The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 292

Rock 'n U611 iii 0 II I lllillllillllik iliilllllllllll lliiiiil 1 1 -SlPlplliiiilllliPi JiPS lllllli liL i 1 1 lliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiif -V -v, i 1 ft I v. 1 'YV. i i i thug Sahm, with Doug Clifford as producer, has a new album coming out aiming at a solid rock roll feef. A Texan Tries It as a Lone Star Quintet came roaring out of Texa3 with their national hit, "She's About a Mover." Since that first journey north, Sahm has gone through enough to write the textbook on the ups and downs, victq-ries and defeats-of the rock'n' roll experience. His career in music began early.

"I started playing the steel guitar when I was about 6," Sahra said, tracing his musical history. "I wore a little cowboy suit and played for some of the bands that came to town. I had lots of offers to go to Nashville and the 'Grand Ole Opry, but my mother was pretty insistent about me staying in school." From country, Sahm's interest progressed through rock to blues. "It was a great musical trip in Texas in those days," he said. "I lived midway between a countrv music club and a blues club so I had Bobby Blue Bland on one side of me and Hank Williams on the other.

You-can't beat that." By the time he was in high Sahm had some regional record hits. But it wasn't until he formed the Quintet in 1965 that he came up with hi3 first national hit Soon he was getting praise and encouragement from such major rock figures as Bob Dylan. The Quintet was invited to tour with such bands as the Rolling Stones and Beach Boys. Things were suddenly happening fast' During the late 1960s, Sahm, attracted by what he describes as the "Haight-Ashbury, Mendocino, Avalon Ballroom trip," made his home in Northern California. "It was much freer than Texas.

No one getting 20 years for having a joint on him. Texas had been the biggest influence on my life, but I didn't care if I ever went back." But Sahm, as shown in some lyrics from his 1969 "Mendocino" album, never lost Texas identity. left my home in Texas Headed for the 'Frisco Bay Encountered lots of hard times Went through changes all the way Despite occasional hits "Dynamite however, the Quintet had only moderate commercial success. Part of the problem, Sahm feels, was poor management and lack of record tompany support. Others, however, blame the band for lack of discipline in concerts and recording sessions.

Whatever the actual reason, the band was dissolved by 1972 when Sahm went to New York to record the first Atlantic album. By that time, Sahm had also moved back to Texa3 to join a growing but highly informal music colony in Austin. "Rock 'n' roll is a beautiful life, but you have to get away from it sometime or it'll kill you. That's why I dig Austin It's like a sanctuary from the craziness of the business. There's no big recording studio or big agent trying to wrap everything up and we want to keep it that way.

We can just sit around drinking some cold Pearl beer, play a little baseball and maybe go down to one of the clubs at night and play some music. It enables me to store up energy so I can 'face the rest of the stuff that goes on the business trip and all. I don't want to be blatantly wealthy with eight Roll3 Royces. I have what I want really." Sahm was in Austin writing some new songs when Clifford contacted him. "I've loved Doug's music ever since 'She's About a but the Atlantic albums didn't do it for me," Clifford said, sitting in' the control booth waiting for Sahm's final vocal.

"Those albums just weren't rock, 'n' roll. That's what we're trying to do this time put down some real, solid rock 'n' roll. And I think we've done it The single is a great rock song, just right for summer." Across the room, Sahm, stereo headphones resting where his cowboy hat would normally be, set down his third Dr. Pepper of the night and began the final song. He would leave for Austin next day and wait for the reaction to the new album.

He'd have a little Pearl beer, play some baseball and then see if this album finally earns him that h.all of fame slot BY ROBERT HILBURN entertainment license and told us to get the hell out of there." After a second unsuccessful Atlantic album, Sahm, discouraged, returned home to Austin where Doug Clifford called from Berkeley to say he'd like to produce an album with Sahm. They tried' a single liked the result and signed with Warner Bros. Sahm, who looks like a displaced cowboy with his long hair, western hat and clothes, is one of rock's true originals, an eccentric whose name conjures up stories you hear the one about, Doug in the minds of dozens of musicians who have played with him and fans who have followed his colorful career. Like many of the early figures of rock, Sahm, who is now 32, has always had the confidence to follow his own musical instincts, rather than bend them to meet the trends of the moment. Though the name Sir Douglas Quintet was an obvious attempt to cash' in on the English rock invasion in the mid-1960s, the music always stayed close to the-, country and blues roots of Sahm's native Texas.

In fact, Sahm has been such a consistently joyful source of raw, emotional (as opposed to sophisticated) rock that I'd be tempted to nominate him after the obvious choices of Presley, Lennon-McCartney, Chuck Berry, are duly installed to an eventual Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. But Tm afraid Sahm, despite some occasional brilliance, is going to have to come up with some more consistent, fully designed works if he is going to get enough support from the general rock audience. He has been working at it for a long time now. It has been nearly 10 years since Sahm and the BERKELEY Doug Sahm, who as the leader of the defunct Sir Douglas Quintet turned out some of the most infectious country and blues-flavored rock 'n' roll to ever come out of Texas, sat quietly in the stillness of a recording studio waiting to Start his next vocal. It was the end of a long day that included a flight to and from Lbs Angeles where Sahm had signed a new Warner Bros, recording contract, previewed his new single for the label's promotion staff and posed for some publicity pictures.

Now, back in Berkeley, he had only two more vocals to do for the album he was recording with Doug Clifford the drummer from Creedence Clearwater Revival before he could return home to Austin, his sanctuary from the hectic world of rock 'n' roll. But Sahm wasn't rushing. He was going to spend long as it took to get the vocal right. This, he knew, was to be an important album for him, perhaps the one to fully establish him the way many thought the one he did in 1972 with Bob Dylan in New York might have. Though that much-publicized album featuring 'such respected pop music figures as Dr.

John.David Bromberg and David (Fathead) Newman had some engaging moments (particularly in its treatment of country tunes), it was uneven and many critics panned it severely. "I think a lot of the" critics got down on the album because they were expecting something different," Sahm said in his usual rapid-fire delivery. "Whenever Bob opens his mouth, the critics expect another 'Blonde on Blonde' to come out orthey're disappointed. "All we wanted to do in the album was sing some songs together. It wasn't supposed to be a heavy trip or anything.

I really dig the way he sings country songs. We were just grooving on those tunes and I'm glad we did it. "We had a great time doing the album. I remember one day after the session Dylan and I went to. iifi mm mi 1 0 "saMixi" ii: till? jikuc, luiruvvvu uuu iicai siuuivi juav Stopped in for a beer.

When this little old lady saw our' guitar cases, she came over and asked ii we knew any Texas songs. "So I started singing 'San Antonio Rose' and Bob sang the harmony. But the owner of the club got real uptight He didn't know who we were or anything and he started yelling that he didn't have an Th Sit Doughs Quintet, from hftAugio Meyer, Doug Sahm, John Perez, Jimmy Stalling and Frank Morim.