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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 2, 1985)
3 Big Daddy does 80s hits in 50s style By KARL PALLMEYER Music Reviewer T here are probably a few other music fans out there who would rather listen to Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Dion, Bo Did- dley, Chubby Checker, Bill Haley, Gene Chandler, the Big Bopper, Gene Vincent or Eddie Cochran than Cyndi Lauper, Willie Nelson, Prince, Phil Collins, Men Without Hats, Michael Jackson, Culture Club or Van Halen. Unfortunately neither radio nor MTV give you much choice. That's why Big Daddy is so much fun. The story of Big Daddy is one of the strangest in rock history. In the late 1950s, Big Daddy, then one of rock 'n' roll's greatest acts, was asked to play on a USO tour of Southeast Asia. The tour was kept secret since American involvement in the war in Asia had not yet been made official. Big Daddy was forced to ride in an ox cart behind the tour bus since the rest of the acts on the tour would not associate with a mere rock 'n' roll band. One day in Laos, Big Daddy was captured by commu nist rebels. The communists took the band to heart because they had Big Daddy "Mean while ... Back in the States" Rhino Records Album provided by Camelot Music heard on American radio that rock 'n' roll music was a communist plot to corrupt American youth. They welcomed Big Daddy as comrades. The band played for the captors until 1980 when they were rescued by an American CIA task force. The task force, disguised as aliens for a science fiction film being made in Laos, freed the band and brought them back to America. During the debriefing at Camp David, govern ment officials realized the band would have trouble adjusting to the music industry of the 1980s. To help the band prepare for their comeback, the government pur chased sheet music of some of to day's biggest hits and set up a re cording studio at Camp David. Big Daddy recorded their first album, "Big Daddy," a collection of 1980s hits done in 1950s style. Big Daddy's second album, "Meanwhile ... Back in the States," follows the same hila rious formula. O N "MEANWHILE ... BACK IN the States," Big Daddy does a version of Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" that sounds a lot like Gene Chandler's "Duke of Earl." Their version of Phil Collins' "Sussudio" sounds like Dion and the Belmonts' "Runaround Sue." Their version of Willie Nelson's "Always On My Mind" sounds like the Big Bopper's "Chantilly Lace." I not- going to say anymore. If I told you about their interpetations of Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark", Prince's "Purple Rain," Mi chael Jackson's "Billie Jean" or Van Halen's "Jump," it would spoil your fun. But seriously folks ... Big Daddy is a joke. Big Daddy is the creation of the twisted geniuses at Rhino Re cords. Rhino is a small record com pany based in California that spe cializes in the old and the weird. Rhino re-releases classic rock 'n' roll albums by such artists as the Mon- kees, the Turtles, the Bobby Fuller Four, Richie Valens, the Box Tops, the Chocolate Watchband, the Nazz and the Troggs. Rhino also releases "novelty" albums by such artists as Dr. Demento, Gefilte Joe and the Fish, Oy George and Kosher Klub, Barnes and Barnes, Rodney Dan- gerfield, the Three Stooges and Big Daddy. Rhino has a good time with their albums. A Turtles EP is pressed on green vinyl and shaped like a turtle. The EP by Gefilte Joe and the Fish, rock's only senior citizen Jewish Heavy Metal band, is shaped like a Star of David. And Barnes and Bar nes' "Fish Heads" EP looks like a fish head. There are only four record compa nies I admire and Rhino tops the list. If you are interested in Rhino's re cords, you can beg, plead, con, threaten or simply ask your local re cord store to carry their albums. Or you can write Rhino Records, 1201 Olympic Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90404, for a Sears & Rhinobuck Cat- alggue. You won't be sorry. □ Kline keeps changing sHOtMeA-sHOtAted-tftfHued, Movies are listed alphabetically. The Grove movies will be shown on listed date only. The rating and theater code name are in parenthesis. The theater codes are: GR — The Grove 845-1515 ME — Manor East 823-8300 P3 — Plitt Cinema III 846-6714 PO — Plitt Post Oak 764-0616 S6 — Schulman Six 775-2463 By BOB THOMAS Associated Press LOS ANGELES — His first four films have been a tragedy, a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, a contempo rary drama and a Western. No won der the film world has trouble get ting a fix on Kevin Kline. That often happens with extrava gantly talented actors, but Kline even looks different in each film. He was Meryl Streep's crazed, passion ate lover in "Sophie's Choice", the madcap Pirate King of "The Pirates of Penzance", and then Harold Coo per, the yuppie host to the college reunion in "The Big Chill." Now he appears full-bearded as the reluctant gunfighter Paden in "Silverado," co-written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan, who worked with Kline in "Chill." , . A suave, witty actor who appears equally at home in comedy and drama, the 37-year-old Kline still had the beard during a brief visit here for the "Silverado" opening. He's currently starring in a revival of George Bernard Shaw's "Arms and the Man" in New York, where he won critical raves as the calm center of a histrionic storm directed by John Malkovich. The beard also did duty in the unreleased "Violets Are Blue" with Sissy Spacek. In "Silverado" Kline seems per fectly at ease racing flat-out over the plains and blasting away at the bad guys. Part of that came naturally. "I have no fear of horses," he says. "In fact, when we were preparing for 'Silverado,' I learned to roll out of the saddle, stand up on the horse, also the croup mount — jumping into the saddle from the rear — and hoping that the horse doesn't decide to kick." However, all the horse tricks were reserved for Kevin Kostner, who played Jake, and Kline didn't get to show off. "I hate guns," Kline adds, "but I overcame my feelings and trained with Arvo Ojala, who has taught Western actors for years and is, I be lieve, the other gunfighter in the opening shot of 'Gunsmoke.-' I learned to do all kinds of twirls, but again Larry said, 'That's for Jake.'" Kline, Kostner, Scott Glenn and Danny Glover spent four weeks in training together for their rigors in "Silverado." "Larry was smart to put us all to gether, just as he had done for 'The Big Chill,' cast," Kline says. "The in trinsic quality of both pictures is friendship and fellowship, and es tablishing the bonds early worked for them." Kline grew up in St. Louis watch ing "The Cisco Kid," "Zorro" and "Hopalong Cassidy" on television, but he admitted that his education in the classic Westerns was lacking — "I had to rent copies of 'Red River' and John Ford movies like 'She Wore a Y ello w Ribbon' □ Back to the Future (PG,P3) A new Spielberg film about a kid who gets transported back to the 50s and sees his parents as high school sweethearts. Great Film. See related story on De Lorean time travel car. The Black Cauldron(PG,ME) New Disney film. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid (Mon.,PG,GR) Robert Redford and Paul Newman star in this classic. Casino Royale (Wed.,PG,GR) This comedy is a spoof of James. Bond movies. Peter Sellers stars as agent 007. Cocoon (PG-13,P3) Ron Howard directs this science- fantasy adventure about people in an nursing home who want to regain their youth. Good movie. E.T. (PG.S6) This tear-jerker starring our friend from outer-space is back. Fright Night (R,S6) The PR reads: There are very good reasons why you should be afraid of the dark. Three teenagers suspect that the newcomer to town (Chris Saran don) is a vampire. One of the stars is Amanda of "All My Children" fame. Frisco Kid (Thu..PG,GR) Gene Wilder stars as a rabbi and Har rison Ford plays a cowboy in this com edy-adventure. The Heavenly Kid (PG-13,S6) A guy dies and comes back as a young kid's guardian angel. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (PG-13.S6) Mel Gibson and Tina Turner star in this Road Warrior sequel. Max is a little mellower, but there's still a lot of action. It's worth it to see Tina. The Man With One Red Shoe (PG,S6) A Tom Hanks film that looks prom ising. Remake of the french film "The Tall Blond Man With One Black Shoe." National Lampoon's European Vacation (PG-13,PO) A second movie in Chevy Chase's ad ventures. I hope it's better than the first. Pale Rider (R,S6) Clint‘Eastwood is back in the saddle after a nine-year absence. Rambo (R,P3) Sylvestor Stallone in First Blood II. The Rescuers (Sun. ,G,GR) An animated Disney, film. St. Elmo's Fire (R,PO) Sort of a Big Chill for the college crowd. Mixed reviews. Sesame Street Follow That Bird (G,ME) A favorite for kids. Silverado (PG, ME) A great new western with an impres sive cast. (Kevin Kline, Scott Glenn, Rosanna Arquette, John Cleese, Ke vin Costner, Brian Dennyhe, Danny Glover, Jeff Goldblum and Linda Hunt to boot). Weird Science (PG-13,PO) This new film looks remarkably simi lar to another new film, "Real Gen ius." But this one looks better. Stars Anthony Michael Hall ("Breakfast Club," "Sixteen Candles").