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Roadkings
smack between
rock, country
By Rob Newberry
There is a spot right smack between rock 'n' roll and
country known as rockabilly. Unfortunately, because of
its middle-of-the-road style, it doesn’t catch a lot of at
tention. It’s a shame, too — some rockabilly perfor
mances have all the emotion of the best country and all
the kick of rock Yi' roll. Such was the case Thursday
when former College Station rockabilliers the Road
Kings returned to perform at the Flying Tomato.
Fronted by guitarist-vocalist Jesse Dayton and
backed by Brian Lux on bass and Eric Tucker on
drums, the Road Kings performed three 45-minute
sets, including songs from their recent release Runriin'
Hot, plus other original material and some classic rock
and blues covers.
The Road Kings performed "Drivin’ My Tears Away” and “Lust is a Ter
minal Thang” from their new tape, as well as my favorite off the recording,
“Walk On By.” The cover list included blues-rock classics like “Be Bop A
Lula” and Jerry r Lee Lewis’ “Whole Lotta Shakin” done by audience re
quest. Another treat was a medley-tribute to the Bo Diddley rhythm, which
included lyrics from Buddy Holly’s “Not Fade Away,” “Who Do You Love,”
and U2's “Desire.”
Dayton is a real mean guitarist. His rhythm work is balanced with me
lodic solos well-suited to the rockabilly style. Dayton’s work is not usually
technical wizardry, just straight-forward, good-sounding guitar. But when
he wants to show off, he can, soloing with the guitar held behind his head
or lying on his back, kneeling in front of the audience.
The guitar work is also balanced against the Road Kings rhythm sec
tion. Lux plucks away at his stand-up bass, pounding out the backdrop
harmony for Dayton's vocals and guitar. Likewise, Tucker knows what
drums go where: he keeps the bass and snare doing most of the work and
clinks on the ride cymbal in the way that is distinctive to good blues-rock.
Dayton’s work usually stays in the forefront, but the guys always seem to
be a team on stage. And occasionally, Lux will machine-gun up into the
higher range of his bass for a rhythmic fill.
The only problem all night were with Dayton’s vocals. Sometimes he
seems to be holding back, or maybe it is just that the sound system is not
being mixed right. It took me two verses of “I Fought the Law” to recog
nize it, and Dayton definitely has the voice for this style of music. His voice
gets intentionally scratchy for effect on songs like “Lust is a Terminal
Thang,” but other times it seems sort of muddy. If Dayton’s vocals were as
relaxed and cool as his guitar playing, the result would be impressive.
Not much of a crowd came out to the Tomato for the show, and part of
that is probably most people’s unfamiliarity with rockabilly. I could say that
the Road Kings sound like the Stray Cats, but I don’t know if people really
remember that group or not. The best thing to say is that the music is a
perfect blend of upbeat country and rock, and fans of either style will find
something they like about the Road Kings set.
Cure’s compilation album not so obscure
The Cure
Mixed Up
Elektra Records
It’s always a treat for me to see a
new Cure album released. For the
past few years, every new Cure album
has been better than the last, taking
the gloom rock basics of their early
'80s style and expanding it into a
unique sound that has catapulted the
group into sold-out concerts, platinum
albums and superstar status. How
ever, with their new compilation al
bum, Mixed Up, it seems the Cure has
finally realized their popularity and
discovered how to exploit it.
Mixed Up is an album of dance re
mixes of various Cure songs from the
past. The initial word on this album
was intriguing. Lead singer/songw
riter Robert Smith promised a compi
lation of obscure remixes and songs
from previous Cure singles, all of
them now long out of print and de
manding high prices on the collec
tors' market. Technically, this is what
Smith delivers.
However, most songs on the album
are the exact remixes that have been
released on singles for the past few
years. The rest, though interesting, is
filled with songs never really meant to
be produced in a dance format. In the
words of a friend of mine, "Listen to
what they did to that poor song!”
Four of the album’s 12 songs are
from the Cure’s previous release, Dis
integration. All but one of these (“Pic
tures of You” is now put to a simple
hip-hop beat) are mixes that have all
been released on the group’s maxi
singles. Two more of the songs, “Hot,
Hot, Hot” and “Why Can’t I Be You”
have also been previously released
only a few years ago. I don’t know if
this is what Smith means by rare and
obscure, but to me it’s a case of over
kill. After all, the Disintegration singles
are still readily available and have
been played to death on the radio.
Five other songs come from farther
back in the Cure’s history, but are re
vamped and put to a modern beat.
This really works only on “The Walk,”
which was a fairly weak dance number
to begin with and is now the techno
dance number it was meant to be.
"Close to Me,” however, sounds al
most identical to the original. Both
“The Caterpillar” and “Inbetween
Days” go the opposite direction and
are twisted and sliced beyond recog
nition, losing a lot of their original
charm in the process. The less said
about the new version of “A Forest”
the better, as one of the Cure’s best
songs turns into the low point of the al
bum.
The only really redeeming factor of
“Mixed Up” is the new song of the
batch, “Never Enough." This is a hard,
guitar-driven rocker that puts to
shame the rest of this disappointing
album. The best news of all is that the
Cure has released “Never Enough” as
a single. My advice would be to stay
away from “Mixed Up” and enjoy the
only good song on the album for a
third of the price.
Peter Gabriel
Shaking the Tree
Geffen Records
While the Cure compilation may be
a big disappointment, Peter Gabriel’s
first greatest hits album is nothing
short of classic. Shaking the Tree is
how an artist’s compilation should be
done. Gabriel himself compiled the al
bum and has included tracks from ev
ery one of his albums (except his sec
ond, which has yet to be released in
the United States). These tracks span
from rather obscure numbers such as
“Family Snapshot” and "Mercy Street”
to Top 40 hits like “Shock the Monkey”
and “Sledgehammer.”
This gives the album a necessary
variety that is bound to please both
casual listeners and Gabriel’s hard
core fans. Songs such as “Don't Give
Up” and “Here Comes the Flood” are
tracks that I wouldn’t have normally
thought of as being on a greatest hits
compilation, but they introduce new
listeners to some of the great music
Gabriel has composed outside of MTV
fame.
A glaring omission, however, is the
ballad “In Your Eyes,” made popular a
few years back by the film, “Say Any
thing.” “In Your Eyes,” while one of
Gabriel's most successful songs, is
also one of his best, and it’s curious
that it hasn’t been included here.
Another suprising moment in the al
bum comes with the inclusion of
“Zaar,” a track from Passion, the
soundtrack for the film, “The Last
Temptation of Christ.” At first listen, it
doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of
the songs here. Nevertheless, it gives
a new listener an introduction to Ga
briel’s instrumental film work and his
current interest in world music.
This interest also comes through
sharply on the only new song of the al
bum, “Shaking the Tree,” a terrific col
laboration with Yossou N’Dour, whose
presence was heavily felt on the 1986
releaseSo.
Because of Gabriel’s work, exten
sive touring with Amnesty Interna
tional and his production of several
world beat albums, it has been more
than five years since his last en
deavor. Now in the studio with So’s
producer Daniel Lanois, a new Gabriel
album is said to be due sometime in
the next year.
So whether you’re an old fan or
someone who merely knows the pop
ular face of Peter Gabriel, Shaking the
Tree is a great way to re-acquaint
yourself with some of his best work.
page 6
January 24,1991
\< CCLV ' 1 • v ' 1
“I’ve got a job to do. I
just want to get over
there, do it and get
on with my life. ”
Top: On the morning of his departure, Slaton dresses in his Marines uniform before meeting with the Commandant of the
Corps of Cadet to officially resign from the A&M Corps. Gordon Slaton (eaves A&M carrying only the gear he will
need in the desert.
Life Style magazine
page 11