THE seductive pose the
legendary Al Di Meola
struck with a nude
lovely on the sleeve of
the superb Kiss My Axe
album was probably
essential marketing, as
the appeal of the hot
guitar player has never
been so low.

Di Meola-like players are
rare, but it’s good to see
Carlos Santana basking in
considerable, albeit dubious,
glory. Santana is truly 2 great
virtuoso.

Amidst the cacophony of
the first Woodstock, which
was replete, much like its
revival, with the musically
inept, Carlos Santana shone.
Here was this guy oblivious
to all else burt che Gibson,
rendering a studio-perfect live
performance, clearly about to
take the blues scales where
only Eddie Van Halen, Eric
Clapton and the late great
Stevie Ray Vaughan would
tread, and sorry, no odes for
Jimmy Hendrix. A fine tune-

Drivers
by bridge speed

Dear Editor:
Mr. (David) Eger’s (Feb.
23 North Shore News)

‘Tpesthy

. 1089 Marine Orive @ 320-4692

“* Music Books, CDs, instrumenas, Accessories
Rent To Own a Guitar
from only $12 per month!

comment

smith and rhythm man, his
picking, I'm afraid, was slop-
py.

Music might be a matter
of taste, but there is no rela-
tivism about technical merit.
A career as a classical recitalist
would be stumped were the
musician's fingers not suffi-
ciently nimble to render
Bach's preludes and fugues.

Or as Glenn Gould pur it:
“Why do T play Bach so fase?
Because I can.”

And boy, could he.

But this demand for “love
of structure, clarity, complexi-
Gy, nuance and imagination,”
in the words of Time maga-
zine art critic Robert
Hughes, is rare in the pop

shou

response to Mr. (Neil)
Neufeld’s (Feb. 13 News)
fetter about excessive speed
on the Lions Gate Bridge
reinforces my view that dri-
vers — that is to say — she
“majority” of drivers, don't
give a hoot for posted limits
and to a large extent, any of
the other rules that attempt
to provide a safe environment
on our roads.

“Let the majority rule,” he
stems to say.

That means thar the user
(the driver} makes his own
rules, in the mistaken belief
that he knows better than
anybody else what the safe
speed is (in this case).

“Hectic lives,” an expres-
sion that Mr. Eger has used, is

aparoved "°

and rock genres right now,

and has been for some time.
ler's refrain, however, from
serenading the 1960s and
1970s.

While well-crafted
melodies were abundant diut-
ing those vears, there were
nor many worthy axemen —
Santana, Van Halen, and
Clapton excepted.

Incidentaily, the only true
headbanger of brilliance that
won an indirect and postha-
mous Grammy was [gor
Stravinsky for those moun-
tains of sound: The Rite of
Spring and the Firebird bai-
lets.

Santana's Supernatural
album is a collaborative hor-
ror. ft doesn't hold a candle
to Marathon, Abraxas or that
first Santana vinyl gem show-
casing the 16-year-old Mike
Shreve pounding the skins.

Staging a comeback has
meant losing the percussion-
driven Latin distinctiveness.
What remain are the haunt-
ing Santana riffs imposed
upon crass, jarring pop tunes
that jibe with the likes of Rob

id abide

imit
appropriate — our lives have
become a mad rush to get
from somewhere to some-
where else and the hell with
the other guy.

Unfortunately some of us
don’t get to the “somewhere
else” because of the idiocy on
the road.

The lunatics are taking
over the running of the asy-
tum.

As far as the
causeway/bridge is con-
cerned, there just is no room
for error, considering the sur-
face, the narrow width and
the construction activity and
the wet.

SLOW DOWN.

Phil Barrett
West Vancouver

21 at. Safety check, 15 minutes - FAST!

includes up to 5 litres of 1O0w30 Quakerstate

i
i
Oll, Lube & Fitter i
i

[ 1362 Marine Drive 980-9115
pons 8:COarm-5:00prn, Sun. S:COarn-5:00pm Expires Mar. 8/2000

A closet organizer
for a woman's
full wardrobe!

The Premier is is designed with all your
needs in mind, whether it's a long
dress, bulky new sweater,
or your shoe collection.

Ask about ¢ cur custom designs!

1385 Crown St. North Vancouver
WOODLINES CUSTOM BUILT FURNITURE FOR HOME OR OFFICE
Mon-Fri Sem-Spm » Sathiday 70a Pn, vet

Thomas, Everlast or Lauryn
Hill. This is the Zeitgeist’s
recipe tor success.

For the reader, [ have
endured Workers
Compensation Board-worthy
mental anguish by iistening
to the artless malutudes.

Be it Limp Bizkit,
Smashing Pumpkins, or Peart
Jam, the miusical seatfalding
is that of three chords shod-
dily executed, and, in most
cases, accompanied by two-
note vocal melodies.

Audaciously, Sarah
MeLachlan recently claimed
her sound had its roots in the
musi¢ of Cat Stevens. In the
genre of pap music, Cat
Stevens was gifted.

His songs embody com-
plex arrangements entirely
absent from McLachlan’s
warbles which have no such
melodic progression. On she
drones and six CDs later she
and her Lilith bosom buddies
are still belting the equivalent
of Three Blind Mice: monot-
onous phrases characterized
by little harmonic resolution,
and punciuated with a spasm

Friday, March 3, 2000 — North Shore News - 7

lodern music faces virtuoso vacuum

of vodelling.

Listen to the Canadian
band Rush and vou hear
great harmonic complexity,
including interesting chord
changes, walking bass-lines,
and the kind of changes in
ume signature that require
high-level musicianship and
years of practice. Such sonic
variety is missing frond
McLachlan’s around-the-
camp-fire singalongs, the
notes of which are invariably
sustained with a distortion
pedal, and blended into a
poorly articulated mess
against the backdrop of a
drumbeat devoid of filis.

Holding court with
Auntie Pamela Wallin, Wide
Mouth Mason's percussionist
recently demonstrated he can
barely manage an eighth note
rhythm and that with
absolute zero variation. For
his part, the guitarist
responded with simple strum-
ming, also shunning rhythmic
variation. With the aid of
deep breathing, I got down
with The Tragically Hip and
the song “What's to become

of us”. Their audile output?
The minimalist three chords,
and a simple drum roll t
punctuate the otherwise rou-
tine drumming: rhythmically
and melodically the sum total
is Bah Bah Black Sheep.

The true finger blistering,
alinighty Fender-benders
remain in the musical closet.
These are the neo-classical
instrumentalists, and in par-
ticular Tony MacAlpine,
Ynwie Malmsteen, Eric
Johnson, Vinnie Moore,
Steve Morse.

Recordings of their furi-
uus licks will be missing from
the stores and the airwaves,
so long as consumers are will-
ing to pay for stuff that
sounds as if it was produced
after three lessons with a bad
tutor. Meantime, Pm putting
in a requests for the retura of
the Queensryche lads (was
there ever a metal ballad
Jovelier than Sileat Lucidity?)
and the outstanding Dann’
Huff who played me to pulp
with “I’m a Believer” on the
memorable album Giant.

—gnome@attcanada net

ridge dangers abound

of vision are unimpeded and the vehicle driven

Dear Editor:

In response to “Critic should get up to
speed” (Feb, 23 News) your correspondent
David Eger should know that the posted max-
imum speed is just that — the maximum, not

recommended, speed.

‘This speed may be achieved under optimum
driving conditions: when volume of traffic is
light, visibility is excellent, weather/road sur-
face are dry and predictable, road engincering
is uncompromised, driver attention and range

is safely maintained.
And even then, the unexpected can occur.
As for keeping up with traffic flow, this

encourages a “bridge that gap”

mentality

resulting in constant braking/acceleration, it

ty margin.

&: Rdmang Inc:

Mary Brooks
North Vancouver

J-@-H-N
CHIBRLES
Pt

leaves less opportunity for cross-flow traffic to
be integrated, and, ultimately, reduces any safe-

CANADELE

BUY THIS Kroehler FABRIC SOFA FOR

$1399

AND GET THE MATCHING CHAIR OR LOVESEAT

FREE!

CHOICE OF OVER 100 FABRICS
SALE EXTENDED BY DEMAND»