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. . . Greetings, funseekers, and welcome to another edition of the music news inferno . . . Move Over Dept.—THE ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA’s forthcoming British tour will be a reunion of sorts as THE STEVE GIBBONS BAND will be the featured support act; JEFF LYNNE and BEV BEVAN (ELO), as well as TREVOR BURTON (Gibbons Band), are all graduates of THE MOVE . . . an update on the STEVE H1LLAGE/TODD RUNDGREN sessions reveal that Steve is making use of Todd’s backup band, UTOPIA, as well as jazzman DON CHERRY throughout the album; slated for release this autumn, it will feature, among other tracks, Mr. Hillage’s versions of DONOVAN’s “Hurdy Gurdy Man” and THE BEATLES’ “It’s All Too

Much” . .. another graduate of GONG, master zaniac DAEVID ALLEN, has both a new album (“Good Morning,” reviewed in this issue) and a new band called

EUTERPE. who hail from Spain . . . another voyager from the uncharted music cosmos has returned to live performing—KEITH TIPPETT; the man responsible for “Centipede” and some of the finest free-form jazz in England has a new band called ARK, starring such jazz luminaries as MARK CHARIG, ELTON DEAN (ex-SOFT MACHINE), NICK EVANS and HARRY MILLER . . . Let’s Get This Show On The Road Dept.—tours in progress reveal some groups who haven’t been seen on a stage for some time; TANGERINE DREAM. ERIC BURDON & THE ANIMALS (!), FAIRPORT, MOTT, KEVIN AYERS. COLOSSEUM 1I, SOFT MACHINE, and CURVED AIR . . . it may sound unlikely, even outlandish, but from all quarters indications are that DAVID BOWIE. ROBERT FRI VP, ENO and IGGY POP (nee STOOGE) will collaborate on IGGY’s newest album, to be recorded sometime this autumn in Canada—in addition, BOWIE, FRIPP and ENO may record an album as a trio—music makes even stranger bed persons than politics, it seems … MIKE SHRIEVE, SANTANA’s original drummer, has a new band called AUTOMATIC MAN; hailing from San Francisco, the group’s first album has just been released in England with good response coming from all fronts . . . an interesting anthology double album is in the planning stage—focusing on the late PAUL KOSSOFF, it will spotlight his work with FREE and BACK STREET CRAWLER, and will include eight or nine unreleased tracks . . . many people may not remember, but the JIMI

HENDRIX EXPERIENCE also included MITCH MITCHELL and NOEL REDDING—early in June, the two were reunited once again; the occasion was a date by NOEL REDDING’s new band at London’s MARQUEE CLUB, where MITCH MITCHELL sat in on drums . HAWKWIND has changed record companies, moving from U.A. to Charisma; a new album is expected in September and is rumored to be different than their previous sonic journies . . . a RATW discovery band of a couple of months ago, CITY BOY, have just released their debut album in America and are at this moment on tour in Great Britain—good luck, lads, and do be sure to visit the States soon . . . Big Mac (Hold The Metal) Dept. . . . the past year has seen the rise to prominence of FLEETWOOD MAC in America, and a large chunk of their new-found popularity is due to the AM success of “Over My Head” and “Rhiannon” as 45s—the interesting thing is that, left to their own devices, the band wouldn’t have selected “Over My Head” as a single, and in fact it was the radio stations around the country that made the decision . . . EMERSON. LAKE & PALMER, having finally found a place to settle down, are due in New York sometime around the middle of July to start rehearsals for a new album and tour . . . it’ll be a salute to America’s

picentennial at the Reading Festival in Lngland this summer as bothe TED NUGENT and BLACK OAK ARKANSAS are slated to perform their own brand of sedate rock on the Festival’s final day . . . continuing the American

invasion into the fall will be AEROSMITH (three weeks in England and Europe) and PETER FRAMPTON (yes, I know he’s British, but it’s been two years since Peter has played a note in Britain) . . . CHRIS SPEDDING, Whizzo British session guitarist, is making another stab at a

group. this time joining JOHN CALE sidemen PAT DONALDSON and TIMI DONALD and ex-FAIRPORT CONVENTIONEER SIMON NICOL . . . THE SENSATIONAL ALEX HARVEY BAND will be throw ing a new record at the public shortly, titled “SAHB Stories” . . . YES

amazed the throng who attended their Boston date recently with a rousing version of PAUL McCARTNEY’s “I’m Down”—it was quite a revelation to watch this group of progressives, often slammed for their (apparent) lack of energy on stage,

throw themselves into the song with a frenzy worthy of a LED ZEPPELIN in heat. . . BOB WEIR and MICKY HART of THE GRATEFUL DEAD were recent visitors to the RATW interview couch. and during the course of the conversation, BOB WEIR revealed that the mysterious JOHN BARLOW, credited for helping write a good deal of Bob’s material. is in actual fact a rancher from Wyoming who writes lyrics as a hobby . . . the ever-elusive MICK TAYLOR is rumored to have set the line-up of his new band—personnel includes COLIN ALLEN. STEVE THOMPSON. RONNIE LEAHY and MICK TAYLOR; sans Taylor, the band used to be the backbone of STONE THE CROWS . . . over here in the Important Bands of The Eighties Dept.. ‘we find ROXY MUSIC with a live album due out shortly . . . PHIL MANZANERA will be working on projects with both STOMU YAMASHTA and STEVIE WINWOON over the summer as well . . . in the meantime, it’s left to Mr. Dapper, BRIAN FERRY, to fill the time. and he has, with a new solo single—titled “Let’s Stick Together (Let’s Work Together).” it’s another in an already impressive line of aristocratic offerings from Brian; he’s joined in this undertaking by CHRIS MERCER. JOHN WETTON, CHRIS SPEDDING and JERRY

HALL . . . finally, everyone here at RATW would like to take a moment to congratulate BRIAN MAY of QUEEN. who got himself hitched a little while back to his lady of long-standing. Chrissie– Your’re My Best Friend, indeed. eh Brian? .. .

. . . be seeing you .. .

KOZ

Black Hole Stars

(being a series devoted to albums, both foreign and domestic, that were either neglected upon release, never released in this country, or are noteworthy because of the early musical associations contained therein)

SMALL FACES

“The Autumn Stone” Immediate 101/2

Well, if I got it figured correctly, this rare album should have been released in America to give the Small Faces their righteous due as light/heavy rock stars, like in England. Combining the best of heavy rock and light humor and brilliantly sung ballads, Marriot, Lane, Jones, and McGlagien were perhaps too English for domestic tastes. After their sensational LP “Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake,” they seemed to lose any sort of relationship with an American audience. That album is often hard to understand because of their thick dialects and stodgy humor—vvveeerrryyy British. . . .

Well, “The Autumn Stone” is a collection of singles, live cuts, and selected album tracks that highlighted the scope of the band. For example, their three live tunes are replete with screaming fans, an

accurate indication of their fame in England. They plod through an amazingly tough version of “If I Were a Carpenter,” sung most expressively by Steve

(.. . .would you HHHHAAAVVVVEEE! my BBBBBAAAAA-BY”). “Rollin’ Over,” one of their most intense stage numbers, and “Every Little Bit Hurts,” the Motown classic, complete with a horn section added for extra strength. Indeed, on these tracks, their accent was on heavy production with Ian’s organ taking a primary role in creating their dense sound. The recordings, though truly raw in quality, nevertheless sparkle with excitement and guts. . . .

Also included is their famous American (and British) hit, “Itchycoo Park,” (with that famous phasing technique that had millions of ears straining in curiosity) a

famous drug song that probably hurt their chances of coming to America, even more than their quizzical hodgepodge of single releases, first hard. then soft, then r&b-ish

This album, then, becomes a fine momento of a hit-hound hand that never made it to America, but whose popularity never waned in Europe. In fact (again), rumors are recently springing up about a one-tour reunion of the original Small Faces (and possibly even more ?) following the defection of those you-know-v.-hos to you-know-wheres. That is sort of a sad way to bring a band together again. but, as “Autumn Stone” ably demonstrates, it’s a pretty hopeful chance that more great music will abound. Years of experience have made Steve, Ronnie, Kenny, and Ian much wiser and more talented. Say yea. . .

—Mr. Curt