VOL. XV, NO. 8
FEBRUARY 22, 1974
Record Review
By JEFF SCHWARZ
Bob Dylan - "Planet Waves" - Despite all the publicity that accompanied this release, the album does not pack much of a punch. Dylan's lyrics were once filled with imaginative phrases but are now filled with flimsy cliches such as, "something there is about you that strikes a match in me."
There are three fairly good songs: "Dirge," "Wedding Song," and "Going, Going, Gone": but none are among Dylan's best. The backup music is supplied by The Band, which suffers from a lack of inspiration. Also, the whole album was recorded in three days, which says something in itself.
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer -
"Brain Salad Surgery"
The album fluctuates between the excellent and the bland hard-rock that many groups play. "Jerusalem," a new hymn, and "Still... You Turn Me On" have an excellent balance of vocal and instrumental sounds.
The lead singer in both songs is Greg Lake, who in contrast to Keith Emerson sings with some feeling and some style. But the "First Impression" and "Karn Evil 9" are noisy and repetitive. For the most part, tolerating the album is difficult.
Bob Dylan - "Planet Waves" - Despite all the publicity that accompanied this release, the album does not pack much of a punch. Dylan's lyrics were once filled with imaginative phrases but are now filled with flimsy cliches such as, "something there is about you that strikes a match in me."
There are three fairly good songs: "Dirge," "Wedding Song," and "Going, Going, Gone": but none are among Dylan's best. The backup music is supplied by The Band, which suffers from a lack of inspiration. Also, the whole album was recorded in three days, which says something in itself.
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer -
"Brain Salad Surgery"
The album fluctuates between the excellent and the bland hard-rock that many groups play. "Jerusalem," a new hymn, and "Still... You Turn Me On" have an excellent balance of vocal and instrumental sounds.
The lead singer in both songs is Greg Lake, who in contrast to Keith Emerson sings with some feeling and some style. But the "First Impression" and "Karn Evil 9" are noisy and repetitive. For the most part, tolerating the album is difficult.
Joni Mitchell - "Court and Spark" - Joni's best album ever is highlighted by her sensitive intelligence. She knows who she is and what she wants, and she lets everyone know about it. Her first full-fledged rock number is "Raised on Robbery," which plays on the boy-meets-girl-in-bar routine.
Ms. Mitchell uses a playful humor which keeps everything in perspective. In "Free Man in Paris" she says that she has to keep up her image as a member of "the star‑maker machine behind the popular song."
Harry Chapin - "Short Stories" - Chapin combines his rock-folk medleys to entertain well. The single release is "W.O.L.D.," a ballad about a man telling his ex-wife what has happened to him since he left her. Most of Chapin's songs are told in story form which tell the listener a lesson that Chapin himself learned from personal experience.
Ms. Mitchell uses a playful humor which keeps everything in perspective. In "Free Man in Paris" she says that she has to keep up her image as a member of "the star‑maker machine behind the popular song."
Harry Chapin - "Short Stories" - Chapin combines his rock-folk medleys to entertain well. The single release is "W.O.L.D.," a ballad about a man telling his ex-wife what has happened to him since he left her. Most of Chapin's songs are told in story form which tell the listener a lesson that Chapin himself learned from personal experience.