"August, 1975

ENTERTAINMENT

The New York Gay Scene:

By JOHN NOSEK

In the past theree years, New York City's gay-deco hideaways have launched such diverse and audience grabbing acts as Bette Midler, Melissa Manchester, Ellen Greene, and Manhattan Transfer. Spanning the gay clubs of Reno Sweeny, Trudi Hellers, Brothers and Sisters, and the immortal Continental Baths, these acts have since risen to national prominence. Until recently, the only successful performers from the boîte circle were women, with Midler, of course, being the legendary example. But now talented male singers are emerging, boasting initial largely gay support. Peter Allen, Barry Manilow, and Lewis Furey are currently fanning the flames of the contemporary music scene and are about due for national acclaim.

A native Australian who was once married to Liza Minnelli, Peter Allen already has two interesting albums on Metromedia to his credit. Accompanying himself on piano and employing the materials of camp culture in performance that Mailow and Furey also indulge in, Allen affects a wry style with insinuatingly curt lyrical phrasing. On stage, Rolling Stone describes Allen as a "Timothy Leary playing Joel Grey in Cabaret. Allen delivers a polished, if sinister, show whose air of jaded licentiousness fascinates as it menaces." To date, Allen's most effective album is Continental American, a collection of varied songs that includes the old nightclub standard, "Just A Gigolo," his own composition, "I Honestly Love You," which produced a gigantic hit for Olivia Newton-John, and "Pretty, Pretty," a nasty but brilliant tale of a narcisstic ribbon clerk who lives only for the weekends and has a suicidal streak. Continuously jabbing the listener with sexual ambiguity and leering disguise, Continental American comes off as a tight, soft, and melodic work. No hard rock to be found here, yet it is truly one of the most daring and intriguing contributions of the last year. No doubt, in the future, Allen will prove himself a musical force to be reckoned with.

Barry Manilow is by now known to most of the easy listening American audience. Scoring with chart successes like "Mandy," a song some claim was written for a male lover, and "It's A Miracle," the former sidekick of Midier is insisting to be heard on his own. Unfortunatley, Manilow doesn't yet offer us any new innovations in rhythmic chord arrangements or poetic lyrical settings. His latest album, Barry Manilow II is a slick commercial album and falls in the MOR niche of crooners like John Davidson and Jack Jones. Stagey selfpity permeates the work and a sole, uneventful gesture to campiness appears during Manilow's version

HIGH GEAR

of "Avenue C," an old Count Basie instrumental set to lyrics. Barry Manilow II displays a rising star's still unfulfilled potential. Let's hope the next outing is a bit more adventurous and lives up to the promise he has teased us with already.

Lewis Furey on A and M records pops up this month as living proof that the deco-decadence of Bowie, Lou Reed, and Brian Ferry is still well and thriving in the dark, secluded spots of New York's gay underground. This album is my personal pick to click for August and quite a bold debut for a young street poet from The City. Replete with piano, banjo, mandolin, marimbas, and full orchestration, Lewis Furey dances lyrically through lust and the victories and defeats of romance with a cool, metaphysical detachment that is at once foreboding as it is appealing. "Hustler's Tango" and "The Waltz" are just that, a souped up tango and a waltz with sleezy studio depth that would make even Bowie proud. Other cuts like "Louise", "Last Night," and "Closing The Door" display the prominent solo piano work of Furey and the general musical softness of the LP, Furey doesn't pull any punches. Nearly all the songs presented here are for and about gay people. Even the occasional references to "her" and "she" are blatant allusions to men with an intermingling one-line male insertion to assure that the listener gets the message. LEWIS FUREY is a simple-complex, upretentious, and very creative venture. If the non-gay world gets an ear of Furey's talents, he's certain to become a bonafide star. Actually though, I'd rather keep him for our people:

My Brother, my lover, Do you want to make a deal Do you wanna dance C,mon decide... enter This is my magic circle...

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