entertainment Cat’s not dead Cat Stevens - Classics Music Review 0000 By A. Thomas Mamaux Collegian Staff Writer Cat Stevens was one of the most influential recording artist of the Seventies. He had hit after hit of calm, peaceful, and inspiring music. He was one of the "gentle" music starts in rank with Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, Seals and Croft, America, and Bread. Cat Stevens is no longer around. He does not exist as a man anymore. You might be wondering did he kill himself with drugs? Drive his car over a cliff? Overdose on sex? Well, the answer is not to all of the above. He simply found religion. Cat Stevens, in the middle Seventies, found the Muslim religion and is now known as Yusuf Islam. Before he became a Muslim, he had eight original albums and two Greatest Hits albums. Now, due to contract obligations, he has just released hi’s third Greatest Hits album. Usually I hate greedy corporations because their policies have a bad effect on the recording industry. The album is called Classics and it's surely a collection of some of the finest folk/pop songs available today. The compact disc has twenty songs on it. Almost • • Beetlejuice - Movie Review 000 by Brett Taylor Collegian Staff Writer The weekend I went to see Beetlejuice, it was the top grossing film in the country. In fact, the theater was so full of midgets running around that I thought I'd accidentally walked into The Wizard of Oz 3-D. The battalion of 11-year-olds who confiscated the first ten rows en cawpvs cowcEwr cowif? r i L r* i * i 1 * i 1 ‘ i 1 *t' i l i l i 1 i | i r iM 1 i '■ 1 »* i T i r i ' 1 l 1 1 1 1 1 r 1 rhpjf*— *» J — t '* J_ U May 4 5 Ted Nugent and Lita Ford at Syria Mosque, Pitts. White Snake and Great White at the Aud.,Buff. The Smithereens and Walking Clampetts at Phantasy Theater, Lakewood Ohio. The BoDeans at Phantasy Niteclub, Lakewood Ohio. Bill Cosby at Civic Arena, Pittsburgh- Pink Floyd at Toronto. Pink Floyd at Philadelphia. AC/DC and L.A. Guns at Civic Arena, Pittsburgh. ffifefflcOefl at Civic Center in Erie. Bill Cosby at the Front Row, Cleveland. Belinda Carlisle and Bourgeois Tagg at Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh. 13 13 15 15 * A® 20-22 23 25 Robert Plant and Stevie Ray Vaughan at Blossom Music Center (8.M.C.) in Cleveland. 27 AC/DC and White Lion at Richfield Coliseum, Cleveland. 26 Pink Floyd at Ohio Stadium, Columbus. 30 Pink Floyd at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh. 30 Depeche Mode and OMD at 8.M.C., Cleveland. 31 Whitesnake at 8.M.C., Cleveland. June 2 raflflfl <§©©o>S7 at Civic Center in Erie. 7 Lynyrd Skynyrd at BJM.C., Cleveland. 6 Lynyrd Skynyrd at Civic Arena, Pittsburgh. 10,11 The Beach Boys at 8.M.C., Cleveland. 13 Jethro Tull at 8.M.C., Cleveland. 16 Loverboy at 8.M.C., Clevelandl 2 0 Joe Walsh at 8.M.C., Cleveland. 2 1 Bob Dylan and the Alarm at BJM.C., Cleveland. 22 Billy Ocean at 8.M.C., Cleveland. 24 Jimmy Buffett at 8.M.C., Cleveland. 25 Vi's Monsters of Rock at Municipal Stadium, Clev. 29 Heart and Michael Bolton at BM.C., Cleveland. * All dales subject to change. half of the songs on the CD are instantly recognizable. The first classic is "Moonshadow”. It is one of Cal Stevens most well-known songs. One of the reasons Cat was so popular was because his lyrics arc intriguing and of high quality. For example on "Moonshadow:" "If I ever lost my eyes/ if all the colors run dry/ I won’t see no more/ and have no more tears in my eyes/ no I won't cry/ because I am being followed by a moonshadow." It is unbelievable that his song "Wild World" is not on Classics. It is also one of his greatest hits. Cat sings "Oh baby, baby, it's a wild world/ and I'll always remember you like a child, girl/ if you leave/ well take good care/ there’s a lot of bad and beware/ it's a wild world." Cat is one of the most peaceful and comforting singers. He never glorifies drugs, sex, or money. It is almost as if he gives listeners advice, but he never preaches. However, it would be great if once a year he could sit down with a tape recorder and play some songs. He could give the money to charity. It would be really disappointing if Yusuf Islam did not enjoy singing in public at all anymore. This album deserves a triple A because of the quality of the songs, the lyrics, and sound quality. AAA. It's showtime for "Peace Train” is a song of his which was recendy redone by the 10,000 Maniacs. By listening to the lyrics, you can almost figure out why he quit recording. He wants the world to unite and through touring he saw all of the inequality and just gave up on trying to change things. Having the world (or anybody) unite is one of Cat's general PURE Juice masse were certainly not disappointed; in fact, I'm sure they returned to their respective elementary school classrooms with a fresh stock of crude jokes with which they could send each other into giggling frenzies during recess. I was drawn to Beetlejuice by the reputation of its maker, Tim Burton, who directed the classic Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Anyone who joined in the search for the emasculate Pee Wee's beloved bicycle will certainly find a lot of familiar ground in this film. For one, the sets are nothing but huge, Ted Nugent at the Agora in Cleveland. Guns and Roses and Zodiac Mindwarp at Music Hall in Cleveland. Midnight Oil and House of Freaks at Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh. Michael themes. "Father and Son" is Cat's own story of his relation with his father. It's about the preaching and the advice he got from his father. Cat is always expressing himself through songs. If he has something to say and he cannot say it to that specific person he says it through a song. An example would be "Hard Headed Woman" where he tells his fiance that he loves her and cannot live without her. Cat Stevens does not play in public anymore and Yusuf Islam has only played a couple of solo benefits in the United Kingdom. It is too bad that he is holding all of that talent and all of that music in his head. Especially since the radio is presently loaded with garbage music. It is almost as if Yusuf is being selfish but really it is not that way. It would be more selfish if he was still a recording star because he would then be ignoring his family since being in a recording career demands so much time. Keaton elaborate toys reminiscent of the works of Salvador Dali and Hieronymus Bosch (my apologies to all you art professors turning over in your offices). It is the look of this movie that gives it its immediate appeal. The great thing about Pee Wee's Big Adventure was that Pee Wee wasn’t considered strange in the context of the movie. Nobody looked twice at the ageless twit, in the red bow tie (Pee Wee; not Paul - Simon). Beetlejuice works in. the same way—it sets up its own twisted world and populates it with R E V I E W S the terminally strange, and then takes itself seriously. The terminally strange in this film are Adam and Barbara, a couple who are just too nice to be real. Even their accidental death is nice. Their spirits return to their Victorian home and find it occupied by a gaudy New York family. Adam and Barbara are forced into hiding in the locked attic where they find Betelgcuse (Michael Keaton), a self-proclaimed "bio-exorcist" who offers to scare away the intruders. Unfortunately, that's where the plot synopsis ends. The first hour The Church Second on College Charts The Church - Starfish Music Review 000 by Matthew Filippi Entertainment Editor I walked into the record store the other day looking for something different. There wasn’t much of anything that really drew my interest. I gathered a few ideas and decided to take a walk around the mall. If I was going to invest my only ten dollars in my wallet, I might-as-well pick a band which could have some potential. Sr r c 25 Years of Eric Clapton - Music Review OOOQ by David Friend Contributing Writer Distilling 25 years of a rock-n -roll deity into a single collection can be a difficult task. What is even more difficult is trying to make that entire collection of songs listenable. Eric Clapton's collection Crossroads definitely does both. This six record, four cassette, or four CD set with about five hours of music, is simply hard to put down. In this collection, there are 73 excellent songs that Clapton has played on. From the Yardbiids to the Bluesbreakers on to Cream and Blind Faith then Derek Rock Naked Talking Heads - Music Review OQOi by David Friend Contributing Writer With the reputation of the Talking Heads, one can expect this album to be slightly off the beaten musical path. The title of their latest album is Naked. I half expected a nude photo of the Heads on the liner notes. Thank God they didn't!! What the Heads do show in their liner notes is their lyrical and stylistic complexity, with up to 16 musicians playing on a single track. Johnny Marr, ex-Smith and currently playing with the Pretenders, shows up on four tracks, including the first single, "(Nothing But) Flowers." As one places the cassette into one's player, you notice that the clear plastic is actually yellow, an indication that this album is slightly different. The first track "Blind" can wear a bit thin with David Byrne screeching "Blind, blind, blind, blind, blind." What is refreshing, though, is the use of real homs, not synthesizers, on that track and many others. "Mr. Jones" is a good catchy tune, with the real, aforementioned, homs. However, my favorite song on the entire album is "Totally Nude." (You can tell where my mind is today.) The song lilts along with tongue-in cheek lyrics like "I’m a little fish and you're the river." I could listen to it repeatedly, and still find something different in the song each time. On to "Ruby Dear," with an interesting use of the phrase ”Uh huh" and an oil drum as percussion. and twenty minutes of the movie build up to Keaton's ominous line, "It’s showtime!" and then the film, for all intents and purposes, ends. Keaton, who has created such a wonderfully obnoxious character, is only given about five minuter of screen time to perform. His appearance and exit is so quick I wanted to ask the projectionist if he'd forgotten to show the last reel. It's no wonder, then, that Keaton didn't get top billing in the print ads. Oddly enough, that honor went Finally, I made my decision. I heard of the Church about three years ago. They have a new album out and it's been number two on college charts for over a month. They have been favored over bands such as Midnight Oil and the Talking Heads, so I figured they must be doing something right I thought my search was over but when I went to buy the cassette all the record stores were sold out of the Church's Starfish album. , I tried the last record'store and they had one copy left I didn’t hesitate and I snatched it from the 4 r- / J Rock at The and the Dominos to, finally, an exceptional solo career, this set shows why Clapton has been playing the slowhand for 25 years. Seventeen cuts, including seven Derek and the Dominos and seven solo songs, have never been released before. In most collections, that would mean seventeen not too good songs. Not on this one. Each of the seventeen has a feel that lives up to anyone's expectation of a Clapton song. A prime example is "I Found a Love," a traditional blues piece with Clapton perfectly wailing on his guitar. I cannot really commentate on each song, it would simply take too. mush lime. I'll just pick out the salientpoints. I'll start with the Yardbirds. On Collegian It’s a slow song, almost a ballad: Then again, labels cannot fit any of the songs. And herein lies this album's strength. For all those people who love "Wild, Wild Life," a #1 hit from last year's movie True Stories, you may be disappointed with the new single "(Nothing But) Flowers." It sounds much more like earlier Talking Head tunes. What distinguishes this album is a better use of production equipment, more sophisticated lyrics, and more use of outside musicians. In this review,!have mentioned only the songs on side one. That is because they are more accessible and more listenable on the initial listening. All the songs on side two, including a smashing commentary on the U.S. primary system in "The Democratic Circus,” are of high quality, it just takes much listening to fully understand. This album will definitely not be loved on its first listening. One must play this album several times to get the real impact of all the music. The only question I have about the Talking Heads is "Where do they go from here?" With Jerry Harrison touring with his solo band, Casual Gods, Chris Franz and Tina Weymouth producing artists like Ziggy Marley, and David Byrne' increasingly interested in movie making, the Talking Heads have enough creative outlets for then energies so that they do not stagnate. But after running the gambit from reggae to rock to jazz to cross-over Country & Western, what can they try now? Hopefully much, much, much more. to Danny Elfman, hyperkinetic leader of Oingo Boingo, who composed the score for this movie as well as Pee Wee, Back to School, and Wisdom. Elfman is proving to be a real talent in the area of movie soundtracks. If you have an 11-year-old brother or sister, take him or her to see Beetlejuice. The little imps will- lqve'itr'arid'ybu'lT have an ~ excuse for seeing one of the best Saturday morning cartoons to come out of Hollywood. shelf. I couldn't imagine the album being so rare considering the musical taste of the colleges in this area. (Everyone must have been home on vacation) I gave Starfish a listening. It wasn't very different but that’s not to say that it wasn't any good. I found that the overall atmosphere of the album was mellow and quite relaxing, resembling a Love and Rockets’ atmosphere. Most of the songs were, recorded with an acoustic guitar in the background. This was overlapped with an electric guitar which proceeded into a lead resembling a guitar solo from a Pink Floyd album on "Lost," the fourth track from the Starfish album. Steve Kilbey, the main vocalist, has a deep voice which is very soothing. It’s a clear but lightly accented voice. His voice blends very well with the sound of the band. He adds to the relaxing feeling that the Church emits. The reason I referred to Kilbey as the main vocalist is because the band members take turns singing. Marty Willson-Piper sings lead on "Spark.” This is one of the most See CHURCH pg. 8 Crossroads "Boom Boom" and "Honey in Your Hips," they show their blues prowess. Clapton hints at what he could do in these early songs. Also included is the pop hit, "For Your Love," which Clapton cites as a reason for leaving the band. Then Clapton joined John Mayall's Bluesbreakcrs. Included in this collection is the instrumental "Bernard Jenkins," one of the first songs written by Clapton himself. The song showcases Clapton's ability, showing his potential, but he just does not show his slowhand just yet Out of the Bluesbreakers, Clapton joined .forces with Jack Bruce and together they added drummer Ginger Baker. Cream was bom. See CLAPTON pg.B Page 7
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