eRe Thursday, February 16, 1984, Dance to the Jam Part 3: Classic albums from forgotten bands. Tired of songs on the radio that drone on for 5 minutes and sound like this: ‘‘Beat it/Beat it/Beat it/ Just Beat it.’’? Are you just by JOEL HAGEN itching to hear an album that has short, danceable cuts and doesn’t repeat hooks ad nauseum? Do you want to hear real Rock n’ Roll? Welf, have | got the record for you!! IN THE CITY THE JAM | guess | can’t really call this a classic album from a forgotten band, because everyone’s heard of the Jam, and they certainly haven’t been forgotten. However, In the City, their first album, has fallen large- ly by the wayside. Only hardcore fans know. about the Jam’s best record, and the time has come to surren- der the secret that is In the City. The Jam’s debut album was released in 1977, soon after the start of the ‘Second Coming’, the British New Wave invasion. What it lacks in studio polish it makes up for in energy. The record is marked by a quali- ty of youthful exuberence, which. is understandable considering that at the time In the City was made, the members of the band were only about 20 years old. The Jam is fronted by Paul Weller, guitarist and vocalist. Backing him are Bruce Foxton, an excellent bassist, and Rich Buckler, on drums. All the songs on the album, with the excep- tion of Slow Down, and The Batman Theme, are Paul Weller originals, and rather than being trite, they cap- ture that frustrated exuber- ence that is youth. Side one opens with Art School,’ a straight ahead rocker that chugs along at one of the two speeds preva- lent on the album: fast and faster. Counting the song in with a ‘1-2-3-4’, Weller tells us college kids to ‘’...say what you want cause this is the new art school.’’ Clear- ly, he’s on our side, and he proves it in some of the other tracks with some well placed profanities. The cover tunes, both on side one, are real gems. Slow Down is an interesting contrast to the Beatles ver- sion, recorded 20 years ago. Moving. at a much _ faster tempo, it seems ironic as Weller — Sings, ‘’...Slow down/You’re movin’ way too fast/Give me a little love, give a lotta love/If you want our love to last.’’ The second non-original tune is The Batman Theme a good novelty song. Al- though a bit immature, it is. over in a flash, and you may find yourselg humming, “‘Na-na na-na na-na na-na Batman’’, for a couple of days. By the time you flip the disk to play side tow, you may notice ja few things about the Jam that are pleasant surprises. Paul Weller’s voice, like molten lead, is similar to Bruce Springsteens’ and Bruce Foxton’s intricate bass play- ing really drives the band. Another plus is the fact that all the songs have endings, not like this ‘fading out’ crap so common today. Antiestablishment themes ff present throughout the al- ff bum, surface on side two |}. with the title track and Sounds from the Street. One almost thinks that the band members are turning into ff cynics but the next song ff reafirms my faith in Rock ’n ff Roll.. It’s called non-Stop Dancing, and ll songs on the album are _ perfect for just that. They’re all about two and a half minutes long, they have a great beat, and they speak, sing, yell and scream for themselves. So take Paul Weller’s ad- vice and ‘ROCK ALL DAY twelve } C YOUR HORN (OR SING!) at Douglas College Experienced and inexperienced singers and instrumentalists, there is a spot for you in the following groups: Community Choir: Wed.7-9P.M. Community Band Wed.7-9P.M. Community Stage Band | Mon. 8-10 P.M. Jazz Band Choral Society Thurs. 4-6 P.M. Mon. 7-9 P.M. Texas Boys Put on a Show It’s a funny thought that two fat men and a laid back drummer could be entertain- ing, but that’s exactly what by NETTIE BOULANGER ZZ Top is. The entire sold out crowd at the Coliseum was rocking to the Kings of boogie rock ‘n roll on Firday night, February 3. The crowd was rocking to hits like Pressure, Sharp Dressed Man, I’m Bad, The Grange, Waiting for the Bus, Jesus Just Left Chica- go (we were treated to some preaching from Billy Gib- bons), Gimme All Your Lov- ing, .Cheap Sunglasses, Pearl Necklace, T.D. Din- ner,. Arrested for Driving While Blind and the encore included Fresh and three or four other songs. For Tube Snake Boogie, the audience sang the whole “I’ve got a gir] who lives on the hill, she won’t do it but -her sister will’’ almost lou- der than the band, which shows what a good time everyone was having. At the end of the encore, some rigging started falling down along with a dummy, and sparks flew out of the light- ing set, which was a perfect finish to the fantastic light show (the same kind used by Robert Plant, Genesis, and The Police) that also incuded lasers. The sound was very good, with Dusty Hill’s and Billy Gibbons’ voicing coming through clearly above the music. It also. helps that they have excellent voices to begin with. All in all it was a great time, and a ‘10 row night’’ (referring to the number of rows of seats ruined at the front) for ZZ Top. Nightranger, the opening act, were alright, playing rock ‘n roll that could be replaced by any other band. One cool thing about them is the lead singer said that we had a beautiful city. They put on a good show, but the crowd came to see ZZ Top, and it showed.