I Tuesday, April 18, 1972 Page Two THE MICHIGAN-DAILY Pacje Two THE MiCHiGAN' DAILY music Border By ROB BIER Kris Kristofferson is at his best when he is basic. And Bor- der Lord (Monument KZ 31302) is Kristofferson at his basic best. Here are none of the frills and downright hocum which cluttered his previous records. Despite their merits, attempts at social' comment such as "Blame It .on the Stones" and "The Law is for Protection of the People" were distractingly out of the Kristofferson mainstream. Mu- sically, the lush violin backing on "For, the Good Times" stuck out like the proverbial sore thumb,. while the Tijuana Brass - like horns on "The Tak- er" border on the obnoxious. With Border Lord, though, Kristofferson has managed to steer clear of thematic cul-de- sacs and arrangers' dead ends to cruise on down the road of "liv- Lord-Kristofferson's basic best ing high and loving hard" which is his special territory. And the land he leads the listener through is filled with darkness and light; pain and joy; the fa- miliar and the strange. Perhaps the song which best typifies the album is the title cut, "Border Lord." As with vir- tually all of Kristofferson's songs, its strength lies not in the melody nor in the performance, but in the lyrics. Can anyone hear lyrics like the following without experiencing a rueful jolt of recognition? "Losing to the rising cost of .14ving 'high and lovfng hard'- And leavin' every yesterday behind Learning every bridge you cross,. is burning down before you're off and running Like the devil just in time Breakin' any ties before they bind you Taking any comfort you can find Running like you're running out of time" Even Richard Nixon should be able to relate to a song which speaks of such frantic and desperate living. But it is doubtful whether the President would see any reason to play a record by a scruffy Rhodes scholar who turned his back on a life of "promise" to try and become a low-life writer of songs about living, loving and dying. After all, the Mad Bomber has Billy Graham to tend to his spiritual needs, while those less fortunate must. de- pend on people like Kris Kris- tofferson. Can he really save souls? Well, if showing people how to celebrate the good times and ! how to fight the bad constitutes salvation, then Kristofferson has some of the power in him. How well he manages to get that out and onto plastic is the question. As noted, his two previous al- bums were fraught with distrac- tions. On Border Lord, though, the instrumental backings are relatively simple and more ap- propriate to the peculiar brand of country folk which Kristof- ferson does. Acoustic guitars take the lead, with keyboards, drums, a harmonic and a nice country fiddle mixing around and making way, now and then, for a usutlly distant chorus. All that means that Kristof- ferson r e m a i n s up front throughout, his macho bass voice rasping worse than ever. It should be interesting to watch him in concert this Friday at. Till. and see how far he suc- cumbs to the temptation to scrape around the lower regis- ter, searching, maybe, for some of Rod Stewart's soulful ap- peal. His efforts would be better spent in bringing a little more music out of his largely unre- markable melodies. The slower Kristofferson goes, the less he sings. And while ,talking is.no crime, its predictability is, a de- nial of the imagination which shows in his lyrics, where there is variety and life aplenty. From the quiet acceptance of death-.in. "Kiss the .Wov]d .Good- bye" to the crazy, rocking of "Gettin' By, High and Strange," Kristofferson shows a poet's ability to take the familiar in life and make it fresh. Or, to take the vague and make it clear. A case of the latter is "Bur- den of Freedom," which tells in part what he meant by "Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose" in "Me and Bobby McGee." It speaks of loneliness, and of "the courage to be what I can." Listening to it, vague notions and nameliess beliefs can find something to fix upon, and thus begin to take shape. If you do not see a part of yourself in that song, there are nine other mirrors to check out. While some are a bit hazy, they are the best set yet from Kris Kristofferson. With a direc- tion like that, his concert this Friday promises much, and his next album, even more. But for now, Border Lord will do fine. the ann arbor film cooperative Max von Sydow and Bibi Andersson in Ingmar Bergman's classic masterpiece 1956 THE SEVENTH SEAL subtitled CANNES FILM FESTIVAL, International Jury Pride Winner (twice) 1956, 1957. THE SEVENTH SEAL is Bergman's stunning allegory of man's search for meaning in life. A knight after returning home from the Crusades, plans a game of chess with Death while The Plague ravages medieval Europe. An exceptionally powerful film, it is a work of awesome scope and remarkable visual pleasures. ."Mr. Bergman hits you with it, right between the eyes."-New York Times TONIGHT! TUESDAY-April 18th-ONLY auditorium a-angell hail 7 & 9:30 p.m. still only,75c COMING THURSDAY-The compleat ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE & FRACTURED FAIRY TALES ;'~ ' V EIniertnnrtert Qr Eizabeth" -u r Pro I VI US1C By DONALD SOSIN Nowadays .When heads of state seek entertainment, or at least our own' head of state, they looknto the likes ofsthe Ray Conniff Singers or the vast spectrum of mindless television shows. But at one time one could find' diversion in the form of real art, as the New York Pro Musica demonstrated Sun- day night in the Power Center. The brilliant group re-created an "Entertainment for Eliza- beth," presenting a masque, songs, and dances as they were probably performed at court four hundred years ago. It was an hour and a half of pure delight that began when the stage was transformed into a sixteenth century court, with tapestries h a n g i n g upstage, flanked by tall wrought-iron candelabras, and a group of Renaissance instruments off to one side. Two pages began light- ing. candles, the musicians tun- ed up, and a man entered, rich- ly and dazzingly dressed in a multi-colored outfit,. complete with glittering cape and mask, and announced himself as Va- riety. He explained, in verse, the nature of the entertain- ment: a masque, a sort of pa- geant, presenting an allegorical theme which would also serve to praise the virtues of the attend- ant queen.. The latter, in a gracefl off-white dress with full hoop skirt and trimmed with 'elegance and dignity, en- tered from the rear of the audi- torium, as the musicians played a stately processional. When she and her courtiers had ar- rived onstage, the group sang a madrigal in honor of the queen, and began the masque. It concerned Terpsichore, who governed all Motion. She ap- peared in chains that, she ex- plained, had° grown from bran- ches in a darl 'forest. Until she could free herself, Motion would be, chaotic. The represen- a 7stine pageantry tatives thereof, seven figures Meanwhile, the music contin- named Up, Down, Left, Right, ued, impeccably performed by Back, Forth and Around came the singers and six musicians, in and tried to dance, but were who doubled (like jazz players) like unstrung marionettes. Fin- on a large assortment of instru- ally, an appeal was made to ments, including viol, lute,.harp- Elizabeth, who rose and magic- sichord, organs and other key- ally broke the chains. Variety board instruments, crummhorn, was unmasked as the culprit recorders and bagpipes. One Chance, who wished only dis- has to appreciate not only the organization and disharmony. event itself, but the careful re- As political cabaret it was mild, search that went into all of its but made its point. The seven facets. Paul Maynard, the di- Motions were then revealed as rector, deserves many thanks, the Sun, Moon and planets, as well as John Reeves White, each in an elaborate, breath- who conceived the idea, and the taking costume. All joined in University Musical Society, dances of the period, such as the which closed its season with this branle, La Volta, and the gal- performance (except for the liard. These were chosen from May Festival, which runs May the numerous collections of mu- 4 until May 7). sic and detailed books on danc- They could not have found a ing published at the time. finer way to end it: a combina- Four of the men performed tion music - dance - fashion a sword dance that had them show and social history lesson, clashing blades in time with the all infused with grace and music, turning to face new beauty that gave one the feeling combinations of opponents with that the artists had enjoyed every step. themselves every bit as much as The planets retired and re- the sellout crowd. emerged as courtiers, and the rest of the evening consisted of solo songs, madrigals and dan- ces. There was a kissing game BEST PICTU in which one person would stand in the center of the circle, OF THE YEAR! and plop a pillow down in -National Board of Review front of the partner of his FEATURE TODAY AT choice, saying that the dance FAUR 6:YA could not continue until he/she :45 6:15 had kissed her/him - a great 845 sport for all concerned. U A couple sang the familiar "It Was a over and His Lass" with incidental flirting which ranged ±omanP from sultry looks to outright kissing, which the queen quick- ly halted. But she was actually no prude,, and joined in the merri- ment, dancing "Lu' Volta," in which she 'was whirled around DIAL 668-6416 high in the air by her partner, causing a fhiri'y of Ooh's and Aah's from the courtiers. At one point she even left with one of her partners, which triggered a more buzzing than before. MMEMNEEMMMMMS 1 20 0/ /0 Student Discount! the underwear look. . .right out in the open in dusty-tone tissue rib knit cotton. Terrific! N avy, grey or tan, S,M,L. $5. . f ... .3'f Yr"" f or y .,. rir~"" STATE STREET :. ung men U SUBSCRIPTIONS NOW ONSALE! 10%-25% DISCOUNTS! HELD OVER lad= .. t .. f. ... I Academy Award Winner "BEST FOREIGN FILM" "De Sica Returns To Greatness" Wolf, Cue Magazine StarT announced' to tie \directed byPRNE ft 7orba, Cotflny) school for te' Show Ol prvate e) Eugeneylgel' Star tbe eanounced 1ddler, E~llies. 'Cbaret, from:'~ Ring pou sc nd s, The liostagS, R You 1 "The hand of genius is once again evident." -Judith Crist, New York Magazine 2 '1 , I Reaches heights artistic and human of 'Bicycle Thief'." -Archer Winsten, N.Y. Post i A FISCHER-DIESKAU PREMIERE The long-awaited appearance in Ann Arbor of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau will provide a rare treat for music-lovers attending the opening concert in the p9th annual May Festival. The superb musical artistry of this German baritone will be shared with his Hill Auditorium audience in Gustav Mahler's "Kindertotenlieder," together with the great Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Eugene Ormandy. The orchestra will also perform the Symphony No. 3 by Roy Harris, and the "Fantastic" Symphony by Berlioz. Performances in Hill Auditorium, May 4, 8 : 30-tickets from $3.50 to $8.50 OTHER MAY FESTIVAL CONCERTS: MAY 5: Music by Mozart, Wallace Berry, and Schumann; featuring Susan Starr, pianist, and the Festival Chorus. MAY 6: All-Brahms program; featuring Mayumi Fujikawa, violinist. MAY 7: (aft.) Music by Mozart, Szymanowski, and Weber; featuring Mal colm Frager, pianist, and the Festival Chorus. MAY 7: Music by Bach, Rossini, and Wagner; featuring Marilyn Horne, soprano. .at A* SSool far Scandal WIWI" to be chosen Lower Depths the.Mon, l Lo~eIri h'. ill ,' 11 MIA state~' I-{ L vl;A 1 I