Page Two
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Saturday, December 6, 1969
P 111uageo1 IIli Tw THEMICIGA DILYSatrda, eceber6, 96
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music
Messiah: Packaged for Xmas
Rum bli
By BERT STRATTON
Ramblin' Jack Elliott dropped
into Canterbury House last night
on his way across the country-
a lot of people really appreciate
that fact.
Jack Elliott is one of the last
of the originals, he's one of those
singers whose talk about jails,
trains, and drunks is a reality.
As just about everybody knows
by now, Jack started hanging
around with Woody Guthrie
back in the 1950's, when Jack
was still in his teens - and
there's no arguing that Woody
was one hell of a teacher.
When it comes to pupils
Woody had quite a few, like
Dylan, Paxton, Seeger, etc., but
there's been no more dedicated
a student than Elliott. Jack sings
Woody's songs with a reverance
a feeling that transfixes an aud-
ience (like Woody is watching
over us all), as Elliott works
through "Pretty Boy Floyd" or
does a long talking blues num-
ber with plenty of jokes.
Jack is not just a Woody
Guthrie rerun, which would have
been enough, he's also adept at
singing just about everybody
Jack is here
else's songs as well - but it
shouldn't be forgotten that his
way of doing a song is quite
unique. What makes Elliott so
different is his incredible stage
presence and voice which com-
bines to create the impression
he is constantly on the verge of
falling asleep before your very
eyes. He barely opens his mouth
when he sings, he doesn't hold
a note any longer than you
would a spoken word, and he
mumbles quite a bit.
The effect that all this has
on the listener is somewhat like
the hypnotic grip that Dylan's
early voice has. Believe it or not
Jack's voice is more jagged and
uneven than Dylan's ever was.
What he did to "Lay, Lady,
Lay" was similar to putting Dy-
lan's smooth version on a roller
coaster and taking it for a ride.
However when Elliott wants to,
he can take the edges out, for
a moving broken-love tune like
Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's
Alright,"
It figures that if Elliott's voice
can cross the entire musical
generation from Guthrie to Dy-
lan, then he should be able to
do almost anybody else's songs
too. He did just about every-
body - the blues featured in
Jesse Fuller's theme "San Fran-
sico Bay Blues," Elizabeth Cot-
ton's "Freight Train," and quite
a bit of country and western like
Jimmie Rodgers. In fact, Jack
was recently in Nashville to cut
a new record, using the same
back-up band that Dylan used
in "Nashville Skyline."
He opened up the show with
a plug for his new record, and
proceeded to play a few tunes
from it-some of which are talk-
ing blues originals. Actually Jack
does a lot of truly original ma-
terial, most of which takes the
form of a quick joking aside.
His humor is reminiscent of
Woody, and it even sound a lot
like Arlo, in that Jack feigns
complete stupidity and he goes
from there.
It's a real pleasure to see
somebody so simple and un-
pretentious as Jack. It's almost
as if Jack is afraid that financial
success would spoil his reputa-
tion. Last night, he was talking
about Herb David's guitar studio,
and he happened to say this:
"Herb David's a good guy, he's
not commercial."
Well, Ramblin' Jack Elliott
isn't commericial either, and if
he ever makes a lot of money
from his twenty some albums
then he sure deserves it, most
likely Jack won't ever get any
of that money though, he's too
good.
By JIM PETERS
If audience reaction is any
criterion by which to judge a
concert, last night at H i11 Aud.
the Choral Union presented an
easily digestable version of
Haendel's Messiah. All t h e
items which make-up the festive
aura of an extravaganza could
be found, groomed singers in
dressy clothes, a familiar hum-
able score, edited so as to move
quickly, and, now and then,
some inspiring playing.
But the whole group, includ-
ing most of the audience no
doubt, missed the point of what
the music's all about. T h e
Messiah was not written in
1889: but listening to last
night's performance, no one
seemed to remember that. It
would be foolish to call conductor
Donald Bryant's interpretation
wrong, but I am very tired of
hearing this Baroque oratorio
performed as if it were Wagner.
For what is the beauty a n d
lasting appeal of Haendel's
'masterpiece" (hopefully, n o t
the lyrics), if not the intricacies
of his writing, the balance of
strings and winds with voice, the
musical-not aural-power of
his choruses? And one does not
need 1000 people on stage to ac-
complish that.
With one exception the solo-
ists sang well. Tenor Waldie An-
derson's understated, almost
dry approach to his recitatives
and arias was indeed refresh-
ing.sRosalind Hupp's contralo
solors were accented by the
cloudy sobre timbre of her voice,
but her power is rather limited.
The soprano, Janice Harsanyi,
is a competent and expressive
singer, but her enthusiasm was
more religious than musical.
Bass Robert Oliver sang bad-
ly; often he found himself lost
in the long runs of his allegro
arias and his timing and precis-
ion were awry most of the eve-
ning. None of the singers, how-
ever, paid the slightest attention
to Baroque ornaments a n d
stylistics in their work. A brief
passage from Joan Sutherland's
version of Rejoice Greatly" or
even the recitatives will show
just how much musical intent
was lacking last night; her trills
and ad libitum embellishments
r'eveal a studied knowledge of
18th century singing. And such
is not impossible here at the
University.
The Choral Union displayed
power and tight ensemble, but
little else-the former coming
from its enormous size and only
the latter from skill. The alto
section's one-voice precision
was impressive, but I cannot re-
frain from imagining how much
more sensitive singing could
come from a group one-third
that size. Their massive sound
worked well for choruses such as
"The Lord Gave the Word" and
"For Unto Us," but for those
requiring more than bombast
(most of which had been de-
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leted) such as the entrances in
"Glory to God" their sound was
muddled.
The Interlochen Arts Aca-
demy Orchestra could have used
another rehearsal; so bland and
shakey a performance is disap-
pointing from such a group. I
think, perhaps, the hodge-podge
score from all the cutting and
compressing bothered them, be-
cause they often did not to know
what would happen next.
I realize I am criticizing all
kinds of hallowed traditions
surrounding this pseudo-scared
entry into mass culture; but
having heard Cofin Davis' deli-
cate, almost madrigal sound, it
is hard for one to settle for
Franz Liszt.
STATE
Shows at: 1-3-
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JACK NICHOLSON
COLOR - Releed by COLUMBIA PICTURES
Hurrah TV, motels, war; hurrah America
By DEBORAH LINDERMAN
The first thing to know about
America Hurrah, which the
University Players are doing
through Dec. 6, is that its title,
lest you would think otherwise,
is ironic. The second is that it
gets two cheers.
As conceived by Jean-Claude
van Itallie, it was really a very
radical play-theatrically radi-
cal as much as anything--but
as executed by the University
Players it has been much re-
duced, possibly to keep out the
police and bring in the alumni.
Although it could be snappier,
still it is worth seeing.
It was first done in 1966 by
Joseph Chaikin and the Open
Theater in the mode of pop art
and theater of cruelty. It is a
play rich in theatrics, being
embellished with dumb show,
choreography, masks, panto-
mine and gibberish, and is cal-
culated to reflect the neon men-
tality and rote visciousness of
American life.
The trio of one-acters called
Interview, TV, and Motel are
metaphors for the national
n i g h t m a r e s of Johnsonland,
which incensed the national
spirit five years ago but which
we have by now grown rather
intimately used to. The night-
mares deal with violence, of
course, and with calamity, war,
murder, indifference and de-
plorable stupidity. Van Itallie
is audacious, witty and astute
in devising instances of the na-
tional mechanization of life and
the national dislocation of cul-
ture.
Interview is a harrowing spec-
tacle in which four people ap-
plying for jobs are interrogated
by four others. Their responses
in this situation are all alike no
matter what side they are on
and indeed as the interview
continues they bring to bear
the same automatic tactics of
ingratiation and manipulation.
Thus devoid of personality,
they become so many inter-
changeable parts, b 1 e e p i n g,
humming and jerking along like
robots. Bet ween times, they de-
liver pained monologues in in-
direct discourse (Oh, I said;
Smiling, I said) about their
lives which are all revealed to
be made of the same sad and
empty stuff. An unhappy man
goes to his shrink and is given
rote advice: blah blah blah blah
HOSTILE. Blah blah blah blah
PENIS. Blah blah blah blah
MOTHER. Blah blah blah blah
MONEY. Another getsrote si-
le :ce from his father-confessor
(God, I said, deliberately tak-
ing the Lord's name in vain).
In TV three viewers sit at
stage front monitoring a video
panel as a succession of pro-
grams and commercials is car-
ried on at stage right behind
the frame of an outsized TV
screen. The viewers, though in-
terested in the ratings, are pre-
occupied with their own silly
affairs (why not, is the point).
But at the end the TV perform-
ers come out of the box and join
the viewers, showing, I presume,
how the banality of mass cul-
ture and the silliness of our
lives are the same thing.
The skits catch the TV image
very well. Among the best are a
weather report and an ad for
soap-more than a soap, more
than a cream, its a soap-cream.
(James Hosbein and Wanda
Bimson are very good in these
two.) Among the worst are those
involving several of the Nixons,
for the directors have done some
enthusiastic updating which-
the program notes notwith-
standing-seems to me needless
botheration.
;Motel, the finale, is an abrupt
and climatic paroxysm. A motel
keeper in the form of a giant
doll with a dubbed voice recites
the prerequisites of her estab-
lishment. While her voice drones
on about decency, respectability
and a taste of home at very rea-
sonable rates, a floozy and her
boyfriend in huge papier-mache
heads with cupie doll smiles,
amiably tear the place apart.
First the bed, then the Bible,
NEW MAGAZINE NEEDS
POETRY, SHORT STORIES, ES-
SAYS. $5.00 per printed page or
part thereof. Manuscripts will not
be ret'd. unless accompanied by
self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Mall to KEN GAERTNER, 605 E.
Williami.
then everything else including
the motel keeper. The floozy
writes obscenities on the walls
with her lipstick.
At least she is supposed to be
writing obscenities. The script
calls for lewd words and explicit
pictures, but there are no pic-
tures and the words are rather
mild-"sex" being an example.
The script also calls for the
debree of their destructive orgy
to be fanned out at the audi-
ence and that this does not
happen is another instance of
the taming of van Itallie.
Still, mitigated though its
shock is, the play undeniably
works very well.. Everything is
so unlikeable as to be delight-
ful, for it is a pleasure to see
this perverse limbo of human
energy, which one always be-
lieves to be one's particular op-
pression, broadly and cuttingly
exposed.
I admired Melvin Foster, who
plays Wonderboy, a Gym In-
GOOD LUCKt
during finals
FROM
Student
Book Service
structor, an Announcer, etc., for
his natural control and bodily
eloquence. The rest of the cast
is good too. Director Richard
Burgwin has achieved some nice
configurations and images, but
the transitionsand juxtaposi-
tions of the script should be
more briskly timed. I cannot
tell from the playbill whom to
name in credit for the sardonic
gray costumes worn by all the
players and striped down the
sides with white five-pointed
Read and Use
Daily Class iieds
A couple of years ago, when
the Hollies pulled into famous
Dulles airport in D.C., the Sun-
-hine Company's pet rabbit
crawled up Graham Nash's
sleeve. Nash has since quit the
group. Who's covering what up?
stars.
S_
I
i.
Do you REALLY know what's happening
inside the army?
Hear GI ORGANIZERS
FROM FORT KNOX
These people, who run a coffee house at Fort Knox and publish
FTA, an underground paper that talks about Vietnam, racism and
GI rights, have been arrested, harassed-and face prison for
organizing against the war.
ALSO----
"ARMY"
A new Newsreel film
Sunday-8:00-N EWMAN CENTER, basement
331 THOMPSON
Sponsored by Resistance-Newsreel-SDS
No Admission-Donation Welcome
A benefit for the FTA legal defense fund
CINEMA H
PRESENTS
"THE SONG AND THE SILENCE"
THE FILM DESCRIBES BEAUTIFULLY AND SIMPLY THE TRAGEDY OF
A HASSIDIC JEWISH COMMUNITY IN POLAND. IT IS THE STORY OF
LOVE, HUMILITY, DEVOTION AND COURAGE.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 8:30 P.M.
1429 HILL ST.
ADMISSION 75c
EVERYONE WELCOME
THIS CAN GET YOUR
HEAD TOGETHER
Arlo, Princess "he made the
Margaret, Johnny smoke in the small
Cash, Bob Dylan, basement club
Charlie McCoy, seem as if it
Steve McQueen, were coming from
Warner Bros., even a pile of freshly
Canterbury could raked autumn
tell stories about leaves"
Jack N.Y. Times
Nov. 15
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-Thomas Thompson, LIFE MAGAZINE
"Brilliant! Fresh light on the subject of youth!
Liza Minnelli plays Pookie to perfection!
Marvelous" --Joseph Morgenstern, NEWSWEEK
t {
?i
S
Lead your own life.
Enjoy it.
Don't let life let you down
because of a silly head-
ache. Happiness is as far
away as an Anacin"bottle.
Anacin is twice as strong
in the specific pain re-
liever doctors recom-
mend most as the other
well known extra strength
tablet.
Anacin may not bend
your mind, but it sure will
get your head together.
BO ACNE/EtJRGI A A1GtSI
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