4
um
Ratings l>asc*d on five-star system.
f ive — Excellent; One — Pathetic.
"Daring Adventures"
Richard Thompson
Polydor Records
★★★★★
For almost 20 years
Richard Thompson has
been one of the music
world’s best-kept secrets.
Aside from being one of
the best guitarists ever to
make an album, he is a
brilliant songwriter and
has a rich, beautiful voice.
Thompson’s, work with
the Fairport Convention
during the ’60s brought
him to the attention of the
musical press in England.
After he left the band, he
made several albums by
himself and with his ex-
wife Linda that were fan
tastic but hard to find.
Despite widespread
critical acclaim, Thomp
son has not achieved
great commercial success.
“Daring Adventures,” his
second album on the
Polydor label, could be
the album that throws
Thompson to the top.
“Daring Adventures” is
the first album Thompson
has recorded in America
with American musicians.
Bassist Jerry Scheff,
drummer Jim Keltner and
producer/keyboardist
Mitchell Froom lend an
American sound to help
balance the use of tradi
tional English folk instru
ments played by Thomp
son and his friends.
The American influ
ence can be felt on several
of the songs on the new
album. Thompson cuts
loose on “Valerie,” a hot
rocker with a rockabilly
guitar lead. “Dead Man’s
Handle” is pretty darn
close to being a country
tune. "Baby Talk,” a song
that could easily crack the
top 40, uses an accordian
to get a cajun feel. These
songs are among the hap
piest tunes Thompson has
ever recorded.
The biggest difference
between “Daring Adven
tures” and last year’s “A-
cross a Crowded Room,”
Thompson’s previous al
bum, is that the newest al
bum is much lighter in
tone. “Across a Crowded
Room,” recorded shortly
after Thompson’s divorce,
was filled with painful
songs about his
relationship with Linda
and sarcastic songs about
love. Interesting enough,
Linda released her first
solo album, “One Clear
Moment,” that same year
and it was filled with pain
ful songs about her
relationship with Richard
and sarcastic songs about
love.
Although it doesn’t
have much commercial
potential, the best song on
the album is “A1 Bowlly’s
In Heaven,” a fiercly anti
war song that sounds like
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Thompson's early stuff.
The song's slow waltz
beat provides the back
ground for Thompson’s
alternating jazz and blues
guitar licks. “A1 Bowlly’s
In Heaven” confirms
Thompson’s status as gui
tar god.
Thompson, more than
most artists recording to
day, deserves a monster
hit album. If the public
would wake up and give
“Daring Adventures” a
chance, no one would be
disappointed.
Review by Karl Pallmeyer
"A Shout Toward
Noon"
Leo Kottke
Private Music
★★★★
Leo Kottke has the un
canny ability to make a
12-string guitar sound like
an orchestra. “A Shout
Toward Noon,” Kottke’s
newest album, shows off
that ability.
In the last 17 years,
Kottke has released over
20 albums of fabulous
music. He is equally profi
cient on six-string acoustic
and electric guitar, as well
as 12-string guitar. He has
a voice that isn’t pretty,
but it is appropriate for his
darkly humorous songs.
His music encompases a
wide range of styles in
cluding folk, jazz, blues,
country, bluegrass, classi
cal and rock. Unfortu
nately, Kottke has never
achieved more than cult
status.
“A Shout Toward
Noon” is an instrumental
album of mostly original
material. Cellist Buell
Niedlinger and keyboard
ist Randy Kerber provide
a nice, unobtrusive back
ground for Kottke’s guitar.
Kottke’s playing is fantas
tic, but I would like to hear
him sing.
Although the album is
divided up into 11 tracks,
each song flows easily into
the next so that the album
is a complete aural experi
ence. There are several
outstanding tracks, espe
cially “A Trout Toward
Noon.” “Piece 17” and
“A Virtuoso Is His Own
Reward. ” The cover ver
sion of Duane Allman’s
“Little Martha” is nice and
mellow.
Kottke has been jump
ing around from label to
label for most of his ca
reer. There a few record
companies willing to ded
icate time and money to
an artist who doesn’t
make mainstream music.
“A Shout Toward Noon”
is Kottke’s first album on
Private Music, a new label
started by ex-Tangerine
Dream member Peter
Baumann. Private Music
is somewhat like Wind
ham Hill but the Private
Music artists — Lucia
Hwong, Sanford Ponder,
Jerry Goodman, Patrick
O’Hearn, Eddie Jobson
— are more interesting
and diverse than the art
ists on Windham Hill. The
price of a Private Music al
bum is more in line with a
college student’s budget
than the Windham Hill al
bums.
Review by Karl Pallmeyer
Have you ever heard of Aggies playing Bach?
How about Verdi?
Rachmaninov?
'morfrf'
mmrjK
A NEW GENE PAT ION
Of MUSIC AT TEXAS A4M
flll
IN CONCERT
sometimes hearing is believing
Thurs., Nov. 20,1986 Rudder Auditorium
8:00 pm $2 adult/$1 student
Tickets Available in Rudder Box oofice and at the door
"
J