the end to draw a moral from this dis-
jointed plot, Despite all this, there are
several scenes which are perfect and
are so funny that they make the rest
of the movie worth sitting through.
The Twelve Chairs. set in post
revolutionary Russia, is about a
search for twelve dining room chairs.
A member of the aristocracy had hid-
den a lot of jewels in one of the chairs
before the revolution and hadn’t been
able to get the jewels out before he
ran oii, when people iinally iind out
about this hidden treasure, it naturally

sets on a long chase, with everybody
using any and every method to get the
chairs.

Brooks, who wrote and directed the
film, plays a small part which is the
comic highlight of the movie, Unfor-
tunately, it goes downhill from there.
Alter all, there’s only so many times
breaking a chair apart is funny. and
twelve is stretching it more than a lit»
tle. Brooks' performance is perfect
and Dom DeLuise also turns in one of
his best performances. Frank
Langella (Dracula) is excellent in his

The new Village People album

leading role as one of the people
searching for the chairs,

0n the whole, the film starts out
very well but tries to make the same
gag run for too long, As a film teacher
from my high school was fond of say-
ing, “Half as long would have been
twice as good."

Film schedule this weeken
Cnllar:Satl,10:00, SL; Sun ,
ARH. Twelve Chairs: Sat., . 5, ARH;
Sun., 9- o, ARH. which Way is up: ‘
Fri, 30, ARE; Sun., 9:30, SL.

discs

‘Live and Sleazy’ provides pure eargasm

by David J, Bloll and Don Flynn

Live and Sleazy, the latest effort by
the Village People, those macho men
we all know and love, is a two»record
set of pure VP, decorated inside and
out with lurid photos of menacing
faces, flexed muscles, bulging crot-
ches, and suggestive poses,

Live and Sleazy is really two
albums: the first, live versions of the
VP’s greatest musical (or at least
rhythmical) gems; the second, an
album of new material.

The division in the albums marks a
crossroads in the People’s career.
Sleazy is a conscious effort by pro
ducer and creator Jacques Morali to
explore (marginally, at least) new
types at music and exploit (blatantly,
somewhat) new markets yet untouch-
ed by the hypnotic sway of the Boys'
compelling rhythms,

Live features the last appearance of
the immortal Vlctur Willis, former
lead singer, lyricist, and cop. Sleazy
debuts Ray Simpson (brother oi
Valerie Simpson of Ashford & Simp-
son), who serves as Victor's nominal
replacement.

How, you may ask, can anyone
possibly fill Victor’s hobnailed boots?
Actually, Ray doesn’t even try, Jac-
ques has cast him as simply one of the
Boysihe’s not the highly visible
leader that Victor was. Ray does pro-
ject a sincere air of authority in his
policeman’s uniform, but he sings lead
in only three songs

Also, his vocals are not mixed as up
front as Victor's were, creating a new
VP sound. The choruses, which were
always important, gain a new pres
minence.

Army man Alex Briley and hal'dhat
David “Scar” Hodo mDve out front a
bit, supplying the leads on “Save Me”
and “Sleazy”,

“Save Me," the Village People's
iirst attempt at a mellow love song, is
a pleasant foray into respectable
heterosexuality. “Sleazy" is a familiar
pulsating celebration of decadence, in
which Scar plumbs the depths of
homosexual innuendo to an extent not

November 2, W79

seen since “I Am What I Am:" “I’m
your every fantasy/I am what you
want to be/Get down on your knees
with me/And get SLEAZY!"

“Sleazy” aside, the music
(composed by producer Morali)
presents a distinct change in the emr
phasis from the classic disco tunes
that made the VP famous. Instead of
an omnipresent driving beat, the
songs icature a few rockrlike guitar
lines and soul~like choral ar-
rangements reminiscent of the
Trammps (especially on “Ready {or
the Eighties”).

“Rock and Roll is Here To Stay," a
title that may seem incredible to
discophobcs, is possibly an attempt to
extend the olive branch to disaffected
rockers and others who can’t quite get
into pelvic thrusts (or more pro.
bably an attempt by Jacques to
blanket the entire spectrum of popular
music and sell records to everyone on
the planet). Disco fans don’t worry
though—this is not a rock song Unfor-
tunately, it's not really a good disco
piece either: it’s somewhere in that
no~man5rland in between.

This isn’t to imply, however, that
the diehard VP fan has been slightedl
If Slealy sounds a bit unfamiliar and
the album cover begins to get boring

after awhile, just put on Live. Your
heart (and other parts of your
anatomy) will be uplifted.

The first side contains several
critically-acclaimed disco master
pieces that never got the popular at»
tention they deserve: “Fire Island,"
“Hot Cup,” and “San Fran-
cisco/Hollywood.” The second side is
pure eargasm with the three super
biggies right in a row: “Macho Man,"
“In the Navy,” and “YMCA.”

Although the recordings of the
choruses are sometimes regrettably ,
weak, the back-up band (Bittersweet)_2
displays virtuosity and there are
several interesting instrumental solos.
And of course, Victor is in fine fettle
throughout: he has the crowd eating ,
out of his hand. After “In the Navy,” ,
he asks, “Did we get any new recruits
out there?" The crowd screams fer- '
vent assent.

in many respects it’s a shame that
Victor left the People, and it will be _
interesting to hear his solo albums, ' I
But on Sleazy it becomes apparent
that the Boys will go on. The music
lacks the punch of Victor’s voice (and
the up-{ront mix), but the People are.
exploring new directions and are
worth listening to.

Jethro Tull’s Stormwatcli
Get ready for the ice age

ian Anderson was writing trenchant
social commentary years before the
Village People were a gleam in Jac-
ques Morali‘s eye, In recent years,
though, Anderson has kept his sharp
social satire somewhat in check. But
in Stormwatch, the latest release from
Jethro Tull, Anderson is up to his old
tricks again.

Jethro Tull is in many ways an
amazing group. It debuted in 1968
playing a sort of music that is often
described as British blues-Jazz-rock

fusion Since then, Tull has become
more il‘ l Hn'k lmnll, but thc blues rind
jazz innocuous are stlll apparent.

Over the years, the band has maln~
rained a touring schedule with which
no other band of its stature can com-
pare (one and often two major tours
per year). The act is classy and well-
prepared: last year the only criticism
a Rolling Stone reviewer had was that
the performance was too polished; it
lacked some of the spontanaity of
earlier Tull concerts.

(please mm the [30957)

11

 

