Play Meter

Issue: 1981 March 01 - Vol 7 Num 4

Who 's Making Lo ve - Blues
Brothers - Atlantic/ 3785
From the brand-new Brothers'
album Made In America is this re-
made , updated version of the mid -
Sixties soul smash _ It's always been
one of my favorites, and this live
recording from the Belushi , Ackroyd
and company US tour will certainly
be a show-stopper wherever it's
played. Of course , it's danceable and
you can't help but love the lyrics. I'm
glad someone's giving the old "soul
men" some recognition : 10 out of 10.
Without You - Melissa Manchester
- Arista/ AS0579
And while we're on the re-makes ,
here's a standard that could be a hit
for anyone who releases it , at any
time . H arry Nillson gave this
Thomas Evans and the late Peter
Ham (of Badfinger) composition the
male rendition, and now just about a
decade later , the female inter -
pretation comes courtesy of Ms.
Manchester. The lyrics were meants
to be sung in a powerful way , and
that 's just what she's done . And this
in turn "fires up" the orchestration .
The best of both worlds meet on this
all-time classic; 8 out of 10 or better .
t
Seven Bridges Road - Eagles-
Asylum/ 47100
O n the lp version they state at the
beginning that they were taught the
song by a Stephen Young from San
Diego. The acapella start makes you
think back to old Poco or old Eagles,
for that matter. The song moves into
an up-tempo acoustic sound that
highlights the crisp harmonies of the
group . It tells a story and that's
where the country influence comes
in . Then it ends as it started-
acapella. O ut of the ordinary music
from a "live" lp which featu res
recordings from as long ago as 1976
and as recent as July , 1980. A good
set and a very easy-to-listen-to
single: 9 out of 10 on highest chart.
You - Earth Wind And Fire-
Columbia/ 11 -11407
What can one say about Maurice
White which hasn't already been said
already? He's one of the greats. He
knows how to put words and music
together to make songs. Not since
"After The Love Has Gone" hs
EW&F been so mellow. This love
song makes the wait worth it. It's
fabulously beautiful ; 10 out of 10 on
highest chart.

Centuri pacts to fly Phoenix
HIALEAH, Fla.-Centuri , Inc . has
entered into a licensing agreement
with Amstar Electronics Corp. to
manufacture Phoenix, a space war
video game.
The joint announcement was
made by Centuri President Edward
Miller and Amstar Executive Vice
President Hank Vandendop. Under
the terms of the agreement , Centuri
has the exclusive rights to Phoenix in
both upright and "maxi" models for
the United States, Canada , and
Central and South Amer ica .
Cocktail table distribution rights
have been assigned to the Bally
Group by Amstar.
"Phoenix, recently introduced in
the Japanese and European
markets , is proving to be an ex-
tremely popular game with excellent
income reports in both the upright
and cocktail versions ," according to
Miller . " We anticipate a similar
response from both the North and
South American markets."
Phoenix is a highly progressive
space war game in which the player
controls his missile on a mission
through the universe, said the
manufacturers. The player embarks
on his mission with orchestrated
music setting the tone of the game .
The planets and galaxies constantly
roll before the player as realistic
space graphics maintain a continual
vertical motion on the sc ree n.
During the space journey, the player
is attacked by enemy Phoenix war
birds . The player must defen d
himself by hitting the Phoenix birds,
scoring and clearing a path for
continuous journey through space.
Five action -filled frames of on -
slaught and maneuvering bring on
enemy war birds during each round
of play, and the game's pace gets
faster with each rou nd . The fi nal
frame introduces the giant e nemy
s paceship carrier , hol d ing an d
protecting the enemy alien that is out
to destroy the player missile. He is
escorted by a convoy of enemy war
birds, and the final challenge per
round is to break through the huge
spaceship and eliminate the alien
creature .
A barrier shield button a nd
brilliant Phoenix bird sounds and
graphics are just a few of the features
of Phoenix which enhance player
appeal.
"We are pleased to be working
with Amstar in the licensing of
Phoenix for North a nd So uth
America ," Miller sai d . Centu r i
distributors were to receive their
samples of Phoenix uprights in
January , with volume deliveries of
both the upright and maxi models set
for later in the month .•
Ed Mille r, president of Cen turi, Inc. (left) and Amstar Ex ecutive Vice President
Hank Va ndendop in Hialeah signal their agreement o ver marketing rights to
Ams ta r's Phoe nix space war video.
Applause greets 1st
Pyrek saw silk screen
technical development
Walter L. Pyrek, vice president and
general manager of Advertising
Posters, Inc ., Chicago, retired on
December 31, 1980, after 45 years'
service with the company , a
specialty silk screen design and
printing firm. Pyrek joined the com-
pany in February of 1935 as a helper ,
sanding boards.
He attained steady advancement
as he ran coating machines, worked
as a printer, hand sprayer, and paint
man in charge of color matching. His
first management-level position in
the company was foreman in the
sample department.
In 1944, after having worked in
every production capacity in the
firm, Pyrek was made general
manager and also given respon-
sibility for sales. He was a ppointed
vice president in 1961.
During his years with Ad Posters,
Pyrek has seen the silk screen
printing process develop from hand
work to automation. Among the
more exciting developments during
his career were the introd uction of
ultraviolet ink in 1975 and the
running of the first four-color silk
screen process on glass in 1977. At
first, the four-color work was done in
ethyl cellulose colors; now it is done
in ultraviolet, which offers truer,
brighter color reproduction. Early
artwork was reproduced from hand-
cut stencils, Pyrek remembered;
now most is done photographically.
The native Chicagoan has been
married for 45 years, has one son,
and presently resides in Elmwood
Park. Proud of his Polish heritage, he
says he's glad his father "didn't miss
the boat!"
His retirement plans included
travel with his wife and pursuit of his
hobbies of bowling, gardening, and
golf.
The final round of the first Pacific
Northwest Regional Pinball Champ-
ionships recently climaxed six weeks
of intensive pin competition. The
stage was the Red Lion Motor Inn,
Spokane, Washington where on
November 30, more than 200
contestants, spectators, operators,
and distributors gathered in the
plush setting of the Ponderosa
Ballroom.
The all -clay event was the
culmination of six weeks during
which fifty locations over eastern
Washington, western Idaho, and
parts of Montana and Oregon
hosted more than 250 players who
paid a nominal $2 entry fee to try at
being a "shooting star."
At the location level, first and
second place contestants, besides
winning trophies and official
championships T -shirts, became
eligible to compete in the finals at the
Red Lion Inn. At the finals, all
contestants started on equal ground
and played-off in eight hours of silver
ball action o determine who would
take the honors and the cash. First
prize was $1,000 . Second and third
place winners took $500 and $100
respectively. In addition, many
prizes and trophies, donated by
operators and distributors, were
awarded in special events and
consolation contests.
The entire event was the brain
child of the sponsors, members of
the Coin Machine Industries of
Washington in the Spokane-Couer
d 'Alene area, who termed the
contest "a total success from several
standpoints."
Tournament director and promo-
ter Steve Livingston of Bumpers
Amusements/Spokane had this to
say: "The overall success of this
year's championships stemmed from
an unprecedented level of co-
operation between distributors ,
operators, and their individual
locations. Music-Vend Distributing
Co. and Northwest Sales were both
instrumental and essential in making
the contest run smoothly," providing
many of the machines and special
attractions to appeal to contestants
and the public, he said.
He reported that Jerry Estes,
representing Northwest Sales, with-
held sales in the Spokane area of
Bally's Xenon for more than a month
so that all finalists would be
competing on a machine that no one
had the advantage of practicing on
prior to the tournament itself. "This
was extremely beneficial in insuring
that the results would be equitable.
Circle International, Los Angeles, recently held its new produc t showing for coin
people. Mixing , mingling, refreshing oneself- and playing the new equipment ....

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