Don't Forget The Soul In the latest crop of Jewish CDs, traditional melodies fare better than contemporary. SUSAN BERNSTEIN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS T Three canny Chassids in search of the last righteous men...a comedy! With SOL FRIEDER • ROBERT GROSSMAN DANIEL KAHN PERFORMANCES September 10 - October 1 Aaron De Roy Theatre Jewish Community Center • 6600 W. Maple Road • West Bloomfield TICKETS (810) 788 2900 or - 77c# CaZas- - ,,, (810) 645 6666 - Special Senior, Student and Group Discounts Available • Infrared Hearing Devices Available VOTED DETROIT'S #1 OFF Any Large Pizza Large Antipasto Or Greek Salad. PIZZERIA FINE FOOD Not good with any other discount • With this coupon PIZZA ASK ABOUT I OUR DAILY LUNCH I SPECIALS COME DISCOVER BUDDY'S NEW EXPANDED MENU TODAY • Oven Baked Pastas •• Specialty Pizzas • New Sandwiches & Pizza Toppings .111W 10 Locations To Serve You, Including ... Carry Out Only FARMINGTON HILLS WATERFORD BIRMINGHAM ROYAL OAK 855.4604 7 683.3636 I I Because Of Your United Way Contribution., Home Is Still Sweet Home For More Elderly. 645.0300 549.8000 j United Way he liner notes on Rebbe- tographs, her body covered in chic Soul's latest compact disc, hats and faded denim. Fringe Of Blue, recall the Her bio reads like an episode Sh'ma, one of the basic ar- of "Geraldo": She went from as- ticles of Jewish faith: "Have them similated Reform Jew to born- make tassels on the corners of again Christian student at Oral their garments for all genera- Roberts University. Then she dis- tions. They shall include a fringe covered Judaism, to her utter of blue ... These shall be your tas- surprise, and became Orthodox. sels, and when you see them, you After many years singing with shall remember ..." small rock bands, she's trying to This text inspired Bruce Burg- adapt her career to her new, ul- er, who creates most of Rebbe- tra-pious lifestyle. Soul's sound, but it might hold Sitting With An Angel is slick- a deeper message for modern ly produced and packaged as artists — when you see Jewish crossover pop, the kind of in- music, you shall remember the nocuous spiritually-themed mu- soul. Four new Jewish CDs, hit- sic that made Christian musician ting the market just in time for Amy Grant a superstar. What the high holidays, balance Jew- Ms. Grant does so successfully — ishness and artistry with vary- match her strong vocals with ing degrees of success. Those bouncy love songs — escapes which remain faithful to Jewish Mrs. Mase. In her effort to uni- musical traditions pack the most versalize her spiritual message, punch. she removes the Jewish feeling. Mr. Burger, a jazz guitarist But the tracks don't stand up as who plugged into Jewish music love songs or message tunes. after studying with a Chabad- Her soft soprano vocals, which Lubavitch rabbi in California, will sound familiar to Joni presents his version of the Jew- Mitchell fans, are pleasant ish Top 40 on Global-Pacific enough. But her songwriting is Records' Fringe Of Blue — "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav," "Hinei Ma Tov," "Hatikvah" and "Turn Balalaika" among them. Although we've heard these times a thousand times before, Rebbe- Soul (what would John, Paul, George and Ringo think?) injects a fresh, passionate sound. The music has a sinuous quality, slithering its way through the all- too-familiar framework of the melodies. To add a folksy, global feeling, self-conscious and repetitive. Mr. Burger plays a slew of inter- Every track has the same theme national instruments on the al- — I was lost and confused until bum: balalaika, mandolin, oil can, I found You, with a capital "Y." and something called a berimbau, This spiritual message will ap- in addition to guitar, percussion peal to some, particularly on the and keyboards. Fringe Of Blue is title track and the haunting "Fol- a hip update on Jewish songs low Me." But I found an entire that adds the best of contempo- discful of it too heavy to swallow. rary jazz and world music with- Like a classic recipe that suf- out gutting the original. fers from nouvelle cuisine up- Do yourself a favor — skip Mr. dates, perhaps Jewish music is Burger's pompous, look-how- served up best as our ancestors plugged-in-I-am-to-Judaism lin- created it, undiluted and strong. er notes: "My spirit has dwelt For traditional, simple takes on here in this mystical city of gold Jewish tunes, try the two new for a long, long time...I shall for- discs from Blue Hill Recordings, ever remain in Yerushalayim We Are Here by Rosalie Gerut Shel Zahav —Jerusalem of Gold. and Sleep My Child: A Collection I am RebbeSoul and this is my of Jewish Lullabies. music." "We Are Here" is an ode to pre- Another artist come lately to Holocaust Eastern European Jewish learning is Dana Mase, a Jewish culture, the klezmer and ba'alat teshuvah living in an Or- Yiddish songs of the shtetl. The thodox enclave in Monsey, N.Y. tracks, in Hebrew, English and On her new CD from Water Yiddish, are more a lament than Records, Sitting With An Angel, an exuberant salute; some may Mrs. Mase is glamorously obser- find the mournful tunes too slow vant in artsy, diffused pho- and ponderous. Perhaps Jewish music is served up best as our ancestors created it, undiluted and • strong.