In direct application came a dozen more LRH drills -- all wholly original. For instance, having previously noted that music alone might soothe, lull or excite to any of the fifty-nine emotions delineated by the Scientology emotional Tone Scale, he called upon his musicians to literally practice eliciting that full range of emotion with only instrumentation. Similarly, he instructed musicians to compose melodies, that regardless of beat or instrumentation, would elicit such emotions as apathy, enthusiasm or serenity. Finally, and in keeping with his emphasis on music as an actual means of communication, he encouraged performers to practice eliciting whole scenarios with only musical riffs -- as in the drummer who found himself developing riffs to convey such scenarios as a drunken disco dancer or a haughty cat. “Which at first seemed nearly impossible,” he explained, “but little by little I was able to make those drums describe exactly that haughty cat or drunk dancer.”
The implicit point, as Ron explained: “Music isn’t mechanics. It’s sound and emotional message, and you can do anything you want to with it to make it communicate the intended message.” Additionally borne out in these first few weeks was the genuinely impressive scope of Ron’s own expertise. Meeting with musicians at, say, nine-thirty in the evening, he might offer the melodic basis of a new composition, often little more than a whistled tune. Then working out lyrics, drum fills and bass, he would lead his troupe through a rough take or two. And what with rehearsal and polish, the song was then ready for a routinely well-received performance -- all within twenty-four hours. On yet another occasion, and this time working through a single night, Ron actually developed an entirely new repertoire comprising a full two-hour performance. Nor was he limited to any one style, but could just as quickly compose in country western, Oriental and Middle Eastern. He was also to serve as musical director, instructor, composer and arranger . . . until, in fact, there was finally no aspect of the Apollo sound that did not bear his imprint.
Concurrently, and wholly independently, the early weeks of 1974 saw the start of what Ron described as his analysis of modern musical trends. Again, his tools were derived from basic Scientology principles relating to logic and the evaluation of data. In a simple description of the process, he told of digesting recordings of popular groups -- everything from acid rock to rockabilly -- with an eye to “get something like a reach forward beyond the current.” In fact, it proved an exhaustive task that would ultimately involve an analysis of several thousand recordings from what amounted to a global catalog of music -- everything from high classical to country western, to the Hispanic and Middle Eastern strains that dictated tastes in local ports of call. His conclusion - particularly interesting, given the increasingly complex orchestration of the mid-1970s -- proved absolutely correct. To put it bluntly, he wrote, “I analyzed it this way: that music is going more and more primitive.”
He then proceeded with an explanation that, in light of later punk and rap trends, is altogether inarguable:
TUDYING THE MORE POPULAR GROUPS, LISTENING TO THEIR "SINGING," LISTENING TO THEIR ARRANGEMENTS, INSTRUMENTATION AND DRUM SHIFTS OF EMPHASIS TO STICKS AND BY OTHER SIGNS, IT BECAME FAIRLY VISIBLE, AT LEAST TO ME, THAT THE SOPHISTICATED WORLD WAS ROLLING BACK INTO THE PAST AND REACHING FOR ITS TRIBAL ROOTS.
The result he dubbed Star Sound, and described it exactly in terms of that primitive theme reaching from “the future back to the cave,” and thus rekindling what amounted to a tribal spirit of togetherness. “The world areas from which Star Sound is taken,” he noted, “are (a) African, (b) West Indian, (c) South American, (d) Central American, (e) North American natives, (f) Mexican, (g) any cave or jungle period.” While particularly in light of local Iberian tastes: “To Star Sound has been added as well the folk or basic themes of Spain, Portugal and Europe, developing it so that it rekindles the tribal or community life.” In that regard, Star Sound was not so much a musical form as a style of performance -- gregarious, heavily syncopated with strong reliance on percussion. Those who would now see parallels to the popularization of the African sound through the likes of Paul Simon are correct. But it must be remembered that Star Sound was heard a full fifteen years before the general acceptance of such world music stars as Spain’s Gypsy Kings or South Africa’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
