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This is a simpleminded rockâ€" andâ€"roll history in which the pleasures are many and the trouâ€" bles are few. Jerry Lee Lewis, played by Dennis Quaid as a grinning simpleton with a crazy streak and a manic piano style, climbs the same career ladder as many of the stars of musical biographies, but he does it with lightning speed. As a kid, he eavesdrops on black thythm and blues. Then we flash forward to Lewis pounding on the piano in the same style. Cut to a demo record that attracts the attention of Sam Phillips, the legendary head of Sun Records in "Great Balls of Fire" gives us a Jerry Lee Lewis who has been sanitized, popularized and loboâ€" tomized. Even then, the story ends in 1959 â€" before most of the events for which "the Killer" became notorious. Movie Jerry Lee Lewis has, by all accounts, led a dark and driven life, shadowed by drugs, booze, violence, scandal and the tragic ends of two of his several wives and one of his children. An aceuâ€" rate biopic about his life would belong on the same bill with "I‘ll Cry Tomorrow" or "The Rose." But that picture wouldn‘t be much fun â€" as indeed great, long stretches of the life itself must not have been much fun â€" and so Entertaanmen Goaness gracious! Jerry Lee‘s legend great balls of fluff PAGE 14 â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY JULY 19, 1989 another addition to the leather and mousse fraternity, but Caterwaul actually owes more to the propulsive rock beat of early Pretenders. Singer Betsy Martin is a ringer for Chrissie Hynde and the songs have the mix Love arfd Rockets \I;ove &mflo&ets erti ram After a couple of albums that tended to drift into psychedelic no man‘s land, Love and Rockets has returnâ€"to earth with a fascinating album that‘s as menacing and rock solid as anything Bauhaus ever did (principals Daniel Ash, David J. and Kevin Haskins are former members of the cryptic British band). Their fourth album eschews the Gothic pretensions and cloudâ€"gazing tmphere for an agressive, distorâ€" tionâ€"laden guitar that leans toward ‘60s psyâ€" chedelia without being slavish to it. Of all the attempts mmptmtt:;bunoflbempomera,thisisone of the few warrants play. Pin And Web Fsterwas ul This fine debut may unfortunately get lumped in Love and Rockets reminiscent of ‘60s Memphis. Cut to the record hitâ€" ting the Top 40 charts. Cut to Lewis listening to a black band play "Whole Lotta Shakin‘ Goin‘ On." Cut to his version of the record being cheered by a rowdy bar crowd. Cut to stardom. In between, there are some meetings with Lewis‘ evangelist cousin, Jimmy Swaggart (Alec Baldwin), who warns him he must choose between heaven and hell. "Well, if I‘m goin‘ to hell," Lewis says, "I‘m gonna go playing the piano." There must have been more to it that that, but not in this movie. In fact, that flash forward beâ€" tween the kid and the Killer jumps over a lot of ground, includâ€" ing Lewis‘ first two marriages. We rejoin his life just as he has moved in with his cousin, J.W. Brown, who joins his band as the bass player. And it‘s in Brown‘s house that Lewis meets young Myra Gale Brown (Winona Rydâ€" er). who became his bride at the age of 13 (it is said she still believed in Santa Claus on her wedding night). _ The makers of "Great Balls of Fire" say they had to choose between the legend and the facts in making Lewis‘ life, and they chose the legend. That means most of the events in the movie will come as no surprise to stuâ€" dents of rock and roll â€" especially not the scandal when the British press exposed the real age of Lewis‘ child bride. Those seeking insights into that marriage will be disappointed by this movie, MiPY e un ohninfi es c rtctsintiiinnta is lcfrrt enc ic ns ind BrahchcA A 28 isn‘t interested in just piling on the riffs. He coaxes some interesting shadings from his instrument, giving the songs an extra touch of personality that make this such an impressive record. Kim Mitchell Alert/Capitol With Rockland, Canadian guitar hero Mitchell again P emen bepmmntapecining Ainnranan naa i iance as he perpetuates his kickâ€"outâ€"theâ€"j rollbeachparty.Rockland,histhirralsBalbum, entrenches his status as Canada‘s foremost rocker. It should also score south of the border, where success has been all too elusive for many Canadian artists. of melody and muscle that once made the Pretenders a force in the business. Guitarist Mark Schafer, however, egocentric, shallow, irresponsiâ€" ble, selfish and cold â€" and even his stage performances contain more anger than music. I‘ve never seen a movie about anyâ€" body that probes so tentatively and apologetically into the subâ€" ject‘s life, and still uncovers so many worms. If this is the legend, the facts must be inutterably depressing. Lewis has created the kind of legend that defiant drunks can clutch at like a straw â€" if he‘s still alive, I‘m not so bad. There is also the music. There thinks of her. f W Schoolâ€"Confidenti®t." But I came out of "Great Balls Quaid does a good job of reproducâ€" Fire," indeed, with no idea of ing the Lewis persona, and the what Lewis thought of anything â€" sound track piano and vocals are, or anybody. As played by Quaid as the end credits assure us, by (perhaps accurately), the Killer ‘"The Killer Himself." The direcâ€" however, which plays everything: are three great hits in the movie so obliquely that we have little â€""whole Lotta Shakin‘," "Great idea of what the girl thinks of Ballsof Fire" and "Breathless" â€" Lewis, and no idea of what he . and the rest is filler material like mfl%’ m’ plays Jerry Lee Lewis in Great Balls of Fire and Wi §1 . â€"â€"7â€""“ Ross MacDonald Disc (A matched scene, in which the same people shun him after his return from England, seems forced and false.) This movie is the second collaâ€" boration between McBride and Quaid, who made the great "The Big Easy" together in 1987. It‘s easy to see from that film why it was thought that they could do tor, Jim McBride, has some fun with a scene where the jubilant Lewis drives around Memphis in his new Olds 88 convertible and the whole town seems to be dancing to his record on the radio. Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe AndeBMGrson, Bruford,. Wakeman, Howe For all intents and purposes, this is the latest incarnation of Yes, the early ‘70s progressive rockers who are now committed, it seems, to establishing a regressiveâ€"rock genre. : As the only original members, Jon Anderson and Bill Bruford remain the band‘s only distinguishing feaâ€" tures. Rick Wakeman and Steve Howeare both technically accomplished, but it‘s Anderson‘s still angolicvoieeandgmfwd'linmtiw;awnionthn make this interesting. For fans of Yes‘ best work, however, it won‘t be enough. Mitche!!s commercial appeal knows no bounds because, as Rockland proves, he remains a true orginal. Whilethesongsreflecthilnwareneuofthewidcning age gap between himself and his audience, his guitar prowess, acerbic wit and youthful exuberance will keep this arrested adolescent near to the hearts of the teenage hordes who worship his bravura. And with rock and roll becoming more and more a middleâ€"age vgegtion, Mitchell :l:l;fld have lots of good years ahead Mitchell‘s film critic. hangover. Bull," and played by Robert De Niro in a foul mood with a killer An accurate movie could perâ€" hapshas been made about the real Jerry Lee Lewis, but it should have been directed by the McBride has a natural feel for the South, and Quaid has the ability to play a charming, libidinous con man. But the script shies away from the dark side of Jerry Lée Lewis â€" from the long nights of a man who has been surrounded by violence and misery, and whose lifestyle has brought him near death more than once. It‘s a life that just doesn‘t fit into the cliches of a PGâ€"13, rockâ€"andâ€"roll biopic for summer release. * % # 1f