R.A.T.W.   Page 11

THE WORD AROUND ROCK

Black Hole Stars

RON GEESIN-ROGER WATERS ( of the Pink Floyd)

MUSIC FROM THE BODY (soundtrack)

NEW YORK RAVINGS By Niall Krumpett

KINGFISH-PURE PRARIE LEAGUE: One of ‘Frisco’s top bands, Kingfish, signed to the Dead’s label Round Records, performed two shows at the Beacon Theatre to soldout houses 3 April. Opening shakily with the Rufus Thomas oldie, ‘Jump Back’, they gained momentum and confidence as their set progressed and won over the already-primed crowd with their brand of blues and country-rock. Bob Weir, ex-Dead, looked great as a Thomas Jefferson look-alike. Sound system problems hampered their overall effect as a unit. RCA outfit, Pure Prairie League, who were actually a much tighter group, stole the evenings honors.

SHIRTS: Perhaps New York City area’s top unsigned rock band, Shirts, did C.B.G.B.’s 8http://www.ratw.com/April,their show features incredible chick vocalist., dual drummers and dual lead guitarists-watch for these talented people.

PYTHONMANIA: Pythomania struck during the last few days as their show opened at the City Centre-more news next issue-late reports include the tour nearly being cancelled due to illness by Eric Idle.

Famous lumberjack George Harrison played that role during Python’s Gig on the 20th.

MAX’S KANSAS CITY: This venue exhibited the best in NYC area rock with their own rock Easter Fest, highlighting were Wayne County, The Planets, Talking Heads, Marbles, Heartbreakers, Ramones ( Sire), The Dicey-Ross Blues Band. The Miamis, The John Collins Band etc during the fest 11-22 April.

LOONINGS: Spotted boozing at Ashley’s recently ( Village restura nt-c um-disco) were Mick Jagger, in town seeking a house to purchase, with Ron Wood and Bad Co.

GENESIS: FINE British outfit stopped by Gotham for three sold-out shows on their current heavy B.O. tour of N. America. Gabriel-less Genesis excelled as it was apparent that Phil Collings ( yds and perc) is a superstar in his own right. Highlights in the set of over two hours was ‘Supper’s Ready’ a lengthy opus featuring bands use of effective laser as well as Collins’ theatrics. Bill Bruford, ace ex-Yes-Crimsii percussivist, was utilised as main tub-thumper while Collins vocalized. He, like the band, was given a standing ovation. Other highlights included the newie ‘Entangled’, ‘Lamb Stew’–highlights from ‘The Lamb Lies Down’, and neverperformed-before-in the USA-‘White Mountain’. Their sound was the best ever.

All in all, the evening’s music was one of planned restraint coupled with explosive surprises with all instrumentalists cohesively meshed into one instrument, being played flawlessly and with unexpected and refreshing vigour. Their future seems auspicious indeed.

DONOVAN: Irish tunesmith played http://www.ratw.com/SRO houses at The Bottom Line 7-11 April. His stage was lined with flowers (of course) and boasted a settee for him to rest his arse upon. Leitch performed many memorable songs from his past, highlighting were ‘Isle of Islay’ and ‘Lalena’. Dwayne Ford of Canadian outfit Bearfoot, guested as sideman on keyboards.

CARIBBEAN CRAVINGS by John Brodey

After 82,(4,6?) Rock Around the Worlds, it’s finally possible and a pleasure to be able to do something off-the-tape. The Newsletter serves the purpose (everyone should 4ave their own) and hopefully is useful reading. Jim the K has been doing a fine job, I think, covering a lot of musical territory. In addition, future newspapers will contain a bit of rambling commentary from my corner as well. After years and years of reading the rantings of professional ra-viewers its our turn at last Anyway an official hello.

Just returned from my yearly pilgrimmage to Jamaica. More and more people seem to be going there for the music as much as they do for the paradise. A trend that may be a result of the increasing success of reggae music in this country ( Boston, Hartford, N.Y. Berkley are already hotspots and now our Friend Gloria Baton of KVAN reports the fever has hit her place). Chris Blackwell’s Island Records organization has lent some order and stability to the very fragmented scene in Kingston for some time now and its finally paying off. It’s good to see that success here for Bob Marley et al. hasn’t adversly affected the music itself. It sounds better than ever and some new directions are being explored by some newcomers, most notably the group Third World, who are a fine young but experienced band. Several members of the group backed up the Slickers on Johnny Too Bad from the Harder They Come. There’s also Burning Spear ( the nickname of the late African leader Jomo Kenya tta).

This 3-man vocal group is very unusual, Winston Rodney the leader-writer of the group is basically a poet like Marley but the results are very different stylistically.

There’s always some excitement on the island. Shortly before my arrival there was a concert in the football stadium in Kingston featuring Bob Marley and Stevie Wonder on stage together backed up by Third World. I understand the event was recorded and to whomever has it, I will trade my dream-date with Patti Smith for the tape. If you’re planning to visit the place soon, I can recommend Chela Bay, a jumping little hotel in a very quiet place ( just a few miles from Ocho Rios). What really makes it though is the live reggae club in the basement called Roots. The Wailers, Maytals, Big Youth etc. have all appeared. The hotel has also become a favorite of the music industry which also makes it a little crazy.

As far as records go: very big at the moment in Jamaica are; Peter Tosh’s ‘Legalize it’ which is not played on the radio but T-shirts with a picture of the incriminating Herb along with the lyric ‘Legalize it…..I will advertise it’ are popping up all over the island. Also very big is Bob Marley’s latest single Rat Race which is about the trouble currently taking place in Kingston. That wraps it, Ayts!

John

EMI HARVEST SHSP 4008…released IWO

This will be brief…. being an instrumentaloutro-mental band has some advantages; if weird enough (as in unorthodox) and somewhat musically innovative, chances are that sooner or later some bright producerdirector-film-maker will need that contemporary soundtrack… and if any group should earn cinemascopic hurrahs, ‘ twouldn’ t it be Pink Floyd, the Different rock band… so far, they’ve recorded three soundtracks: ‘More (great eerie space rock), ‘Zabriskie Point’, and ‘The Body’ – all during their middle period, when they grappling with their approach and technique ( they used to write songs during this time, but found their monster-showcase pieces attracted much more success)… the first two aforementioned soundtracks, rather characteristic of the band’s style, were released in the U.S…. the third, music from a semi-documentary film tracing the body’s different functions, filmed with micro-photographic techniques within the system, was rather difficult to listen to, being a bit too a va nte garde…

If anyone should take credit for the present day capabilities of Pink Floyd , one person might be Ron Geesin, an eccentric musician and taped-electronics operator, who virtually lifted the Floyd into multi-media sound and

live tape overlays ( Geesin is the co-author of ‘Atom Heart Mother’). In 1970, he teamed up with Roger Waters for an experimental soundtrack: all tracks are short – like snatches of sound and motion, of synthesized atmospheres and electronic ramblings, of a few vocal-guitar, ecological croonings of Waters, of grunts, groans, plops, coughs, sleeping, eating weeping, etc., etc., etc… only in retrospection does this album’s importance make an impression: no self-pronounced rock band had dabbled in an electronic-tapes-loops setting without becoming controversial or ultimately forgotten    certainly, far from being greenhorns, Pink Floyd set their controls for the heart of the matter.

Music from ‘The Body’ had been deleted for over three years until recent re-release… Ron Geesin released another 1p, ‘As He Stands’ about two years ago in England, on his own label, financed by friends such as Roger Waters, Pete Townshend and John Peel, top British DJ. This record is a more mature, and likewise successful, stance than ‘The Body’, achieving thoroughly diverse excitement and finely processed musical and electronic entertainment without sounding dumb… Roger Waters and his band have been shining on like crazy diamonds…