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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 1994)
November 15. X jay* November 15, 1994 avid Winder eKattalion Jimmy Page and Robert Pl^nt No Quarter Allantic Records 1* 1/2 (out of five) Itybert Plant can still work c with his dynamic voice. Jim- 'age can still play the guitar he invented it. It’s not Led lelin but on the duo’s new al- |“No Quarter” they prove that ■can still rock’n’roll. Part-acoustic, part-electric, o Quarter” includes 11 Zep vers along with three new s. European folk instru- ,s, Arabic influences and an tian ensemble also make way onto the record, ew Unledded versions of “No ’s Fault But Mine” and “Gal- Pole” rival the originals. The r pace of the music lends it ell to Plant’s vocals. native Najma Akhtar’s blends perfectly with Plant n extraordinary version of tie of Evermore.” j^'hile not as good as the origi- 1 the album does offer a de- it version of “Since I’ve Been jing You.” hankfully Page and Plant choose to remake one Zep- classic, “Kashmir.” An Eng- orchestra helps to enliven e’s guitar but the song still s something. The guys were ^rt not to cover songs like irway to Heaven” and “Babe Gonna Leave You.” |gypt M Browning/THEB*™ South Lake, leal ering major fn i a physical •pent. New songs “City Don’t Cry” and “Wonderful One” sound as if they could have been recorded during Led Zeppelin’s heyday. Written along with “Yallah/’ the new songs come from time spent in Morroco. Arabian drums, ouds, nays and fiddles are preva lent throughout. The duo also went to Wales to record “Nobody’s Fault But Mine” and the title song “No Quarter.” The rhythm section of Plant’s “Fate of Nations” tour gives the songs a folksy feel by using mandolins and banjos. New versions of “Thank You” and “Friends” lag behind the originals because the back-up band seems to be playing a slow er tempo than Page’s lead. It might have been done this way on purpose but it still gives the songs an awkward sound. The good news is Page and Plant are back together after 14 years apart. “No Quarter” was not exactly worth the wait, but they could have done much worse. officer! ‘Iic/s ^Zoppolin’ 5 Robert Plant and Jimmy Page life The Battalion • Page 3 Zeppelin veterans return to bring ’70s rock into the ’90s f*%. /"V 4 W By Margaret Claughton The Battalion Eagles “Hell Freezes Over” Geffen Records ★ ★★★* (out of five) They have a style that just can’t die. A timeless soothing form of music. Although they’re no spring chickens, the Eagles have once again produced an album with classic hit potential. Some long-time Eagles fans may be wary of the band’s new album, “Hell Freezes Over,” thinking it will be a disappointment or the old guys just won’t have it anymore. But not only do they still have it, they’ve managed to improve it. “Hell Freezes Over” is an album recorded during the Eagles’ live MTV performance taped on April 25 and 26. Four brand new songs introduce the album but the 11 others are old favorites plucked from the archives to be remade. The fact that the band released so many older songs symbolically seals their new pact to peacefully coexist once again. But these remakes are not only symbolic. The subtle differences in each of the old songs are indicative of the band’s growth over the years. Their talent and finesse has improved with time and this is indicated in the top quality performance deliv ered on the songs that are old hat to the band. “Hotel California” is one such revitalized song. An ethnic guitar intro precedes the song and lingers throughout its entirety, giv ing new depth to an old fa miliar melody. “Tequila Sunrise” and “Wasted Time” also sound different. But the changes are not drastic and they al most make the songs seem more polished. The manner in which the Eagles have remade their music does not irritate fans of the older versions. They are not the type of remakes that make lis teners stumble as they try to sing along with their old favorites. These oldies are slightly beefed up and refreshingly different, but not entirely overhauled. Some of the band members joke be tween songs about their break up and make repeated references to their re grouping. Don Henley states “For the record, we never broke up. We just took a 14-year vacation.” The vocals on the album are shared equally, making it seem like a group ef fort once again. The only musical rem nant of the break up is Henley’s solo “New York Minute.” Otherwise the band seems to ease back into the group smoothly and comfortably. The four new songs that begin the album show the band’s steadfast ability to create together. “Love Will Keep Us Alive” is a slow rock Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit, and Glenn Frey of The Eagles. Don Henley, Don Felder song with hard-hitting lyrics, typical of Ea gles’ style. Timothy B. Schmit’s unique voice launches the song into Eagles history as it did in the 1979 hit “I Can’t Tell You Why.” Two of the other new songs, “Get Over It” and “Learn To Be Still,” are also rock-orient ed, while the fourth, “The Girl From Yester day” leans to the country side. Old they may be, but tired-out they are not. The Eagles live on with their new al bum and will hopefully continue to for many years to come. 5 saw the prol fe-communicai; icker said in of the San Anl:: Timm Doolen cialto The Battalion obtained a p to keep t a safe distas had filed a ct Do you remember when you first die affidavitti k about a compact disc player in the "istmas. l-’80s? Many people thought it would vays been verlii ?er replace album or cassette, while , (choking) me Gomez said in it. “I’m afraid k ers heralded it as the coming of a v age in audio technology. Pen years later, teenagers don’t even ne or our childrt )w what albums are, as the CD for- were divori t dominates the consumer audio mar- d Gomez died lands less try new rse. >96-3196 her score aserdisc quality stepping movies into the future fet almost the equivalent in the eo realm, laserdisc, which was first nmercially introduced in 1978, sever- i’ears before compact disc, has not o such popularity. What is the reason for the radically ferent fates of two technologies that almost identical? Simply stated, it’s a combination of tudent to pick up 2 ler'scfibolyear aW press, call 845-26H' Tim Moog / The Battalion he laserdisc release of Spike Lee’s ‘She’s Gotta Have It.’ price, availability, marketing and mar ket penetration. Nevertheless, Blockbuster Video will soon carry laserdiscs for rent and the lo cal Camelot Music store, one of the few places to purchase laserdiscs in Bryan- College Station, has reported a rapid in crease in sales in recent months. So will laserdisc be the format of the future, or will it be forgotten like the vinyl UP? First let’s look at what it is. Is laserdisc an advantage? “As far as the video portion, VHS is 240 lines of resolution, and laser is 420 to 440 lines,” said Charles Riddell, a salesman at Audio Video. “As far as the audio, it’s the same as a CD — it’s the same type of format,” he said. In fact almost all laserdisc players will play CDs. Several recent laserdisc releas es, such as “Jurassic Park” include THX sound, the same sound quality used in theaters. Another ad vantage of laserdisc is that, like compact disc, it is a non-linear medium. You can go anywhere on the side of the disc in seconds without having to rewind or fast- forward. Also like CD, laserdiscs have an unlimited lifespan. Video tapes wear out over time, but the non-contact digi tal technology of laserdisc allows the 500th play of a movie to be as clear as the first play. Among the dis advantages of laserdiscs: the limitation of 60 minutes of mater ial per side, re quiring disc flips for most movies; the relative high er cost of both the hardware and software; the in ability to record onto laserdiscs; and the fact that videotape is already such an established format. A1 Powell, host of KAMU-FM’s week ly audio-video show “Tech Talk,” said, “Most people don’t care. Most people are happy with VHS and the quality of picture, sounds, cost and convenience of video tape.” But a laserdisc player should be con sidered an addition to, not substitution for, a VCR. “LD is not a replacement for VHS,” Powell said. “If you’re a movie enthusi ast, videotape is the cake and LD is the icing.” Are players affordable? Laserdisc players cost more than VCRs, but a good, bottom-of-the-line player can be found for around $300, about the same price as a good, four- head hi-fi stereo VCR. And the most in expensive laserdisc player will deliver better picture and sound than the most expensive VHS system. Riddell said that because of dramatic price decreases in the past year, and in creased availability of software, he ex pects sales of laserdisc players to rise. “We sell about two or three units a month,” Riddell said. “The majority of those are sold to students.” Steven Casas, a sophomore account ing major from Pasadena, is one A&M student who has taken the plunge. “I remodeled my room and I wanted to set up a home theater system,” he said. He compared laserdisc to VHS and was pleased with the picture and sound quality enough to make the investment. “It’s a worthy investment for people who want more,” Casas said. “It’s nice for electronics buffs as well.” Is the software available? “A lot of people have asked about (laserdiscs),” said Danielle Bowdich, as sistant manager at Blockbuster Video, which will begin carrying laserdiscs for rent in a few weeks. Sandy McNees, an assistant manager at Camelot Music, said laserdisc sales have been on a rapid increase over the past months. “Fve been here under a year and it’s increased in the last six months or so,” she said. “Jurassic Park” is their best seller so far, selling 20 to 30 copies in just the first three days. She said they sell two or three copies per month of the limited edi tion Star Wars Trilogy box set, which consists of all three Star Wars movies presented in the wide screen format, with the original trailers, supplementary in terviews, and a book. The set sells for $250. “I think laserdisc got off to a slow start, but I think it’s going to keep going really well.” Casas said one of the reasons to get into the format is because of the spe cial editions of movies that are re leased. Laserdiscs have extra audio tracks sometimes used for running commen taries on the movie by filmmakers or film historians. Also, laserdiscs often include theatrical trailers, “making of” features and interviews with filmmak ers and cast members. The future of laserdisc “Laserdiscs are not expensive to press, if you do a lot of them,” Powell said. With more market penetration, the cost of both the discs and the players could continue to decrease. But while laserdisc currently repre sents the top consumer video format, fu ture developments, such as high-defini- tion television (HDTV) and CD video, which puts a movie on a 5-inch CD as opposed to the 12-inch laserdisc, threat en to replace laserdisc, Powell said. “Eventually they’ll come out with a better medium,” Casas said. However, right now laserdisc is the best format to “go beyond the limits,” in Casas’ words. Like any consumer electronics, any thing can be obsolete within a few years, but for movie buffs who want the ulti mate viewing experience, laserdisc is the medium of choice. “A laserdisc is just like watching it in the theater,” Casas said. Disc quality gives in-depth look to ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ Timm Dooien Special to the Battalion She’s Gotta Have It (1986) Starring Spike Lee and Tracy Camila Johns Directed by Spike Lee Unrated’ Voyager (released 1994) Spike Lee’s first film, “She’s Gotta Have It,” worked so well in part be cause it was something we hadn’t seen before — an intelligent movie about African-Americans in which the characters are interesting and, more importantly, racial issues are not the focus. The films centers around the love life of Nola Darling (Tracy Camila Johns), who juggles three men: the fast-talking Mars Blackmon (Spike Lee), the self-absorbed Greer Childs (John Canada Terrell), and the down-to-earth Jamie Overstreet (Tommy Redmond Hicks). All three men know about the oth ers’ involvement with Nola, and de spite their unhappiness with the com petition, none of them can convince Nola to dump the other two guys. She eventually invites all three to a humorous Thanksgiving dinner, and later must choose between her care free lifestyle and a man she really cares about. The Voyager company has done justice to this modest film on laserdisc. The quality of the video and audio rarely expose the fact that this movie was made on a budget of less than $30,000. But the best reason to buy this laserdisc, especially if you are a fan of Spike Lee, is for the wealth of extras that accompany the movie. These extras include: restored footage which originally earned the movie an X rating; a deleted scene; a music video; outtakes showing how Lee juggled directing and acting; the theatrical trailer; two Nike commer cials directed by Lee featuring Michael Jordan and character Mars Blackmon from the movie; a plethora of still photographs which provide looks behind the scenes; and excerpts from Lee’s journals and notebooks. Also a great extra is the running commentary on the alternate audio track of the film, featuring Lee, cine matographer Ernest Dickerson, sound designer Barry Brown and production supervisor Monty Ross. Much of the discussion concerns how they made a feature film on such a low budget, including telling some tricks on how they cut comers, and ex posing some of the flaws in the movie due to budget constraints. This is not Lee’s best movie, yet far from his worst. He handled comedy and relationships between characters in “She’s Gotta Have It” that he hasn’t equaled since. This film was a precursor of the great things that have since come, and for a mere $50, is worth the unique look behind the scenes.