Page Two
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Sunday, April 9, 1972
Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Sunday, April 9, 1972
I
records
Hendrix disc: A flawed gem
A
'musical party'
at the Ark
By MIKE HARPER
Warner/Reprise has released
athird Hendrix album post-
humously; a flawed gem en-
titled Hendrix in the West (Re-
prise MS 2049). Unlike the mas-
terful studio works of The Cry
of Love and Rainbow Bridge,
this entire album was recorded
live and therein may lie some of
its faults. This l.p. would shine
for almost - any artist; but for
Hendrix, it's wishy-washy at
best.
The album features eight
songs, recorded at San Diego,
Berkeley and/or the Isle of
Wight; three feature Hendrix
with Mitch Mitchell and Noel
Redding, the other five with
Mitchell and Billy Cox. Side one
starts off with an introduction
-"Let's have a welcome for
Billy Cox . . . Mitch Mitchell...
and THE man with THE guitar,
Jimi H e n d r i x" (appropriate
enough) and then we get two
and one-half minutes of tuning
up and sick feedback entitled
"The Queen." This whole con-
coction (?) dies into "Sgt. Pep-
per's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
which is performed so loosely
that it sounds as if Hendrix for-
got what he was playing and
just decided to fake it. The
words and music are in con-
stant struggle with one another:
the song is easily and best for-
votten. Rolling Stone reported
that, Hendrix "chewed gum
throughout" his appearance at
the Isle of Wight; his apparent
boredom shows in these two pre-
viously-mentioned cuts.
After the two Isle of Wight
numbers, comes the best song
on the album: Hendrix playing
and singing "Little Wing" so
beautifully you'll want to cry -
and perhaps you will. Each sa-
cred note cascades, and his voice
is so clear and knowing, that
it cannot be denied. It's a shame
the song ends so quickly, as
Hendrix leaves it harshly with
a short wah-wah solo and final
chord, to the sound of falling
rain from Mitchell's cymbals.
This song, and the other two re-
TV, Movies
Tonight:
Ulysses-6:00 (7)
Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River - 7:30 (2)
Modesty Blaise - 9:00 (7)
Longest Hundred Miles - 11:20 (9)
The Chinese Ring - 11:30 (2)
Monday:
Rapture -9:00 (7)
To Each His Own - 11:15 (9)
Carribbean - 11:30 (2)
Tuesday:
In Broad Daylight -- 8:30 (7)
Terror by Night-- 11.:30 (2)
An American in Paris - 11:30 (50)
Glory Brigade -- 11:30 (9)
Wednesday:
Night Train to Munich -11:30 (2)
Oh, Men! Oh, Women! - 11:30 (9)
Cry of the Hunted - 11:30 (50)
Thursday:
Pendulum --9:00 (2)
Tom Brown"s School Days - 11:30 (2)
Too Much, Too Soon - 11:30 (9)
Three Bites of the Apple -- 11:30 (50)
Friday:
Hour of the Gun - 8:30 (4)
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari -- 8:30 (56)
Omar Khayyam - 11:30 (2)
Spirit of St. Louis -- 11:30 (9)
Tribute to a Bad Man - 11:30 (50)
Spider Woman -- 1:30 (2)
Saturday:
Two on a Bench - 8:30 (7)
The Harness - 9:00 (4)
Lieutenant Wore Skirts - 11:20 (9)
Gigot -- 11:30 (7)
Damn the Defiant - 11:30 (2)
corded along with it at San
Diego are the three best cuts on
the album.
The final cut on side one is an
at-first-glance horrendous thir-'
teen minute version of Hendrix'
bluesy "Red House" - but it's
not all that bad actually. Al-
though Hendrix sounds as if he
is playing as-many-notes-as-he
can-in-a-minute, he is playing.
He sounds nice and loose, yet
tight enough to be satisfying in
a technical sense. In the num-
ber's 'driving moments, Hendrix
plays catch-up guitar, as he
struggles to keep up with the
music - a struggle he takes on
oh so well.
Side two is much more rock-
and-roll oriented as Hendrix re-
turns to the "classics." Chuck
Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" is
performed with excessive guitar
and some new life. Hendrix' own
"Lover Man" is a remake of his
Monterey version of "Rock Me
Baby": the new words hurt
much more than they help. Then
Hendrix completes the rock cy-
cle with bis jazzy interpretation
of Carl Perkins' oldie. "Blue
Suede Shoes": the song becomes
an imaginative well-arranged
tune, easily balancing out the
weaknesses of this side's first
two cuts.
Last up, are eight glorious
minutes of "Voodo Chile." Al-
though some moments lack lus-
tre. "Chile" grows on and with
you. Recorded in San Diego, the
song explodes note by note:
driving the listener hypnotically
onward. Ultra-violent in every
sense, the music swells cere-
moniously, exposing the evil and
uncertainty hidden within each
note. The evil fails to disappear
as the guitar slashes echo out-
leaving all mysteriously unsatis-
fied.
The music, overall, is good but
it lacks the Hendrix brilliance
that one gets so accustomed to
after listening to his earlier al-
bums. The album's main prob-
lems stem from the poor live
performance of Billy Cox and
the oftentimes erratic work of
Mitch Mitchell; although Noel
Redding sounds fine throughout
his work on the album. Natur-
ally, a great deal of Hendrix'
meticulous studio techniques are
missing. If you're a Hendrix dis-
ciple, you'll want this album for
old time's sake if .nothing more;
"Little Wing" is worth the price
of the album in itself. But if
you're just getting around to
discovering Hendrix' musical
genius, well . . . buy any .of the
earlier Warner/Reprise works
and BELIEVE.
By DIANE LEVICK
Remember back in kinder-
garten how you sat enraptured
while your teacher read fairy
tales and folklore to you during
story hour?
Had you gone to the Ark's an-
nual ceilidh (musical party) this
weekend, you probably would
have had as much fun. The
"party" was hosted by five folk-
singer-storytellers: David Jones,
Barry O'Neill, Roger Renwick,
Marshall Dodge, and Michael
Cooney.
Taking turns, they introduced
an unusual performing format
to a cramped and overcrowded,
but enthusiastic audience. Each
performer offered a song or
story, which often set a theme
for the next. Renwick, for in-
stance, began Friday night with
a song about a pregnant girl de-
serted by the sailor to blame.
Cooney followed it up with a
song "where the girl gets off a
little better."
There was no set program,
then, as individual folksingers
usually plan for the Ark. The
five threaded their way through
themes and inspired each other
to think up new ones.
Cooney started a battle theme
with a tune about the Irish
brigade fighting for the Union
during the U.S. Civil War. He
used a six-string guitar accom-
paniment for this song, though
he played 12-string, concertina,
banjo, and sang a capella oth-
selections during the evening.
Jones, whose native land is
England, sang a mournful Brit-
ish versus French battle song a
capella. The audience and the
other performers joined in with
some pleasant harmony. O'Neill
continued the theme with an
Irish ode to Napoleon Bonaparte
-the Irish once thought Napo-
leon might help them rid their
island of the British.
Although themes were fol-
lowed, the songs often varied in
mood from, one to the next.
Sometimes the audience reacted
accordingly, but occasionally
after a joking mood, they - and
the singers - couldn't get back
into a sad, serious vein to listen
to a lament.
One of the highlights of the
ceilidh on the lighter side was
Marshall Dodge's stories, deliv-
ered in various accents. One of
several in a Maine dialect told
of "Virgil Bliss: the dirtiest man
in the state of Maine and how
he managed to get hitched up
with Hettie." Apparently Virgil's
secret was to always approach
Hettie downwind, so as not to
offend her with his smell.
Dodge's "dogs and horseflesh"
story seemed to go over just. as
well with the audience, if not
better. Dodge told it "in the
spirit of American vaudeville,
like on an old Edison record."
He even vocalized record
scratches as sound effects.
The story, not the music, was
definitely the focus of the ceil-
idh: Many of the songs were
sung a capella, and most of the
accompaniments on guitar were
simple, soft strums or mainly
pattern picking. Practically ev-
ery song told a story, whether
it was a love ballad or whaling
tale.
As for the audience, it seemed
to respond very well to the em-
phasis on the songs' story lines
instead of the performers' mu-
sical virtuosity. It warmed up
quickly at the beginning of the
evening and remained so. Al-
though there wasn't much clap-
ping or stomping, there was
plenty of singing along and good
humor.
A sure sign of the ceilidh's
success was the large crowd that
remained for the third set. Nor-
mally, a much smaller number
stays on so late, but Friday
quite a few stayed past 1 a.m.
Tonight the Ark will again de-
part from its usual format and
offer a Woody Guthrie benefit.
Marjorie Guthrie, Woody's wife,
will fly in to help raise money
for a fund she initiated to com-
bat Huntington's Chorea - the
nerve disease Woody died from.
Bob White, Pam Ostergren,
and Barry O'Neill will perform.
Doors open at 8:30 p.m., and ad-
mission is $1.50.
EUROPE
$165
ROUND TRIP
NYC/Luxembourg/NYC
Youth fore to age 30
National Bank
of Ypsilanti
Travel Bureau
611 W. Cross St., Ypsi
483-8556
i
__ ___. _ . , _,. _ x:.._ _ __.^_.m . _ _
images .
MONDAY NIGHT
ONLY!
Dziga Vertov's
MAN WITH
A MOVIE
CAMERA
Dir. DZIGA VERTOV, 1928
Revolution in form and
content See the classic
work of -the rediscovered
hero of the cinema's po-
litical left.
PLUS-
"'VI
U OF M FOLKLORE SOCIETY presents
Son House, Mance Lipscomb,
Robert Pete Williams
Stars of the Ann Arbor Blues Festival, and possibly three of the
greatest blues singers alive today.
April.15 Power Center 8:00 P.M.
ALL SEATS RESERVED-$3.00
Tickets available today and every day at the Michigan Union
ticket office from 11 A.M.-2 P.M. only.
FOR INFO CALL 761-6945
Don't miss 'A Life Well Spent': "A portrait of the musical route
of Mance Lipscombe" Sunday April 9, 9 pm, at Cinema I in
Angell Hall.
I
Daily-Jim Wallace
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MUSIC:
IRIS BELL
Rock 'n' Roll Woman
with STEVE ELSE and DEREK PIERSON
COME IN AND GET DOWN
Sunday 8:30-12:30 Friday 10:00-1:30
Wednesday 10:00-1 :30 Saturday 11:30-1:45
Thursday 10:00-1:30
102 S. First St., Ann Arbor
I
The Ann Arbor Inter-Church
Blood Donors Association will open
a clinic tomorrow in the social hall
at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran
Church, 1400 W. Stadium. Appoint-
ments for 1 to 7 p.m. may be
made by calling Washtenaw Coun-
ty Red Cross Center, 971-5300.
For The Student Body:
LEVI'S
Corduroy.
Bells
Twelve Colors
CHECKMATE
State Street at Liberty
REST PICTURE
OF THE YEAR!
-National Boadof Review
'I
Turn on.
Turn on to spring.
Turn on to music.
Turn on to WCBN-FM.
Turn on to 89.5.
Turn on.
Turn on.
Tune in.
SHOWCASE FOUR!
hen ri k i bsen
r~r A DOLL'S HOUSE
FRIEZE ARENA THEATRE
Thurs.-Sat., April 13-15 Curtain 8 P.M.
Box Office Opens Daily at 2:00
I
THE WORLD'S BEST, PLAYS FOR
THE FIRST TIME AT A U.S. UNIVERSITY
1:30 p.m. Saturday, April 15
CRISLER ARENA
Tickets now on sale-First Come, First Served
Students $1 General Public $2
Ij
F
I
..
ATHLETIC TICKET OFFICE, Hoover and South State Streets
8:30 A.M. TO 5 P.M. DAILY
8:30 A.M. TO NOON SATURDAY
II
-I
_ --
- -- -- - - - - -- - ---- - - - - - - - - - - - --- -- w -- - - I-am"
FRIDAY-SATURDAY, APRIL 14-15;
SPEND THE NIGHT & DAY WITH..
HASSIDIM!
WHERE? The Hassidim will
be at Shalom House, 1429
Hill Street in Ann Arbor,
from 7 p.m. Friday until 9
p.m. Saturday.
MEALS . . . provided at a
few bucks a head-but you
must make reservations.
CALL 663-4129
it IKI , iCs I
a breath-taking collection of exciting
new 14K gold-filled Omega watches
withrthe elegant look and nobility
of precious gold.
With unsurpassed craftsmanship,
classic design, and the quality that says
"Omega", these high-fashion watches
are available in a graceful round dial, or
for antique charm, see the Omega man's
watch in a dramatic elliptical shape
with Roman numerals.
All conveniently fitted to your wrist with
handsome, self-sizing mesh bracelets.
U J~dTTX~I~l1
UAC-DAYSTAR
Presents the final concert of
semester on day classes end
April 21 Fri.
1.50-3.00-4.50
reserved seats on sale now
Mon.-Fri. 12-6 p.m. Michigan
Union. Also at Salvation Rec-
ords on Maynard St... .
O Omega
left - 14K gold-filled
case.......$135
Also available with
stick markers
right - 14K white or yellow
gold-filled case ..$125
Also available with
full numerals
You know you'll want to
this concert, so get a
seat early.
make
killer
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s .vs N LN '
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