ROCK A RAMA

ROCK A RAMA

This months-Rock-A-Ramas were written by Richard Riegel, Michael Davis, and Richard C. Walls.

MEDIUM MEDIUM-The Glitterhouse (Cherry Red/Cachalot) :: I cant improve on the bio on this one—the record companyssearing zen funk describes Medium Mediums music better than I could, in a month of Sunday crosswords. Another newer British band, inevitably enough, Medium Medium are altogether as piledriven as Killing Joke, but with far more texture and fun to their skin-shredding, hyperfunk rhythms. These guys are so ornery, so angry, that I recommend their album absolutely, even if I still cant decide whether the song about Guru Maharaj Ji is ironic or not.

R.R.

SHANNON JACKSON & THE DECODING SOCIETY—Nasty (Moers Music import) :: Ornette Coleman may have originated this harmolodic funk stuff and JamesBlood Ulmer may be taking it to its largest audience yet but Ronald Shannon Jackson, whos drummed with both of them, makes the most consistently listenable records. Here he uses two electric bassists to keep the bottom extra ba-a-ad, vibes to add some cool colors and three saxmen who snake their way through his sweet and sour melodies before taking off on their own impassioned improvs. And did I forget guitarist Vernon Reid? Hear him once and you wont. Just one thing: most of this music is eminently dancable but there are a few places that can break your butt, so when you wanna be Nasty, be careful.

M.D.

STARFIGHTERS (Jive/Arista):: I have implicit faith that heavy metal will survive famine, pestilence, even nuclear war; come the atomic Doomsday and Black Sabbath will undoubtedly announce their biggest-ever 97-city tour, to embark as soon as they round up enough unfried roadies to drive all the trucks. Which is to say, heres yet another new, young heavy metal invasion; these Britons in the Starfighters are related to AC/DC by some Young or another, and sound similar (if not so blusteringly guffawing quite yet). Plenty of high energy, more of a down & out perspective that many HMers (oh yeah, this is just their first album), but 1 dunno. Im stillsitting brain-washed in the cathode glow, like the Starfighters song says.

R.R.

JAN GARBAREK-Eventyr (ECM):: A bit of a sleeper, this one. Garbarek has long been regarded as one of Europes best saxmen but so much of his recent output has been staid, static stuff that Ive been losing interest. This time

around though, the presence of percussionist Nana Vasoomcelos and guitarist John Abercrombie help to infuse his folk song-derived melodies with life and add more muscle to the piercing lyricism of his lines, resulting in music with movement and bite. To these ears, his best album in years.

M.D.

McCOYTYNER—Reflections (Milestone):: Now that Tyner has finally, inevitably arrived at Columbia house for his shot at jazz superstardom (and good luck to him) its a fairly predictable move on Milestones part to release a two-fer retrospective—but whatever the motive this is a fine record, covering 72-74, encompassing solo piano, small group, and big band, and offering encouragement to anyone whos curious about Tyner but has been put off by the prodigious number of his albums that are currently available. So but it already.

R.C.W.

VARIOUS ARTISTS-Basted At Oz (Autumn):: Jerry Rubin the capitalist accomplice dont wanna hear about the streets of Chicago no more, but the hungrier-than-yesterday punk bands who play their snotty noses off this live compilation have been buried along the Windy Citys embattled arteries so long they think Daleys still mayor. Maybe he still is, where they hang out, and these Chipmunksters are out to rescorch Amerika with all the 1977ish sexpistol explosions you didnt get in on, either. Bitter, brief, and sometimes astoundingly smart rock n

roll on here, recorded rather clearly as these crotch-held-microphone affairs go. Unrequited radicalism is its own inspiration, etc., meanwhile you should go write to Autumn Records, at 2427 N. Janssen, Chicago, IL 60614, to get hold of this troublemaker disc.

R.R.

THE RAYBEATS-Guitar Beat (PVC):: Say what you will about every possible facet of 60s rnr already having been romanticized and fetishized (underground) during these dreary Pop 40 times, but still you gotta admit that true SURF music (the loud-ass guitar-rumble kind) has never gotten its proper hipper-than-hip due. The Raybeats may have a better chance than the other neosurf contenders to right this inequity, mainly because the individual Raybeats (Jody Harris, Danny Amis, Don Christensen, and Pat Irwin) are long since golden-brown beech boyz, richly bronzed from their years of playing for hot dogs like James White along the wilder shores of N.Y.C. Loud, sophisticated, all-instrumental mood music, for a nervous spinal column and hot feet to match.

R.R.

SOCIAL CLIMBERS (Hoboken):: Cf. my Rama on this group in the December issue. No sooner said than done, the Social Climbers have re-released their album in conventional 12, single-disc format, and have extensively clarified and brightened their recorded product in the process. The Social Climbers music that sounded vaguely interesting before sounds compellingly fine now. Highly modern pop on here:morally anxious lyrics, piercing organ fizzfazz, cortex-tickling electronics, all of it the kind of pure sound that should be on your radio every hour of these short days.

R.R.

HUMAN SEXUAL RESPONSE-In A Roman Moon (Passport):: These semiproper Bostonian Izod junkies probably wouldve become folksingers in a more earnest era, but with the big beat still hip, theyve chosen instead to apply their arch, pre-helliumized vocals to a spooky pop more or less rocklike. Yet another hearty cover of the Balloon FarmsQuestion Of Temperature, and H.S.R.s ownBlow Up very nearly approximates the Barbarians crossed with the Tubes & Devo. ButAndy Fell might as well be subtitles(Muffy Didnt Come Home Last Night), andHouse Of Atreus is so sophomoric Jim Morrisons gonna turn over in that grave (hes not really in). Give these folks more sex therapy now.

R.R.