Off The Record

Rip It Up, Issue 76, 1 November 1983, Page 22

Off The Record

Russell Brown

Lou Reed & the Velvet Underground S This is a skinny, 64-page paperback by Mike West with OK photos f hat don't necessarily correspond to the text they accom-

pany and some rather suspect graphics. The writing's healthily opinionated and covers its subjects pretty thoroughly. All the bits you know about • are there, plus a decent bunch of surprises and, most importantly, a 25 page discography that has been lovingly put together and is complete to . late 'B2. Missed out are only Reed's Legendary'Hearts and V.U. & So On and V. U. Et Al (from Australia's Plastic Inevitable Records). The title is a bit of a compromise as no undue attention is given to Reed and the emphasis is on the first VU lineup rather than later Reed-dominated ones. Mind you, those of you who think Doug Yule's the only thing that made the Underground acceptable probably won't like it much well, you never had much taste anyway.CK The New Rock'n'Roll

Stuart Coupe & Glenn A. Baker Two well-respected Australian journalists -have produced the beginner's guide to new rock'n'roll in the 80s. Even though it contains little that you didn't already know it is very nicely packaged with some excellent colour photographs. Just like a compilation album, various inclusions and exclusions keep you guessing. Why weren't Toy Love and the Swingers included? New Zealand bands do have a fair documentation but it appears much of the information was lifted from the Sweetwaters programme, a publication not noted for its subtlety or imagination. Keep it on the coffee table, it'll keep your friends and relatives amused for at least an hour or two. AC Siouxsie and the Banshees Photo Book (Symbiosis) ' For a number of years Nils Stevenson was the Banshees'

manager. During those years his brother Ray took photos. This is an exhilarating collection Lof images, well pieced together by reproductions of ' text . from - the music: press and side comments from Nils. Detailed and personal, it studies in depth the McKay and Morris walkout and the subsequent addition of Budgie and McGeoch. Great ■ Stuff; MP Led; Zeppelin: A Visual Documentary by Paul Kendall T

Bright and informative. A simple month-by-month story of Led Zeppelin from new Yardbirds to death of Bonzo, rounded out with a swag of colour and B&W photos. Unopinionated and thorough, an excellent souvenir for Zeppelin fans. CC Pink Floyd: The Illustrated Discography, compiled by Miles (Omnibus Press) Sixty-four pages, a short biography and background to each official album, some B&W photos and a list of the myriad bootlegs. Did you know (or care) that the Floyd's drummer produced one of the Damned's albums? PT Rock'n'Roll Confidential So you thought the American music industry was rotten to the core? You're right ... almost. Rock'n'Roll Confidential is an impassioned little (8-10 foolscap pages) paper dedicated to exposing the injustices that occur when rock'n'roll fuses with business. Among its favourite targets are corporate sponsorship of artists (which often enables big business to take a self-interested hand in music), the racist programming policies of MTV and the blandness of formularised radio. It also runs a few record reviews (albeit under the title Home Taping Prospects')

and interviews. It's different because, rather than simply sliding away into alternativeness, it stays with the rock'n'roll biz and looks at it from the underneath. Edited by former ’ Rolling ■ Stone staffer Dave Marsh, whose approaches equal parts egalitarianism, socialism and belief in .rock'n'roll. Twelve monthly issues cost USS2O from Duke and Duchess Ventures, Dept. 5, Box 1073, Maywood, NJ 07607, USA. Well worth it./-v Ha Ha Ha Now this is interesting. A primitive, -fledgling fanzine from Hamilton that shows a whole heap of promise.'This first issue has useful information on buying NZ records' by mail order, catch-up reviews of the year's best local records (including yet another slant on the Builders' LP), live reviews, backgrounders on Christchurch's Bottletops and Hamilton's S.H.I.T. ... even poetry. Spelling and grammar get pretty wild at times: but the writing is mostly tight and intelligent. Three separate stabs at The Sort of People Who Like DD Smash and Get Stoned and Pissed and Talk About Surfing and Cold Chisel is a bit much'/ though. There are only 100 copies of this at • present but if you send a stamped addressed ' envelope (a long one) to them at Flat 3, 55 Albert St, Hamilton. They don't carry any advertising so be a sport and send them a donation as well. RB

3.30 Graffiti This new nation-wide paper is aimed at the . secondary school student and contains articles intended to appeal to that group. The first issue includes advice on writing an essay, buying a motorbike and hair care; recipes, an article about what smoking does to your insides and more. It's perhaps a little tame it would be good to see some more involvement from the age group the paper is aimed at. A start full of promise. You can write to 3.30 Graffiti at PO Box 3666, Auckland. -

MODELS' FROM PAGE 8 taken two years to develop a rhythm section sound, which is James (Freud, bassist and former Teenage Radio Star, as was Kelly) and Barton (Price, onetime Crocodiles' drummer). There's now a great drum sound which is consistent throughout the album and a great bass sound. It's very strong in the bottom end, whereas most of our stuff has always been stronger in the top end I suppose."

Did the live renditions of existing songs change as a result of the album?BUkfl9B^BHM

"Yeah, we changed them around a bit but we've always tried to lend ourselves a bit of licence when we play. We change things around all the time and leave room for improvisation so it's always different.

"We do actually pride ourselves on our live performance, more so than our records. Well, not more so, but we spend a lot more time playing live than making records and half the records we've made we hate. So our forte is just getting up and playing. Which is why we re looking forward to playing in New Zealand. We've been around about five years and we've never been there.'' The Models beat out some relatively stiff competition for the Bowie support, including Goanna and the Little Heroes. It was Bowie's listening to a Models' tape that apparently tipped the scales in their favour. So how does Kelly feel about supporting such a big act?

"I think it's a great opportunity. I think he's a great songwriter and a great singer so it'll be fun to play on the same bill as him. And I haven't seen Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence yet so I haven't been put off him or anything." So that's it for now. You'll get your chance to decide whether you agree with the thin, white one's • choice of groups and compare the Models to NZ talent when they join Bowie here November 24 and 26.