POP MUSIC REVIEW : Glasnost Rock Signs In at Roxy

Let’s face it: having a group selected by the Soviet government as the official laureate rock ‘n’ roll band of Russia is something like having a band chosen by Disneyland to represent American pop. And the truth is the local debut of Avtograf at the Roxy on Monday offered about as much insight into life in Moscow as the Top 40 music played in the Tomorrowland pavilion does into life in the future. Underground tapes brought out from the Soviet Union indicate that there is exciting rock behind the Iron Curtain, but this isn’t it.

During her opening set, American singer Meri D. hit the nail on the head when she referred to Avtograf as a band “that just happens to be from Russia.” All the Soviet quintet had to offer was rehashes of Western progressive and sub-metal rock, nearly all sung in English. And while this fascination with Western music may offer some hints into the Soviet youth mind-set (as perhaps do such song topics as blue jeans, headaches and world peace), the show was long on imitation and short on imagination.

Typical was one song that sounded like a Rush rocker with a guitar solo taken almost note for note from Deep Purple’s “Highway Star.” Later came the anthemic “The World Inside” (a duet between Avtograf singer Artur Mikheev--who came off as a shrill cross between Rush’s Geddy Lee and Journey’s Steve Perry--and Meri D.), which even keys on the line “we are the world.” And to hammer home the imitative nature of the act, there was an encore of the Beatles’ “Back in the U.S.S.R.”--the song Billy Joel used to close his shows in the Soviet Union last year. At least Avtograf could have been clever enough to turn the tables and cover Chuck Berry’s “Back in the U.S.A” instead--though it did follow the Beatles’ tune with Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.”

Still, the many Russians among the 350 or so on hand were quite appreciative of their countrymen, though there was a high attrition factor among the record industry folk who made up the bulk of the crowd’s remainder. And for those keeping score: Yes, there were some technical difficulties, notably at the beginning when Mikheev’s microphone failed to work. But no, he didn’t throw a tantrum like Joel did in Russia.