G RAHAM Don M cLean
rum our confirm eci I t ’s no rumour the radio ads are saying. Graham Parker and The Rumour are, barring acts of God, going to be blasting off at the Apollo on 1 5 th September. But don't be misled b y that powerpop tag (powerpop was last months label) - Graham Psarker and the boys aren't mining the mid sixties, their roots lie 15 years further back than that, in black rhythm' n'blues. The very same area that spawned the Stones, the Yardbirds and the Animals in the sixties. Of course, it's 15 years since the Stones burst out of Richmonds Crawdaddy Club and i,id the foimdation for the British R & B boom. And we all know the Stones haven't really hit the energy button since "Exile..." In many ways Graham Parker and the Rumour parallel the rise of the Stones. They are the offspring of the early seventies pub rock scene which si)awned Dr. Feelgood, Kursaal Flyers, Ducks De Luxe and Brinsley Schwarz in fact, Brinsley Schwarz (who included the maestro, Nick Lowe) provided Brinsley Schwarz a n i Bob Andrews (keyboards) for the Rumour v ^ l e Ducks De Ltue supplied Martin Belmont (Ducks De Luxe also included Garvey and Masters now of the Motors). So you get the picture. The Rumo\ir are grad\iates of the early 70's London R'n'B school. They are no wet behind the ears, snotty nosed kids. They are the topa The Rumour, they weren't known by that name then, but it'll do, used to hang out at the Hope and Anchor in N. London which was THE pub in the pub rock circuit. It was there they met up with Graham Parker who at the time was working as a petrol pump attendant in Giiilford. The Hope used to have a small recording studio vdiere budding bands made demos. Graham Parker came up from Surrey with some of his songs and made some demos with the Rumour. One of the songs they recorded got airplay on Charlie Gillett's influential Radio London show eund a record contract with Vertigo followed soon after (July 1975). The first album "Howling Wind" was an exceptional debut. The combination of Parkeite rasping vocals and the Rumovirs oh so tight m u s i c was pure dynamite. The band began to build on its London reputation with a series of dazzling concerts throughout the land. To spread the word Phonogram released an "official bootleg" called Live At Marble Arch which is possibly the beet live Parker committed to vinyl. And live Parker has it all over the records. I saw the band on their 1977 British tour when they were supported by their near est American equivalents Southside Johnny the Asbury J\ikes. Now the Jiokes are a hard act to follow - they grew up playing in the same bars as Bruce Springsteen and they are the tiltimate American R'n'B bar band. But Graham Parker and the Rumour gathered them in and soared past them with a performance of sustained intensity and stunning musicianship that had the entire audience, yotirs truly included, boogieing in the aisles and on the seats. It's a compelling sight to see the (diminutive G3?aham Parker pouring it all out, intense and sinister behind his huge shades, in front of the ridiculously good big men of the Rumo'ur. It was one of the greatest rock' n'roll concerts I've ever seen, on a par with Springsteen at the Hammersmith Odeon and Dylan at West Lakes. Since the release of Heat Treatment, the second "official" album, Graham Parker and the Rumour have been trying to crack it in the States. Despite ecstatic critical acclaim ajid a gilt edged reputation for superb concert perfoimance (Graham Parker and the Rumour are the only band around I'd pay money to see" Bruce Springsteen) the band have yet to make their mark where it really counts - on the charts. This desf)ite the bajads sound having absorbed nvimerous American influences from the extensive touring they have done there (Check out "The Heat in Harlem" and "Soul on Ice" from the "Stick to Me" album. Parker blames his American record company, Mercury, for the lack of sales. He cites Columbia's successful promotion of Elvis Costello as proof that new British acts can be broken in the States. The release of the band's fovirth album, "The Parkerilla" seems to be an attempt to tianslate Parker's live appeal directly into album sales. UnfortTonately the attempt seems to have failed, in the U.S. at least. The albiun hasn't made the b r e a kthrou^ that obviotB
Don McLean is a bit of an enigma. Most people have heard of him due to the massive worldwide success of "American Pie" and "Vincent", but not too many people would be aware of what he's been up to for the last couple of years. Well, we all have the chance because Mr. McLean will be gracing otir shores with a visit in early October. Just to refresh your memory, let's travel back to 1972 when McLean's elaborate allegory of this history of rock and roll captured the imagination of a generation. In fact not just one generation, but a number of generations. For one, the generation who grew up in the first wave of rock and roll, and who would have agreed with the idea that rock died with Buddy Holly, And a much younger generation to whom Buddy Holly was as distant as Charlie Chaplin. To them the song was possibly a mythological fable, a fairy tale with rock's great heroes as characters. But like any tale it brought those characters to life and perhaps into perspective for a generation too yoting to remember. For months it seemed everyone was trying to decipher the song. Was Dylan 'the jester' who stole the pearly crown? Were the Beatles the quartet who practised in the park? Who were the Father, Sone & Holy Ghost? It was like a poetic rock'n'roll crossword puzzle. And apart from all that intellectiial twaddle it was a very catchy tune.
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-ly the record company and Parker's manager had hoped for. What can they do next? I ’dorft know, but I'm sure there is a lot of head scratching going on in Parker's management. The live album is a slick, almost calculated sounded album, as if it has been mixed for the masses. Which is what Parker is into - he's often said he wants to sell lots of records and get his music to lots of people. He's walking that tightrope that all serious art ists walk; the one that has artistic inte grity on the one side and commercial success on the other.
The success of the song catapulted Don McLean from the position of obscure folkie to international superstar. A bit of a mindbender for anyone (Ralph McTell, who incurred a similar simple twist of fate with 'Streets of London' had to take a year off to recover), but McLean managed to get it together to hit another consciousness spot with his homage to Vincent Van Gogh song, 'Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)' which I'm sure had all America's aware people creaming their respective jeans. I remember a news snippet soon after that song was a hit. McLean was touring Holland and a reporter asked him if he was going to visit Van Gogh's grave while he was in Clog/Tulip/ Windmill Land (cross out whichever is not to your taste). "No", said a mildly surprised Don. "Well, are you going to the Van Gogh Museum while you are in Amsterdam?" "I don't think I've got time" said Don. Shockl Horror11 Credibility shot to pieces in the art school set 1! i Funnily enough, McLean is more popular in Britain than in America. America really went overboard about 'American Pie', what with its talk of 'good old boys drinking whiskey and rye' and 'drove my c h e w y to the levee...' It was real culture reinforcing stuff. No thing the man has done since has been able to match that nationwide response. But Britain has taken McLean to its heart and he succeeds in selling put concerts there whenever he crosses the Atlantic. I saw him perform at the 1977 Cambridge Folk Festival, the No. 1 folk event of the year in the U.K., where he had the unenviable task of follow ing the doyens of Celtic Folk music. The Boys of the Lough (who bemoaned the lack of traditional British folk music in the festi val all through their set). I think he felt a bit out of his depth there, for the Cambridge crowd, although usually half pissed, knows and appreciates its folk music and a well known, 'popular' folkie like McLean always has an uphill battle against the purist elements. Sad to relate, Don blew it that day. He seemed too gushy, too Christian revivalist, too AMERICAN for the time and place. He seemed unable to relate to the audience at all and must have been disappoint ed with the gig - even though the whole crowd did sing along with 'American Pie'. McLean's recordings since A.P. have been received favourably by the critics, but have failed to make any real impression on the charts. He's still living in the shadow of ths monster he created - a sort of Doktor Frankenstein figure. Recent disputes with his record company haven't helped him either. McLean as an artist left his rock myth ology in the past. Whether the public has, is another matter. October will tell.
ROADRUNNER SEPTEMBER 1978
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