Page 38 IT/126
line. After his accident he gave up the book as a bad job, but
changed his mind and okayed it for publication in 1971. This
might be seen as an indication that he is beginning to respond
to the pressures and demands of the public expressed in
bootleg sales-and loudly voiced in the underground press.
Another sign of this could be the inclusion, on the Greatest
Hits Vol.2 album, of new recordings of three of-the-basement
songs and the old Tomorrow is a Long Time. Tj
new song, When I Paint my Masterpiece, wi*lii*lS
"I'm not responsible for those kids" he| _
years ago. While Bob Dylan was hiding out In
playing country music, redneck music, "those 1
in the streets getting shot for subscribing to the ethic of being
responsible for each other. Bobby subscribed, instead, to the
Jewish Defence League (in the name of Zummerinan. although
he legally changed his name to Dylan in 1962).
In the light of this it is hard to know what to make of the ..
George Jackson single, except be grateful for it. Even Dylan's
voice sounds like it did in the early days, and his anger and
grief at the death of George Jackson seem genuine as nothing
else he's put out in the last few years. One would prefer to
i\
JOHN PRINE
(Atlantic)
The name is nondescript enough, and
from the photo on the sleeve I didn't
really feel like playing the album at
all. Except thatj heard two tracks on
the radio that made me Write down
his name and investigate further.
And it was worth it
As the album's recorded in
Memphis and his voice has that
familiar whine, he's presumably
from around there. C & W isn't the
brand of music I dig much usually, but
John Prine is gonna make it for sure
on the strength of this debut album.
AH 13 tracks areself-pennejd, and
there's not a bummer amongst them.
Strains of Woody Guthrie, Cisco
Houston and countless other 'greats'
but most of all, Dylan. The young
Dylan is there right through, except
John has a better voice and a less
revengeful, slightly more tender
attitude.
It's almost impossible to select a
special track after only a few hearings
but Sam Stone stands out for me. A
Vietnam veteran, shipped home with
some physical injury and indelible
mental shock, hooked on morphine.
"There's a hole in daddy's arm
Where all the money goes" and
"And Sammy took to stealing
When he got that empty feeling
For a hundred dollar habit,
without overtime."
Hackneyed as they sound, I quote
part of the sleeve notes by Kris
Kristofferson as a lucid guide to this
album:
"Sam Stone, Donald & Lydia. The
one about the Old Folks. 24 years
old and he writes like he'» 200.1
don't know where he comet from, but
I've a good idea where he's going. We
went away believers, reminded how
goddamned good it feels to be turned
on by a real Creative imagination."
The name's John Prine.
Jaynie.
COMMUNITY MUSIC
The Greasy Truckers HA VE got their
shit-together and will be putting on
"Putruckl", their alternative show to
the Roundhouse's Implosion (and
hopefully the first of many) in a
converted church on the Upper
Richmond Road on 26th of this
month. Among those expressing
interest are Hawkwind, Man, Brinstey
Schwartz, Help Yourself and
Stealer's Wheel, who all hope to play.
The Truckers are only charging 30p
per head as opposed to the current
Implosion 50p charge. A second
show is already lined up on 16th
April and there should be some-
thing on every Sunday after, if yow
IT/126 Page 39
are pissed off with Implosion and ail
it's implications, catch a tube to
East Putney on 26th March and
join the three hundred or so others
who are having a good time.
BLACK CLOUDS
OVER THE RAINBOW
On March 12th London's leading
big name rock venue. The Rainbow,
dosed with virtually no warning after
just four months operation, ifs
company Sundancer is going into
immediate liquidation. Earlier on in
the week, having consulted the
various shareholders involved—amongst
them EMI and dagger—a decision was
reached by manager John Morris to
close immediately after Saturday's
Humble Pie show. Thus angry
ticket holders on Sunday afternoon
found themselves an empty theatre,
no sign of the Soft Machine and
certainly no pots of gold......
What went wrong?
Well, the root cause is money or
rather people's abuse of it Running
the Rainbow cost £3,500 every
week and this apart from artistes'
fees! "To break even," according
to Morris, "we had to have three
guaranteed sellout concerts
every week and four to make
enough money to keep the hounds
at bay. With the initial enthusiasm
in starting the project, we naively
overlooked the fact that there are
just not that many acts with the
kind of drawing power needed
to sustain us through the year."
In January the discovery was
made that the budget for launching
the Rainbow had already been
exceeded, a lot of bread being
wasted on personal expenses
keeping various freeloaders happy.
Efforts were made to tighten up
but by them it was already too late.
If there had been more coordination
between the production side and the
business side, tilings may have been
a little different but everyone was
too busy hiding their assets to
come out in the open.
THE SEIGEL SCHWALL BAND
(RCA Victor)
When did you last see a good ol'
British blues band up there grinding
out Elmore James? The genre was
ailing when John Mayall crossed
Laurel Canyon back in 1969 and
was quite extinct by the time he
returned for his percussionless
European tour.
Not in tire USA, however, where
the appetite for 'British blues'a la
Savoy Brown, Chicken Shack and
Free provided and still provides, for
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