical.
And the deliberate reiteration hope theme causes
one to pay closer attention to the album cover art
work and less to the contents of the grooves. Sadly
enough, the last four songs pass by unnoticed, ex
cept for the occasional bright moments. One is found
in “Casual Conversations” when its characters
exhibit an interesting relationship: No matter what he
says, she ignores him. She only likes casual con
versations, and they bore him.
And th album ends with a bright moment, “Child of
Vision,” in which a successful man, who has risen up
the ladder to lie in the sun, realizes the irony of it all.
Sure, it’s a good life, but not a very productive one.
If you don’t help others, you hurt yourself. It’s one of
the little tricks that life likes to play on people. If it’s
happened \o you already, buy Supertramp’s Break
fast in America. If it hasn't, it will.