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Sex, lies and compact discs
Robertson breaks out again on Storyville
by Robb Frederick
The Collegian
For Robbie Robertson, a solo
album is anything but an
individual project.
On his self-titled 1987 solo
debut, Robertson, the former
guitarist and principle songwriter
for The Band, enlisted the talents
of U 2, Peter Gabriel and the
BoDeans. He remains in character
on Storyville, his latest release,
punctuating his therapeutic
vocals with performances by Neil
Young, Bruce Hornsby and the
Neville Brothers.
The guest appearances are
more subtle this time around,
however, as a more confident
Robertson lets down his guard
and emerges as a mature, albeit
restrained, vocalist.
Inspired by "a section of New
Orleans dedicated to fast living,
hot music and moonburnt
nights," Storyville is aptly titled.
Throughout the disc's ten tracks,
Robertson weaves images of
smoldering, shadow-filled
evenings, laced together with one
unifying theme -- the elusive
possibility of love.
But the final product is far
from a sappy batch of chart
oriented ballads. Instead,
Robertson has produced a
seamless collection of songs
which, through their lyrical
honesty, are genuinely
believable.
Robertson's obsession with
New Orleans night life begins
with "Night Parade," a morose
Hollywood author to speak
kgran
e a
Straight from California where he is
currently workin,g on a screenplay for a CBS
movie of the week, John Robert Bensink will
speak to Behrend writing classes Thursday
and Friday, Oct. 24 and 25, and give an open
discussion on Thursday at 7:30 p.m, in the
Reed Seminar Room.
Bensink began his writing career in Erie
writing for The Erie Triangle, a mid-seventies
regional magazine. After working in Eric for
a few years he moved to New York to
become a free-lance writer.
Bensink has> also written articles for
numerous newspapers and magazines
including The New York Daily News,
Playboy and Money. He also served as editor
on the maguine Twilight Zone and worked
for The New York School for Social
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talc of separated lovers.
"From out of the past a
stranger came / And carried you
away / I stood on the corner, the
scene of the crime / And I could
hear her say / We'll go marching
in the night parade," he sings.
This track, like the others on
Storyville, is captivating in its
complexity -- a heavy organ track
interrupts an almost tribal drum
beat, and a sporadic horn
arrangement covers the
weaknesses in Robertson's gritty,
road-weary vocals.
This pace-setting opener is
followed by the wistful "Hold
Back the Dawn," and "Go Back to
Your Woods," Storyville's most
promising single.
Co-penned by Hornsby, "Go
Back" is the closest Robertson
will come to a mass-appeal
single.
"If you come down here in a
four piece suit / Pork pie hat and
the alligator boots / Keep jerking
rabbits outta' your hat / Now can
ya pull a disappearing act," he
rasps before lumbering into the
track's undeniable chorus.
The disc's thematic centerpiece
comes with "Day of Reckoning
(Bumin for You)," a scorching
memory of a relationship that is
suddenly severed when the
woman moves away without an
explanation.
"Well she moved from the
country down to the city / Where
the scene was dark / And the
street was gritty / In the hustle
and bustle and all the commotion
/ She got addicted to the
Research and the United Nations.
Along with his newspaper and magazine
articles. Bensink has been published in the
first annual Year's Best &matt); Starie.,L
has also written scripts and screenplays for
many television movies.
The first was "A Whisper Kills,"and it
aired on ABC in 1988. It received an Edgar
Award nomination for best television feature
from the Mystery Writers of America.
John Berisink's most recent work, a fact
based movie entitled "Death of Innocence,"
will air on CBS on Dec. 10. During his
discussion, Bensink, will show a clip from
this film, which stars William Devane.
Aspiring writers can learn tips from this
local success story, fans of his screenplays
can meet the author behind the story and
others can just enjoy listening to a
Hollywood author.
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for students to promote Spring
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locomotion," Robertson wails.
As the song continues,
Robertson recalls scenes from the
past, giving the present situation
an even sharper emotional edge.
While his raspy voice searches
for the high-end, his isolated
narrator searches for
understanding.
This dilemma is echoed on
"Breakin' the Rules," in which
Robertson issues a plea for
understanding, reminding his
audience that relationships, after
the initial excitement wears off,
often require a sizable effort from
both sides.
Another theme present
throughout Storyyille concerns
the immediacy of emotion and
the need to live for the moment.
This is conceptualized best on
"Soap Box Preacher" and the
demanding "What About Now,"
in which Robertson proposes
"Forget about Tomorrow / It's
too far away / What about now /
Close your eyes / Don't talk of
yesterday / It's too far away, it's
too far away."
The argument is hard to resist,
particularly when Robertson
balances it with his descriptive
portrayal of love lost and dreams
shattered.
If one half of Storyville
shows us the pain and longing
that follows so many
relationships, the other half
reminds us to take advantage of
the present and enjoy the
moments while we have them.
Earn $2OOO + free spring break
trip! Student operator seeking
motivated students, organizations
to promote Cancun, Bahamas and
Daytona! Cell 1-800-724-1555.
Part-Time Work
Jones' latest is BAD
...But in a good way
b Brad Kane
The Collegian
As a member of "The Only
Band That Ever Mattered," The
Clash, guitarist Mick Jones (now
the leader of Big Audio Dynamite
Two) left his mark on one of
punk music's best groups
through his songwriting.
Leaving most of the lyric
work up to vocalist Joe
Strummer, Jones staked out his
territory blistering, almost
primitive, music. Music that
echoed Strummer's enraged
personae to a tee.
When given the pen to do
some lyrics of his own, Jones
wrote some of rock's finest pieces
dealing with loss of identity and
loss of self-worth.
Most prominently is 1980's
"Lost in the Supermarket," from
London Calling, the album that
signalled the end of punk and the
beginning of alternative music,
where styles mix and match,
coming together in the strangest
of ways.
Jones played the role of
evolver in The Clash, bringing
reggae and ska to the band in its
later years. When The Clash
breathed its last ferocious breath
in the early 'Bos, Jones moved on
to found Big Audio Dynamite, a
group where he could not only do
all the songwriting he desired,
but could also mix rock and
reggae even more to his delight.
Now, four albums later, Jones
has got himself a new backing
band (thus, a slightly altered
name), a new album, The Globe,
and a new sense of hope evident
in his music.
Gone arc the words of despair
and the unfilled promises.
Instead, Jones seems to have
finally become, well, happy.
Discarding reggae influences in
favor of a dandier feel, songs such
as "Rush" and "Can't Wait"
evoke thoughts of hope for the
future--definitely a 180-degree
turn from the spoutings of The
Clash.
"Rush" in particular is a gem.
The album's lead single is a
joyous, danceable affirmation that
life does have a bright side.
Helped along by a small bit of
sampling (the keyboard line from
r.
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The Who's "Baba O'Reilly"),
"Rush" is as good as any single
that's been released this year.
"Can't Wait," meanwhile, is a
driving, pulsating track, using a
sample of marching soldiers that
enhances the forward movement
impression prevalent in the song.
Even in Jones' moments of
despair, which he still
occasionally has, some hope
breaks through the darkness.
This is heard on "Innocent Child"
(which starts off using a sample
from Phil Collins' "In the Air
Tonight").
"Innocent Child" examines
the desire to see individuals at a
young age, when they're not yet
tainted by society's
shortcomings. Complete with a
hip-hop epilogue, the song takes
a simple approach to display
powerful emotions -- pretty much
a summation of the punk era.
But Jones doesn't get much
more depressing than that; only
using the song "I Don't Know"
to express any negative thoughts.
Hidden behind danceable
synthesizers, a message of doubt
comes through clearly, making
for an interesting juxtaposition.
While Big Audio Dynamite
Two is a bit more uplifting than
its predecessor, at least Jones and
Co. haven't lost their sense of
strangeness.
"The Tea Party," which closes
the album, is a fine example of
this. The song is a consolidated
rendition of a few selected tracks
from the album done elevator
music style, complete with a
guest vocalist. It must be heard
to be believed.
If there's a negative to The
Globe, it may be in the editing.
Unless one has a CD player
keeping tabs on what track is
playing, one can easily get lost
following the nearly seamless
procession from song to song.
This becomes a bit much on the
second side, but it's only a minor
hassle.
Yes, Mick Jones does appear
to be onto something -- danceable
rock spiced up with just a bit of
sampling here and there. Not
only does it look like a good
conglomeration on paper, it
sounds good too. Very good,
indeed.