Page Two
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
.
Tuesday, April 11, 1 97Z
4 o
It was a good
nigt fr.,Gustav
By ANTHONY CECERE
THE MINNESOTA ORCHES-
TRA - Stanislaw Skrowaczew-
ski, Conductor, with the UNI-
VERSITY CHORAL UNION,
Donald Bryant, Director, and
soloists Phyllis C u r t i n, So-
prano, Maureen Forrester,
Contralto, John Stewart, Ten-
or and Brent Ellis, Baritone.
Hill Auditorium, April 9, 1972.
Last Sunday night's Minnesota
concert was a mixture of -nusi-
cal excellence and mediocrity,
with most of the mediocrity
coming from the orchestra and
most of the excellence from the
Choral Union and the soloists.
The two works on the program,
Gustav Mahler's "Das klagende
Lied" and excerpts from "Rom-
eo and Juliet" by Hecton Ber-
lioz, offered many solo and ob-
bligato passages. These exposed
parts of the compositions dis-
played a weakness in the or-
chestra, for they were certain-
ly not as secure as the tutti
portions and, after all, a chain
is only as strong as its weak-
est link. The intonation left
much to be desired, especially
when sections would pass off
phrases to one anther, as in the
"Queen Mab Scherzo" f r o m
"Romeo and Juliet."
There was a good amount of
playing that was just not to-
gether, and I would attribute
this to Maestro Skrowaczeski's
exaggerated baton techniques.
The cues were by far the worst
of it all; I was very surprised
when Skrowaczeski cued in some
sections to his left by flailing
his right arm across his left
shoulder.
Good times with the Dirt Band
By HARRY HAMMIT
An American band that quite
a few have probably heard of,
but a much smaller number
have actually heard is the Nit-
ty\Gritty Dirt Band. T'he times
have been hard for the Dirt
Band; as a matter of fact, the
band broke up for a period of
five months about two years
ago. They have been mistreated
by publicists who typed them as
a sort of vaudeville band w h o
had an occasional hit single.
Most people know the band from
their moderately successful, sin-
gle, "Mr. Bojangles" which is
not the band at its best. If this
description is vaguely like what;
most people thought of as the
Dirt Band, then they're really in
for a surprise.
On their new album, All The
Good Times (United Artists UAS
555), they shine as one of the
tightest, most versatile country-
rock bands around today. They
are a cross between the Band
and the Byrds, taking the best
from both. They rock and sing
more like the Byrds, but they
are versatile in the same way
as the Band and with a few not-
able exceptions. They play at
least as many instruments as
the Band. The instruments are
about the same in both cases
except that the Dirt Band u s e s
banjo and does not use organ.
The Dirt Band relies much more
heavily on several instruments
that the Band only uses spar-
ingly; accordion, and, espec-
ially, harmonica. The baud also
attains the spontaneity of a.
band like Commander Cody,
even in the studio.
Even -though most of the band
members come from u r b a n
areas, these boys have got coun-
try music in their blood. Their
music never sounds forced or
false in any way; the music
flows without any difficulties.
The music is varied; it runs
from blues, country, country-
rock, bluegrass, and cajun.
The album begins with a. sim-
plistic, relaxed blues that was
cut in Nashville. There is ap-
plause during the song, but this
was added later, the effect it
creates just makes the .ong that
much better. The song is called
"Sixteen Tracks" and it's just
a jam with the singers throw-
ing out references to country
music and early rock 'n' rol.,
There is some acoustic guitar-
picking, some dobro in the back-
ground, and the harmonica con-
stantly moving out in front. Jim-
mie Fadden plays the harmonica
and he really knows his stuff.
He's not a virtuoso inuthe same
way as Butterfield, but he can
play just about anything, and
play it well.
This is followed by "F i s h
Song"- which is a real nice fan-
tasy about a country boy and a
friendly salmon. There is a
piano intro that easily com-
petes with the organ intro to
"Chest Fever." The song just
flows right out with ,)rue good
harmonica and mandolin.
One of the two cajun sorgs is
next. It's a song by Hank Wil-
liams called "Jamalaya (On the
Bayou) ". The song really swings
right along, with the fiddle con-
stantly surging forth. There is
a simple but effective steel rgui-
tar solo, also.
"Down in Texas" is a country-
rock song that sounds vaguely
like the Byrds. It's a lament by
a guy who has gone to Texas t(,
work in the oilfields, but he just
can't take it. There's na solo-
ing, just the song itself played
in a pronounced rhythm by the
guitars, keeping everything to-
gether.
"Creeping Round Your Bacx
Door" is a blues by Fadden who
probably plays all the instru-
ments. It's pretty authentic-
sounding country blues, sme-
thing that Son House might
play. Just slide guitar and har-
monica. Halfway through, a tuba
comes in that punctuates t h e
bass and gives the song added
flavor.
Other highlights on the album
are "Slim Carter" with a beau-
tifully conceived guitar solo,
"Baltimore" which is a tunetul
song with a good blend of acous-
tic and electric guitars, and
" Diggy Liggy Lo" which is a
mighty fine cajun tune which
Commander Cody has been using
in his concerts for awhile; the
Dirt Band does it rt least ah
good as Cody. and probably bet-
ter. In between these, there are
some well-done versions of songs
written by people like Jackson
Browne and Ritchie Furay.
Some of the songs are cer-
tainly not sensational, but there
are not particularly bad songs,
and there are quite a few ex-
tremely fine ones. The Dirt
Band has a very good know-
ledge and background of coun-
try music, and they really know
how to handle their material to
the best advantage. All the-
members are highly polished in-
strumentalists and the fine use
of slide guitar, mandolin, banjo,
accordion, fiddle, and especially,
harmonica, makes this quite
clear. The album, while not an
original masterpiece, is a su-
perb piece of music that will
never tire you out. As the al-
bum says, "Play this music
loud, it will make you feel good."
* * *
.. 'CBN..
In case your FM radio hasn't
been waking you up in the-
mornings it may be because
WCBN-FM, the station with all
the groovies, has changed its
programing schedule. It now be-
gins at noon instead of 9:00.
Still, it must be admitted that,
despite his techniques, the Maes-
tro's interpretations were sound.
There were many subtle accel-
erandos and ritards that brought
an added measure of grace to
the Mahler, and the dynamics
were sensitively done. Trying to
balance an orchestra, four solo
singers and a gargantuan chor-
us is not at all simple or clear-
cut, and Skrowaczeski showed
himself to be a master in this
respect.
I was pleasantly surprised by
several things in the orchestra,
the most outstanding being the
violas. Seated on the outside of
the orchestra (where the 'cellos
usually sit), the violas project-
ed a warm, lush romantic sound
that was the saving grace of
the string section. The tympani
were also thrusted out, and the
clarity of the drums was much
improved over that of many
American orchestras. The horns
did consistently beautiful play-
ing all evening, from the distant
fanfare that opens "Das klag-
ende Lied" to the treacherously
high and pianissimo parts in the
"Queen Mab Scherzo".
It was also pleasantly surpris-
ed by the University Choral Utn-
ion. It is unusual to find a chor-
us that articulates and blends
well in addition to singing in
pitch. However, when an essen-
tially amateur organization such
as the Choral Union does all of
this, it is nothing short of a
miracle. Gone from the chorus
was the nanny-goat vibrato and
the aspiring coluratura soprano
who tries to bury the rest of her
section, and Director Donald
Bryant should be very proud of
the results.
The soloists were all excellent
beyond approach. Each seemed
to bring an electrifying touch to
the Mahler score. However, the
undisputable master of the quar-
tet was Maureen Forrester. Her
voice is massive and pure: it
is nothing short of an ocean of
beautiful tones that surrounds
the listener on all sides. H e r
nuances and smooth even phras-
ing should be proof to anyone
of her consummate artistry.
When Forrester sang in duet
BEST PICTURE
oF THE YEAR!
-tNlofwid ev.N.
Maher
with Phyllis Curtin, the two voi-
ces seemed to melt nto one
amazing female sound. Tenor
John Stewart sang with an ap-
propriate dramatic flair that is
essential to any valid interpre-
tation of Mahler's music, and
Baritone Brent Ellis sang with
excellent tone and projection.
Sunday night was an excellent
night for Gustav Mahler. T h e
chorus and soloists sang w i t h
excellent command and virtuo-
sity. Hector Berlioz and the
Minnesota Orchestradid not fare
as well. Minnesota showed it-
self to be an orchestra capabl3
of both excellent and abysmal
playing, with varying strengths
in each section. But it was still
a good night for Gustav.
ACCOUNTING MAJORS
Our SuccesSfur Students Rep resent
1,5 of CPA's in USA
Becker CPA Review Course
151 W. Jefferson
DETROIT. MICHIGAN
Tel: (313) 961-1400
SHOWCASE 4!
ibsen's
s A DOLL'S
H OUSE
ARENA THEATRE
OPENS THURS.
Box Office opens 2:00
4
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the ann arbor film cooperative__
Don't let the end of the semester get you down.
COME TO THE
GRAD COFFEE HOUR
4 to 6 p m.
Wed'." April 12
4th fI. Rackham
emonade and
cake for all
MARLENE DIETRICH as Lola Lola in Josef Von Sternberg's
THE BLUE ANGEL
1930. German dialogue, English subtitles
One of Bosley Crowther's (former N.Y. Times critic) 50 greatest films.
"One of the most creative films of the period."- Arthur Knight, THE LIVELIEST ART
"Remarkable"-Henry Miller
"Marlene Dietrich made Lola Lola a new incarnation of sex."-Siegfried Kracauer
FROM CALIGARI to HITLER
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OPEN 12:45
SHOWS AT
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Mon.-Sat. $1.50 until 4:30
Mon.-Thurs. eve. $2.00
Fri. and Sat, eve. $2.50
All Day Sunday $2.50
603 E. Liberty
DIAL 665-6290
TONIGHT !-Tuesday, April 11-ONLY!
auditorium a, angell hall-7-9:30 P.M.-still only 75r
COMING THURSDAY--THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN-Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen
NEXT TUESDAY-Ingmar Bergman's THE SEVENTH SEAL
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P&AI RLM"I
'U'D
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... .
You know you'll want to make
this concert, so get a killer
seat early.
KRIS KRISTOFFERSON:
"Songwriter of the year 1971"
(Me & Bobby McGee, Sunday
Morning Coming Down, Help
Me M a k e It Through the
Nite)
a
4
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Program Information 662-6264
"The best comedy of
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-NEWSWEEK MAGAZINE
PG Shown at
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Starts
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TONIGHT ONLY
LOUISIANA
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Mr. Robert Fl a h e r t y,
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SEE FREDERICK
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ARCHITECTURE
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7 and 9 p.m. 75c
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Also BONNIE RAITT
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