Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Wednesday,, March 1; 1972 Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Wednesday, March 1, 1972 'Harvest': Neil Young 's newest release Country fkavor By KENNY ALTSHULER By virtue of three great al- bums, Neil ,Young has estab- lished himself as one of the great songwriter - composer- performers of the music world. His newest release, Harvest, a two-year effort combining crea- tivity, artistry, and natural tal- ent is basically an excellent con- tinuance of its predecessors. Young has always had coun- try'flavor, but it is more pre- dominant in this alubum than any of his others. The disc opens with two strong country tunes and a new back-up group, the Stray Gators. "Out on the Weekend" brings back memories of "Down bythe River" on the beginning notes, but a har- mniica sound awakes the lis- tener to a new Young character- istic.On this slow-paced cut as well-as the following, easy-go- ing title song ''Harvest," the ba- sic bluegrass melody is support- ed by .excellent slide guitar work by Jack Nitzsche, the only Mmember of Young's former back-up group, 9razy Horse, to record on this album. These songs complement each other in that "Weekend" creates a feel- ing of a day on a country farm, and "Harvest" implants the thought of a country night of self - introspection. Nitzsche's guitar work on both songs, as well as John Harris' piano play- ing on "Harvest" creates a solid introduction to the album. Two songs have the help of fellow performers James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt. "Heart of Gold" and "Old Man" were re- corded in Nashville's Quadra- fonic Sound Studios when Ron- stadt, Taylor, and Young taped a "Johnny Cash Show" last year. I would recognize Taylor's guitar style as well as his folk- country presentation anywhere, and regardless of what the cre- dits don't -say, Taylor is play- ing acoustics on "Old Man." But not to quarrel with credits, let me say that this is the best rounded song of the album. It rai the usual Young style - solid words, vocals and instru- metatio; it. creates a 'mood of .reaching - friendship and --coming- to the conspiracy 0 Maynard Tuesday, March 7 5alamander folk-rock 8:30 & 10:30 Wednesday-Thursday- Friday March 8-10 East of Eden James Dean directed by Elia Kazan screenpoy by John Dos Passos novel by John Steinbeck 8:30 p.m. SUturday-Sunday March 11-12 The Guns of Nvoarone epic action-drama of commandos in WW 11. Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, Stanley Baker, Irene Papas, Gia Scala, James Darren 8:30 p.m. c -.-:----------- all $1 cont. free coffee lunch every day coffee house hours l0 p.r. to a.m. I; non-profit co-operative Rock music and poetry understanding. And asuon "Heart of Gold," the quick- paced and driving steel and slide guitars supplied by Ben Keith and Nitzsche, as well as the bass line presented by Tim Drummond creates a feeling of o p t i m i s m, characteristic of Young's country technique. In light of six good country tunes, it wouldn't destroy the album to have one bad one, and Young must have had that in mind when he put "Are You Ready for the Country" on it. The highlights of the down- trodden song are a great piano and a fair bass line. The steel= guitar is okay, but all that doesn't salvage- this song. A feeling of confusion is not- sim- ply implanted by a bad song; the whole organization seems to have no direction. The back-up vocals by Crosby and Nash are terrible, and leaves the first side with something less than desir- able. In addition to the country songs dominating the album, Neil has attempted two songs with orchestrative accompani- ment. The London Symphony Orchestra did nothing to im- prove the songs, and made them the sore spot of the album. "A Man Needs a Maid" is a beauti- ful song and it's a shame that Young had to spoil it by using. a supporting orchestra. A faint back-up would have nicely en- lightened this sorrowful ballad, but the percussion drowns out Neil's essential wailing voice and searching lyrics, and makes what could have been the best song of the album mediocre. "There's a World is the worst of the two. While "A Man Needs a Maid" is a fantastic song which needs nothing and can stand a little intervention, "There's a World needs this majestic and dynamic orchestrative qual- ity just to have it stand up with the rest. And this need is not met with a ridiculous flowing harp and percussion which is Program Information 2-6264 Corner State & Liberty -ENDS TODAY- OPEN 1 P.M. SHOWS AT 1:15, 3:10, 5P.M. 7 P.M. & 94P.M. "ONE OF THE YEAR'S TEN BEST" -Time determined to its presentation. But what must be emphasized at this point is that what makes Youngas good as he is, is sim- ply a good song, a good voice, and solo accompaniment. And this is proven by the best song on the album, "The Needle and the Damage Done." This ballad, recorded live at Royce Hall, UCLA, is the highlight of the album. In a sentence, it com- bines excellent guitar work and voice quality with presentation and message. With slow pace and good pulse, Neil sings: "I sing the song because I love the man/ I know some of you don't understand/ milk-blood to keep from running out./ I've seen the needle and the damage done/ a little part of it in everyone/ but every junkie's like a setting sun." Truly a unique song that makes the album worth its price- DIAL 5-6290 TODAY IS LADIES DAY "Dustin Hoffman's finest performance since 'Mid- night Cowboy' By HERB BOWIE There have always been two sides to Neil Young's work. On the A side, mostly, there's been a man simply making beautiful rock music. Consigned to the B side for the most part has been Neil Young the poet. Every once in a while, as on "I am a Child," the music would take a back seat, but usually it was the other way around. As on "Cow- girl in the Sand" and "Down by the River," with their extended improvisation, the lyrics gener- ally just went along for the ride. On Neil Young's new album Harvest, the situation is re- versed. The lyrics form the cen- ter of each of the songs, the music playing a. minimal but brilliant supportive role. The re- sult is the best album Young's ever participated in. Young's use of language and images on the album is nothing short of brilliant. In this respect there is simply no one near him in the field of rock. Listen to the magic in these lines from the title song: "Dream up, Dream up / Let me(fill your cup / With the promise of a man." It would be enough for me had Young simply c o i n e d the phrases "Dream up," but he doesn't stop there; he goes on to further use the implicit image of drinking up in the line "Let me fill your cup." Even better are these lyrics from "Old Man:" "Love lost, such a cost / Give me See you after the break at the tenth world famous ANN ARBOR FILM FESTIVAL things that don't get lost / Like a coin that won't get tossed / Rolling home to you." With "Love lost" he introduces the basic theme, then expands on it with "such a cost." The next line, "Give me things that don't get lost," sounds like a merely good one until "Like a, coin that won't get tossed" ties the whole thing together by picking up the basic monetary meaning of 'cost' and providing a more concrete image of something getting lost. In addition, the line adds to the original theme-the idea that the loss of love is dictated, not by any reasonable standards, but by the mere toss of a coin. The final line, "Rolling home to you," suggests the image of a coin precariously balanced on its rim, not getting lost in a different sense of the word, rolling to- wards the old man. -The overall construction of the songs -shows equal talent. In "There's a World" we hear the two warring elements in Young's mind, one telling him to resign himself to his fate of being alone, to give up the hope of finding a lasting love, and the other'lead- ing him on, implicitly promising fulfillment if he keeps trying. The desperate conclusion, that he can trust neither of the voices but must keep looking for love because life without is death, is stated in this way: "There's a world you're living in / No one else has your part / All God's DIAL 8-6416 TODAY IS LADIES' DAY SHOWS AT 1-3-5-7-9 LAST DAY.... RUTH GORDON mn children in the wind / Take it in and blow hard." I can think of. no other songwriter that would even attempt such a sophisti- cated construction, let alone pull it off. What really makes this a land- mark album, though, is its in- tense thematic unity. This is the first rock album I've ever heard that can lay claim to any mean- ingful thematic unity, and the coherence here is overwhelming. This isn't merely a collection of songs that happen to touch on_ the same theme, as The Band seems to be, for example. The songs here amplify and extend each other, making the whole much more than the sum of its parts. Thus, to simplify a little, "Out on the Weekend" tells us of Young's need for love, "Are You Ready for the Country?" is an ominous warning of the on- rush of time, and "Heart of Gold" combines the two themes. "Old Man" expresses a pessimis- tic resignation to loneliness, while "A Man Needs a Maid" and "There's a World" both re- affirm the need to retain hope. At first "Alabama," and "The Needle and the Damage Done," the third and fourth songs on side two, seem like digressions that break the flow of the al- bum, but the next and final song uses an imaginative device to incorporate them into; the record. The applause following the live cut "The Needle and he Damage Done" is suddenly interrdpted by a jarring minor chord that be- gins "Words," Young's admis- sion that his songs are only "words between the lines of age." Its theme, introduced in "Are You Ready for the Coun- try?," is that the audience's applause is only a poor sub- stitute for the love of a good woman The music on Harvest sup- ports the lyrics superbly. The songs themselves are as good as ever, the arrangements just per- fect. The musicians accomplish the difficult feat of playing bril- liantly, yet so simply that the music almost never diverts the listener's attention from the: main thrust of the songs. Listen to Ken Buttrey's drums working perfectly with the rhythm guitar on "Heart of Gold," giving the line "And I'm getting old" just the emphasis its change of tone requires. Admire Jack Nitzsche's piano on the second verse of "A Man Needs a Maid," its cautious, dainty quality giving the song just the touch of fan- tasy intended. Not to mention Nitzsche's slashing bottleneck guitar on "Are You Ready for the Country?" Or Ben Keith's excellent pedal s t e e 1 guitar throughout the album. Even Jerry Garcia could play rings around this guy; the hitch is that Garcia could never exercise so much restraint: on the refrain of "Out on the Weekend" Keith's repetition of a single note ex- presses the singer's helplessness perfectly. Finally, there's Young himself: his melancholy har- monica adds to the album in sev- eral places; his guitar solo on "Words," although not particu- larly pleasant to listen to, is the most meaningful he's ever done. Harvest is one of the best rock TONIGHT ONLY SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS Dir. Stanley Donen, 1954 EXCITING DANCING! SPIRITED SINGING! DELIGHTFUL PLOT! "1 albums ever made. I've listened to it a dozen times and each time I hear it my understanding and appreciation of it grows. Praise higher than that I can't give. 1 * An exceptional ing effort in genre. and last- a dying HAROLD anid MAUDE -Thursday-... 2001 SPACE ODYSSEY Cinemascope and COLOR ARCH ITECTU RE AUDITORIUM 7 and 9 p.m. 75c Our Next Attraction: THE 10th ANN ARBOR FILM FESTIVALI um ii i w - } Want to Study Body Language? Come to GRAD COFFEE HOUR DUETIN HC-FFMA SAMN PEX?4PA SHOWS AT 1, 3, 5,7,9P.M. ABSOLUTELY THE SCARIEST SHOW EVER! BEYOND HORROR! SHOWN IN TACT! NOTHING CUT! FRIDAY & SAT. ONLY 11 P.M. all A H.P.LOVECRAFT' TERRIFYING TALE %".I A ..L ved., Marcn i 8-10 p.m. 4th FLOOR RACKHAM HOT CHOCOLATE AND DONUTS L S OF THOSE WHO EXPLORE THE UNSPEAKABLE! 19 I m -TONIGHT- THE . LOST MAN written and directed by Robert Alan From OLD MAN OUT tier Joanna Shimkus Al Fro - -II WNUO AT LtlfiRTY DOWNTOWN ANN APO. riNfORMATIRN !7fliOO lunwi en HORROR COO '0EA .. iberes * * C i Sidney Poit veman, Jr. U I The Place To Meet INTERESTING People! BachCltub GARY WEISS-Clarinet JACK WINEROCK-Piano Mozart-Concerto for Clarinet C. saint-Sens-Sonata for Clarinet and Piano Debussy-Premier Rhapsodie Refreshments: Chili March 2, Thurs., 8 P.M. South Quad, West Lounge No Musical Knowledge Needed. Absolutely Everyone Invited. Further Info: 663-4875 or 763-6256 DIRTY o HARRY Finally, a Hollywood film that tries to take the Black Liberation struggle seriously. A strong departure for Poitier-"the'man who came to dinner"-as a Black mili- tant driven to violent struggle underground, planning and executing a suspenseful payroll robbery to finance the movement and support the families of jailed dem- onstrators. Joanna Shimkus plays a wealthy white smypathizer, and Poitier's lover: A liberally pessimistic conclusion that fails to obscure the passionate justice of the struggle, or hard-hitting action, for once paced in a meaningful context. WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY-FRIDAY-MARCH 1-2-3-8:30 P.M. -STARTS TOMORROW-- Q: How do you top a great flic like "A MAN CALLED HORSE"? A:]T $1 contribution free coffee, etc. conspiracy 330 maynard 769-7849 U M Film Soc. FRIDAY NIGHT ONLY SPECIAL SHOWING ACT OF, THE HEART I FG TECHNICOLOR Genevieve Bujold (Anne of 1,000 Days) Donald Sutherland (M.A.S.H.,, Kute) '>[IG3t) st) E) it7G t)G: O{ t) (? t)<.=J<>G }04=71 fi: